Keep and throw away

Did anyone else play this "game" as a child?

When I would build up too much crap in my room, we'd "play" keep and throw away.

Get a garbage bag, some stuff stays that you still want, most of it goes.

Old clothes, toys you no longer used, etc. We took it and dropped it off at the goodwill, where I can only assume most of it went into the garbage, but as a kid I always felt better thinking some younger, poorer kid might find enjoyment out of my old stormtroopers.

As I pack to move, I am playing "keep and throw away" as a grown up, because I am moving in a minivan, so a few big boxes and a suitcase are all that's coming with me.

I am learning a lot about myself through this "game".

DVDs- almost a 100% loss. Right in the garbage bag. Kevin Smith movies, MST3K, Godfather trilogy, DS9 boxed sets. That's about it.

Game books: probably about half and half. Some are going, some are not.

Comics: are you fucking kidding me? The comics are going. Right down to every last glorious issue of the Invaders.

Essential Marvel Horror- how could I leave that behind? It says "essential" right on the cover!

I am leaving behind an old PS2, but the comics are going.

Old Allies

I really love that USHER Dossiers cover.

My initial idea for the image was ghostly figures of Old Glory and the Savant in happier times in the background, and their unhappy present in the foreground.

Jon Gibbons had the idea to make the background a picture from VE day.

This would be one reason, among about a billion, that he's an artist and I'm not.

Move over Heinlein.

Battlestar Galactica (this one) is the greatest entry in the military science fiction genre of all time.

A message from THE FUTURE

So as mentioned just seconds ago, we'll be going dark for a bit as I move from frigid New England to sun-kissed Florida.

Here's a preview of what the new year holds in store for fans of Vigilance Press.

USHER Dossiers: The full story of the Vigilance-verse can now be told, and it will be.

Field Guide: Volume 2 of Jason Tondro's definitive encyclopedia of heroic archetypes.

Steve Perrin's Homefront Heroes and Villains of WWII: Yes, that Steve Perrin.

Not all heroes joined Vigilance Force and went to war. Some stayed to keep the homefires burning and protect the heartland from sabotage.

Gaming legend Steve Perrin will bring you their stories.

World Metahuman Factbook (ICONS): Coming out of USHER Dossiers, the World Metahuman Forum will give you the skinny on heroes and villains around the world, continuing their quest to document metahumanity in all its wonder and terror.

Since I am broadcasting from the future courtesy of the Chronicle, I can tell you that all these books came off without a hitch and were awesome.

You loved them all.

Still, it will be nice to see it happen in real time.

Time to move. I got bad guys to send to commie heaven.

So Vigilance Press will be going dark after Christmas, until a couple weeks into January.

I am moving to Florida, and in the meantime will be taking that cross country move with my bio-dad, so it's not a plane ride move so much as a vacation/move combo.

This will definitely break our streak of weekly releases, which we managed to keep going for over 3 months now.

It's been a great run and I'm sorry to see it end. Even sorrier to be the cause of it, since we have books done that could probably slot in.

Still, it was inevitable.

The new year will start fresh (more about that in the post right after this one).

USHER Dossiers preview: Cover

Here's the gorgeous cover to the upcoming USHER Dossiers. The central image is called "Old Allies" and is a Jon Gibbons piece. It shows Old Glory and the Savant (aka Captain Miracle) in WWII, strangely happier times, and today.

Cover design by the awesome Dan Houser.

Minuteman v. HUAC, from the USHER Dossiers

Transcript of closed-door Congressional hearing, held in 1946 in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Testimony of Committee members in bold, testimony of Minuteman in normal type.

“Sir, please state your full name for the record before we proceed.”

“I came here under the agreement that I would identify myself only as the Minuteman.”

“Yes, well, we discussed that after our earlier conversation and the members of the committee decided-”

“That’s enough, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t make us arrest you, Sir.”

“Please. I’m in bulletproof armor and even if I wasn’t, I can sidestep bullets. This nonsense is exactly why the Minuteman exists. I’ve been labeled an outlaw before, back when slavery was legal. I’m fine being an outlaw again.”

“We are prepared to make you an officer in USHER, son, but you need to let us know who you are and where your true allegiances lie.”

“My true allegiances? I would have thought fighting in WWII, WWI, the Spanish-American War, the Civil War, the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War would be enough to prove that.”

“Well we are still at war, son. A war against Communism. And I’m pretty sure that wasn’t you that fought in all those wars anyway.”

“The Minuteman fought in those wars. As for your little Communist witch-hunt, I will defend America. But I will do so according to my conscience and at a time and place of my choosing. I will not join USHER or any other organization, nor will I allow myself to be identified or constrained in any way.”

“Our little witch-hunt? So tell me son, are you now or have you ever been- where did he- He’s gone! Sergeant! Search the grounds! Arrest that man!”