The Omen

The New Adventures of Jack Kirby #1 has been lettered! All that's left now as far as I'm concerned is cover layout, and I've already got a mockup of how that's going to go. Look for it as early as next week!

Tonight after work, I went over to the mall and bothered the affable and melodious Rob Lindsey. He knew most of what I talked about already, since he reads the ISB. Therein lies the trouble: I have rendered my conversations with friends almost completely obsolete.

One of the things we did talk about that I haven't mentioned here for the past couple of days was the now-infamous Box o' Punishment. For those of you just joining the party, I gathered up a copy of every single issue we had of the Punisher and--starting with the Essential--decided to read them all. I've been keeping it on the down-low lately to avoid burning my readers out on Big Frank's various exploits (and occasional blaxploits), but rest assured, I've been trucking on through at an astonishing pace.

Today I finally made it through every issue leading up to Suicide Run, a multi-part crossover that ties in almost everything from Eurohit to War Zone. That's the good news. The bad news is, it's terrible. But it's one of the signs that I'm almost finished.

So, given that I've spent two weeks neck deep in the Punisher, I was pretty shocked when somebody sold us a collection today that included this little guy.

That's right. Amazing Spider-Man #129. The first appearance of the Punisher.

And here's the thing: I'm seriously considering buying it. Now in all honesty, I've probably been driven crazy by the combined powers of Mike Baron and Chuck D, but I mean, it's a weird bit of synchronicity, right? I'd almost say it was a sign of some kind...

Please, someone talk me out of it.