Tuesday 27 October 2015

Heartbreak Quadrant

My best buddy from high school, Barrett Stanley, has just launched a kickstarter to print his own comic book, Heartbreak Quadrant. Barrett has spent years working on it, doing all of the writing, pencilling, inking, lettering, and colouring himself. He's done all of this while holding down a full-time job and being a father, which is no mean feat! So, if you think it is something that might interest you, take a look and maybe support his efforts.

For me, this is exactly the kind of project that kickstarter should be used to fund.


Check out the campaign here: http://kck.st/1P1mxGl

Thursday 15 October 2015

The Loot From Spiel!

To those who have never been to Spiel, it is very hard to describe. Imagine all of the people from a major rock concert crammed into four large halls, filled with stalls and booths selling games. Many areas are just given over to numerous tables where people can sit and try out games. Everywhere you look are games, people, more games and more people. The noise level is a steady, good-natured, roar.

I went to the show as part of work, so it was a very, very long weekend. That said, I did get a couple of chances to slip away and do some shopping! Most of the show is devoted to board and card games of all descriptions, but there are also sections for comic books, wargames and role-playing games. It was in these last two that most of my personal interest lay.

My first purchase was a Reaper bones figure I had been wanting to pick up for a while, an elf wizard who serves as a counterpart to the elf ranger I painted a while back. Then I made a wonderful discovery, an original Silent Death box set! The box has taken a few knocks, but the contents appear to have been untouched since it was first printed. I have actually been looking for this box set for awhile to replace one I lost long ago. I can still remember, in my youth, when I saw the game first advertised in Dragon magazine. I got the box set then, and I played the game to death! I still think it has one of the most elegant combat mechanics I've ever seen in a game. I have been looking to replace my lost set for awhile, but copies aren't that easy to come by. So, as you can gather, I was thrilled with this purchase.

Finally, on the last day, I went past a stand that was selling off 3e and 4e Dungeons and Dragons books for €2.50! Hardback book for about £2! Okay, they aren't for the current edition of the game, and they are perhaps some of the more obscure titles, but since I'm only getting them as reference material anyway...we'll, I got more than a couple! 

All-in-all, an extremely successful shopping experience. It was also a huge success for work as well.