Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday season
(with fun, food, and comics)!

Just a heads up that the next issue is – obviously – going to be late. I had a lot going on and just kept letting this issue slip behind schedule. But the new year is upon us and I am happy to report that I am finally sitting down (beer in hand) and am getting back to typesetting the material I have on hand.

If anyone still wants to send in some material, I will still accept it. But it will take a back seat to material already on hand.

Talk to you all soon!

It's almost hard to believe that it's been only two weeks since Hurricane Harvey blasted through South Texas. We were fortunate in Houston that we only received the Tropical Storm aspect of it, but that slow, constant downpour of rain (between 30-50 inches, depending on where you lived in Houston) resulted in flooding that can genuinely be described as Catastrophic.

Sketch treatment of a news photo by Mike Mitchell
The storm raged from about Aug. 25 - 31, 2017

So far, it appears that my home was spared serious damage. There is some leaking in the roof and possible damage to my chimney. I did have to "evacuate" a lot of comics to another room because the ceiling was bubbling with moisture (insurance adjusters come this week, we'll see what they say).

I got off very easy this time, and I don't think the damage or repairs will affect my ability to meet the deadline for next issue. Nevertheless, I'll keep you posted.

Took a bit longer to get the print version of this one out due to some binding issues, but I think it was worth the wait! Collectors' Club Newsletter #121 features a stunning, vibrant cover by Larry Johnson and a back cover by George Mink (with type design assist from Mike Mitchell).

This issue is another 64-page giant with color front & back covers  (plus a mailing wrapper by Tisch), including:

• 14 pages of Forum letters
• 11 pages of Fantasy Corner
• 12 pages of Articles
• 11 pages of comics (including 1 pg of text about the "Days Gone" strip)
• 7 pages of "Club Continuum"
• 1 page of "Ask Tilly"

This was a fun issue to put together. Quite a bit of variety in contents, although I must admit that our back catalog is getting a little thin, especially for upcoming installments of Fantasy Corner. Speaking of which, the illustration I created for Part 2 of Roger Keel's story, "The Children Game," was selected as a "Staff Pick of the Week" over at Renderosity (the online community where I post a lot of my digital artwork).

 
Illustration by Mike Mitchell
for Roger Keel's story, "The Children Game"

Hey there, true believers (Stan Lee can't sue me for saying that, can he?)!

Heads up that I finally finished the next issue of the CCN and it is ready to go. I sent it to our super veep, Alan Sissom, today and he will do the magic on his end to email the PDF to everyone who gets it that way.

The mailing issues will be printed later this week (I think) and they will go out as soon as he can sit down and take care of it.

I want to thank Lance Pigeon for providing the FANTASTIC cover for this issue. Lance frequently works with digital art (as do I), but this is one of the pieces he did by hand, and I've got to say that I'm very impressed with it. This was a classic art deco / art nouveau look that fits perfectly with the Princess Diana. Those of you with sharp eyes and long memories might recognize that this particular CCN logo is one I created for the Christmas issue a while back. It just seemed to fit perfectly with his style, so I dusted it off and used it again.

This issue comes in at a whopping 64 pages (plus a mailing wrapper by Tisch), including:

• 14 pages of Forum letters
• 15 pages of Fantasy Corner
• 10 pages of Articles
• 10 pages of comics
• 4 pages of "Club Continuum"

I really want to thank everyone who stepped up at the last minute to submit letters and content. I really appreciate it (and special thanks to John Russell and Larry Johnson for providing down-to-the-wire submissions for the back cover (that's Larry's work to the right) and poetry to help fill a 1-page "hole" I had in this issue). 

This is a strong issue folks, and just so it won't bankrupt anyone's account, I'm contributing $40 to the printing of this issue. That should shave about $2 off the cost for each of you who receive this via print. 

By the way, there are some important announcements in this issue regarding the future of the Club, so please make sure you read this issue's Soapbox carefully. I don't want anyone to be surprised if we start discussing these issues in the future.

I also am thrilled to welcome back our old friend, TILLY THE VELOCIRAPTOR, who has been absent from our pages for far too long. Honestly, you'd think a time traveler would be more punctual. I mean, yeah, the galaxy needed saving from something or other (I try to pay attention when she texts me, but sometimes I get lost in all the techno-speak about quantum-this and quantum-that). I'm just glad she's back to share our wisdom with us.

There are a few other changes and updates coming soon, but for now it's time for me to sit back, sigh with relief and get some other work done for a few weeks. As always, you can reach out to us via email, Facebook, or to Alan's PO Box.

Hey everybody. I hope this Monday morning finds everyone well and in good spirits. Alan Sissom has been talking to me Susan Dorne, and the short version of the story is that Alan needs a break. We're not sure how long this break will last (maybe a few months, maybe permanently), but for now, I will be taking over as the editor of the Collectors' Club Newsletter.

Unless someone else steps forward right now and wants the job, I will accept my appointment as Interim Prez of the CC. Alan will be staying on as the Vice President and Treasurer. The division of duties will be as follows: I will collect, collate and produce the Newsletter itself.

Alan will handle keeping up with the roster, accounts, the actual printing and mailing of the physical copies. Sue, of course, will stay on as the editor of Fantasy Corner. Alan has already sent me the material he has, and this week I will start putting it all together. My target date for releasing CCN #120 will be mid May 2017. Probably around April 15-17.

I will have a new email address for submissions set up in the next day or so. If you do have something ready now, you can send it to Alan or PM me for my private email address. And before I go, I want to express my gratitude to Alan for making a go of it this long. The Collectors' Club would still be defunct without him. I hope he knows how much his hard work has meant to us, and I'm hoping this change will let him get a little rest so he can focus on his family and friends.

THANKS ALAN!