Crazy times

This past week and the week to come will be some of the craziest weeks on the books for me personally. Work has picked up massive steam with all the students coming back to Boston (which is great), add to that I'm in the middle of moving to a new place outside of the city (scary for a city boy like me), gotta do a little work to the new place before we can move fully in and school/daycare for the kids is starting up which will wreak all sorts of havoc on scheduling.

So basically I'm letting you know ahead of time that next week's SAM strip is going to be a repeat, I mean a classic. Haven't decided which one yet, maybe you have some suggestions...

Also a quick note to those who ordered artwork/books in the past week or so. It's going to take a little longer than I'd like to get your shipments together. My apologies for the delay but I'll get them out as soon as humanly possible. Thanks.

An Army of One...Jerk

I'll start with the obligatory show of respect for our fighting forces, because, well, they deserve it. Which is why I become especially bothered by people who I've seen first hand act like complete assholes and use their service as an excuse. Although in the back of my head I always wondered if these assholes are the ones who actually fake their military service to try and reap the benefits of having served.

New artwork available for sale!

Just uploaded the past three weeks of Sunday strip artwork that is available for sale. Thanks to everyone who bought pieces. I've got to admit it's still a little hard to let them go. My babies are growing up and leaving home...sniff...but now they belong to the world.

Asian Vampires

I can't believe my local pharmacy is already selling Halloween stuff.

There are bunches of spooky stories out of Asia that can be categorized as vampire stories. It's pretty cool to see how wide the range is when it comes to the origins, characteristics and even vulnerabilities ie. garlic and daylight. Right now we seem to be up to our...necks in vampire culture. Between True Blood, Twilight and the BP oil executives it's vampires 24/7 and personally I'm pretty sick of it. We need more Creature from the Black Lagoon up is this muthascratcha. And I'd love to see Eli Roth take on a Scooby Doo remake or Rob Zombie signed on a gory Addams Family sequel.

Jonathan Lee

This kid rules. 13 years old and he's thinking on a level that many never will. I'm going to keep an eye on this kid.

House Hunting

Anyone out there looking for a new house? The first time around it was pretty exciting because it was JUST a house hunt. Find a place, get financing, move in! This time around it's a little more of a pain in the ass because not only is there a house hunt, but house sale. It's a great time to buy but a shitty time to sell. That being said if anyone is looking for a sweet 2 bedroom condo in Dorchester, MA with 12' ceilings drop me a line!

Original Art Sale!

I made a new page at secretasianman.com where I will be having a sale on original comic strip art. For now there are 7 Sundays available. I will be constantly updating this page so if you don't see anything you like now, please check back often.

Artwork will be signed, shipped flat via Priority Mail, and I will include a color print of the strip as it appeared in print with lettering.

COMMENCE BROWSING!

Happy N.W.A. Day!

Time to date myself. I still remember when rap was just in its infancy, bubbling up in the streets and developments in the South Bronx and Queensbridge. When I was in high school I first heard of this band...this group...this posse of guys called N.W.A. and it blew me away. We were already listening to the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie etc but N.W.A. was something different. It was the first time I was kind of scared of a music group and I was hooked. I wonder what Eazy-E would be doing now if he were still alive. I think he would have been great doing infomercials or something. Maybe a guest judge on Project Runway. Or maybe a sweet "Straight Outta Comcast" ad.

Prop 8 and Gay Marriage

By now you've all probably heard the news about California's Proposition 8 being declared unconstitutional and as a result the ban on gay marriage has been overturned. Sweet! Definitely a step in the right direction.

But throughout the gay marriage debate something has always struck me odd. Many opponents of gay marriage are against it for religious reasons quoting biblical passages like "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." The way I see it, religions should be free to preach whatever the hell they want. If it turns people away let them feel the effects of a shrinking congregation. Let them surround themselves with people who can only think exactly the same as everyone else in the religion. I think if a church refuses to perform a marriage between two homosexuals then that's the church's problem and I'm sure that couple can find a church that would be delighted to marry them.

On the flip side I understand that many gay people who happen to belong to a religion that doesn't look favorably upon their lifestyle feel compelled to change the ways of that church in order to open the hearts and minds of its followers.

In terms of the cut and dry legalities of gay marriage, I don't even know why this is a debate. Of course gays should be able to be legally married. And when I hear the ridiculous argument of "What's next? People marrying animals?" I say sure why not. Go marry that horse of yours. Have a great honeymoon with your cat. But if you're going bring your animal into the realm of human law it better follow all of them. You'd better be prepared to pay Rover's back taxes if he doesn't pay them on time and if he doesn't have his papers from the vet his ass is getting deported to wherever his breed came from. Look out chihuahuas, you're getting specie-ally profiled!

So to all the gay Americans out there, congratulations on this major victory! But be prepared for more battles as there is sure to be bumps down the road. The good news is every day there are more and more people behind you to help fight the good fight.

Black Comix

Worth noting, a have a few friends who are included in this new 176 page casebound monster called Black Comix: African American Independent Comics, Art and Culture. It features the talents of Larry Stroman, Rob Stull, Eric Battle, Dawud Anyabwile and dozens more plus a forward by Keith Knight. Get more details and then grab yourself a copy.