Stalwart 85 Complete Rules Now Available

It's Stalwart '85 release day, which is probably going to go on the list of big holidays to celebrate going forward; it is a little risky putting it this close to Thanksgiving, but I figure you can spend your morning reliving the glories of getting your copy (in lieu of the parade), and then in the afternoon eat turkey, and then play Stalwart '85 at night. That seems like a reasonable tradition that all Americans (and really, the whole world if I'm being honest) should participate in.

Of course, you'll need the book to do that. It's right here.

Thanks again to the Kickstarter backers, because the book would be a book of some kind, but it would not be NEARLY this amazing. KS backers - I posted an update a few hours ago with a link to the game, but you will also be getting an email this morning if you want to download it from DriveThru, which is probably a good idea to have just so that there's that permanent digital link.

On Happy Accidents

I did a commission, and the KS backer gave me feedback that it wasn't exactly what he had in mind... so I ended up doing a different commission once I understood how he was thinking a little better. However, I went full Bob Ross on this guy and decided this was a happy accident - instead, this is going to be the design for the Messari in their natural form, which is a departure from the 'mind flayers with the serial numbers filed off' that they have been for years. These are more in line with the early 80s alien aesthetic, and also a little more freaky looking than what I had in mind.

FWIW, this guy's name was going to be "Giger the Counter", and he was going to be like Spawn except the alien had a fixation on numbers like the Count from Sesame Street and had OCD about things always coming out to prime numbers.

If he's that in your own game, I'm not going to stop you.

Doc's Secret Lab

 How come it's turning out that some of the things I'm doing here at the back end to 'fill out the KS' are ending up as some of my favorite parts of the whole thing? I present to you Doc's Secret Lab...

Letters Column Page

So, I posted this to my Kickstarter page last night, but every time I read it I just laugh again, so I thought I'd share it with anyone who might see it... 

Doc 127 Cover

Here it is... the finished cover for Mighty Doc Stalwart #127, which is also the final piece of art I had to finish for the Complete Rules for Stalwart '85. The layout is done, and I now have to do final edits and little bit of number crunching, but today was a big milestone in getting this project done... and, by the way, the members of the Stalwart Legion are (from left to right):

• Gamma Grrl. She was created in a lab, but she's mostly a real girl.
• Roboto Jr. His dad is the Stalwart Sentinel, so this makes him Skye's half brother (kind of)
• Skye Stalwart. You've met. Doc thinks she's a descendant of his a hundred generations from now. He's about 99 generations off...
• Gil Gamesh, final survivor of the planet Gamesh (he was 'Gil of Gamesh', but dropped the 'of' when his planet was destroyed, leaving him the lone member of his species).
• Blue Sun Boy. He has the power of a blue sun. 
• The Earthquake Kid. As you might have guessed, he controls geo forces.

As you can see, I split the difference between Legion of Superheroes and Marvel Family, and ended up with something... else?

Doc 127 Cover WIP

I decided to work up a cover for Doc Stalwart #127 from 1973... the first appearance of the Victory Legion of the 28th Century, and the first appearance of Skye Stalwart (who Doc assumed was a distant relative until he learned she was actually his biological daughter who had been sent to the future some time in his future - so it's a lot).

Here's the work in progress. I'm still not sure who all those heroes are, but there are going to be six of them in the core team... this would have come out when I was one year old, so that's fun.

 

Surreality

There's something surreal about having a character in my head for twenty years, but never really having drawn (or even attempted to draw that I can remember) the character. I've always 'known' what Vyperion kind of looked like, but I never really KNEW what Vyperion looked like. I mean, I created him, so I should know. However, the process of finally drawing him today for the first time in two decades was a lot like listening to someone on the radio for a few decades before you finally see what they look like in real life, and being both surprised and 'oh yeah, that makes sense' at the same time. He's not what I thought he'd look like, but somehow he's also exactly what he should look like. And I really like him.

And something a little more hopeful

Tonight I took a break from editing and decided to scour the PD database for the closest thing I could to Robin with the serial numbers filed off.... and when I got to W, I finally found Whiz Kid. Zap. Pow. Bang.

True story: I met Burt Ward at a car show in Buffalo in like 1976, and I had a signed picture of him as Robin on my closet door for the duration of my childhood. So, yeah.

Well...

I wish it was just the election. I drew this intending that Doc was taking his gloves off. 

But maybe, just maybe, he's putting them back on. 

It makes a difference. 

I haven't decided yet.