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Nick Gazin's Comic Book Love-In #50

It's my 50th comic book review column for VICE. I considered reviewing 50 books like I did with my 10th column, but why? Why pretend like the number 50 means something?

Hey Everybody,

It's my 50th comic book review column for VICE. I considered reviewing 50 books like I did with my 10th column, but why? Why pretend like the number 50 means something? Milestones, checkpoints, award shows, false rites of passage, they all mean nothing. I write the comics column for VICE and someday I'll quit, get fired, or die. And that's fine and I don't need to throw a party for a number.

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In comics news: I am still neck deep in drawing my own comic, Negative Dad. It will be a hit and you will like it and buy it if you are into psychedelic art and science fiction and are the kind of person who buys anything that's on the Wavves merch table.

In other people's comics news Jason's I Killed Adolph Hitler, published by Fantagraphics, has been optioned to be made into a movie. I doubt it will ever happen but Jason's rad so it would be also rad if a rad movie was made from his rad book.

Also, MC Chris has his own cartoon show coming up from Cartoon Network! Hooray!

In sad comics news, John Severin died. John Severin was one of the last of the few remaining EC comics staff. His sister, Mary Severin, who also drew for EC, is still with us. Al Jaffee's still here. So is Al Feldstein. Who else?

People are still flipping their shit about how crummy an idea the Before Watchmen line of comics is. Alan Moore has said that he's not planning on suing DC since it would be a waste of time and they might be able to order him to stop speaking publicly about how much he hates it.

Al Jaffee's got a real fancy book coming out from Chronicle Books that collects his Mad fold-ins in a four volume, boxed set. There's a special event at MoCCA to promote this event on Thursday, February 23. It costs seven bucks to get in and the book's $125. Al will be there and some other stuff too.

In still-yet-more comics news, Jeremy Ville made this awesome motivational poster, probably in response to that comic that's been going around about how being a self-employed artist means hardly ever making art. It's real good.

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In comic news potential, Best American Comics 2013 is accepting submissions. You can submit here.

Here's a stupid song I made that climaxes with me going to a comic book store with a girl. When I was little I just wanted to have a girlfriend and to work in comics, maybe at Wizard magazine. My life has been one disappointment after another and I've found that neither dream will ever make me happy. But it used to be fun to bring girls to comic book stores.

I remember the first time I brought a girl to a comic book store. I was 13 and it was my first date with my first girlfriend. My dad drove us there and then we went to Playland in Rye New York. I got one of Mike Allred's Madman shirts. I wonder what she thought as she peered around at the brightly colored paper and model kits and stuff. My dad got one of those Paradox Press Big Books which he read on a bench as I wandered around with this frizzy red-headed lady-child. Later I had my awkward first kiss by Playland's shitty mini golf course on one of the benches that faces the lake. She told me I would remember it forever and I stared into the darkness over the water as she put her full weight onto my ribcage. I was in a lot of discomfort but I didn't say anything for fear of ruining the moment. At the end of the summer when we broke up she explained that she was actually very popular at her school. When I was 17 or 18, I started hanging out with the punks and stopped seeing a difference between genders. Every time I go into a comic store with a girl who doesn't care about comics I think about being 13 and realize that I don't know myself any more now than I did then.

Here are two Valentines I made this year.

Previously - Nick Gazin's Comic Book Love-in #49