Rita Update: As Yet, No Drizzle (But Plenty of Thrizzle)

Well, the house has had its hatches battened (thanks, Alex!), and here we sit awaiting Whatever Comes Next. So far, so good: Rita's now downgraded to Category Three and seems to be headed for the Texas/Louisiana border - i.e., to the east of us, even further than we'd thought this morning. Yes, it still will be nasty, but not as nasty as it could have been. We sit here now, around 6:30PM, watching DVDs and beginning to cook dinner, waiting for the first signs of rain. So far, not even a drizzle.

Drizzle... drizzle... Thrizzle! I've been meaning to post a review of the funniest comic book I've read since Michael Kupperman's manic, inspired Snake 'n' Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret - this new book, not surprisingly, is also by Kupperman (aka "P.Reeves"): Tales Designed to Thrizzle. Besides starring such old favorites as Snake 'n' Bacon ("Ssssss" "Wipe me with a paper towel to remove excess grease") and the Manister (who "has a most unusual power: the ability to assume the shape of a bannister"), it also boasts a page-and-a-half discussion of Shakespeare (where else will you learn the secret of "Shakespeare's Gold"?); Jesus' half-brother, Pagus ("Ha ha ha ha ha ha! All for me! All for Pagus!"); "Uncle Billy's Drunken, Bitter Guide to the Animal Kingdom" (self-explanatory); and so, so much more.

Fortunately, in a nod to our ever-increasingly "What about the children?" culture, the book also divides its contents into an Adult Section, a Kid's Section, and an Old People's Section. Of course, the kiddies need to jump to page 11 to avoid soiling their psyches - and unfortunately, the pages aren't numbered. ("All [kiddies] for Pagus!")

The art features a slick "woodcut-cum-clipart" style, and I'd love to highlight a bit more of it here. But seeing as how my scanner is now unplugged and waterproofed, I'll just direct you to this site, featuring some older examples of MK's art. Go ahead, click: you know you can't resist the thrill of experiencing "Funky Obsessed Detective Robot" and "Underpants-on-His-Head Man." Also, don't miss the always-essential Tom Spurgeon's review of Thrizzle and this interview excerpt from The Comics Journal.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program, "Waiting for Rita," already in progress...