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I'm not complaining, exactly; it's just that some of the fanboy fun I used to have, trying to find that copy of Marvel's Star Wars #53 I had a letter in, or finally finishing my Miller Daredevil run, or watching Moebius draw Arzach on a backing board in less than ten seconds...

...well, I don't get to do those sorts of things much anymore.

In talking over the matter with AiT/Planet Lar co-publisher Mimi Rosenheim, we decided that what our con experience needed was a dash of umami...

...so we decided to forgo a booth at WonderCon and walk the floor as fans of the artform we love. Just a little sorbet to clear the palate.

Our publishing house still had a presence thanks to my good pal Rory Root, proprietor of one of the best comic book stores in the country, Comic Relief. Rory stocked all of our trades, and made a place for Sky Ape writer Phil Amara, Double Image's "The Bod" artist John Heebink, and me, to sign autographs. Rory, and his able lieutenants Tyler and Eul, really helped me enjoy the show by giving us a base of operations without the added stress of manning a booth of our own. If anyone else is getting a little jaded with comics, I suggest talking to Rory if you want to get your groove back. He's been at it longer than most and he hasn't lost his enthusiasm. Another guy who hasn't been at it for as long as Rory, but who has enthu siasm to spare, is comic book dynamo Mike Brennan. Mike is the writer artist-designer-publisher of Electric Girl , and lately he's been everywhere. Mike's marketing has been such that you are probably aware that there is a comic called Electric Girl , but that's probably about it. Unless you live near a particularly good shop, chances are you don't know that there're six issues and a fat trade paperback featuring her adventures available.

Mike saw the lay of the comics landscape and instead of taking his ball and going home, he decided to do something about it.

If you check out comic book news sites on the Internet, you've probably seen one of Mike's banner ads. If you're a retailer, you've probably received one of Mike's genius flyers which tease Electric Girl #7 as well as provide the STAR code for ordering his trade paperback. You may have seen his display ads in Comic Book Retailer or Comics Buyers' Guide for the book.

You may have heard that Mike's been nominated for an Eisner in the

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