News

It's been awhile since that old joke's come up, huh? I think Luna's been secretly waiting for an excuse to use it after all this time, too.

It's been awhile now since I started playing League of Legends, and while I was having a love affair with it at first I have discovered how heart-wrenchingly awful a three day losing streak can be. I should know, as I've had quite a few. From what I've been told I'm in the level range where one either has incredible matches or games where you just want to reach through the monitor and punch someone in the throat. But for all its occasional frustration it's still a fun game with a lot of personality, so if you want to give it a try and see for yourself, you can sign up via a referral from my account.

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

The Beast feeds off unnatural desolation and death, and it would seem that unnatural fear is also on its menu. And by the look on Celesto's face in the last panel, he seems hungry for something, too.

In unrelated news, the fall is traditionally my favorite time of beer (see what I did there?) but it's also become my favorite time of year for my very amateur astronomy. Jupiter, my favorite planet, shines brightly in the night sky just outside my window where I have my telescope parked, so I'm afforded easy views of the king of the planets. Truth be told, the whole reason I got a telescope in the first place was to look at Jupiter and its moons.

With great beers and great skies, I'm a very happy nerd.

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

Gregory did, after all, come to Erossus looking for songwriting material. And we've seen him get that giddy look on his face when presented with gruesome inspiration. It's similar to the look on my face when I watch a particularly splattery horror movie.

EDIT: The lyrics from the first panel of today's comic are taken directly from Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. As much as I love heavy metal I also adore classical music, and since much of the Semashi language is basically Italian... well, all credit goes to Mozart for this one. I forgot to originally write this in the news post this morning.

Not much else to report down here in the news box today. I suppose I could fill the space with little tidbits of news from my personal life, links to music, rants about comics or any other marginally relevant things. Or I could just wish you folks a nice weekend.

Yeah. I think I'll do that instead.

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

I'm particularly happy with today's comic because of the last panel. Is Celesto being proven wrong about the royal battlecasters? Or is there is a sinister motive behind the battlecaster's fanboyish behavior? Never underestimate the dramatic value of a mysterious mask.

Of the new comic books I picked up yesterday, the new Animal Man series is the most promising. With otherworldly artwork and a planar vision-quest akin to some of the "out-of-panel" stuff I've been doing here, this book is really speaking to me. And with Buddy Baker's family well represented in this story so far, I think this one may be a standout title of the "new 52." Keep an eye on this one. I recommend it so far.

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

In case you're wondering why Celesto is impersonating the Beast again, remember that this storyline happened at the same time of the previous one, A Chance To Change. It would appear that Celesto can multitask well enough to be in two places at once.

As you can see, I've begun running a new ad box to the right, courtesy of Google Ads. I do apologize if any irrelevant, inappropriate and/or disruptive ads run while I'm figuring it out.

Now that the initial controversies, disappointments and outrages of the "New DC 52" are past us, I'll be interested to see where a number of second issues take us. I'll also be interested to see which titles I'll be continuing to follow. A few are on the fence, so we'll see how these comics fare.

But if you want to see an interesting take on how the Justice League could have been rebooted, Aaron Diaz of "Dresden Codak" did a pretty fantastic job. I particularly like his take on Martian Manhunter.

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

The realm of the Beast as the "garbage dump" of the Elemecca has been discussed before. This is a linky reminder in case you'd forgotten.

Besides the slow and inevitable approach of my wedding day (and all the stress of planning and organizing that entails) it's a pretty slow news day. So, as I often do when things are uneventful, here are some news tidbits that you might find interesting:

- Mastodon's new album, The Hunter, is spectacular. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

- The Feynman Series Part 1: Beauty blends the narrative of Richard Feynman with some lovely visuals and music. Take a look for yourself and be moved.

- Along those same lines, check out "The Quantum World" by the Symphony of Science. This came out about a month ago, but I think it's neat.

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

Looks like Luna almost suffered an Akira-esque squishing after being swallowed up by that painting. But have things really gotten better for her? We shall see.

I spent the weekend at the first ever WEBCOMICS CON! I had a blast. I met a lot of webcomic creators, great readers, an incredibly friendly staff and was treated to a venue that was almost too nice. This show has a lot of potential and a lot of room to grow, so I'm hoping to see it return for a second year. And if they do, I'll be there!

