Hey, all,

Madison is having its Gallery Night this coming Friday, and I'll have
some stuff on show. I'll also most likely be playing some new Out of
the Box games and junk. We shall see.


16 Hands Studio and Gallery, 104 King Street, Madison, WI (608)219-0342

"Reunion" May 1 through June 5

Eight artists that have worked in the historic Suhr building on the
square over the last 20 years unite for a historic art show. Linda
Massey, Brian Straussberg, John Kovalic, Anastasiya Chepil Craig,
Steph Bartz, Matt Buchanan, D.L. Kane and Bethany Jones present new
paintings, sculptures, cartoons, photography and games! Opening
reception Friday May 1, 5-9pm.

I blogged about it here:

http://tinyurl.com/dorkgallerynight

77 Square wrote about Gallery Night here:

http://77square.com/arts/visualarts/galleryNight/story_448289

And kindly previewed our studio here:

http://77square.com/arts/visualarts/gallerynight/story_448977

John


--
John Kovalic
Cartoonist of Sorts
Dork Tower * Out of the Box Games * Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink * My
Little Cthulhu

Madison, WI 53744
   http://www.dorktower.com

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"

    Exit, pursued by a muskrat...




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In case you're going to be in the Twin Cities this weekend, I'll be at
CONvergence, one of the coolest regional conventions around.

Here's my schedule:



THURSDAY-------------------
SIGNING/AUTOGRAPHING 5 pm - 6 pm
Autograph Table
John Kovalic, Peter Mayhew

Opening Ceremonies - 7 pm - 8 pm
Main Stage
Trace Beaulieu, Windy Bowlsby, Christian Colquhoun, Larry Dixon, Daren
Dochterman, Mark Evanier, Kenneth Hite, ASL Interpreter, Christopher
Jones, Dr. Jim Kakalios, Perrin Klumpp, Harry Knowles, Jay Knowles,
John Kovalic, Mercedes Lackey, Bridget Landry, Peter Mayhew, Robert
Meyer Burnett, Andrew Probert, Jeremy Stomberg, Video Team,Vincent
Truitner, David Weber, Len Wein, Greg Weisman, Pat Wick, Tim Wick,
Ishmael Williams, Wally Wingert, Marv Wolfman, Bernie Wrightson

FRIDAY-------------------
GAME DESIGN - 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Atrium 2
Learn about the process of designing games.
Christian Colquhoun, John Kovalic

SATURDAY-------------------
SIGNING/AUTOGRAPHING 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Autograph Table
John Kovalic, Peter Mayhew

KOVALIC! - 5 - 6 pm
Atrium 2
Spend an hour with John Kovalic, a game designer and illustrator.
Maybe you'll even learn the secret history of Apples to Apples.
John Kovalic, Video Team

SUNDAY-------------------

IRON ARTIST - 11 am - Noon
Plaza 1
Come watch as our very own Iron Artists battle to bring life to the
Secret Ingredient. They will be given a scene and an hour in which to
bring life to their creation, engaging in a frenzied battle to win the
people's acclaim forever. Who's art scene will reign supreme?
Louis Frank, Kelvin Hatle, Eryn Hildebrand, ASL Interpreter,
Christopher Jones, Melissa Kaercher, Perrin Klumpp, John Kovalic,
Jennifer Menken, Amanda Schuckman, Gordon Smuder, Video Team, Matt
Waterhouse

CLOSING CEREMONIES - 5 pm
Main Stage
Trace Beaulieu, Windy Bowlsby, Christian Colquhoun, Larry Dixon, Daren
Dochterman, Mark Evanier, Kenneth Hite, ASL Interpreter, Christopher
Jones, Dr. Jim Kakalios, Perrin Klumpp, Harry Knowles, Jay Knowles,
John Kovalic, Mercedes Lackey, Bridget Landry, Michael Lee, Peter
Mayhew, Robert Meyer Burnett, Andrew Probert, Jeremy Stomberg, Video
Team, Vincent Truitner, David Weber, Len Wein, Greg Weisman, Pat Wick,
Tim Wick, Ishmael Williams, Wally Wingert, Marv Wolfman, Bernie
Wrightson




Yes. My signing sessions are both with Chewbacca.

That's pretty freaky cool.

I'll also have prototypes of two new Out of the Box games with me:
"NINJA VERSUS NINJA" and one I designed myself, "LOL!" (I'm pretty
excited about that. It's a party game that's playtesting REALLY well.)

Hope to see some folks there!

John
John Kovalic
Cartoonist, of Sorts
Dork Tower * Out of the Box Games * Munchkin
Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink * My Little Cthulhu * Kobolds Ate My Baby

Box 45063, Madison, WI 53744
   http://www.dorktower.com

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"

Exit, pursued by a muskrat



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Anybody have a Secret Power that could get me in a position to have a
picture taken with Jemaine Clement at Sunday's Flight of the
Conchords show in Milwaukee? There's be much Dork Tower goodness in
it for you, if you can help Make This Happen.

It's be a hoot. Check out the likeness here:

http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/archive.asp?nextform=viewrambling&id\
=553

Separated at birth. Well, birth plus ten years...

The Army of Dorkness has accomplished many amazing things over the
years. This would be a rare feat, indeed.

***

It was a week of repeats on DorkTower.com, due in no small part to
lots of large things going on, both in Real Life and Work Life.

Here's today's strip:
http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/archive.asp?nextform=viewcomic&id=13\
77

(Happy Anniversary, honey!)

And here's Monday's strip.
http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/archive.asp?nextform=viewcomic&id=13\
75

And Wednesday's strip.
http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/archive.asp?nextform=viewcomic&id=13\
76

****

Things have been quiet on the Casa De Muskrat Interwebs, for some
good reasons (and a few less good, but there you go).

Judith and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this past
weekend, with a short trip to Kohler, WI. It's an odd little holiday
town, and pleasant as all get-out. Few cities in the world can claim
to be top-flight resorts, built with the riches only the bathroom
plumbing supply industry can accumulate.

Yes, Kohler is the home of Kohler Kitchen and Bath, But Mostly Bath,
Inc. Judith uncovered a bargain stay at the usually exclusive
American Club, and -- for a short time, anyway -- we lived like
kings. Or at least Toilet Magnates. Which is better than Refrigerator
Magnates any day.

Anyway, upon returning to Muskrat Central, I leapt right into a
full-day Out of the Box meeting. It was exhausting, but as always
somewhat exhilarating. It looks like OTB will be producing another
game I designed: a party game that's been playtesting shockingly
well. I'll run it by a few more local groups before seeking outside
playtesters. But, fingers crossed, I think this has the potential to
go really well. The concept is simple, the rules are straightforward,
and I'm not sure anything like it has quite been done before.

In the mean time, after two brilliant weekend concerts in a row (Kids
in the Hall and Jonathan Coulton (who's just a terrific guy, by the
way, on top of being embarasingly talented)), we've got a third show,
this Sunday.

I utterly surprised the Lovely and Talented Judith on our
anniversary, getting her Flight of the Conchords tickets for their
Milwaukee show. She had no idea they were on tour, let alone they
would be so close to home.

Actually scoring the tickets meant getting on a special mailing list
that then gave you a secret password to let you bribe your way onto a
web site that let you press buttons frantically at noon the day
before tickets went on sale to the general public. Get yourself a
ticket, go through the gate. At seven forty-five precisely, don't be
late If anybody follows don't hesitate: Keep on walking.

The show sold out in some insanely short period of time, so although
our seats aren't the best in the house, I'm just glad we'll be there.
And Judith is over the moon.

Now to see how many Conchords fans think I'm somehow related to
Jemaine, come Sunday.


--
John Kovalic
Cartoonist, of Sorts
Dork Tower * Out of the Box Games * Munchkin
Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink * My Little Cthulhu * Kobolds Ate My Baby

Box 45063, Madison, WI 53744
   http://www.dorktower.com

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'd hoped to post a full-fledged "State Of The Cartoonist"
think-piece last week. I didn't. So this at least lets me slip the
start of a brief series into the blog. A series trying to define
where everything stands, vis my work and in light (or darkness) or
the very, very bad things that happened in 2007. Things that I've
only recently started realizing what a toll they took on my psyche.

So let's start with the strip. The four panels or six of Dork Tower
that you see from time to time either on LiveJournal, on MySpace or,
hopefully, at Dorktower.com.

I'm ahead on the strip, have been so for a while, and that makes me
happy. This was Step One in the Master Plan is to get everything back
on track: to my mind, the strip languished as an afterthought for
much of 2006/2007.

Comic strips are what I did first, and in a sense, they may still be
the most natural way I can express myself. It feels a bit like going
home, having the strips out on a regular basis. Creating small
storylines. Getting to know my characters again.

The web site should see a full redesign soon, as well.Goodness
sakies, it's been a while.

Eventually, I may stop posting the full strips on LiveJournal and
MySpace, but instead put out links whenever a new one goes up on
DorkTower.com. We'll see.

Y'see, there's a real chance I may actually (gasp) get some money for
the online Dork Towers, after years of wandering in the darkness of
Simply Doing This Because I Didn't Want To Let Readers Down. This all
depends on how many people click over to the home page. Again, though
- that all comes with the redesign.

I've been pretty happy with the strips these last couple of months.
It's a nice feeling, being a week or two in advance. knowing that
readers clicking on the site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will,
in fact, find new material there. I almost feel...feel....(gasp)
professional about it again.

This, despite the fact that -- with the death of Dragon magazine, I'm
making less than I've made from the strips in a long, long time.
Still, that's OK. I'm home again.

