Kovalic up for Harveys!

I just discovered that my pal John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame is up for not one but two Harvey Awards! John’s work is nominated for Best Cartoonist and for the Special Award for Humor in Comics. Woot!

This is an honor well deserved. John puts all he has into his work, and it’s some of the funniest, most human material you may ever find in any comics. If you’re a comics professional, check out John’s material and place your votes. If not, you owe it to yourself to discover all about John anyway. You’ll love it.

Scott Kurtz’s PvP, another of my daily reads, also got a nod for Best Online Comics Work. I’ve only met Scott once, but his strip makes me laugh every day. Be sure to track it down too!

Villainy on the Rise

While leaving the GAMA Trade Show in March, I managed to forget to pack my copies of Villainy (a new, multi-deck card game from Human Head Studios), which designer Jason Blair had kindly slapped into my waiting hands during the show. Jason, refusing to allow me to get away with such a disastrous mistake, shipped out new copies of each of the three decks, which landed at my house last week. Now I’m itching to have a go at establishing who’s the most villainous member of my house.

I’m betting on my kids.

Gen Con Notice Up

Gen Con has posted a page with the “Industry Insider Guests of Honor,” among which I apparently rank. Just scroll on down past James Ernest’s shining face to spot my entry.

I’ll be helping out with some seminars at the show, although the schedule for those hasn’t been set yet. I’ll be sure to post here when I know more.

Clothes Make the Game

EDOC Laundry is a company that tells a story through its clothing. This forms an Alternate Reality Game, much like you might find from 4orty 2wo Entertainment, which created the Beast (on which I did a bit of work). Sound strange? Not if you realize (as you would from this interview on ARGN.com) that the mind behind EDOC is none other than Dawne Weisman. (Dawne’s husband is Jordan Weisman of 4orty 2wo, WizKids, and FASA fame.)

It’s a wild idea, to form a story-driven game through clothing, and Dawne’s been working hard at it for a couple years–including a lot of development time before the line launched in March of this year. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

Update: ARGN has a new article about the EDOC, posted just days ago.

Hite on the Future of RPGs

Ken Hite’s latest “Out of the Box” column is up at GamingReport.com. “Out of the Box” is always on my must-read list, but this time around Ken knocks it out of the park. His cogitations upon the future of RPG publishers shine with the kind of clarity that makes you wonder why you never saw that great big ball of fire hanging there in the sky before.

Ice Bear Dawns on Shelves

Dawn of the Ice Bear, the last in the Age of Conan: Marauders trilogy by Jeff Mariotte hit shelves yesterday. In a bit of fantastic timing, my editor’s copy showed up the same day. Jeff did a fine job with this series, and I hope that Conan fans everywhere will give it a shot. These books differ from the others in that they’re shorter and feature young adult heroes, but they’re packed with every bit of adventure you’d expect from both Hyboria and Jeff.

Next up, look for Richard Knaak‘s excellent “A Soldier’s Quest” trilogy. The God in the Moon should be available in July, and I just received a copy of the cover for the second volume, The Eye of Charon, which is due out in September. Richard does a bang-up job with these, and the endings of each always rock.

Blade Runner vs. Star Wars

As ICv2.com reports, Ridley Scott is taking another run at Blade Runner. Blade Runner was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, and it branded my imagination with its plot, characters, and imagery. I can’t wait to see the new cut and eventually pick up the DVD set with all four cuts of the film.

This ranks right up there with the news that George Lucas plans to release the original editions of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD this fall. My inner kid is bouncing off the inside of my skull.

Palladium’s Pic

As I mentioned a few weeks back, Palladium Books is in trouble due to some insider swindling on the part of one of its employees. At the time, Kevin Siembieda asked people to help out by purchasing an exclusive print entitled “Megaverse United.” I slapped down my virtual cash right away, and my autographed print showed up yesterday, #296 in the run.

Kevin’s latest update thanks everyone for their outpouring of support. He notes they still have a long way to go, but the fan response has given him a real shot at making it past this Mt. Everest of a speed bump.