The Penguin

That's right, comicsfans, The Human Cannonball is launching yet another screaming projectile into the aether. This time there's a g-g-g-GIRL  involved! As a character, even! What will she do? What will she say? How will she reinforce the values of patriarchal society?? Who knows!! Who cares!!! You'll find out in March, so keep your darn shirt on...!!!!! Geez, calm down... spaz ... Mucho apologies to Mucha. I'll letcha know when, where, and how to get your hands on a copy. Rick Out!

Holy crap, it's been a long time since I've done one of these! As you may know, I'm committed to introducing many less-read comics to the masses. Since moving to Lansing and patronizing the Capital Area District Library , I've been able to read an enormous number of amazing comics and graphic novels that I wouldn't have had a chance to read otherwise. CADL has an extensive graphic novel section, the largest I've ever seen (granted, I haven't been to too  many libraries), and it's an honor and a privilege to plug them whenever possible. So, without further hairdo...I mean, ado... on to the comics! 1.  7 Miles a Second (Vertigo 1996; Fantagraphics 2013) Written by David Wojnarowicz Illustrated by James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook. 7 Miles a Second pulses with rage as David looks back on his childhood hustling on the streets of New York, and forward to his eventual death of AIDS. The artwork is a primal, visceral scream of tumbling bioin...

...and business is...well, just getting started. Hello again, sportfans. I'm here to tell you about how Blind Alley Comics can change your life and make you a fortune. Basically, you buy ten thousand comics; then, you get ten friends to buy a thousand comics each; and they each get ten friends to buy a hundred comics, and so on and so on. As the cash gets passed up the chain back to me, you magically become a millionaire! It's so simple, anyone can do it! Sign up now! I call it, "ComicCo". Kidding. What I'm really here to talk about is the real possibility, in the next couple of years, that Blind Alley Comics...will I jinx it...? Will become an actual company. This ain't out of the blue, mind you; Joe and I have talked about this for ages, or at least since yesterday. My personal dream has been to eventually have a real up-and-running by-gosh comic book studio, complete with actual artists, not just pretend artists like me. Joe's thinking about i...

So as you may know, I am partly obsessed with dinosaurs. Scratch that - there's a small lobe of my brain devoted to dinosaurs. I love em, God help me. I even have a super-double-plus-top-secret dinosaur comic maybe in the works...but you didn't hear it from me. Anywho... Part of my problem is in the reconstruction of said prehistoric beasties, namely those icons of American dino-obsession, Deinonychus ( Velociraptor  to you Jurassic Park  aficionados...it's not just a Hollywood bastardization, there's a complicated story behind it which I covered in this old post ). Now, we all know what Deinonychus looked like: wolf-size, sleek, toothsome head balanced by a long tail, grasping front claws and of course the eponymous "terrible claw" on its hind foot. The shape is burned into our collective unconscious; you could construct the most fantastic amalgam of different bits and pieces, but as long as you include the sickle-claw, you're golden. The devil, of...

Here's to another new year. No retrospective here, folks - Ricky the Schlaack is all about the future. Nobody likes those "Year in Review" things, despite what the news outlets seem to think. I've never tuned in. They're just space filler. Here's an idea: instead of filling up the space with junk like that, why doesn't the news just to off the air? "Well folks, there's nothing to report...we'll switch back on when news happens! Happy New Year!" Kkkkchhhhht.  Static snow. Or! Even better: one of those "slow entertainment shows" from Norway, like the eighteen-hour train ride? Soothing to the nerves. Neither demands nor seduces your attention, it just is.  You can tune in or tune out. I'm really looking forward to getting my own "slow entertainment" channel. Where was I...? Oh yes! The future. Well, things may be going to hell in a handbasket (as usual), but I'm actually feeling pretty chipper. Blind Alley C...

Announcing the Die Katze signing event at Red Fox Comics! Join Joe Haines (inktographer/editor) and Rick Schlaack (pencilographer/director) for this mind-blowing experience on Wednesday, 1/20/16. Don't miss it!

Dear fools...I mean, Gentle Reader: Die Katze Numbre Uno is here! Yes, it's that Lovecraftian/Silent Movie/Iams commercial-mashup you've all been waiting for, the comic you didn't know you needed until suddenly it appears, like a cool breeze on a hot day (said cool breeze being the musty sepulchural emanations of an ancient crypt)! It's officially out on 12/22/15, but the box of comics is in my hot little hands as we speak, so feel free to knock me over on the street and run giggling away with it. Like Nike sneakers and Beanie Babies, it's sure to have some killer resale value. Niche economic bubble, anyone? No takers? Durn. Behold, your new master. Her only weakness? Mondays! She hates Mondays... Now, of course, it comes down to marketing and merchandising. I'm going to see if I can print up some buttons and such; I wouldn't go so far as to make plushies, but that might be an option someday. We're having a book signing for it - Red Fox Comics ...