This year I spent my holiday break in quaint and lovely Maplewood New Jersey. I was charged with dog sitting Dr. Buddy, Lauren Weinstein and Tim Hodler’s rambunctious hound.

Since I was taking a break from the city and its distractions I decided to treat this as a writing retreat. my goal was to get far along in my cartooning book. Did it work? Kind of. I did get  fair amount of writing done, though not as much as I’d hoped. Lauren and Tim’s comfy home can be distracting, they have a million great comics. I discovered Agonizing Love, the new collection of golden age romance comics from Harper. It’s pretty good, but kind of a hodge podge collection. Not a best of, there were plenty of stinkers and no Matt Baker or Simon and Kirby (except some covers). Oh well, I guess those guys have their own collections. I was happy to see a Ruth Atkinson comic in there.

And this one was good. Maybe it’s Ogden Whitney?

Oh and this dude, whoever he is. I think I’ve seen him before, he draws hair like it’s made out of copper wire. And his girls dress so sleazy! In case you were wondering, in this panel a mother is consoling he crying daughter. This one is pretty bad but fun and weird (and it has a progressive message, it’s ok to date someone outside your church!)

And who created this gem? Look at this splash page!

And what a kiss! This guy is good. This comic is about a maimed vet coming home after the wear. can she love a man with a claw? It’s a pretty good story.

You can probably tell, the author of the collection didn’t credit the artists. I know many (most?) of these artists are unknown, but a few aren’t (Ruth Atkinson signed her name).

I’m getting distracted. and that’s the point, I am too distracted out here to write as much as I’d like. And the suburbs are kind of scary…too quiet and dark and empty. I was getting freaked out on Dr. Buddy’s late night walks. I miss New York, where it’s never really dark or quiet. Heading home tonight!