I Love the Girl…

So when this whole deployment thing went down, I volunteered for one main reason. My wife! My wife is one of those rare people who have a knack for being the underdog. Like me she has few friends but the ones she does have are quality through and through.

Like many soldiers who come out here I have contact with the wife through a variety of means. For us it is a bit more difficult than others as we have certain unique obstacles to overcome at times. A lot of the times neither of us have access to a phone or an internet switch but somehow we manage to stay connected and manage to make it work.

I am a lucky guy in that my wife is a rare subspecies of woman. She leaves me alone to be myself. She is not out to change me or make me some guy she saw in Cosmo. She knows the kind of guy that I am and accepts that (I am a thug at heart… reformed of course).

I am looking forward to spending some quality time with her when this is over because it has been a long year. I miss her and can’t wait to just chill with the missus.

Anyone who wants to see what she is up to can travel over to http://fuzyvizion.blogspot.com/.
Stop by and say hello… chances are you too can make a quality friend.

Best Regards,
Walt

Two Coffees, blogs, and the Eventual Blah

Every one thinks that being deployed to a combat zone is the worst thing in the world. Normally it would be. Luckily, things here in Iraq have been cleaned up a bit since the invasion. On most big posts there are small gathering holes called Green Bean Coffee Shops. Much like the Starbuck’s that we have back home, Green Beans was started by a couple of guys who knew Joes (that military folk for those that don’t habla) would go grape ape for overpriced coffee house java.

Most soldiers are lucky in that they have access to a PX (shop) where they can get coffee and a coffee maker, but there is something about sitting down with a bunch of buddies and having a cup of coffee. I am a huge cappuccino junky and the thought of showing up to a Green Beans and sucking down an espresso filled delight gets me all stupid inside. The guys who run the shops here are mostly Pakistani, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, and from various places about the globe. Most of these places even brew their own blends of coffee that are out of this world, but at Green Beans, you can forget you are in Iraq for just a few minutes while sipping down a hot (or cold …They Have SMOOTHIES!) beverage.

I went down to the main side of the base I am staying in for the next few days (I am currently in Somewhere Iraq, rather than where I am usually stationed in Out There, Iraq) and had myself a cappuccino. It was the weirdest thing. I sat down outside to watch the varied Military Life (Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and even some civilians) pass me by and the strangest thing happened. I realized that I was completely alone.

This is pretty significant as most of the time…Soldiers are never alone. As part of the team I work in, I have been with someone with zero privacy since May of last year! Dear LAWD! But today I was totally alone to study for something I have to do here and as my platoon went back to Out There and I am still in Somewhere… I am absolutely alone.

Now aside from any masturbation jokes you could come up with, this is pretty significant. We pretty much do everything in groups and if you do get a spare minute to yourself… it is usually fleeting. Poof! There it’s gone. But I had a whole day where I got to eat, go to the bathroom, shower, and grab a coffee all by myself. Holy Crap I feel like a grown up!

Aside from getting a lot of studying done, I had an opportunity to download Heroic Moments from Highmoon Media and Purple Duck Games alongside of World Meta-human Factbook: Germany. I am hoping to give both a read while I am out here as well as a review for the boys who took the time to craft them together.

Coffee… Light reading… and the possibility of getting blowed up… what else could a person want in life.

Best Regards,
Walt

What do you mean I have to stay!

What do you mean I have to stay!

There are times in the military that one has to consider the cost to ass ratio. This formula allows one to look at any given situation and weigh the cost of putting his ass on the line for one reason or another. When I came back into the military I ended up coming in with no knowledge of the job I was entering or of the people I would be working with.

After all this time I really should have learned my lesson. I left the last time because a declining military budget combined with liberal training practices (yep… you can read that as SISSY!) meant that the Army was being populated by idiots. Unfortunately, ten years later, Darwin must be on vacation. Idiots combined with explosives should have made my return to the military a triumph. Nope. And because of all of this (and me being forced to stay while my crew goes out of the wire) I have to constantly weigh the cost to ass ratio of me telling my superiors how pathetic my current situation is.

So here I sit here in Somwhere-Ville, Iraq, and I have to wait for some dog and pony show to be over before I leave. The good part about this is that I can draw when I get some free time and continue to work on the next projects for HAZARD Studio. So what is it that the Hooligans are up to?

Research mostly. The big thing that no one can miss right now is that we have a HUGE happening in the gaming industry. Wizards is supposedly upping the ante on what an RPG should be and should be doing. They have launched certain digital initiatives backed by huge amounts of money but have they really started something revolutionary for the RPG industry? Look at what a lot of the publishers under them have done. Podcasts, digital publishing, updating PDF’s with errata when it becomes available, etc. are the hallmarks of guys like RPGOBjects and Green Ronin. These guys have been trying to up the ante for years and now Wizards is playing catch up.

One of the things I would like to see is integrated adventures. Something that can be played either on or off line. Something that could be possibly tracked online? Something that we as gamers could use to enhance our games. There are so many things that the net and associated technology can do for us that it would be silly for us as self labeled geeks not to take advantage of.

