Who feels like going nowhere is giving up



I have seen (and approved) the proofs of the new book! I'm really happy with how it turned out on paper, especially the cover. I don't really have anything substantial to say about the subject, but I'm excited, so you're hearing about it anyway!



For the record, I try to avoid making even the slightest comment about the comic's mysteries and upcoming plot. Whenever someone proposes a specific theory and asks me if it is true, I always respond by saying, "or IS IT?" Every time. Sometimes even multiple times to the same person, in the same conversation! I'm obnoxious that way.



So, keep this in mind if you are planning to email me and ask me a bunch of questions that can only be answered with spoilers! Now you can't say I didn't warn you.



Or CAN YOU?



Sam Logan

I'm the lucky one, I'm getting out of here



I'm kind of bummed out about the new Less Than Jake album. I don't want to be another cranky third-wave ska fan crying "where are the horns", but geeze guys, where are the horns? Only on four tracks? What did your poor horn players do during the rest of the recording? Knit?



Now, I wouldn't mind if the horn-free songs were as solid as they were on their last album. Even though Anthem took a pretty big step towards pop-punk, I really enjoyed it. Songs like "Screws Fall Out" and "Escape From the A-Bomb House" embraced a more straight-ahead rock sound, but they still had a unique edge to them. They didn't all sound the same. And they didn't dominate the entire album!



But on the new album, the rock songs aren't much more than a grab bag of mall-punk cliches. And the ska songs -- the only songs that aren't painful to listen to this time around -- are relegated to less than a third of the disc. Add in a bad case of "the singles" -- that horrible disease where one or two painfully poppy radio-friendly songs are jammed into the tracklist and stick out like sore thumbs -- and you've got a pretty disappointing record. Bummer!



Sam Logan

News and tributes



Congratulations to Monica Freedle, the lucky pre-orderer who will be recieving the original cover artwork for the new book. And a huge thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered thus far. You have put a massive dent in the immediately upcoming printing bill, and I sincerely appreciate it.



Platinum Grit is a wonderful comic that you can read right here, on the internet. I believe it originally began as a print publication in Australia, but they've done a pretty good job of transplanting it onto a webpage. Don't let the browser plugin requirement deter you from checking it out. The story is a sort of romance/sci-fi epic mixed with Python-esque absurdity. And the artwork is a gorgeous. (Kind of like a rounder, less angular take on Jamie Hewlett.)



Sam Logan