News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
Incoming: WONDER WOMAN BY GREG RUCKA OMNIBUS - Todd's Blog
Another massive hardcover has arrived that includes Wonder Woman issues I enjoyed lettering such as the graphic novel THE HIKETEIA and some or all of WONDER WOMAN #195-226. Other issues are here as well. 1040 pages, release date is May 27, 2025. Retail price is $125. Check with your comics retailer or Amazon.
Rereading: MR. WILMER by Robert Lawson. - Todd's Blog
Mr. Wilmer is an accountant, a shy man who has lived in a boarding house and worked at the same company for many years without attracting much notice. One day on his way to work, Mr. Wilmer is passing a mounted policeman and seems to hear the horse talking in his head. Thinking he’s mistaken, […]
Incoming: SUICIDE SQUAD BY JOHN OSTRANDER OMNIBUS VOLUME 1 - Todd's Blog
This is quite a large book reprinting issues 1-18 of the series plus many other early appearances of the characters/team members. Written by John Ostrander and others, art by Luke McDonnell and others, 1064 pages. Retail price $125, on sale May 20, 2025. Check with your comics retailer or Amazon. I enjoyed lettering the original […]
Rereading: THE GIANT by William Pène du Bois - Todd's Blog
The author narrates this story as himself, describing how his stay at a Paris hotel leads to a startling discovery. He is on the seventh floor facing an odd featureless building of equal height with one large window opposite his own balcony. One day he looks out and sees the window entirely filled with a […]
My Music: SOMEONE DIFFERENT - Todd's Blog
I wrote, or at least began this song in the spring of 1978 based on the unfinished version from my notebook above. I may have added the additional verses later that year when I recorded it. I was still climbing out of the funk I had been in during the end and aftermath of my […]
Rereading: DONKEY DETECTIVES by Lavinia R. Davis - Todd's Blog
The second of two books by Davis featuring a donkey, my guess is she or someone she knew well had one that their kids enjoyed. Duffy Agnew lives in a hot southern part of America with his family in the small village of Buckstown. He has a habit of getting into mischief and always being […]
Rereading: THE EGYPTIAN BOX by Jane Louise Curry - Todd's Blog
Tee (Letitia) Woodie is not happy about her new life in the American Southwest. She and her family have moved there because an uncle has left them an antique shop, a video store, and a large stone house. Tee’s parents and brother Charles seem fine with it, and are fitting in, but Tee hates the […]
Rereading: THE BOGGART by Susan Cooper - Todd's Blog
The Volnick family of Toronto Canada, father Robert, mother Maggie, son Jessup, and daughter Emily, have inherited a small castle in Scotland from Maggie’s distant relative elderly Mr. MacDevon. Tommy Cameron and his parents live in the small store across the loch from the island where the castle sits, and Tommy often helped out Mr. […]
Incoming: DC FINEST BATMAN and DR. FATE Trade Paperbacks - Todd's Blog
These arrived together, first up is DC FINEST: BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE AND OTHER STORIES, 608 pages, including material from 1987 and 1988. Collects Batman stories from BATMAN 413-422, DETECTIVE COMICS 580-589, plus graphic novels BATMAN: SON OF THE DEMON by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham, and BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE by Alan Moore […]
Rereading: SUMMERLAND by Michael Chabon - Todd's Blog
Ethan Feld lives on small Clam Island in Puget Sound, Washington state, where he’s part of a youth baseball team, and sadly, the team member who everyone including himself feels is the worst player. He wants to quit, but his father loves baseball so much that Ethan hates to do it. Team member Jennifer T. […]
Rereading: ALICE'S ADVENTURES UNDER GROUND by Lewis Carroll - Todd's Blog
The book that became known as “Alice in Wonderland” was first a story told, or at least begun, on an idyllic summer of 1862 boat trip with Reverend Charles Dodgson (Carroll), his friend Robinson Duckworth, and young Alice Liddell and two of her sisters. Carroll was most fond of Alice, and made her the main […]
My Music: THE CHEERING-UP SONG - Todd's Blog
This short song was written on January 14, 1978. By then I had been working in the DC Comics production department for about six months, and loved working there. I was beginning to get freelance work to do at home as well, but not nearly as much as I would have in a few years. […]
Incoming: KINGDOM COME DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION - Todd's Blog
This is a smaller (5.5 by 8.5 inches) trade paperback edition of the 1996 miniseries I lettered with fine writing by Mark Waid and excellent painted art by Alex Ross. The reproduction is not as good as either the original comics or earlier full-size collections, but for $9.99 it’s a good deal, and it’s certainly […]
