The Atomic Elbow: Issue 16

Hi, everyone.

Issue 16 is done. This one's jam-packed with excitement. Are you ready to read a list of the contents? If not, please do whatever you need to do to get ready, or maybe go to another website. Because this website's about to list the contents of The Atomic Elbow Issue 16.

First, let's talk about the cover.

Look at that. It's great, right? I hope you said or thought "right" after you read that question, because "right" is the correct answer. This issue's cover was done by my friend Joey Weiser, who makes, among other things, a comic called Mermin. You should check his work out. You will like it.

Now let's talk about what's inside.

I went to Chicago and I wrote a thing about it.

You know who I saw in Chicago? A bunch of people. One of whom was (and is) Scott "Star of Savage" Holland. He wrote a thing about some wrestling we saw.

Michael Francis interviewed the people who make the How 2 Wrestling podcast.

Benjamin Welton wrote about the time Brian Pillman pulled a gun on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Carlos Valdez interviewed Mike Watt about wrestling. Mike Watt is one of the greatest people to ever live, so you know this is gonna be good.

JRC is back with an article about M.U.S.C.L.E.

I interviewed Kenny Omega.

Kieran Shiach wrote about millennials, but I'm too old to understand it. That was a joke. Maybe.

There's more great stuff in this issue from Łukasz Kowalczuk.

And, as has come to be a tradition around here, there's a drawing from the Hand of Beaver.

Wow, that's a LOT of stuff, and it can all be yours by visiting the Atomic Elbow Online Store and giving me some of your money. ALSO, there's a comic by Box Brown in this one, but you're gonna have to buy a copy to see it. It's a SECRET COMIC. Why not do that right now?

Thanks!

It's Time!

I have 15 shirts left from my recent event in Chicago.

The sizes are VERY limited.

They are available right now in the Atomic Elbow Online Store.

The art's by Butt Coffin, and the logo's by Beaver. They were printed by the LVAC. If you know about The Atomic Elbow, you probably knew all of that already.

You're one of the good ones.

The Atomic Elbow: Issue 15

This is the part of the blog entry where I tell you some seemingly unconnected facts about things and then try to tie them in with the publication of the latest issue of The Atomic Elbow. Then I tell you about how you really don't care about those things and that you probably want to know about the new issue. Then I post a photograph of the cover of Issue 15.

Now I write about how that cover is by JB Roe and I tell you about how awesome he is. I also tell you that he did the back cover for this issue and it is really good, too.

Now I write briefly about the articles in this issue to try to make you interested in buying a copy. I will tell you that Scott Holland wrote an article about a restaurant and then I will post a photo of a copy of issue 15 open to that article.

The next couple of sentences are about Ed Blair's article about a CHIKARA show in Chicago. It is a good article about a fun event. Here is a photograph of a copy of Issue 15 open to the first page of Ed's article.

Pretend I made a joke about how I should have maybe obscured the text of these articles instead of "giving it away for free" on the internet. Then read some sentences about D. Louthen's Interview with Kevin Condron. This is a good interview and I think you will like it.

Following D.'s article is an article by Kieran Shiach about the WWE Diva's division. It is also about other things. I will tell you that this is a good article. I will write this because it is true, but I will also tell you that I think everything in this issue is good. Get ready for another photograph of some paper.

I am unhappy with the kerning of some of the letters in the title of Kieran's article, but it's been printed now, so there's not a lot I can do. Maybe here I will make a joke about that sort of thing and then provide an awkward transition into telling you that there is a comic by Łukasz Kowalczuk in this issue. It is also very good.

Now I will mention that I wrote a very long article about NWA Battle of the Belts 3 and maybe make a self-deprecating joke about how I think it is too long and not very good, but in truth, I think it is okay. Then another photo.

I will tell you that there is another drawing by The Hand of Beaver in this issue, but I will not show you the whole drawing. this is for "marketing" reasons. I am trying to get your money.

Some words here that will try to convince you, for the final time, to part with what I feel is a reasonable amount of money for all of the material that I have shown you. And now a link to The Atomic Elbow Online Store where you can purchase this issue and more (if that is what you want to do.)

Finally, a short note about how much I appreciate your support. This will probably sound hollow and insincere. I will try to tell you that I really do mean this, but the impression of insincerity will only grow when you read that. That is how these things work. A final reminder that I hope you will buy this fanzine., and maybe fun joke to end this blog entry.

The Atomic Elbow: A Brief Update

Hi, everyone. There are some things I want to tell you about, and this is, I suppose, the best way I have of telling you about them, so here we go.

THING ONE: Issues 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are all currently back in print. This is the most issues that have ever been in print at the same time. It's too much. This will be the last printing of issues 9 and 10. It may be the last printing of number 11. I'm not sure about that yet.

As most of you know, I am quite bad at promoting my stuff, but I really like it when people read The Atomic Elbow. So, if you like this stuff, maybe tell your friends and family and maybe they will like it, too? I don't know. I don't know those people. They seem pretty cool, I guess. You can, as always order copies from The Atomic Elbow Online Store.

THING TWO: Issues 5, 6, 7, and 8 have been collected in a book that will be available for pre-order soon from Square of Opposition Records.

I really hope you order a copy. Maybe order three copies. Square of Opposition was nice enough to publish this, and I sure don't want them to regret it. Keep watching their website. I'm sure I won't be able to shut up about it when it's available, either.

