News

Does today's comic look a little familiar to you? Unlike yesterday's super obscure reference to the sacred knights, Celesto was last seen in the previous story performing this very same mantra and justifying his actions to himself... though his struggle for control is more dramatic in today's comic.

Other than that it's a slow news day. With all my conventions for 2011 done and my wedding behind me I may have to struggle for interesting things to talk about down here in the news box.

But if you fine folks like me randomly rambling about craft beer, comic books, video games, politics, astronomy and heavy metal, then there I should have no problems finding things to talk about down here.

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

YOUMACON was amazing. From the staff to the attendees to everyone who came to say "hi" to me, this show was a real treat and the perfect way to end my 2011 convention year. As with every great show, I'm happy to be home after a busy weekend but I was very sad to leave.

Anyway, back to business.

Remember the Sacred Knights of the Luanian Church? No? Well, I don't blame you. They've only been mentioned, like, once or twice in the nine years this comic has been around, which may make this the most obscure reference in the comic's history (and they also won't be wearing Ky Kiske's outfit from Guilty Gear any more).

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

Got questions? What "truth" was Luna aiming to convey? Why did the warped battlecasters leave? Why was Celesto giving Luna a dirty look? Answers to these questions and more to come in the conclusion to this story next week!

In the meantime I'll be at YOUMACON this weekend, starting today! This is my first time at this convention so I'm looking to make it a memorable appearance. I'll be doing panels and selling merchandise so be sure to stop by and say "hi" at what is sure to be a really fun weekend!

There may be con photos and/or crummy filler doodles on Monday. I don't anticipate there being a(nother) delay in updates, but just in case I have travel problems or any other surprise the cosmos wants to throw my way I just wanted to give you fine folks a heads-up.

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

This was totally unintentional, but Battlecaster Stiles holding up his maimed arm to help Battlecaster Mervin with the shield kinda makes him look like Mega-Man. And if you weren't thinking that before, you're probably thinking it now.

I picked up a couple of comic books yesterday. Here's what I thought about some of them:

Animal Man #3: Are you reading this yet? Seriously. This is one of the most intriguing titles to come out of the DC Reboot. With its planescape-spanning story and mind-bending artwork this is one you should absolutely be reading. Do it. Do it now.
Red Lanterns #3: This should really be called "Red Lanterns: Ass Shots of Bleez."
Action Comics #3: This take on Superman's early days in Metropolis is interesting. The flashbacks to Krypton are really neat in this issue. Give it a look.
Stormwatch #3: Still undecided on this one, but I like Martian Manhunter.
Avengers Academy #21: Don't know how I feel about Speedball and Veil leaving last month, but I love Mettle so I'm going to stick around with this title for the time being.

Alyssa and I are very grateful to everyone who sent us congratulatory emails regarding our marriage. We just finished reading through all of them and you guys really warmed our hearts. Thank you all so much. Select pictures of the big day will be posted when we get them back from the photographer.

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

When you see me at YOUMACON this weekend (and I hope you come say "hi") I'll be in the process of my annual "Novembeard." Yesterday I said goodbye to my characteristic sideburns and shaved my face clean. I will grow as much of a beard as I can until the end of the month, and then we shall see if the sideburns return or if the beard stays.

This has little relevance with anything. It's just something I like to do because my facial hair grows quickly.

New comic books hit the shelves today, and I find myself dropping more and more titles. I lament the state of superhero comics nowadays and I'm beginning to think that if I want to see more of what I love about the genre, I'm going to have to do something about it myself. More on this little idea as it develops.

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

On the first of every month I usually find myself saying something like, "Sheesh, is it (new month) already? Whatever happened to (previous month)?" But with a wedding this past weekend which had followed a year-and-a-half engagement, I was very aware of October's each and every day. November is here, and I welcome it.

Getting back to "normal" has been pretty easy. Life with Alyssa hasn't changed much at all. Getting back into my work routine, however, has been a bit rough. I have that idle haze in the back of my mind as I make a new comic, similar to the one I usually have to recover from after an exhausting convention weekend. I'll likely get over it in a few days... until YOUMACON this weekend, anyway.

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

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I'm going to keep things brief here in the news box today because I got married over the weekend and I'm still recovering from the sheer awesomeness of the whole event. In brief, it was a magnificent day and everything I dreamed it was going to be.

Select pictures will be forthcoming once I get them back from the photographer.

I'll be going to YOUMACON this weekend for the first time so be sure to stop by and say "hi!" if you're in the area!

That's all from me for now.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I'm getting married in a few days, so I'm taking the rest of the week off.

The comic will resume on Monday which, incidentally, is also Halloween.

Will Alyssa and I be getting married in Halloween costumes similar to the ones doodled in the crummy filler art above?


Possibly.


I hope you fine folks have a great weekend. We're hoping to have a memorable weekend ourselves.


