The Artwork of BECOMING MERLIN

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LOST? Find Your Way With These Cool TAROT CARDS

When you think about it, the Tarot and the TV show Lost just seem to go really great together. People have been reading Tarot cards at least as long as Lost's been on the air, and in all that time, most folks still couldn't tell you what either of them means.

Don't get us wrong; J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof are fanboy gods. But Lost just isn't a show that's ever rocked our socks off.  The Tarot, though, is an entirely different story;  even with counting all 72 cards of the Major and Minor Arcana, it's at once simpler and more complex a mystery than Lost could ever be. But the two do mix like Reese's Pieces, and we've gotta give it up for Alex Griendling, an obvious fan of both and the first guy we've come across who's made that connection.

Alex's customized Lost Tarot deck is pretty sweet, and we're loving the colors.  That he managed to find the archetypal in ABC's top-rated series isn't any small feat, either.  Take a walk down the comicsblog to check out a few our favorite cards, then hit the link to jump over to Alex's Flickr where you'll find the rest. Dabblers, your destiny awaits... [link]

(Click any card to enlarge)

One Magic Word

The word 'Blog' -- it's a funny little thing, isn't it? Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue with much grace. Blog. Go ahead - say it out loud. I'll even do it with you. Blog. What do you think? Rather deep and guttural sounding, in my opinion, even foreboding. A murky 'something' the Creature from the Black Lagoon might've called home. Scary or not, it's still just a word. Blog. 

Of course, you and I know better. We've been Googling the 'world-wide' long enough to know that 'Blog' doesn't just mean one word -- it means a lot of 'em. Columns, actually, some going back years. Pages upon pages of HTML covered with words, information and ideas, opinions and pictures, 10-Best lists, worst-dressed lists, and of course, plenty of news you can use.

All those things present in a single word of dubious origin - Blog. One word can pack a pretty serious punch. Of course, we still know better, we savvy linguists. A word can aim high! It can achieve much, much more than a career as an alphabetical prize-fighter. Not that being a prize-fighter's a bad thing, but can a prize-fighter pull a rabbit out of an empty hat? Abracadabra, the magician says, and suddenly... there's the bunny!

All words are magic. 'Abracadabra' is practically synonymous with it. Long ago, perhaps just after the gods of the Fourth World passed the torch to that poor kid Mandie and perhaps because of it, the ancient Hebrews had a single word that meant "I will create with words," or essentially, "I will create something out of nothing."

That was magic. That word, abracadabra. 

Before you think this is just one more Blogger site dedicated to etymology, ancient Hebrews, or David Blaine, it's not. I dropped that idea last week. This blog's (mostly) about comics -- still another magic word, since comic books have been my magical stuff since I was six. The kind of magic stuff that you respect, that has power inside you can't help but be drawn to. I'm beginning to feel a lot like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, running around with that piece of gold jewelry. Heh.

I guess I'd make a bad hobbit, because like Frodo, magic's sway finally got to me. I had to try the magic ring on. Seven years of sales and marketing for a Fortune 100 company placed behind me, I shimmered to invisible and began my heroic journey towards the Holy Grail of comicbook self-publishing. Learning the tricks of the trade and employing your longtime magicks to create a dream. That's when I knew I was, absolutely and without doubt, an abbracadabbler. 

You're reading abbracadabbling. My blog, the official blog of Present Magic Comics (my future imprint), the blog with magic built right inside of it. Which might make it a comicsblog, with or without the fact that anything and everything having to do with the business and art of comics will be discussed right here. And if comics aren't you're thing, don't panic. The magical materials of an eventual self-publisher are more than superheroes -- so expect megasmash movie reviews, creative writing insight, and timely talk about hot new tech gizmos and gadgets on this very same page. I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve, too.

So take note, comicbook blogosphere! The red curtain's been lifted. The kid gloves are off. The 'Dabbler is in the house.