Highland Highlights, Pt. 2: Books

On the way to Scotland I only packed one printed book (David Bishop's Thrill Power Overload, a history of 2000 A.D. Comics) and my Kindle, loaded with all kinds of bootleg noir/hardboiled stuff. Of course, I made up for it on the way back, lugging home the titles you see above.

Some were gifts; the rest purchases. They fell into a few loose categories:

Books by Friends: This includes Slammer by Allan Guthrie (signed, of course); The Good Son by Russel McLean (forgot to ask Russel to sign it, which sucks), Gutted, by Tony Black (also forgot to bring it to get signed when we met up with Tony... shit!); Flesh House by Stuart MacBride; and In the Dark and Death Message by Mark Billingham.

Books I Already Own: This would be the volumes of Clive Barker's Books of Blood, which I own in hardcover, Pocket paperback, Berkley paperback, and a few scattered Sphere editions. But I saw these and just had to pick them up, because a.) they're in a newish Sphere edition, b.) I've been wanting to re-read these stories, and c.) I tend to re-read books only if I can re-read them in another edition. I know, it's weird. I also already own Stephen King's Just After Sunset, but I wanted an excuse to buy a UK "airport edition," which is basically an oversized paperback version of a current hardcover bestseller. I kicked myself for not picking up an airport edition of Duma Key last year; this was me making up for that. Yes, my book nerdery knows no bounds.

Books That Were Gifts From Allan Guthrie: Namely, Robert Westerby's Wide Boys Never Work (part of Guthrie's plan to school me in Brit noir) and Ryu Murakami's Audition, which looks short, brutal and fantastic. (I'm a big fan of Murakami's In the Miso Soup).

Books Written by David Peace: I recently read the Black Lizard edition of Peace's 1974 (the first Red Riding Quartet book) and liked it a lot; I couldn't resist the Serpent's Tail tie-ins of the rest of the series. Probably going to regret not picking up the first, just so I have a complete set. Crap.

Books That Were Impulse Buys: Iain M. Banks's Matter, purchased because I had a sudden fit of wanting to read some science fiction. Particularly, Scottish science fiction. (Or is that SyFy?) I also picked up Conrad Williams' One at the Edinburgh Airport because a.) the synopsis on the back grabbed me, and b.) I've been meaning to read Williams for a while now. The first 50 pages, read on the plane home, were kick-ass, and made me order two earlier Williams novels (The Unblemished and Head Injuries) the moment my home computer was fired up.

I mean, isn't this the reason we travel? To acquire more books?

RoboScot

"Get the fuck oan or fuck off and die ya foostie auld cunt." (Translation: "Dead or alive, you're coming with me.")

Mortal Wounds, War and Werewolves

If you've been waiting for an opportunity to jump on Immortal Iron Fist, here it is. My first arc, "The Mortal Iron Fist," is now out in hardcover at comic shops near you, as well as Amazon.com. This includes the first four issues of my run with Travel Foreman and Russ Heath (#17-20), as well as the done-in-one "Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California" (with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli). I'm proud of the whole damn thing, but especially "Death Queen," which was inspired by my trips to L.A. last summer.

And out this week is Cable #13, which is the second installment of the X-Force/Cable crossover series, "Messiah War." You can check out some preview pages over at CBR.com. God, do I love Ariel Olivetti's version of a future, gnarly Deadpool...

Also out this Wednesday: the final installment of Dead of Night: Werewolf By Night. You'll find some preview pages right here. Mico Suayan's art is amazingly freaky and nightmarish in that Creepy/Eerie/Psycho sort of way. Snap it up now; the trade paperback won't be out until late summer.

The World's End

The Royal Mile near St. Mary's Street, which is the former location of the "Flooden Wall" that marked where the world ended and Edinburgh began. (Snapped by the Bride; click on the photo for a better view.)

Highland Highlights, Pt. 1: Food and Drink

Number of Polish delis and restaurants in Edinburgh: too many to count. And it was strange to be on a Lothian 26 bus and hear a pair of women chattering away in front of me, only to realize that they were chattering away in Polish. I can't speak Polish, but my grandfather can. I kept wishing he were there with us to translate. And to see places like "Poliski Smak" (on Leith Walk) in the photo above.

Best thing I ate: Oat cakes. Seriously love them. The Bride thought they tasted like wallpaper, but I could have eaten them the entire trip.

