DOOMED WIZARD DIARIES

In an attempt to make up for a year-long lack of "If They Move...Blog 'Em!" posts before the year is up, I bring you, gentle boppers, some ancient art-ifacts. Get it? ART-ifacts? Yeah, I know. Up first is a real blast from the past and a particular favorite of mine. Decades ago, my good friend Ken Holewcyznski created a wonderful but short-lived comic book called "Futurama." That's right, you read that right. No offense to Matt Groening, but Ken's "Futurama" was a well-written, uniquely-drawn masterpiece in the vein of Thea von Harbou's "Metropolis." Ken was selling his original artwork for the series for something like twenty bucks and I didn't hesitate at buying my favorite page, posted below. I even bought a "Futurama" t-shirt, but have since outgrown it and have no idea where it ended up. About ten years ago, I started working on a book about three guys in their mid-twenties who barely got along and were t...

Up first is the cover to Mike Indovina's The Chimera Strikes! #2, art by yours truly. I really like this picture simply because, upon seeing it, Mike emailed me saying it was, "The coolest thing I've ever seen." That's the kind of reaction I like. Mike's a helluva storyteller and artist, so that kind of praise goes a long way. The cover is a long way (literally) from the image below. My mother unearthed this drawing recently, drawn by yours truly some twenty-seven years ago, when I was first introduced (I think) to The Ghost Who Walks. I'm not exactly sure why I gave him a high tech hunk of handgun, possibly because I was also pretty into Dethlok at the time. If I remember right, I had a dart gun that looked similar to the gun in the picture. Tom Scioli has long been one of my favorite artists since I stumbled upon his series The Myth of 6-Opus at my first Mid-Ohio convention a few years back. Tom is, I believe, the reincarnation of Jack Kirby, obvio...

If you were lucky enough to pick up a copy of The Serial Squad! Terror at the Bottom of the World! ashcan at this year's Mid-Ohio Con , then you've already gotten a sneak peak of things to come. I say lucky because I haven't even seen the ashcan yet, though I'm told it looks great. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, below are the first five pages of TSS!TatBotW! as well as the front cover, which I hope doesn't drive our colorist mad. The story takes off not long after the first book (still available at Bad Place Productions , finer comic shops abroad and various upcoming conventions), where the events that unfolded during the burgeoning team of adventurers' first mission still resonate in the back of their minds, shaping their immediate futures. I'm a quarter of the way through the book as I write this and hope to have it done well before S.P.A.C.E. in April of next year, where as it turns out, The Serial Squad! Thrill-O-Rama! has been nomina...

Well, to say that the debut of Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet was a smashing success would be adding just a wee bit too much hyperbole. We managed to uncover the culprits behind a string of explosive bank robberies but almost completely by accident. We spent the majority of the adventure eating in nearly every restaurant in the neighborhood where the banks were being robbed, antagonizing a couple of non-super wannabes and unwittingly allying ourselves with the actual criminals behind the robberies. But, when it was all said and done and the smoke had cleared, we came up smelling like a rose, in spite of the fact that Iron Gauntlet took a major beatdown and Black Samson inadvertently caused a spectacular traffic accident that resulted in the capture of the real bad guys. Our initial instincts, however, proved valid as Hammer & Anvil, the two guys everyone thought were behind the robberies, proved to be innocent. All's well that ends well, I say. For information regarding ...

A lot has been going on since The Serial Squad!, Thrill-O-Rama debuted earlier this year at SPACE. The reception for the book has way exceeded my expectations, thanks in no small part to John's rock-n-roll promotional style. Thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy and if you haven't picked up a copy yet, it's available at the Bad Place Productions website as well as any of the conventions we'll be attending in the fast-approaching new year. In an attempt to at least post here on a semi-regular basis, along with my usual bits of tomfoolery, I'll be posting various images and news concerning project updates, etc. Up first are the first five pages of The Chimera Strikes! #2 , which, aside from the front cover, I recently completed penciling and inking for Mike Indovina . Issue one is still available through Mike's website as well as the conventions he too will be attending. Mike don't talk much. He don't have to. His books speak volumes. Chec...

Due to crummy weather, a cold I can't seem to shake and an impending, self-imposed deadline to finish The Chimera Strikes! #2, Game Night was canceled. I've only got a few more pages left to finish for Mike Indovina, which I'm hoping to have done before the dreaded Christmas Break, two weeks of utter chaos as my kids run rampant through the house hopped up on Holiday Cheer. Since resuming Game Night a few weeks back, I've been trying to figure out what type of RPG campaign I wanted to run. Don't get me wrong, playing Black Samson is a blast, but I also enjoy running a game, the trouble is, I've been burned out for the past few years from decades of being Designated DM. This DM Block as it were has caused me to reflect upon just exactly what it is that has me in a creative bind where creating adventures is concerned. It's certainly not the lack of time I have to dedicate to such an endeavor. LORD knows I've got plenty of that, what with the various c...

Well, it was Game Night again last Monday. Glen Evans, our GM, whipped us up the "Heroes Unlimited" versions of Power Man & Iron Fist for myself and Marc , whose last name I'm hiding to protect his identity. By the end of the Game session, however, we'd modified the two Marvel Bronze-Aged badasses into the characters you see below. My buddy Jay Fife once said "homage" was French for "halfassed," but I tend to put my whole ass into everything I do. Anyone who knows me knows of my love for Bronze Age Marvel characters, so behold, two characters we created that you'll never see on a comic book page for fear of numerous lawsuits. I give you: Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet! Fearful of being spotted and thus hindering his chances of ever getting laid again, Marc attempts to conceal his true identity by doing his best Emperor Palpatine impression. "Emperor Palpitation" is more like it. Way to go, man, that'll work! Glen cle...

And so, yet another Halloween has came and went. Next to Christmas, it's our busiest season. So, I took some time off from the various comic book projects I'm working on, and just enjoyed the week with my wife and kids. There were so many super hero costumes lying around the house after Trick or Treating it looked like a Justice League pool party. Pictured, from left to right, are Atticus as Superman, Arlaux as Hawkgirl, Jeep as Iron Man and their friend Evan as Flash. Ever the businessman, Iron Man clearly plugs Hot Tamales. Iron Man flies solo for this shot. Lest you think only the little ones got to enjoy themselves this Halloween, that's yours truly in the "grown up" Flash costume. Atticus was so impressed, he put on his own speedster suit. Barry Allen and Wally West never looked so good! No costumes in this next picture, just a shameless "Serial Squad!" product placement and a picture of myself on the newest member of the family, nine-month-ol...