Saturday, November 19, 2016

...so I won't.


Okay, I'm back.

I'm a little stuffed bull and sometimes I get scared. I hope that if you needed it, you had a dresser drawer to crawl into and close behind you. It's nice and soft and quiet and you can be locked away from the world for quite a bit to take care of yourself.

But you can't stay there forever. (Aside from needing to eventually face the world, I wish I'd gone to the toilet before I crawled in the dresser.)

Okay: things not only look bad; they are bad. Warning: the below is tough stuff. If you want to skim past it, scroll down until you see the picture of Captain America. But I'm afraid you've probably already seen a lot of this stuff over the past week and a half.








I have been exceptionally depressed the last week. Many other people have been even harder off.



And here, following The Guardian's report on rising rate of calls to suicide centers, are the hateful, terrible mocking responses of some very inhuman humans:








A friend of mine said this online, and I want to repeat it, in big letters:

We need you. Hold on.

Remember, you can call and talk to someone any time at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK. (If you're out of the US, or don't have this number written down, please Google "suicide hotline" to get a number you can call.)


Here are other hotlines you can call. Save the following image on your phone! Don't forget that you are loved and you are wanted!


So, what can we do?

Okay, if you don't do any of that above, at least click over to HOLY FUCK THE ELECTION and explore for a while. It has guidance for activism as well as self-care. It's the most thorough and helpful single website I've yet seen.

And remember to fight for your rights...else who will?




Here's another of my favorite songs, one that's unfortunately timely than ever, by my very loved, very missed Kirsty MacColl:


I was born and I was bred
I was reared and I was fed
Moved into the neighbourhood
Where I was bad and I was good
I fixed things for people there
I took them out I don't know where
I coloured in their lives to give them outlines
I walked before I'll walk again
I'll walk along a line of men
And walk into the lion's den

I think you know but you won't say
Just what it is makes life this way
But I'm not going to take this lying down

Reach for the stars, retch for the earth
We took the earth and made it worse
And there was never any doubt
We ate it up, we spat it out
And still we love to say we did it our way
On this voyage of discovery
I'm blinded by the things I see
I've seen before I'll see again
I'll look along a line of men
And fall into the lion's den

Now you can pray your head is bared
And I'm not saying I'm not scared
But I'm not going to take this lying down

I think you know but you won't say
Just what it is makes life this way
But I'm not going to take this lying down


Finally, take time to self-care. Have a snack. Watch a funny movie. Take a brisk walk. Breathe in deep, breathe out, and repeat. Sing out loud. Hug a family member, hug a friend, hug a little stuffed animal. The people who love you — and you have some — will help you get through the hard days.

Be good and be good to each other. These are hard times. Many of you who follow my blog have noticed that I don't post every day for long stretches, and that's when I'm under the covers sad and hiding. I've had a very hard year since January, but I couldn't e making the sprint through December without all of you lovely readers and fans. Special thanks to Mike Sterling, who reminded people — and me — that I have a posse. Know what? so do you. And I'm in it for you.

And you can always, always have some of my cookies.


.........


Today in Comics History, November 19, 1977: Uwe Boll begins filming his finest movie


from The Ray (2012 series) #1 (DC, February 2012), script by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, pencils by Jamal Igle, inks by Rich Perrotta, colors by Guy Major, letters by Dave Sharpe

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 324: The Difference Between J. Jonah Jameson and Tony Stark


Panels from Captain America (1968 series) #123 (March 1970), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek

Friday, November 18, 2016

......


366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 323: You don't have Jameson to kick around any more


Panels from "Worldwide" in Amazing Spider-Man (2015 series) #1 (December 2015), script by Dan Slott, pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inks by Cam Smith, colors by Marte Garcia, letters by Joe Caramagna

Thursday, November 17, 2016

...


366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 322: Spider-Men crawling out of the woodwork


Panels from Marvel Knights Spider-Man #6 (November 2004), script by Mark Millar, pencils by Terry Dodson, inks by Rachel Dodson, colors by Ian Hannin, color separations by Avalon, letters by Cory Petit

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Today in Comics History, November 16, 1982: The Debut of the Sinister Six Two


from What If...? (1989 series) #64 (Marvel, August 1994), script by Simon Furman, pencils and inks by Geoff Senior, colors by Sarra Mossoff, letters by Richard Starkings

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 321: Around about that time the photographer stopped paying attention to Jonah


Panels from Spectacular Spider-Man (2003 series) #14 (July 2004), script by Paul Jenkins, painted art by Paolo Rivera, letters by Cory Petit

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 320: Presenting the inconsistently colored fingers of Nova, the Human Rocket!



Panels from Nova (1999 series) #3 (July 1999), script by Erik Larsen, pencils by Joe Bennett, inks by Armando Durruthy, colors by Steve Oliff, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Monday, November 14, 2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 319: Uomo ragno, uomo ragno, egli fa tutto ciò che un ragno può

Now, a Spider-Man story I bet most of you have never read! Here's panels from Spider-Man: Il Segreto Del Vetro (Secret of the Glass), an original Spider-Man story created and published in Italy. JJJ sends Peter to Venice where he finds mystery, intrigue, monsters, canals, and ravioli!


Panels from Spider-Man:Secret of the Glass [Il Segreto Del Vetro] (a.k.a. Special Events #42) one-shot (Panini, January 2004), script by Tito Faraci, art by Giorgio Cavazzano, English translation by Laurence Belingard

You can read more about Il Segreto Del Vetro at Spiderfan.org and Matthew Craig's website, but the only English edition in print is in the UK-published collection Marvel Europa. It's worth lookin' out for! Capisce?



ITALIAN SPIDER-MAN!


Sunday, November 13, 2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 318: Betty vs. Veronica Jonah


Panels from Ultimate Comics [All-New] Spider-Man #6 (March 2012), script by Brian Michael Bendis, pencils and inks by Chris Samnee, colors by Justin Ponsor, letters by Cory Petit