Well, hello there!

The universe, as Don "Living like there's no tomorrow because there isn't one" Draper has reliably informed us, is indifferent. And yet. There I was at Wal-Mart, following the two-year-old as she wandered in search of toys, and lo and behold: Gill Man, icon of the Collectible department. How did he ever land the gig? When was the last time anybody thought about Gill Man, a minor '50s monster movie mainstay? I mean, besides me, of course? I think about Gill Man for a number of reasons. First, because a dear friend and co-worker introduced me to this excellent (if profane) response to any number of work-related situations: A fellow in the office was kind enough to actually leave us a decent printout of Gill Man on his last day at work; it still hangs in my subterranean workspace:

But the real reason I think about Gill Man is because he seems to be such a clear forerunner for Amphibian Man, the love interest in Guillermo del Toro's Academy Award-winning film The Shape of Water. The two form the bookends for a story about del Toro that I've wanted to write for some time, but haven't, because who needs another story in the world? And yet, there he is at Wal-Mart, cathedral of the truly popular, the very day after I start this project...