(There's a lot of small, technical, cartoon-ese kinds of
micro-decisions that goes into my being happy about where I am:
finding the right paper to use; settling on a consistent size to work
in; eking out a Line Quality I'm happy with; etc., etc., etc. It's
all a bit nerdy, really. Bottom line: I've standardized how I work on
the strips for the past four months, and the results just
seem...right. Which they hadn't, for the last few years, to my mind.)

Becoming a comic strip artist is what I've wanted to do since I was
in school. Then I became one. Now, it's nice to be back. How far can
I go with it? I'm not sure, But at least my work's becoming more
consistent, and I'm truly enjoying it again.

Now I get to see how long I can keep this up, with everything else
that's happening in my life - or happened, this last year. I'm still
in a dark place, but at least some clouds seem to be clearing.

More on that in another post.

Next: Looking Forward 2008: II - The Games


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of CINEPLEXITY and more - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey, gang,

I really want to apologize for the lack of cartoons this past Monday
and Wednesday, plus for today's being late. It's up now, at
http://www.dorktower.com

I've been trying to at least run repeats those days when nothing new
can go up. This week, I fear, I didn't even feel like doing that.
Partly because of the soul-sucking circumstances of what was going
on, but also because I'm kinda in the middle of a little arc of a
storyline.

Still, it does feel good to be cartooning again. Therapeutic.

A good friend who's been through what I've now had to advised me that
my work could go to some dark places for a while. Looks like that's
begun.

But, yeah. I need cartooning. That, at least, is a welcome realization.

****

Caught "Kitchen Nightmares" again this past week. There was seriously
nothing else on television (unless you wanted to see the Food Network
show you ONCE AGAIN how to prepare a turkey for the THREE THOUSAND
AND SIXTY-SECOND TIME IN THREE DAYS. How I despair whenever "Seasons
Eatings" comes around).

Once more, my feeling was that it was focused more on magical
solutions than any real desire to engage in culinary discourse,
unlike its BBC predecessor. (ZAP! Have a newly decorated dining room!
POW! Have a magic new Gordon Ramsay menu! BLAM! Solve years worth of
dysfunctional family issues OVERNIGHT!)

But if you take it at its Fox TV Reality Series face value, it's at
least interesting spectacle.

What irked me this time, though, was the so-called Food Critic for
whatever podunk Hamptons newspaper serves this community.

In a past life, from time to time, I was a restaurant writer for
Madison's morning daily paper. This night, all I could think of was
"could this chick give food critics even worse a reputation than they
already possess?

I mean, seriously...any food critic worth their salt (Kosher,
naturally; flaked Fleur de Sel, ideally) would:

(1) Never visit a restaurant on the first night of a new menu or
reopening. Wait at least a couple of weeks for things to settle down.

(2) Never let people know that they were, in fact, a food critic. You
go in anonymous, you come out anonymous. The moment you let people
know who you are, you probably will receive service and quality that
the average patron just wouldn't, in their wildest dreams.

(3) Never get pissy and start demanding things (like being seated)
while holding the review over the restaurant's head. Talk about
extortion!

(4) Never judge a bad restaurant on just one trip. Though this wasn't
actually covered here, one got the feeling that if Missy
Prissy-Pants-Look-At-Me-I'm-So-Powerful-Pass-The-Croutons reviewer
actually had had a bad experience, she'd have eviscerated the place
in her very next column. I once gave a restaurant such a poor review
that my editor insisted on coming back with me for the second visit
before conceding that yes, the place in question was just that
dreadful. But any establishment can have an off-night.

My only wish for the show was for Ramsay to go and just slug her,
before throwing her out on her arse.

Of course, having to have dealt with critics both good and bad,
that's the kind of action any restaurateur with half a mind would
never take.

If he had, though, "Kitchen Knightmares" would have picked up a fan for life...


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of CINEPLEXITY and more - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

First off, a thousand thanks to the many people who sent condolences
and prayers concerning Judith's dad. It really was very thoughtful of
everyone, and it meant a lot to the family to receive well wishes
from around the world. Lester would have loved that.

***

Up North, when a loved one is lost, neighbors bring over hotdishes.
In Madison, they offer pot.

My guess is that they'd go surprisingly well together.

***

It seems odd, but I haven't even been in a mood to run repeats on
dorktower.com, let alone actually come up with new material. My
apologies on that. I will draw again. Soon.

***

The world is a funny place.

("Everybody says that, but nobody laughs" went one of my favorite BC
comic strips of all time. Yes, thirty years ago it WAS groundbreaking
and marvelously inventive.)

Even in times of personal sadness and loss, moments of joy crop up,
almost as frequently as cliches in sentences like this one.

My brother David and his wife Dena welcomed their second daughter,
Kovalic-To-Be-Named-Later, into the world just a couple of hours ago.

This is Judith and my second niece. So now we're two-and-two in the
nieces and nephews department.

I'm not sure when we'll be able to get down to St. Louis to see
Kovalic-To-Be-Named-Later, but I can't wait.

***

Anyone listen to A Prairie Home Companion last Saturday?

Long-time reader Tom McCabley e-mailed me about a skit Garrison and
Co. performed, about Gifted Students. It begins around the 14:45
mark. It can be heard here:

http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2007/11/10/

One student's Gift is that he's a Muskrat. Yes, Muskrat.

But, at the 17:40 mark, the muskrat's name is mentioned for the first time.

Carson. Carson, the Muskrat.

It's a coincidence, yes: one of Garrison's regular alter-egos is
apparently called "Carson." Still, that's one hell of a coincidence.
And it's just fun to hear.

Little Carson the Muskrat. Famous at last.

--
John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games, Publishers of
APPLES TO APPLES * WHAD'YA KNOW? * BLINK * BOSWORTH *  GOLD DIGGER
MY WORD! *  SHIPWRECKED * SQUINT * SWITCH * WHEEDLE * 10 DAYS
http://www.otb-games.com

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"
    Exit, pursued by a muskrat...




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yesterday afternoon, Judith's sister called. Their dad had suffered a
heart attack and died, suddenly and unexpectedly, while trucking corn
through Redwing, Minnesota -- the city he of his birth.

I have friend who are writers. Damn fine writers. When they write,
magic seems to flow from their fingers.

I try and write. Sometimes I do OK. Mostly, I'm wordy and nerdy.

Which is a shame, because Judith's dad deserves far better.

Lester Heise was a big old bear of a guy. Part Grizzly, part Teddy.

He was great.

I mean, really, really great. The kind of "great" most people who
spend too much of their lives worrying about being "great" will never
achieve. He was a force of nature, and a force of life. A truly unique
individual whom I'll readily admit I never totally understood, but
utterly admired.

Lester was a northern Wisconsin farmer and trucker, and lord knows
what he thought when his daughter told him she was going to marry a
cartoonist. Actually, five weeks before our wedding, she told him she
was going to marry an unemployed cartoonist, as she saw how miserable
I was getting at the Wisconsin State Journal, and convinced me to quit.

But my soon-to-be father-in-law never said anything, though lord knows
he had every right to. He just welcomed me with open arms. Indeed, on
Judith and my wedding night, I had a few moments alone with Lester,
who I'd only known for a couple of years at that point. I tried to let
him know how proud I was to now be a part of his family. It was,
frankly, an awkward and uncomfortable conversation for both of us.
Again: him, up-north farm stock. Me: wordy and nerdy.

But I think that on some level, we both kind of "got" each other,
because Judith was the common bond between us

Over the years, as I grew to know Lester better, I found him hilarious
and, in his own way, brilliant. He knew what he wanted from life, and
lived it to its fullest, whether "the fullest," to him, meant farming,
or trucking, or shooting off random fireworks, or doing nothing at the
cabin, or becoming the Town Chairman of El Paso township, just
slightly to the east of Ellsworth, Wisconsin. All of which he did, and
did well.

There really is something to small town life. There's -- again -- a
greatness about it that folks like me really don't get, unless they go
back year after year for Thanksgiving, when the first snowfalls may
just be brushing the landscape. Or Christmas, when the barns stand
tall and proud against the cold, grey Wisconsin skyline. Summers are
glorious, autumns are spectacular, winters are harsh, the people are
tough, and the sense of community is palpable.

Lester (somehow "Mr. Heise" never seemed quite appropriate. I don't
think either of us would have liked it if I'd tried to call him that)
could be loud and brusque, but he was never short of hilarious. He'd
curse like a sailor when playing cards - not true, actually. He'd
easily outdo any seaman worth his salt when it came to creative
cuss-words and all-too-colorful commentary should he be dealt, say, an
eight-three offsuit.

"That's called a 'tell,'" I tried to advise him a couple of
Christmases ago, when he decided to try Texas Hold'Em for the first time.

If a person is best known by their friends, Lester had many, many of
them. Folks who knew him and understood him far better than I ever
could. But to me, the very first time I met him, at Judith's
apartment, all I could see was how much he loved her, and how much she
loved him. To him, she was always his little girl, and to her, I could
see nothing in her eyes but adoration of him. And deservedly so, as I
was to find out over the next fifteen years. He was simply, truly
great. He was, in his daughter's words, "a special person. So special."

Other good friends, far too many, really, have recently lost people
they were close to. It's been a hell of a couple of weeks. In some
ways, it's been a hell of a year.

There's no real good way to end this, save to say I'll miss the hell
out of Judith's dad. I can't even imagine the pain and loss felt by
his family and friends who've known him far longer and far better than
I have.

I simply feel privileged to have known him at all.


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

I'm just sayin', is all. Bug your local comics and games store
owners. because it's not like they don't suffer enough already.

Hope you like the issue. It's a special Christmas number...the first
Christmas story I've done in six years. Plus all-new Dr. Blink and
Lethargic Lad backups!

Happy holidays, everyone!


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

Dorkstock/Rock-Con is a mere week away (November 3-5). And it's gonna
be a BLAST.

