Papa Doc Abraxas' Omnium Gatherum

Reposting this from my Facebook feed: Howdy, folks! This status update is aimed primarily at the folks who know me through Comics Ink, our customers. Steve recently announced his well deserved retirement from the comics retail biz. A deal has been reached for The Comic Bug to take over the space, to expand their business and take care of the folks who have been shopping at the Ink. This is good news. In the last couple of weeks I have spoken with a few customers and, after informing the owners and operators of The Comic Bug, I am announcing that I will not be staying on, that I am finishing my comics retail days as well when Comics Ink closes its doors. As of this writing and barring unforeseen circumstances, my last days at the shop will be the 17th, 20th, and the 24th of September. This is also good news. Jason, Adam, and I have known for more than a year of Steve’s retirement. In that time, I have gone over several possible scenarios for what was going to happen. One o...

After a long nap, the Omnium Gatherum returns to Comics Waiting Room to much fanfare. Well, at least a kazoo. Enjoy! http://cwr.comicswaitingroom.com/2013/11/12/omnium-gatherum-75.aspx

Just wanted to post a brief interview I did with the gentlemen of Code Name Epic at the Long Beach Comic Con 2011, talking about Total Recall. Please enjoy.

Howdy, folks. I'm not sure if anybody is actually checking this blog on a regular basis. I know I tend not to. But some may be checking here after my participation in NaPoWriMo or other reasons. Well, I have good reasons for ya today. Total Recall #1 from Dynamite Entertainment is out today. I wrote it, amazingly enough, and am proud of it. But I'm also nervous and worried about the reactions. So to distract myself but also to share my insights into the process of creating this project I started a new series in my column Omnium Gatherum about how I got this project. I start off talking about pitching. I even learned a few things about the process as I wrote this column. Take a look. http://cwr.comicswaitingroom.com/2011/05/10/omnium-gatherum-73.aspx See ya. Namaste.

The Grand Finale. Five poems for two days. A Summer’s Day, Part 1 The sounds of the city echo and resonate, Telling of a useless busyness, a rush to nowhere. And the wind, the glorious wind Blows into the sails of my mind, Leading to paths known and unseen. A Summer’s Day, Part 2 A pool of still water reflects The deepness of the world’s soul, Full of the dreams of all, Empty from the strains of the sky. A pool of still water projects The quiet of my own soul, Peaceful within my world, Hectic from the world outside. A Summer’s Day, Part 3 The sun shines down upon the just and unjust, Sharing its light with all. Making no judgments of the kind of men Who bask in its warmth. Yet the eyes that use this summer light to see Judge all that falls within view, Seeing without fully seeing The souls beneath the flesh Nor understanding That karma and kismet tend to all. A Fragrance bittersweetness fills the air, wiping away all my care, strips my soul and lays it bare to all the beauty that’s the...

Three more days to go. Sunlight And Moonlight golden rays bring lazy days and good feelings. silver lights bring romantic nights and good times. On Practicing Buddhism Of life before I can only say Fading into constant ashes day to day, Then I heard the phrase Nam Myoho Renge Kyo And my life had something to praise. For causes I did make another time The reward was to know this time The Mystic Law and all it unfolds Within and without my life lived bold. So I chant in times good and bad, When I am happy, when I am sad or mad, To achieve enlightenment this time around, And to set up the same chance next time around. ‘Tis not easy, this Buddhist life, It isn’t always free from any strife. The struggle is part of the game, The drama that troubles this spacetime frame. For the rest of my life, I will say Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Every night and every day. With no regrets, this I vow, From this one until another Now.

Two more poems for today. The Mystery I think, therefore I am, it is said. Yet what is this that I am? For I think as I am an ego, And yet, I AM is the greater Self. So, as the Self does think Then it is therefore an ego, the Ego. So the conflict between the Self and the Ego Is silly, just as difference of viewpoint. So no difference at all. Just as ice and water are the same, It all depends on your perception. So the Self that thinks and feels Is the Ego; as I think Therefore I am because I AM. The Solution Two sides of the same coin, The ego and the self, High and low, Each defining the other As the way of defining the one. Yet the self is larger, The ego more focused and local. Still just as heart and mind And stomach can’t exist without the others, The self and ego need each other, To function, To rise, And to fall. Liberation and Manifestation, Two sides of the same coin, A cosmic circuit, Makes us human, fully human, Yet carrying the seed of the divine within.