Geek Kon - Guest of Honor

I'm happy to announce I'll be at Geek Kon Saturday, August 24th in Madison. I'll be talking Star Wars Saga Edition, Shadowrun, Firefly RPG, Fate, CAMELOT Trigger and more!

FLAG Force - The Pitch and Pretend History

I've been knee deep in various projects, but I thought I'd take a moment to share with you the series that's going to be part of the release for Cartoon Action Hour: Season Three. Cynthia also announced a stretch goal that will see this setting in print. Cynthia just approved it, so I'm happy to announce I'm working on FLAG Force! 

Tagline "It's U.N. Vs. Them!"

The Earth surrendered to the Starmada five years ago. They came in peace, but when their true agenda was discovered, the Starmada destroyed the world's armies and occupied humanity's largest cities across the world. The aliens rule by fear, with superior technology able to stand up to any army.

Enter the FLAG Force - an international group of resistance fighters known only by their codenames to protect their family and friends. They battle to release the iron grip the Starmada has on the world by turning their own weapons against them. Join Stars, Stripes, Kage, Caliente and the other members of FLAG force to strike a blow for Freedom, Law, And Goodness! Join FLAG Force today! 

And yes, I also worked out some information on the toy line it supported:


I imagine it got two seasons - one where it was kind of a GIJOE/MASK mashup, and a second darker season where figures had weapons that transformed from normal looking stuff to weapons. Everybody was aboard the Starmada mothership over NY which crashed at the end of the second season in one of those awful unresolved cliffhangers.

There's also a chase figure because the lead alien scientist went from a bad guy to a good guy over the first season, and his second season good guy figure is very rare.

Kickstarter - Cartoon Action Hour Season 3

My Year of Stretch Goals continues. Cartoon Action Hour is an RPG developed to emulate those 30-minute toy commercials I grew up loving, like G.I. Joe and Transformers. Season 3 refines the mechanics and also has a series of excellent authors lined up for additional settings as stretch goals, like Eddy Webb, Matt Forbeck, John Wick, Jason Blair, Shane Hensley, Bull Ratkovich, and Steve Long. I crashed the party late, but Cynthia Celeste-Miller, the creator of the game, graciously set me up as an early stretch goal at $6500.

Series one is FLAG Force, in which a multinational force of freedom fighters battle against aliens that have conquered the world. The tagline is "It's UN Vs.Them!"

Series two is still brewing. I have an idea that its Ghostbusters by way of Scooby-Doo: kid protagonists, gadget hunting monsters/ghosts, probably an evil corporation called Hexxon. That's all I've got so far.

If you have a preference (especially if you back it), let me know in the comments.

AV Club - May the Fourth

I wrote up a little note about this weekend's events. Iron Man 3, Free Comic Book Day and May the Fourth  make this a good weekend to be a geek.

Old School Con Report - c2e2 2013

High light: Running into and catching up with old college buddies, professional colleagues, and spending time with one of my best buddies.

Low light: Not spending more time with the various groups that came down on Saturday.

Best experience: Dinner at a small cantina followed by three hours of nostalgia courtesy of Galloping Ghost arcade.

Worst experience: Having to walk even farther to get non-ballpark priced food options.

Best bargain (had to buy it, no freebies): The 5 for $25 Marvel booth was out of stock finally. But the "double feature" DVD of Cast A Deadly Spell and Witch Hunt for $10 was worth it.

Best freebie: Not much in the way of freebies this year, though I will always welcome a free tote bag.

Best Photo Op: Best bet for getting pictures was out front of the exhibition hall.

Most welcome surprise: Running out of cards both days of the show. Here's hoping something comes of it.

Most unwelcome surprise:  No DC booth. You'd think they would be pushing the hell out of Man of Steel.

Best costume:  Though I didn;t see him directly, the 9 foot tall Jack Skellington on stilts was awesome.

Best costume try: There was a Hit Girl that was maybe 5 that was adorable and murderous.

Most amusing costume: A lot of good mashups this year. Too close to call.

Coolest booth: The collective, because my old college buddy aaron Hoffman was working it!

Strangest moment: Watching two guys in suits from the banker's convention wander into the hall. 

Favorite item available in the Exhibit Hall: The Oregon Trail/zombie mashup.

Stuff bought:
Jonah Hex trades
Marvel Star Wars trades
All-Star Western
American Vampire
Cast a Deadly Spell DVD

Stuff got for free:
Marvel coasters
Mouse Guard comics
Awesome costume shots
Ren Fair tickets

Stuff that was wanted that was unavailable:
Atomic Robo trades

Things to buy after c2e2:
The rest of the Atomic Robo collection

Best Quote: "These are our costumes!"  - the misplaced bankers

Firefly RPG - Echoes of War

I am pleased to announce my position as Lead Developer for the Echoes of War line connected to the upcoming Firefly RPG. The line is a series of adventures that can be played either by the Serenity crew or by a crew you create on your own.

Here's the official press release, where Firefly RPG Lead Developer Monica Valentinelli says some very nice things about me.