Rereading: A SPELL IS CAST by Eleanor Cameron - Todd's Blog
This standalone novel from 1964 shows considerable growth and craft in writing for Cameron beyond her “Mushroom Planet” series, the beginning of more subtle work by her. The illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush are excellent. Cory lives in New York City with Stephanie, though they’re not related. Cory was the infant daughter of Stephanie’s […]
My Music: GROWN - Todd's Blog
This song was written in May 1977, and it’s about career choices. At the time I was working two jobs to pay the bills, and in my spare time doing illustrations for science fiction and fantasy fanzines. Here I am, pensive, with one of those illustrations, this time for a book of Lovecraftian humor that […]
THE MUSIC FROM BEHIND THE MOON by James Branch Cabell - Todd's Blog
The fifth book in the “Biography of Manuel” is a short one, 54 pages, eight of which are full-page wood engravings by Leon Underwood. Though not stated in this book, one of the two main characters, the beautiful maiden Etarre, is the daughter of Manuel. The story is of a musician and poet, Madoc, who […]
Rereading: THE TIN WOODMAN OF OZ by L. Frank Baum - Todd's Blog
In his twelfth Oz book, Baum delves into the past history of the Tin Woodman, and even Oz itself, briefly, a tale that has fresh elements as well as familiar ones. The Tin Woodman and his best friend The Scarecrow are enjoying time together in the Woodman’s palace in the Winkie country when a boy […]
My Music: TIME WAS - Todd's Blog
This song was begun in the early 1970s, in my notebook I have 1971 with a question mark as the date, so I wasn’t sure. After the title it said (incomplete), but that’s crossed out because below this I added a second verse in January 1977. The song is complex in chord structure and rhyme […]
Rereading: THE THIRTEENTH ADVENTURE by M. E. Atkinson - Todd's Blog
The second to last adventure of the Lockett family and friends continues on from the end of the previous book: “The House on the Moor.” But just when it seemed Oliver, Jane, and Bill Lockett might be able to enjoy the return of their parents from India for an extended stay, Oliver comes down with […]
Rereading: THE BLACK STALLION'S COURAGE by Walter Farley - Todd's Blog
Growing up, I loved animals and was fascinated by horses and the idea of riding, though the only chances I had for that were occasional pony rides at a fair or party. Likewise, I knew nothing about horse racing other than what I read in Walter Farley’s books, I didn’t attend any actual races until […]
Rereading: McWHINNEY'S JAUNT by Robert Lawson - Todd's Blog
This short book by one of America’s finest writer/illustrators is great fun. Professor McWhinney, needing to fill his bicycle tires, accidentally invents a gas that makes his bike lighter than air. When he sits on it, he can not only travel quickly, but through the air itself. His wife is busy with her hobbies, so […]
My Music: ABOUT JOHN - Todd's Blog
In August, 1976 I went back to Kansas City for the first time since 1972. The main reason was to attend the World Science Fiction Convention there and to see one of my favorite authors, the guest of honor, Robert Heinlein. I accomplished that, and it was wonderful, but I also wanted to spend time […]
Rereading: THE SECRET OF DONKEY ISLAND by Lavinia R. Davis - Todd's Blog
My favorite books by Davis are about horses, this one features a donkey, and as always her handling of animals is excellent. Jamie Bassett lives with his family on the shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and enjoys visiting small Lion Island just across the bay from his home, which he reaches by rowboat. One day […]
Rereading: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon - Todd's Blog
I bought and read this when It came out in paperback in 2001. At 640 pages, it’s a commitment to read, but well worth it in my opinion. Joseph Kavalier grows up in pre-war Prague in a Jewish family to parents with good jobs, so he can indulge his interest in magic and escape tricks […]
Rereading: THE BLACK CANARY by Jane Louse Curry - Todd's Blog
This 2005 novel by Curry takes the “boy in London goes back in time” familiar theme in a somewhat different direction. Twelve-year-old American James Parrett is staying in London with his parents. His mother is a singer who is working with a small ensemble on a tour of Britain and Europe, his father is doing […]
My Music: DREAMSONG - Todd's Blog
I’ve always had interesting dreams, though I’m sure I remember only small bits and pieces. Often they’re in color. Common themes are “back in high school, haven’t studied,” “back where I used to live many years ago,” “working in New York,” “traveling in other countries,” “at a convention,” “with family and friends long gone,” and […]