Is this what Wizards has planned? Who cares. We know they want to make money on this (who wouldn’t) but do they want to craft a superior product. I am interested in seeing what a digital initiative does to a tabletop role playing game. The thing I am afraid of is whether or not it will still be tabletop at all when the digital dust clears?

So the research continues on what HAZARD is up to next. There are some nibbles on the hook but no one has taken a definitive bite yet. Any takers?

Regards,
Walt

Art, Chai, and the Nature of War

It’s been some time since I was able to get any amount of wiggle room allowing me to get my thoughts out of my head and coherently into the digital ether. Things my way have been busy and me being currently out in the Middle East doing my best to represent the US of A and make the world a better place has kept me on the go.

One of the good things about being who I am in the age I live is that technology allows us to stay connected even in places that were previously unreachable. This is very cool as slinging graphite onto a page helps me bleed off the stress of my day. I can then take these inky hallucinations and splatter them all over the internet. Ahhh… Digital bliss.

So what does an art junky on deployment do with his spare time (other than drinking Chai and learning Arabic)? Well, I go and hock my wares (art… don’t get weird) to anyone willing to help me build a portfolio I can shamelessly show to everyone. Recently that someone has been RPGObjects. The new product by Chuck Rice entitled, Fantasci has hit digital shelves and some of the art within is mine. Of course due to twists of fate beyond my control my name was somehow left off of the credits… the art proves that somewhere in the creative process I got to tag along for the ride (this is in no way to insinuate that I had any help crafting the world. Mr. Rice has a mind like a bullet train and he can craft products that would leave my attempts chugging along like a broken diesel). The product involves fallen races, ancient and forbidden technologies, and a thirst for adventure wrapped up in a product to support his Modern20 rules. On first blush the product invokes feelings of stories many of us have played with digitally (video games rock!) but as you dig a little deeper, you can tell that this world was crafted as a playground for gamers to sink their teeth into. As sure as there is plenty of material to flesh out the world of Aurianis, there is also plenty left alone in order to let people’s imaginations go schizophrenic. All in all I was very glad to have seen how this project has progressed so far and with Mr. Rice at the helm, it can only continue to show off the elegance of the Modern20 system (Since I spewed about it why not check it out at http://www.rpgobjects.com/index.php?page=pro&product_id=355).

With that project out of the way and our deployment turning a corner, I can only hope to scribble more digital drool from my head into yours. The roughest part about trying to run a company and answering the country’s call is that the two are directly in conflict. Both demand your time and both want to be first. Right now…the camouflage that I wear (that doesn’t blend into anything) insists that I make the flag come first… and rightly so. But that doesn’t mean that when I have a spare minute that isn’t devoted to my duty, I can’t continue to hock my wares (art again people, don’t get loopy on me…)?

The other thing that continues to help me keep from going mental is the martial arts training that some of the guys out here get to do with me. I have a small group of guys that I get to train with on a semi regular basis (nothing out here is consistent other that nothing is consistent). Although it is unsettling to have my coworkers and friends walk up and start throwing punches… it does make for very interesting distractions to my day. I can't even begin to thank all the great folks who have supported us by sending us gear and stuff to research on the subject. Very cool.

So after all is said and done, as a soldier, I am making the best of this deployment by learning all that I can and always helping out when I am able. This was definitely the right choice to make in coming here and although I will be glad when it is over, I can say that there are elements of it I will miss.

Talk to you soon…
Walt

Punch and they will come...

I have been actively deployed with a Military Police unit for the last 6 months and the strangest thing happened… I found a batch of training partners. It is crazy that there seems to be an unspoken rule when around Military people who see you train:

If you throw a punch in the open where some one can see you (and you look reasonably competent doing it) some one will come up and ask you to show them how to do it.

In my mild mannered life as guy just wandering through life… I really have no contact with anyone. My closest friend and my wife are my most trusted training partners. To suggest to anyone else outside of the “Kungfooligan Brotherhood” that they could come and throw hands with us garners the strangest looks. Walking into a new school is always touch and go as many times the school is not what we hope it would be. We often times end up with “throw this reverse punch” or “stand in this crouching grasshopper stance.” Sometimes we get lucky enough to end up with a good school where people are concerned with “training” and not the social aspects of a commercial school.

On this deployment I never set out to churn out a batch of new martial artists. I am not going to open some cockamamie dojo just to turn a buck and quit my day job. I am also not looking to create some legacy with fancy titles and myself on a pedestal. If it’s one thing I have learned in the last few years it is that I am just looking for cool people to train with. That is definitely what I have gotten on this deployment. I found several people who want to train for one reason… It puts another tool into their toolbox to keep them alive while we are over here.

I tell everyone I train with. I don’t think I am Bruce Lee or that I am invincible. I can be hurt, hit, shot, or stabbed. As a martial artist I don’t think I am going to run into a building and take on the bad guys by myself and by hand. I know that I am part of a team and that team uses GUNS. The training that we do not only gives us options should we get STUPID and let some one get too close but it also keeps us fit and thinking tactically. I don’t plan on letting some one get so close they can grab my weapon, but it happens to Police officers every day all over the world. And since they get more training than we do in firearm retention, every little bit of training for us can help.

