... and addiction rears its ugly head

OK, don't worry. I'm not drinking or doing dope. Those things hold no interest for me. It's graphic novels. I am now hopelessly hooked on graphic novels, and, worse, I think I've passed this malady on to my son.
You see, he had to do a project for school on some aspect of Shakespeare's life and times, and his area was the Bubonic Plague. So instead of just writing a regular report like a normal kid would, he decides he wan't to make a comic out of it... and THEN he makes the mistake of asking ME for help. So what do I do? Well, I spend hours online looking for a free comic creator, and finally I came across this site. It was here that Nick came up with his final product, which earned him the praise of his teacher. In fact, she liked it so much she was showing it to all the other teachers and is quite smitten with Nick at the moment. Read the thing here, here, and here.
Anyway, contaminating Nick with my current obsession isn't the only thing I have to worry about. I just can't help but go to the book store every week or so to get a new book. Graphic novels, literary ones, are in their boom stage at the moment, and it's like being part of a really monumental, culturally revolutionary movement before it really catches on. I know there have been graphic novels out there for decades now, but I never was much a fan of superhero stories. I like literature and fantasy primarily, and there is just such a wealth of great stuff out there.
For example, I just finished reading Laika, a graphic novelization of the story of the dog that the Soviets put into space on the Sputnik II. This is the first book to make my cry in quite awhile. It's historical fiction of the least-fictional kind, and it is really amazing.
Then there was Fun Home. This story is about growing up w/ a closeted gay English teacher father, and it is really great tragedy.
And of course, another current favorite is Blankets, a high school coming-of-age story about a kid w/ religiously nutty parents.
Hmmm... what else? Oh! True Porn 2 is an awesome book of, well, porn... ok, not exactly porn, but autobiographical sex stories by current graphic novelists which are so odd they have to be true.
And I shouldn't forget about The Rabbi's Cat, the story of a cat who for a brief time is given the power of speech, and is constantly challenging his owner's religious convictions. Set in Algeria in the 1930's, a time of rising anti-semitism, it is an enthralling read (and to be honest, one hell of an accurate portrayal of your typical cat!)
OK, I could literally go one for dozens more books, but my other addiction, Lost, is calling, since Nick just finished his homework.