Photos and Commentary by Michael O'Connell

	The first existing Forte photo was taken in the summer of 1989, almost two years into the game. Here's where the magic happened, at K.C.'s table, and here's four of the five Forte founders--Tim, Kaye, K.C. and Jeff--sitting around it. The missing guy (me) is taking the photo.
	We did tend to celebrate birthdays with a bit of Forte flair, so here's Kaye's Cinco cake for hers.
	If you look reeeeaaal close, you can see that you're looking at the Dr. Jackal character sheet. Were it not for the bright flash, all his secrets could be yours!
	A table's-eye view of some hot Forte combat action in 1990. Looks like SOMEbody's down. Wonder who it is?
	Tim and Kaye chatting at the game table, also in 1990. Kaye, I hope you brought enough gum for EVERYone...
	The summer of 1990 marked the first official "Clobberin' Con" in San Diego. Here's K.C. and Aaron waiting in line for something.
	And there's young Mr. Storck doing some last-minute math on his character sheet in preparation for one of the con games being run.
	K.C., Joel, Tim, Greg and Scott waiting around for something or other to begin at the Con.
	Here you can see Greg, Scott, K.C., Tim, Aaron and Ben at K.C.'s "Rosemary in Time" con game. As you can tell by looking at Tim, it was running quite late...
	No, wait, Tim's up! All wise GMs rig the chairs to deliver mild electronic shocks in cases like this... And you can see Joel in this shot as well.
	And we've moved on to Aaron's game, the very first Clobberin' On Infinite Earths game. Here's K.C., at the gaming room at the Hotel San Diego, in front of some of the decorations Aaron put up for the event.
	Golly, it's Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.! A.K.A. K.C. and Aaron. I think they should have gone out clubbing that night after the game, myself. With those shirts, they would have been fighting the ladies off with a stick.
	And as we jump ahead to a year later, to the summer of '91, we find me and K.C. next to K.C.'s fish tank. In case you didn't know it? K.C.'s Irish...
	And there's me and Kaye at the gaming table.
	And then Jeff and me, two men whose heads were fused together in a terrible lab accident that allows us to combine our brains and solve crimes! But we have to ride separate motorcycles during chase scenes, for obvious reasons.
	That same summer, the second Clobberin' Con went down, and both Kaye and Jeff were able to attend this time. This is at Scott's Clobberin' On Infinite Earths game. If you look real close there on the right, you can see Rex. Or at least his beer.
	Aaron, as his alter-ego Wingboy, springs into action and stops Tim's criminal deeds in their tracks! Ka-pow!
	Kaye at the game--probably wondering how she let us talk her into this...
	And on Saturday night of the Con, back at our hotel room, Aaron and Tim...you know, maybe it's better that I just don't ask...
	In a picture taken on the last day of the Con, we see, in their first shot together, the whole founding Forte gang.
	Later in 1991, a trip to Sacramento by our San Diego pals led to this historic photo of the "Gameboys", the stars of the famous (?) piece of satirical fiction that turned all these lads into SHIELD agents. That's me, Joel, Greg, Tim, Aaron and Ben.
	I think it was that same weekend when this shot of Tim and Jeff took place, hanging out in K.C.'s living room. Note how Tim's Twin Peaks High School Phys Ed tee shirt nicely dates the shot.
	And there's K.C., Jeff and Kaye at the same gathering.
	Let's leap to 1992! Aaron was in town visiting, and here's a shot of me (in my death camp phase) and him hanging on my back patio.
	And in the summer of '92, at the next Clobberin' Con, we find Aaron and K.C.
	And also, the muscular and intimidating Ben, ready to pump (clap) you up. For the record, that joke was still funny in 1992. Just barely, but it was. I swear.
	The boys of (that) summer...Ben, Jeff, K.C., Joel, me and fellow 'Timer C. Lee Graham.
	In 1993, when I was living in Phoenix, Randy had a layover on his flight back to Sac from somewhere or other, and I stopped by the airport to meet up with him for a bit. I know we look drunk, but we're not. We're just young, thin and goofy.
	Skipping two years ahead, we drop in on the Forte #300 game in February of 1995! Here's Randy, Andrea and K.C. at the gaming table.
