Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Trotsky: A Graphic Biography by Rick Geary

Promo copy:

Trotsky was a hero to some, a ruthless demon to others. To Stalin, he was such a threat that he warranted murder by pickax. This polarizing figure set up a world conflict that lasted through the twentieth century, and in Trotsky: A Graphic Biography, the renowned comic artist Rick Geary uses his distinct style to depict the stark reality of the man and his times. Trotsky’s life becomes a guide to the creation of the Soviet Union, the horrors of World War I, and the establishment of international communism as he, Lenin, and their fellow Bolsheviks rise from persecution and a life underground to the height of political power. Ranging from his boyhood in the Ukraine to his fallout with Stalin and his moonlight romance with Frida Kahlo, Trotsky is a stunning look at one of the twentieth century’s most important thinkers and the far-reaching political trends that he launched.

Trotsky has long been one of my favorite historical figures. I’m looking forward to this one.

The Troublemakers by Gilbert Hernandez

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Low-life drug dealer Dewey Booth has $200,000 that even-lower-lifes want. Wes is a rock and roll loser that only wants to buy a club where nobody can tell him he can’t sing or perform. He’s known Dewey for years, but that isn’t enough to get his dough. Wes needs help. Nala is an uber-stacked bombshell whose pleasure in life is to seduce and then humiliate men dumb enough to fall for her. For half the dough, she agrees to help Wes get Dewey’s ill-gotten goods. Things don’t go so well when a wily grifter from Wes’s past shows up to complicate things. Vincenze is another troublemaker who enjoys wrecking people’s plans and wants the Dewey dough, too. In the end, deadly fires ignite, heads literally roll, eyes are shot out and-all Wes wants to do is sing in a rock and roll club. The Troublemakers is Gilbert Hernandez’s second, original graphic novel for Fantagraphics, following 2007’s Chance In Hell. This hard-boiled, pulp graphic novel will delight longtime Hernandez fans as well as provide a perfect introduction to newcomers to Hernandez’s work.

Nothing Like the Holidays

Promo copy:

John Leguizamo (Ice Age, Moulin Rouge!), Freddy Rodriguez (“Six Feet Under,” Bobby), Debra Messing (“Will & Grace,” “The Starter Wife”), and Alfred Molina (The Pink Panther 2) lead a hilarious ensemble cast in this humorous and heartwarming holiday story that is “laugh-out-loud-funny and downright touching." (MoviePictureFilm.com) It’s Christmastime in Chicago, and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents’ home to celebrate the season. During the course of this eventful week, traditions will be celebrated, secrets revealed, old resentments forgotten, familial bonds re-affirmed and the healing power of laughter will work its magic. Nothing Like The Holidays is a “heartfelt,” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) gift for the whole family.

What?!?! No mention of John Leguizamo’s work in Spawn or Alfred Molina in Spider-Man 2.

Luna Park Written by Kevin Baker Art by Danijel Zezelj

Promo copy:

Alik is a former Soviet soldier who has relocated to Coney Island only to become a gangland enforcer. He’s haunted by memories of his past, and the only thing that soothes his angst is booze, heroin and his lover, the prostitute Marina. But as much as Alik encourages her to break away from the ganglord who owns her, Marina can’t because of her daughter, who never leads the ganglord’s side. So Alik comes up with a desperate plan to save all three of them, and in doing so, he’ll find he’s destined to repeat the past over and over again, including a past or two he might not even be aware he has, in a story that flashes from present- day run down Coney Island to the Russia of 10 years ago during the Second Chechen War to turn of the 20th century Coney Island, when the area was at its peak amusement park glory and wonder.

In one of my more difficult assignments, I’m interviewing Joe R. Lansdale at the Texas Book Festival on Saturday, October 31 @ 3:30 in Capitol Extension Room E2.016 of the Texas State Capitol. That’s right, I’m having a sit down with one of the top 20 horror writers of all time on Halloween day!

As many of you know (and if you don’t, you should), Joe is one chatty fella so I wouldn’t expect to hear a lot out of me once he gets going.