Lots of games to be played. Out of the Box, Steve Jackson, Fantasy
Flight (including the first OFFICIAL Mag*Blast third edition
tourney), and others. (For heaven's sake, Scott "Igor" Olman will be
running Kobolds Ate My Baby again! The prize here? The COOL new
Kobolds minis from Magnificent Ego Miniatures! ALL HAIL KING TORG!)

Only an hour from Chicago, Madison, and Iowa, with good bus
connections if you don't have a car, Rock-Con is one of the best
regional gaming cons I've ever been to, and it makes me werra, werra
heppy that Dorkstock is now so closely associated with it.

I myself will be running the official LAST Cineplexity pre-release
tourney, and there will be an amazing prize for that, as well as
others. I'll also be running an aBRIDGEd tourney, a 10 Days tourney,
a British Apples to Apples tourney, and much, much more. Many, many
other games will be played. To say nothing of the now-infamous Igor
Bar bake-off on Saturday. I hope you can make it.

One thing we'll be doing is introducing a new tournament format for
Blink: The Blink Bounty Button tournament. This will take the place
of "Beat John at Blink," because, honestyly, anyone can beat John at
Blink, as was so painfully demonstrated last year. Ahem.

Bring your copy of Blink. But if you don't have one, don't worry.
We'll be supplying Blink decks to all who need one - yours to keep!

(At other cons, these will be sold for the tourney at cost or
near-cost, so for three bucks., you'll get a Blink deck and two Blink
Bounty Buttons).

Blink Bounty Button Tournament Format:

Participants get two Blink Bounty Buttons (two, so that people are
guaranteed at least two games), and a Blink deck.

The tournament will start Friday, but you can join in at any point
over the weekend, including the last day, as long as the tournament
has not ended.

Those in the tourney must wear their Blink buttons at any point
during the show, or after the show, if they wish. Then, at any time
during the convention, participants can challenge others wearing
their Blink Bounty Buttons to a game of Blink, at any time. (There
will also be a central HQ where people can hang around, looking for
others who want a game).

At least one game is played, although players can agree beforehand to
a two-out-of-three game. The winner takes one Blink Bounty Button
from the loser, to keep, unless they, later, lose it in another game.
The loser keeps their Blink deck, and any other Blink Bounty Buttons
they have.

Players cannot challenge the same person twice in a row.

Players can challenge people involved in other games, but the
challengee has the right of refusal during times they are involved in
another game.

The winner of the tournament is the person who, at 1 pm on the last
day of the show, has gained the most Blink Bounty Buttons. (If people
leave early, they can register their Bounty Buttons at the HQ, but
others will then obviously have more time to get more). All players
must turn in their Blink Bounty Buttons, but are allowed to keep one
as a souvenir, along with their copy of the game Blink.

Dorkstock is two and a half days, but the format should also work for
single-day cons as well. Different Blink Bounty Buttons will be
printed for different convention, so the button you keep will be a
unique souvenir of the show.

Cool prizes WILL be awarded for first, second and third-place
finishers. In case of a tie, Blink will be played to determine the
final positions at 1 pm Sunday. If there is a tie, and one person has
left the con, the tie goes to the remaining player still at the show.
(So if you're leaving early, try to get as many games in as you can).

The Blink Bounty Button Tournament format is (c) and (t) John Kovalic
and Out of the Box games.

REALLY can't wait to see how this plays out.

John


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey, gang,

Unfortunately, the insomnia hit again last night, so I'm out of it a
bit today...but here's some grand news:

Igor is now ACTUALLY in space!

Read all about it on my blog:

http://muskrat-john.livejournal.com/

or

http://www.dorktower.com

He launched with the Genesis 1 satellite, and all systems are go!

John



--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

For Immediate Release

Kovalic Takes on the Games Business
In 'ICv2 Retailers Guide to Games'

Award-winning Editorial Cartoonist bites the hand that fed him!

MADISON, WI - Harvey Award-nominated cartoonist John Kovalic has
become a regular contributor to the ICv2 Retailers Guide to Games.
He will create an editorial cartoon for each quarterly issue,
commenting on game industry issues of the day.

Kovalic's first cartoon for ICv2 will appear in ICv2 Retailers Guide
to Games #11, which shipped to distributors June 1. June 1 was also
the day Kovalic was nominated for two prestigious Harvey Awards, for
"Best Cartoonist," and "Special Award for Humor in Comics."

ICv2 Publisher Milton Griepp was ecstatic about the alignment of
events.  "This puts an exclamation point to the admiration we've
always felt for John's work, and confirms our desire to have him work
with us," Griepp said.  "Plus his deep understanding of the games
business gives him an insight that makes his work a great fit for our
retailer audience."

Kovalic was excited about the opportunity to comment on the games
business.  "It's great to bring my editorial work to the field I
love," he said. "I've been working in this industry since 1982, when
I was a clerk in London's Forbidden Planet. Darn right I've got a
thing or two to say about it."

"I've worked the retail side, the manufacturing side, and of course,
the fanboy side," he added. "Fortunately, I've even freelanced for
some distributors, so I think I've got all the bases covered."

The ICv2 Retailers Guide to Games #11 will start reaching retailers
soon.  Issue #12 will be distributed at Gen Con, in addition to its
regular distribution through distributors and mailings.  And issue
#13 will ship to distributors November 6th.

John Kovalic's editorial cartoons have appeared in the New York Times
and the Washington Post, and he continues to freelance for his
hometown Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI). His multi-award
winning comic book, "Dork Tower," has sold nearly 500,000 copies, and
is approaching the 10th anniversary of the comic strip's first
appearance in SHADIS magazine. USA Today called Kovalic a "Hot Pick,"
and he's a co-owner and co-founder of Out of the Box Games ("Apples
to Apples," "Blink," "Abridged"), as well as a best-selling and
prolific freelance game illustrator ("Munchkin," "Chez Geek,"
"Dungeonville," "Mag*Blast.")

In John's free time, he searches for free time.

ICv2 publishes ICv2.com and three magazine titles, ICv2 Retailers
Guides to Games, ICv2 Retailers Guide to Anime/Manga, and ICv2
Retailers Guide to Graphic Novels.  The ICv2 Retailers Guides provide
market analysis, bestseller lists, news and buying tips on upcoming
releases and feature articles on the business issues of the day.
ICv2.com provides daily news and information to help pop culture
retailers keep up with the ferocious pace of change in a ten billion
dollar industry.  ICv2 has become the authoritative source on
business issues in the categories it covers, quoted by the New York
Times, Publishers Weekly, Business Week, Fortune, and many other
respected publications.

For more information, please contact:

Milton Griepp
Publisher
ICv2
Mgriepp@...
http://www.icv2.com

--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Here's  the official bit.

Thursday, June 1 - Dork Tower was nominated for two prestigious
Harvey Awards: Best Cartoonist (John Kovalic) and Special Award For
Humor in Comics (John Kovalic).

That out of the way?

Good.

Now...here's my honest reaction.

HOLY freaking CRUD! This is...odd. Stunning. Weird. I didn't even
know the Harveys were announced today, until some readers e-mailed me
congratulations...

I've always felt a bit...distanced, shall we say...from the world of
comics and comic books. A bit of an outsider. I've got a few great
friends in the industry, but in general I've always been comfortable
in my roll as someone I doubted most pros in the field know about or
care about.

I can't remember the last time I sent in anything of mine to the
Eisner Awards (my bad - I'm not good with remembering deadlines), and
though I've dearly wanted to, I've never made it to SPX or MOCCA.

Good grief, I think it's been three years since I've been to San Diego Comicon.

My loss, I know. But my stage fright at cons is about as legendary as
an underground, cult sort like myself can get. Which is a shame,
since there are so many in the comic book world that I admire, and
would love to meet. I learned to read on comic books. I have
longboxes and longboxes of comic books. My name is John Kovalic, and
I'm a fanboi.

On the other hand, staying home means I've been getting far more work
done than I would, prepping for and fighting the fear of cons.

Anyway, it came as a total shock - a bolt from the blue - this sunny,
quiet morning to find out that I'd been nominated for TWO Harvey
awards. I've no idea who nominated me, but...wow. I'm amazed, and
very, very humbled.

BEST CARTOONIST
Frank Cho / SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL / Marvel Comics
Chris Eliopoulos / FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS: FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF
A GENIUS / Marvel Comics
John Kovalic / DORK TOWER / Dork Storm Press
Seth / WIMBLEDON GREEN / Drawn and Quarterly
Chris Ware / ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY # 16 / ACME Novelty Library

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS
Kyle Baker / PLASTIC MAN / DC Comics
James Kolchalka / SUPER F*CKERS / Top Shelf and www.americanelf.com
John Kovalic / DORK TOWER / Dork Storm Press
Marc Sumerak / FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS:   FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A
GENIUS / Marvel Comics
Zeb Wells / NEW WARRIORS / Marvel Comics

Fortunately, I'm a realist: being up against Frank Cho (among others
just as amazingly talented) for Best Cartoonist, and being up against
the stunningly brilliant Kyle Baker for the Special Award for Humor
in Comics means I'm not gonna waste any time working on acceptance
speeches. And hey, look: Chris Ware's there, too!

But this is such an honor to be named alongside those sorts of guys.

Double-plus good: my pals Alex Robinson's up for Best Writer, and
Keith Knight is up for Best Syndicated Comic. And PvP's got a
superbly deserved nod for Best Online Comic. Good stuff, all around.

Again, I've absolutely no delusions about winning either of my
categories. But this news makes me so incredibly happy and humbled,
you've no idea. Mentioned in the same category as Kyle Baker and
Chris Ware>? Yeah...I think my day's been make. Grin. (And I'm a
James Kolchalka good, too!)