	Kevin was able to at least drop in to make an appearance at the game (how would he play? All his characters were either de-powered or dead!), and Aaron raps with him there. Oh, and it's our first photo of Mr. Jim Kletzing as well. The other guy's Greg, who dropped by to say hi to the gang and wish the Forte gang a happy anniversary.
	And there's the gang who were able to make the big #300 game - Jim, Aaron, Andrea, Randy, me, Kaye Ben, K.C. and Kevin.
	And the same gang. But close up.
	Summer of '95 brought another Clobberin' Con, and here's Tim, me and Aaron hanging outside the convention center.
	And that's the summer Adam made his first appearance at a San Diego Con. He's seated there at the Embassy Suites room where some of us were staying...and where there was gaming afoot!
	Jeff and K.C., hanging out in the same room.
	Every Luke has his Yoda. Ben's is Robert.
	Seems like everyone was getting in on the reproduction game! Here's Kevin in the summer of '96 with daughter #1, Zoe. She looks much like Jeff used to look during those combats that ran late during the game...
	Clobberin' Con again, 1996. And here's Kaye, all-American gal.
	And here's Jeff trying to pretend to not be asleep. Jeff + combat + easy chair = Mr. Sandman, baby.
	Randy speaks with hands, makes big point. That was Randy's first Con, as I recall.
	That night we were having a BBQ at Ben's parents' timeshare in La Jolla, as we have so many times over the years during the Cons. And here's Kaye relaxing there with Super-Robert!!
	I'm either dancing or trying to deflect the blame for something onto someone else to my right. Can't tell which.
	And in some hotel lobby or another, the '96 Con gang is saying goodbye. K.C., Jeff, Joel, Kaye and Ben loiter.
	This is from New Year's Eve of 1996, when Aaron and I had become roommates, at this time sharing a house with Tim. He would soon ditch us. Jackass.
	Clobberin' Con '97! Here's Kaye, Ben and me hanging out at my hotel room. This was the summer (maybe the day) when I decided I was going to move to San Diego.
	Ben and Kaye as we're having a meal in a restaurant in a San Diego mall.
	Jeff's evil doppelganger from an alternate Earth shows up at that same Con and tries to destroy us all! Luckily, the real Jeff captured him and sent him back through the vortex and saved us all. Close one.
	For some reason, this is the only photo of mine I can find from the 1998 Clobberin' Con. Here's Russ, Tim, Ben, Kaye, me, Aaron, Joel, Jeff and Ken as the big "Jericho Effect" game is being run by me and Aaron...and the world of Forte would never be the same! AH ha ha!!
	And we skip ahead a year to the 1999 Con, where Joel, Tim and Jeff hang outside the convention center on registration night as the sun sinks slowly into the west.
	Jeff. And a building.
	Aaron and Kevin at the Con (and at mine and Aaron's apartment), best buds.
	After a few drinks? BETTER buds. Don't ask, don't tell.
	Some of the 1999 Con gang marvel at the sights inside the center--Martin, Joel, Ben, Kevin and A.T., to be exact.
	Can't tell that Ben and Joel didn't have their wives around, can you? Out comes porn and beer!! Okay, Joel's actually drinking a root beer. And Ben's only scanning the article on global warming that A.T. asked him to check out. Yes, Ben...my camera is EVERYwhere.
	Here we are at the gaming table at the big game K.C. was running that year. Took place at mine and Aaron's apartment. I'm sure our neighbors loved us for that. Here, Kevin realizes that he's being photographed while gaming. Ahhhh! Could be worse, man. You could have been checking out porn...
	Laughs around the gaming table for Ben, Joel, Martin and Jeff.
	Does this photo not just magically capture EVERYTHING that is Champions? The battle mat, the dice, the pens, the character sheets, the binders, the Red Vines, the nuts, the Easy Cheese, the sodas, the cardboard figures, the... Wait, the Easy Cheese?
	More Con fun at the convention center, with Ben, Joel, K.C., Russ, Aaron, Martin and Jeff.
	Ben outside, in front of the Marriott where Joel and I stayed so many Cons over the years.