THING THREE: There will probably be a book release party at Bizarro Wuxtry in Athens when the book is released. It's probably just gonna be a three or four people I know standing around and looking at each other, but there will probably be free potato chips there, so it'll be worth going to.

THING FOUR: Issue 15 should be out by the end of September. It's going to be good.

THING FIVE: I will be attending the CHIKARA show in Chicago on October 23rd. I'm also trying to plan a thing for the next day, but I'm not sure what's gonna happen. That's a long time away. Something will happen.

THING SIX: I'm probably going to have to increase my postage prices soon. Not by much, but please don't be mad at me if I start charging $5.50 instead of $5.00 for a copy of The Atomic Elbow. I am going to try to avoid doing this for as long as I can.

Thanks for reading all of this. Go have fun with your friends.

The Atomic Elbow: Issue 14

Hey, everybody.

Issue 14 is here.

Look at that cover. It's really great. It was drawn by my friend Michele Chidester and I think it is great. It's a wrap around cover, so that art's on the front and the back. Here's a blurry picture of it.

Besides the cover, this issue also has other things. Do you want to know what those other things are? That's a valid question. I will answer it. There's a restaurant review by Scott Holland.

There's an article about the movie No Holds Barred by Corwin Gibson.

Would you like to learn more about professional wrestling in Arizona? There's an article about that in here by JRC.

Wil Jones wrote about Ric Flair's clothes. And the clothes of some other wrestlers, too.

There's more Florida action for you to read about, too. Remember the Battle of the Belts? Now you can read about the Battle of the Belts II.

There's also a couple of Atomic Elbow "pin-up" pages in there featuring art from Scott Stripling and the Hand of Beaver.

So, what are you waiting for? This is for sale right now in The Atomic Elbow Online Store. Go get yours!

The Atomic Elbow: Issue 13

Issue 13 is here. If I were one of those weirdos that thought numbers had spooky powers, I guess this is the issue I would be afraid of. COWER IN FEAR, MORTALS!

Actually, don't. There's nothing to be afraid of. This is just a wrestling fanzine. You can't live your life in fear of a stack of paper with toner on it. You just can't. Now, LOOK AT THAT COVER. It's great! It was made by Sean Wárs. You've seen his art on fine Atomic Elbow products before, and I hope you will see it again. By now you're probably wondering what is inside of this thing. As of this writing I am the only person who knows the answer to this, but I will share that knowledge with you now!

There's an article from Michael Francis about the time he almost died and then went to a WWE show in Melbourne after he didn't die.

There's an interview with singer/songwriter from The Mountain Goats, John Darnielle. The new album from the Mountain Goats is called Beat the Champ, and it's about professional wrestling. That's great, because you love professional wrestling!

Scott "Star of Savage" Holland is back, and this time he's got a great interview with former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam "Scrap Iron" Pearce!

Speaking of NWA champions, there's a lengthy examination of the 1985 NWA Battle of the Belts. This show took place during an actual hurricane!

Beaver's illustration for this issue is on the back cover, which makes the outside of this thing look way better than I could possibly have imagined.

All of this, plus whatever else I feel like throwing in the envelope, is available now from The Atomic Elbow Online Store! The first unknown number of orders get one of these great stickers featuring art by Johnny Ryan!

What are you waiting for? ORDER NOW! (But seriously, no pressure. Do whatever you want.)

Hooded Sweatshirts and Windbreakers. Preorder! Hubris!

Who do I think I am, exactly?

I'm still not too sure about that, really, but I am going out on a limb to see how much you like the thing I do.

I have decided to have some zip-up hooded sweatshirts and windbreakers made. I hope you will buy them. They will look sort of like this:

Did you notice how I said they "will" look "sort of" like that picture? That is because they don't actually exist yet. I'll be honest with you... these things cost too much to make and then hope people will buy them. I don't want to have a few odd sizes of these garments in a box in my house because all of a particular size didn't sell. So I have decided to do a pre-order.

I feel really weird about asking you for money for a thing that is not real yet. I am sorry for that. I suppose the only thing I can hope for is that you will trust me on this one. I promise to do my best to not mess this one up.

So here is what is going to happen: I will take pre-orders for these items for three weeks and three weeks only (well, maybe a little longer. Pre-orders will close on February 20, 2015). At the end of that time, I will send the quantities and sizes that have been ordered off to the good people (and Chris Reject) at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations and they will make them. That should take a couple of weeks. Then L.V.A.C. will send them to me, and I will pack them up and send them to you.

Speaking of which... These things are heavier than anything I have made before, so I have to charge more than I would like for shipping. I promise I'm not trying to rip anybody off with this. I have been plugging numbers into the USPS website all day trying to figure this out, and I think that it'll cost around $7 to ship these.

I'm going to charge $25 for either the hoodie or the windbreaker. I hope that's a fair price.

One more thing: If you want to order things at the same time as one of these pre-order items, that's great. Thank you. But I will hold the rest of your order until the pre-ordered part is ready to ship. It just makes more sense to my brain that way. I'm sorry about that. That's the way I'm going to have to work this to stay sane.

It really makes me feel sort of good that you guys seem to want to wear the logo of a thing that I helped make happen. Some of you may even wear it outside of your houses. I can't express how weird that feels to me, and how grateful I am to you for supporting my half-baked ideas. You're a good person. Now, give me your money.