Two Recommendations and
One Observation
on a Friday AM

I'm planning a full review for later this weekend or week, but here's a heads up for CCS senior Alexis Frederick-Frost's first self-published graphic novel,

the Xeric-Award winner La Primavera, which is now for sale to one and all here!

A mere $9 brings this beauty cycling home to you, and it's well worth every franc. And believe you me, this is just the beginning of ripe fruit to come from the CCS tree. Kudos to Alexis, and check it out -- now!

And I must let you know about the Trees & Hills and Friends anthology comic just out, which my son Dan and I have a humble two-pager in, and that's all

here for a pittance of $3 plus shipping (and whatever else you choose to buy from the site).

Trees & Hills cofounders Dan Barlow and Colin Tedford are the editors and coordinators of note, coaxing comics from crusty old-timers and neophytes alike, and the comic debuts this week (Colin is off to Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, Oregon, and Dan will have a clutch of 'em to sell at the The Comic Book Show in Nashua, N.H. on Oct. 29). Hence, this announcement!

Trees & Hills and Friends is a fat 60 pages, packed with 19 comics by 22 creators from NH, VT and western MA, namely Megan Baehr, Daniel Barlow, Marek Bennett, Daniel Bissette, Stephen R. Bissette, Bill Couture, Colleen Frakes, Cat Garza, Chris Grotke, Jade Harmon, Tim Hulsizer, Matt Levin, Mark Martin, Keith Moriarty, Kathie Mullen, Blake Parker, Morgan Pielli, Zach Stephens, Bryan Stone, Colin Tedford, Anne Thalheimer, and M.R. Wilson. All that for $3. Such a steal!

Dan Barlow adds, "We'll have more information soon on where in New England to purchase copies soon. And there will soon be exciting news about a Trees & Hills gallary showing in Brattleboro, Vt. too! Plus, we're planning some release parties for the anthology in the three states for November and December." So, keep your eyes open here for more info and links as all this goes down.

As the unceasingly arrogant non-elected Republican architects of the Iraq War tell reality -- uh, critics to "back off!",

the upcoming election looks like it's increasingly about that very war, and its complete mismanagement. Still, it's scary to hear/read how thoughtless most Americans are, and how superficial their perceptions, of all that's gone down since 2001. As I've written here before, we truly deserve whatever happens to us as a country. There's no excuse for complete ignorance and utter indifference to the unprovoked wars, destablization of the Middle East, global disruption, global remilitarization (hell, even Japan is rattling sabers long buried) and new cycles of violence we've (via the Bush administration) willfully fomented.

OK, I'm outta here -- got a full day up in White River Jct. and Woodstock, VT today, and big -- big -- news likely next week relevant to all that...