Footloose and Fancy Free
Plus: KAPTARA!!!
After several years of being a well-regarded forest recluse, I ventured out with my wife on New Years Eve and attended the community hall dance here on our little island.
It’s the social event of the season, and I wanted everyone to know that I’m the island’s Kevin Bacon. So I danced, dear reader. I danced and, yes, gyrated, and gave everyone the gift of my wild moves. And, in turn, I received a gift as well: Covid.
Reverend Moore from FOOTLOOSE was right. Dancing is evil.
And before any of you nasally slut-shame me, yes, I wore a mask while dancing. But no mask could stand in the way of my heavy breathing as an out-of-shape 47-year-old trying to “get down” and “get as much oxygen as possible so I don’t pass out.”
So, yeah. Covid. It’s my first case as I’ve, until now, been avoiding it like the, uh, plague, since I have a bad history of illness and lung problems. My first week was pretty rough. I’m not one for lying in bed unless I’m making sweet, inadequate love, so being confined to it for days solo was quite hard on my psyche. My wife, thank god, didn’t get it, but her not getting it also meant I was trapped in a single room, only allowed out to go potty.
There was a point, lying in bed, that I was frankly stunned I didn’t absolutely fuckin’ reek. That was when I realized I’d lost my sense of smell. A small blessing, really. My sense of smell is finally back and so I need to once again maintain “personal hygiene,” as I’m now out of the woods and walking around people like a real human boy.
I’m still weak, still coughing, but I’m back to work. I’ve been so consistently working in comics for the past ten years that I almost forgot the freelancer panic of receiving no income for a month. But I’m back! Runny nose to the grindstone, delivering scripts, answering emails, apologizing profusely for a thing that was out of my control. For the next little while this newsletter may just be once a week until I’m at full strength and caught up, but I’ll be filling your inbox again before you know it.
DC Comics, when they found out I was ill, kindly sent me preview copies of the Batman 134 covers to lift my spirits. So, I too, will lift your spirits with a couple of them.
First up, Jorge gives us an AMAZING Red Mask, while also letting us know that Joker has entered the chat.
And my old boss Joe Quesada lost his name and is getting Batman to retrieve it with his grappling hook, like he’s got nothing better to do!!!
YOU SURE YOU’RE FEELING BETTER?
No.
And now, for my paid subscribers, KAPTARA!!!