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The Beast is right to be angry.

It's been bested...

...by Dominic before.

But I imagine the most frustrating defeat was likely when Dominic fooled The Beast on the psychoplanes.

It's October! Yes! My favorite time of year! The weather is just perfectly cool. The seasonal autumn beers are in full swing. My wife and I will have been married for a year at the end of the month. And it's time to celebrate Halloween, my favorite holiday! I tend to celebrate Halloween for the entirety of October. I may already be in costume as you read this.


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

Unless you count the brief flashback in the Storm of Souls, this is the first time Jacob and Miranda have been seen together in the comic. After ten years, and considering the circumstances, I think it called for a hug. Even if Jacob isn't really much of a hugger.

It's an otherwise slow news day, and that's just the way I like to end most weeks. Despite being the narrator for a burlesque show this weekend, I'm looking forward to a relatively mellow end of the month. I'm also eager to welcome my favorite month of the year, October. Lots of nice things happened to me and my wife last October, and Halloween is our favorite holiday, so we're hoping to have an excellent (and spooky) month together.

And finally, I love our new neighborhood for many reasons, but the one that's been delighting me the most is the relatively low light pollution. This past month I've been treated to beautiful naked eye views of the night sky. The Big Dipper has been hovering over our backyard in the evenings, and as winter slowly approaches we're seeing Orion come into view over the roofs of our neighbors' houses. I've barely taken my telescope or binoculars out because I've been enjoying the full scope of the sky. It's been magnificent.

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

Jacob's undead flesh armor suit is composed of the zombies that swarmed him and Jayden, and even though she was beside him at the time, Jacob did not absorb her skin into his armor. The only reason we don't see her in today's comic is an artistic choice. I wanted today to focus on Jacob and his (albeit mysteriously interrupted) necromantic comeback. That, and I felt leaving Jayden's fate still uncertain adds a bit of drama. At least for one more day.

As for Jacob, he's always been a very physical necromancer. From his first appearance with the formation of a bone sword, he hacked and slashed his way through The Chosen; to The March Across Maltak where he beat the hell out of Adrak before mortally wounding him. This seems like a far cry from enlightened Jacob. I wonder what's wrong with him?


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

Celesto does well in the Wild Edge Territories. He's meditated there before and the inherent chaos of the place helps him "relax." He also likes to sit in that cross-legged position whenever he needs to recover.

I have a small role in a burlesque show this weekend! Thankfully I won't be taking my shirt off. Or appearing on stage much at all, really. Yours truly will be the narrator for Revenge of the Robot Battle Nuns, a tale of apocalyptic adventure and revenge! This show is going to be a lot of fun and I'm happy to lend my voice to the performance. Come by and see it if you have the chance! Tickets are going fast!



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

Celesto is still having problems controlling the power he refuses to relinquish, but his return to an equally chaotic land may be just the help he needs. Or it will make him worse. Or it will turn him into a radish. I don't know. Anything can happen in the Wild Edge Territories.

I want to thank everyone who came to INTERVENTION this past weekend. I had a great time meeting and talking with folks who came by, nerding out about space and storytelling on panels, and catching up with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Intervention is always a good time and I hope to be back again next year.

And finally, for those of you who haven't seen this, the interactive MAP OF METAL is, well, pretty freaking metal. I can't believe I didn't find this sooner, but better late than never. Enjoy!


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

I had a very long drive to and from INTERVENTION, so I was in no shape to produce any sort of filler for today. Thankfully, Garth Graham was kind enough to supply some concept sketches from the new project he and I are working on.

Now I must recuperate not only from a fantastic weekend, but from a very long road trip.

The comic resumes its normal updates tomorrow.




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

Celesto's back.

And he's sprouted black wings before.

The black crystal wing design was inspired by Champions Online, which I used to play quite regularly. In one of their updates they introduced the nephilim, who looked like broken constructs from a misguided attempt at divinity. Their wings weren't feathery, but rather weirdly shaped geometric patterns. Some people hated that design, but I thought it was a neat take on "angel wings."

I'm at INTERVENTION today! Come say "hi!" Come watch me nerd out about space with Garth Graham and talk on a few other panels! It should be a great time and I hope to see all of you there!

That's all from me for now.
Rock on, and see you at INTERVENTION!

This is, indeed, the second time Dominic has been taken to Castle Callan in Capitol City, and both times in custody of the royal guard. The first time it was Royal Knights instead of Battlecasters, and it was Reinholdt who teleported him.

I'm driving down to INTERVENTION tomorrow morning. The comic will update on Friday normally, but as always there will likely be post-convention filler on Monday. Whether it's a hastily-taken photograph or a great piece of guest art, there should be something up on Monday in place of a regular update. Just giving you fine folks a proper heads-up.



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

A few tidbits of trivia about today's comic:

- Dominic was originally going to be saying "I have to go" when he hugged Luna, but once again I thought it was more dramatic for the whole comic to be silent. Dialogue would have made this comic bittersweet, but I feel the silence makes it almost ominous.

- The soundtrack to this comic, for me anyway, is "Leaving Earth" from the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack. The lone, sad piano fits Dominic and Luna's sad farewell, and the sudden dark swell of the music signals the arrival of the warped battlecasters.

In other, happier news, an up-and-coming space superheroine will be making an appearance as an "assist striker" in CRISIS HEART BRAWLERS! Our friends over at Studio Nasu were nice enough to add our star powered hero to their beat 'em up action game! Follow the link to learn more about it and even help them fund the project!