The toughest part of having new training partners is that some of them are new. Some of them haven’t thrown a punch other than seeing a “Punch Buggy” on the road. It can be tough building from the ground up but then again… Sometimes it can be fun. The biggest part for me to remember in all this is that when it ends… some of these guys will never train again. Then again… some will.

Regards,

Walt

Bombs, Bullets, and illustrations...

So being deployed and trying to get your creative juices flowing really go hand and hand. Being in a place where there are people legitimately out to get you creates drama like no where else. You get tragedy and comedy and intense action, sometimes all in the same day.

Being a soldier has always been like that and continues for me to be the same way... even with a ten year break.

There is a lot to do for work but I find that the tasks (or lack there of) that I do during the day really get my motor running. Since I have been here I have been drawing and writing like a fiend when i have time as I find that it bleeds off some of the stress of being away from home (as well as some of the other stressors found about the hooch). It is also very cool to finally find an Internet connection to find out all the things fellow illustrators and RPG Designers are doing. There are a lot of very cool things happening this year and from the looks of things I will be receiving the info later than sooner. In any event... I am glad I am doing what I am doing this year for several reasons...

1. I am just a normal guy being put into a circumstance where someone didn't have the freedoms and securities that many free citizens enjoy. How many people can say they helped people in another country earn their freedom... Kinda Cool...

2. The inspiration for my writing and sketching here is priceless. I can gain ten years of material here in a single year... I just hope my bunkmates don't notice the red light flashing on my camera or MP3 recorder... (snicker)

3. With the advent of all this techno-gear... I can still keep up (kinda) with all that is going on in the comic and RPG industries while serving my country. Not to mention that on my down time I can do small projects and scan and email them in.

All in all... I can use this year for many things. The most important thing I can do is to focus on my job, succeed and excel. Sounds like a simple enough formula and since it has worked to this point...

Why mess...

Don't be shy... If you wouldn't mind writing to a soldier who happens to be a fellow RPG junky... I am a friendly guy and will probably respond with a note of thanks and a picture (hope you like camels).

Regards,
Walt

So you can often times tell who your real friends are when you have to go somewhere for a while. This was the case recently as we had some friends throw us a going away party. Sunday was a time for Robicon…The small gaming convention thrown in honor of my wife and myself.

Oh… Did I mention that we are both deploying to Iraq?

So on Sunday we got up to see Tom, Jill, Tracey, Frank, Kira, and Dimitri (As well as the Bisbee Cats) for a day of gaming as well as to hang out with old and new friends. The first game was played with the Savage Worlds system and played in Pulp Style as the Nazi’s and the Chinese fought against the heroes for a power that could save or savage the world. The heroes came out on top (sort-of) and we saved the day with some clever “Slight of HAND” (sorry for the inside joke…you had to be there). The second game used the same rules and spun off into a world nearly destroyed by elves. This apocalyptic landscape saw our heroes undertake a mission to save a lost researcher. This mission brought us amidst alien natives and a being from outside of reality. Great fight and good beer!

While we are away, a good friend stepped up to the plate to care for our pets. We were worried about this in the beginning, as both our families would have a hard time doing so. I won’t be able to thank Brian for taking this on but I am sure I can come close.

So what is going to happen to Hazard Studio? Nothing. I am going to need something to do to work out the stress of being in a hostile country so any and all projects will be gleefully accepted. I had a feeling that this would be coming so me getting ready to go and making sure that we have everything that we need was pretty much being taken care of.

If you are a regular reader… Thanks for all the support you have given up until now. If you are just joining us… Please stay tuned as writing and drawing with me is truly about to become Hazardous!

Regards,

Walt

Special Thanks to Tom who provided us with this weeks Picture!

Oh My LAWD!

I seem to be saying that a lot these days. Everyday some one says or does something that raises my eyebrows and either makes me want to laugh or cry. Driving on the road is usually good for one, as I can’t seem to escape the multitude of idiocy that the Department of Motor Vehicles issues licenses to (deep calming breath). On the other side… I have my pets that usually have me laughing beside myself. I was doing laundry yesterday and turned to grab a cup of coffee. When I turned back… I was astounded to find my Jack Russel Mix standing on top of some laundry trying to see if the bag of cat food we had emptied into the food bin earlier was in deed…empty. Silly Puppy.

So in case you have been living under a pop culture rock…The Halo 3 Beta came out yesterday and it is loads of silly gooey fun! For those that bought the game Crackdown for the Xbox 360, the initial releases had the beta download link coded into the game. Pop it in on the designated date and watch what happens. It is going to be very hard to get anything accomplished with this going on… I guess it beats being addicted to drugs.

I am currently trying to decide the best course of action for some new features for the web site. One of the things I am contemplating doing is to have a weekly comic strip. With the many projects I have going on at the moment (as well as the absolute lack of help from anywhere). A weekly strip would be a big undertaking for me as I would have to do the story and art and color and ink myself. Not a bad gig if it is the only thing you have going on. If you are doing it on the side as a part of your life… a weekly strip could take more than a week to do. Stupid real job and responsibilities.

