Now that the Story of Rock 'N' Roll Comics documentary has had a successful DVD release courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing, I've been compiling my various Reader articles about the Hillcrest-based comics I used to help produce, for an upcoming …

No more Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics reprint editions from Bluewater Productions, now that the Hillcrest/Miramar-based Revolutionary Comics reprints are mostly sold out - past AND future editions will be all-digital

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/23/42439/ The Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics graphic novel collections I worked on with Bluewater Productions are now pretty much sold out, tho all are available as digital downloads via Amazon and iTunes. There won’t be any new Bluewater reprints or …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/30/36268/ I once got this letter from Charles Manson, addressed to my company Re-Visionary Press, which at the time published Carnal Comics: True Stories of Adult Film Stars. All it contained was the signed index card with the word “POWER” …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/12/33460/ Actress Traci Lords, former underage porn star and B-movie cult icon, was available for an interview, but only during my afternoon shift managing a music shop called Robert's. I gave her publicist the store number for Lords to call. …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/15/26331/ Before I agreed to write the unauthorized biography of Marvel Comics figurehead Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man and the Hulk, I should have thought about the fact that Lee and I would likely come across each other on the …

I was homeless exactly one year, from March 2001 to March 2002. I'd known it was coming, and I even sort of welcomed the impending challenge(s), but I had no idea how long it would last, and how ill-prepared I …

Done late last year for the publishers of San Diego Uptown News, while Bonnie Dumanis and Sheriff Gore were making it a point to brag about not taking campaign contributions, but quietly accepting pay raises -

THE RETURN OF DARK SHADOWS! I've been checking out the original Dark Shadows cast reunions being offered as CD audio dramas by Big Finish Productions. Assuming you're already familiar with the 60s/70s gothic soap opera, here's the Wiki on Big …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzMmrBycX5Y THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN STICKY! Captain Sticky video footage! San Diego's consumer rights superhero of the '70s and his StickyMobile - many remember the TV show Real People profiled the Captain, but this Spanish TV footage is beyond bizarro! …

Here are the final pics from Sunday, followed in reverse order by Saturday thru Thursday ----- see you in 2011! Jawa Youth!  C’mon, man, you just KNOW the dork with the Batman halloween mask crashed this pic without being asked, …

A MOST EXCEPTIONAL DUCK   OFFBEAT AND UNUSUAL, SUCH FRIENDS I'VE HAD MANY,     A LOT OF ODD BIRDS TO BE SURE. PERHAPS THE MOST ODD AND OFFBEAT OF ALL,     AN ABANDONED YOUNG DUCK, BRAND NEW TO THE WORLD.   …

Party Crasher Returns - elsewhere

http://www.sandiego.com/crasher/party-crasher-ombac-s-unjust-dessert Tho the Reader's Crasher column existed before Josh Board wrote it (Daniel Ridge had the gig until late 2003), Josh seems to have taken the column name and format with him to sandiego.com -- meanwhile, the Reader revived its …

 Immersing Deep Into Jazz—and Heroin Captivating tale of addiction and redemption to be featured at this year’s California Library Association Book Exhibit in San Diego November 12-15 From critically acclaimed musician and writer Don Alberts comes an engaging novel about …

Or What I Drink and Where I Drink It

WHAT I DRINK AND WHERE I DRINK IT or Why I Don't Like Hippies What I Drink: Kahlúa White Russian - 2 parts Kahlúa, 1 part vodka, 2 splashes of cream Where I Drink It: Winstons, Ocean Beach    Okay, let’s get …

Five Questions, plus More Free Band Names

FIVE QUESTIONS, FIVE THINGS   I enjoyed the replies to the previous “Get To Know Me” blog, so here’s a followup of sorts, another frequent visitor to my inbox that I finally replied to ----     A) Five places …

When interviewing local musicos, one of my favorite questions to ask is "What's your favorite Twilight Zone?" It's amazing how almost everybody I've ever asked comes right back with an enthusiastic reply. Even if they don't know the episode title, …

MIDNIGHT MOVIES, A LOCAL HISTORY: The '80s Part 1 July 29, 1983, Ken Cinema: First Known “Shadowcast” Fan Participation at a screening of Phantom of the Paradise! The Rocky Horror Picture debuted as a midnight movie at OB’s Strand Theater in …

Following is one of the first articles I ever wrote for the Reader, back in the early '90s ------------------

Get To Know Me (and stop sending those goofy questionnaires)

  GET TO KNOW ME - THERE, I FINALLY FILLED OUT THIS STUPID EMAIL, SO EVERYONE STOP STOP SENDING IT TO ME.............. What time did you get up this morning? 'Bout noon - daylight is overrated Diamonds or pearls? 'Pends what …

We get a lot of emails asking "Where's the Reader's hip-hop coverage?" Hopefully, readers have noticed increased coverage throughout the music section, including Blurt, Lists, Of Note, and Club Crawler. It wasn’t that we avoided hip-hop before – in my case, …