I feel like a fireman! Or... or somebody's DAD!

So I shaved off the beard yesterday. It was going to have to be done anyway, and it was getting unruly. However, in an act that could be only sheer lunacy tempered with mad brilliance... I kept the mustache.

No, I did more than merely keep the mustache. I dug out my old stick of Bed Head, scooped out a fingerful of glue... and twirled.

Oh yeah. With my hair and sideburns the way they are, I totally look like Ron Burgundy. No, wait, even better! With my bowler derby on, I look like Dum Dum Dugan. ROCK.

Really, how to describe this fascinating new sensation? Well truly, there's only one way, isn't there?

...

Don't worry, I'm gonna shave it off tomorrow or the day after, and then the sideburns too. Halloween and all, you understand. Still, I may keep the muttonchops a bit longer, in case I want to try going as Bill the Butcher to Ren Faire.

But I figure this mustache should at least symbolize my ascent to manhood, for you see, yesterday... I went to my first ever professional baseball game. Namely, the Nationals vs. the Phillies. It was pretty good too! Edd (my brother, who's in town) assured me that, "You're lucky to come to this game; it doesn't have to be this exciting!"

That said: we lost, I had a funnel cake, and Screech--the Nats' mascot, a poor substitute for Steagle Cobeagle the Eagle--molested my muttonchops to the broadcast on the OmniVision TV. I'm triply shamed. I think seppuku was committed over less.

Regardless, I'm certainly now willing to see another professional game. Especially as I'm comforted to know that I'll never have to see it at RFK Stadium again.

But for now, anyway... I have my mighty 'stache. Not even a man in a fat eagle costume can take that away from me! It bears saying out loud:

Rugged. Self-assured. Adult. These are the words that describe the man who wears a mustache. Yes, it says to the world, ‘I’m a man of action!’ Ah, but a man of action tempered with maturity. Like--like a fireman… or somebody’s DAD!

Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!

Question, my literate peeps:

What are some good and extensive books, documentaries, online resources, etc. on Hercules/Herakles/Alcides myths?

My brother has finally come up with a project on which we could collaborate. While THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES show/books--as well as the Harvey Dent novel*--have priority**, this Hercules project he has in mind could well be excellent. But I'm gonna need to do lots and lots of research on the various myths and how they differ.

The Sorbo and Disney versions are not to be mentioned, as should be obvious. Still, I may check them out when I've done all the "serious" research; they might ultimately provide some inspiration, when all's said and done. Besides, Sorbo has Bruce Campbell, and in a perfect world, all research should involve Bruce Campbell.



*My current Big Dream for this Two-Face manuscript is to have DC publish it as a novel, accompanied by full-page illustrations (ala STARDUST and pulp fiction), by one--or all--of the following, in order of preference: David Mazzucchelli, Bruce Timm, Darwyn Cooke, Chris Sprouce, Matt Wagner, Michael Lark, and/or Tim Sale. The drawings should be in black, white, and gray washes... and maybe, just possibly, red. I'm totally serious in this ambition. Fingers crossed, pallies.

**BUB AND JOHNNY GO is still very much in mind, but I'm gonna slowly let that one percolate. I want to read way more about the Rat Pack, formulate exactly what my post-apocalyptic world is going to be like, and get some actual road-tripping under my belt.