If you’re at the Festival, be sure and drop by. You won’t regret it. I fully expect this to be the kind of happening you won’t wanna miss.

Joe engaging in two of his favorite past times: chattin’ & signin’

Previously in KandyLand:

While making a run for the Mike & Ike gang, the kid-who-would-become-LemonHead was knocked unconscious and subjected to tortures by the diabolical Mr. Smarty Pink. After being submerged in a vat of boiling lemon juice, the kid is left for dead.

Story by Rick Klaw Art by Newt Manwich

Click on image to enlarge

I had this idea for LemonHead’s origin from the moment I conceived of the character. Newt did a masterful job in this strip bringing the climatic moment to life.

Since we are both film buffs and fans of Sam Raimi, it should be of no surprise that we used a Dark Passage/Darkman riff in the fourth panel.

Last Week’s Strip

Next Week’s Strip

Newt Manwich, the nome de plume of Troy Gonzales, has been a frequent subject around this blog with the weekly reprinting of our KandyLand strips. As Newt, Troy’s works appeared in my anthologies Weird Business (he penciled my story), The Wild West Show, and The Big Bigfoot Show. Together, we produced a story for JAB #6 (1995) and the Zombie Boy mini-comic "Dead Plains Drifter" (1994). The latter is very rare with perhaps 50 copies produced.

A creation of Mark Stokes (who illustrated my LemonHead tale in JAB #5), Zombie Boy, as the name implies, relates the comedic adventures of an undead kid. If memory serves, Stokes was looking for back up tales by other creators to include in a new Zombie Boy series. For whatever reason, the series never happened, so Troy and I decided to produce this mini. The back cover of the comic features a kick-ass Kid Corpse pin-up by Stokes and the inside front cover advertises a series of mini-comics illustrated by Gonzales and written/published by "Dr. Joe Guy Pan."

In celebration of Newt Manwich’s birthday, I’m reprinting the entirety of Zombie Boy in "Dead Plains Drifter."

Click on images to enlarge

Last week, I wrote about my issues with the minimum requirements for Windows 7. Today over at Ubuntu Geek they discuss the requirements for Ubuntu 9.04 that help to illustrate my point.

And for comparison purposes, Windows 7:

Ubuntu 9.10 is due out this week, but requirements should be very similar.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Grandville by Bryan Talbot

Promo copy:

Two hundred years ago, Britain lost the Napoleonic War and fell under the thumb of French domination. Gaining independence after decades of civil disobedience and anarchist bombings, the Socialist Republic of Britain is now a small, unimportant backwater connected by a railway bridge, steam-powered dirigible, and mutual suspicion to France. When a British diplomat is murdered to look like suicide, ferocious Detective-Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard stalks a ruthless murder squad through the heart of a Belle Epoque Paris, the center of the greatest empire in a world of steam-driven hansom cabs, automatons, and flying machines. LeBrock’s relentless quest can lead only to death, truth… or war.

The Chronicles Of Conan Volume 18: Isle of the Dead and Other Stories Written by Bruce Jones and Steven Grant Art by John Buscema, Ernie Chan, Marc Silvestri, Alfredo Alcala, and Val Mayerik

Promo copy:

Taking over writing duties on Conan the Barbarian in the early 1980s, Bruce Jones brought his humor and horror sensibilities – as well as his knack for telling great short stories – to the title, invigorating John Buscema, who returned to work on the series with Conan #136. In Chronicles of Conan: Isle of the Dead and Other Stories, these two comic-book titans lead Conan on a thrilling tour of Hyboria – from the monster-infested Bossonian Marshes to the hideous slave markets of Belthem – as Conan encounters strange, supernatural foes, beguiling women, and overconfident rulers.

Turok, Son of Stone Archives Volume 2 by Paul S. Newman and various artists

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Earth’s prehistoric past flourishes in a lost valley where two young Native Americans, Turok and Andar, have become trapped. While they struggle to survive among the honkers (dinosaurs) and prehistoric human residents, they hold on to the hope that one day they will discover a way out of the valley and be reunited with their tribe. This volume collects six classic issues of the comic book from the early 1960s.

