Next weekend, I’m sadly giving Origins a miss and heading down to the much-closer Wizard World Chicago instead. I don’t have any scheduled appearances or signings. I’m just going down to wander around, catch up with friends, be a fan-boy, and have some fun. If you’ll be there, too, be sure to let me know.
Free RPG Day
In case it’s slipped past you (and it nearly did me), tomorrow is Free RPG Day! If you have a friendly local games store, be sure to head down and check out this year’s free offerings sometime on Saturday. The official site has a list of participating stores and the kinds of goodies you can expect to see.
Some publishers are joining in the fun online too. For example, my friends at Super Genius Games have just released The Forgotten Tomb of Felgar the Goblin King, the first in their “One Night Stand” line of fantasy RPG adventures. It’s available for free through RPGNow.com right now and through the weekend.
Idiot Superheroes Cover Up
Man, I love that title.
Aaanyhow, here’s the cover for my next “How to Draw” book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing Superheroes and Villains, Illustrated. Because we didn’t have the rights to use any established characters, I came up with a slew of brand-new costumed heroes and crooks, which the awesome Argentine Yair Herrera shows you how to draw, step by loving step.
This book is scheduled for release on September 2, just in time for going back to school. And learning to draw new things.
Killer Contract Acquired
As you know, Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #1 hit comics stores yesterday. My authors’ comp copies are on the way, but I couldn’t wait. I drove over to the best (and only!) comic-book store in town, AK Comics, where owner David Loftus had a copy of both Cover A and Cover B waiting for me.
I wrote the issue, I’ve seen the art, and I’ve even read a PDF proof of the final pages. Still, there’s nothing like holding the final product in your hands: full-color, glossy-coated tree pulp and all.
However, due to the graphic nature of the book–hey, it’s Blood Bowl!–I can’t share the book with my kids. And let’s just say it runs perpendicular to my wife’s usual tastes. They’re all happy for me, of course, but this one’s just for me–and those of you who share my tastes!
While I was at AK Comics, I signed the rest of their stock and left it there on the shelves. At the moment, these are the only autographed issues in the universe, so if you’re in the neighborhood be sure to stop by and grab them fast.
[Edited to update link to Boom Studios’ spanking-new website.]Blood Bowl Killer Contract #1 in Stores Tomorrow
The first issue of Blood Bowl: Killer Contract should be in stores across North American tomorrow. Be sure to pop down to your local comics shop and pick up one straight away.
I’ll actually be in Milwaukee tomorrow afternoon. Can anyone recommend a good shop there?
Staying Dry
We’ve had a lot of rain in Wisconsin this year. A. Lot.
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Killer Contract Complete
Late last night, I turned in the script for issue #5 of Blood Bowl: Killer Contract, the final installment in my comic-book miniseries for Boom! Studios. I’ve had a blast working on these books, and I cannot wait to see them on stands. I still have an approval hurdle or two to parkour, but the bulk of the project is over.
(To top this all off, I finally have word that issue #1 is due out June 18th! Ask your local comics retailer about it now!)
Most of the best part is still to come. To me, this involves seeing Lads Helloven transforming my script into sequential art. I saw a preview of the first issue, and it’s filled with amazing stuff. Lads’s art makes everything I wrote even better. Click on the image above for the final version of the cover, complete with logos and bar code.
See the cover for issue #4 (both version A and version B) for more examples. Every issue comes with two regular covers, plus other variants like incentive covers given out to retailers who order lots of copies. These are all wonderful pieces of work.
Cover B for issue #1, for instance, is one of the grossest/coolest covers I’ve ever seen. It’s so very Blood Bowl that I wonder how wise it is to have people draw the images that pop into my head. (The text of a novel feels somehow safer–or more subversive.) And the interior art is just as over the top.
Erick Wujick Dies
As I mentioned back in December, Erick Wujick was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and not given long to live. According to his good friend Kevin Siembieda at Palladium Books, Erick lost his ongoing battle yesterday, having turned those six weeks into more than six months.
Although I didn’t know Erick well–we’d talked a few times over the years–I always respected him and his work. My heart goes out to all those who loved him and will rightfully miss him. If you’d like, you can stop by his memorial website and leave a note.
Surviving the Weekend
It turned out to be a long weekend filled with ups and downs, but I figured that going into it. I spent most of the day Saturday visiting my father in the hospital. He’s doing better, although he has a ways to go yet. Still, signs are good, and I’ll take that whenever I can get it.
Sunday, we’d planned to have an outdoor birthday party for the quads, but the thunderstorms and tornadoes that have been hammered the area kiboshed that. Instead, we packed 30 or so people into our house for the big event.
Happy Birthday (x4)
Today is the sixth anniversary of the most amazing and life-shaking day I’ve ever had: the day my quadruplets–Pat, Nick, Ken, and Helen Forbeck–were born. They finish kindergarten this week, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. They’re all great, wonderful kids with intriguing, inquisitive, and distinctive personalities. Watching them–and their older brother Marty–grow is the greatest joy my wife Ann and I have.
One reason I enjoy freelancing so much is that it gives me the chance to spend so much time with my kids. It’s hard for me to contemplate having to work a 9-to-5 job that would keep me from them for the bulk of their waking hours. I’m looking forward to seeing even more of them this summer now that I’m back to working out of my house again.
So, here’s to you, Pat, Nick, Ken, and Helen! Thanks for joining our family–and more than doubling its size in a single day! I love you all.