It's not quite the same as watching them clinch the AL East title (which they've done every year since 1998)... but watching Boston slowly gag on success (let alone, the cross-town Mets whom the papers had all but crowned the new kings of the city before their bullpen and confidence imploded) has been almost as entertaining as watching the Bombers complete the greatest second half surge I've ever seen in baseball (with apologies to 1978).

I never lost faith in this team... in Arod... in Joe Torre... in nothing. Not after about 50 starts by rookie pitchers, a woeful April and a near-catastrophic month of May. This is a very talented, tenacious, hungry and dangerous squad and I say let's light this sumbitch up and get it on already.

This was the scene in Tampa Bay last night:

Incidentally, this was the back page of the Daily News on July 2nd, when the Yanks were about 14 games or so behind the Red Sox:

I've seen a lot of great things from this team in my day. And, granted, if they don't at least get to the World Series (let alone win it), some of the luster on this amazing comeback season will be lost. But I've been entertained and impressed in ways I've never experienced as a Yankee fan, this year. This annual rush to the post-season no longer feels like a somewhat-unlikely but admirable extension of the Joe Torre/Mariano Rivera/Derek Jeter championship years... living on the fumes of yesteryear, reminding us all of what used to be.

No.

With all the rookie talent they've brought up and are continuously developing... with a new Stadium in the works... the All-Star Game in the Bronx next year to say good-bye to the current one... I'd say this team stands on the brink of something new.

Let the haters spew. Your tears taste sweet as ever. The Yankees are back and they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

**Update: Statement from George Steinbrenner

"I'm elated," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "After a tough first half of the season when everyone seemed to lose faith except for our players and our fans, the team has really stepped up and shown themselves to be the champions that they are. ... I really like the mix of veterans and younger players who have contributed to this comeback. It has been exciting to watch them play, coalesce and pull together. The fans and I look forward to the team accomplishing our ultimate goal -- bringing a world championship back to New York."

The greatest video game franchise ever created (and, really, by the widest margin any video game fan can possibly imagine) hits the streets at midnight tonight and I'm fucking jacked.

If you want to play, send me a message. I'd post my Xbox Live Gamertag here but I already get too much goddamn spam for just having email on this site.

Come... let us conquer and enjoy our enemies' lamentations.

If we have business together... pray for us both.

...and we fucking rock this year! Bring it ON!

In addition to fits of blood and political bile spewing from the back of my throat, I thought I'd use this space to add new and old things to this site before they're actually ensconced in a section of their own.

First up is TOYBOX, created by yours truly and once and future X-artist Adam Pollina.

We're currently exploring publishing options for this project that's long been near and dear to us. It's a poignant, dark and socially relevant tale of both lost childhood and childhood's end.

More to come on this soon... for now, enjoy the promo art:

From today's AICN COMICS REVIEWS...

NIGHTMARE FACTORY OGN
Four Short Stories by Thomas Ligotti
Words adapted by: Stuart Moore & Joe Harris
Art by Colleen Doran, Ben Templesmith, Ted McKeever, & Michael Gaydos
Publisher: Fox Atomic
Reviewer: Ambush Bug

Both Vroom Socko and stone's throw have mentioned recently that compilations are a mixed bag. Like music albums, you often find that you like one or two of the songs, but it is hard to have that same level of goodness throughout. Fortunately for me, I found this compilation of four short stories by Thomas Ligotti to be entertaining from start to finish.

Continue reading "Ain't It Cool News Reviews "The Nightmare Factory"" »

A friend sent me this:

Quote of the Day: Ronald Reagan on Dubya

'A moment I've been dreading. George brought his
ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to
find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in
Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time
looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already
almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll
call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if
they'll hire him as a contributing editor or
something. That looks like easy work.'

From the just published REAGAN DIARIES. The entry is
dated May 17, 1986.

I generally HATE comic book movies. Really. With the exception of Christan Bale/Chris Nolan's BATMAN the first two X-MEN films, the first two SUPERMAN movies from back in the day and just about nothing else... I think they tend to suck hard. I cannot hide, for instance, my complete and total disdain for the entire SPIDER-MAN franchise.

Sorry, Spidey doesn't take his mask off for a subway car full of onlookers. No he doesn't, thank you very much.

But holy shit, IRON MAN looks cool!

Check out the new HD trailer at Apple's site!

And who among us DIDN'T imagine the Black Sabbath song playing while Tony rocketed through the stratosphere when we were little boys?

I love the German release of THE TRIPPER DVD. Too damn funny.

Eric Lieb and Heidi MacDonald talk with CRB about putting together THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY graphic novel, illuminating the process of selecting the four short stories we eventually included, the hiring of artists thought to be ideal for each, etc.

Oh, they talk about the writers too.

AICN Comics is having a contest wherein people describe their worst nightmares for a chance to win a copy of THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY graphic novel.

I have been busy. This is me:

THE TRIPPER is about to be released on DVD.

My new graphic novel, THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY was just released by Harper Collins.

I have new comics announcements coming in the near future. New movie projects are taking shape. The Yankees just pulled 3 up in the wild card standings and, goddamnit, Halo 3 is about to be released unto the world.

It was time to get organized.

Continue reading "Welcome to the camp, I guess you all know why we're here..." »