I particularly enjoyed the anecdote about Carlos and the Civil War companion; I can certainly understand why you’d be dismissive of something like that, but I can tell you from experience those kind of handbook/encyclopedia things are just fantastic when you’re a kid and don’t have the money/access to all the old stories.

When I was about that age, one of my friend’s dads read comics and had a stash of the original Marvel handbooks he lent to me. This was right after I first started reading comics, and those handbooks opened up this whole new world to me. Sure, there weren’t any actual stories in there, but it was like reading a history book crossed with a mythology book and I devoured it. The best part was I knew the history I was reading about was actually out there, available for me to experience first hand someday, in the form of the comic books the handbooks were referencing.

That old handbook series definitely led me to actual comics I wouldn’t have read otherwise, and I’m sure that companion book Carlos bought (while certainly not as cool as the original handbooks ) will do the same for him.

I don’t see a direct email link here for you, so I’m writing here. Please send me an email at info@mikegrell.com I have a question for you. Thanks,

Stephen
MikeGrell.com

Don’t suppose there’s any chance you could take a snap of that iron man sketch Grell did?
The cool thing with that is, the older he gets and the more Grell he reads, the more he’ll be excited about having it!
(I’ve only just started getting into his work this past year).

Luna in human form from Sailor Moon S: The Movie. It’s an adaption of The Lover of Princess Kaguya story from the Bishujo Senshi Sailor Moon manga. (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.) A drawing of the character is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Luna_Manga.jpg Yes, the rest of the time (and series) she’s the black cat with a crescent moon on her head.

Sailor Star.. Healer, I think. I always confuse them. Kou Yaten. One of the Starlights from the last season of Sailor Moon. Honestly, a lot of it is that is a difficult costume to pull off well and she had one of the best versions I’ve seen done yet. She sure looks better than the costumes from the musical. (Yes, there is a Sailor Moon Musical. It’s called Sera Myu.)

Girl on the left: In fairness, I have no idea. :p You’ll have to ask one of the kids.

The three of them were promoting Sakura-Con. Cosplayers for the win!

p.s. As a hugely tangential note: Your comments about the Aki boys’ bridge into comics (especially those about Carlos) just points out, once again, what a lame-ass pathetic job Warner and DC are doing at translating their A-list properties into other media. (Well, I suppose I should cut them some slack on the animated cartoon front.) I mean, damn, is Marvel kicking some DC ass when it comes to film! Now Iron Man has even launched buzz about an upcoming Avengers film!

This is something DC should have been on top of a few years ago. The first Wonder Woman flick should already be out, they should be filming the second WW and Supes flicks, and have Flash and GL underway, with an eye on the eventual Justice League prize. That Warner executives can’t get out of their own way to hire ace directors and screenwriters to make this happen is pathetic. DC is losing another generation to Marvel.

Damn, man. That was long.

I really WAS going to just caption the photos and quit, but I got carried away. I probably could have done another 2000 words’ worth of anecdotes; I didn’t even get around to the lost-tooth drama or how Amanda’s rollout of Ninja Kigomi went. It was a fun show.

The Wein/Dillin JLA is really good all ’round. Up there with the best work ever done on the title.

Stupid DC!!!! They won’t reprint the conclusion to the Libra story; but ever since Identity Crisis came out, they won’t stop reprinting the SSoSV one!

IDIOTS!!!

(Although, maybe… if they truly are idiots! Then, I shouldn’t make fun of the intelligence challenged!)

But very nicely written and organized. And kind of heartwarming.

But long.

But waitaminute… GAIL SIMONE GOT A SKETCH AND I GET NUTTIN’??? Not fair… not fair at all. What does Simone know about Spider-Man..??? She’s with DC, who can’t even keep BATMAN alive!!!

Seriously, I needs me a Spidey sketch.

Best!