Secret Dead Blog Recommends: Sleeping Dogs

Lee Goldberg thinks that Sleeping Dogs has one of the worst book covers in years. I don't think it's that bad—yeah, the gray drapes in the background kind of suck, but I dig the Ralph Steadman-esque type treatment. Anyway, I think the cover is wrong for another reason. If it really reflected the muscle and melancholy of Ed Gorman's work, it would have one of those cool Dell First Edition covers from the 1950s... specifically, the kind of covers they used to give Robert Dietrich's (nee E. Howard Hunt) Steve Bentley novels. That's because Dogs' narrator, Dev Conrad, reminds me of a modern-day Bentley: slightly sardonic, whip-smart, and equipped with a well-worn bullshit detector. Which is good, because when we meet Conrad, he's in the middle of a down-and-dirty race for a Senate seat where no back goes unstabbed. And it's great fun to have a character like Conrad take us on a guided tour.

Sleeping Dogs would be a fantastic read any time, any year; the fact that it appears in the middle of a Presidential election year makes it all the more riveting. The novel is packed with all of that cool hardboiled political insider stuff—how to play the media, leak damaging secrets, deflect tough questions—that's entertaining right up until the moment you realize that this crap goes on all the time. I'd feel a little better knowing there were a few Dev Conrads out there in the mix. Not exactly holding my breath here.

Swierczy in Bensalem

I'll be at Bagged and Boarded in Bensalem, PA (2337 Street Road, 215-638-7020) this afternoon from 1 until 4 p.m., signing comics and talkin' Cable. The store is a stone's throw from the Franklin Mills Mall, so if you're in the area, stop by and say "yo."

UPDATE (9:43 a.m.): Shhh, but I will have a few copies of Severance Package for sale... unavailable anywhere else until May 27th. Readers of Secret Dead Blog have first dibs.

UPDATE THE SECOND (9:20 p.m.): The guys at Bagged and Boarded are insane, in all of the right ways. Huge thanks to Josh, Duke, Kevin (Happy 12th birthday, kid), Teddy (or is it Teddi?), Jim, Jerry, John, Retired Cop Jim and everyone else who stopped by. The store is great; if you're anywhere near Bensalem, PA... and if you're not, WHY AREN'T YOU?... check it out.

Other Swierczynskis in the News

Apparently, Polish land is more expensive than German land. “There is an intense thirst for land in Poland. "We currently have a 315-hectare farm in the vicinity of Bojanów for sale. I wanted to divide it into allotments of 30 hectares each, but the farmers want them to be of 5 hectares each,” says Dariusz Świerczyński, deputy manager of the Wielkopolska branch of the Agricultural Property Agency.

(Second in an occasional series. Have you spotted another Swierczynski in the news? Let Secret Dead Blog know!)

The Great Psychobilly Blog Road Trip of 2008: Day 2, Part 1

Note from Swierczy: I walked into my office this morning to find a bunch of empty whiskey bottles, a unspooled Shooter Jennings cassette, and this blog post. Which could only mean one thing: Anthony Neil Smith's Psychobilly Blog Road Trip has hit Philadelphia. Somebody hide the Liberty Bell. Quick.

Last Stop: Doolittle's Digs

Believe it or not, the Crimedogs got in 114 holes of golf at various courses between Omaha and Philly. Right until we were chased off the links by a foursome of bankers with pistols in the bags. So we arrive at Duane's door all juiced up on the Joe. Thank God he has toast, cereal, and some ice cold milk. Then he whispers to us: "You want me to, uh, add anything to that coffee?"

Now Duane Swierczynski, he's like a machine these days, churning out some high quality pulp like The Blonde, one of my favorite books of last year, while also creating "interactive" books about Sherlock Holmes and Batman, while also writing kick-ass comics. The dude just took over one of the coolest titles ever, Iron Fist. Not to mention the eagerly awaited Severance Package, which looks like a fun way to kill a day or two. Top of my buying list indeed. Shit, this guy's career looks more like Hunter S. Thompson's vacations than anyone I know. You've gotta love waking up for work doing all that.

He climbs in the cab, toting along plenty of comics for the road and a bottle full of "mystery booze" (I swear it's homemade, but..), and so the golf clubs have to go for now. We leave them littered over his lawn in the early morning dew.

Now, I consider this guy one of the club forever, another PWG vet who skyrocketed to fame despite writing stuff that should make you nauseous, and if things work out, I wouldn't mind riding in his wake a bit. I mean, we both write about severed heads, we both started off at Pointblank Press, for pete's sake, and we both laugh at the darkest possible shit. So, all you true believers, wanna take a chance on Yellow Medicine (buy it on May 12th, "Psychobilly Monday")? There are no mutants and superheroes in sight, but it is pretty gruesome otherwise.

Onward, crossing the entire country once more to pick up up-and-coming noir weirdo Greg Bardsley (author of the PWG #1 story "Upper Deck", an instant classic) on the Left Coast.

