Tuesday, August 25, 2020

GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS: my foul-mouthed sci-fi rock 'n' roll comedy short story beams into comics shops

Art by Brian Butler
This Wednesday August 26th--TOMORROW!!--the latest issue of the AHOY Comics series Billionaire Island will be on sale at comic book stores across the country. Every AHOY comic book includes bonus prose material, and Billionaire Island # 5 will contain my foul-mouthed sci-fi rock 'n' roll comedy short story "Guitars Vs. Rayguns."



I wrote "Guitars Vs. Rayguns" in 2019, and it was the first of four short stories I sold to the good folks at AHOY. After decades of attempts (and 35 years of nonfiction freelancing), it was my first-ever fiction sale. See, you never forget your first. Two of my subsequent sales--my Western "The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid" and my '30s pulp hero tale "The Copperhead Strikes!"--have already been published, leaving only "The Picture Of Amontillado" in inventory. A fifth story, a 1965-set secret agent adventure called "The Copperhead Affair," awaits word of its fate.



"Guitars Vs. Rayguns" isn't like any of those. It's vulgar, it's funny, it's willfully silly, and it for damned sure loves rock 'n' roll. It casually name-checks cool rockin' pop acts from Chuck Berry, The Kinks, and The Monkees through Prince, The Flashcubes, The Grip Weeds, Pop Co-Op, and The Ramones. It's fast-paced and energetic. If Little Steven's Underground Garage or This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio could be transformed into outer space farces, they would be "Guitars Vs. Rayguns."

If you're interested in reading "Guitars Vs. Rayguns," you can use Comic Shop Locator to find a funnybook retailer near you to seek out and acquire your very own copy of Billionaire Island # 5. I strongly suggest contacting your local comics store to be sure they carry AHOY titles; most stores will order it for you if necessary. 

I hate to complain. No really, I do. But I tell ya, we just wanna play some rock 'n' roll on every distant planet, and a fight's gotta break out at every gig. Every. Single. Gig. Doesn't matter what planet we're playing. It's like space cowboys figure "Battle of the Bands" has to be literal. I've gone through more drummers than Spinal Tap....

Wanna read more? Awright! Get to your local comic book resource on Wednesday, and buy a copy of Billionaire Island # 5. Set your phasers on stun, and set your amp to 11. It's time for "Guitars Vs. Rayguns."



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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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