News

If you look to your right you'll notice that a few more conventions have been added to the list. I'm very happy to be able to confirm my return to PortCon Maine as well as ConnectiCon, two of my favorites to attend every year.

I can't promise I'll be defending my title of the Pretty Pretty Princess of Portland, but I can guarantee that I'll be hosting the ConnectiCon Cosplay Chess as well as their Webcomics Charity Auction, where I usually end up topless.

I should be able to tell you folks whether or not I'll be at Anime Boston again this year by the end of the week.

Man. I'm all over the place this year! And it's only March!
That's all from me for now.
Rock on!

It's a pretty slow news day for a Monday, but there is a thing or two worth mentioning.

In case you're having trouble viewing the preview of March's Donation Wallpaper just hit the Refresh button on your browser. That should update the thumbnail.

I've begun the process of getting THE BATTLE FOR BARTHIS: Dominic Deegan Volume 4 ready for your approval. With any luck it should be ready for pre-order later this month and available by April. If things get complicated (like they tend to do whenever I'm putting these volumes together) I anticipate pushing both those dates back about a month. I'll keep you fine folks posted as these things develop.

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

The last time we saw Neilen he wasn't looking so well. Then he reappeared in Jacob's service just before the current story began.

Now he's back and he's brought a weekend cliffhanger with him! That jerk!

March's Donation Wallpaper is up for your approval. I only decided to do one this month featuring lots of characters instead of two featuring one or two apiece. I'll probably switch back-and-forth between the number of monthly wallpapers until I find a groove that I like.

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

If I were to say "another reason I'm excited about this storyline is..." again I would easily be guilty of hammering a point home too thoroughly. Perhaps to the point of hammering you folks in the head with it.

But another reason I'm excited about this storyline is that I finally get to talk about the Orc War in greater detail. The Orc War is one of those events that's been mentioned in passing through the course of the comic and now I get the opportunity to shine the proverbial spotlight upon it. What caused it, what Maltak was like before it, what some of the great and tragic battles were, and what secrets lay buried beneath the bloodied, blasted earth in the aftermath. As always, I can only hope you folks enjoy the revelations as much as I enjoy revealing them.

March's Donation Wallpaper ought to be up later today, or tomorrow at the very latest.

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

In a weird and probably twisted way I am proud of the racial slurs I've come up with for orcs. I'm not a fan of racial slurs in general, far from it, but every time I write "piggart" and most recently "snout-sucker" it makes me cringe a little... which I think is the point of a racial slur. So, I guess I'm patting myself on the back for a job disturbingly well done.

I know I mentioned "cutting down on cuts to other characters" the other day, but I don't consider a flashback a cut to another character. It's the same guy, after all, only we're seeing Chief Thuen Gor much youn-gor. *rimshot*

Other than that, Webcomics Weekend is approaching and I'm still excited to be a part of it. Probably what I'm most excited about is that it's not really a convention, but more of a get-together where webcomickers and fans of our genre can come together, hang out, talk shop, and generally goof around. I'll just be chilling out doing all of the aforementioned things, so be sure to stop by!

One of the reasons I'm so excited about The March Across Maltak is that I'm finally getting to showcase all the orc clans. I thought up the Alheera, the Bikta, the Doma, the Shintula and the Rhazgala years ago, just after Dominic Deegan went online... but they were not originally orc clans.

What follows is a short story of epic nerdism. Read on at your own risk.

My friends had been creating their own fantasy setting for our weekly Dungeons & Dragons game and asked me to develop some ideas for one area of the world. It was an area of expansive plains so I thought up a number of tribes known as the Kelsheen, who were horse-riding nomads of the vast Northern Plains. My friends' world was very centered around humans, so these horse nomads were all humans. The pious Bikta. The warlike Doma. The shadowy Shintula. The flashy Rhazgala. The knowledgeable Alheera. I was so excited about my Kelsheen and ready to play them in our game.

For one reason or another the game never happened and my Kelsheen seemed doomed to be forgotten. Then, for one reason or another, I acquired the greatest readers in the world (that would be you fine folks) and I saw my chance. I've always loved the ideas of traditional fantasy "monsters" as heroes, so I made them all orcs and used the name "Kelsheen" as their first and greatest clan.

Now, after all these years, I finally get to put the spotlight onto that idea I spawned for a roleplaying game... and I'm still nerding out over it.

March's Donation Wallpaper will be up for your approval before the end of the week.

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

More than a few of you wonderful folks have informed me that, while you're enjoying The March Across Maltak so far, you've found it a little difficult to follow my somewhat rapid shifts between the major players in this arc... from Dominic and Luna's expedition, to Hukthak and Jacob, to Suyan and the Bikta, to Chief Thuen Gor of the Shintula, to Stonewater and his band of... yeah. You get the idea.

So, in an effort to cut down on the apparent confusion I'm going to cut down on the cuts. With any luck that'll streamline things now that everyone is more-or-less familiar with the players for this tale.

Of course, I may have broken my own rule with the last two panels of today's strip, but starting tomorrow I swear I'll cut down on the cuts.

That's all from me for now.
Cut.