Driving Time: Duane threw my watch out the window and busted my dash clock. But I'm going to guess about three days. Tune for the leg: Now that I've wrested back control of the Cd player, time for more psychobilly! "My Curse" by The Chop Tops.

Sneak Preview: Severance Package Art

The Summer of Severance* kicks off in just a few weeks, but I've received the thumbs-up from St. Martin's to post a little preview. Here is but one of the novel's eight black and white illustrations by Dennis (X-Factor) Calero, and oh my gentle Jesus are they cool. (Click on the image to expand it.) Careful, though. Potential spoilers abound. Who's the girl? Who's the guy? Why is the girl holding the guy's wrist? What's that thing in the girl's hand? Why is the guy's hand bleeding profusely? Is that actually a girl, or one of the members of Hanson?

Find out May 27th, in finer bookshops everywhere. And good God I am shameless.

* C'mon, every novel launch needs a gimmicky name. Or did you miss the memo?

Hollywood Twitters

Poe Boy convinced me to join Twitter as we were having beers yesterday in the Hollywood Tavern. (This would be the Hollywood Tavern in Hollywood, Pennsylvania, just a minute from the Philly limits. Nobody believes me when I tell them that there is in fact a Hollywood, Pennsylania, and that if you squint, it really kinda does look sorta like Southern California.) I can't quite remember what he said that convinced me; by that point, I'd had one and a half Sierra Nevadas in me, and I was willing to believe anything.

But anyway, you'll find these Twitter updates to the left, right under my bio. The cool thing: I can post updates from my phone. The potentially bad thing: You may see ridiculous, drunken updates.

Anybody else Twittering?

Secret Dead Blog Recommends: Pigeons From Hell

Yesterday's event at Brave New Worlds was a blast; thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello pick up their free copies of Cable #1. And thanks to George, Joe, Brian and Doug for being supercool hosts. The only downside: I totally missed the Stormtroopers. (They were at the store in the morning, and drew an insane crowd, from what I hear, causing mass chaos along 2nd Street.)

Right after the signing I made a quick sweep of the racks and picked up this gem: Joe R. Lansdale's adaptation of Robert E. Howard's "Pigeons From Hell," just out from Dark Horse. (It's the first of four issues in a limited series, with art by Nathan Fox and colors by Dave Stewart.) Lansdale's one of my heroes, so I buy anything with his name on it. But even if you're a casual fan, you've gotta check this out. It's a modern retelling of Howard's classic pulp horror shocker that's full of whip-smart Lansdale-isms such as:

CLAIRE: Janet, do you remember what Grandma used to say about pigeons?

JANET: Was it... four of them and a potato make a good lunch?

Ah, so much damn fun. The back of issue #1 includes a short essay by Champion Joe about Howard's influence on his own career:

In the introduction, [Howard] talked about being a writer, how it was work of his choosing and he didn't have some son-of-a-bitch standing over him telling him what to do, and he had been able to make a living doing exactly what he wanted to do. Words to that effect. In this respect I understood Howard, and since I had already, at my young age, had jobs with some son-of-a-bitch standing over me telling me what to do while I had plans to be a writer, this was an exciting statement.

Right on, Joe.

The Answer to Your Paper Back Book Storage Problem

Yes! Stormtroopers!

Just a last minute reminder that today is Free Comic Book Day, and you really owe it to yourself to get yo' ass to your local nerdery and pick up a bunch. They're free! Yes, a gallon of gas is more expensive than a comic book these days, but you can get multiple comic books. For free, I tell you. Free!

And if you're anywhere near downtown Philly, I'll be at the Old City Brave New Worlds from 3 to 5 p.m., fighting a bunch of Stormtroopers for the hearts and minds of the comic-going public.

Finally, if you want the experience of chatting with me, but don't really want to go through the hassle of actually hanging out with me, check out this Campus Philly Q&A. My interviewer is Steve Ciccarelli, a Temple University journalism major who grills his subjects like a pro. (Thanks for the opportunity, Steve.)

Cable Ready

Marvel Noise has posted a bunch of sample pages from Cable #3, out next Wednesday. At left is the variant cover by the legendary John Romita, Jr. I've had a few non-comics nerds ask me about variants. Basically, they're an incentive for a retailer; Marvel will slip one variant issue in with every 25 to 50 issues ordered. And boom, ready-made collector's item. So far, each issue of Cable has had a variant--the first by Cable co-creator Rob Liefeld, the second by David Finch. How rare are these? Well, I couldn't find the first one to save my life, and I only have a tearsheet of the second. Maybe I'll get lucky next Wednesday with #3...

Anyway, for the main cover of Cable #3, check the sidebar. It's just as cool, and my favorite of the Olivetti covers thus so far. If that doesn't sum up the feeling of fatherhood, I don't know what what does.