A Miscellany of Matters

Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Wood Dragon! According to Lifestyle Asia, “the upcoming year will be celebrated as the ‘Year of the Wood Dragon’ – the most vital and powerful creature in the Chinese zodiac … People born in the Year of the Wood Dragon (1964, 2024 and so on) are considered to be extremely creative and inquisitive beings, who like to explore many different paths in life which results in them being very open and liberal. As for the upcoming Year of the Wood Dragon 2024, it will commence on February 10, 2024, till January 28, 2025. Always brimming with drive and motivation, Wood Dragons enjoy fulfilling careers. They’re likely to materialise all their ambitions into actions, coming up with truly revolutionary ideas that make them the masters of their craft. Unlike the other Dragon-born people, who are often seen as proud and arrogant, the Wood Dragon thrives on humility.”

 

ACTION FIGURES TO BE NOTED

 

ITEMS FROM THE WISH LIST

 THORN: The Complete Proto-BONE College Strips 1982-1986, and Other Early Drawings Paperback – Illustrated, July 30, 2024

by Jeff Smith (Author, Illustrator)

The Secret Origin of Jeff Smith's BONE Comes to Light! NYT Bestselling Author Smith Returns to his Roots with a New Collection of His THORN College Strips!

"Cartoon Books announces THORN: The Complete Proto- BONE College Strips from 1982 to 1986, and Other Early Drawings, reprinting the entire run of his earliest rendering of the world-famous BONE characters for the first time.

“The comic strips reveal an early version of BONE called THORN that was written for a college audience in the 1980s. THORN appeared  in the pages of The Ohio State University's student newspaper The Lantern. A few were reprinted in a self-published 1983 book called THORN: Tales from The Lantern. Another small selection was published in 2008's limited edition fundraiser for OSU's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum called Before BONE. Both books are long out of print and sell at collector's prices. There has never been an official, complete run published until now.

This beautiful edition includes plenty of bonus material such as recently discovered early drawings of the BONE characters, essays and interviews.” – Amazon.

A Journal of the Plague Year (Penguin Classics) Paperback – August 26, 2003

“In 1665 the plague swept through London, claiming over 97,000 lives. Daniel Defoe was just five at the time of the plague, but he later called on his own memories, as well as his writing experience, to create this vivid chronicle of the epidemic and its victims. A Journal (1722) follows Defoe's fictional narrator as he traces the devastating progress of the plague through the streets of London. Here we see a city transformed: some of its streets suspiciously empty, some—with crosses on their doors—overwhelmingly full of the sounds and smells of human suffering. And every living citizen he meets has a horrifying story that demands to be heard.” – Amazon.

 

Hero (Blu-ray)

Hero
“Ancient China and the Qin Empire is out to conquer the six kingdoms. This makes its king a target for assassination. However, one man has single-handedly ensured the safety of the king, by killing the three most notorious assassins in the land. Treated as a hero, he is summoned for an audience with the king."
 – Amazon.

And finally, a photo of J. R. R. Tolkien I’d never seen before.