Gainfully Employed, by Elayne Riggs
Kids, it’s been a rough six months for me. Well no, I take that back, it hasn’t. I should start off by saying that I’ve had a lot of advantages to take me through my most recent period of unemployment. I was eligible to collect over $300 a week in unemployment insurance (thank you, FDR!). My former job kept me on COBRA so I also had health insurance, of which I took full advantage during my involuntary extended vacation to get all my medical and dental check-ups out of the way. The premiums rose considerably a couple months ago, but the unemployment payments (which ran out two weeks ago) helped a lot, as long as Robin took care of the rent and bills. Which he did, as fortunately he’s been employed during the entire time (thank you, DC Comics!). Plus, my mom has been there to help out when I’ve needed it.
Even with all that, even with the other built-in advantages (living in a big city, having a college degree, cultivating a pretty solid set of skills), it’s been scary. My heart goes out to people who don’t have that second income, that familial support system, that safety net for when stuff goes wrong. I can’t imagine how they get through it. My stress level was through the roof.
The illusion of job security has always been very important to me. I’m married to a freelancer, but I couldn’t see adopting that lifestyle myself. I’m a creature of habit, I like having set routines; in fact, I like having other people set them. Being a freelancer takes too much self-discipline. I tried catching up on my writing during this last six months, but couldn’t manage more than my usual ComicMix column, weekly roundup, and daily blog post. I was just too consumed with anxiety over my workless state.
Fortunately, I was able to summon up enough wherewithall to undertake an extremely detailed and organized job search, an avocation in and of itself, but the thing about looking for work is, it’s never in the same office from one day to the next, is it? And it’s exhausting, rather like I’d imagine it would be when you’re finishing up an assignment and your brain is busy worrying about where the next assignment is coming from. Nope, one freelancer in the family is quite enough!
Born in 1957, Hilary Barta began his comic book career in 1982 when he was hired at Marvel to help ink The Defenders #108. In 1984 he moved to First Comics to ink Warp, and slowly graduated to penciling as well. In 1988, after work for Eclipse, Marvel, and First, Barta launched both Marvel’s What The—?! and DC’s Plastic Man.
So you were pleasantly surprised at The Incredible Hulk, and you still can’t shake that ending to Battlestar: Galactica. There is nothing better to do than plunge on with this week’s latest batch of new comics and DVDs, plus:Â 
or 
Sixty years ago next year, the remnants of the Fleischer Studio teamed up with the folks at St. John Comics (Tor, Three Stooges, and the original 3-D comics) to create Casper The Friendly Ghost #1. It lasted five issues. Paramount, owners of the Fleischer operation, took the license over to Harvey Comics and a legend floated off the ground.
Dash Shaw has a strange habit of defining things, of explaining all the elements of his world in minute detail.
(Fantagraphics, $29.99), that microscopic focus takes on monumental scope as Shaw relates the foibles and piccadiloes of the Loony family when the patriarch and matriarch announce a divorce after decades of marriage.
According to USA Today, DC Comics is going to break its long-standing tradition and actually commit to a new series based on a teevee show before it goes on the air. 
Robert Downey Jr. must have enjoyed his foray into comic book films as Tony Stark in the breakaway success of Iron Man. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 
Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman’s first big comics project, last year’s five-issue miniseries 
, was one of last year’s biggest surprises — but not for the reasons you might expect.