Tarzan Archives: The Jesse Marsh Years Volume 4 Art by Jesse Marsh Written by Gaylord DuBois

Promo copy:

In the late 1940s, Dell Publishing assembled a new comics team that would leave an indelible impression on millions of young readers. For the next nineteen years, Jesse Marsh – an "artist’s artist" – and Gaylord DuBois created an absorbing jungle world for Edgar Rice Burroughs’s most famous character. The realism and consistent quality in their collaboration remain influential to countless comics artists today.

The Savage Sword Of Conan Volume 6 Written by Roy Thomas, Michael Fleisher, and Bruce Jones Art by John Buscema, Ernie Chan, Gil Kane, Ernoe Colon and others

Promo copy:

With writers Roy Thomas, Michael Fleisher, and Bruce Jones contributing to The Savage Sword of Conan in the early 1980s, the action-filled comics magazine continued its long, successful run exploring the lush and dangerous world of Conan’s Hyboria. This volume reprints most of the black-and-white Conan tales from 1981, with the artistic talents of John Buscema, Gil Kane, Ernie Chan, Ernie Colon, Alfredo Alcala, and others adding to the uncensored excitement! The Savage Sword creative teams presented in this latest tome deliver timeless adventures featuring Robert E. Howard’s beloved barbarian, and such classics as the "Temple of the Tiger," "Dwellers in the Depths," and "Moat of Blood" are reprinted here for the first time ever! Collecting selections from The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian issues #61 through #71, this volume also includes the frontispieces and pinups from each issue, drawn by Alex Toth, Joe Chiodo, Ernie Chan, Carl Potts, Tony de Zuniga, and others!

Apparently the latest Microsoft OS, Windows 7, premiered today. Lifehacker, as their apt to do, offered an overview of the release. What struck me the most were the system requirements.

That is way too much RAM and disk space. I could barely run it on my one year old 64 bit laptop with 2 GB RAM! The bells and whistles aren’t cool enough to compel me to upgrade the RAM or buy a new machine.

There are literally thousands of older machines that run perfectly well but have been shelved only because of newer, bloated OSes. The primary reason I gave up years ago on Windows (back when XP first appeared) is that I didn’t like the idea of having to buy a new machine just so I can run the latest OS. There is no reason a computer, much like your car or TV, can’t run effectively for ten years or more.

My desktop computer is at least five years old (I bought it used three years ago). It runs a 2.3 gigahertz, 32 bit processor with 1 GB RAM. Barring anything catastrophic, I figure to be happily using this machine for another 5 years.

(The monitor for said machine sadly died this morning. According to the sticker on the back, it was manufactured in Oct, 1999!)

I recently configured a 800 32 bit machine with 264 meg of RAM under Xubuntu for a friend of mine. It works just fine. Only complaint he’s had is that it sometimes lags when he uses YouTube.

My laptop is the first brand new computer I’ve ever owned and that was a birthday present.

And people wonder why I am an Open Source devotee?

As promised last week, here’s the second KandyLand installment.

Art by Troy Gonzales (aka Newt Manwich) and script and concept by me.

Click on image to enlarge

Not much to add here, except I’ve seen better days.

Last Week’s Strip

Next Week’s Strip

As the baseball season draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about what to do with my free time following the World Series. From April through early November, a lot of my time is occupied by baseball. Watching it, reading about it, etc.

Over the past few years, I developed an interest in recycling older tech for a more useful future than landfill. Most of these efforts have centered around Open Source, Linux, and older computers. I’ve rejuvenated several ten year old computers. These projects often occupied that time. But now I’m ready to up the ante.

My old Palm Vx, while still in fine running condition, has outlived it’s present usefulness. Linux can run on such small devices, and so my offseason project is to not only covert the Palm to Linux but make the pda into a functioning e-reader. While I realize it will never match the Kindle or the Sony e-reader, I should be able (in theory) to re-purpose the Palm Vx into an adequate reader. Far better than just tossing it the scrap heap.

While I haven’t found a record of anyone actually accomplishing such a conversion (if anyone knows of someone who has, please let me know. I’m not above help), I figure it’ll be fun trying.

