I can honestly say that I could not have predicted anything that would transpire in this calendar year. And as we turn the final page, I just want to take a moment and look back at it as a whole. Judge it on its merits.

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Work wise, the year saw the creation and release of the first 1,001 Arabian Nights story arc: Sinbad and the Eyes of Fire. It felt amazing to step away from horror and just write action/adventure. A chance to focus on giving the reader as much 'fun' as I could jam into twenty-two pages a month. It also saw a parade of artists both on covers and inside. Interiors went from Gus Vasquez to Paolo Pantalena to Tone Rodriguez to Ron Adrian to Eduardo Ferigato to Rod Periera; all of them very talented, but not how you want to start a series. The new year will see the release of the trade and going into our second story arc: Sinbad and the City of the Dead. Eduardo will be with us for the whole arc (right Eduardo?).

The final issue of Strange Cases hit the stands and it felt a bit melancholy for me. The project was so much fun to work on. David Hartman is phenomenal to collaborate with and I always love working with Steve Niles. But so much corporate stuff happened behind the scene that it too a Herculean effort just to reach issue 4. Would love to do more with this series…

More with Zenescope as well. For some reason Raven Gregory has become my personal advocate and getting me some work on Grimm Fairy Tales. The face that Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco like my work helps a lot too. Released so far are Three Blind Mice and Three Snake Leaves, but Puss N Boots and Dorian Gray will be coming a long very soon.

My other big project was Savage. First it was great working with Jim Valentino and Kris Simon over at Shadowline again. After the misfire with Unravel, I really wanted to do something else there and this project was the perfect fit. Steve and Jeff Frank were great to work with… but I really enjoyed working and getting to know Mike Mayhew; a super talented artist that I hope to work with again soon.

And another prose piece got done and I was able to play with The Avenger for Moonstone. I don't get many chances to write prose, so I jump at any chances that Joe Gentile throws my way. Hey Joe… what else you got?

While I shift from work to more personal things, it seems the perfect time to mention this little 'bob of a hurricane' that popped up in my life. I met her in Texas in 2007 officially, but it wasn't till she started appearing at my table in Phoenix, then LA that I realized the potential. So I hired Tyler Dranguet to be my assistant and it will go down as one of the smartest things I did all year. Even though she's miles away, she keeps me motivated and on schedule through a deluge of emails, text messages and IM's. She calls me on my bullshit, knows when I can do better and edits the hell out of my scripts. And somewhere along the way she became family. Now I don't know what I would do without her.

A second person who changed my life quite a bit was another person I had met in 2007. Joss Dupas is the rep for my good friend Tone Rodriguez and someone I joked around with a lot since I met her. But in 2008 we had the opportunity to really talk and I have to say that she is an amazing woman and a very dear friend. When I really needed to find a way to get my head straight, she was there to smack me.

As strange of a year that it has been for me, it had to be more so for my wife. This is the first year without her mom and Deb has been remarkable. After twenty years together she still surprises me. We've worked together to take the house she grew up in and make it our own. She is also the reason for another big change for me…

Music. A few years back I thought it would be cool to teach myself the bass guitar. So I went out and bought one and it sat and collected dust. Then in March of this year, Deb and I were having lunch and I commented about going over to the Sam Ash across the parking lot and seeing if there was a local instructor who teaches bass guitar. Figured it was time to blow 4 years worth of dust off and see if I could learn the damn thing. We went, I walked over and found the list of instructors, and lost my wife. I found her at the guitar wall looking at a blue Ibanez. Seems she had always wanted to learn the guitar… and the guy helping us also taught lessons. Now eight months later, I take two lessons a week, practice whenever I can and have a pretty cool collection of basses (added a new one today). Best walk across the parking lot of my life.

2008 also had its bad; the worst being a September morning going to pick up Tone for a trip to a con up north. I looked down for a moment then up too late to see a Nissan Ultima… I had never been in an accident before. I hope to never be in one again. You're not sure what to do, what to say. Was everyone okay? That seemed to be the only real concern. Thankfully everyone was. Only the vehicles were really damaged. My truck, The Behemoth, did exactly what I would hope it would do. It kept me safe. I got out with two scratches on my legs and a dry mouth from the dust on the airbag. I was even able to drive the thing home and to the repair shop. Frank and his boys at West Coast Autobody put The Behemoth back in pristine shape. (Frank told me he worked on Frank Miller's convertible back in the 70s.) So I hop behind the wheel of my truck and I almost forget about the accident… except when I'm driving along the 134 through Eagle Rock, I still get nervous there.

The only other bad of note in 2008 wasn't really bad… just odd. It happened in San Diego at a bar where Marat Mychaels was hosting an Image mixer during Comic-Con. It was a weird combination of things… lack of sleep, a couple drinks and a horror writer who can't handle hearing gross stories… and I blacked out on my barstool. When you come to and find a group of people looking at you with fear and dread… you realize that you might just matter to some folks in this world. I got checked out by the paramedics there and my doctor later and I'm fine. But to Marat, Eric J, Joss, Doc, Jerry and all at the bar… sorry for the scare.

Overall, I think the good of 2008 far outweighs the bad. And I find myself looking at 2009 as a chance to keep going. To do more of the things that are important to me: write more, play more music, shoot more photos, spend more time with friends and family. The most important thing I take out of 2008 is this: I'm insanely lucky to lead the life I do and I shouldn't take any of it or the amazing people in my life for granted.

And for the last time in 2008 – I return you to your life already in progress.