Temblor

The book I re-read on the way out to L.A. was Harlan Ellison's Slippage, a 1996 collection of stories (including "Mephisto in Onyx," which was yesterday's "Opening Shots" selection). The first few lines of the introduction:

Where to open the fissure: the earthquake or the heart attack?

The earthquake. It is officially listed as a 6.8-magnitude temblor by the U.S. Geological Survey's geophysicists at the Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.

The Northridge, California "thruster." It hit at precisely, exactly, 4:31 a.m. on Monday the 17th of January 1994.

I read those lines early, early Sunday morning. I'd picked Slippage because a.) I'd just moved my science fiction bookcase down to the soon-to-be office, and it caught my eye, and b.) I had fond memories of reading it while flying to Las Vegas for our honeymoon back in 1997, and c.) I consider Ellison a California writer, and I try to read California writers while in California.

Today, at about 11:42 a.m., I was sitting in an X-Men idea meeting at the Marvel West offices. I heard a noise. Not a rumbling; not rattling. I'm sitting here, racking my brain trying to find a comparison, but I don't think I've ever heard anything like it. It just sounded... wrong.

And then the room started to shake.

Not vibrate... shake. Back and forth, like we were on an amusement ride. And we continued to shake for what felt like three minutes, but turned out to be only 30 seconds or so. And then it died down.

And then it hit me: I'd just felt a geniune California earthquake.

I wonder where Harlan Ellison was this time around...

Opening Shots: Mefisto In Onyx

Once. I only went to bed with her once. Friends for eleven years--before and since--but it was just one of those things, just one of those crazy flings: the two of us alone on a New Year's Eve, watching rented Marx Brothers videos so we wouldn't have to go out with a bunch of idiots and make noise and pretend we were having a good time when all we'd be doing was getting drunk, whooping like morons, vomiting on slow-moving strangers, and spending more money than we had to waste.

Mefisto In Onyx
by Harlan Ellison
(Mark V. Ziesing, 1994)

The Boy of Summers

Cable #6 is out in a few weeks (August 6), and it's an over-sized issue focusing on Cyclops in the wake of his decision to let Cable take the baby and run. Want to know more/see a few sample pages, by both series regular Ariel Olivetti and guest artist Michael Lacombe? Check out this Q&A over at Marvel.com.

Philly, Houston, Clinton

There's a cool profile of me up at Philadelphia Weekly's website, written by Steven Wells. It makes me seem slightly crazy, which is nice. (I also appreciate that the photo makes me look slightly muscular, instead of mostly fat, as I am in real life.) I had a lot of fun talking to Wells--our interview wasn't a straightforward Q, A, Q, A, repeat until interviewer is bored/has enough to make his deadline-style interview. Our conversation meandered around various topics in a fun, organic way, which is how the most interesting stuff came up.

I've just finalized plans for the last few stops in the Severance Package tour, which has been creeping around the U.S. here and there since May...

On August 9th I'll be flying to Houston and stopping by Bedrock City Comics, signing and hanging out from 1 to 3 p.m. This is entirely thanks to the tireless pimpage of McKenna Jordan and David Thompson of Murder By the Book, and I'm extremely grateful. Then at 4:30 I'll be signing and hanging out at Murder By the Book, which is the highlight of every tour. And not just for the Shiner Bock!

On August 22nd I'll be driving up to Clinton, NJ to join Jason Pinter and Dave White for "Triple Threat Thriller Night" at the Clinton Book Shop. You could also call it the "Tall White Guys from the Tri-State Area Thriller Night," or "Watch the Guys From PA and NY Make Fun of Dave White in His Home State Night."

Angel of the Mourning

Cool project announced at San Diego Comic Con yesterday: Ed Brubaker's Angel of Death, which will be live-action web series kicking off in summer 2009. Zoe Bell (of Death Proof fame) stars as a female assassin who has a head injury, then turns the tables on her various employers. Best of all, it'll be available free, online, in 8 to 10 minute (and presumably gore-soaked) bursts. Can. Not. Wait.

Fists Will Fly

This Wednesday Immortal Iron Fist #17 hits comic shops, and it's my debut on the series, along with artist Travel Foreman. You'll find some preview pages right here at Marvel Noise, along with a really kind preview/review from David Price. Jumping on board this one is a dream come true, especially for a kid who used to dress up like Caine from Kung Fu and try to kick the crap out of his younger brother on a regular basis.

And speaking of superhero types: Canada's Globe and Mail ran a nice short piece about Murder At Wayne Manor: An Interactive Batman Mystery, stressing that it's nowhere near as dark as The Dark Knight. Which proves I have a kinder, gentler side. I think.

Opening Shots: Half the Blood of Brooklyn

I don't like him. I don't like the way he smells. I don't like the way he looks. I don't like his shoes. If I stuck a blade in him and drank the blood that shot out of the open wound, I wouldn't like the way he tastes.

Half the Blood of Brooklyn
by Charlie Huston
(Del Rey, 2007)

("Opening Shots" is a new feature here at Secret Dead Blog where I post the opening line of a particular novel. Check back every Monday for more!)