News

This strip was lots of fun to draw, if a bit of a challenge to lay out properly. I'm very happy with the result, even if drawing all those dead bodies was a pain in the rear.

My cat Rascal is crazy, but she's that dangerous kind of crazy that's got some kitty-smarts to it. This has become evident in her newest form of getting my attention.

I sit at my computer a lot and don't always get a chance to play with my cats. Rascal realizes this, so she's taken to sitting between me and the monitor and just staring at me. Expectantly. Impatiently.

Other times she'll climb up the back of my chair and literally "tap" me on the shoulder to get my attention so I'll turn around and let her climb over that same shoulder into my lap. Devious, isn't it?

Scamp, my younger cat, just meows at my feet and brings me toys to throw for him. Adorable? Yes. But it's not nearly as effective as what Rascal does. I play with him, but it doesn't stop me from working. He'll learn.

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

Thanks to back-to-back conventions, a surprisingly little amount of sleep and an annoying dose of real life I have once again fallen behind in sending out this month's already very late Donation Wallpapers. If you donated and it hasn't arrived in your inbox yet, it should be there by the end of the day today.

...there may also be a slight case of The Sims 3 in there somewhere, but that's not official. Ahem.

Anyway, I've got a solid month before Otakon and ConnectiCon so I'm going to try and be as productive as possible. The operative word there being "try" but I'm going to go for it nonetheless. My "big two summer conventions" are going to keep me very busy and I want to get as much work done as possible before those two conventions downright kill me. They'll be fun, though.

...there may also be a slight case of me turning thirty in there somewhere, but that's not official either. Ahem.

Rock on.

Real life is kind of dogging me at the moment, so I'm going to have to make this news post short so I can attend to it. Nothing to worry about, just real life being... real life.

PortCon Maine was as enjoyable as ever, and I had a blast meeting new friends, reuniting with old ones, and generally being mischievous. Those of you who attended Extreme Geek got to see me in a lovely dress and hopefully enjoyed my "striptease" when I refused to run across a major street for a sandwich. Don't ask.

Many thanks to Sketch and Garth for being such awesome table-mates and helping me bring the metal to an otherwise very noisy Artist Alley.

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

If you're reading this I have once again hit the road, traveling once again to another summer convention. This time I'm hitching a ride with my buddy Garth to PortCon Maine, where we will be causing some harmless amount of trouble and hopefully keeping folks entertained if they come to visit us.

If I'm not hanging out with Garth at my table, you'll probably find me doing my best impression of Aquaman in the pool, drinking tasty beer with some local afficionados, or just curled up in my room trying to catch up on some sleep. Of course, if you manage to find me doing that last thing, you've probably followed me to my hotel room... which is how some horror movies start.

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

Well, June's almost over but I was still able to get this month's Donation Wallpaper done. All these conventions strung together is really doing a number on my ability to keep a deadline... you know, besides the one I have to update a comic five days a week. Anyway, it's up for your perusal and approval, and if you're having trouble seeing it just hit your browser's Refresh button, as usual.

Like I said before, this weekend I'll be at PortCon Maine causing trouble, selling merchandise and bringing the metal. If I'm not doing any of those things I'll probably either be eating, swimming or sleeping, in whatever order those may happen to come at me.

And finally, in comic book news... go get 'em, Darkhawk! One of my heroes from the nineties comic book scene is getting the spotlight again and, thanks to a great team of writers, is holding it well on his own. I've always thought his armor was badass, but now that all new configurations and forms and stuff are being added... oh baby. Go get 'em, Darkhawk!

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

Can you tell I have a thing for muscular orc women? I know I'm usually such a subtle writer with no tendencies to be ham-fisted or anything, so I figured I'd point out that I think I have a thing for muscular orc women. Some people like wispy elf girls. Not me.

I also seem to have a thing for shirtless dudes, though not in the same way that I have a thing for muscular orc women. A lot of the male heroes around here, including Dominic, have ended up strutting around with their shirts off on more than one occasion. I blame the heroes of my childhood. None of them wore shirts, and in my developmental years that translated into being a total badass.

As evidence, I present the list of my childhood heroes who wouldn't bother to wear a shirt:
He-Man
Hulk Hogan (and every other wrestler ever)
The Incredible Hulk
Conan the Barbarian
Kenshiro
Liono
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

So if you've ever wondered about the running theme of shirtless and/or bare-armed dudes running around the comic being badass, go ahead and blame the 80s.

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

AnimeNext was a blast for a number of reasons. First, it's always awesome to meet readers face-to-face and the folks I met this weekend were nothing short of awesome. Thank you all so much for stopping by and saying "hi." Second, the convention staff was as attentive, friendly, and generous as ever. They made me feel like a million bucks and I am very grateful for all their hard work. Third, all the panels I was a part of were very, very well received and I was flattered by all the nice words folks had for me and my fellow panelists after each talk.

It was also nice to chill out with fellow troublemakers Chris Malone and Dave Lister. Their obsession with all things Pokemon may be a little disturbing, but they're good buddies of mine and I love them anyway... for now.

This weekend I'll be heading up to PortCon Maine for a second consecutive weekend of hijinks and rabble-rousing. If you have trouble finding me, just listen for the metal.

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

I stopped by my parents' place on Sunday after AnimeNext to surprise my brother for his birthday. I spent the evening there and scanned today's strip on my father's computer. If you're reading this I'm probably en route back to Mookie Headquarters in Boston.

I'll have a proper news update and a summary of my lovely time at AnimeNext tomorrow, after I've settled back home and unpacked all my things.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on, and I hope you had a happy birthday, bro.

