Hey everybody, see that ad on the right? Well, the book release party is in Los Angeles tomorrow night.

Friday July 20th Secret Headquarters will proudly host an evening with:

Tom Neely and his new book: The Blot.

Painter and cartoonist Tom Neely’s first graphic novel, “The Blot,” is like a sad song that breaks your heart while reminding you of life’s beauty. “The Blot” follows a nameless everyman who, while dealing with the fallout from a doomed relationship, is stalked by a mysterious black splotch. As the story unfolds, this shape-shifting blot appears as a harmless cloud of ink, a faceless demon, a source of strength and an inescapable darkness, testing our character in a new way with each metamorphosis.

With a drawing style resembling the 1930s newspaper comic strips of E.C. Segar and Floyd Gottfredson, and a surrealistic sensibility inspired by painter René Magritte, Neely eschews traditional, representational comic storytelling and finds innovative new ways to tell an ultimately human story about love and loss.

Accompanying The Blot will be a selection of original art work as well as the introduction of 3 new limited giclée prints of Neely’s paintings. These prints will first be available at SHQ Friday, July 20th.

Tom will be signing copies of The Blot at SHQ from 8pm - 10pm.

My guess is he’ll be drinking beer at SHQ from 10pm - until we decide to close the gates and even then we may lock him in the store. He’ll share some beer with you I’m pretty sure.

For those of you who have been reading this site for a while, you might remember Tom as the guy who did all the art and animation on “Brother, Can You Spare A Job?”. His new book is fantastic, so even if you aren’t able to make it to the opening, you should pick up a copy of the book. I’ll be there too, so don’t miss this opportunity to say “Oh…so that’s what that one guy with the website looks like. I thought he’d be thinner. Is there any beer left?”