November 3, 2009
I've been walking Peaches every day (sometimes twice a day) and noticing that I sometimes get really good ideas while I'm walking along. So, I have been coming back to the house, going inside and writing down, what I call, The Big Idea. For example, Sunday I was thinking about the John Ford classic "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence," and in the old story telling tradition of using a quote, or passage from an earlier, classic story to begin a new story, I asked myself how would that apply to Mickey Free?

Okay, it's probably a medium idea, but the walks are productive and the scenery is pretty damn sweet.

100 Covers: Wrapping Ourselves In The Flag
After the flurry of Stunt Covers in 2006, I was tired of the controversy and irate phone calls and decided what we needed was a nice, solid series of covers that had integrity. My marching orders to Dan The Man were, "Give me something that will look good on a coffee table." And, so, Mr. Harshberger did exactly that:

A very clean and striking cover with headlines that don't scream or even shout. Perhaps it's not a great newsstand ploy, but it sure works for my tastes. I would place this cover in my top five favorites of all we have done.

Continuing with the sepia integrity, we followed with this cover on The Racial Frontier:

And then followed suite with a sports cover in the same vein:

This cover was not as successful as I had hoped, at least on the newsstand (I know, I know, I was allegedly giving up the newsstand mania for an understated look, and then, still comparing our numbers and complaining. Welcome to Dan Harshberger's world). Next up, another one of my favorites, this one was inspired by the short lived movie, "Dude, Where's My Car?" That, and attending the annual Dude Ranch Association Convention in Cody, Wyoming where I met several young people who are carrying on the traditions of the Dude Ranch and the West:

In September of 2006 we put a striking In-din on the cover. I like this cover very much, but we have never had much luck with Native Americans on the cover. Not sure why.

Next up, a slam dunk: Tombstone, Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell as Doc and Wyatt, all done in sepia. What's not to love about this one. This cover did quite well (and still sells briskly as a back issue):

In November we tried a slightly different tact with the sepia look, utilizing an old publicity still of William S. Hart. Not real successful but still a worthy offering in the run of sepia covers.

Then, a tip of the hat to the ladies:

And going into 2007, another Native American cover making the claim "Cowboys Are Indians":

As we continued into 2007 we made efforts to go deeper and wider with some successes, and a few turkeys as well. We were on a roll and doing good.

"The luxury of doing good surpasses every other personal enjoyment."
—John Gay