News

The Dimmu Borgir concert left me sore, hoarse and nearly deaf. I could not be happier. I was also impressed with the opening band, Enslaved. Quality viking metal. Epic symphonic black metal. All in all a very metallic evening.

New England Webcomics Weekend was a great success for everyone involved. Even me, and I wasn't even remotely involved! I was simply attending, showing my support for the exhibiting webcomickers and the event itself, and yet a whole bunch of wonderful readers said "hi," offered flattering words and asked me for quick sketches of characters. I almost felt like the "hidden boss" of Webcomics Weekend, so that was neat.

I finally got to meet Karl Kerschl, whose work in comics I've greatly admired for years and his webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher, is one of the most beautiful and moving I've encountered in a long time. I confess I had more than one fanboy moment when I met him. It was awesome.

Ananth & Yuko, it was wonderful to see you guys again.
Randy, I managed to survive my ride home.
Chris, I'm sorry we didn't hang out more.
Evan, your work floors me.
Spike, you flatter both me and my (allegedly) beautiful hair.
Dave, one day I'll drag you to a proper Boston pub.

If I forgot anyone in this initial post, I'll make it up to them later this week.

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

Yes, I'll be attending Webcomics Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

And yes, there's only five days left to pre-order new t-shirts from SHARK ROBOT.

But what am I really excited about today? What is making me bounce up-and-down for joy like a little kid on Christmas morning? What is so awesome that I'm easily willing to miss the NEWW Pub Crawl for?

I'm going to see Dimmu Borgir tonight.

Dimmu. F*cking. Borgir.

If you see me walking around NEWW in a daze, you'll know why.

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

Besides once again mentioning my attendance at Webcomics Weekend and that there's less than one week left to pre-order new t-shirts from SHARK ROBOT, there really isn't much relevant or interesting news to report today.

Oh. I did pick up a couple of good comic books yesterday.

I've been really enjoying Avengers Academy. I started reading this series solely because Speedball is in it, but I've really become invested in what happens to the students at the Academy... most of them, anyway. I'm really cheering for Mettle, Veil and Reptil. I hope Hazmat becomes slightly more likeable. Striker and Finesse just grate on my nerves. It's also nice to see Henry Pym finally getting the super-science push he's deserved after all these years. This is a solid series with a great concept. I recommend it.

Brightest Day continues to impress me, this time with a savage spotlight on Hawkman and his barbarian-level "heroics." Whether he's portrayed as a complex soul of a thousand lives, a devoted soulmate across time and space, or just a mace wielding maniac with wings, I have a soft spot for Hawkman.

Chaos War has been rocking my mythological socks off. I was a big mythology nerd in middle school so watching Hercules rally whole pantheons against an ultra-cosmic supervillain is just making me squeal all over. Amadeus Cho is one of the best teen heroes in comics today without a touch of inner anguish or angst. I love it.

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

I'm aware that Bulgak's facial markings in today's flashback are different than the ones he had during The War In Hell. I did that on purpose. You'll see why before the week is over.

There's only one week left to pre-order the new Dominic Deegan t-shirts from SHARK ROBOT! Remember that designs only stick around based on the strength of their pre-orders, so if you see something you like now is the time to place your order!

Finally, I'm writing this news update while the U.S. midterm election polls are still being projected, so things may change by the time I wake up in the morning. That being said, I admit that I'm not terribly happy with Republicans taking a majority of the House of Representatives, but the local, state and senate races that I was invested in went the way that I voted. So you win some, you lose some. Oh well. Life goes on.

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

Today is an important day for those of us in the U.S. It's the midterm elections and, regardless of your opinion of the government, apathy is your greatest enemy and a fatal flaw in all of us. So if you're eligible to vote, I urge you to go to the polls today and do so. Just sitting around and going "meh, I don't really care" won't make political issues go away. It'll just make them worse for you, regardless of your views.

I'll be voting today, and I hope you folks will be, too.

I'll be returning to the Webcomics Weekend this weekend. I wasn't invited to be a guest, but I'll be in attendance anyway because I support events like this that celebrate webcomics and webcomic creators. I'll be missing the Friday pub crawl, but only because I've got tickets to see DIMMU BORGIR that night. So if I'm very hard-of-hearing on Saturday, you'll know why.

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

I'm back from ONI-CON in one piece and I'm mostly happy with the way today's comic came out. I managed to get it done while I was at the convention so my working conditions weren't ideal, but I'm satisfied with the result. Mostly.

It was great to be back at Oni-Con. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said "hi," thanks to the staffers who treated Alyssa and me like a million bucks, and thanks to Vintropolis for providing us with a fantastic way to end our days at the convention. There's nothing like sitting down with friends, enjoying some high quality wine, and geeking out with the waiters and owner because they're all as nerdy as you are.

Overall it was a great weekend, and I hope everyone managed to have themselves a happy Halloween! Alyssa and I spent the day traveling so we didn't really do anything special, but we're planning on making up for it next year in a big way.

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

I'm at ONI-CON today!

If you're in the area be sure to stop by and say "hello!" I'll either be in a great mood because I'm back at ONI-CON or I'll be loopy from the super early flight I had to catch this morning to get down there. I'm sure you'll be entertained regardless.

