I just bought the first issue of Bob Fingerman's new comic, From the Ashes, and of course it's as hilarious, truthful, and warped as all his work. Stylewise, he's like a demented Mort Drucker, gleefully documenting the decline of Western Civilization.

From the Ashes is not only mordantly funny, it's also weirdly poignant, which makes sense since it's about Bob and his wife Michele surviving the end of the world. But nuclear apocalypse is a mixed bag--despite a few cannibalistic freaks, it's not all bad. Hey, no more ringing BlackBerries, balky PCs, or annoying co-workers. In fact no job at all, ever again! And they have each other, which is my favorite thing about the story: how Bob is so crazy about Michele that he's actually grateful for the apocalypse, just so they can finally spend more time together. Billions may be dead, but their sweetly snarky romance (think Robert and Aline Crumb) goes on. If there has to be an armageddon, these are the people you want to spend it with.

Having been an avid follower of Fingerman's work ever since I first discovered it in Heavy Metal magazine back in the '80s, it came as something of a shock when I read in an interview that he enjoyed my novel Xombies. That was huge for me. Bob Fingerman liked my book--whoa.