A couch. Some friends. A clinkle-tinkling of wineglasses. The sweet soft sensuality of two women speaking.
Music
Nick Cave, Neko Case, Tom Waits, Billy Childish, Trailer Bride, Handsome Family, Mississippi Alligators, Joey Altruda, Pogues, Smugglers, Jill Sobule, Lorette Velvette, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Lucinda Williams, James Kochalka, Ennio Morricone, Los Marauders, Sammy Davis Jr., Split Lip Rayfield, Uncle Tupelo and their bastard spawn, Patsy Cline, the "5,6,7,8's", Workdogs, Dan Melchior, Hazeldine, Raymond Scott....and on, and on
Movies
Boondock Saints, Desperado. Current favorite actor is Tadanobu Asano, especially his work in Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl, and also Ichii the Killer. I'm a fan of Takashi Miike's work....especially Audition. Loved the first movies for Battle Royale and Azumi...but HATED the second parts of both. Wild Zero was a damn fine slice of cheese. Not usually a Tarantino fan, but if I ever ended up behind a camera I'd probably produce something fairly close to the Kill Bill movies.
Can't stand most Hollywood movies, and big name stars like Tom Cruise make me weep for the intelligence level of the common man.
Television
A dullard's mistress.
Books
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the Devil in the White City, most books by Raymond Chandler, Peter Cheyney, or Dashiell Hammett. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books, Empress of the World, by my pal Sara Ryan, lots o' physics books, and neuroscience, and ancient history. Love some of Chuck Palahniuk's books but detest others. Enjoy Sam Lipsyte's work and would like to see more. Asterix and Tin Tin still do the trick. Other enjoyable authors are Will Eisner, Dan Rhodes(except when the dog dies), Joe Sacco, P. G. Wodehouse and Rex Stout.
Heroes
Toulouse-Lautrec Frank Harris Maurice Girodias Oscar Wilde Jack Kirby Machiavelli, Jackie Robinson, Richard Feynman, Nell Kimball, Galileo, Jules and Edmond De Goncourt, The Incredible Hulk, anybody who can walk that edge between insanity and genius, Einstein, Hedy Lamarr, Boudicca, and then...of course...Red, the black labrador I had when I was a kid. A good dog. A fine friend.
Latest major project is the BANANA SUNDAY trade compilation, which you can purchase from here...Powell's Books or here Amazon or at any good comic store.
Here's what Publisher's Weekly had to say about the graphic novel..."This charming paperback collects four issues of Nibot and Coover's delightful comic book series, Banana Sunday. The story introduces Kirby Steinberg, a high school girl with an unusual problem: she lives with the three divine monkeys. Literally. They are the Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil trio, and Kirby is charged with caring for them. Luckily, she makes fast friends with another outsider, a girl reporter named Nickels, and a photographer named Martin. Together, they look after the monkeys, try to keep out of harm's way and even have some fun, too. The story is brisk entertainment, not so dissimilar from Archie comics but with a decidedly hip, contemporary edge. High school, monkeys and romance make an excellent combination."
Currently, I'm working to a be a novelist, doing the whole "shopping for an agent while revising" dance. My finished books are...
C-C-CHIGGER: A novel about a man who was imprisoned by his mother during his youth, and the odd and unweildy immortality that results.
RED ZIPPER SIDEKICK:: A "coming of age" story for humanity as a whole, concerning the lives of Nate and Kevin, with Nate out to prove that he has the fastest gunhand in all creation, surpassing even that of God's.
BANANA SUNDAY NOVELS: These books will be a series for middle readers, concerning two young girls becoming aware of The Boggles, a world just at the corner of their eyes. And there's talking monkeys. While very different in plot, the Banana Sunday novels use some of the same characters as my Banana Sunday comic, for which the compilation was recently released.
Here's a link to one of my short stories, just out in the newest issue of super sweet Spork literary journal.
SPORK STORY
Here's Colleen Coover's illustration for my story. Brilliant, as always.
Currently, I am also working on a novel entitled "When I Win the Lottery I Will Use the Money to Ruin You." My novels often are a bit strange, but this one is turning out particularly bizarre. It is set in the modern day, but stars Oscar Wilde, and on the surface level concerns Oscar and his friends using a series of weekly plays to try to both get over the trauma of a friend's murder, but also to discover who the murderer may have been. Past that, on a deeper level, it is a look on whether today's permissive attitudes towards homosexuality (and sexuality in general) may actually lessen the draw of the actual physical act, as that which is the most forbidden is often that which is therefore the most desired.
For comics, Colleen and I are working on an original graphic novel entitled, "FRECKLED FACE, BONY KNEES, and other things known about Annah." In it, a series of narrators give their opinions about Annah, a woman in her early twenties. Chief among their discussions is Annah's story of having her Penfield Homunculus (a neural section that manages the sense of touch) removed at the age of nine, and subsequently turned into an actual living breathing sister, one that was in control of all feelings and emotions. Perhaps not coincidentally, Annah's parents divorced when she was nine, forever mentally scarring the young Annah.
Here's a look at a page in progress, sans lettering.
I've also had lots of other short stories published, and lots o' comics. If I died today I would be survived by Colleen Coover, my brother Mike, my parents (Chuck and JoAnn) and the myriad ghosts of those who have fallen at my merciless hands.
Yeah, I'm definitely a Sentry fan. I especially like how Jeff's Age of the Sentry covers give the impression that the comics were published decades ago. The word balloons and plot descriptions added give it a fun retro feel. I was reading the Marvel Spotlight: Secret Invasion Aftermath issue recently and Brian Michael Bendis talks at one point about how some fans consider Wolverine to be the last great Marvel character created.
Of course, he disagreed with that point of view mentioning the Sentry, the Hood, and Echo as being worthy of wider recognition. That's how I see it too. I hope Robert Reynolds remains prominent in the Marvel Universe for years to come.
Mr.T seems quite frustrated over the lack of good illustrations of him. I'm sure Mr. Gorey would've had no trouble at all drawing all the layers of gold chains, although drawings might not be quite as exquisite as photos from his A-Team days...
Hi Paul! I'm coming to Portland in May! You should come to the show I'm doing with my friends and Kevin's Haiku Inferno! I'd love to see you and Colleen again.
Frank Harris 
Maurice Girodias 
Oscar Wilde 
Jack Kirby 
Machiavelli, Jackie Robinson, Richard Feynman, Nell Kimball, Galileo, Jules and Edmond De Goncourt, The Incredible Hulk, anybody who can walk that edge between insanity and genius, Einstein, Hedy Lamarr, Boudicca, and then...of course...Red, the black labrador I had when I was a kid. A good dog. A fine friend.