Did I mention I'm at ONI-CON today? Whee!

There may be crummy filler for Monday's update, and if there is I apologize ahead of time.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and see you at ONI-CON!

Just a few quick news items for today, complete with relevant links.

- Here's a quick refresher as to why Karnak is beating the hell out of Donovan and who he's saving Miranda from.

- I'll be at ONI-CON this weekend!

- New t-shirts are up for pre-order through SHARK ROBOT.

- The link to the Fan Art pages is currently disabled because I need to do some maintenance on them.

- Fixed and added some stuff on the LINKS page. (If someone from the notorious Keenspot forum could e-mail me the new-ish URL again I'll post that up, too)

- I watched the amazing documentary Heavy Metal In Baghdad yesterday and, while the film itself ends on a downer, I was pleased to discover that Acrassicauda made it to the U.S. and are currently rocking. You cannot kill the metal.

I'm very proud to announce that new t-shirts are available for pre-order through SHARK ROBOT!

These shirts incorporate my (amateur) photography into the designs and I think they've created some very cool, very different imagery from what you'd expect. I'm proud of them and I do hope you like what you see.

Shirt designs remain with SHARK ROBOT through the strength of their pre-orders, so if you like these designs order now!

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

The spiritually cosmic speculation in today's comic was, I confess, inspired by my blossoming interest in astronomy and the universe in general. I'm glad I was able to work the starry analogy in with the concepts of how the comic's afterlife works. Or at least in Miranda's theory.

This weekend I'll be returning to ONI-CON and I couldn't be more excited. Oni-Con was the first convention I was invited to attend as a guest while I was living in Texas. The people I met there, both staffers and attendees, welcomed me with open arms and generous hearts. It was thanks to Oni-Con that I became acquainted with many more people in the Texas convention circuit and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience.

So if you're in the area and you want to stop by and say "hi," I'll likely be in an excellent mood. I'm sure you will be, too, because Oni-Con is a fun weekend.

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

Karnak and Siegfried's extended fist fight confirmed a suspicion I had about myself. I hate drawing extended fist fights. Sure, I could have added more magical blasts and special effects to spice things up a bit, but the effect I wanted was a toe-to-toe brawl and I'm happy with how this fight turned out, even if I didn't fully enjoy the process.

At least their fight is over. For now.

On a completely different note I've taken to reading a charming book, "Death By Black Hole & Other Cosmic Quandaries" by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I've been on a serious astronomy kick lately and I'm trying to soak up as much about our beautiful, majestic universe as I can. This book is a good, accessible start and it helps that Tyson is a clever writer and educator. I'm not even halfway done with this book and I already highly recommend it.

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

Of all the good comic books I picked up yesterday I feel like it's only appropriate to talk about one of them, as its very name coincides with a major element of this current story.

Ragman: Suit of Souls features one of the most underrated and, in my opinion, underused characters in DC Comics. It gives a brief history of the character and his inherited powers for those unfamiliar with him, which ties in nicely with a moral dilemma of his which is the center of this book, and concludes with a bittersweet but satisfying ending. There's more character study than action and adventure in this one-shot issue, but I like the character and concept of Ragman so I'm biased to like stuff about him.

New t-shirts should be up for pre-order soon. More news as I get it from Shark Robot.

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

The revelations in today's comic is probably the most exciting news I have to report today here in the news box. It's one of those in-between days when there's kinda nothing really going on.

Alyssa has the day off so we're going to spend it together, but I'm not going to bother you fine folks with the specifics of our cavity-inducing snuggly-wuggly time.

New comics hit the shelves today, so I'll buy some of them.

Um.


Hmm.



Yup.

Slow news day today.


Rock on.

I've been talking a lot about music lately but I don't want to overdo it. However, I'll "conclude" my musings on music for now with a small explanation as to why I never talk about jazz here in the news box.

I love jazz. I grew up playing it, worked in a jazz club during college and hosted a jazz radio show on WERS in Boston for awhile. It was a huge part of my life for a long time, and even though I relish the primal fury of heavy metal and the soaring elegance of classical music I will always have a place in my heart for the smooth, cool sounds of jazz.

So why do I never speak of jazz in regards to Dominic Deegan? Because jazz is an American art form and its development and growth is closely tied in to American history.

Whenever I listen to jazz I can't think of otherworldly vistas, planar quandaries or extravagant monsters. When I listen to jazz I think of city streets, subways, smoky pool halls, long walks on forgotten sidewalks and other such urban scenarios. Power chords and double-bass drums make me think of dragons and wizards. Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis make me think of city life and urban America.

Jazz is a wonderful art form and an inspiring genre of music, but for me it's just not the right fit for a fantasy setting, no matter how urban or modern it may be.

Though if I were to pick a song that helped me think of someone in the comic, "Take Five" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet would be Dominic's song.

That's all from me for now.
Stay cool.

And so the brawl between Karnak and Siegfried continues. I told you this was going to be a big fight.

Thanks to those of you who have been e-mailing me suggestions for more classical music to listen to. I'm always open to new ideas for a personal "soundtrack" while I'm making the comic.

For those of you who are interested in my (amateur) photography I've posted numerous new photographs to my deviantArt page. So if you like pictures of funny cats, city skylines and open flame go take a look!

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