Geek Stuff

J.R.R. Tolkien is the reason why I write

I’ve no interest in writing epic fantasy, have gotten past the days when I wanted to construct a complex mythology, and hell, haven’t even rolled a 20-sided die in many years. Yet I would not be writing today in any capacity were it not for the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Middle-Earth first entered my consciousness in the sixth grade or so. The Hobbit was assigned reading. Unlike most students, I didn’t consider assigned reading a form of torture. (Well, except when the books sucked — which they often did.) I liked reading, and the books we had to read were often excellent. The Outsiders, Lord of the Flies, The Pigman, 1984, and many other books I still cherish today were introduced to me through school…
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A little treat in the mail yesterday …

I came home from work yesterday to find a package at my door. A box. A wonderful little box. I peeled it open, as you do with boxes — a box can be labeled “Your Death Within” and you’d still open it; so would I — and found inside a treat. A wonderful little treat. It was this: Yes, that is Geek Wisdom, brainchild of award-winning editor Stephen Segal and a book to which I am proud to say I contributed. I and a team of other writers wrote some really great geek stuff, brief essays on video games and J.R.R. Tolkien and Star Wars and The Goonies and a million other great things — and now here it is! In a cool as hell…
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PLUG: The (In)Complete Adventures of Sir Chuck

The (In)Complete Adventures of Sir Chuck I’ve run in some comic book circles over the years, and that means I’ve gotten to know a lot of people who have done their own comics. Many of these folks are far too talented for their own good, annoyingly so, and their work deserves to be seen. One of them is John Mietus. John did some excellent lettering on Pitched 1 and Pitched 2, but the fact is his quirky sense of humor doesn’t come out and play until you see his own work. The (In)Complete Adventures of Sir Chuck is many things, including a tome showcasing the growth and development of a comic creator — it begins when he was first starting and finishes when he’s developed…
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PLUG: The Work of Rick Lundeen

The Work of Rick Lundeen Rick Lundeen has been creating comics for years and years and years. Fact is, I can’t even begin to list them all. a storyboard artist by trade, Rick fills his spare time with self-published comics. He’s been doing it for a long time. He does science fiction, superheroes, fantasy stories, magical realism, and much more – and they’re always really damn good. He’s a brilliant storyteller and I can tell you from experience that he’s brimming with ideas. Forget about the fact that working with Rick has always been a pleasure (we also did this story together), I just plain like his work. .   My favorite is probably We Three Kings, an excellent dystopian story of corruption and rebellion….
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Did you forget about Pitched 2?

I may have grown up with the heavy burden of everlasting shame on my shoulders, but I’m not so full of shame that I can’t remind folks about awesome things like Pitched! 2: Seven More Stories, the excellent (if I do say so myself) comic anthology my collaborators and I dropped on the world last fall. I’ve already done plenty of blogging about it and have posted lots of early samples. Plus, if you surf over to my website you can see finished pages from great stories like Voice of the Universe (done in collaboration with Rick Lundeen) and Some Time With The Family (featuring artists Logan Reilly and James Pipik, and letterer John Mietus), just two stories created in collaboration with a group of…
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