Return from the Phantom Zone!

Gah! It's been a while since I posted and it feels like I've been bottled up in pocket universe. Finally, I've broken free! Or, it might be that I was busy with work, household, etc. and not enough time, energy, inertia to blarg. But that wouldn't constitute a provocative tale, so we'll stick with extra-dimensional incarceration for now.

In any case, sometimes you've got to play through the pain to get to the good stuff. I've been on an acquisition binge of late--having just accepted an unsolicited promotion at work--so it seemed like the right time to get a few long-sought items. I've been on a Rick Remender kick of late (Gigantic and Fear Agent), plus I picked up the gorgeously rendered Dr. Grordbort's Presents Victory by Weta Digital's Greg Broadmore. 

Click any image to enlarge-n-ate

Man, my sci-fi tastes are all over the place: giant robots, Victorian ray guns, and hard-drinkin' Buck Rogers types. It's hard to pick a favorite these days.

I also attended SpringCon held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds this past weekend and had a blast talking up the comic creators, artists, writers, costumed geeks and freaks, etc. and snagged a few nice items, including original art by sci-fi/fantasy illustrator Mike Hoffman.

He does wonderful stuff, and he's a hoot to talk to in person too! (Think Beck meets Johnny Cash.) He's got a whole Frazetta-like style going on, but that's just one aspect of his work. He was kind enough to sign a few pieces, which I'll highlight more of in future posts.

I also picked up issue 2 of my favorite locally-produced comic Johnny Recon. Johnny is written by Scott Dillon and drawn by Mitch Gerads, both of whom are great, down-to-earth guys. I made a donation to their Kickstarter campaign to get the second issue off the ground and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Johnny Recon is a very savvy, smart take on the Flash/Buck theme. Scott and Mitch, along with the inker and colorist for this issue signed my copy. 

Anyway, that's just a quick update of my trip around the quadrant and there's LOTS of inspiration to be found within these pages. So what have we learned? I'm still alive and yes, there's more Space Pioneer posts to come as well as getting caught up with Random Space Finds!

Expiscor Eternus!