News

It was mentioned during Around The World that the halflings and dwarves have a long, complex and violent history. Now we know that they were once the dominant "land of wizards" in the world, and they used that magic to kill each other.

My wife and I are slowly moving into a new place, and a significant portion of our move is happening this weekend. Our internet service is getting changed over. I don't anticipate any problems, but in case there is one and I don't have an internet connection for a few days, that will be why there's no comic on Monday. While it's only a small possibility, I figured I'd give you folks a heads-up just in case.



That's all from me for now.
Rock on, and have a nice weekend!

In the past, The Beast's speech bubbles have been much "busier." Bold letters, strange symbols behind the words, and so on. I felt that keeping the lettering simpler in today's update not only prevented the comic from looking too cluttered, but helped show (in a small way) the connection between David and The Beast.

I made it back to the comic shop yesterday to catch up on some titles. While there wasn't much there I was interested in picking up again, there were a few gems worth mentioning.

Atomic Robo, of course, remains my favorite comic book going. Do yourself a favor and pick up any of the collected editions, or start reading the newest storyline, "Flying She-Devils of the Pacific."

Aquaman is entertaining. That's all. No groundbreaking storylines here. I just enjoy seeing Aquaman in the spotlight.

Animal Man is mind-bendingly awesome. I really like what Jeff LeMire has done with Buddy Baker's origin, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming "Rotworld" crossover.

Wonder Woman, meanwhile, is mythically awesome. The showdown on Olympus in the latest issue was impressive, and the ending made me fanboy just a little bit.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and geek out.

A little more of The Beast's gruesome origin revealed.

It had been speculated that The Beast was "born" in the Elemecca, and when Luna visited its realm she noticed familiar elements instead of alien ones.

I'm actually heading back to my local comic book shop today. Not because of any renewed faith in the current state of superhero comic books, but because I've fallen behind in picking up issues of ATOMIC ROBO and this needs to be remedied. He may not wear a cape or an emblem on his chest, but the action-packed adventures of Nikola Tesla's robot "son" are everything I love about comic books. And there's occasionally a talking dinosaur who hates you.


That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

David Johann probably could have just gone to an alterist to get his ruined eyes removed from his head, but that would have been 1) not crazy and 2) far less dramatic.

Besides, eyeball trauma is a trademark of the bad guys around here, whether it's self-inflicted or plucking out the eyes of others. Why do some villains engage in such behavior? Because eyeball trauma freaks me out. Big time. I've gotten better with it over the years, but it's still a surefire way to give me the creeps. I cannot, to this day, watch that scene in A Clockwork Orange where Alex's eyeballs are propped open. Guh.

I'm once again playing catch-up with my emails in the wake of my vacation, but I should be caught up relatively soon.


That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

I'm back from my annual summer vacation!

And we'll be looking back at relevant moments in King David Johann's life. In case you need a quick reminder as to what we know so far, here's a quick summary from the conclusion of the Revelation storyline.

I hope everyone enjoyed the week of concept art, generously provided by Garth Graham, for the sci-fi superhero space adventure we're working on! I was really excited to show those pieces off and I can't wait to see what he does next. I'll keep you fine folks posted as we move further along.

Over the next few weeks my wife and I will be moving into a new place. I don't anticipate any problems, but in case there's an unannounced lack of an update for a day or two it's because we're in transition, getting our internet set up and so on. You can always keep an eye on my Twitter feed just in case.

And last but definitely not least, Absinthe Junk's Kickstarter to fund their face-melting second album is in its final week! These rockers have been long time friends of the comic and their music never fails to disappoint. If you like eccentric and unmistakably unique rock and roll, give Absinthe Junk your ear. You won't regret it.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Welcome to my annual summer vacation guest art week!

In the past I've featured fan art from you, my awesome and generous readers, but this year I decided to showcase concept art from the sci-fi superhero space adventure I'm working on with my friend and collaborator, Garth Cameron Graham! As you can probably tell, Garth will be in charge of all the artwork for this. All of it. Forever. He's incredible.

We both love superheroes, but we're upset with the current state of superhero offerings from "the big two" (Marvel and DC). So, instead of waiting for someone to produce the kind of comics we want to see, we decided to get together and do it ourselves. We want to help recapture the wonder and excitement of having superpowers instead of the crushing angst and crippling inner conflict. We want this project to be fast and fun. We want to create a universe you want to escape to, not from.

I love Garth's designs and I hope you folks like what you see, too.

Dominic Deegan returns next Monday. See you then!

I didn't want to leave you folks with a cliffhanger before I leave for a week, but I also wanted to give you plenty of reasons to want the story to resume! There may not be the proverbial knife over our hero's head, but I hope this is a sufficient teaser as to what's coming after my week-long break.

And, in case you'd forgotten, Ara performed an extraction on Dominic during the Revelation storyline.

So that's it from me! I'm off on my annual summer vacation! Next week, in place of regular updates, there will be concept and teaser art from the incredibly talented Garth Graham that showcases some of the ideas from the superhero webcomic we've been working on! I'm really excited to show off his designs, and I hope you all like what you see in place of a comic next week.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on, and have a great weekend!

It may have come a day later than expected, and maybe Katya was initially a little upset over getting zapped, but here's a more personal reunion than yesterday's "I'm back, now on with the plot!" These smaller moments are some of my favorites, and I hope you folks like them, too.