I’ll start in on the project the week after the World Series ends. I’ll write periodic posts updating my progress.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett

Promo copy:

It is the time of the Great Depression.

Thousands have left their homes looking for a better life, a new life. But Marcus Connelly is not one of them. He searches for one thing, and one thing only. Revenge.

Because out there, riding the rails, stalking the camps, is the scarred vagrant who murdered Connelly’s daughter. No one knows him, but everyone knows his name: Mr. Shivers.

In this extraordinary debut, Robert Jackson Bennett tells the story of an America haunted by murder and desperation. A world in which one man must face a dark truth and answer the question-how much is he willing to sacrifice for his satisfaction?

Bennett is another one of that seemingly inexhaustible supply of Austin writers.

Sasha (A Trial of Blood and Steel, Book I) by Joel Shepherd

Promo copy:

SASHA IS A FIGHTER, THE LIKE OF WHICH THE HIGHLAND COUNTRY OF LENAYIN HAS NEVER SEEN.

Spurning her royal heritage to be raised by the great warrior, Kessligh, her exquisite swordplay astonishes all who witness it. But Sasha is still young, untested in battle and often led by her rash temper. In the complex world of Lenayin loyalties, her defiant wilfulness is attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Lenayin is a land almost divided by its two faiths: the Verenthane of the ruling classes and the pagan Goeren-yai, amongst whom Sasha now lives. The Goeren-yai worship swordplay and honour and begin to see Sasha as the great spirit the Synnich who will unite them. But Sasha is still searching for what she believes and must choose her side carefully.

When the Udalyn people — the symbol of Goeren-yai pride and courage — are attacked, Sasha will face her moment of testing. How will she act? Is she ready to lead? Can she be the saviour they need her to be?

Legacy by Tom Sniegoski

Promo copy:

What if your deadbeat dad was a superhero?

What if you found out your deadbeat father is a superhero? Would you leave your small-town life to take up the mantle of a father you never knew? For 18-year-old Lucas, the choice is an easy one: he’s not going to leave behind his mother and his comfortable life for a father who’s never shown any interest in him. But his father—known officially as billionaire Clayton Hartwell, and secretly as the vigilante superhero The Raptor—tells Lucas that as he is dying, evil is growing, and the world needs Lucas to become the new Raptor. When Lucas’s mother is killed by mysterious warriors, he realizes that his father is right. Once in Seraph City, Lucas is stunned by the amount of poverty and crime. But after observing his father’s “heroic” behavior up close, Lucas is left wondering about the line between good and evil. And eventually, he must decide whether to take a stand against the one man who loves him in order to defend a world that desperately needs him.

In His Majesty’s Service by Naomi Novik

Promo copy:

Together in one volume, here are the first three novels in Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestselling Temeraire series, combining the gripping history of the Napoleonic era, the thrill of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern books, and the excitement of Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring adventures. In His Majesty’s Service also includes an exclusive original Temeraire short story.

Capt. Will Laurence is serving with honor in the British Navy when his ship captures a French frigate harboring most a unusual cargo–an incalculably valuable dragon egg. When the egg hatches, Laurence unexpectedly becomes the master of the young dragon Temeraire and finds himself on an extraordinary journey that will shatter his orderly, respectable life and alter the course of his nation’s history.

Thrust into England’s Aerial Corps, Laurence and Temeraire undergo rigorous training while staving off French forces intent on breaching British soil. But the pair has more than France to contend with when China learns that an imperial dragon intended for Napoleon–Temeraire himself– has fallen into British hands. The emperor summons the new pilot and his dragon to the Far East, a long voyage fraught with peril and intrigue. From England’s shores to China’s palaces, from the Silk Road’s outer limits to the embattled borders of Prussia and Poland, Laurence and Temeraire must defend their partnership and their country from powerful adversaries around the globe. But can they succeed against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?

More in Part II

Disclaimer as mandated by the goons at the FTC: All the books mentioned in this blog entry were sent free of charge by the publishers for the purposes of review. I wonder if anyone out there is reading this microscopic text?