I should have listened to my mom and become a stripper…

She had such high hopes.

Regards,
Walt

The only thing that I have to report is that there is nothing to report! What a great line. I mean… the down side to all this connectivity through the Internet (which spurs on blogging, video spewing, and all sorts of other viral media) is that there is an over abundance of stuff. There is so much new content constantly being generated and maintained that we are very much becoming jaded. I feel it is a good thing to post to the journal every week but sometimes I feel I suffer from, “So what,” syndrome. The symptoms of this condition being that nothing really exciting happened this week and if anything did, I really can’t talk about it.

***Sigh***

A highlight of the week is that we finally got the martial art club store up on the web. We are selling shirts and logo apparel and the usual assortment of drool that comes in from a site like Café Press. All of the proceeds from the sale of the items will go to purchase new equipment when we need it. Now all we have to do is to get people to buy some of the stuff. I did have some people comment on the shop and say that it looks very official (the logos). It appears as though I am now the grand pubah of some new martial art. The fact of the matter is, we aren’t doing anything new. We are just a bunch of guys who grew very sick and tired of the commercial aspect of martial arts instruction. You either have great instructors with poor business plans or poor instructors with great business plans. There are the occasional diamonds in the rough (you know who you are) but the majority is very lackluster. When you have to dummy down a systemized strategy for fighting so that a 42 year old, love handled ridden, soccer mom can feel empowered, you are not teaching martial arts. You might be teaching them self respect and discipline as well as stage / theatre combat… but how to fight and win… sorry. All that drivel aside, you can visit the logo below and check out the gear. Classy!

The one down thing for this week is that the project for FASERIP that a lot of us are waiting on (The Advanced rules redux) has seemed to have stalled. The advanced rules were where the system really shined as many innovations were integrated. Many of us who are waiting to publish material are waiting on that version as they give the broadest ability to adapt to the many genre of superhero fiction. Hopefully, Phil will get a free minute to work things out as of last report he was almost done. While waiting, Check out the different versions of the core system that we posted up on our F.O.R.G.E. page.

Catch ya on the flip side…

Regards,
Walt

No Where to Go But Up

Man…Lately I have the drawing bug. Lots of new art and no where to put it. I guess there are worse things that could be happening. Commissions have been slow as of late as I really have been slacking on that side of the business. It hasn’t been because no one is commissioning but rather I have been focusing on my own projects. I currently have three projects in the hoper at the moments that are requiring my attention (not to mention that there is other silly stuff behind the scenes that are definitely going to put the squeeze on my time for the next year or so).

Thing one is FASERIP compatible and will be going along with the redux of the rules that have been written by Phil Reed of Ronin Arts. Tentatively called Project 121, the product was written using the advanced FASERIP rules and will be published once the advanced rules come out from Ronin Arts. I would love to get this out of the box early but I don’t want to jump the gun and get in even more trouble that I am in at the moment.

Thing two is called Project 13 and was a project that started around last May and has been put back due to one setback or another that can easily be discerned by traveling to the rest of the Blogg. This project is d20 Modern compliant and will be a full setting utilizing d20 Modern as the major Rules with d20 future riding shotgun (along with a smattering of things from here and there. Considering that FASERIP is being constructed as I write this and M&M2ed would also be a good fit… this project is getting a lot bigger, a lot faster than I originally intended). This is my pet project as I really enjoy the setting and how it comes together. People who want to take a peak can go HERE and check it out.

Thing three is called tentatively called The Black Project and I spoke about it earlier in the blogg as space opera meets cinematic action. Running people through the first part of the campaign adventure, I got great reviews and managed to wow the players (after battling a small bout of confusion in the beginning of the game). Small hints about this have been hitting the net as I am shopping around for a publisher (as publishing anything myself would drive me insane).

Other than that and the Super Ultra Top Secret Annoyance that has plagued me for the last month (although some of you out there already know), not much has gone on… However, funny thing happened on the way to the print on demand…

I got a call from Café Press today in that apparently… I am a copyright violator. Yep…It’s true… They raided my virtual shop ( the one me and the boys opened for official logo apparel for our martial arts club) and locked down a whole bunch of my images due to the fact that a skull logo I had drawn had a resemblance to the one that is used by… THE PUNISHER! I wasn’t worried as he is a sissy and he can’t draw like I can. So rather than seeing the punisher cry a river of lawyers, I changed the logo and will be uploading it tonight. Who says I can’t be caring and sensitive…

Catch you guys on the flip side…

Walt

OH... MY... GAWD!

Captain America In the news again!

This is why some people shouldn't breed

The Gray

The Gray
The greatest thing in the world is when a legend dies. For example… Captain America… Dead. I know he has died four other times before. Still…because of everything that is going on in the country, it hit me hard that he bought the farm! I also admit to having a knee jerk reaction…. Also announced this week was the death of the print format of both Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine. C’mon… those have been around for the last thirty years and are almost as old as Tabletop Gaming.