I'm going on vacation tomorrow. Whee! I know I've mentioned this a lot this week but repetition helps drive the point home. Not everyone who reads the comic reads these news posts, as was made clear at Otakon this past weekend when numerous people asked me, "So what's this rumor I hear about you ending the comic?"

Other than that, there's not much else to talk about today. So instead of any further rambling from me...



That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

I apologize to everyone who was hoping for a heartfelt reunion upon Nimmel's return. Well, I mostly apologize. I thought their shocking reunion was pretty funny, and I hope it gave you a chuckle, too.

In the wake of Otakon and my upcoming summer getaway with my wife, there really isn't much to talk about. Unless...

Okay. A little tangent on my very amateur astronomy (or just plain old stargazing since I'm not much of a scientist). Getting some quality telescope time in next week is one of the things I really look forward to on our annual summer trip. Last year I spotted the Andromeda and Whirlpool galaxies, the lovely double star Albireo, and the Perseus double star cluster. I may not be fortunate enough to spot any new celestial bodies this year, but I'll still be happy to view those stellar sights once again.

Incidentally, the Mars Curiosity rover lands next week. Here's a great opinion piece as to why you should be more interested in Mars than the Olympics, and here's how you can watch the landing "live" in New York City.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

A strange thing has happened to me over the last couple of weeks. Two separate science-related websites have asked to speak with me. It's strange because I came very close to failing my science classes in high school, so I consider myself the last person anyone with a scientific education would want to spend time with.

I spoke with the Titanium Physicists about a week and a half ago, and our conversation about special relativity has been posted! If you want to expand your mind, and hear mine get blown, check out Time Dilates When You're Having Fun... in which I get an entertaining education on the subject of Einstein's theory! I was very, very nervous to be in the presence of people infinitely smarter than me, and Ben (the physicist host) was kind enough to edit out most of my "ums" and "uhs" and awkward laughter. I had a great time with them, so give it a listen (and stick around after the closing theme song to hear some outtakes from our time together)!

During Otakon I was interviewed by a young lady working for NASA Blueshift. She asked me about the influence of science fiction and science fact on my writing. I, in turn, talked her ear off about my very amateur astronomy and nerded out over various celestial bodies. The interview itself won't be posted for a few weeks, but I thought it was worth mentioning since I plan to do plenty of stargazing when I'm on vacation next week.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Otakon was amazing, but after missing it last year I'd forgotten just how draining that mammoth show can be.

We arrived home very late last night so this brief news post is all I can muster for an update.


Blugh.


There will be more coherent and hopefully interesting news posts and updates before I leave for my annual summer vacation next week.


That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

With everything going wrong for our heroes lately, I thought it would be nice to have the week end on a somewhat higher note than usual. Last Friday's comic had a similar layout, with the ominous Tempest swirling below. Now Nimmel is in the heart of the storm and looking stronger than he realized.

I'm at OTAKON this weekend! It's going to be a crazy couple of days so be sure to stop by and say "hi" while I still have my wits about me! If I'm curled up under my table and babbling about space cheese or something, you'll know that the weekend proved to be too much for my brain to handle. Should be fun either way, though!

The comic will update normally on Monday, but there will be filler art the following week, as I'm going on my annual summer vacation with my wife and her family.



That's all from me for now.
Rock on, have a nice weekend, and see you at OTAKON!

In case you'd forgotten, Nimmel's specialty is seasonal spells, where the more extreme the weather, the more potent the magic. So far we've only seen him work his magic in cold weather conditions.

Someone pointed that out at the Dominic Deegan Q&A at this year's ConnectiCon, so those in attendance got a tiny spoiler that Nimmel actually has an advantage in The Tempest after all. The jury's still out as to whether there'll be any Shakespeare references.

My road trip to OTAKON begins tonight. I'm looking forward to returning to this mammoth convention, so if you're in the area be sure to stop by and say "hi!" I should be easy to find in the Artist Alley.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Over the past few years Otakon and ConnectiCon have been within a week or so of each other, and over the past few years I've grown accustomed to the many differences between the conventions I've come to refer to as my "big two of the summer."

Where I'm heavily involved with ConnectiCon in terms of programming and hosting events, Otakon is so big that I'm barely a blip on their radar. And I'm not complaining! Tens of thousands of people are going to descend upon Baltimore and I'm going to all but barricade myself behind my table in the Artist Alley, where I'll be pulling close to twelve hour days. So don't go looking for me in any panel rooms or at any events. At Otakon you can reliably find me at my table for three straight days, eager to meet folks and glad to have a headquarters from which to operate for the weekend.


That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

So I'm heading off to OTAKON this weekend and going on vacation with my wife the week afterward. I've done the Otakon / summer vacation combo for the past few years (with the exception of last year where I didn't attend Otakon but still went on vacation), so here's how it's going to work this year.

Unlike other conventions this year, there won't be any Monday con filler after Otakon next week. The comic will update normally Monday through Friday. The week after that, Monday, August 6th to Friday, August 10th, there will be my annual summer vacation filler. Unlike previous years, where guest art was so generously provided by you, my awesome readers, this year I'm going to showcase some concept art from Garth Cameron Graham concerning a certain superhero project we've been collaborating on. We hope you like what you see.


That's all from me for now.
Rock on.