I've won an major award! No, it's not that leg lamp from A Christmas Story. It's a prestigious Xeric Foundation grant for self publishing! The good people at the Xeric Foundation selection board have chosen my very next comic book, "Jazz: Cool Birth," to receive a self-publishing grant, covering printing costs and some advertising. Huzzah!

Just in time, too. Printing and promoting "Seductions" and "Adam Among the Gods" has been an exciting but fund-draining venture. I wasn't sure whether my hoped-for schedule of two books per year could be realized. Now I will be able to afford "Jazz: Cool Birth," Aazurn Publishing's most avant garde attempt at comic book literature yet!

"Jazz: Cool Birth" is a late night murder mystery in C sharp minor, among the jazz clubs of 1957. Each full page illustration is inspired by album cover design, television program title artwork, and common illustrations used in everything from health booklets to instruction manuals from the ’50s. I concentrated on the combination of flat and painterly used by artists working with T-squares and triangles, tracing paper, ruling pens and brush, preparing work for rotary letterpresses and similar hands-on intensive printing methods.

The result is like nothing you've ever seen in a comic book before, a rich melange of bebop for your glims, a righteous groove without notes, dig? Put on some Monk, Miles or Coltrane and enjoy.

Meanwhile, I'm overusing the lengthy title bestowed upon me by the good folks at the Xeric Foundation, "Xeric Award-winning author and illustrator Gary Scott Beatty." Sort of like being a duke or a count or something. "Madame, it's the telephone. It's Xeric Award-winning author and illustrator Gary Scott Beatty." "Will you please welcome to the Tonight Show, Xeric Award-winning author and illustrator Gary Scott Beatty." "We will now hear from Xeric Award-winning author and illustrator Gary Scott Beatty."

OK, OK, I'm just fooling around. Remember, "Seductions" and "Adam Among the Gods" are now available ON LINE at http://www.Aazurn.com. If you're going to be at Wizard World Chicago June 26 through 29, look for my artists alley table. Or, in Michigan, look for a signing at a bookstore or comic shop near you.

Thanks for being interested! We're having a blast telling stories over here.