Shameless Friend Promotion: Jim O @ ComicCon

Pal Jim Ottaviani sends along the following:

Hello all,

I will be a guest of the Comic-Con this year, which is a wonderful honor. That means that I won't be in the Independent Publishers area (where I've been for the last 8 years or so). Please do visit me in this year's special location:

Artist's Alley, AA-13

I'm also on two panels this time around, the first of which is sure to be interesting!

Saturday, 4:30-5:30, Room 4
The Story of an Image

Here's Tom Spurgeon's summary of this: "Killer guest list including [Kim] Deitch and [Jim] Woodring. Also, you can ask Jim Ottaviani, 'Why are you up there with the rest of those giants, Jim?' And he'll totally agree with you." (It's true -- Tom and I had that conversation in Charlotte. I'm baffled and flattered and expect to learn a lot from my betters!)

Sunday, 10:30-11:30, Room 3
Spotlight on Jim Ottaviani

Just as it says. We'll talk about some things I want to talk about, and then talk about some things you want to talk about!

That's it. Safe travels to all who will be at the show -- I look forward to seeing you there. As always, I'll have books to sell, including a limited edition hard cover of the Charles R. Knight autobiography, posters to give away, and a smile on my face and a song in my heart...or something like that.

Special bonus, to those who got this far: If you have a friend who wants to attend the show on Saturday but didn't pre-register, find me before closing time on Friday and I can help you out. First come, first served!

Finally, and as always, if you'd like me to remove you from this list, please reply and I'll take your email address off right away.

Thanks!

Jim

Pale Backs

Today's Bizarro cartoon is dedicated to the patriotic men and women of the American Northern Border Patrol. "If it looks like a Canuck and walks like a Canuck, we shoot at it."

Before any literal-minded readers' wigs start smoking, let me say I do NOT advocate shooting Canadians. Unless they are trying to sneak over the border, then they are fair game.

As the army of misinformation drones on Fox News tell us daily, illegal immigration is the biggest problem our country faces. They are behind the high price of gas, the sinking dollar, our faltering infrastructure, and the war in Iraq. It's not US, it's THEM. Any fool can see that.

But wait, the border between Canada and the U.S. is the longest unguarded border in the world. No fence, no barricades, no machine guns or howitzers pointed at Toronto. What gives?

That is a rhetorical question, of course. The last thing I want is for the U.S. to shut off the flow of illegal immigrants from Canada. My housekeeper and yard people are illegal Canadians, they work for peanuts and I don't have to pay their social security. Also, Canadian food is my absolute favorite. What would I do without my weekly moose tacos and Montreal Margarita? I contend that Canadians are hard working and gladly filling jobs that Americans feel are beneath them. So what if they talk funny? Who cares if they smell like maple syrup and think hockey is more important than football? I fail to see how they are eroding the fabric of our nation.

It's amazing what a little pale skin can do to alleviate a national security threat.