In Which I Eagerly Anticipate A Visit From @MarianCall

In two days time, we welcome Marian Call.

Her tour this year will hit all fifty states.

In Wyoming her stop is -- and I'm all

Excitement to announce this, O my mates! --

In Cheyenne. Heroes Only is the sole

Emporium of comics that will host

A concert on this tour. D'you find this droll?

A sweet chanteuse a-playing at what most

Would name geek central? Ah, but you've not heard

Her album, Got to Fly, then, I suspect.

Nerd-friendly? She is proud to claim that word

As epithet, or was last time I checked.

So come and join us on this Wednesday night.

You'll see this lady's future's firefly-bright!

In Which I Geek Out All Over Free Comic Book Day

The first one's free, the pusher says in all
The greatest urban legends, and it's so --
At least in terms of what I meekly call
My drug of choice, which I am sure you know
Is comic books. And yes, you can get high
On these, just ask one Lars Paul Linden, who
Once wrote a novel on this subject. I
Still seek a real-life bookdopebook, all through
The racks at Heroes Only, or wheree'er
My wand'rings take me. And this Saturday
I take another chance. I'll soon be there,
Though I have missed the party, as one may
Who is a poor shift worker. Nonetheless,
Free Comic Book Day's come again, I guess!

In Which My Comic Book Guy, @PJiv69, Ages Gracefully

Some guys just bring the squee at first sight; they

Have what you want and know you want it bad,

Know they have got the pow'r to make your day

And that you'll leave their presence feeling glad.

I speak not of my drug pusher, although

They share characteristics, those and he

Who waits for me on Wednesdays. P.J., oh,

How glad I am you're there and do for me

All that you do in seeing I get my fix

At Heroes Only, comic books and more.

Today's your birthday; here's hoping that Six

Or Starbuck make appearance at the store!

But if they don't, please know you have my love

E'en though you've stashed my drawer high above!

In Which I Am Sheepish After Placing A Large Order

I bless and curse the day that I was shown

The magic of the Diamond Preview book.

A show of weakness and a paycheck's blown

Just moments after taking just a look.

I don't go for the manga or the toys,

The superhero stuff still leaves me cold

(Except for Astro City), but the joys

Of finding new and stranger stuff (and old

And much-loved favorites, collected in

More durable editions) lures me to

These pages ev'ry month. To my chagrin

I never have, as yet, gone paging through

This grimoire without bumping up my subs.

In boxes? Hell, my comics come in tubs!

In Which A Hero Gets A Little Older

If there's one guy who's made me like Cheyenne,
It's Jeremy Bouchard, who took it on
Himself, with friends, to draw them up a plan
To open up a comics shop. I've gone
Right off the rails, so happy, since I found
That place and met him there. And since I did,
It's rare a book or movie comes around
That I love, that won't make me call out "Kid,
You've got to see this!" And he often has,
Because he's sitting next to me, right there,
Conveniently. So, Jeremy, whereas
Today's your birthday, and because I care,
I proffer birthday spanks in sonnet form,
And my regards, eternal, real and warm.

In Which I Can't Wait To See A Comic And Start Getting Antsy

I love my comics store in old Cheyenne,
Called Heroes Only; it deserves the name.

No matter how great they are, all they can

Do for me now is pat my head, for shame.

O Diamond Distribution, what's your deal?

We Kill Monsters came out two weeks ago

And my boys were right there when I did squeal

And add it to my sub list. Why then no

Sign of it yet? I'm dying over here

To see Churilla's monsters, read the tale

By Harkcom and Leone. Now I fear

Another disappointment, one more fail

As I look forward to my weekly trip

To my own local comics mothership.

Some Lines As I Prepare To Be Stupified By Marvel Studios' Latest Despite Its Weak Reviews

While I love comics, I'm no major fan

Of superheroes and their backstories.

Though I quite liked the Neil Gamain Batman -

That oeuvre is from DC's inventories

And Marvel's on my mind as I prepare

To take in Wolverine after my run

To Heroes Only for my fix. Aware

I am that this means I'll have much less fun

Than those who've dwelt on every small detail

Of Logan's life and loves and hates and foes.

In truth, my baser motives here prevail:

Hugh Jackman and our economic woes

Draw me. I learn in Gross's Dumb Money

That Marvel Studios shares blame. Funny!

My Favorite Holiday Comes Every Week

I know today is Earth Day, but I try

To treat each day that way as best I may.

As bins of cans and bottles testify,

As my low power bills do, too. Today

I celebrate a weekly cause of joys:

A reason to desert my hearth and home

And collie for a trip to see the boys

At Heroes Only. It's not far to roam:

Just 'crost Cheyenne, a couple miles all told.

But in imagination it's light years,

For Wednesday is NEW COMICS DAY. Behold:

New tales to tempt my thoughts and stir my fears!

And though these tales are printed on dead trees,

No landfill ever sees them, if you please.

Yes, I've Deformed My Schedule for Midnight Magic Madness

I've lived this day just slightly inside-out,
This day I call my second Saturday
(In pref'rence to first Sunday). I'm without
The means with which to mend my disarray
As twighlight gleams its last out in the west.
That's not to say I simply stayed in bed,
As my supportive parents did suggest
(Supposing that I'd ache today in head
And body from the prior night's debauch).
I rose and did some things I had to do,
At noon I spent, according to my watch
At least an hour on signing papers, too.
But then I napped, and soon will nap again.
At midnight I must play a game or ten.

Don't Call Us Vultures, We Just Know Opportunity When It Goes Splat in Front of Us

My friends and I seek to be in the biz.
Of filmmaking, at least on a small scale.
We have a script. What's holding us up is
The camera. We're waiting for a sale.
How fortunate the stars have so aligned
As to have brought about untimely death
(Or bankruptcy) to a chain store you'll find
'Most everywhere the shopping crowds draw breath.
So now my co-producer braves the horde,
While I, at work, do research by remote
On what he finds, at downtimes when I'm bored.
But he's the man; I'm glad to get a vote.
And from the ash of Circuit City's store
Comes Heroes Only Studios, maybe more!