And the issue's in the midst of final preparation -- just as my new water heater conks out. But all is not lost. The fact that we've got a great little heating-and-cooling-installation storefront operation in town meant that I was able to get the water heater working again in much less than half an hour -- and my early rising meant that I'm ahead of the game in my contributions to the issue.

(By the way, one of the contributions that hasn't come together in time for #1635 will be on display in #1636. It's a detective story about a major publisher's comic book that I bet isn't in your collection, even though it came out only a dozen years ago. What is it? Why don't you have it? What's it worth? Well, heck, if you care about back-issue pricing, I must say that it's difficult to price it, because so few people have it or, missing it, are unaware that they might want it. Stay tuned.)

Labor Day Weekend is almost upon us -- and then it's the Baltimore con weekend, followed by Diamond's Retailer Summit. Not to mention the jaunt to the nearby Geppi's Entertainment Museum. I'm thinking once per day isn't too often to drop by that tourist attraction. Time to start packing?