Long time no newsletter, huh? It's been one of those months. Field trips. Recitals. Graduations. I haven't had a weekend without a calendar event since Easter Sunday. The last time we talked, I told you I was going back to my day job the following Monday. It makes sense that I haven't had the time to type out an update since. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's called SUMMER VACATION!
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That’s right! No more carpool lines. No more checking homework. No more waking up early to make sure the kids didn't sleep through their alarms. I like to think I'll use this newfound 'extra' time to make more videos, read more comics or even get back in the gym. But I'm probably just going to sleep. Because let's face it... If you're reading this, I need a nap.

Recent Reads

Because my good friend BunkmastaB can't stop singing its praises, I finally gave another shot to The New Gods #1 by Ram V, Evan Cagle and Jorge Fornes. As noted on The Pull List, DC's New Gods firmly stands in the middle of my ever growing Cosmic Blind Spot. Despite attempting the issue 3 times before, I wasn’t able to make it past page six until this afternoon. I must say, it's pretty good, despite my lack of New Gods understanding. So much so, I read the first 3 issues in today's sitting. Highfather wants a baby dead, King Herod-style. Orion doesn't want to do it. Mister Miracle is recruited to find the baby and evade capture, since that's his superpower and all. But where it really gets good? Mr. Miracle's wife, Big Barda, and their newborn are in tow for the mission.

If you're like me, it'll take you a bit of time to cut through Ram's poetic narration and dense (I hate that word) world-building. But there are some really fun character moments in here, and the series doesn't feel like anything else on the pull list, so I recommend it. At this point, it probably makes more sense to wait for the trade (out August 26th). But thankfully, I have a DC Universe Infinite subscription burning a hole in my iPad. I'll probably keep reading it in 3-issue chunks until all twelve are collected down the line. As I'm still reading, I don't have much to offer in the form of a critique. But maybe my description will do more for your excitement levels than DC's solicit text did for mine.

In Memory of Peter David (1956 - 2025)

I'm typing this on Memorial Day, a holiday in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice -- giving their lives in military service to the United States. If the Comics Industry were a country, Peter David would be the textbook example of a veteran. He had storied runs on titles like The Incredible Hulk, Young Justice and X-Factor. He even wrote the series bible for the early 2000s Teen Titans series on Cartoon Network -- my childhood favorite of the DC Animated Universe.

As a relative newcomer to comics, I haven't yet read many of the works that made Peter David's name legendary. Most of my familiarity with him came from the many rounds of medical issues he endured in his later years, chronicled in a series of updates on a seemingly ever-present GoFundMe campaign. It had become a bit of a meme to lament the billions earned by Comic Book Film Adaptations being juxtaposed with creators resorting to digital panhandling for basic life needs.

If Peter David has to be the posthumous poster-child for the creators rights movement, then I hope some sort of direct action is underway. At the very least, I'd like to think an exclusive contract in the Big Two might guarantee health insurance coverage to these freelancers. Does this mean they go from freelancers to employees? Are these employees then entitled to royalties? Stock options? How do you process health insurance on payroll in a month where no page rates are due? I don’t have the answers, but maybe someone smarter than me can find them. And when they do, maybe they call it the PAD Clause.
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Just my two cents.

BJ KICKS

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​P.S.: Go Knicks!!