I’m lucky to have met and worked with Mike LaRiccia in 2006 for the first print version of my sci-fi anthology series Zebra Mag. We spoke on the phone and his energy was infectious.
A talented and pleasant guy, I talked with him about all the varied opportunities that lay withing the science fiction genre. In short order, he sent me a file with his nine page story ‘The Last of the Spitting Baboons‘ and I offered him a portion of my table at MoCCA that year as a thank you.
Of course, I was the grateful one. Mike is so full of energy and enthusiasm, something you rarely see in the comics scene, that he’s like a magnet. He threw on a Zebra Mag T-Shirt and acted the role of carnival barker to anyone that came near.
Recently, Mike was interviewed by ComicBookResources.com about his Xeric Award winning book, Black Mane, and his creative process. His style is autobiographical with a lean towards the dramatic. I get the same way sometimes I’m told, but Mike is laying it all out there in his work. An exhibitionist of sorts, he is more influenced by Joe Matt than Harvey Pekar in his honesty.
So, I urge you to read the interview, visit his site, and buy the book.
