Blue Wraith

The Blue Wraith is unmasked!

Who is he? More importantly, what’s he gonna do with all that cash?!?

Hey don’t forget, this weekend is the one-year anniversary sale down at Time Tunnel Comics and Collectibles in Mt. Lebanon. The sale will definitely run on Sunday, but possibly Saturday as well. Go to http://www.timetunnelpgh.com/ or call (412)207-2911 for more information.

So today’s strip was a little late. I was very close to getting it in before the clock struck twelve, but then I hit a wall. A big fat dialogue wall. So I did what I normally do to break my walls down; I walked the dog. For some reason, whenever I take him out to go to the bathroom ideas just come to me.

It looks like Candy and 8-Ball are movin’ on up. Who’s the mystery man? Tune in next week to find out.

Have a great weekend!

I made it with 39 minutes to spare! I’m still technically on my M-W-F schedule even though today’s is woefully late.

I had planned on working on the strip yesterday, but we ended up celebrating a friend’s birthday which included watching the Pittsburgh Steelers beat up the Cleveland Browns on TV then go to see Paranormal Activity.

It’s Wednesday! Get out there and support your local comic shop!

What’s everybody reading these days? What’s your current favorite comic?

Lots of stuff going on this weekend. First up, The Weirdlings gang is attending the Baltimore Comicon, which is an awesome show. If you’ve never gone, you should. It’s a great show for fans, it attracts a lot of big name creators.

That said, I am not going to the BCC this weekend. I’ll be attending Podcamp Pittsburgh which is taking place this Saturday & Sunday down at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Podcamps take place all over the country and it’s a free conference, run by and for people who create, enjoy, or are interested in learning more about social media.

It’s great for for people who create, enjoy or are interested in learning more about blogs, vlogs, audio podcasts, web video, content networks and new media monetization. If there’s a Podcamp in your town, try to get check it out.

Well we survived another 24 Hour Comic Day. It was great experience and a lot of fun, but super-tiring. Scott and I were the last men standing at Time Tunnel, but we didn’t quite get all 24 pages done. I’ve got about five more pages to finish and when I do, I’ll make sure to post them.

Thanks again to Pat Donley, owner of Time Tunnel Comics and host of 24HCD and also thanks to Larry Young, publisher of AiT/Planet Lar, who came all the way to Pittsburgh to hang out with us.

It’s Wednesday! The best day of the week for us comic book geeks. Overall it seems like it’s a pretty light week, but here’s what I’m planning on getting:

BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #2 (OF 3) $2.99
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #4 $2.99
GREEN LANTERN #46 (BLACKEST NIGHT) $2.99
LAST DAYS OF ANIMAL MAN #5 (OF 6) $2.99
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #607 $2.99
THOR #603 $3.99
DIE HARD YEAR ONE #1 $3.99
GI JOE COBRA SPECIAL #1 $3.99

It’s a week away, but it’s never too early to remind people. Next Saturday is 24 Hour Comic Day all across the world!

What is 24 Hour Comic Day, you ask?

24HCD is an international celebration of comics creation. Cartoonists all over take the challenge of trying to create a 24 page comic story in 24 straight hours. Many gather at special events in comic book shops, schools, and other locations.

The challenge is to create a complete 24 page comic book in 24 continuous hours. That means everything: Story, finished art, lettering, colors, paste-up, etc. Once pen hits paper, the clock starts ticking. (for more information on 24HCD go to the official site:  http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/)

This year, 24HCD in Pittsburgh will be hosted by Time Tunnel Comics (http://www.timetunnelpgh.com/). Also appearing is Larry Young, publisher of AiT/Planet Lar (http://www.ait-planetlar.com/).

I’ll be there along with fellow Weirdlings artists Scott Hedlund and Barry Linck. Take the challenge, it’s a lot of fun, or just stop by and check out comics as they’re being created.

VCPD interview, case no. 014698

Benjamin Ziskie found the body of Chastity King. Ziskie was on a morning walk with his dog

BEGIN INTERVIEW

Question: Could you, for the record, state your name and address please.
Answer: Benjamin Ziskie. I live at 107 Fairton Drive. That’s in Old Town.

Question: What do you do Mr. Ziskie?
Answer: I’m an administrator over at VCU…uh…Venture City University. In the enrollment office.

Question: Could you describe what happened on the morning of August 9?
Answer: I was out for my walk. I walk with my dog every morning before getting ready for work.

Question: Where were you walking?
Answer: My usual route: out toward the high-school, up the hill and then back along the backside of the cemetery near the woods. That’s where I found the boy. Actually my dog found the boy. She must’ve heard him or something because she pulled the leash out of my hand and ran into the woods. When I found her, she was with a little boy.

Question: Okay, let’s talk about the boy.
Answer: Okay.

Question: What was he doing? Did he say anything to you?
Answer: He was crouched down on the ground. I heard some crying and then it sounded like he was talking to himself. He was completely ignoring my dog. I stopped and listened.

Question: Had you ever seen the boy before? Who was he?
Answer: I don’t know him. It was still sort of dark. But I could see he had no shirt or shoes on and it was pretty chilly that morning.

Question: What happened next?
Answer: I walked towards him, called out. You know, to see if he was all right. I thought he might’ve been hurt or lost or something.

Question: And then?
Answer: Well, as I got closer, I could see that he was digging in the soil. He didn’t hear me until I got closer. Then he just ran. I think I scared him or something because took off fast.

Question: How old do you think the boy was?
Answer: I don’t know, eleven, twelve.

Question: Did you try to follow the boy?
Answer: Hell no, there’s no way I could’ve caught up with him.

Question: So what did you do?
Answer: I went to where he was digging. It was getting lighter and I could see that he’d been digging something up.

Question: Could you, in your own words, describe what it was he was digging up?
Answer: Well, it was just a small, wooden box with a lid that came off. When you took the lid off, you could see that it was a tunnel, or something and there was an opening at the bottom. On the side actually.

Question: Were you able to see inside?
Answer: Yes, not very well at first, but after the sun came up more and my eyes adjusted to being in the woods, I could see that there was a person inside. All I could see was her hair at first. Brown hair. I don’t know why but it wasn’t until I realized it was a person that I smelled anything.

Question: A smell?
Answer: My God, yes. Rot. It was like the summer that a raccoon got wedged in the air-conditioning duct. You never forget that smell.

Question: Okay. What did you do next?
Answer: I dug next to it, above where the opening was and that’s when I found the coffin part. It was strange, a coffin with this access door. Like for air or something. It was the girl inside. The one that’s been in the papers. She didn’t look so good, but I knew it was her.

Looks like the Wraith is going to get some answers…