I happened across a random thought today....

I was walking through "Best Buy" looking for some furniture (it's a long story) when it struck me that if we teach our children to be afraid of guns that we're also teaching them to be afraid of the people who wield them.

BZ and Miami Lee

Here's the colored version of Bob and Miami Lee taking out some zombies. Those zombies may never have visited Kentucky, but Miami Lee sure does love giving them a tour of Louisville!

The colors were done through Makma Studios in France. Frederic Vigneau did the work and he'll most likely be handling the alternate cover for Digital Webbing Presents #27. It'll be interesting to see how he handles that.

Also, Bob will be making an appearance in February's Digital Webbing Presents #28! How couldn't he? He's the most famous zombie hunter in the world.

Perseus

Last year, on 9/11, I did a small post on the gorgon and Medusa to look back at an ancient view of terror and despotism.

This year, I'd like to consider Perseus who defeated Medusa by looking indirectly at her through the reflection on his shield, allowing him to decapitate her while she slept.



There's something very telling about this story--about a hero who kills the monster of terror by not facing it straight on, but rather by indirectly facing it. The terror is real and insurmountable when considered by itself. But to find a different vector of approach, if you will--by finding a way to it without approaching it straight on--is the way to defeat it.

There's wisdom in that.

Athens was originally formed by families (i.e. large clans) who banded together in order to fight off pirates. The city (polis) was a strategy against destruction, theft, and death. But even after the polis was formed to defend against pirates and other external threats, the internal ones arose--the tyrant and despot who could be a domestic threat for sure. What does a city do to fight off the despot who uses terror to have his way with the people? A walled city doesn't do anything to defend against that... nor does an army which can be very easily manipulated by the despot. It has to be something different--a different (categorically different) vector of force that stays the hand of the despot, and (hopefully) gets rid of the threat altogether.

Dark Thresholds Volume 1

Dario's Panday Studio is putting out a horror anthology called Dark Thresholds. I'm the managing editor and also a writing contributor to it. I gotta say that I'm really happy to be a part of it: the stories are all really well written (really tight short stories with nice twist endings) and cool artwork. It tends to be more psychological horror than anything else. Here's the cover art. Hope you like it as much as I do. It was inspired by Robert Burke Richardson's uber-cool "Gargoyle" short story.

Alternate Cover for DWP #27

Make sure to order the alternate cover of DWP #27. Bob's looking mighty nervous with that falling baby! Everyone did a fantabulous job putting this cover together, and I really credit Dario for knowing exactly which scene in the story was the best part to represent on the cover. Were it up to me, I'd be all, "Just put 'splosions!"

International Fellowship of Zombie Hunters

Bob and Co. (The International Fellowship of Zombie Hunters) are really looking swell. With character's like Mimi and Raj it's hard to ignore the utter funness of it all.



Of course, we're looking at rolling these new characters out in a couple of anthologies, and so far the stories and artists we're getting are all really quite excellent. We'll probably have some "official" announcements next May or so, but so be it.

More later!