Splendid morning today breakfasting with Pacific Palisades' beloved Honorary Mayor Gavin MacLeod at the soon-to-be-departed Village Pantry on Swarthmore Ave. He shared a lot of anecdotes about working with Blake Edwards, one of my all-time favorite directors for sure. I signed up a copy of "Gumby's Gang Starring Pokey" for his grandson Liam. Of course, I had to doodle a dress and tank top (with matching bonnet) on the half-naked chick the publisher absent-mindedly stuck on the back of this kiddie comic. Did that at the Whittier signing last week as well, it's kind of funny, actually....
Gavin is a class act, one of the warmest people I've met, in the Palisades and beyond. He has no pretentions and he's also quietly one of the most gifted comic actors to play in movies and in TV, and if you don't believe me, check out on of my favorite films, Edwards' "The Party" with Peter Sellers. He's pretty modest for a guy who has only played opposite some of the most legendary comic actors in Hollywood history, from Cary Grant to Peter Sellers to Mary Tyler Moore and his old buddy Ted Knight and many, many more. If you count the guests who've waltzed across the deck of the Love Boat, Gavin's probably shared scenes with just about every actor and actress of note. Gavin turns 80 on Feb. 28 and his energy, his buoyancy and his storytelling is always a thrill to be around.
The last week's worth of rain was a drag, especially since my sister Melody and her husband were visiting from England and it rained nonstop. They left Weds. night and did not get to see a lick of sunshine during their whole stay. As if they don't get enough of that in England....In any case, I was happy to hear that the brand new Laguna Beach Hi De Ho comics store came out of that mess unscathed. Ah, the power of comics....
Just for the hell of it, I rented a DVD with a couple of episodes of THE PRISONER, one of my favorite shows. There's no better program for late-night viewing. This show was meant for, like, 3 a.m. The episodes I saw again were two of the better ones: "The Woman Who Was Death" and "Once Upon A Time." 
Rafael Navarro (artist on the book) and myself, the writer, show up to promote the POKEY comic. If we look like we just woke up, that's an optical illusion. In fact, we're protecting the homestead from hecklers and haters. Raf is doing his lion roar to fend off attackers. (He watched a lot of THUNDERCATS as a youth and he has learned their best moves!)
Rafael Navarro's left-handed. 
Speaking of cats, ME-OW! Who says cartoonists do not have groupies? (Do girlfriends count?)
That's Suave Jav Hernandez. He stopped by to deliver my mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. If you don't know that stand for "Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Department," then YOU'RE A FOOL!!!!
Eventually, a crowd grew...
We found ourselves signing a few books.
More hecklers and haters. Raffles, turn on your Lion-O!
When we sign at Geeks, it's always an occasion.
This is where things took a weird turn, as Jav unleashed a laser camera (developed by S.H.I.E.L.D.) on me mid-signing. WHAT?! You thought I joke about this espionage stuff? Here, he hits me with a smile ray when I'm not in the mood to show my teeth. What an insidious device!
Some of our fans were embarrassed by the scantily clad women on the back of our comics, so I had to draw skirts and tops over them so the kids won't notice. Soon, those skirts and tops became nuns' habits and, before long, I ran out of ink. Greenblatt the Great! is a fun book, by a copy here!