Rereading: TO THE GREEN MOUNTAINS by Eleanor Cameron - Todd's Blog
Published in 1975, this is one of Cameron’s best and most thoughtful books in my opinion. Kath Rule and her mother Elizabeth live in one room in a hotel in a small Ohio town, Elizabeth is the hotel manager. The time period is World War One, but that doesn’t enter the story much. What does […]
Rereading: DOMNEI by James Branch Cabell - Todd's Blog
I don’t have a hardcover of this book, so I reread the 1972 Ballantine paperback. (Also in this book is the shorter work “The Music From Behind the Moon” which I will read and review separately.) Domnei is a word I was not familiar with, but Wikipedia helped. It’s part of the code of medieval […]
Incoming: PUNK ROCK JESUS New Printing - Todd's Blog
A new edition of this trade paperback reprinting the 2012 six-issue mini-series by Sean Murphy has arrived. The back cover states there are ten new story pages. I lettered the book, and was not asked to do any new lettering, and looking through I think the new pages are all silent except for sound effects. […]
Rereading: THE HOUSE THAT GREW by L. M. Boston - Todd's Blog
This 1969 picture book for young readers must be Boston’s shortest book at 28 pages, half of them full page woodcut illustrations by Caroline Hemming, but as usual her creative skill and magical imagination makes it seem longer. Twin sisters, young Mickey and Mouse (those names are the one misstep in the book I think) […]
My Music: CIVILIZED SOLUTION - Todd's Blog
After Franceen and I split, though I was working hard at two jobs, my peace of mind gradually returned, and I began enjoying life more again. One thing I did was spend time working on art for comics and science fiction/fantasy fanzines, and I was able to get published in quite a few. Another fun […]
Rereading: THE LAST UNICORN by Peter S. Beagle - Todd's Blog
This is the edition that I read first, after buying it in 1969. What I actually read recently was the reprint below: A 1978 hardcover reprinting two Beagle novels and two short stories. I already reread and reviewed the other novel, A Fine And Private Place. I will cover the two short stories at the […]
Rereading: THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ by L. Frank Baum - Todd's Blog
The eleventh Oz book by Baum begins with the disappearance of Ozma, ruler of Oz. It’s soon found that all the magical devices in the kingdom, including the Magic Picture, the Wizard’s tools, and those of Glinda, as well as her Magic Book have also disappeared. Someone has stolen the magic of Oz, leaving no […]
Rereading: THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR by M. E. Atkinson - Todd's Blog
The twelfth book in Atkinson’s Lockett family adventures gets back to the core group of the three Lockett children: Oliver, Jane, and Bill, and their artistic and somewhat hands-off Aunt Lavinia, with good results. An old house in Dartmoor has come to the Lockett family through the death of an elderly relative, and the Lockett […]
Incoming: ABSOLUTE PROMETHEA BOOK 1 2025 Reissue - Todd's Blog
A new printing of this large, beautiful boxed hardcover has arrived here. It seems the same except for the replacement of the America’s Best Comics logos with DC ones. It’s the best edition of Promethea. Suggested retail price is $100, check your comics retailer or Amazon for details, release date is March 25, 2025.
Rereading: THE ISLAND STALLION RACES by Walter Farley - Todd's Blog
The third book in Farley’s series about teenager Steve Duncan and his secret hidden valley and wild red stallion Flame takes what was already hard to believe and doubles down with a science fiction plot. On his way to the island for the summer, Steve had seen signs for a big international race for top […]
My Music: THE BICENTENNIAL RAG - Todd's Blog
I wrote this some time in 1976, probably influenced by the satirical comedy songs of Tom Lehrer. At the time it was the 200th anniversary of The United States, the Bicentennial, and the amount of hype and hoopla around that was incredible. I found it funny, hence the song. The Bicentennial Rag. This was, of […]
And Then I Read: THE BOOKSHOP by Evan Friss - Todd's Blog
This was a Christmas gift from a friend and fellow bibliophile. I don’t often read non-fiction, but it kept me interested and entertained throughout. Starting with Benjamin Franklin, who also sold books in his print shop, and running to Amazon and beyond, the stories are varied and surprising at times. I particularly liked the ones […]
MR. TWIGG'S MISTAKE by Robert Lawson - Todd's Blog
Mr. Twigg works in a factory that makes Bities breakfast cereal, which is mostly made of peanut shells, corn silk, and coffee grounds. It does have one unique ingredient they call Vitamin X, which the company says promotes growth and health. One day Mr. Twigg makes a mistake when mixing the ingredients, and all the […]