Most disgusting thing I (almost) ate: a deep-fried hamburger. Imagine a pale pink meat patty, barely grilled, then dipped into this corn-dog like batter and then served up with thick, starchy chips (fries) heavy enough to use in sandbags. Two bites and I was done.

Best drink: Balvenie single malt scotch, with a splash of water. Don't give me shit about the water, okay? It's how I like it.

Worst drink: Irn-Bru. Made from girders, my ass. Tastes like it's made from the bastard child of orange Flintstones chewable vitamins and strained Gatorade.

Favorite fish and chips: Not saying I sampled them all, but I really enjoyed the fried Haddock over at the Blue Bean Coffeehouse in Portobello.

Favorite pub food: The hummus and pita at Milne's on Rose Street. Paired nicely with a Guinness.

Best pizza: Mama's, over in Grassmarket. We had it plain, but they'll also slap on stuff like chocolate and marshmallow, if you're the kind of person who likes to defile perfectly good pizza before consuming it.

Favorite bar: Tie between Espy's in Portobello and the Oxford over in New Town. Espy's had these great oversized couches, excellent burgers (note: NOT deep-fried) and a good selection of beer. The Oxford was fun because it was a throwback old man bar, and okay, I admit it: I was curious to check it out after hearing about it for so long in Ian Rankin novels.

Favorite candy (children's division): You know how crack addicts really like crack? That's how my kids felt about the Whipsa bar from Cadbury. Say the word "whispa" to them now is like saying "whiskey and whores" to sailors.

Favorite candy (adult division): I grew fond of the disgestive biscuits that were coated in chocolate on one side. Can't remember the brand name. The only way to improve this snack: replace the biscuit part with OAT CAKES.

Best display window horror lunch: Oink on Victoria Street in Old Town, which displays the warm, pungent remains of that day's special (sorry, Porky) right there in the front window... head still very much attached. My daughter cried; I thought the pig's sweet, tender flesh was delicious.

Favorite crisps: Walkers cheese and onion. But I'm sad that I wasn't able to sample some of the more exotic varieties advertised, such as Turkey and Stuffing, Prawn Cocktail and Lamb and Mint. And considering the large number of Poles in the area, shouldn't Walkers offer a Smoked Kielbasa crisp?

Fear and Lothian: The Return to Scotland

Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been scrambling to hit my deadlines to make sure the decks were clear for a return trip to Edinburgh... this time, with the Bride and Brood. (Last year I flew solo.) We leave today.

This isn't a work trip; it's a proper vacation, a sorely-needed chance to recharge my batteries after many months of non-stop work. Besides, a writer can't live in his/her basement. You have to go out and experience the world to have something to write about. (I'm dying to write a horror novel set in Edinburgh one of these days. Which I may or may not call MacCannibal.)

We'll be staying in close proximity to Allan Guthrie, whose new novel Slammer is just out in the UK (and will be out here in the US this fall), so you can expect some of his insanity to show up here on the blog. You remember what happened last time, don't you? And the time he lost his memory in Philadelphia?

The two of us will be doing a drop-in stock signing at Waterstones on Princes Street this coming Tuesday afternoon (March 24), so if you're anywhere in the Edinburgh area and want to say "yo" to this Philly boy, come on down.

Okay, so maybe this is kind of a work trip. Writers can't help it; life tends to be one massive research session for the next book/comic/screenplay. And the next one. And the one after that...

(Above photo from my last trip to Edinburgh. Not its best side, but I like it because it reminds me of Philadelphia.)

Backflash #2

Can you guess the author/title of this vintage paperback just from the back cover copy? Leave your guesses in the comments section.

As a bonus hint, here are the first two sentences of the novel... which are just fucking fantastic:

It was almost noon when the guard came in with his jangle of keys. I was sitting on the dirt floor of a vermin-haunted cell telling off-color stories to an Arab arsonist and a Copt dragoman who had attempted to rape an American schoolteacher inside Cheops' pyramid.

Peace, Bullets and Deadlines

Sorry for the lack of posts lately; it's been a crazy week for deadlines. And I do have a new Punisher MAX annotation brewing (for #67)... but in the meantime, how about some sneak preview type-stuff?

Comics Bulletin has the first seven pages of Punisher MAX #68, due out next week.

And CBR has the first seven pages of Immortal Iron Fist #23 (also out next week).

Finally, Timothy Stevens at Marvel.com talked to me about the upcoming Immortal Iron Fist #24, a stand alone story featuring the only (as far as we know) pacifist Fist. And there are some amazing black and white preview pages from this issue's guest artist, Kano. Enjoy. Be back soon.