If you'd like to vote for your favorite comics folks in the Harveys,
and are a comic book professional, you can download the forms HERE -
http://www.harveyawards.org/2006ballot/harvballot_fin1.pdf

Wow.

I can now utter the phrase "The Harvey Nominated 'Dork Tower.'"

I'm grinning like a total knucklehead, as I type!

Here's the full list:

2006 Harvey Award Nominees

BEST WRITER
Brian Michael Bendis / NEW AVENGERS / Marvel
ComicsEdBrubaker / CAPTAIN AMERICA / Marvel Comics
Joshua Hale Fialkov / ELK'S RUN / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
Mike Mignola / BPRD / Dark Horse Comics
Alex Robinson / TRICKED / Top Shelf


BEST ARTIST
Frank Cho / SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL / Marvel Comics
David Finch / NEW AVENGERS / Marvel Comics
Eduardo Risso / 100 BULLETS / DC/Vertigo
Noel Tuazon / ELK'S RUN / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
J.H. Williams III / PROMETHEA / ABC/WildStorm/DC Comics


BEST CARTOONIST
Frank Cho / SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL / Marvel Comics
Chris Eliopoulos / FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS: FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF
A GENIUS / Marvel Comics
John Kovalic / DORK TOWER / Dork Storm Press
Seth / WIMBLEDON GREEN / Drawn and Quarterly
Chris Ware / ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY # 16 / ACME Novelty Library


BEST LETTERER
Chris Eliopoulos / FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS:   FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON
OF A GENIUS / Marvel Comics
Jason Hanley / ELK'S RUN / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
Todd Klein / MARVEL 1602: NEW WORLD / Marvel Comics
Richard Starkings / SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL / Marvel Comics
Chris Ware / ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY # 16 / ACME Novelty Library


BEST INKER
Charles Burns / BLACK HOLE # 12 / Fantagraphics Books
Scott Hanna / ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN / Marvel Comics
Steve Leialoha / FABLES / DC/Vertigo
Paul Neary / ULTIMATES 2 / Marvel Comics
Tim Townsend / HOUSE OF M / Marvel Comics


BEST COLORIST
Frank D'Armata / NEW AVENGERS / Marvel Comics
Jason Keith / SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL / Marvel Comics
Laura Martin / ASTONISHING X-MEN / Marvel Comics
Patricia Mulvihill / 100 BULLETS / DC/Vertigo
Jennifer Rodgers / THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS / Archaia Studios Press


BEST COVER ARTIST
Frank Cho / SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL / Marvel Comics
Steve Epting / CAPTAIN AMERICA / Marvel Comics
James Jean / FABLES / DC/Vertigo
Mike Mignola / HELLBOY: THE ISLAND / Dark Horse
Datsun Tran / ELK'S RUN / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics


BEST NEW TALENT
Joshua Hale Fialkov / ELK'S RUN / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
David Hine / DAREDEVIL: REDEMPTION / Marvel Comics
R. Kikuo Johnson / NIGHT FISHER / Fantagraphics Books
A. David Lewis / THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS / Caption Box/Archaia Studios Press
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa / MARVEL KNIGHTS FOUR / Marvel Comics


BEST NEW SERIES
BAOBAB / Fantagraphics Books
DRAMACON / Tokyopop
MARVEL ADVENTURES: FANTASTIC FOUR / Marvel Comics
THE SURROGATES / Top Shelf
YOUNG AVENGERS / Marvel Comics
X-FACTOR / Marvel Comics

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY / ACME Novelty Library
CAPTAIN AMERICA / Marvel Comics
ELK'S RUN / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
RUNAWAYS / Marvel Comics
Y: THE LAST MAN / DC/Vertigo

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL
THE BOONDOCKS / Aaron McGruder - Universal Press Syndicate
THE K CHRONICLES / Keith Knight - Self-syndicated
MAAKIES / Tony Millionaire- Self-syndicated
MUTTS / Patrick McDonnell - King Features Syndicate
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN / Stan Lee and Larry Leiber - King Features Syndicate

BEST ANTHOLOGY
FLIGHT, VOL. 2 / Image Comics
MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2005 / Marvel Comics
MARVEL MONSTERS: WHERE MONSTERS DWELL / Marvel Comics
MOME / Fantagraphics Books
PROJECT SUPERIOR / AdHouse
SOLO / DC Comics

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - ORIGINAL
COMBAT ZONE / Marvel Comics
THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS / Caption Box
NIGHT FISHER / Fantagraphics Books
TRICKED / Top Shelf
WIMBLEDON GREEN / Drawn and Quarterly

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM - PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED
BLACK HOLE / Pantheon Books
DAISY KUTTER / Viper Comics
LATE BLOOMER / Fantagraphics Books
RUNAWAYS, VOLUME 1 HARDCOVER / Marvel Comics
STOKER'S DRACULA / Marvel Comics


BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY # 16 / ACME Novelty Library
CAPTAIN AMERICA # 7 / Marvel Comics
ELK'S RUN # 3 / Hoarse and Buggy Productions/Speakeasy Comics
HOUSE OF M # 8 / Marvel Comics
LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOLUME 2, # 15 / Fantagraphics Books

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS / Marvel Comics
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE ALL-WINNERS, VOLUME 1 / Marvel Comics
LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND: SO MANY SPLENDID SUNDAYS / Sunday Press Books
COMPLETE PEANUTS / Fantagraphics Books
WALT AND SKEEZIX / Drawn and Quarterly

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL
BAOBAB # 1 / Fantagraphics Books
BLAME! / Tokyopop
BUDDHA / Vertical Books
EPILEPTIC / Pantheon Books
PUSH MAN AND OTHER STORIES / Drawn and Quarterly

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK
ACHEWOOD / Chris Onstad / www.achewood.com
AMERICAN ELF / James Kochalka / www.americanelf.com
PENNY ARCADE / Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik / www.penny-arcade.com
PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP / Nicholas Gurewitch / www.thepbf.com
PVP / Scott Kurtz / www.pvponline.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS
Kyle Baker / PLASTIC MAN / DC Comics
James Kolchalka / SUPER F*CKERS / Top Shelf and www.americanelf.com
John Kovalic / DORK TOWER / Dork Storm Press
Marc Sumerak / FANTASTIC FOUR PRESENTS:   FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A
GENIUS / Marvel Comics
Zeb Wells / NEW WARRIORS / Marvel Comics

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION
WATCHMEN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION / DC Comics
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY / Pantheon Books
EARTH X HARDCOVER / Marvel Comics
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS / Marvel Comics
LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND: SO MANY SPLENDID SUNDAYS / Sunday Press Books

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION
ALTER EGO / TwoMorrows
COMIC BOOK ARTIST / Top Shelf
COMICS   JOURNAL / Fantagraphics Books
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT / Marvel Comics
WIZARD / Wizard Entertainment




--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

12th May 2006 - For immediate release

SHORTLIST FOR 2006 DIANA JONES AWARD ANNOUNCED

An RPG, a board-game, a TCG, an ARG, a contest
and a charity vie for hobby-gaming's most
exclusive trophy


London - The committee of the Diana Jones Award
has released the shortlist for its 2006 award.
This year the shortlist contains six nominees
that in the opinion of the committee exemplify
the best that hobby-gaming can offer. In
alphabetical order, they are:

- The Game Chef game-design competition
- Irish games convention charity auctions
- Magic the Gathering, 9th edition (Wizards of the Coast)
- Perplex City (Mind Candy Ltd)
- Spycraft 2.0 by Patrick Kapera, et al (Alderac Entertainment Group)
- Twilight Struggle by Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews (GMT Games)

The winner of the 2006 Award will be announced on
Wednesday 9th August, at the annual Diana Jones
Award and Freelancer Party in Indianapolis, the
unofficial start of the Gen Con Indy convention.

The committee's reasons for selecting these six nominees are as follows:

THE GAME CHEF CONTEST
The Game Chef Contest was invented at the Forge
website by Mike Holmes in 2002, based on an
earlier contest at Gaming Outpost run by Clinton
R. Nixon and Jared A. Sorensen, and is now an
annual event, run independently at its own
website (http://game-chef.com/) by Andy
Kitkowski. Each year the competition has spawned
a number of powerful, widely diverse RPGs and
semi-RPGs and is now one of the best break-in
points for new game designers and small press
publishers. One of its strongest features is its
development of a community of review and interest
in one another's projects. Game Chef now serves,
effectively, as a grass-roots equivalent of the
Origins Awards. The results not only reward the
past year, but generate effort and participation
toward the upcoming year.

IRISH GAME CONVENTION CHARITY AUCTIONS
Ireland has a vigorous hobby-gaming community and
a strong tradition of local conventions. These
often climax with a charity auction that raises
astonishing amounts of money for good causes,
particularly given the size of the conventions.
In 2005 Gaelcon's auction made ¤31,000
(US$40,000) - that's US$80 per attendee - and the
smaller Warpcon raised ¤12,000 (US$15,000),
making its parent society the biggest charity
fundraiser at University College Cork. This
extraordinary spirit of generosity not only helps
the needy but also publicises gaming to the wider
community in a very positive way, making it less
obscure and more approachable, which may explain
why the Irish games scene is so full of life.

