Is This Thing On?

Now you know why this is being done via a free blog and not via column-for-hire...

So many projects so little time! I promise I will tie things up this weekend, in fact I sold off my Saturday and Sunday Padre tickets to gain some much needed minutes. They should be able to do without me for a few games, right? I've got faith, even though Bearoid Bonds and his Gints managed to split the opening series.

So what's got me so twisted? well, you might have seen this on the news sites:

Chris Ware, Warren Ellis Garner Most Nominations for 2006 Eisners

The Eisner nomination process ate up a lot more time than I thought, yeesh, and here I thought I was well read! Well it's over now although I miss my compadres Christopher Allen (Comic Book Galaxy), cartoonist/publisher John Gallangher (Buzzboy), editor Nisha Gopalan (Entertainment Weekly) and product manager Robert Randle (Diamond Comic Distributors), who got me through the ordeal.

I did have some personal victories (for lack of a better word since I didn't really have to fight much once the others heard my reasoning).

• Kyle Baker has both his humorous work The Bakers and his reality based work Nat Turner, both self published through Kyle Baker Publishing, represented. He really deseves kudos on both fronts.
• Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius got a nod in Best Publication for a Younger Audience for Marvel (who amazingly neglected to send deserving Brubaker and Bendis material for consideration). Why is this important? One of the most telling problems in the industry is the graying of the fanbase. FRSoaG was a great read, almost as great as Gus Beezer, and I hoped that it's inclusion would send a message to Marvel (and others) that if they continued to put out strong product for younger readers, it would not go unnoticed.
• 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2005 (About Comics) is in for Best Anthology. In just 2 years, teeny tiny publisher About Comics has really put some fun and novelty back into comics. From 24HCBD to the recent Jam War, Nat Gertler has got folks as excited about making comics as they are about reading them in a way no other publisher has. It was extremely important that folks notice and support this work. I wouldn't be suprised to see some of these 24HCBD contributors nominated for future work.

Other than that, Comickaze is rocking!

New fixtures and floor plans will hopefully be finalized (at least this wave) by Free Comic Book Day (Saturday, May 6th, if you didn't know). New POS Software, an extra register for those busy days and DSL or Cable so I can shitcan my dial-up account once and for all and maybe even a new Comickaze logo and store sign will all hopefully be in place before Comic-Con in July.

What me worry? C-ya soon!