92615_RAA_LooseCannon_Text_R1_PROOF

Millennials like me seem to do these days: arguing about politics. Larry was the wild and yet seemingly unfazed member of that ridiculous bunch, and we bonded over our kids and an interest in sci-fi. You see, Larry has an eclectic range of knowledge, from the musically obscure to the comic book canon that presumably a person can only gather by being the wildest one around...and these columns exemplify every aspect of that. Who else knew that Larry’s nose was broken in the LA riots? Who knew there was supposed to be a Star Trek VI and Larry was going to be involved in it?? Better than all that, who else secretly suspected Larry got his ideas from a five-year-old? That did not shock me at all, because Larry is, in the end, a big kid at heart with that joy for the little details of life that so many of us seem to lose. I will not lie though, when I saw the timeframe for these columns the first thing I did was leap ahead to the first post-9/11 piece. I was a mere col lege student at the time, living in my DC bubble and staring in shock as things you only ever thought of happening in comic books (!) happened in real life. But there is Larry’s column, reminding me how even amidst the chaos of those days, including people unable to even return home due to the air traffic shutdown, we all reached for even the simplest of outlets to find a sense of normalcy. Grilling a steak with friends. Talking about insights from a comic convention that had occurred mere days before the haunting events in New York and DC. For me, that is what this world of comics, spies, and adventure is all about. An outlet to let your mind slow down, to view through simple imagery a tale of nuance, of drama, of intrigue, and (cover your ears, kids) maybe even a little romance. Comics often do not require you to drill down into gritty details, although as I write that somewhere some comic fan boy right now is burning me in effigy as he recounts a litany of 4,000-page scholarly analyses evaluating the philosophical meaning of Thor’s hammer or the patriotic ethos underlying Captain America. But, no, comics are at their heart stories of simplicity and wonder. And, in a way, that is what so many of these columns from Larry are as well: tales of wonder. The simple things we do in life but told in a way that make it sound far more enticing. So, kick back for a few. Grill a steak, drink a beer, and peruse these columns. Or don’t: Larry does not judge. After all, if you’re reading this, you already bought the book. Your money is his money now.

Bradley P. Moss from an undisclosed location May, 2024 Sent from my iPhone