Hey there, party people! Welcome back to The Book Report.

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, and I hope you’ll find some way to celebrate the hell out of it. Just don’t drink and drive. If you really want to be a rebel wear the color blue instead of green, since that was the color original associated with St. Patrick. And if you’re lucky enough to live in or visit Cork County, make sure to go to the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dripsey: the hundred yards separating the village’s two pubs.

Also, be sure to check out Semantink’s web-comic The Undergrounds. The trade paperback of Season 1 is available for pre-sale at a discounted price. It features every episode plus a plethora of extras (that’s right, a plethora). It’s about your classic movie (and literature) monsters working in a coffee shop, written by Marcel Losada, Michael Drace Fountain, James Ninness, Joe Pezzula, and Derek Johnson (each author writes a different character) and drawn by the insanely talented Daniel Touchet.

“People of the world, relax!“
That’s the theme parroted (at times, quite literally) through Tom Robbins’ novel Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates (Bantam Books, 2000). The title comes from Arthur Rimbaud’s 1873 poem A Season in Hell.

Que les villes s’allument dans le soir. Ma journée est faite ; je quitte l’Europe. L’air marin brûlera mes poumons ; les climats perdus me tanneront. Nager, broyer l’herbe, chasser, fumer surtout ; boire des liqueurs fortes comme du métal bouillant, — comme faisaient ces chers ancêtres autour des feux.
Je reviendrai, avec des membres de fer, la peau sombre, l’œil furieux : sur mon masque, on me jugera d’une race forte. J’aurai de l’or : je serai oisif et brutal. Les femmes soignent ces féroces infirmes retour des pays chauds.

Let cities light their lamps in the evening. My daytime is done; I am leaving Europe. The air of the sea will burn my lungs; lost climates will turn my skin to leather. To swim, to pulverize grass, to hunt, above all to smoke; to drink strong drinks, as strong as molten ore, — as did those dear ancestors around their fires.
I will come back with limbs of iron, with dark skin, and angry eyes: in this mask, they will think I belong to a strong race. I will have gold: I will be brutal and indolent. Women love these fierce invalids from hot cimates. (from Mauvais Sang, or Bad Blood)

The story follows CIA agent (and Broadway show-tunes lover) Switters through the Amazon and across the deserts of The Middle East as he tries to understand and unravel a shamanistic curse and the secret third prophecy of Our Lady of Fátima. Like his other novels, Fierce Invalids… is a hilarious romp through some Serious Ideas.
Robbins is a master at thoroughly researching a subject and then letting his imagination run wild over the parts the subject leaves unexplained.

I know a few weeks ago I wrote a bit about his book Skinny Legs and All, but Fierce Invalids… tickled me too much, and hilariously criticized to many great topics, to not mention on The Book Report. One particular section dealt with how the three major monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) had their religious texts consistently mistranslated by their holy leaders when they wished to achieve political ends. After my look at religious philosophy over the past three weeks, I found such criticisms especially poignant.
Anyway, go give Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates a read, pick up a pre-order of The Undergrounds trade, and enjoy a *delicious, frosty beer tomorrow.

Until next time,
Still paddlin’ the old knew…
_-Akatzen-_

*Delicious generally means it does not have Coors, Budweiser, or Miller in the title.

The Undergrounds season one ends (and is collected) — season two announced!

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Benjamin Glibert, Director of Publishing
(619) 206‑3563 – Ben@Semantink.com

The Undergrounds season one ends…

Semantink Publishing’s free weekly webcomic, The Undergrounds, chronicling the goings–
on of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Wolfman, The Mummy and Van Helsing at their day
job – a café – is coming to an end.  After a year long run that began on February 1, 2010, the
first season is ending with the final strip going live on February 21, 2011.

