A Ninja in the Mail. A Lantern in the Heart.

So, I've had kind of a crappy day today. Now I could blather on about the reasons why, but that would neither lend itself to interesting storytelling, nor would it be any fun at all.

Instead, let me tell you about how my day just got better.

For those of you who've read earlier entries, you'll remember I mentioned a comic called Athena Voltaire, drawn by Steve Bryant. You'll also recall that I commissioned Steve to do a piece for me of my favorite pulp hero, The Shadow.

Well, after some understandable delays (the guy's moving into a new house, for crying out loud!), I finally received the sketch today, and it's as lovely (and by lovely, I mean full of biff and stingo) as I thought it would be from the jpeg preview he sent.

But...he said since I was so patient, he threw in something extra. Namely, a piece of original artwork from the book that you should ALL be reading: Athena Voltaire. Even cooler is the fact that, since the book is now moving in a different direction creatively (Steve's taking more of the reins, which is fine by me), the piece he sent me won't ever be seeing print...at least in this form.

Here it is. My apologies for the quality of the photo, but my scanner won't take 11x17.

Heroine in simple, elegant black dress wielding pistol? Check.

Dead ninja? Check.

Guy in black suit and tie, with hint of bloody mouth, reaching for bo. Check.

More than the "playing to my sensibilities in a big ol' way" quotient, it was an exceptionally kind gesture. It's the kind of gesture that effortlessly lifts the corners of my mouth into an unexpected smile. Thanks again, Steve!

This was a surprise, to be sure, but it's not the biggest surprise I've ever received. That honor would go to the thing that, no matter how I'm feeling, always warms my heart.

My Green Lantern plush doll.

To explain: my good friends Brandon & Christina have two wonderful daughters, for whom I'm "Uncle Jake," which is, of course, ridiculously cool in and of itself. Last Christmas, after I gave the kids their presents, the oldest daughter, Karina (she's 5), walked up to me and said, "Uncle Jake? Daddy said Green Lantern's your faaaaavorite, right?" She accentuated the long "a" in that endearing way that only children can. To which I responded, "Yep, that's right."

(Brief note: for those of you who would have thought Batman, I'm happy to surprise you.)

Hiding my present behind her back--much like the way I do when I give a gift, instead of wrapping it--she then presented it like a magician and softly said, "Merry Christmas."

And there it was:

If this isn't the sweetest thing ever, I truly don't know what is. I just get deliriously happy every time I look at it.

I know I said it at Christmas-time, but thank you so much, kiddo! And Green Lantern seems to like it up here. After all, he's giving the thumbs-up!

Go out and enjoy the rest of your day, all. Thanks for reading.