Toys From My Distant Past

 I had both these guys for a loooooong time when I was a kid. They still might be lurking in a box of my old stuff somewhere. My mom and dad always got me great presents!

 

 

Places I Might Like To Live

This one might be a little desolate even for me. If that's the ocean, it would make me very nervous because it doesn't look like it would take much than an extra high tide to deluge the whole place.

 

 

19th and Sangamon

 

That's the location of the tavern my great-great-grandfather owned on the near southwest side of Chicago, in what was a predominantly Czech neighborhood, during the first half of the 20th century. He himself had immigrated to the United States just a few years earlier from Bohemia (then part of Austria-Hungary.) His name, at least after he came to this country, was Josa (later Joseph) Smrt, which literally translates as "Joe Death". Everyone - family, friends, customers - just called him "Pappy". My dad remembered visiting his great-grandparents and playing in the apartment above the tavern, where they lived.

One time in the late 70s, my great-grandfather J.J. Smrt (Pappy's son, second from the left) drove all of us down there to see where it had been. At that time, it was a pretty rough neighborhood and we were only there long enough for a few of us to jump out of the car and take a quick picture in front of the building. 

This is what it looked like a few years ago on Google. From what I've heard, that neighborhood has made a comeback and is a pretty decent place to live. I hope so.

 

 

    

Yes, They're Giant Robots

  

One of my favorite things is to take walks on dark, cold winter nights. I might feel differently if two giant robots were stalking me. If anyone knows who the artist is, please let me know and I'll give them the credit they so rightfully deserve.

 

Burn at the Man-Thing's Touch!

 

 

Artwork by Mignola. Colors by me.
 

Great Comics of the Recent Past: The Human Target

Without a doubt, this is my favorite comic of the last five years. The writing by Tom King and the art by Greg Smallwood compliment each other perfectly in this extremely stylish, somewhat noir-ish tale involving Christopher Chance and the DeMatteis/Giffen/Maguire Justice League. That may not sound like a gripping story on the surface but, trust me, it's so much better than it sounds. 

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around the evolving relationship between Chance and Ice with each issue spotlighting a different member of the Justice League - some more seriously than others, which gives the series a nice variety.

If you haven't read it, please give it a chance (Get it? "chance/Chance"? No? Oh well...)  I guarantee you'll be glad you did. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gone But Not Forgotten

Dogfish was one of the really great bands of the 80s and early 90s. Formed in the wilds of northern Indiana in 1982, they regularly played to sold-out crowds all across the Midwest. If you ever saw them live, you know their shows were fun and full of energy. Their self-titled debut is still one of the most sought-after, and hard-to-find, items out there.

 

Another Place I Would Like To Live