FROM THE "YOU GOTS A BE SHITTIN' ME" DEPARTMENT...

All the art to TSSTG #12 is finished and now it's a matter of getting the lettering done. I did half the lettering in this book by hand and looking at it now, you can't really read those pages. So I'm going to have to go in there and computer letter the entire book. I'm praying I can get this done in time.

This issue features the wedding of me and the lovely Lily. We took Disneyworld's offer to marry us there for free and, well, this is what happened on that trip.

My main problem, at this point, is, I bought my new mac laptop and THIS one doesn't seem to like Photoshop 7... which means I have to buy the new CS4 version and it might as well be a billion dollars, since I'm low on funds.

Anyhoo... I thought you all might be interested in seeing the cover! Enjoy!

SO MY BROTHER GOT DRUNK OVER THE HOLIDAYS AND SENT ME....

... this.

I gotta admit... he's one sexy beast. I'd bet a thousand bucks he got a little captain in him that night.

Happy New Years bro!!!!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #579...

... is the greatest issue of any comic this year. Really, it's that great.

I'll tell you something. It's no secret what a boner I've had for this character my entire life. There's a reason. He was a character I was instantly drawn to because he had such a great personality to him and the stories took me away, to this awesome place of fun and action.

This is the first book in over twenty years that pulled me back to those exact same emotions and feelings I got from back in those early days. Every page of this book is a time machine for me. Mark Waid's story has everything... the great humor, the put-downs that made me do spit takes and what happens on page 21 is a fucking complete classic. And I mean CLASSIC.

And there's no doubt about it. Marcos Martin is the greatest Spidey artist since the days of Ditko and Romita. His Jonah J. is perfect. Spidey in a ruined costume, page 21... fuck man... it has to be a dream to work with this guy.

Anyhoo... really check this book out. And for guys my age... pour yourself a big bowl of Cocoa Puffs, put on your old baseball cap and enjoy a wonderful comics glow that you haven't felt in years.

Awesome time.

AFTER MUCH THOUGHT, I HAVE DECIDED THAT RICK SANCHEZ OF CNN...

... is the Sarah Palin of television journalism.

He's SO fucking over-the-top in his reactions and his "golly jeeze" personality, that it's impossible to take in anything the man says. Nobody is that naive and I really hope to God it's an act.

The other night, he was talking to someone who worked on Wall Street and he asked if people there did drugs. The guy said "sure we did, we did cocaine, uppers, you name it" to which Sanchez looks stunned, puts his chin on his hand and replies, "COCAINE..? REALLY..??? That is eye-opening."

Quit the "golly gee" act and treat the news with some maturity.

DODGERS BLUE... MY WORLD IS GOLDEN

You have to understand my long-standing hatred for the Los Angeles Dodgers to appreciate how great it was to see them get so close to the Word Series... only to fail. MMMMmmmmMMmm.... it was like homemade cookies in the oven, I tell ya.

I've always been a San Francisco sports fan. Love the Giants, even though they're currently hopeless. Love the Niners, even though they're currently hopeless. Love the Warriors, even though they own the rights to looking hopeless. And when you're a fan of the SF teams, LA is your worst enemy. And if we can't win something... then they DEFINITELY can't win it..

Felt pretty damned good.

But I'll say this. For Los Angles not to have an NFL team is a crime and a farce. Washing and Dallas have their rivalries. So does New York and Boston. You cannot be serious that Seattle-San Francisco is a good rivalry. Or Arizona-San Francisco. Nope. Wont' do. We need LA and we need it soon.

CLOSE, BUT NOT ENOUGH

For anyone worried about Hurricane Omar hitting the island, it was close, but it missed us. We're all safe and life is good.

This means my record of consecutive years we've never had a hurricane with me on the island continues to 11!! That's something else we can celebrate!!

PHOTOS OF MY BIRTHDAY!! I FORGOT TO POST THESE!!

Eh. Better late than never. It was held at our favorite restaurant, Al Dente. This place is like our second kitchen and we so love it.


Sitting down with "Clan Boricua": That's Tony and his wife, Margie sitting next to me. My niece, Tiana, behind them. Gigi, Lily's sister, is on my left, followed by Papi and Mami.


I love holding the camera and taking my own photo. Me and the Princess.


If there's a waitress I love more than Alejandra... I've yet to meet her. She's awesome, gorgeous and a bit bohemian. Gotta love that combination. And she keeps me from drinking more than two cokes at dinner. Seriously. She'll absolutely refuse and bring me a mojito instead. She also makes these outrageously delicious shots that taste exactly like chocolate cake.


Tiana is so outstanding and she doesn't even realize her own level of awesomeness. I can hang with this chick all day and have a great time.



Back in the kitchen with the crew. I so love watching people cook. It's like watching a magician in action and there's so much movement in their actions that they're great to draw. If I wasn't doing this, I'm sure I'd love to be a chef. Chef Mariano is from Argentina, a place world-known for meat and he told me that for my birthday he was going to make me churrassco... a long skirt steak. It was ten levels above delicious.


See that cake? Well, you're right. It was huge. It was solid chocolate. And it was mind-blowing.