THE SECOND COMING # 5: My AHOY Comics Debut

Over the course of this year, I have sold a total of four short stories to AHOY Comics. One of them is set to see publication on Wednesday, November 27th, when The Second Coming # 5 hits comic book shops across America. That issue will contain my Western, "The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid," with a gorgeous illustration by artist Ed Catto.



Although I was a freelance writer for more than 20 years, this marks my first published professional fiction. I could not be more thrilled.

Joining "The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid" in this issue are more prose short stories by Carol Lay, Tyrone Finch (with Rick Geary), and Bryce Abood (with Carly Wright), all in support of the fantastic lead comics feature by Mark Russell, Richard Pace, Leonard Kirk, Andy Troy, and Rob Steen. I am absolutely thrilled with Catto's depiction of my character The Copperhead Kid; the illustration reminds me of the work of the great John Severin, and it prompts me to feel a lot more humble than I may usually seem in this space. Plus, I've got this mental image of an editor at AHOY contacting Catto with the assignment, telling him, "I'm callin' on you to DRAW!" Goosebumps. I mean it.

I still have three more stories due to be published by AHOY, "Guitars Vs. Rayguns," "The Picture Of Amontillado," and "The Copperhead Strikes!" I recently submitted another one, and I started writing a new one on Thursday. More to come. Always more to come.

And I owe a lot of it to this blog.

Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) has been a boon for me. Ever since the death of David Bowie compelled me to start this blog on January 18th of 2016, with an ill-advised commitment to posting something every day, I've been revitalized, reborn. I was a writer for a long time, and then I wasn't anymore. I'm a writer again, and I am because this blog forced me to be. I'm grateful for that. Now, I am enjoying writing more than I ever enjoyed it before. I don't think I get to the achievement of writing and selling short stories, nor to trying to write and sell a book, without the experience of maintaining Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). Thank you to everyone at AHOY, and thanks to all of you who follow this blog, who've read my stuff, who've encouraged me along my stumbling path. 

Wanna read my Western? You can find a comics shop near you via Comic Shop Locator, and head to the four-color retailer of your choice on Wednesday. Let's ride, hombres.



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Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying it from Futureman.

(And you can still get our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, on CD from Kool Kat Musik and as a download from Futureman Records.)

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).