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

Much like his band's sound, Gregory's amplified scream sounds like whoever has the most distinct "metal roar" to you. While there isn't an "official" inspiration, here are people with some of the most distinct metal roars/screams/high notes that I've heard throughout my meandering experience as a metal fan:

- Max Cavalera of Sepultura
- Phil Enselmo of Pantera
- Nergal of Behemoth
- Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden
- Ronnie James Dio

There are many, many more examples, but those are some memorable ones.

Today is the last day the comic will update this week, as I'm getting married at the end of the month and need a couple of days to attend to real life wedding stuff. There will be crummy filler for Thursday and Friday, and the comic will resume updating on Monday.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on, and wish me luck.

Mervin may have a bad moustache, but he's still a royal battlecaster and a magical badass. That is, until one of his buddies apparently betrayed him.

It looks like some of the werewolves of the Winter Archipelago may have been right.
Callanians suck at loyalty.

Don't forget that today and tomorrow are the only other days the comic will be updating this week. I'm getting married and I need a few days off to deal with wedding stuff. The comic will resume its normal updates on Monday.

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

Remember that the comic will only update on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I'll be taking a couple of days off to get married. Normal updates will resume the following Monday.

Am I nervous about getting married? Absolutely not.

Am I nervous about the wedding? A little.

Marriage to Alyssa is coming very naturally. She's the love of my life and my best friend, and I don't anticipate married life being any different for us. A wedding, on the other hand, is a big party that requires a lot of planning and people to accommodate. Between the wedding venue, the caterer, the music, the drinks, the officiate and everything else... yeah. It can be stressful.

Here's hoping I have nothing to be nervous about after all.

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

For the record, Luna is glaring at the fact that Mervin is not hideously deformed beneath his mask. However, if the idea that his terrible moustache is as shocking to her as it was to Gregory makes you chuckle, then who am I to correct you?

A bad moustache is a disarming thing to see if you're not prepared for it. Most men don't know if they're going to have a bad moustache until they try to grow one. Men like Frank Zappa, Hulk Hogan, Salvador Dali and even Super Mario are men who make moustaches epic. Mervin the battlecaster is not one of those men, sadly.

When I was a teenager I dreamed of growing a Zappa-esque moustache. I ended up looking like I had a dead caterpillar on my upper lip. Oh well.

The comic is only going to update Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. I'm taking a few days off to get married. I hope you folks don't mind.

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

I picked up quite a few comic books yesterday, and this week did not leave me with such a lamentable taste in my mouth. A lot of it had to do with the new ATOMIC ROBO hitting the shelves (and on time, too!) but other superhero offerings actually showed some promise.

Here, in brief, is what I thought:

ATOMIC ROBO & THE GHOST OF STATION X #2: Every issue of every series of this comic is amazing. Why aren't you reading it yet? You're missing out on all the robutt!
WONDER WOMAN #2: I had my doubts with this one, but between the heavy mythology storyline and Cliff Chiang's great artwork, this new Wonder Woman book is promising.
NIGHTWING #2: Decent offering of pretty standard superhero stuff. I like Dick Grayson, so I like to follow what he's up to.
BLUE BEETLE #2: If any hero didn't need a "reboot" it was Blue Beetle. Still, this new series hasn't changed much of what made the character so endearing. Blue Beetle is such a breath of fresh air into modern superheroes that I'll gladly read his story again.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #2: Nice to read about Lanterns other than Hal Jordan. Especially the more alien ones. Go Isamot!
SUPERGIRL #2: Her new costume sucks, but I've been enjoying this so far.

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

I know I'm biased here, but I think Luna is looking particularly badass in today's comic. And Celesto's toothy grin is looking particularly wicked. And I guess I'm overall happy with the way today's comic looks! But then again, I am pretty biased.

It's once again new comic book day, which has become the day where I lament the current state of superhero comics. While ATOMIC ROBO is, in my opinion, currently the best comic on the shelves and the only one I really look forward to, I wouldn't call it a "superhero" book. Yes, he's an atomic-powered robot who fights a time-traveling dinosaur and the ghost of Thomas Edison, but I'd consider Robo more of an "action hero." It's the state of the heroes in tights and capes who sling around superpowers that has me disappointed lately. Oh well.

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

I finally saw The Thing yesterday, so I'm feeling a little suspenseful today. And when that happens, it usually translates into a cliffhanger. Mwa ha ha.

Overall I thought The Thing was a pretty solid monster movie. Was it a masterpiece equal to John Carpenter's film of the same name? No, and I think that if it didn't carry that film's namesake it wouldn't be under as much scrutiny as it is by fans (like me) and critics. But since it was a prequel to Carpenter's movie it had some big, monstrous shoes to fill.

What I thought they got right:
- Gruesome monster transformations.
- Great moments of tension.
- Attention to details that link it to the Carpenter classic.
- The "dum dum... dum dum" was in the movie.

What I thought they got wrong:
- The monster was more aggressive than a lurking terror.
- A CGI monster is less scary than a makeup-effects monster.
- Forgettable characters.
- The "dum dum... dum dum" wasn't in the movie enough.

I still recommend seeing it, though. If you've never seen the original, the new The Thing stands alone as a decent monster flick. But if you've never seen the original masterpiece, treat yourself to a classic tonight.

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