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Ever lose a day?

No matter what you had planned or dreamed, somehow that day got away from you and you had nothing to show for it.

It's not that we shouldn't be allowed to squander. I just can't stand wasting a day. Time is our most precious commodity.

If losing a day meant doing something you don't often get to do; adventure, discover, or spending it somewhere rejuvenating your soul, I could live with the crime of blowing a deadline or pushing today to tomorrow. But I cannot reconcile a 24 hour cycle where I meandered, stared into the void, removed window lint with the tip of my index finger.

When those days occur, I experience a crisis of confidence. Imposter syndrome. I'm paralyzed by the inertia of anxiety and indifference.

But then I wonder if those kinds of days are supposed to happen. Supposed to paralyze you; force your mind and body into silence and inaction. Stop you from crashing. Reboot your system. Refuel your engine. Oxygenate your blood in preparation for all the proactive days and nights to come.

Despite how super disciplined I was in 2020, maybe it was a coping mechanism? Duck and cover. I was hiding out in my comport zone of creativity to stave off the horrors of a global pandemic.

But, it's the little things, right? Flipping through an old comic book. Watching a rerun. Toasting a pop tart. Talking on the phone...

Richard McCann was my captain at my first residency at Yaddo in 2012, and he set a tone nearly impossible to recapture. A spirit I've tried to echo ever since.

Richard was kind yet cautious. Feisty yet fair. Erudite yet provocative.  A brilliant writer who excavated the gold of the soul despite the pain of humanity. Navigating nine lives, his body battled more physical setbacks than most men should have to suffer.

I think it was the fourth day I entered the Yaddo mansion dining room in my boxer briefs that Richard discreetly advised that maybe I should wear pants to breakfast. He had a twinkle in his eye that helped steer my embarrassing faux pas into our magical bond. I hold dear to my heart our many talks at the swimming pool. I miss his Cheshire smile.

Rest well, my beautiful friend.

Once again I am humbled and astounded by the talent of Deane Aikins. I was gifted another one of his custom made action figures of my New Brooklyn characters, this time featuring SUN DOG who co-starred in seasons 2 & 3 of my RED HOOK saga.

SPOILER: seeing Sun Dog physically realized makes me regret having sacrificed him in STARCROSS. I might have to plan a way for him to come back. It's incredible gifts like this that makes all those late nights scratching away at the art table worth it.

In other news: 

Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon teams up with Dean Haspiel's The Red Hook and Dave Kelly and Brett Hobson's Luna (Brooklyn's first female superhero) to save Valentine's Day in "Bride of Wax," a three-part story running in the back of Savage Dragon #259-261.  In this modern ode to romance and monster comics of the 1950s, The Red Hook must help a retired supervillain bring the woman of his dreams to life -- and the only way to do it is with the blood of the original Dragon himself.

AJ Frost interviewed me and Dave Kelly for The Comics Beat about our crossover featuring art by Brett Hobson, Tom Napolitano & DC Hopkins!

Excerpt

FROST: Why did you pick the Valentine’s Day theme?

HASPIEL: I think Dave knows most of my personal comix center around matters of the heart and an easy way to have all three major characters in different eras deal with the complications of love was to have the story take place on Valentine’s Day. I mean, who hasn’t tried to build a dedicated lover out of magic clay?

Read the entire interview HERE.

ALSO, me, Steven Hoveke, and the CineMental podcast gang wax about Mike Nichols' (and Edward Albee's) "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.

AND, we talk about a mostly unknown film from 1967 called "The Incident," written by Nicholas E. Baehr and directed by Larry Peerce, featuring a menacing movie debut by Martin Sheen.

Whitney Matheson and I turn 80 as we debate an '80s roller-skating cult classic in Personal Xanadu

We swap stories about day jobs, newsrooms, studios and David Sedaris.

We answer a very important question: "If you were going to feed an alien a typical Earth dish, what would it be?" as posed by writer, Cecil Castellucci

Nightwork Presents: Holiday Squares, Valentine's Day edition featuring special guests Kelly AuCoin, Annie Choi, Alex de Campi, Larry Hama, Dean Haspiel, Whitney Matheson, Scott Sickles and Lizz Winstead!

UPCOMING!

February 28, 2021 starting @7:30pm:

"Emotionally True": The Comics Art of Dean Haspiel 

Join us for an evening with Emmy Award-winning artist Dean Haspiel and his semi-autobiographical comics, which include NYC vignettes, the last romantic antihero, and a super-thief forced to become a superhero. Moderated and co-performed by Whitney Matheson at Emerson Avenue Salon online, for free (donations excepted) .


March 2, 2021, 7pm:

WILL EISNER’S NEW YORK: The City in the Master’s Work

From the Golden Age of Comics through the modern graphic novel (a form he was instrumental in popularizing), you will find New York City at the heart of Will Eisner’s work. Whether thinly disguised as “Central City” in the pages of his legendary creation, The Spirit, or more directly presented in his autobiographical graphic novels such as A Contract With God, New York: The Big City and City People Notebook. New York was portrayed by Eisner as only a native of the city could show it. In this slideshow presentation and discussion, Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook; American Splendor), Karen Green (Columbia University Graphic Novel Librarian), N. C. Christopher Couch (UMass Amherst; The Will Eisner Companion) and Danny Fingeroth (A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee; chair of Will Eisner Week) reflect on the relationship between the artist, his work, and his city.


STARTING THIS WEEK: Brooklyn, NY painter/teacher Jen Ferguson is offering two new online art classes: Watercolor Wednesdays, and Drawing Animals 2. Sign up here!

Happy 83, Dad!

Wear a mask. 
Get vaccinated. 
Read BLACKOUT

Love, Dean

Read The Red Hook's NEW BROOKLYN saga for free at Webtoon:
Season 1:  THE RED HOOK
Season 2:  WAR CRY
Season 3:  STARCROSS
Season 4:  BLACKOUT

Follow NIGHTWORK Studio, my multimedia collaboration project with Whitney Matheson.

Listen to SCENE BY SCENE WITH JOSH & DEAN, the podcast that breaks down the film American Splendor and Harvey Pekar's legacy.

 
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