Sat down to watch my first Mets’ game of the season only to realize it’s blacked out because Baltimore’s asshole owner, Peter Angelos, continues to block Nationals’ games from playing in DC if the Orioles are playing at the same time. The real kick in the ass? I pay extra for MLB Extra Innings only to have the one game I want to watch tonight blacked out. And the kick in the ass times two? I’m going to an Orioles game on Saturday and supporting that piece of shit Angelos. Even though I’ll be cheering for the Sox, I still feel empty inside.

Seriously, how can Major League Baseball allow this?

Anyway, comics, right? That’s all we’re talking today, I'm spent after Tuesday’s horribly racist post.

There’s a new Hive going up today, part 2 (of 3) of The Neighborhood. Go check it out.

Neil Kleid is going into pimp mode with URSA MINOR – Tom, Dick & Harry running around in high-tech robotic bear suits. You can’t go wrong with that premise. Available through Slave Labor Graphics, there’s a free preview up on their site.

Remember last Thursday when I was agonizing over this one guy that would be a dream come true to have in the book but I was “90% sure” would not contribute to POSTCARDS? Well, now I’m agonizing over what artist to pair him with. You can congratulate me now and thank me when you read his story.

I’m not going to go through the Eisner list and pick who I think will win but big, public, congratulations goes out to Tom Beland. I remember spying his threads on the Bendis Board when he was talking about how difficult it was to sell TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD and now here he is with two nominations. Make good comics and keep pushing them out, eventually people are going to notice.

I’d also like to include Bob Tinnell on the public congrats list – Bob was consulting me early on with POSTCARDS, telling me stories about his own experiences marketing FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES outside of the DM. He gets the Eisner nod and deserves it, it’s a fantastic book. (Excuse me, I mean it’s a fantastic food memoir.)

Speaking of Eisner’s, you have to have respect for Warren Ellis. In a time of bogus press releases, PR reps for a guy with one book out and people pushing a positive review from some cat on a message board named batmanbitches03, one of the most commanding comic writers working today can humbly lay it out like this:

“Anyway, I got around to looking at the list five mins ago. Any year in which Chris Ware, Alan Moore & Grant Morrison are working is a year in which I may as well not be there. I can ignore this whole thing now.”

After receiving six nominations that he deserved regardless of who else is in the running. Either way I think congrats are in order, to Ellis and all the other guys and girls who got nominations and a “fuck the Eisner’s” to everyone who should have gotten a nomination but didn’t (I mean, seriously, did DC just forget to send in THE QUITTER?).

Speaking of Eisner’s, we weren’t nominated. But, you know, BAM! (I’ll come back in a couple of weeks and update that “BAM” so that it links to something.)

Tony Fleecs sent me a PDF of his new book IN MY LIFETIME and it’s fucking fabulous – just a gorgeous autobiographical book with some phenomenal storytelling. Silent Devil’s putting it out, between IN MY LIFETIME, DEATH COMES TO DILLINGER and some of the rumblings I’m hearing amongst friends I’m finding myself feeling pretty stupid for breaking on SD all the time.

Chip Zdarsky’s ACT-I-VATE contribution is worth worshipping. Dean Trippe also joined up with Wave Two and he’s one of my favorite illustrators coming up today.

I think that's it. Have a good weekend and watch out for Dominicans.