Benjamin Glibert, Semantink’s Director of Publishing, spoke to The Undergrounds success
in its inaugural year, “I could not be happier with with the way that THE UNDERGROUNDS
season 1 turned out. Right off the bat, I knew that the premise of the strip was a winner, but
seeing it come to fruition has been wonderful. Each writer was able to bring not only his own
voice to the project, but create a story that flowed together week to week. Of course I would
be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing energy and continuity provided by Daniel’s art. I
am so proud of everyone involved, and I feel lucky to have been a part of the project.”

(And is collected)…

Semantink Publishing is excited to collect these strips in a trade to be released on May 2, 2011.
Containing all 52 released strips, and a few unreleased ones, The Undergrounds: Season One
will be loaded with extras, including extra art from artist Daniel Touchet, marketing pieces
from the first season, an introduction from Semantink Director of Publishing Benjamin
Glibert and more…
Pre-Orders will begin with the posting of the final strip on February 21, 2011, and will
continue until the books official release two months later.  The Undergrounds: Season One
will retail for $19.99 and be available exclusively at Semantink.com.  Pre-orders will save
$2.00 off of the cover price at $17.99.

Season two announced!

Also beginning May 2, 2011, Semantink Publishing is proud to begin the second season of
The Undergrounds!  With a new job, new characters and the fresh blood of a few new writers,
Semantink couldn’t be more excited!

Returning for the second season will be: artist, Daniel Touchet and writers, Marcel Losada,
Michael Fountain, Joe Pezzula and James Ninness. New to the webseries are writers: Ryan
Darrow, Eric Jennings and Shannon Forrey – each bringing with them a ghoul previously
unseen!

“As enamored as I am with our first season of THE UNDERGROUNDS, I am even more jazzed
about season two,” adds Benjamin Glibert, “By adding cast members and changing the
setting, I think that the story telling options have really been opened up. Of course, with
more characters comes more writers, and I am extremely excited about the new talent that
we have brought onboard. Shannon, Eric, and Ryan have all brought a host of new ideas to
the table, and people are really going to enjoy their additions to the cast. Having the bulk of
the creative talent back from season one has been a treat, I’m ecstatic that we were able to
keep so many creative individuals on board. Season two is really going to blow people out of
the water.”
Ryan Darrow was born and raised in Orange County, CA. To be exact, he was born at the
Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, CA, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy
seven. He was expelled from private school and attempted to smoke his way through college
art and film courses. He dropped out and did very little for very long. Ryan occasionally
writes things with little or no intention of finishing them, reading books in much the same
manner. He would also like you to know that he’s married so hands off, ladies. You may look
though.
Eric Jennings currently resides in Sherman Oaks, CA but was raised in sunny San Diego. He’s
living the dream in Los Angeles working in post-production, the most glamorous segment of
the film industry. Eric attended the Los Angeles Film School where he studied directing and
editing (with some writing thrown in). You may have seen (but probably not) Eric’s work on
screen through his thesis film (that he wrote and directed) called What’s All That Racket?
His true passion in life, however, is writing web comics.
The illegitimate love-child of business and creativity, Shannon Forrey spends most of her
time Art Directing and obsessing over advertising. Inspired by all things horror, nerdom as
well as the weird & strange, her writing and design reflects this quirky personality. She is
constantly reminded to travel more, never give up your passions and “Fail Harder”.
Viewers will find the new season of The Undergrounds at the same address:
http://www.the-undergrounds.com and, like before, it is entirely free and released every
Monday morning.

Semantink Publishing – www.Semantink.com
SEMANTINK PUBLISHING is first and foremost a company dedicated to quality, not quantity.
We believe that taking the time to read anything should be a rewarding experience, whether
it’s a comic book, a novel, a magazine or the back of a cereal box. A great story, like good
food, takes time to prepare and that means we won’t churn out twenty properties a week to
fill your shelves and take your money. Instead we’re going to take our time crafting stories
so that you can (we hope) spend your time enjoying them. We want you to stare at panels
of art for a few minutes, or maybe relax as you digest a line of text. It’d be nice if you looked
forward to your time with us, as we look forward to sharing with you. In short, Semantink
wants you to find the meaning of print, each time you read us.