I'm at AnimeNext today, hopefully having arrived yesterday without much drama or trouble. I'm going to be doing my best to produce a comic for Monday while I'm here, which I anticipate being able to do without much drama or trouble. There's a slight chance that Monday's comic will be posted late, but I'll keep you folks posted as the weekend draws to a close.

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

I'm heading off to AnimeNext today. I usually prefer to arrive at convention locations a day early so there's some flexibility in the checking-in process. Be sure to say "hi" to me this weekend if you're in the area of this one. I had a blast last year and I'm looking to repeat the experience.

While I was able to get Friday's strip done ahead of time to cover my absence, it seems I was unable to get June's Donation Wallpaper done this week. It should be up for your approval early next week, barring disaster.

In comic book news, Deadpool remains freaking hilarious, events leading up to The Blackest Night continue to get me excited, it's good to see Blue Beetle on his own again, albeit in a backup feature, and I am pleased with the developments concerning Dick Grayson taking on the mantle of Batman and Tim Drake becoming Red Robin. Damian is a little prick.

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

In lieu of anything new or interesting to say at length today, I present you folks with a little "wish list" of sorts. This is just for your entertainment purposes only. It's not a hint for people to get me presents.

- The Sims 3.
- Not to be turning 30 in under a month.
- For my cats to actually get along.
- For my cat to get away from the monitor so I can finish writing this.
- That my girlfriend and I find an apartment without the process making me want to strangle someone.
- My beard to come back.
- Superpowers.

Yeah. That's all I got for light entertainment today.

Wow. This really is a slow news day.
That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

If there's ever been a Dungeons & Dragons type game called Myths & Magic then its reference in today's comic is entirely coincidental. I was just using my love of alliteration to showcase that most of the characters in this comic were shameless nerds at one point.

I'll be heading down to AnimeNext this weekend and I don't anticipate my attendance there to affect the comic's update schedule like A-KON did last weekend. I'll be bringing some of the usual merchandise and hanging out with some of the usual troublemakers. It's a fun convention so be sure to stop by and say "hi" if you're in town!

June's Donation Wallpaper should be up for your perusal and approval before I go.

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

EDIT: Some folks have informed me that the term "nerd herder" is a reference to the NBC show Chuck. This is also entirely coincidental since I've never watched a single episode, even though I hear it's very nerd-friendly.

If you look over to the right you'll see that I've added two new conventions to the list. Both are relatively new additions to the "summer tour" so if you're in the area for either of them be sure to stop by and say "hi."

AnimeNext was a lot of fun last year, so much so that I decided to accept their invitation to come back. The folks who run this convention treated me super-nice so I'm eager to return and be reunited with some real friendly folks. I'll be hanging out with some other troublemakers, so be sure to see if you can catch some mischief.

Other than that, it's the cusp of a weekend where I don't have to travel, so I'm going to be sure to enjoy it as best I can. I hope you folks do, too.

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

In the last two weeks a lot of comic books came out, and since I wasn't in town to pick up Wednesday's new arrivals last week I had quite a stack of books waiting for me yesterday. There were some great titles that came out, including Green Lantern, Deadpool, Nova, Batman & Robin, but I don't want to talk about any of those today. There are two things that struck me as I read two weeks worth of comics, and they're probably things I've mentioned before, but I feel like talking about them again.

First of all, I feel like Marvel should just name their next big event "You Have No Choice But To Read This." I have no interest whatsoever in Dark Reign and I've never liked Norman Osborn, not even in that "I love to hate him" sort of way. I've just never liked him. I cannot, repeat, I cannot pick up a Marvel comic book without his face in any given issue. I feel like I'm being bashed over the head. I know I'm guilty of that more often than not in my own comic, but I'm not presiding over an entire comic book universe populated by a team of writers and parallel dimensions and an enormous cast of superheroes where, with all these possibilities, one story is told. Would I feel differently if this was all centered around a villain I actually loved to hate? I don't know.

Second of all, I was irritated by the preview for the upcoming Cry For Justice, where Green Lantern (whom I normally adore) makes a speech before the Justice League and calls for a change. It's not that I'm opposed to change in my comic books, it's the argument that was presented. It was something along the lines of "being 'good' and 'true' doesn't scare the villains back any more. These aren't the villains of yesterday, and we have to be meaner, too," etc. Call me old fashioned, call me a hopeless idealist and escapist, but I'm just so sick and tired of that kind of argument being presented before colorfully costumed superheroes. The world is bleak and dark and wearing a cape and costume isn't a realistic way of dealing with bad guys. I get that. I do. I read the news every day. I guess whenever the real world starts leaking its way into the ideals of my colorfully costumed superheroes I turn into a grumpy old nerd.

If I ever publish a superhero comic book you can rest assured the heroes will be irritatingly idealistic and you'll have a choice as to what stories you'll want to read about.

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

I should have all the pictures from Anime Boston and A-KON posted by the end of this week at the latest. I didn't have room for my camera last weekend so I was relying on some very generous friends of mine for pictures. Once they get them all to me I'll post them up for your viewing enjoyment.

Other than that I don't really have much else to say today. Oh, I missed getting comic books last week thanks to Memorial Day delaying their delivery to the shops, so with any luck I'll have a double-dose of comic bookery today. Oh, and I hear The Sims 3 is awesome so I may treat myself to that. Oh, and I'm very close to confirming my attendance at another major summer convention. Oh, and I may have news on new t-shirt designs in a couple of days.

I guess I had a little more to say than I thought.

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