MAGIC THE GATHERING 9TH EDITION, trading card game (Wizards of the Coast)
The latest core set for MAGIC provides a superior
CCG experience, especially for casual players.
While avoiding the complicated card mechanics of
the expert-level sets, 9th Edition offers an
array of solid, exciting cards and strategies. In
1993, the "Alpha" set of MAGIC promised hundreds
of cards, differentiated by color, balanced by
cost, and fun to play. More than any set before
it, 9th Edition delivers on those promises. The
cards represent the distinct flavors and
abilities of the colors. The rares, commons,
low-cost cards, and high-cost cards are
cost-balanced. Headache-causing abilities such as
banding are out, and slick abilities such as
'fear' are in. While publishing high-end sets for
entrenched MAGIC players, Wizards hasn't
forgotten the rest of us.

PERPLEX CITY, altered reality game (Mind Candy Ltd)
Part collectible card game, part altered reality
game (ARG), PERPLEX CITY blends the best of two
very different forms and breaks the mould for
both. ARGs have been around since the late 90s,
but till now have been fixed-length events mostly
used as marketing promotions. In contrast PERPLEX
CITY has an open-ended storyline, is commercially
self-financing, and is unashamedly accessible to
casual and hardcore players alike. It combines an
engrossing, immersive puzzle-based game and
environment (created in part by award-winning
novelist Naomi Alderman) with a vibrant online
community, extraordinary real-world events, and a
prize for its "first season" of $200,000. Above
all it's simply great fun. PERPLEX CITY sets a
standard that future ARGs will struggle to match.

SPYCRAFT 2.0, role-playing game by Patrick Kapera
et al (Alderac Entertainment Group)
With SPYCRAFT 2.0, Patrick Kapera demonstrates
the full-throated power of the OGL d20 engine.
This book is a unified whole, featuring
mechanically thorough yet fundamentally elegant
and interesting rules for espionage games of all
stripes. That's not mere marketing speak; Kapera
has eschewed the thin broth of windy GMing advice
and tired invocations of mood in favor of clear,
effective rules-based dials for adjusting game
flavor and feel. His commitment to engineered
rules to affect actual play is evident
throughout. Every important system has a rule,
every rule meshes with the others. There are
plenty of innovations to watch, from the use of a
car-chase subsystem to model everything from
seduction to computer hacking to the
introductions of real, game-affecting stats and
systems for larger organizations and intricate
subplots. Its Stress mechanic is also one of the
few game systems to usefully adapt and improve on
Sandy Petersen's 25-year-old Sanity rules. All
that, plus it's very pretty.

TWILIGHT STRUGGLE, board game by Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews (GMT Games)
TWILIGHT STRUGGLE is a brilliant first design
from Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews: a
two-player game about the conflict between the
USA and the USSR during the Cold War. It's more
of an area-influence game than a wargame so it
appeals to a wide range of gamers. The game uses
the card-driven mechanics of games like WE THE
PEOPLE and HANNIBAL, but raises this system to
new heights. Every game is different: sometimes
the USSR player can achieve an automatic victory
in the early game, sometimes the USA player can
win in the mid or late game, and sometimes the
conflict goes right to the end of the last turn.
Simple, elegant design leads to an engrossing
play-experience that's often historically
accurate and always enjoyable.

ABOUT THE AWARD
The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming
was founded and first awarded in 2000. It is
presented annually to the person, product,
company, event or any other thing that has, in
the opinion of its mostly anonymous committee of
games industry luminaries, best demonstrated the
quality of "excellence" in the world of
hobby-gaming in the previous year. The winner of
the Award receives the Diana Jones trophy.

Past winners include Peter Adkison, Jordan
Weisman, the role-playing games Nobilis, Sorcerer
and My Life with Master, and the board-game
Ticket to Ride. This is the sixth year of the
Award.

CONTACT
For more information, see the website
www.dianajonesaward.org or contact the committee
directly: committee@...


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a
witty, fast-paced, intelligent spoof that pokes
eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Let's pretend it hasn't been almost a year since I've sent one of
these out, and just jump in as if nothing's happened...

****

My back's gone out, again, following eight hours on a plane crossing
the Atlantic.

Well, technically, my lower back and left leg. Sciatica I believe the
kids are calling it these days. But there's far too much work to get
done to complain too long or two loud about it. Still, I can curse
Swiss Air and their Seats-Built-For-The-Gnomes-Of-Zurich under my
breath, which were responsible for the first case, last fall.

Swiss Air is now as dead to me as my left calf seems to be.

****

Dork Tower #33 ships from the printer today.

Dork Tower #34 is at press.

Dr. Blink #3 goes to press next Tuesday.

Dork Tower #35 is well underway.

Dork Tower #36 is virtually finished.

With luck, the theoretical bimonthly Dork Tower schedule will be back
to becoming a reality again, soon.

The Dr. Blink schedule will be announced as soon and Chris, Melissa
and I have at least one or two finished issues under our collective
belts. But the first trade paperback ("Id...Ego...SUPEREGO!") is on
its way to solicitation.

   I have nothing but apologies to offer for the long gap since Dork
Tower #32 and Dr. Blink #2. But I've been trying to work towards a
point where every issue of the comic book is FINISHED by the time I
solicit it, so such delays should (fingers crossed) be a thing of the
past.

****

Huge amounts of response - quite shocking, really - to the
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy quotation in Monday's online Dork
Tower.

Always great to see there are so many hoopy froods out there who know
where their towels are.

For the longest time, my sig file used to be "This must be Thursday -
I never could get the hang of Thursdays." A line I've been able to
relate to since I was in school.

****

While in London, I bought my England kit, for the upcoming World Cup.

Couldn't bring myself to buy a Beckham jersey. And there were no
Ashley Cole jerseys to be found (the only Arsenal player on the squad
- Arsenal's my sister's team). So I picked up a Steven Gerard, #4.

This suits me well since I've always liked Liverpool, and having a #4
jersey in Wisconsin is just kinda fun and smart-alecky, in a knowing,
snarky kind of way.

Plus, if England Wins, the store I bought the jersey from will refund
the cost of the shirt.

I'm not holding my breath, but at least it'll be an enjoyable
incentive to root that much harder for my team.

****

In rugby, however, I support Ireland. I bought a grand rugby shirt in
Cork last January. And since I've never really given a jot about
rugby since school (I was a closed prop on our team, which I hated -
always wanted to be a winger), I figured I'd stay with the team that
re-piqued my interest in the sport. Ireland, thanks mostly to the LJs
of some friends from Warpcon.

****

Australia's in the world cup?

Really?

Coolness.

****

Also, three weeks until the start of the Madison Mallards season.

Got my tickets to the home opener. Will have to miss games 2 and 3,
since "Whad'Ya Know's?" going to be in Iowa City that weekend. But
will be back Sunday.

****

Only picked up a few CDs when I was in London. Mostly stuff that was
on sale. Things I needed to fill in holes in my collection. Ian Dury
and the Blockheads' "Do It Yourself," for example. Plus Paul Weller's
latest, "As Is Now," which is surprisingly good.

Over the last few years, I've picked up all the Weller releases out
of a sense of loyalty to the Jam. Many have been a bit so-so, full of
"Dad Rock," I believe the phrase is. But "As Is Now" is a genuinely
solid release, with plenty of highlights.

****

For all my punk/mod leanings, I'm still geeked out about the fact
that Al Stewart will be in Chicago a week from Friday.

(He'll also be in Wisconsin this Saturday, but I don't think I'll
have enough work done by then to justify the two-hour drive to
Elkhart Lake...)

Must go hum "Roads to Moscow" now...

****

The day we ran into Belle and Sebastian in a Parisian elevator (see
http://muskrat-john.livejournal.com/2006/05/04/ for details), we also
saw Whoopie Goldberg, on Rue Clare, where she was bumming a cigarette
off of a french butcher, in English.

Honestly, if you're going to beg, at least do it in the native tongue.

***

Of the cool things awaiting me when we got back home, tops on the
list was the hardcover of the fourth Girl Genius collection.

The hardbacks are perhaps the most beautiful trade paperbacks I've
ever had the pleasure to hold in my hands. Phil and Kaja really care
about the quality of these books, both in terms of content - amazing,
as always - and physical production values.

If you have the money, I can't recommend splashing out for the Girl
Genius hardcovers enough. They're done in very limited numbers, but
are really worth it.

John


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Every now and then, a very worthwhile comic book needs your support.

This is one such instance.

I received an e-mail from Gary Beatty, at comicartistdirect.com.

I'll just reprint the e-mail in full, as this just about says it all.

_____________________________________________

Hello, everybody.

I've never sent a mass email asking friends to consider subscribing
to a comic book before, but this is a very special case. Eric
Shanower's award winning "Age of Bronze" - a 10 year project
retelling the story of the Trojan War - needs subscribers to keep the
book going.

You've probably heard me praising this work. It's the perfect way to
tell this sometimes complex story because this comic illustrates the
period costumes and architecture, carefully researched. Unlike the
Homer novels some of us have read, Eric leaves out the fantasy
elements of the gods and concentrates on people and politics. The
gods' only influence is through the people who worship them - and
interpret their will.

It's our oldest recorded adventure story retold. Fans of "Lord of the
Rings" type stories, especially, will enjoy it.

Here's how to order:
1. There are two collected volumes out in affordable softcover that
start from the beginning of the story.
2. The comic itself is bimonthly. You can jump on now and soon be up
to speed, if you'd like.
Visit www.age-of-bronze.com

I consider my subscription a worthwhile and fun contribution to the
fields of literature and art. It's important to keep history alive
for future generations.

Once again, it's available at
www.age-of-bronze.com

Thanks,
Gary Beatty
gary@...

_____________________________________________

Age of Bronze is a most wonderful book, and a great series. I know
money's tight all around, but I really can't recommend this series
highly enough. The book is beautifully written, superbly illustrated,
and a pleasure to read. It's something very special, and it's easy to
get up to speed with it, as collections are now available.

In the old days, artists would have patrons. Nowadays, the market
force is the best we can do.

