Tuesday
Morning
This
and
That --

Hmmm, what's this? I'll tell you tomorrow!

But for today --

A big hello to my daughter Maia Rose, and news from two other daughters of comics folks whose work you may know and love, and who are now out there making their own marks in the world -- on paper and via music -- and who both have a Northampton connection, amazingly enough, though those respective Northamptons are divided by the vast Atlantic Ocean and some acreage.

First, ladies and gentlemen, Leah Moore and her zombie-lovin' hubby John Reppion. I first met Leah back when she was a wee lass during my visits to her pop's house in Northampton, England. She and her sis giggled and bounced balloons of the heads of me and my first wife Marlene while we were sleeping. Ah, life.

This just in from Leah and John, Marge's and my friends in the UK who so brightened our trip to Denmark about this time last spring, and who brought me (and CCS) into the Accent UK stable:

Over the last couple of weeks no less than three new Moore & Reppion penned series have hit the shelves and since we wouldn't want you to miss out we thought we'd let you know a little about them.

WITCHBLADE - SHADES IF GRAY #1 arrived in stores on the 28th of March. This Top Cow/Dynamite Entertainment crossover is set back in the 1990's and features the mysterious Dorian Gray.

RAISE THE DEAD #1 came out on the 4th of April. This is our brand new kick arse zombie series for Dynamite.


SAVAGE TALES #1 featuring part one of our micro mini BATTLE FOR ATLANTIS also hit the stands on the 4th. This is our stab at doing a classic adventure/sword and sorcery strip ably assisted by the legendary Pablo
Marcos.

You can see previews of all three series

on our comicspace page

and don't forget to visit

our own site

as well as the message board to keep up with all the latest news and reviews and let others know what you think of the new stuff.

Cheers,

John & Leah

Cheers, indeed! Congrats, Leah and John, and I look forward to the fun reading.

And this just in from red-headed, high-octane Zara Bode, whose group The Sweetback Sisters have some major news for later this month. Who are The Sweetback Sisters? Well, here ya go:

The Sweetback Sisters
"Honky-tonk for the modern-day cowboy and girl!"

Zara Bode-- vocals, guitar
Emily Miller-- vocals,fiddle
Jesse Milnes-- fiddle, fingerstyle guitar
Ross Bellenoit-- electric guitar, lap steel
Joseph "joebass" Dejarnette- upright bass
Stefan Amidon-- drums

Zara I've known since her childhood, when amazing cartoonist pop Mark and amazing mom Molly moved to Northampton, MA amid the vast Tundra experiment (aka 'clusterfuck'), which had the immediate benefit of bringing lots of creative folks together who might not have known one another otherwise.

As I've mentioned before, Stefan Amidon is also a local hero. Stefan heralds from Brattleboro, VT, and is already a fave of our family after years of seeing/hearing he (and his family) perform in the area; I've particularly fond memories of 'Stef & Jef' and their amazing percussion work during Stefan's BUHS high school years.

But enough on that, here's the big news Zara is eager to share:

Hello Everyone!

A truly amazing beam of good fortune has hit upon my band The Sweetback Sisters!!! A month or so ago on a whim Emily and I entered a few of our recordings to a contest entitled "Talented Twenty-Somethings" held by NPR and the Prairie Home Companion gang. We figured it couldn't hurt to start spreading the word, but boy did we never expect to make the cut! Just this afternoon Emmy got the call, and they're flying us out and putting us up for the show/competition two weekends from now (April 20-21) They have yet to tell us what's at stake, but we're keeping our fingers crossed at something to get us rolling on a full-length album!

For those of you who do not know of Prarie Home Companion, it's an extremely well known radio program now in it's 33rd year I believe. A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show is broadcast from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Each show features a storytelling monologue from Keillor – a report from his fictitious hometown of Lake Wobegon – and the best in American folk music: country, bluegrass, blues, and gospel, and sometimes, and all sorts of guest performers. This is a totally outrageous surprise, and an incredible opportunity for a band as new to the scene as us.

So here's the glorious catch: we still need your help & participation! As you know in this American Idol generation everything is a competition, so we'll be running against a few other groups for the title (I don't know who yet!,) but we'll most likely need your call-in support the day of the radio broadcast April 21st.

Thank you already for taking the time to read this announcement, and for all your support. When I have any more information I will surely pass it along to all of you, and of course I'll send out another email when the BIG date approaches!

So so so much love,

Zara
and those wild-ones The Sweetback Sisters

So, there ya go. Maia Rose has heard 'em live, and she says Zara, Stefan and their band are "awesome," and I'm eager to hear them on A Prairie Home Companion myself (I've been tuning in to that show since my first Vermont drawing studio, way back in Grafton, VT in the summer of 1979). Be ready to call in your support, or at least tune in to hear Zara and her Sweetback Sisters serenade you!

But don't be reactive, be proactive, however passively you're proactive via online resources:

If you're out in Minnesota, here's the details for the live show itself:

WHAT: A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor presents this season's talent contest—for performers in their 20s

WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 2007

WHERE: The Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101. 651.290.1221

TICKETS: Go to

The Prairie Home Companion website

-- for more information, check that site or contact David O'Neill at davido@prairiehome.us

While you're at it, check out the Sweetback Sisters's own website

and their space on myspace.com, where you can hear a bunch of their tunes!

Good luck, Zara, Stefan, Jesse, Ross and 'Joebass,' hope you win it!

Damn, I still can't find Criswell!
Later, gators -- Have a Great Tuesday!