One more thing. I'm getting married at the end of this month so there may be some time where the comic doesn't update. It won't be anything unannounced and it won't be for anything more than a few days, but consider yourselves warned that as we draw nearer to Halloween I may need to take some time off. My sanity may depend on it.

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

What happened to Luna?
Where did she go?
Who was speaking to her?

You can ask me these questions and more if you come visit me at WEBCOMICS CON this weekend! It's the maiden voyage of this brand new convention dedicated to webcomics (hence the name) and I'm thrilled to be a part of it! I'll be selling merchandise, doing panels and just being generally happy to be there. Who knows? If you come around there may even be a spoiler or two.

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

The last time Luna watched her sister doing graphic things she had a similar reaction. Then again, I don't know anyone who'd like to watch their sibling doing... yeah.

There are a couple of metal references in the names of the paintings. I had originally intended to have all of them be the names of metal songs or albums, but I decided that was a little much. So I stuck just stuck with "Humanure," which is the name of an album from the aptly-named Cattle Decapitation and whose cover art is pretty appropriately gross, too. Look it up, if you dare.

Don't forget that I'll be at the first ever WEBCOMICS CON this weekend, so be sure to stop by and check it out!

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

If I was ever given the opportunity to play alongside one of my musical idols I'd be smiling pretty wide, myself. Not that any of them have ever asked.

I'm headed back to the comic shop today for new comic books, and to give this final round of new first issues from the already infamous DC Reboot a try. Let's see if any other new debuts spark as much controversy as what happened with Starfire and Catwoman. If you'd like your summary of the controversy in comic format, David Willis of "Shortpacked" provided an excellent recap.

I will readily confess that I'm excited about Aquaman's new title, but after last week I'm worried that Mera might be given a similar rebooted Starfire/Catwoman treatment. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

But if there's one debut that I'm excited about it's Webcomics Con this weekend! It's the maiden voyage of this show and I'm thrilled to be a part of it, so be sure to stop by and say "hi!"

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

Today's comic is endearingly dedicated to all the "Raven Darkbloods" out there. You know who you are. Be proud of it.

I'm going to keep things brief here in the news box today, as I damn near killed myself at the Enslaved concert last night. It wasn't a rough crowd and there weren't any unfortunate incidents to speak of. I just rocked out like I was sixteen again and my thirty-two year old out-of-shape body isn't happy with me. Ugh. But I'm not alone in my glorious suffering! My friend, who's a few years younger than me and in terrific shape, joined me at this intense concert and came away just as sore and exhausted. Good metal will pulverize anyone, it seems.

So if Enslaved comes around to your area, I HIGHLY recommend going to see them. You'll hurt so good.

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

As the legendary Frank Zappa would say, "There's no way to delay, there's trouble comin' every day." Gregory may not be as legendary a guitar player as Zappa was, but I like to think Donovan is.

Speaking of killer music, guess who's got two thumbs and is going to see Enslaved tonight? This guy. Oh yeah. I saw them open for Dimmu Borgir a few months ago and was absolutely blown away by their performance. I highly recommend them for your listening pleasure.

Last but not least, I'll be at the maiden voyage of Webcomics Con this weekend! Be sure to stop by and help support this brand new show dedicated to, well, webcomics! It ought to be a blast.

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

I'm at the MIT Comic Book Fair today until about 4pm. I'll be doing my Writing Unique Heroes & Memorable Villains talk and selling books, with the proceeds going to charity. This looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, so if you're in the area be sure to stop by and say "hi!"

Other than that, it looks like it's going to be a nice, easy weekend for once. I think I'll use that time to wisely kick the last lingering bits of con plague from my system.



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

Sorry about the delayed update, folks. My con plague spiked a little bit yesterday and the medicine I was taking knocked me out. A lot. Still, the comic's up and I do hope you like it.

Now I must return to nursing bottles of orange juice and popping cough drops like candy. I need to be in tip-top shape (or as close as I can manage) for the MIT Comic Book Fair on Friday. Should be a lot of fun, even if I'm still battling this lingering con plague.

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

I'm going to keep things brief today. What I thought was just a lingering cough as a result of a sore throat has revealed itself to be, in fact, con plague. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it's when you get sick after going to a convention for a weekend. Sometimes there's just no avoiding it, and it's got me.

But given the amount of tea and orange juice I've been consuming (not at the same time), I should be fine in time for the MIT Comic Book Fair fundraiser this Friday.

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