Here is the cool part about all this death and destruction… It is stimulating the hell out of the industry. If you go onto EnWorld right now the forums are on fire! Everyone is talking about how it really sucks that this is happening and how they are wrong for murdering such a staple of the industry. Maybe THEY are right and this is the biggest mistake made in the RPG industry. Maybe what they are saying about assassinating Captain America on the steps of the courthouse was a major story No-No.

The thing I like so much about this is that THEY aren’t seeing the big picture. Change motivates creativity and that is something that the people of both the Comics and RPG industry needs. How many times can you realistically tell the story of the same Comic Book Character before it becomes trite? How many times will a company come out with an umpteenth source book about elves or fighting warrior poets?

The crazy thing is that we as consumers buy all this garbage. I believe that a big reason for this is nostalgia. When we are young, everything holds the promise of lightning in a bottle. We look at everything with wide eyed amazement. Then we get older and we have seen it and done it before. It gets harder to amaze ourselves...

Give me a good old fashioned story wrapped in new characters and stunning new ideas. Kick down the walls of the box and walk around unrestricted. Don't let your geek flag fly... Set it on fire and run around screaming about all the great ideas spilling out of your head...

If the Giants of Entertainment can't come up with something that will wow...

Maybe the rest of us will...

Regards,
Walt

Hey there All...

So with the advent of the 4c Basic Rules "hitting shelves," publishers now have access to start to fiddle with them as they please. The rules are fast, light, and true to the original so that there will be little if any negotiation needed when going from the original Marvel Supers RPG and then to 4c. One enterprising soul named Mike MacMartin got a jump on things and created Open Office versions of the original document (RTF) files. Mike took it a step further and created a two page character creation checklist to help people jump in and craft groovy characters. Sweet! Those interested can jump back to the HAZARD Studios Loading Zone (downloads) and check out the files so far. And of course you know that I was going to shoot you a direct link...

In celebration of all the great stories that comics and games give us, Hazard has thrown a little page together to put all this stuff on. We created our Four Color Oriented Role Playing Engine page that will be hosting not only the files created by Ronin Arts, but also some fan and HAZARD made content. 4c was made for and by the fans and I think that it only be right that some of this stuff has a home. I know that I will not be the only one that has a hand in this but if we all do our part and promote the hell out of this thing... Good LAWD!

Some other pages to look into include:

The Guardian Universe Omega: Dilly Green Been Games have come up with a great way to present the 4c Rules using their home grown supers setting. The art is tight and the layout is a lot of fun...

ThatArtGuy From the Classic Marvel Website has stated that he has something in the works. If you want to see what this guy can do...simply go to the Classic Marvel homepage and find the GM's Screen that he did amongst the downloads. NICE!

IamTim from Seraphim Guard has splashed us with a great page toting his upcoming project... Super Anime Heroes! This looks like a lot of fun and a must have for fans of that genre (anime...um ... and er... ah... heroes!).

Keep your eyes peeled for more good action coming your way from Phil Reed of Ronin Arts and from all the folks working forge to generate this great content.

I could generate some exciting yet disturbing Army news... But that would just change the mood...

Until next time folks...

Play hard and play HAZARDous... Because safe games suck!

Regards,

Walt

Oh My Goodness!

Well, good thing mostly. When I signed back into the military, I did so with the intent that I would get to be all that I could be and all that jazz. I was running into the same problems as last time. I was toeing the line and stepping up when the unit needed something and I was getting JACK in return. So I told the people in charge that since they couldn’t hook a brother up I was going to walk down the hall and see what either the SF or the Infantry had to offer. No need to have me pretending to be an MP when they don’t want me, right?

I got a call last night telling me that the boys that make the decisions were afraid of me leaving and wanted to make things right. They are talking about getting me the stuff I need to do this job. I can be an infantryman. I could go SF or scouts and that would be fine but I have done the infantry before. I wanted to learn something new and the fact that I am getting a bit older means that me walking 50 Km is not exactly a good thing. So I am excited to see what the next drill brings and whether or not they are going to carry through with their threat to “hook it up.” In any event, lots of good things are planned for the next one so we will just have to stay tuned for future developments. As one of my superiors is fond of saying, “As soon as I find out you’ll be the third to know.”

FASERIP!!! Yep… it’s back and with a brand new bang. Phil Reed from Ronin Arts really came through with the Basic Rule Set for the FASERIP conversion. This open source “copyleft” document allows publishers and authors to take advantage of this great rule system and produce adventures and new content for the fans. So without further ado, here are the Basic Four Color Rules. We will have a new download page for all the goodies that HAZARD is planning for this up and running in no time.

Stay tuned for more good things…

P.S. If you have a few minutes and really need a break for something interesting…

http://socomhellweek.com

“The only easy day was yesterday…”

Where are my Fiddlers 3???

Life is meaningless and empty and I have nothing to live for… I am going to end it…

Yep. You were about to call nine-one-one and try and save a life weren’t you? You’re a champ! Everything is fine and life is great! I am insanely busy and there is plenty out there to get excited about at the moment… You guessed it… I am about to tell you what the good stuff is.

