Shiller Time

Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and that of course means Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, and the countdown to the big “C”. Christmas, that is. The gifting season. This year, why not be prepared?

As a suggestion, here’s a recap of BIUL‘s burnt offerings. If you order now, you’ll avoid the rush and get your comics well before the holidays. They make great gifts, and if you want to cut down on the cost, select “mail” for shipping method, and type “lulu coupon code” into a search engine. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to purchase more than one. 

If you or someone you love would like a collection of Bands I Useta Like strips, here’s a very popular item:

The Pocket Travel Companion is loaded with strips. If you dig those old MAD paperbacks, this is right up your aisle, and you can carry it anywhere. The first of many BIUL paperbacks to come, and it won’t be around forever. This book is the hardest for me to keep in stock.

The Bands I Useta Like comic magazine was officially launched in early 2015, and you can still get the inaugural issue. It also includes BIUL strips, with the dubious benefit of me riffing on them, as I do here on the site. The Cannabis Creeps cards are reprinted from the Pocket Travel Companion, but the rest of the rag is all new material, including impersonations of R. Crumb and Harvey Kurtzman. It sells out almost as quickly as the next one:

The Banned From School issue is a hot item, folks. People snatch this one up on sight. I don’t even have one of my own. Is that weird? I dunno.

This is the one with the Social Justice War Soldiers ad on the back. It has cut-out activities, and the first Prideful Moments cards. There’s a four-page story starring Prince Variant, who appeared in John’s Arm: Armageddon. Everyone who places this magazine upon their coffee table gets laid. Even if they can’t read it, or are blind.

If you’re a completist, which I hope to god you are, you’ll want the whole set of Bands I Useta Like, including:

III is the notorious issue that didn’t arrive in time for the signing. The promoted-well-ahead-of-time signing. That’s why I’m slapping together this wishlist for you, so you never have to know that sensation of totally eating balls. 

I made a lot of coy hints, but no one caught on; I said folks would “flip over” this issue because when you flip it over, it becomes a coloring book for grown-ups. Get it? Ecch.

Personally, I feel that this issue is the best so far, despite containing no BIUL strips at all. All the material is new. The Musical Meddler Squad is introduced, and believe me when I say you’ll be getting to know them much better in 2017. There’s even a literal food fight thrown in for good measure, in the style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

All that, plus the Bear With Searing Gas Pain Out Of Hibernation Telethon. Your holidays are a howling crevasse of misery without this.

Those in the know are aware that BIUL isn’t my only franchise; I started the Ceaseless Fables of Beyonding, a “kidult” fantasy saga, as a weekly color page in 2009. These pages are collected in lavish digests, which will ultimately number five, with 72 installments in each. The fourth is coming later this month, along with a dedicated website, so I don’t have to keep plugging it here.

Try it, you’ll like it. Really.

The Inway Saga is your introduction. It begins in black and white, then becomes full color for the remainder. As soon as you catch up with what’s going on, you’ll be hooked. You want a functional fantasy world with a foul-mouthed unicorn? Of course you do. You’re welcome.

The Drymouth Saga: that’s “Drymouth”, like “Plymouth”. It’s a terrible desert region full of screaming monsters. This volume introduces the big villain, plus a buttload more. 72 pages, with full-size character “pin-ups”, and a map! The cover homages Missile Command, or maybe Yar’s Revenge! Why don’t you own this already?!

Volume three, The Creepwood Saga, is the thickest, with a dossier at the back that explains much of what’s going on. This cover homages an Intellivision game the title of which I can’t recall. CFB features hundreds of characters, dozens of places, and art like you see above. It’s suitable for ages 13 and up, and it’s new every Sunday.

(Until it hits #360, and goes on hiatus until 2/20/2020.)

Here’s a sneak peek at the cover of volume four. No points for guessing the homage.

If you ordered all three volumes of CFB, you and your loved ones would be all set for volume four when it drops. You could curl up in front of the fireplace and read them, just like people used to do with the Sunday comics and the Saturday Evening Post. You’ll experience the joy that only comes from reading good comics!

And don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of this kind of shillery. I just figured, you folks are smart; you like to do your holiday shopping early, right?

Oh… forget it.