I am very excited about today, I can barely contain my excitement.

Okay, I’m not that excited (I still have control of my bodily functions and all).

Still, July 17th has a few great things happening.

1. The 6th issue of Clusterf@#k comes out and with it, the mini-series ends. It was great to see the story build and form with the help of the team. Steven Forbes helped me knock the scripts into tip-top shape so that I could present them to Diego Toro who brought a lot of life to the pages. Kote Carvajal also was able to bring the colors that would set the mood for each scene as well as provide some of his own thoughts from time to time. Last but not least, Nic was able to fit all of the weird dialogue on the pages without making them distracting. Plus, he made the awesome logo that seem to just work everywhere. Everyone helped make the book much greater than the original scripts and I’m thankful for that.

Comixology
Google Play
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Comicsfix

Of course, I have plans for more but for now, this is where things close.

2. The issue is accompanied my Alterna Podcast episode speaking about the book, influences, and other ramblings. We also try to talk about the book without too many spoilers and succeed (for the most part, I think). I’m glad I got to go back on because the last time had been my first podcast via skype and I was so nervous. I said definitely about 50 times and tweeted that if you took a shot for every time I said it, you’d be blackout drunk and/or have alcohol poisoning. No such luck on this episode. I only said it twice (that I can remember). Anyway, it was a fun time and hopefully, I wasn’t speaking too quickly or being ridiculous.

https://soundcloud.com/alternapodcast/clusterfuck

3. Lastly (but my leastly), I returned to Comic DNA podcast with Aaron Walther to speak about the second volume of Felipe Smith’s manga Peepo Choo. This time around, it was just Aaron and myself as Joey and Luke had other engagements. But I feel like Aaron and myself kept it entertaining enough. I shared a couple of stories from my own experiences in Japan and we talk about the parallels between Milton and Rockstar. It should be a fun listen and I hope you enjoy it.

You can hear the episode covering volume one here.

Anyway, it should be a great time all around and I hope that you enjoy the book and both episodes.

I didn’t grow up watching Dusty Rhodes in his prime. By the time I was old enough to understand things,  he was at the end of his polka dot phase. He wasn’t the son of a plumber, he was just a guy who “talked funny”.

But when I heard that Dusty Rhodes passed away, I found myself deeply upset. As more and more people shared pictures and memories, I found myself getting choked up.

Dusty Rhodes wasn’t my favorite wrestler growing up, but he was definitely my favorite personality. His voice, his lisp, and his larger than life attitude made him stick out. On top of all of that, the man’s influence rippled through the world of wrestling and could be seen all over.

The recent Rhodes family saga meant a lot to me. Watching Cody battle Randy Orton to save his job was one of the few highlights in a time of mediocre booking. Watching Goldust return to the ring to get Cody’s job back was just as emotional. Seeing them win their jobs AND the tag titles from the most dominant faction at Battleground was one of the few times I got emotional watching wrestling in a long time. The shot of the Rhodes family in tears and embracing after so much going through so much just got to me.

There were random times when I found myself doing Dusty Rhodes impressions when I was driving around. Anytime Dusty Rhodes showed up on my screen, I couldn’t help but smile.

So, while I never saw his classic matches against Ric Flair and I never heard any of his promos live, but his passing makes me sadder than I ever expected.

But rest in peace, Dream. Your hard times are over.

The final issue arrives on comixology and other outlets in two weeks.

If you haven’t read the first five issues, now would be a great time to get caught up.