As I wrote about in an earlier post, I started GMing again with a great gaming group. Running a space opera setting, I ran the first adventure and the results were a lot of fun. Space prisons, hidden agendas and a mutant abomination plague all culminated in the PC’s narrowly escaping with their skins and a little booty in the form of a ship. It was Star Wars meets the Pitch Black and it was a lot of fun had by all. The setting was a revamp of something I was going to write novels in years ago but never got to. Well, I have a reason to get to it now. The setting in all its glory is being polished and finished in order to market it to potential publishers. Do I think that I will be the next great science fiction guru… nah, but it is fun to think like one in order to write this stuff.

My life as a soldier is also a bit strange at the moment. I am not really sure what I am going to do as far as re-enlistment goes but they have offered me the school that I need and the money that goes with re-enlisting. Since they are taking steps in the right direction I am inclined to sign my name again but I am always leery of things now because of stuff in my past. I need to make sure that I always get everything in writing and to make them see my position. The people in the army see the mission and in doing so sometimes forget that if you don’t take care of your soldiers, they will not be there for the next one.

Another cool bit of news is that the wife (hi Honey! >>>insert dorky husband wave here<<<) is still working on her skills as a colorist. She is getting very good at doing it by hand and once she has that dog under the leash (proficient) I will show her how to do it on the computer. Some of the programs are complex and can take a college course to get the most out of them. Despite that I have confidence that she will pick it up in short order. Sniff, Sniff, they grow up so fast.

Lots of other things running in the background but only rambled enough for now… I have to go and pretend to be professional…

Regards,

Walt

I am who I am...

So let’s see what’s going on around here…

[RANT] It has been almost a year since I decided to put on the camie jamies. It was a fun year but I am unsure of whether or not I am going to re-enlist. While it has been fun while it lasted, I really don’t feel like the Army (or at least the unit I signed on for) really wants me there. I hear stories about how I am not the only one who is being abused and ignored. I hear how that is the way things are and that I should have remembered what it was like before I re-uped. Here is my take on the whole thing…SCREW the way it is. Why not make it the way it SHOULD be?

People know there is a problem and they decide they can do nothing about it because it is either too hard or the people involved are too stupid. I don’t like that attitude. If you see a problem… fix it. If the system is broken…repair or replace the system. I love it when you are confronting a problem and some one says, “you know how they/ it are/is.” When some one tells me that I really just want to jump in their grill and ask them “what if I don’t like the way THEY are?” What if the way THEY are is severely stepping on my tail and getting my hair up?

The point is… Either they are going to have to affect some major changes (like giving me what I need to do my job) or I am going to walk. I’ll join the girl scouts. For those of you on this side of a drill sergeant you know that there is a slim chance of that… you know how THEY are…[END RANT]

So in other news… Lots of big things going on in and around the pencil. Hopping in and out of Phil Reed’s site Ronin Arts one can find not only some of the coolest supplements for the d20 and open gaming community, but also you can find the news and updates for the FASERIP project (tentatively titled “Four Color”). Phil has already chewed through the “Basic” part of the system and should be moving onto the advanced side of the house. I am really excited about this project, as it will open the small but loyal fan base up to new material that can be produced by anyone under an open license. So not only will publishers be able to create new material for this great system but fans of the new system can find various sources over the net where this stuff is being distributed. Sweet.

Mutants and Masterminds . You know it… You love it… and you can create for it too (if you have the skills and the will). You just have to make sure what you are writing isn’t crap. M&M will license to anyone who is not a hack and can make a product that will match up with their vision of M&M. My thoughts on that is that it is a good idea in that who wants their name dragged down by some second rate developer with delusions of grandeur. Phil Reed is putting out a magazine tentatively entitled Mastermind Magazine (yep he is a busy guy, see above paragraph). I petitioned (stalked) Phil and asked to do some illustrating for the new magazine. He graciously supported the idea (restraining order to follow) and I should have an illustration in an upcoming issue. Not a huge break but I am excited about it as I am a fan of the game Any chance to get people to look at my stuff is a good one.

We’ll see what happens and whether or not I can make the grade as in illustrator… or I fall flat as an ill-ah-faker.

Regards,

Walt

Please feel free to visit my

I can't believe they can do that...

Ahhh... It was called FASERIP and it is an acronym for the basic attributes behind the Marvel Super Heroes Role Playing Game! This game came out in the eighties and was supported until the TSR crash in the early nineties. It was a game ahead of its time and had some great ideas that pushed the envelope of the time. Games back then were complicated and full of tables and numbers that did nothing but slow down the games.

In a world of rules heavy volumes with tomes of overwhelming info... Marvel Supers was a breath of fresh air. You could create characters in under an hour and the rules were comprehensive and light at the same time. You could go to the store, pick up the box set and be playing that evening. Best of all was the fact that it was the Marvel Universe.

After TSR crashed, a few loyal fans kept the fan fires burning. Chief among the sites were CLASSIC MARVEL and MARVELRPG. Not seeking any profit for their endeavors, these carriers of the Marvel Torch kept their game on the internet and free to the fans. These sites not only kept the game available but in some cases produced new content to update the game they loved.