I don't know Eric...I believe I only met him once, briefly, at San
Diego a few years ago. But if you'd like to try something new, and
very, very good, pick up an Age of Bronze collection. Comic geeks,
gamer geeks and history geeks alike will love this book. Give it a
try - you won't be disappointed.

Me? I'm seeing if the collections are available in hardcover. I've
got the comics already, but this is a cause worth supporting.

John

****

Over at the Dork Tower LiveJournal feed
(http://syndicated.livejournal.com/dorktowerfeed/), someone posted a
comment about "shameless recycling" of today's strip. (Not in a mean
way, I hasten to add).

I'm, afraid, until I can actually sit up and draw again on a regular
basis, though, there'll be a week or two of repeats. Something's very
wrong with my back and left leg. I'm undergoing treatments,
acupuncture, doctor's appointments, physical therapy...everything.
Nobody seems to know what's wrong, and sitting or standing is a great
deal of hurt.

Me? I blame Swiss Air, and nine-hour flights in seats better suited
for the Gnomes of Zurich.

But that's beside the point.

I apologize for the repeats, but it's prolly better than a blank space...

So what I decided to do was go through all the Dragon strips in
order, for at least some kinda historical perspective...

So it's not shameless...it's necessary...

I wish it was otherwise.

Two more doctors' appointments today. We'll see what comes of them.

By the way - two words. Vallium=overrated. For all the Rolling
Stones' singing about Mother's Little Helper, it does squat for a
cartoonists's back, as far as I can tell...

****

Pain update: I have now been put on Oxycodone. Being on Oxycodone
means I can't remember whether or not I've already told you I was put
on Oxycodone. But at least I can sit upright for longer periods of
time, and get some work done.

Look for many pink elephants in Dork Tower #33...

****

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the seriously underrated but seriousy
brilliant Scott Bateman is well past the halfway point of this
Bateman 365 project, wherein he does an animated short cartoon every
SINGLE day for a year.

This is an outstanding undertaking, and is well worth checking out
every day. here's today's offering:

http://www.batemania.com/bateman365/

PLUS, for those of you in New York, tonight's the night for the
Bateman365 Live show! They've got animation, they've got sketch
comedy, and they've got Corn Mo! Wheehaaa!

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 8PM

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 W. 26th Street, NYC

  From their web site:

_____________________________________________

8:00 pm BATEMAN365 $5
Scott Bateman is halfway through his insane project of making an
animated film every day for a year. To celebrate, we'll be showing
the best of his hilarious animation work, plus we'll have sketch
comedy and special musical guest, Corn Mo!

NY Reservations & Information
Phone : 212.366.9176
Email : info@... (reservations are not accepted via email)

_____________________________________________

Five Lousy Bucks! GO! Go, if for no other reason than I can't go!


--

John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com


DORK TOWER - http://www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - http://www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - http://www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Fifteen years ago, today, some writer for a local newspaper wrote the
following.

He was kind of young, when he wrote it. And a lot of stuff he wrote
at the time was pretty bogus. He was sorta full of himself around
that time, you know. But he tried.

Anyway, THIS piece wasn't so bad...and still hits the mark for me,
anyway, today.

Fifteen years later.

Twenty-five years after the murder of John Lennon.


****


LENNON'S LIFE, LYRICS TOUCHED MANY LIVES
By John Kovalic
Wisconsin State Journal


About five years ago, I walked out of Paul McCartney's ``Give My
Regards to Broad Street'' and into the offices of the UW student
newspaper, the Daily Cardinal, to type up my careful, considered
review of the movie.

``Somebody,'' I wrote, ``shot the wrong Beatle.''

In the days that followed, as the Cardinal devoted what I'm still
convinced were special issues - but may have been merely entire pages
- to my hate mail, I decided to crawl underneath my desk and rethink
my position. Friends told me Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene had
become so violently incensed with my review that he stopped writing
about Elvis Presely for a full five minutes to compose a column on
how young people these days didn't understand Paul McCartney.

The Bob Greene reports may have been spurious - I have yet to track
down any such column - but if I ever get around to penning my
autobiography (tentatively titled ``I Wandered Lonely as a Clod''),
I'll probably gloss over what later came to be known as ``The Broad
Street Affair.''

Instead, I'll try to focus on McCartney's recent world tour.
Specifically, on a three-song medley he performed in the middle of a
block of Beatles numbers at a mobbed Soldier Field in Chicago.

I can't even remember if he introduced the medley, yet its songs were
unbearably wrenching: ``Help!'' ``Strawberry Fields Forever,'' and
``Give Peace a Chance.''

Songs John Lennon wrote.

To be honest, McCartney's versions of ``Help!'' and ``Give Peace A
Chance'' didn't strike me as anything to write home about at the
time. They seemed rushed, and slightly harried. Maybe not dishonest,
but not from the heart.

But the emotions I felt as he moved into the opening chords of
``Strawberry Fields'' were overwhelming.

Maybe it was the deferred hope diffused in ``Strawberry Fields'' that
McCartney captured that night. Or perhaps it was simply his relative
difficulty in relating to the lonely pain of ``Help!'' or the subdued
urgency of ``Give Peace a Chance'' that made the middle song so
powerful by comparison.

But - at that moment, during the opening chords of an abbreviated
song he hadn't even written - McCartney transformed his performance
from Oldies Concert to Happening.

There seems to be a division among some Beatles fans, between Lennon
supporters and McCartney apologists. It's as if nobody can quite
accept the fact that the band that produced ``And Your Bird Can
Sing'' also put ``Good Day Sunshine'' on ``Revolver.''

Every other radio station under the sun will be playing blocks of
Lennon's music today, on the 10th anniversary of his murder. ``And
Your Bird Can Sing'' will undoubtedly be among them.

And at some point, there'll be a Lennon song - it may be this or any
one, it depends on how I'm feeling at the time - that gives me pause,
that makes me think back to a cold day during my first year at the
University of London, when I couldn't believe the news.

At the time, I was a staunch McCartney apologist. In a sense - a few
movie reviews to the contrary - I still am.

But when I heard the news, I felt cold.

Ten years ago, the BBC pulled its regularly scheduled evening
broadcasts in the wake of the murder, and ran the movie ``Help!''
instead.

At some point today, a radio station will play a song. And I'll start
thinking about how one man can touch so many lives.

(c) 1990, Wisconsin State Journal


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
http://www.editorialcartoonists.com

DORK TOWER - www.dorktower.com
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK - www.drblink.com
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Kobolds Ate My Baby - www.koboldsatemybaby.com
Not your average baby eating game!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Home at last! Yay!

***

At some point I will have Con reports up for Essen, Lucca and DorkStock.

For now, though, I'm just kinda happy life is getting back to normal.

After as much work as I was able to get done
yesterday, the Lovely and Talented Judith and I
finally had a relaxed, normal evening together.

I made some fresh bread, some Curried Winter
Squash soup (from a fabulous recipe printed
below), and caught up on a few episodes of "Rome"
we'd Tivo'ed.

Tonight...grocery shopping! Joy!

***

This is seriously a fine soup - one of my
favorites, and a rare use of squash, for me.
Plus? Easy to make, and great for Autumn/Winter.

Curried Winter Squash Soup.

2 1/2 pounds of squash, peeled and seeded.
3 cooking apples, peeled and seeded.
48 ounces of stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 onion (medium), chopped.
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 T Madras or Sweet curry powder
1 t coriander
2-4 dashes of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of rice
1 cup heavy cream or evaporated skimmed milk
3 T lime juice.

Put everything except the cream and lime juice
into a large pot, and bring to the boil. Simmer
for 1/2 hour. Cool slightly, then blend with a
hand blender (or food processor), until smooth.

On medium heat, stir in cream (for a more
luxurious soup) or evaporated milk (for a
healthier but still fantastic version , and lime
juice. Serve garnished with chopped chives or
cilantro.

***

Anyone not keeping up with Scott Bateman's
(http://www.batemania.com) "Bateman365" project
is missing out.

Scott is insane. He's doing an animated editorial
cartoon every day, for a full year. And he's
getting some big names to help, including a
number of way cool indy bands.

Day 84 (http://www.batemania.com/bateman365/day084.html ) rocks ass Elmer!

Also, make sure to keep up with Scott's
Sketchbook of Secrets and Shame
(http://www.batemania.com/sketchbook/), which is
totally off-the-wall fab, and has inspired me to
sketch more.

***

On the minus side, I fear I'll be pulling out of GenCon SoCal and Dragonmeet.

I'm just too tired, and I need time at home to
recharge the batteries, and get work done.

And make some soup, y'know?

***

"Munchkin 4: Need for Steed" is at the printers
now. The cover is up on my LiveJournal right now
(http://www.livejournal.com/users/muskrat_john/).

***

And "Kobolds Ate My Baby" ships from the printers in two weeks!

ALL HAIL KING...uh...you know what I mean...

***

Big news for Out of the Box Games
(http://www.otb-games.com), of which I'm a
co-founder and co-owner:

PRESS RELEASE - November 7, 2005

Snorta named Games Magazine's Party Game of the Year

Out of the Box Publishing celebrates another Party Game of the Year Award.

Richland Center, Wisconsin - Games Magazine has
just announced its annual "Games 100" Awards for
the top new games for 2006. The winner in the
Party Game category is Snorta from Out of the Box
Publishing.

Recently released, Snorta features a brilliant
combination of simultaneous play, memory, and
hilarious barnyard sounds, resulting in laughter
at every turn.

"The last game from Out of the Box to win this
award was Apples to Apples," says Mark Osterhaus,
Out of the Box Publishing President. "Snorta
represents our second win in this category, and
we could not be more excited!"