	Ben, Joel and me, Connin' it up.
	Da boys of 1999, in a shot taken after the APEX Summer Spectacular game that Aaron and I ran. Probably the one you don't recognize in there is Kevin's brother, standing there in the white tee shirt between Jeff and Kevin.
	On the final day of the Con, those of us who remained gathered for the traditional lunch at Kansas City BBQ. Mmmm. BBQ...
	And we travel ahead another year, to the Con of 2000, where, at the Embassy Suites, Jeff and Kaye seem to be struggling over something. Perhaps I don't want to know...
	Maybe it was just the sniper rifle that Jeff appears to be assembling here. Is his evil doppelganger back AGAIN?
	The SDSU alumni geeks...Ben, Joel and Aaron, at the convention center.
	And those of us who made the scene that year (sans Aaron, who I assume was taking the pic), Ben, Kaye, me, Tim, Joel and Jeff.
	Here's Tim and Kevin, in 2001, celebrating with a couple of stogies after a monster Kings playoff victory against Phoenix. This is in Sac, in front of our old watering hole, the Cedar Room.
	It's the 2002 Con, and Jeff runs a game for us at the Hyatt's gaming room. Why none of us ever thought to use Legos with the battle mat before, I have no idea. Guess Jeff thinks more 3-D than us.
	And after the game, Jeff offered to sell us VHS tapes of the event, commemorative tee shirts, and bobble-head dolls of his villains. At a good rate, since we all go way back...
	It's Con lunch with the gang. Joel, K.C., Martin, Adam, Jim and Randy made the scene that year.
	I mentioned Adam, Jim and Randy, right? Okay, just making sure.
	K.C. and Randy out on the town.
	Randy, Adam and me, out on the same town. Know what was great about that place? Read the sign on the table. Cheap booze!!
	Jeff, Martin, Tim and Jim. Drinking cheap booze.
	All the fellas (with Aaron and Russ adding to the group) outside Dick's Last Resort in San Diego's festive Gaslamp Quarter.
	Adam and Jim believe in two things. Peace, and beer.
	At another bar in the Gaslamp, Jim, Randy, Adam and Jeff chill out. Again, note--peace, and beer.
	Tim, Martin, Aaron, Russ and K.C. at the bar...near a woman who just doesn't look that happy at all.
	K.C. joins the others at their table.
	As Martin, Aaron and Tim like to prove, friendship is just better with liquor.
	I sense a big game being run by Aaron! This was Aaron's "Legion of Forte" game (as we called it), taking place at the Hyatt gaming room (I think we were being more considerate to our apartment neighbors this year). Joel, Ben, jeff and K.C. are doin' that game thang.
	While Aaron runs his game, Tim whips out the sketchbook and provides game art.
	K.C., Jim, Adam and Randy. Wide awake for the gaming. Honest. Perhaps too many Labatts the night before, eh, K.C.?
	While Adam and Randy listen, Aaron does his best Shatner GMing. "Your...bible is a lie!"
	The game rolls on...and Forte's future hangs in the balance! Again. Forte heroes always get nervous when summer rolls around.
	And, yes, Kaye made it for the game, too.
	The guys seem to be enjoying the game. K.C. still looks hung over.
	And Aaron wraps things up on the game.
	The official 2002 Forte shot! In case you forgot, that's (back row) Kaye, Adam, Jeff, Tim, Jim, (front row) Randy, me, Aaron, K.C. and Ben. Mighty good showing that year!
	Here, Dr. Jackal is seen...oh, no, wait, that's just Jeff at work.
	In 2004 for, when Tim and I became "famous" as the creators of the Nice Guy comic, Adam and Randy dropped by one of our autograph signings, this one at A-1 Comics in Roseville.
	In the winter of 2005, I took my first trip to Seattle to visit Aaron, who had just moved there the previous summer (when I moved back to Sac). Here's a picture of me...and Seattle! This was my first time in Forte Town, so it was exciting...in a geeky way.
	Here's Aaron standing in front of the Sound.
	Ahhh. Downtown Seattle. I wonder how many of those buildings Forte has destroyed over the years?