"But didn't you already post about this...?"

Yep. But...you can consider this an update.

With the world of comics taking a nose dive in the late nineties, only recently have they started to gain in popularity again. Is it the war? Is it the fact that people feel besieged on all sides? Whatever the case, this has been good for Comic book RPG's. Hero, GURPS, Mutants and Masterminds, and Blood and Vigilance are but a few names of games that have been in the spotlight as of late. Whatever the reason, these games bring the hope and heroism of comics to the RPG community.

Phil Reed of Ronin Arts is looking to bring FASERIP back into the spotlight. Although there are more complex games out there to run, FASERIP is great for quick games that are light on the rules and heavy on the fun. By re-creating the rules in an Open Content format would allow publishers to create adventures and support material for it. This wouldn't allow the Marvel content to be touched but the new material would be 100% compatible with the actual rules and stuff published back in the day.

This is good news for old and new fans alike. New fans can see the benefit to these rules while having fully supported material being released on a regular basis. Old fans can see this same new material being 100% compatible with the rules they already enjoy (and have the new content published by professional game developers).

So why am I even writing about this? I helped to fund the project that Mr. Reed is working on. Although not as much as some others donated, my contribution added to the total to get Ronin Arts on the job. When everything is said and done, we will have a system the others can publish for and thus re-launching a system that has been out of the spotlight back into it. Possible art jobs on the horizon... Maybe. Fun on the horizon... Definitely.

The only down side to this is that the Marvel comics content that made this game so attractive initially is untouchable. But on the up side... Anyone who wants to play in Stan Lee's world only needs to go to their local comic shop...

Regards,

Walt

Hey there All,

There is a lot of good stuff going on this week. My wife, who until recently was a bit bummed about her job, started getting into the wonderful world of illustration!!! She bought a whole bunch of Prismacolor markers and set about the task of learning how to color like a champ. After several illustrations I sent her a link from the Atomic Think Tank where an artist just getting into sketching was asking for some criticism. She blew through the illustration in no time flat and then scanned it in and did a bang up job with some photo shop special effects. I love the way that this turned out!

As some of you know, RPG Objects is going to war . Although putting them in charge of the war in Iraq would probably yield better results, they are actually time machining it back to the era of World War II to give product material to their Blood and line of d20 Modern Products. One of the products I am psyched about was leaked onto EN World today as a tie in for the World War II line to the Blood and Vigilance setting. Part of the Modern Dispatch line, The Kampfgruppe Eugenik, will be a listing of a six-villain team to be used against golden age heroes. I love the idea of using supers in a WWII game as it brings out the adventure in the era while at the same time allowing one to address the atrocities that were seen during that time.

Many fans of the Star Wars franchise will recognize the name Red-5 as the call sign for Luke Skywalker in the movie A New Hope. This name will be a tip of the hat to Lucas in a newly created comic book publishing company.

CALGARY, AB — February 12, 2007 — The creators of some of the internet’s most popular entertainment websites announced today they are launching a new comic publishing company that will introduce its first titles this fall.

Red 5 Comics is the creation of Paul Ens, former director of Lucasfilm’s StarWars.com and Lucas Online, and Scott Chitwood, co-founder of TheForce.net and contributor to ComingSoon.net and SuperheroHype.com.

True to the passions of its founders, Red 5 Comics will produce cinematic-style stories that appeal to the same avid movie and comic fans who already frequent their websites. The Red 5 line-up will be a combination of creator-owned and internally developed titles. Individual comic issues will be sold in both traditional print form at comic shops and in downloadable electronic formats online.

“Over the years, we’ve had the great pleasure to cross paths, both online and in-person, with many talented and creative people,” said Ens, “from artists, to writers, to filmmakers and actors, and countless enthusiastic fans. Not only have they been a great inspiration, but we plan to include many of them in Red 5 as well.”

Among the titles currently in development are…

· Abyss - Kevin Rubio’s short-film, TROOPS, was one of the first true video events on the internet. His latest creation, Abyss, tells the comedic and dysfunctional tale of the relationship between a son and his powerful supervillain father. Lucas Marangon is drawing the series, re-uniting the popular creative team behind the wildly imaginative Star Wars: Tag and Bink comic series.

· Atomic Robo - Brian Clevinger (NuklearPower.com 8-Bit Theater) and Scott Wegener (Negative Burn, Wicked West 2) chronicle the Action Science adventures of Nikola Tesla’s robot across the twentieth century and beyond.

· Midknight - Tom Hodges (”How to Draw Star Wars”, WizardUniverse.com’s “Artists to Watch” 2006) creates and illustrates the exploits of a husband-and-wife team who fight crime from the office by day and on the streets of Philadelphia at night.

· Neozoic - Created by Paul Ens (Star Wars: Evasive Action), Neozoic imagines a gritty sci-fi / fantasy world where dinosaurs did not become extinct, and humanity lives under the constant threat of giant predators. The art of J. Korim (Rotogin: Junkbotz) brings the world to life.

