So I'm hanging with my 2.5 year old son, Jackson, the other night, and I'm wearing my Beavis and Butthead Do America t-shirt. And he points at the huge Butthead on the left and asks me, "What that?"

"Butthead," I reply.

Then he points to the huge Beavis on the right and asks, "What that?"

"Beavis."

Then, for the next two minutes, back and forth, over and over:

"What that?"

"Butthead."

"What that?"

"Beavis."

And all the while, I'm thinking two concurrent thoughts: (1), how cool it is to be teaching my son to identify Beavis and Butthead, and (2) how very strange and un-fatherlike of me it is to be teaching my son to identify Beavis and Butthead.

* * *

Continuing on with the "things that toddlers probably shouldn't be exposed to" front, I've been on a real Avenged Sevenfold kick lately. The incendiary guitar, locomotive drums and soaring harmonies on songs like "Beast and the Harlot" are like a defibrillator for my soul, shocking away 20+ years of growing up and leaving me feeling like I'm 17 years old all over again.

Which is great and all, but not so much what I want to play when driving my son somewhere. So, on our way out this evening, I grabbed what I thought was one of his favorite CDs, aptly titled Children's Favorite Songs. But when I got in the car and ejected Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil disc and tried to play it, I discovered it was actually the DVD of Children's Favorite Songs, not the CD, and thus would not play.

For a second or two, I toyed with the notion of popping Avenged Sevenfold back in. But it just didn't seem right. So I flipped through the other CDs in the car and what to my wondering eyes should appear but Johnny Mathis's 1958 classic, Merry Christmas.

I think Jackson's early exposure to one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time, as we drove to and from the Little Gym this evening, just might counterbalance the Beavis and Butthead.

NEGATIVE BURN #14 features "The Barber," a 6-page look at the things, and people, we leave behind, written by Elton Pruitt (that's me!) and illustrated by the brilliant Renzo Podesta. It's on sale now at finer comic shops everywhere!

NEGATIVE BURN 13 features "This Is Where I Am," an 8-page story of a life-changing encounter between a Yankees and a Red Sox fan, written by Elton Pruitt (that's me!) and illustrated by Harvey Award-nominated Noel Tuazon. And the best part is, it's on sale now at finer comic shops everywhere!



For those keeping score, this is the 3rd publication of my nascent career...

This fall, I'll achieve the legendary NEGATIVE BURN Troika:

I'll have three stories published in three consecutive issues of Desperado Publishing's renowned anthology, NEGATIVE BURN.

NEGATIVE BURN #13 features "This Is Where I Am," an 8-page story of a life-changing encounter between a Yankees and a Red Sox fan, illustrated by Harvey Award-nominated Noel Tuazon. The order code is JUN073449 and it ships in October.



NEGATIVE BURN #14 features "The Barber," a 6-page look at the things, and people, we leave behind, illustrated by the brilliant Renzo Podesta. The order code is JUL073476 and it ships in November.



NEGATIVE BURN #15 features "Fall of the Triumvirate," an 8-page tale of friendship, guilt, and redemption, illustrated by Juan Romera. Newsarama's Best Shots called it "an ambitious story with a terrific tone and a well handled touch of magical realism" and called Juan Romera's work "a mixture of Charlie Adlard meets Dean Haspiel—fantastic." The order code is AUG073548 and it ships in December.



There's no better time than today to reserve your copies. I think you'll find a lot of great stories between the covers of each issue. And frankly, I couldn't be prouder than to have three of my own stories included in such an outstanding anthology.

"...an up-and-coming writer that's doing it right."

That's how Jason Rodriguez, editor of Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, recently characterized me.

I like to think he got it right, because I love writing comic books. There's nothing I enjoy more than working with a talented artist to bring a story to life.

So far, I've had the pleasure of crafting stories with fantastic artists such as Juan Romera, Renzo Podesta, Noel Tuazon (of the Harvey-nominated Elk's Run), and Marvin Mann (of the also-Harvey-nominated The Lone and Level Sands).

If you're an artist who is as passionate about telling stories as I am, I'd love to talk to you. The stories I write are generally real-world, character-driven drama – except when they’re zany retro comedy or high-concept summer blockbuster or creepy horror or something else that tickles my creative fancy! Heck, I’ve even got a couple of superhero stories in me, given the right artist.

I've had stories published this year in 803 Studios' Sequential Suicide anthology and Frameworks: A Study in Sequential Art. This fall, I'll have not one but two stories published in the Eagle, Eisner, and Harvey Award-nominated anthology, Negative Burn.

Next year, I'm on tap to have stories published in a major anthology by Random House/Villard and an anthology titled Dear Santa, Let Me Explain... that James W. Powell, assistant editor of Postcards, is putting together.

So, that's the August 2007 version of "Who is Elton Pruitt?" Thanks for stopping by, and for more, visit:

EltonPruitt.com (you are here) | EltonSpace | Elton's ComicSpace

I got a lot of grief from the Postcards crew I was hanging with in San Diego for sporting a Cardinals cap night and day.

What they didn't realize is that, for me, it's a family thing. My dad raised me to be a Cards fan and that's how I'm raising my son.

Here's a pic I'm really proud of -- got my dad his first-ever authentic, on-field Cards cap for Father's Day this year. My son, of course, has been outfitted in Cards gear since practically the day he was born. He's already on his second cap!



There were maybe 3 people the entire con who gave me thumbs up on the cap. One of them was this guy, DJ Lance Rock from Nick Jr's upcoming show, Yo Gabba Gabba!



So, that was pretty cool!

If you've got a toddler, or you just like weird, wild, and wacky TV, check out these preview clips of Nick Jr.'s new show, Yo Gabba Gabba!

Click, Watch & Join the Party! (IE only, stupidly)

It debuts in August and I'm here to tell you that it's gonna be the biggest kids TV sensation since Sesame Street.

Seriously.

Seriously. Charlie Brown after the apocalypse?

Who wouldn't want to read that? And the best part is, it's actually GOOD.

Really good. I kid you not.

Elton never got to read Jack Kirby's Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth as a kid.

So when he finally read it 2.5 years ago, it made him lose his mind and decide he wanted to write comic books for a living!

Read It all started with Kamandi today, only @ Scryptic Studios.

In this week's Running Up That Hill, Elton brings us up to speed on all things Ecto, including (but not limited to):

• His quest to interview Aimee Mann for an upcoming column
• The first-ever review of something he wrote
• His over-use of the third person
• And the three short stories he's rushing to complete for his upcoming Anthology With No Name

Read Odds and Sods today!