	As Jack Parker, Editor-in-Chief of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (who is in NO way secretly Dr. Jackal) will tell you...it's in the P.I.!
	And in the Summer of 2005...you guessed it. Another San Diego Con. Here's A.T., Jeff, K.C. and Aaron in the lobby outside the exhibition hall.
	K.C. and Aaron waiting for the Con adventure to begin. Go Cubs!
	Con...means...gamin'! This was at game #1 of that summer. Aaron and A.T. seem to be planning their combat strategy.
	Jeff, Aaron, A.T. and K.C. there at the Marriott game room.
	Ah, my keen detective skills tell me that based on the change of shirt for Jeff, we're at game #2!
	Here's K.C. and Aaron, countin' some dice and T.C.B.
	Ben, me and Kaye show off our enormously popular Forte 2000 characters...Moonspider, Seahawk and Tinker.
	The '05 Forte representation at the Con.
	And on the final day of that Con, I and K.C. relaxed outside the Center.
	Ah, but at the 2006 Con (yeah, we just jumped a year. Try to keep up), a historic moment happened! Tim and I ran into Mike Taylor, one of the original players from K.C.'s first Sacramento game (the Paragons), whom we hadn't seen in nearly 20 years. Here's Mike (Starman) and Tim (Komal), Paragons reunited!
	The whole Bellot family made the scene at the 2006 Con! Here's Kaye and Ben with the next generation of Forte heroes, Robert (remember him? The baby you saw not too far up the page?) and Cameron.
	And in 2006, Wingboy went off the market! Here's me and Aaron in Seattle at Aaron's wedding.
	A couple of months after, there was a California wedding reception for Aaron and Jeni in San Diego. What Jeni hadn't counted on was HARD DRINKIN' FORTE ACTION, baby!
	YEAH! Cannonball it! Cannonball it! While some men prefer a cigar with their Jack Daniels, K.C. does just fine with a Rolo. Adds that extra chocolaty flavor to the experience.
	Don't tell anyone that none of the three of us actually drinks Jack Daniels, would you? We're trying to shake our gamer image after all these years and go for more of a Hollywood bad boy thing.
	It's back to Seattle in 2007...this time with a few more Forte folks, to celebrate the upcoming 20th year of Forte! Here's Jim, Jeff, K.C., Randy and Adam landing at the airport.
	And here we all are on Aaron's back deck, enjoying the fine Seattle weather.
	Ah, good, Jeni got home to take the picture so we could get Aaron into one. Twenty years. Wow.
	A film from director Michael O'Connell.
	Jeff, K.C., me and Adam hanging out at Pike Place Market in Seattle.
	Another Pike Place shot, with Randy, Adam, Jim, Aaron, Jeff, K.C., and...why do we always end up getting a pissed-off woman in frame?
	As K.C. prepares to run the big 20th Anniversary Forte game--"Forte Forever"--he shows off one of the villains that's going to beat us senseless and take our milk money.
	The heroes of Forte once again rise to save the world. Well, you know, while still sitting...
	Dr. Jackal and Anvil facing the final battle. Note that when these photos began, I was still using a Commodore 128 computer. Now here I am on a laptop PC with a wireless card, and the whole Hero System rulebook on it in one PDF file. Yes. We've been doing Forte for some time...
	Ah, but some things never change. Jeff's still using his original dice box, God love him!
	Adam, Randy, Aaron, K.C. and Jim up on the observation deck at the Space Needle
	Ace photographer Jim Kletzing. Um, Jim? Seattle's BEHIND you, man...
	The boys chill out up on the Needle.
	Jeff thinks hard, wondering where an ATM machine might be...
	Randy and the Space Needle. Hootie and Blowfish couldn't go on tonight, so they're filling in (rim shot).
	The heroes of Forte hang outside the real-life site of the fictional Forte Museum in Seattle Center.
	The guys hanging around outside Seattle Center in the shadow of the Needle.
	And twenty years after it all began, here's seven of the folks that made the Forte legend happen, closing up their anniversary trip to Forte's hometown. And we're planning to try this trip again on the 25th anniversary, so plan ahead now, stragglers! Forte united!!