Dirda on billionaires - Uncle Scrooge is the only one worth reading about

Feeling despondent? So am I. Then I remembered, books can help.

I know I can always escape into novels by P.G. Wodehouse and Patrick O'Brian and find strength in biographies of past leaders. What will you choose?

By Michael Dirda

November 14, 2024

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/11/14/books-election-coping-essay/

"Given four years to deal with, this might well be the time to finally read Dante's "Divine Comedy," Montaigne's "Essays," Proust's "In Search of Lost Time," William Faulkner's entire Yoknapatawpha saga, or every Fantagraphics album collecting Carl Barks and Don Rosa's comics about Scrooge McDuck, the only billionaire many of us have ever really liked."

Cartoonists and others at Baltimore Comic Con.

The Con is the busiest and biggest that I've ever seen and continues through today. Labels to come later, but the name of the person is in the file name.

Dave McDonald
Frank Cammuso (who will be at SPX with Jay Lynch)Joe Carabeo and Carolyn BelefskiSteve ConleyDave Roman C DowdBarbara DaleTR Logan aka The Laughing RedheadJoe Sutliff
Kevin KAL KallaugherCarla Speed McNeilJK Snyder III and his Shadow coverRoger Langridge doing a Popeye sketchChris SchweitzerKen BaldDon RosaKevin KAL KallaugherJoshua Luna

Heroes Con and Paul Madonna photographs

Heroes Con pictures including Team Cul de Sac, Don Rosa, Butch Guice, and the One Fine Sunday exhibit.



All Over Coffee cartoonist Paul Madonna at Politics and Prose, June 14, 2011.

Baltimore Comic-Con on Sunday

I'm a bit tired so here's some new pictures.

A few of interest:


Shannon Gallant and his Valkyrie sketch.


Don Rosa sketching Uncle Scrooge.


Frank Cho's painting of Mara Herning as Zatanna, being air-dried by Mara before auctioning.


Chris Sparks, Sergio Aragones and Richard Thompson share a laugh


Frederick, MD's Stephen Blickenstaff and his monsters.

Baltimore Comic Con photos continued

Baltimore Comic Con. Don Rosa correcting Scrooge's eyeglasses. He said he draws the view through the lenses but European publishers blank them out.


Baltimore Comic Con. Robert Montgomery and Don Rosa.


Rob Ullman. Rob said that he did well at the show, although Sunday was slower.


Frank Cho.


Image Comics booth.


Dark Horse Comics booth.


Tim Sale, racing the hourglass for some reason.


George Perez.


Scott Kurtz, with Greg Horn's booth signs showing oddly behind him.

Aftertime Comics store

Since 1985, Aftertime Comics has been in Old Town Alexandria on the end of King Street closer to the subway. It's a small store as you can tell from the photos, but they've always crammed a good assortment of comics and books into it. When I stopped in yesterday, I found some obscure stuff:

You Are Maggie Thatcher by Hunt Emerson and Pat Mills
Fandom: Confidential by Ron Frantz
Don Rosa Collection II: The Adventures of Captain Kentucky (Swedish edition!) by Don Rosa

This isn't stuff you could find in most comics stores, including my store, Big Planet. Joel Pollack, founder of the BP chain wrote in to say, "Aftertime is an amazing use of space. Great store, and you can quote me on that."

The address is 1304 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703-548-5030.