The Games Magazine "Games 100" is a yearly
feature highlighting the year's top 100 games.
The publication awards winners in categories such
as Party Games, Abstract Strategy, Card Games,
and Two-Player Games.

SNORTA! is for 4-8 players, ages 7 to adult.
SNORTA! is only available at specialty toy and
gift retailers - at a suggested retail of $19.99.

For more information on SNORTA!, click here.

For high-resolution, downloadable images of SNORTA!, click here.

Since 1999, Out of the Box Publishing has been
recognized as an industry leader in the design of
award-winning card and board games. Headquartered
in Richland Center Wisconsin, Out of the Box
Publishing produces a full line of games for the
whole family.

***

Plus, retailers predict Apples to Apples will be
a top-10 seller this Christmas:

Hot for the Holidays
Retailers Predict Top-10 Christmas Toys
By Alison Marek
Toydirectory.com

November 2005

The Big Box stores may be stocking up on Bratz,
Star Wars and electronic gizmos, but specialty
retailers have their own set of hot items to make
this holiday season bright. According to
TDmonthly Magazine's survey, retailers across the
land are predicting that this Christmas will be
more nice than naughty, and that traditional toys
will be their best sellers. So, if you're looking
to do some last-minute ordering, here are the
toys that we think will do well (and don't forget
to check in next month to see an in-depth
breakdown by some of the most popular holiday
categories):

http://www.toydirectory.com/monthly/article.asp?id=1656

Apples to Apples by OUT OF THE BOX PUBLISHING

Apples to Apples by OUT OF THE BOX PUBLISHING
Apples to Apples is a wild, award-winning card
and party game that provides instant fun for four
to 10 players. It's as easy as "comparing apples
to apples" ... players need only open the box and
deal the cards to be ready to play. They then
select the card from their hands that they think
is best described by a card played by the judge.
If the judge picks their card, they win that
round. Everyone gets a chance to be the judge.
Each round is filled with surprising and
outrageous comparisons from a wide range of
people, places, things and events. Fast moving
and refreshing, Apples to Apples is perfect for
any get together with family and friends.
- Games were cited as one of the most popular
toys year-round by most retailers surveyed.
- "Games are hot," said Ricki Block of Ariel's
Child in New Windsor, NY. Apples to Apples is one
of her hottest.
- "Sales have doubled every year," enthused Matt
Mariani of Out of the Box. "We´re struggling to
keep up to the demand." 4/22/2005 (Price: $29.99;
Age: 12 and up)

***

OK. Enough, already!

Gotta go make some soup...

John





--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
http://www.editorialcartoonists.com

DORK TOWER #32
At press NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a
witty, fast-paced, intelligent spoof that pokes
eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Just a friendly reminder, all!

Come to Dorkstock!

http://www.dorkstock.com

http://www.rock-con.com

Bring all your dorky friends!

Play lotsa games! Win lotsa prizes!

See the cool new Dorkstock limited edition T-shirts! Meet the Real
Igor, and play Kobolds Ate My Baby with him! Witness the Great
Lukeski in Dorkstock's first-ever concert! Play in the Chicagoland
Munchkin Bites II launch! Sample new Out of the Box games before
they're released! Laugh at me being so jetlagged and exhausted on
Saturday and Sunday (the days I'll be there)! And lots and lots more!

John

(yes, I'm back home...at LAST...10:30 pm last night, believe it or not...)
--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
http://www.editorialcartoonists.com

DORK TOWER #32
At press NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

In London now. Fly home tomorrow.

"Home." What a concept...

Been gone so long, looks like up to me...

****

Lucca - big, brilliant, insane, utterly, utterly mad and completely wonderful.

Judith and I have NEVER been treated so well, and I've never worked so hard.

I had no idea what to expect from the Italian readers, but their
reception was without doubt one of the most special ones my work's
ever received.

I will have a LOT more to say on this, and Essen, and this entire
bloody month soon.

But for now, I'm exhausted and incredibly happy with all the crazy,
wonderful Italian readers I got to meet...

****

Dork Tower 32 review from the Comic Book Network Emag. No spoilers, so, yay:

<b>Dork Tower #32 by Dork Storm</B>

I got a kick out of That Grrrl!  You can probably do a spin-off title
with That Grrrl, she has spunk and charisma and makes a great
superheroine.  I had a great laugh throughout Dork Tower #32, I am
not an artist, but deal with many artists and I think my artists
would have gotten a kick out of the constructive criticism an artist
receives, there were many hilarious moments to the story.  I have met
many dorks that use the terms 'neat' and 'swell' and they haven't
learned new phrases that would have made them sound cool.  Today when
I went to A1 Comics, I was deciding if I should get The Dark Age Book
One #4 (Astro City) or Dork Tower #32.  I decided on Dork Tower #32,
because we all need some good laughs and you always provide them with
your comic book!
--
John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games, Publishers of
APPLES TO APPLES * WHAD'YA KNOW? * BLINK * BOSWORTH *  GOLD DIGGER
MY WORD! *  SHIPWRECKED * SQUINT * SWITCH * WHEEDLE * 10 DAYS
http://www.otb-games.com

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"
    Exit, pursued by a muskrat...

There seems to be some confusion about my upcoming schedule, so
here's the latest word, as updated at dorktower.com:


SPIEL
Thursday, October 13, 2005 - Sunday, October 16, 2005
Essen, Germany
<a
href=http://www.merz-verlag.com/spiel/e000.php4>http://www.merz-verlag.com/spiel\
/e000.php4</a>
I've been invited by the good folks at Pegasus Publishing, so look
for their booth!


International Exhibit of Comics and Games
Saturday, October 29, 2005 - Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Lucca, Italy
<a
href=http://www.luccacomicsandgames.com/05/default.asp>http://www.luccacomicsand\
games.com/05/default.asp</a>
Raven Distribution and Nexus Editrice have asked me over, so look for
me at their booths. My dad used to work in Itlay, but I haven't been
back for far too long. I can't wait to get there again!


ROCK-CON/DORKSTOCK IV
Friday, November 04, 2005 - Sunday, November 06, 2005
Rockford, IL
<a href=http://www.rock-con.com/>http://www.rock-con.com/</a>
<a href=http://wwwdorkstock.com/>http://wwwdorkstock.com/</a>
Two-and-a-half days of games, muskrats, and me, all housed in a great
regional con with tons of gaming! Plus the annual Army of Dorkness
expedition to Beef-A-Roo! (Note: because the World Fantasy Con is in
Madison this year, I may have to leave early some nights.)


DRAGONMEET (unconfirmed, but possible)
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Kensington Town Hall, London
<a href=http://www.dragonmeet.com/>http://www.dragonmeet.com/</a>
London's friendliest RPG convention. I should know soon if I'll be
there or not. I hope to be!


WARPCON
Friday, January 27, 2006 - Sunday, January 29, 2006
University College,. Cork, Ireland
<a href=http://www.warpcon.com/>http://www.warpcon.com/</a>
This will be my fifth year at Warpcon, a truly fabulous time! I'm
tremendously thrilled! And dang it, I pledge to drag James Wallis
with me!

***

By the way, the auction of the original artwork for hurricane relief
has been expanded.

It should start Monday, but there will be some VERY cool Dork Tower
and Munchkin stuff.

I mean, really, REALLY cool.

You should see some of the stuff.

WOW, it's  hard keeping quiet about this.

So let me just say NEIL GAIMAN, ALTON BROWN, WIL WHEATON and STEVE
JACKSON are all helping out! BIG time!

Woot!

Check Dorktower.com (http://www.dorktower.com) and the Muskrat
Ramblings LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/muskrat_john)
for updates.



--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 - http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES - http://www.otb-games.com

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
http://www.editorialcartoonists.com

DORK TOWER #31
Out NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Apologies for sending that twice, folks...

John


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DORK TOWER #31
Out NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Lots of good suggestions are coming in for what we shall now call the
"Huzzah for Hollywood" competition.

So I thought there should be some rules to the thing, and mention
what the actual prizes will be.

Basically, send your thoughts about who you'd like to see in a Dr.
Blink movie, and a Dork Tower movie, casting the following roles:

DR: BLINK: THE MOVIE
___________ as Dr. Blink
___________ as Tracy, his receptionist
___________ as Emma, his daughter
___________ as Captain Omnipotent
___________ as Major Amazing
___________ as Athena
___________ as Nocturne
___________ as Jimmy Hogan, ex-Wonder Boy
___________ as The Quizzler
With special Guest Appearance by ___________ as ___________ !

DORK TOWER: THE MOVIE
Starring:
___________ as Matt
___________ as Igor
___________ as Ken
___________ as Carson (voicing the cgi character)
___________ as Gilly
___________ as Kayleigh
___________ as Bill
With special Guest Appearance by ___________ as ___________ !

I'll take entries until 8 am, Central Standard Time, Monday, August
7th. Entries can be posted at the dorktower.com feedback section, or
at my LifeJournal's original post, here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/muskrat_john/2005/08/04/

The prize for what I think the best Dr. Blink casting is will be the
first-ever copy of Super Munchkin that's I've ever signed.

The prize for what I think the best Dork Tower casting is will be a
copy of Munchkin Bites, signed by me.

A bonus prize for an honorable mention or something will be a copy of
My Dwarves fly, signed by - you guessed it - me.

(I know some of this is repeated from yesterday's post, but that came
as an edit, so some folks might have missed the fact that there are
prizes to be handed out.)

Huzzah for Hollywood!


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DORK TOWER #31
Out NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

Lots of good suggestions are coming in for what we shall now call the
"Huzzah for Hollywood" competition.

So I thought there should be some rules to the thing, and mention
what the actual prizes will be.