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

INTERVENTION is where I'll be this weekend, hanging out at my table and generally having a good time. I'll be speaking on a few panels, too! Whether it's about writing villains or talking about the wonders of outer space, this weekend promises to be a good time. I hope you fine folks can come by and share in the fun.

I've updated my Convention Schedule at the bottom right of the page. Check out where I'll be for the remainder of 2012, and even where you can find me next year! I'll keep the list up-to-date as I get in touch with more conventions.

And finally, I hope you can forgive me if tomorrow's comic ends up being somewhat delayed. Barring disaster, I'll likely be playing Borderlands 2 along with the rest of the gaming world. I'll likely be joined by some nefarious characters who only want to shatter my productivity, but I'll do my best to be a responsible adult. No promises, though.

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

My wife and I do the forehead bump all the time. I imagine that sometimes she'd like to turn it into a full headbutt on me, but so far she's shown restraint. But if I ever report a head injury, you'll know what happened.

The fates of Jayden, Jacob, Milov and Snowsong have been left purposefully vague. They weren't snuffed out and swept aside to move the story forward. We'll see what happened to them soon... the survivors, anyway.

I'm heading back to INTERVENTION this weekend! As I said last week, and as I've said the last two times I've attended, this is a great show. Many conventions showcase webcomics and other online entrepreneurs in addition to what they normally cater to, whether it's an anime, sci-fi or comic book convention. Intervention is all about the webcomickers, bloggers, filmmakers, artists, and other online dreamers. You can check out the programming schedule to see where and when I'll be talking on panels and workshops. Be sure to stop by and say "hi" if you're in the area!

And finally, I have to admit defeat. For about eight months I was good on my promise to answer all my emails, but the summer conventions and my recent move got the better of me. So I'm "hitting the reset button" on my policy for answering emails. I've read everything you fine folks have sent me, whether it was praising the comic or upset with various elements about it, recommendations for autumn beers or new music; so if you'd like to me to answer any of those sent emails, just send it to me again and I'll be happy to catch back up. Or if you have any new questions or comments, feel free to send them my way! I'm determined to keep my promise, even if I hit a stumbling block this past month.

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

Nothing quite like an unresolved zombie swarm, a spellwolf smothered by corpse ashes, and our hero suggesting surrender to finish the week. Happy weekend!

Next weekend I'll be returning to INTERVENTION! This is my third year being invited as a guest and I'm flattered that Onezumi and Harknell continue to ask me back to their fun and personable convention. Intervention hosts a great assortment of webcomickers, bloggers, musicians and various other forms of proud geeks. I'll be selling the usual merchandise and doing a few panels over the course of the weekend, so be sure to stop by and say "hi!"

I'll talk more about Intervention next week, along with a couple of other conventions I'll be attending before the year's end. Being cozy at home is always nice, but an adventure on the road can be unforgettable.



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

I'm a fan of older zombie movies. There are some modern gems, but by and large I prefer the old school undead. When it comes to zombies, I prefer the slow moving shamblers over the modern day running zombies. It's not that I think sprinting corpses are any less scary. If I saw a rotting dude sprinting at me I'd scream just as loudly if that same rotting dude was limping toward me.

But fast moving zombies provide more of a "BOO!" type of scare, whereas the classic shambling zombie is a slow, creeping terror. It makes that final swarm, as we're seeing happen to Jayden and Jacob today, that much more terrifying because it's a slow build-up as opposed to a quick startle.

I remember playing the original Silent Hill on my old PlayStation and feeling that same creeping terror. Not a whole lot of enemies sprinted at you in that game. The static of the radio heralded the slow approach of some nameless horror from the mists of a forsaken town.

H.P. Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark scared the hell out of me, too. I remember reading that story in broad daylight, sitting in a public place on a beautiful summer day. I had gotten to a passage about the coming darkness, how the lights in the town were going out one by one and the Haunter's slow, inevitable approach to claim the protagonist... when an airplane happened to pass overhead and, for just a second, blocked out the sun. I jumped with such a scared startle that I threw the book.

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

It's no secret that I like golems. From Quilt, to Acibek, to Dirk the Mighty, I've enjoy giving constructs given life and character in my stories. Despite that, I don't think we're going to see much character development for the "zombie ash golem giant" that's materialized today.

But who knows? There may be a possibility for a spinoff if my current project with Garth falls through. Ashy Larry: Zombie Ash Golem Giant for Hire. Could be a hit.

We've seen Rilian blight two others before, and Jacob himself blighted Urik. Now he knows how they, and his little brother, felt.



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

Milov hasn't sprouted his blackbird wings in some time, but he has made use of them before. Good thing he pledged to stay at the ruins of Aberthast Cathedral along with the rest of House Danovich.

There isn't much relevant or interesting news to share today, but I'll share some little tidbits that are hopefully entertaining:

- I recently reorganized our comic book collection. My wife and I are lifelong comic book lovers and have numerous long boxes full of them. In our last place, the boxes were piled four high in a corner behind a door. Accessing them was almost impossible and for years they went untouched. Now our comics are out in the open and we're "rediscovering" our collection. It was nice to see that Spider-Man annual from the late 80s that featured Speedball again.

- Our old neighborhood had cockroaches and rats. This neighborhood has bunnies. On the surface, I think this is an improvement. Except for the resident skunk. Cute little guy, but stinky.


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