Yay, I'm home!  ...and my desktop computer decided to stop finding wireless networks while I was gone.  WELL THAT'S FUN.  GOD DAMMIT.  Can I get home from a convention and actually have everything be normal?  Apparently not.

Anyway, me news -- The Laughing Ogre here in Columbus is having a FF #1 thing on Wednesday.  (Apparently it's just literally "FF" now, so trying to spell out what the acronym means is counter to informational purposes.)  The Laughing Ogre is having a sale with 15% off Fantastic Four trades and 25% off Fantastic Four back issues. And if you buy the FF #1 "blank cover" you will get a sketch on it from one of the local artists in residence.  One of those local artists is me! So if you've got a hankering for a doodle of HERBIE, I'm totally your man from noon to about 6 or 8.

I may also learn to draw the Thing.

And I've got things for you.

First of all, the Robin statues are shipping!  I haven't gotten mine yet, but reports are coming in and credit cards are getting charged.  Watch for yours!

Way back in 2005, I did a comic for 24 Hour Comic Day, and created a self-contained out-of-continuity 24-page story about the Head Alien and Monkey Master from It's Walky!.  That story's seen the Internet, but never print!  UNTIL TODAY.

It's been repackaged as an in-universe artifact from Dumbing of Age, my other webcomic where the Head Alien and Monkey Master only exist as fictional characters from a popular cable network cartoon.  All 24 pages are represented in this black-and-white comic book, as well as a "letters page" in the front that delves into the history of the "Dexter & Monkey Master" franchise in the Dumbing of Age universe.  Also, there's a spot on the inside cover for me to sign and/or doodle on if you ever see me in person!  Find it in the store.

Also, woo, now that I'm home, I can get back to some outstanding orders from the store.  Hooray!

So, hey, Transformers: Drift #2 came out today. Last week, I made fun of Issue 1 for casually killing off G2 guys with reckless abandon, and Issue 2 does it one better! In the second and third panels of the first page, we see both Hot Shot and Shattered Glass Ravage all endeadened.  Well, that's conspicuous, isn't it?  The character I famously have a shrine of and the character I created?

And it's not just a coincidence.  Artist Alex Milne writes on the IDW forums:

when i started issue 2 i had a battle scene between the autobots and decepticons and i asked a few of my friends who to draw in there. a few of them said i should draw hot shot, and i was like hot shot??? why the hell do i want to draw him??? i'm not the biggest fan of armada anyways. then one of them said it was Walky's favourite, but i still don't know if that's true or not, and i laughed, and i said, if you want me to put him in, i will. personally i don't care. so at first i asked my friends what characters to add, they gave me a few choices and when i then wanted to know the reason behind there choice they told me, and i got a laugh out of it.

so, no lie here. no favourite characters of anyone who i hardly know in issue one. in issue 2, there is. did i do it because that guy upsets me. no. i don't really care what he says. i did it because my friends thought it was be funny and it's a character not in the G1-G2 line that will be used. oh, and i'm not the biggest fan of armada, so theres that too.

Sweet!  So basically, Alex Milne has a friend who not only hates me, but also has incredible control over what he draws in his comics for Hasbro.  I'm genuinely flattered!  I'm serious.  I made a difference in someone's life.  And I can't really throw a fit or anything.  I make fun of IDW's comics plenty.  I have little room for outrage.  I'm mostly happy they (or their friends) know who I am.

I like attention.

The only thing that really bothered me about this whole affair was Editor Denton Tipton's response to people being upset that their favorite characters were being casually offed in the backgrounds.

I have no control over what Milne says (outside of this forum). Just like he doesn't have any control over what characters live or die. For the record: All those characters are generics. This wouldn't even be an issue if it weren't for the fascination with "canon."

"Fascination with canon"?  Really?  You're going to condescend to us for caring about the stories you sell to us for $3.99?  If we see characters dying and we get upset, it's our fault for caring?  Great.

And if Milne really doesn't have any control over who lives and who dies, maybe you should tell him not to draw characters dying. Because from where I'm looking, he sure does seem to be determining who lives and who dies.  Or are we to disregard what we see in the comics we're reading?

Comic books are still a partially visual medium, right?  Or did I miss a memo?

The final issue of Last Stand of the Wreckers dropped on Wednesday.  Holy cow, dudes.  The trade isn't until August.  You can't wait that long.  Go get the individual issues.  The individual issues have character profiles that aren't gonna be in the trade, anyway.  (Which is kinda bullshit, but whatevs.)

(Also, issues 1-3 are available on iTunes.)

There was something else I wanted to talk about today!  Man, I can't remember.

Getting old.

So, Power Girl is ending.  For me.  I mean, it's gonna keep goin' on, just not with the current creative team.  Lovebuddies Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner are leaving, and after that who really cares?  I haven't even read to see who's replacing them.

It's too bad, because I hopped on really late.  But today the trade of the first few arcs came out in comic shops, so I was able to finally catch up.  It's really been a great year or so of comics.  I didn't even really have a love for the character before now, but I do now - well, at least how she's written here.  Girls who think with their fists are pretty cool, and it's refreshing that she's not neutered, power-wise, in any way.  Nobody has to rescue her constantly, nor does she pull any punches.  It's great.

And there's a irreverent sense of humor throughout, which you can guess is right up my alley.  It's a world that doesn't shy away from Golden Age-style goofy antics, which is even more awesome.  Just because the characters roll their eyes at them doesn't mean we get any fewer Pregno-Rays or Hilarious Overwrought Villain Speeches.  Also, copious amounts of Ultra-Humanite.

And the art looks like it's pureed Jesus.   Or other deity of your choice.  Or pureed baby-killing if you're areligious.

And and and and.

Once a month for five months, God finds time to bless our planet with his holy ejaculate.  This is month four, and so today the latest issue of Last Stand of the Wreckers is now splashed warmly across our faces.

Sure, the immediate highlight of the issue is a single panel (spoilers) that packs more fanwankery into itself than should be physically possible.  But something more subtle I'd like to bring up, nospoilery-like, is this: Transformers are robots.  They lose arms, they lose heads, they suffer all sorts of damage.  I'm kinda numb to the idea.  But, man, in Last Stand of the Wreckers, when physical damage happens, I wince.  It's gross.  It looks painful.  It takes an emotional toll.

This is probably due to both the writing and the art.  I think of the characters as real beings, not only due to the strong characterization, but also in the way in which they are drawn.  They don't look like a pile of boxes being maneuvered around by the artist like a marionette.  They're singular entities.  And, man, if they get an ouchie, you can tell by the look on their faces.

I really like that.

And, man, Last Stand of the Wreckers really is an orgy of violence.  It's crude and dark and terrible.  Many Transformers stories attempt this, but most feel hollow.   This does not.  That's a feat in itself, above and beyond the easy geeky cameos.