Basically, send your thoughts about who you'd like to see in a Dr.
Blink movie, and a Dork Tower movie, casting the following roles:

DR: BLINK: THE MOVIE
___________ as Dr. Blink
___________ as Tracy, his receptionist
___________ as Emma, his daughter
___________ as Captain Omnipotent
___________ as Major Amazing
___________ as Athena
___________ as Nocturne
___________ as Jimmy Hogan, ex-Wonder Boy
___________ as The Quizzler
With special Guest Appearance by ___________ as ___________ !

DORK TOWER: THE MOVIE
Starring:
___________ as Matt
___________ as Igor
___________ as Ken
___________ as Carson (voicing the cgi character)
___________ as Gilly
___________ as Kayleigh
___________ as Bill
With special Guest Appearance by ___________ as ___________ !

I'll take entries until 8 am, Central Standard Time, Monday, August
7th. Entries can be posted at the dorktower.com feedback section, or
at my LifeJournal's original post, here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/muskrat_john/2005/08/04/

The prize for what I think the best Dr. Blink casting is will be the
first-ever copy of Super Munchkin that's I've ever signed.

The prize for what I think the best Dork Tower casting is will be a
copy of Munchkin Bites, signed by me.

A bonus prize for an honorable mention or something will be a copy of
My Dwarves fly, signed by - you guessed it - me.

(I know some of this is repeated from yesterday's post, but that came
as an edit, so some folks might have missed the fact that there are
prizes to be handed out.)

Huzzah for Hollywood!

****

Was anyone at last night's Madison Mallards game?

It was a marathon game that should have been a blowout, but ended in
a nail-biter. I *hate* nail-biters.

Anyway, the Mallards won, and are now in a three-way tie for first
place in the North Woods League Southern Division.

Go Mallards!

If anyone *was* there, however, and got one of the Monty's Blue Plate
Diner baseball cards they were handing out at the end of the game,
I'd love to talk. :-)

By the time the game was over, they'd given them all out (a lot of
people left early, as the game was 10-5 in the eighth inning. It
ended up 10-9, with a full count and the bases loaded before
Madison's ace reliever, Matt Petty, finally struck out the Eau Claire
Express' Casey Garms. So those of us who waited until the last pitch
didn't get one).

Judith and I are collecting the whole set of cards, so if there's a a
spare one around, it would be appreciated..


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DORK TOWER #31
Out NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'm running a little contest over at my LiveJournal: choose your cast
for a Dork Tower or a Dr. Blink movie.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/muskrat_john/

Prizes to be determined. But they'll be cool.

John


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DORK TOWER #31
Out NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I don't think there are any spoilers in these...I'm very happy with
some of the points the Comixtreme reviewer brought up.


Dr. Blink #2

http://www.comixtreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19194


Dork Tower #31

http://www.comixtreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19192

In other news, Dork Tower #32 is coming along great! More Igor and
the convention, more Matt and Gilly...I'm REALLY having fun with this
issue!

John


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DORK TOWER #31
Out NOW!
"Supermegaexcellent!"  - THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #2
Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches." - THE
ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Many thanks to all who've e-mailed me, asking about my family and
friends in London.

All are, as far as I can tell, fine.

My thoughts are up at Muskrat Ramblings right now, but are best
summed up by old Londoner who lived through the blitz and got caught
up in the Canary Wharf explosion: "I've been blown up by a better
class of bastard than this!"

John


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #1 by Kovalic and Jones - Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches,
launches a complicated, multi-thread story, and still leaves room for
snarky lines like "With great power comes not being a dumbass"..." -
THE ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey, all,

Chris and I have been getting reports from around the world (yes,
world) that some people are being told by their friendly neighborhood
stores that there are no more Dr. Blink #1s available.

This is not the case.

As previously mentioned, we pulled 1,000 promo copies to get back
into the distribution chain, as all distributors apparently sold out
in quick order.

We'll also be resoliciting issues #0 and #1 when issue #3 solicits in
May, to help get copies back out there (although this should pretty
much clean us out of what we have left, as there's not many).

However, a SNAFU in Diamond's system means that asking for Dr. Blink
by name will not, at the moment, help. They are working diligently to
resolve the problem, but in the meantime, you must ask for Dr. Blink
#1 by number.

Specifically, the easy-to-remember number AUG042674.

That number again: AUG042674.

Don't delay - order today: AUG042674.

Does any of this make sense?

Didn't think so.

John


--

John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK #1 by Kovalic and Jones - Out NOW!
"...Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink (Dork Storm), a witty, fast-paced,
intelligent spoof that pokes eruditely into superhero psyches,
launches a complicated, multi-thread story, and still leaves room for
snarky lines like "With great power comes not being a dumbass"..." -
THE ONION

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Holy cow!

We've had reports of Dr. Blink #1 sales being good...very good...

Now we've found out that Diamond Comics Distribution has sold out
already, like, twelve HOURS after the book hit the stands!

And we were pretty darn happy with Diamond's initial order to begin with!

Diamond's promised us more purchase orders.

We've also heard FM International needs to reorder.

Um...pardon my French, but...

HOLY ZARQUON SINGING FISHES!

John


--


John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"

      Exit, pursued by a muskrat...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey, all,

It's official: starting immediately, the Dork Tower comic book will
be Full Color for the foreseeable future.

Gads, I hope this works out. I'm pretty scared about it, but also
pretty excited.

The price will rise to $3.49 with issue #32 (issue #31 will be $2.99,
as originally solicited), but if we get some more advertisers on
board, I'm hoping to bring the price back down to $2.99.

Of course, the price has only risen from $2.95 to $2.99 in the six
years I've been doing the comic book, so I hope folks don't mind too
much. A lot of other costs have gone up over the years, and printing
several thousand copies of a comic doesn't have the same Economy of
Scales that the bigger boys enjoy, when they print several DOZEN
thousand comics.

But I like color comics. Issue #30 (in many stores today) was a joy
to work on, and what started off a a "thank-you" to the readers now
seems to be the direction for the comic book. Dr. Blink #1 (shipping
now) just SHINES in color. Melissa Kaercher (Dr. Blink's colorist)
has been giving me tons of tips to help make DT #31 pop. I just can't
see going back to black-and-white, unless I really, really have to.

Fingers crossed.

I REALLY hope that I can afford the good paper for the Trade
Paperbacks. "The Tao of Igor," the ninth Dork Tower trade paperback,
which will collect Dork Tower issues 30-33, will, with luck, be the
first in full color. I've no idea on the pricing of this, yet, and
it's a long way off. ("Go, Dork, Go," the eight TPB (July), will be
Black and White, like those before it.)

Should my schedule ever open up, and should the financing be there,
it would be fun to go back and re-release the first eight trade
paperbacks in color. But that's so far off, even the HORIZON doesn't
see it.

Anyway, here's the announcement:

___________________________________________________________

DSP 032
Dork Tower #32: "First CONtact"
First Printing
32 Pages $3.49
Full Color
ISBN 1-930964-84-6
Written, pencilled and inked by John Kovalic

SHIPPING MAY 2005

DORK TOWER GOES FULL COLOR WITH ISSUE #32!

HUZZAH! Dork Storm Press announced that the Dork Tower comic book
will be published in full color, starting with issue #31.

"It's a bold and stupid move," said series creator John Kovalic. "But
after experimenting with color on issue #30, it's hard to go back. My
name is John, and I'm addicted to color printing. Please help."

It's Igor vs. the Convention, and only one will survive! It's Day One
of Mud Con, and the best-laid plans of Con chairman Igor have to
survive their first contact with reality. Say...what's Guest of Honor
Wil Wheaton doing swinging from the light fixtures with a bottle of
Jim Beam in his hand? PLUS: "Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink" by John
Kovalic and Christopher Jones, and "Lethargic Lad" by Greg Hyland.
NOW IN FULL COLOR!

John Kovalic is the multi-award winning creator of Dork Tower, as
well as the artist behind the million-selling Apples to Apples party
game, the Munchkin card game phenomena, and many other pieces that
have entertained millions.

--


John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"

      Exit, pursued by a muskrat...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The BIG NEWS:

Dork Tower #30 goes to press Tuesday.

It will be in full color!

Yes, color.

Meaning (obviously) Dork Tower will be in color...(less obviously)
Dr. Blink and Lethargic Lad will be in color...it's ALL in
color...Now if I  can just add color to the letters
page...hmmmmmm.....

This is my "thank you" to everyone who's supported the comic book
over the years.

To help keep costs down a bit, it will be 32 pages long, instead of
the usual 40, but it will still have 20 pages of Dork Tower comics in
it, as always. and it will still be $2.99, as advertised.

I am editing and re-editing it now.

I think folks will REALLY like this one. I'm personally VERY happy
with the story. In its own way, I think it's as good as issue 29,
which is one of my all-time favorite stories.

It should be in stores shortly.

Thirty issues.

Wow.

Thank you.

Thank you ALL.

****

Three days ago, we had a huge snowfall here in Wisconsin.

Two days ago, we had a huge rainfall. And flooding.

Yesterday, the temperatures turned Arctic.

Today, the wind chill is around -20, Farenheit.

At some point, I assume the Plague of Frogs comes.

I am very much looking forward to Ireland.

VERY much.

****

By the way, the proofs for Dork Tower #30 will be going with me to
Warpcon, for the charity auction.

Did I mention I'm REALLY happy with this issue.

And did I say "thank you"  to  everyone, for letting me do this for
thirty issues?

  From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

John



--


John Kovalic
Director, Dork Storm Press LLC, Box 45063,
Madison, WI 53744 http://www.dorktower.com

Art Director, Out of the Box Games
Publishers of APPLES TO APPLES

"Soylens Viridis Homines Est"

      Exit, pursued by a muskrat...