Things are beginning to move forward in this latest epic tale, and while many of the elements of this story are still cryptic they're at least beginning to weave together. Can you tell I'm excited about this? I really am. Then again, I don't know how nerdy it is to be geeking out over your own story. No, I do know. It's amazingly nerdy.

Other than that, it was a fun week of strips for me to present and I hope you folks enjoyed them, too. Where things will go next week is anyone's guess... except mine, I suppose. I know exactly where the story is going next week.

Anyway, have a great weekend, folks! Thanks for reading, as usual, and for being the greatest readers in the world.

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

Here are some brief thoughts on some of the comic books I picked up yesterday.

Green Lantern was fantastic and, even with their particularly crippling weakness, I'd still sign up to be a Blue Lantern.

Blue Beetle's final issue wasn't the depressing end to a book I was afraid it was going to be. At least he'll be hanging out with the Teen Titans, where his friendship with Kid Devil is entertaining as hell.

Nova remains awesome. Period.

Skaar, Son of Hulk is an effective tale of a barbarian on a savage world. Unfortunately I also find him to be an unlikeable jackass, so I don't know if I'll be following this series much longer.

Reign In Hell was confusing, anti-climactic and difficult to care about. I felt like I was reading eight issues of a writer yelling at the cast of characters he chose to work with.

Superman is still my hero. Period.

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

I hate talking politics here in my news posts, but I just watched Barack Obama address the United States Congress and I feel compelled to share this one and only political view I am having at the moment.

I do believe I'm developing a man-crush on that well-spoken man. What can I say? I love me an old-fashioned orator.

On a much geekier note, two of my favorite comics are coming out today with two very different feelings attached to them. I'm pretty sure the new Green Lantern is going to kick a ton of ass so I'm super excited... but the very last issue of Blue Beetle is going to leave me very sad, if for no other reason than I'm not going to be able to buy his solo books any more.

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

I meant to point this out yesterday but I got caught up in feeling like I was at the Oscars. Anyway, in case you had trouble finding it, Luna's vision of the dragon was something that had already happened in the comic. Many of you have told me you appreciate these little references to past comics so I'm going to keep at it.

Speaking of having a hard time finding old strips, I finally updated the Table of Contents to include the new chapters. It's not terribly fancy, but I think it does the trick.

And finally, I misplaced an e-mail that was sent to me over a year ago with a neat little game attached, and I only recently found it hidden away in my inbox. So if you fine folks find yourselves returning to Dominic and Luna's airship adventures, be sure to get in some Trap Shooting while you're at it.

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

I was watching the Oscars last night and saw a lot of people thanking a whole lot of other people for a whole lot of things. It made me realize I don't give someone who's been a great help to me over the years nearly enough credit, so I'm going to do so right now.

Pierre has not only been gracious enough to host my humble little webcomic for the last few years, but he's been patient enough to devote his time to little old me when I come waving my arms at him in a panic over... well... anything. I'm very thankful for his generosity and support, and without him I don't think I'd be having as wonderful a time at this as I am today.

Pierre, you do much more for me than I could possibly do for you, and I want you to know that I appreciate everything you do for me. Sir.

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

I've been talking a bit about conventions lately. They've been on my mind because, frankly, I do quite a few of them and I'm already pretty solidly booked up until the summer.

A few of you have dropped me e-mails saying things like "have you ever considered coming to this convention in this part of the country?" or "that convention in that part of the country?" The official answer is that I'm always open to trying new conventions in new areas if my schedule is permitting, but I'm always more likely to appear if a convention is willing to invite me as a Guest of some sort.

So, if you want me to come to your favorite convention let the people running the show know that you'd like me there. It's a lot more impressive to con planners if there are a bunch of people saying "invite him!" than having some webcomicker waving his arms and going "invite me cuz I are awesome!"

And now, with that in mind, I have to start getting Volume 4 together so I can have it available in time for the spring and summer conventions.

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

Yesterday I mentioned my attendance at the first ever New England Webcomics Weekend and today I'd like to reaffirm my enthusiasm about it.

I am still super-psyched about this thing.

I'm not on the Official Guest List but rather on the Cartoonists In Attendance list. That's fine by me. I think that's just a matter of available table space, anyway.

And besides, one of the reasons I'm so excited about this event is that it's not really about sales and merchandise. It's more of a social gathering and showcase for webcomics, by webcomics. A place for established and aspiring creators to talk shop and just chill out together in an environment that celebrates our industry.

It will probably also be a really fun time. So check out the website for more info, stop by if you can, and maybe we can chill out and talk shop... or talk about anything, really. I'll probably have a smile on my face for about three straight days.

That's all from me for now.
More on upcoming conventions tomorrow.
Rock on and geek out.

I've got one foot out the door as I write this news post, so I'll make this a quickie.

I'll be attending the first ever Webcomics Weekend at the end of March whether I'm listed to appear or not. Would I like to be listed on the Guest List? Of course! But even if they don't put me on the Cartoonists In Attendance list I'll be there because an event like this deserves all the support in the world.

Now I'm going to put my other foot out the door and talk more about this with you fine folks tomorrow.