Friday, November 28, 2008

The Secret Cross Blog is LIVE! [Secret Cross]

The Weird War One comic I'm working on (with Stephen Lindsay and Dominic Vivona) has its own website now, and more importantly: its own blog. So, please follow that link and check it out, as I will be doing Secret Cross updates, previews and etc through there!

Once again: THE SECRET CROSS BLOG.

Come on down and look around... leave a comment to let us know what ye think.





Welcome to the Weird Front, troop-- we all have a secret cross to bear.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Midnight Mini pr0n - Mutant Chronicles [Minis!]

Tonight I'm taking a break from watching The Lighthorsemen so that I might post this new find in the world of miniatures. Now, I'm a long-time fan of Mutant Chronicles, primarily the RPG. It would seem the master-lords of boardgames and Warhammer roleplay material, Fantasy Flight Games, have a collectible miniature wargame for my beloved Mutant Chronicles.

Sadly, having seen the movie with my special mutant powers, I don't think it will help the sales of this game much. However, these 54mm minis may just sell the game on their own.

And before you start-- Yes, I am well aware that Inquisitor immediately springs to mind when you see these. But then again, MC was already deeply drinking from the 40k cup anyway.



There's the starter box, above. Go ahead and click on it to see what you get when you drop the $30 USD required to possess it.



Dudes with swords. Huzzah!



Yeah, those guys are pretty sexay.





Nice.



Hey, look! Kroot-taurs.

What.

More minis-action here, and that includes some cool looking Capitol guys.

The official page for the whole Mutant Chronicles collectible minis-game is here.

I really don't know how the game plays completely, but it looks pretty cool. It also claims to have some cool new army building kinda madness, which is also cool.

Maybe I'll check it out. But for now we can enjoy these high-quality pre-painted figs.
(I also assume the figures are plastic.)

Or this game could totally suck in a mind-blowing manner. I guess we'll find out when it hits shelves.

Now... back to my WWI movie, dammit.

Page in the Execution [Secret Cross]

I was going to wait until Monday to show this off... but goddammit, it's so damned good we feel the need the world should see it now.

Below is a page (just pencils and inks) by primary Secret Cross artist Dominic Vivona. It's the opening page for the first Secret Cross short, Humanity in the Execution. It should be also noted that this is where the primary Secret Cross story kicks off.


As always, be sure to click on the image to see it in all of its beautiful glory.

While there are quite a few stories being worked on, here are the shorts which are already at the art stages:

Humanity in the Execution
Höllenhaus
Tank Eaters
Frohe Weinachten

Have no fear, other stories are being written up as I type this. And hopefully we can get art to all of them!

For more on this project that Stephen Lindsay, Dominic Vivona, me, and our guest-artist friends are hard at work on, just visit this last post and follow the links.


And remember:

WE ALL HAVE A SECRET CROSS TO BEAR.

(more information and previews can now be found here)

We all have a Secret Page to bear... [Secret Cross]

Here's some of what I posted in my Livejournal earlier...

Like I've said a couple times already, Stephen Lindsay and I are writing up comic shorts under the banner TALES OF THE SECRET CROSS to be put up on the Secret Cross website very soon. Already, the artists we're working with are churning out superior work straight from their dark and twisted hearts, helping us chronicle this covert German outfit and spanning from 1869 to 1925.

One story that is being written by Stephen (or Steve-L as only I like to call him!) is Höllenhaus, which has the remarkable Breno Tamura on art duties. And guess what I have for you? The first pencilled and inked page!


Go ahead and give that image a click to make it bigger, ja!


And here are the links to the previous SECRET CROSS posts:
Eddy, Black Hans and Willi designs and a group shot.
Roy and Zhel.
Jup and Rudi.
Captain Füller and a Soldat.
Original teaser/cover image and some information on the Secret Cross.

More to come soon!



Thursday, November 20, 2008

Weird War Love [Comics Safari!]

Instead of miniatures this witching hour, how about some Weird War Tales covers? Yeah?

I thought so.

See, I just can't help loving this classic comic book anthology series-- especially after the work I've been doing on The Secret Cross. This stuff is inspirational, entertaining, and highly, highly influential for me.

I grew up on these books, man.