· Afterburn - When half the planet is destroyed by a solar flare, out of the ashes emerge the action adventures of Jake and his treasure-hunters for hire. Afterburn is written by Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens, drawn by Wayne Nichols (Lady Supreme: Supreme Sacrifice), with covers by “Rock Star of Illustration” Matt Busch.

Red 5 Comics is proud to be presented by ComingSoon.net and SuperheroHype.com, two of the best-respected and most-visited fan-based movie websites on the planet.

To find out more, read the creators’ blogs, sign-up for the newsletter, check out the latest comic industry headlines, or apply to become a creator, visit Red 5 Comics online at http://www.red5comics.com

Stay tuned for more inky goodness as HAZARD Studios has some exciting stuff coming down the pipe!

Regards,

Walt

We went to the movies yesterday to see Ghost Rider. I had a great time with it as I am a fan of the comics and think Nicholas Cage is a nut (in a good way). The movie played along the path of the typical character back story leading up to current events. Nicholas Cage plays Johnny Blaze, a stunt rider who years before made a pact with the devil in order to save his dad from cancer. There were slight deviations and mish mashes from the comics done in the movie. It is my opinion that this was done to make a broad reaching character that had more than just I’ll beat you up while I am on fire. Nicholas Cage was a bit overdone as Johnny Blaze with the Elvis like glasses and stare (he poses several times like he was going to sing Jailhouse Rock). Eva Mendez was a bit more credible and grounded the film a bit (if that was possible). The special effects in the film were very tight when they came to Ghost Rider but lacked in other places.

The story starts with a young Johnny working in a carnival doing tricks on a bike with his dad. Johnny is approached by a mysterious stranger who offers him help for his father, who is keeping an illness a secret. Taking the deal, Johnny soon is left to make his way in the world leaving all he knows behind, including a younger version of Roxanne, who later in the film is played by Eva Mendez. As events unfold, the stranger comes back to Johnny to put him in play against the vile “Blackheart,” who aims to bring hell on earth. Johnny takes on the mantel of the “Ghost Rider” in order to stop Blackheart and ensure safety for those that he cares for.

I had a great time, as the film was mostly eye-candy and a fun romp through the Marvel Universe. If you are a Ghost Rider fan then seeing this on the big screen is a must. If you are not a Ghost Rider fan and you have a wall screen or a giant plasma… You could always wait for the video.

If you’ve seen the film please chime in…

Regards,
Walt

I don't suck...you do!

There are those rare times in life that come along and bite you in the rear. One of those times came out of no-where and body tackled my wife and I. But as in all things…we will just keep on keeping on and then come back later and spit into some one’s eye.

Earlier last week my wife called me at midnight (she worked overnights) to tell me that she had been fired from her job. After hearing the circumstances of the dismissal, any laymen whose only exposure to the law is the TV could tell that this was a wrongful dismissal and the place where she worked had handled the entire ordeal unprofessionally and wrongfully. Ever fiber of my being told me to go down to her employer and beat his bony little backside for being a complete moron. Thanks God I am not into fiber or I might have ended up in jail. There were many mistakes that were made on the part of this employer and as a result I have people screaming at us to take legal action. We could VERY EASILY take this person and his company for a large chunk of change and embarrass them in their eyes of their peers. They not only violated several laws and codes of conduct in my wife’s dismissal but they also shot themselves in the foot for firing one of the best staff members they had. At the end of the day, my wife gets to look to a future full of promise and these people will still be spite filled idiots so full of themselves that they can’t see their tragic faults. There are a few diamonds in the rough (and they not only know who they are, they know we love them) but they are in the minority. In short, good riddance Mother F***ers!

Anyone who wants to send a well wishing or make her a job offer [wink, wink] can go to the front page of the HAZARD Studios web site and send it to my email address. I will make sure that she sees it.

Other than the aforementioned nonsense…things are going well. I was foreseeing that I was going to go to Fort Leonard Wood for MP training but as is usually the case the Army has dropped the ball so most likely I will be staying here for a bit. With that being the case, re-enlisting is looking less and less attractive as I don’t want to be part of an organization that can’t pull their head out of their ass to see where they are going.

That means MORE time for art and games!

If you haven't checked them out already...Please take a trip down to Fear the Boot! The Forums are fun, the podcast is great and you can learn all sorts of great things about table top role playing games. Definitely a must listen if you are into podcasts about RPG's.

Project 13 is set to get back on track after another month when I should have this interrupting project out of the way. For those of you just tuning in, Project 13 is about a future that could exist if the powers that drive the universe all smoked a fat bag of crazy. Futuristic technology combined with superhuman abilities and an expansionist drive, run a setting for d20 Modern. The next story element for Project 13 (along with original art) should hit the stands some time next week.

I am also thinking about running another contest this April in conjunction with the Second Year of HAZARD Studios. April 4^th is Our Birthday (I think) and we will be launching another HAZARDous Character contest to celebrate. This year up for grabs will be free character web space as well as Gift Certificates to Amazon dot com and EN World dot com.

Well, That’s it for now…

Until next time…

Make it HAZARDous!

Walt