Sad. sad.

Overheard in the Kroger's parking lot, near the undisclosed location in Ohio:Mom and son, loading groceries in their car. He's maybe fourteen, in the middle of his growth spurt.Mom: Did you finish your Spider-man book?Son: Nah, there's too many big words.

Getting squirrely.

Steve here. I'm still in Ohio. There was a bit of excitement today when I sprinted across a lawn to put myself between a reckless toddler and a hot barbeque. As a reward for my heroism, an albino squirrel was revealed unto me.I'm in Ohio. I'll take what I can get.Speaking of squirrels, I just made my very first post to Scans Daily, and it's, well, sort of squirrel-centric. My god, two

How did THAT happen?

That X-men First Class Special continues to get more notice. They've interviewed Colleen Coover about it over at The Pulse. And reviewers and message boards continue to talk about it:Pop Culture Shock|Fanboy Planet|Toonzone|The other Silver Bullet. We're all really glad to see this. Editor Mark Paniccia took a risk letting an unabashedly funny cartoonist like Colleen work her magic on the X-men.

Parker and Coover break the internet, save Marvel.

For the past couple months, we've been pacing impatiently around the studio waiting for Jeff Parker's X-Men First Class Special to come out. Of course everyone was thrilled to see the Kevin Nowlan pages as they came in, and the Nick Dragoda/ Mike Allred story was a hoot, but what really had us shaking was this: "Will the Colleen Coover pages make the internet's collective head explode?" How can I

It gets cold up there, too.

The set visit went great and I'm not going to share any information, but I'm VERY, VERY happy with everything I saw. The weather in Montreal was foul, but that aside, I spent the visit wearing expressions that alternated between a big goofy grin and awestruck wonder at how cool it all was.Steve

More good press for Wire Mothers

"This nonfiction graphic novel retelling psychologist Harry Harlow's famous experiments is as disturbing as it is excellent."Jim Ottaviani and Dylan Meconis' Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love has landed another great review. This one's at Publisher's Weekly.And hey, Comics Worth Reading likes it, too.Also, re:the Bookslut review linked below, I'm told that Dylan Meconis is a "she

The artwork is realistic and compelling -- it’s hard to look at the young monkeys without feeling more than a heavy dose of compassion and pity. Artist Dylan Meconis has hit just the right mark here, and adds to the story while still making it about the real people he depicts and not his interpretation of who they were.Bookslut reviews Jim Ottaviani and Dylan Meconis' Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow

Correcting Brad Meltzer and Colleen Long at the A.P.

In this Associated Press article, Colleen Long credits Brad Meltzer's Book of Fate as being the first novel to also include a comic- a section of a Justice League story he'd written."Meltzer and his publishers also put excerpts of "Justice League" into the paperback edition of "Book of Fate," the first time a comic book has appeared in a novel, he says."It's horribly, appallingly nerdy of me to

Portlanders say the darndest things.

Overheard at MLK and Broadway:"So they had the cabernet and the merlot. I didn't try the cabernet because, you know, life's too short."Missed this, somehow: a great review of Colleen Coover's Banana Sunday. Just to my right, Ron Randall is sighing, unhappy because I reminded him of the song "Hooked on a Feeling." He's leaning over towards his itunes and I suspect he's going to put on some Bob

The comics aren't free anymore.

None of us remembered to bring a camera to FCBD. Fortunately, Aaron Albert of About.com has put up a cool gallery of photos of the day. Here's one:Two Reviews of the FCBD edition of WHITEOUT. Douglas Wolk surveyed the entire slate of titles for Salon. And this one is easily my most favoritest review ever, EVER: Blogger Laura Hudson's momAnd don't miss this interview with Parker, or more

Tender principles.

He took the stuff he was comfortable with, the scientific process, and turned it like a firehose onto the subject of love. The results are fittingly powerful and contradictory -- a set of horrendously chilling experiments which incontrovertibly demonstrated one of the most tender principles of human life.Tom Spurgeon talks with Jim Ottaviani, Dylan Meconis and Janine Johnston.Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day at Cosmic Monkey

Free Comic Book Day: Cosmic MonkeyIf you’re around the Portland, Oregon area, visit us at the new Cosmic Monkey Comics on Sandy Blvd. in East Hollywood from 12 to 3, today!Matt Wagner - Grendel, Mage, Batman & The Monster MenDavid Hahn - Private Beach, Bite Club, Spider-man Loves Mary JaneJeff Parker - The Interman, Agents of Atlas, X-Men First ClassSteve Lieber - Civil War:Frontline, Gotham