DC - Weird War Tales - No.3 - Feb,1972 by DaddyNewt.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/Weird_War_Tales_1971_1.jpg

I love that one above. Brilliant!

weird_war_tales_89 by gorillamen.com.

Nazi gorillas... imagine that!

Weird War Tales No. 40 by FromConcentrate.

Above is a fave from when I was a youngin'.

weird_war_tales_120 by gorillamen.com.

G.I. Robot!!!

Weird War Tales No. 39 by FromConcentrate.

Ahhhh... A Kubert CLASSIC.

http://www.centaursite.com/comics/weirdwar/ww01.jpg

Ever wonder what's wrong with comics today? I'll tell you: NOT ENOUGH CENTAURS VS. TANKS. That's pretty much it in a nutshell, folks.

http://molarradio.ca/photo/MR053-2007-04-11_DBT_Cover.jpg

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/weird-war-tales/16-1.jpg

Nein! Voodoo Ratzis!

Weird War Tales 9

AWESOME.

Weird War Tales 15

Of course, I'm partial to anything WWI these days.

Weird War Tales 48

Weird War Tales 73

Weird War Tales 80

Above is another all-time Weird War fave cover o' mine.

And before we're done, you HAVE to see this:

Weird War Tales 98

That is such a rad cover.

I pulled these images from all over the web, but one great place I found eventually is coverbrowser.com! Here are their Weird War Tales ones.

See if you can find one with the undead Native American warriors going to battle in space.


God, I love Weird War Tales. And I dug the Vertigo re-vamp ones, too... but they just didn't have the same feel (though they were still fantastic).

Alright, bedtime for me. Hope you enjoyed this!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Midnight Mini pr0n - Empress Miniatures [Minis!]

You don't hear very often about women playing wargames and the like-- so I bet you thought you'd never EVER hear about two women deciding to design and manufacture their own minis lines! But that's exactly what happened in the case of Empress Miniatures...

So here, take a look at what they've done with their first line of 28mm miniatures, covering the 1879 Zulu Wars:





Be sure to click on the pictures if you want to see exactly where they came from!



And now that you've seen some Brits, here's some Zulus...


http://www.empressminiatures.com/USERIMAGES/ZWZ01.JPG



Very nice, eh? Be sure to spend some time at their site here.

They also provide some free rules to play by!


Right, I'm tired. Time for bed! See you soon for another Midnight Mini pr0n!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Three new character designs and a group shot! [Secret Cross]

Hola, folks!

Today I would like to introduce you to the following...

The primary sergeant and senior NCO Eddy Rosin of the Secret Cross unit we focus on in the main story. He likes using the shotgun as his preferred means of "negotiation":


Then we have Black Hans, a native of Kamerun (Cameroon)-- he's the history, occult studies and demonology expert:


And last, but certainly not least, we have Willi, who is Moravian and acts as the unit's medic and fortifications specialist:


It should be known he's holding that rifle for someone else. Willi doesn't like guns all that much.


And here's a group shot that Stephen Lindsay whipped up of Dominic Vivona's amazing character designs:


Remember, you can always click on the images to make them bigger!

Right now we are working on the Official Secret Cross website so that it's not just that killer placeholder image you'll see.



In case you missed anything: Information and original teaser cover image here, Captain Füller and a Soldat here, Jup and Rudi here, Roy and Zhel here.


The pages of the first story, "Humanity in the Execution", are underway now.


See you soon!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Two new Secret Cross characters! [Secret Cross]

Below are a couple more character designs for THE SECRET CROSS, as done by the massively talented Dominic Vivona.

Also, www.secretcross.com is in our hands now. Expect a site there soon.

Also, also, a Secret Cross anthology? One where it has the very first mission of the Allmacht's Secret Cross in 1870, MORE WWI madness, and maybe even a tale set in 1905 Colonial German Africa? You betcha. There is already a new tale as done by another very talented artist that we should reveal soon.

Until then, enjoy these characters!

First up we have Jäger Roy Kaplan, a man of Jewish heritage who is fiercely dedicated to his Reich and Kaiser. Roy is an infiltration and suppression expert and is utterly, utterly fearless.



Next up is Serzhant (Sgt.) Zhel, a serious bad-ass from Bulgaria. If you need someone to butcher a path through the enemy with his bare hands, this is your man. Mess with Zhel at your own peril, lest you become the mess yourself.



