My Favorite Religious Holiday

Alright, this is (once again) a "not-actually-a-sketch" post... but you get a (sort-of) complete comic instead, so hopefully that works for you. This Saturday, May 3^rd is the greatest holiday EVER, better than even International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day. Yes, this weekend is:

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.

... so make sure you find your local comic book shop and VISIT IT. Most shops have free comics, free games, stuff for kids, and all sorts of other fun. So you should all use the shop locator and get out there. I won't be able to celebrate this year, since SOMEBODY had to get MARRIED that day.

le sigh

Hopefully I'll have a new sketch up soon... in the meantime, enjoy this blast-from-the-past and don't forget FCBD!


NOTE: As I'm sure most of you will notice, the date in the comic is wrong... FCBD is Saturday, May 3, 2008.

Bartleby Garreck

From the "Tales of Ravendrake..."

At the age of twenty-six Bartleby Garreck left his childhood home behind and set out to explore the larger world. He carried in his pack his collection of picture-pamphlets (featuring the adventures of the great monster-killer W’ohe’T’zarre the Wily), which he often re-reads for inspiration and “guidance.” His most sincere hope is that someday he, too, will be the subject of tales and legends to inspire and amaze.

Bartleby is naïve and hopeful, but not entirely unskilled. He is eager to please those he adventures with and often follows their lead with little question. On occasion he has been known to step up and try to lead himself, but these situations are rare. His equipment is mostly second-hand and not always of high-quality. His pouches are filled with small charms and random souvenirs, including a set of tiny stones carved with ancient eldritch inscriptions. Bartleby has no idea what they are or what they were originally for, but he strongly believes they bring him luck. What kind of luck, however, varies greatly from situation to situation.

Earth-38, Part 7

Wildcat never set out to be a hero... at least, not a costumed hero. As a United States Marine he was already doing good and protecting people. That would have been enough for him; it wasn't enough for some members of his platoon. They used their training to commit a series of heinous crimes and then covertly framed the young Corporal. Facing a court marshall for actions that were not his, he donned a home-made costume and fought to clear his name. A local newspaper reporter caught sight of this new vigilante in action and wrote that the masked-man fought like a wild cat: Brutal, swift, and efficient. The name stuck.

Wildcat was soon asked to join the Justice League, which the supposed-loner was (surprisingly) happy to do. He acts as a trainer and mentor to some of the less combat-experienced heroes and is only too eager to dive into any knuckle-dusters the League finds themselves in.

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Also, be sure to check out the other heroes of Earth-38:

• Starman
• Green Lantern
• Batgirl
• Plastikman
• The Bat-Man
• Zatanna

Earth-38, Part 6

The Maiden of Magic herself, Zatanna.

Although she isn't often able to work directly with the Justice League of Earth-38 due to distance ( Nanda Parbat is considered "too far North" even from a moon base!), not a single member of the team would ever consider her less than a full-fledged member. Her magical and creative talents have served the League well on many occasions; when the threat is mystical in nature, they know who to call.

Starman especially, though, wishes she could spend more time on the moon... looking out at the stars with him...

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Also, be sure to check out the other heroes of Earth-38:

• Starman
• Green Lantern
• Batgirl
• Plastikman
• The Bat-Man

Secret Agent Man

Wozar is a Professional, so he can't run around in a cape or cracked battle-armor ALL the time. Sometimes a more subtle approach is warranted... if you can be subtle while still slinging a broadsword.

Byron Occulto

Little is known of the man called Byron Occulto; most scholars agree, however, that "Byron Occulto" is most likely NOT his real name. The "Bumpkin of the Bizarre" was first seen wandering the back-roads of the rural American south in the mid-1950's. When that-which-could-not-be-explained appeared, Byron would stroll from the shadows with a few words of down-home wisdom and the proper ancient incantations to send it back to whatever dark dimensional rupture it first crawled out of.

Byron disappeared for many years; most folks assumed his work to have been finished. It is only recently that he has resurfaced to bring together some of Earth's greatest heroes to battle some unknown coming evil. His comrades include The Stinging Spade, Mr. Quickster (formerly of The Professionals), The Azure Fletcher, Golden Bowman, and more. For now Occulto remains content to keep himself in the shadows; but soon the evil they face may draw him out to display his awesome mystic powers...

A Credit to the Force

... the Police Force, that is. He's grizzled. He's hard-boiled. He's tough. He's rugged. He's every other awesome adjective you can think of. The perps fear him, his fellow officers revere him, and the ladies want to be near him.

He's Detective Rick Blazer, the greatest cop who EVER LIVED*.


You'll be hearing more about him soon. BE READY.

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*Inside my head, as inspired by this video game cop.

A Marvelous Epiphany

I've had a major breakthrough today, and I'd like to share it with all of you.

Lately I've been doing a lot of soul-searching, asking a lot of important, heavy questions about my life and what I'm doing with it. Answers were few and far between... until this morning. When I woke up this morning, I finally realized why I was so existentially unhappy. I now know what I need to do.

I need to stop reading DC Comics. They suck.

Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman... Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman... they've all failed me. (Well, maybe not Aquaman). Everybody dies, and then isn't dead, or they fight, and then they're buddies, or something. It's all so juvenile.

Not like Marvel Comics.

They're so much more mature and realistic: Their heroes face REAL problems and REAL emotions! Captain America died and he stayed DEAD. So that's it. I'm joining The Merry Marvel Marching Society. I've been standing straighter and walking prouder all morning as I've carted my DC comic books to the trash.

To celebrate, here's a sketch of one of Marvel's greatest anti-heroes, direct from the grim-and-gritty late 1980's: Venom. EXCELSIOR!