Ain't It Cool's Ambush Bug totally gets where we're coming from: "Charming is a good word to describe this book.
DUGOUT takes place in a time not seen in many comics, and that’s the type of story AIT/Planet Lar seems to specialize in. In 1960, a down and out baseball manager decides to do the impossible: break an all-star pitcher out of prison. The main character and said down n’ out baseball manager is Cookie Palisetti, and what makes this charming book work is that the author, Adam Beechen, makes him a likable guy. You end up rooting for this poor schlub throughout this entire book, no matter how morally wrong or outrageous the scenarios become. Like I said, you don’t see many books like this on the shelves today. I would say it had a sitcom type feel to it, but nowadays that type of description has a negative connotation. I guess this has one of those good old I LOVE LUCY style scenarios--the type you used to see in fun romps set in that era on the silver screen or on TV.
It’s no surprise to me that AIT/Planet Lar is the publisher making this one happen, since the company has been publishing high quality books that defy categorization from the beginning. DUGOUT reads like one of those old time comedies/tragedies that you might catch on a Sunday afternoon on AMC. Did I mention it’s full of charm and wholly original? Well, it is. This book, and any book offered by AIT/Planet Lar for that matter, is the remedy for Big Two Comics burnout."
+++++
My good pal Rich Starkings snapped this one of me at APE last weekend:
..wearing noted crazyman
Jason Neuman's legendary "fanboy" shirt. Man, I love wearing that thing at cons. Send Neumie an email and tell him to start making these things again. Mine's getting a little old, and I know you want one, too.
+++++
...and even Little Dude got into the act:
"Walker was helping out at the AiT table when he wasn’t napping."
APE was a blast, as usual.
Holmes' Omaha Perez is a great guy to kill a weekend with.