And there you go! More character designs should be landing soon. In the meantime, try to keep those smokes lit and socks dry.

Be sure to check out the char-designs for Jup and Rudi, then Captain Füller and a Soldat, as well as the excellent cover/teaser images Dom did (and more info on the SC can be found there too)!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Secret Cross Armistice Day teasers and interview [Secret Cross]

Happy Armistice/Remembrance/Veteran's day to everyone, and I would like to thank all the vets out there for their outstanding service to their respective countries. A great big Thank You goes out to my father as well, who not only served in the Marines in the 50's and then later in the Air Force in Thailand during the Vietnam War but was also a Cold Warrior and was there to be the top Radar Tech guy for E-3A NATO AWACS during the 80's (read here for cool NATO AWACS info).

In the spirit of the day, I have two more of Dom's character designs to show you:


Go ahead and click on them to make 'em bigger. Who you're seeing is Jup, a jack-of-all-trades scout-sniper, mechanic and pilot (actually based on a real WWII vet I knew while growing up in Germany); and Rudi, the heavy weapons, axe-swinging driver of the unit. Don't worry, there are more guys coming, and then there are, of course, all of the "expendables" (not that these "name" guys are sacred or anything!).

The other treat I have for you is the interview Stephen Lindsay (my writing/creation partner) did for Comic Monsters. READ IT HERE!

And just in case you're showing up for the first time, check out the first two character designs here, and the SECRET CROSS teaser/cover image here. All art by the masterful Dominic Vivona!

Alrighty, stay tuned for more madness to come, troops.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Mininight Mini pr0n - Troll Forged [Minis!]

http://www.trollsforge.com/mutant/mutant1.jpg

Tonight, I would like to treat you to Troll Forged! This is a top-notch operation, folks, and is a testament to homebrew mini-creation and sales. I mean, just look at those Mutants! And all of this... sexy, sexy stuff...

http://www.trollsforge.com/alternative/greatdevil1.jpg

Breathtaking, no?

http://www.trollsforge.com/orcgoblin/orcink1.jpg

That's one hell of an Orc!!

They do traditional, too...

http://www.trollsforge.com/alternative/knight1.jpg

Nice... But, really, their creatures are something to behold!


http://www.trollsforge.com/monstrous/gatroll1.jpg

The prices aren't bad, either.

Make sure to click on those pic for more info on the respective mini (and to see them BIGGER).

And be sure to explore Troll Forged Miniatures further!!


Man, anyone involved with these outstanding minis NEEDS your money. They require it. So, go on, GIVE IT TO THEM.

See you next time, you minis pervs!

The Secret Cross Gets Underway! [Secret Cross]

Hey folks! It looks like The Secret Cross, the WWI (etc) horror comic book project that Stephen Lindsay, Dominic Vivona and myself are working on is trucking ahead at full speed!

Check out these two character designs Dom is showing off:







Be sure to click on the images to see them in all of their bigger-sized glory.

We're thinking the first 12-page short, HUMANITY IN THE EXECUTION, will land in early December. Keep your fingers crossed-- secret crossed!

Yes. I just said that. You have my permission to intardnet beat me up now.

For more information on THE SECRET CROSS, see this post!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Midnight Mini pr0n - Reaper Madness Zwei [Minis!]



Ach, mein Gott! Have you seen the REICH OF THE DEAD miniatures Reaper is putting out? Damn! Just look at these guys! The above is a "Kroid Officer". I dunno what a "Kroid" is, as Reaper hasn't been forthcoming with rules or details, but I'm going to assume they're German-like undead dude.




Above we have a Kroid Sniper. Nice!



And then we have a Kroid Machine Gunner (above). But what about the Allies? Glad you asked!




Above we see an American NCO with a Thompson. Wait, are they undead too??




Looks like it, yeah? I sure as hell hope so. That'd be RAD!

Oh, and lookee here... 3-packs:




DEAD. SEXY.
(What? I can't help myself!)

For the whole line so far, go HERE. And don't forget, each of those images you see above here can be clicked on to take you to their respective entries.

I'll be keeping an eye out for announcements on this new line and game! I simply cannot wait to spend my money on it. I may even join the forums, too.

Don't be surprised if you see more Reaper Madness going on here... they have a few really cool miniature lines.

Until next time, stay necro-frosty!