"Welcome to the Party, Pal!"

Holy cow. I actually survived a fatal computer crash AND Comic-Con and still have a zine up. Personal pat on the back...engage!

Yep, completely lost the old PC. Thank GOD. That thing sucked SO bad. Slow and noisy, filled with bugs, half of it didn't work or didn't work right...it was the computer version of my old van, in other words. It's been going for a while, and I knew I needed to replace it, but, as I figured, didn't get around to it until I got forced to. Thankfully (thanks to my having bought an external drive not too many months before and backing things up regularly), I had almost zero data loss of any note, something accomplished by a very frantic last-minute back-up while my hard drive was continually failing. I managed to get my whole AOL file cabinet copied over just before the hard drive kicked for the last time.

So, I hit up Dell and got the new PC. Pretty darned snazzy one, too. I got an XPS 410, the bottom of the line of their gaming models. I could have gone higher, but I'm really not a computer gamer, but I did want something with solid multimedia performance. And I got it. This one kicks my old one's ASS. Very pleased with it. And particularly pleased with the new two-monitor set-up I have.

My new "command center"

This works much better with the way I do things. I generally have at least six or seven windows open at any given time and I'm always switching back and forth between apps. Being able to have two screens makes this so much easier. And man, does your computer ever make a difference with your internet connection! I've got the same cable modem as before, but now, with a proper processor and everything working right, this sucker blazes! Loving it. So definitely worth the cost. I spend so much time at my computer, I really need to be able to enjoy the experience. Now, finally, I do. Now watch...six months from now I'll be bitching about my lame, slow computer and needing a new one...

Comic-Con '07

"Shut up, Mr. O'Connell! You are not brought upon this Con to 'get it'..."

And the Con is over. Another memorable one, and one that I'm not going to go into here, because 1) I don't have time and 2) I'm going to do so in my geek blog when I can squeeze in the time. So more details to follow (I'll let y'all know when it's up), but had a great time, even with so few people there this year. Got a number of celeb stories (like with the great James Hong above), got to finally spend some decent quality time with Ben and Kaye at a BBQ at the timeshare in La Jolla, saw a lot of great panels, had some great nights out on the town, and got some awesome new art! Fill you in laterish, and sorry you all weren't able to be there this year. Ah, but next year...I'm thinking it's time to JAM it again, baby! Let's see how many folks we can get into San Diego!

This Time Around

So between the great computer crash, which not only set me back for a time having no computer, but also took me a lot of evenings of getting all the stuff transferred to the new PC, getting software installed, getting things set up right, etc., and the Comic-Con (and all the extra hours I had to put in at work in preparation for being off for a week), I didn't manage to get a LOT done for this zine. I did get some things started...like the latest Windjammer chapter. But at some point I just realized I was going to run out of time, so I left off some of the other things that would have taken more time and switched to some stuff I knew I could get done. So let's see what that stuff is, shall we?

First, there's a brand new page on the ForteUniverse site, one called the Forte Online Chronology. I know it's enough of a pain in the ass reading new Forte 2000 stories, the way Aaron and I jump all over the timeline with them. Add to that that there are stories on the other Forte sites as well, and it's really hard to keep track of it all or figure out where you are when you're reading something new. So, I just got the idea to create a page that lists (and links to) all the stories from all the sites, and shows them in timeline order. Hopefully this will help with your reading experience. Plus, it's a nice reminder to me how damn many of these things we've written in just a few years. Wow! This being me, I had to write an introduction to the page, so give that a read if you'd like. For being written by me, it's quite short.

This page currently captures all the online stories, but what I eventually hope to make it do is list EVERYTHING from Forte like this--including all the original Forte game updates, the earlier fiction, K.C.'s Four Aces stories, all the Forte Universe stuff in one spot. I'll get there one day. But this is a nice start, at least.

There's a little updating over at the Forte.com site. No new actual content (no new message board threads or emails or chats or database entries), but, as I promised, I'm going to be updating the Calendar and Message Board pages with each new 'Times update. So always be sure to check those (I'll remind you, don't worry) to get a feel for what's going on currently in the Forte Universe. To clarify about the Message Board page...no new threads (there's still only one posted), but those "Most Recent Post" listings in the right column (that don't actually link to real threads) have been updated. Make sense?

Didn't get to get to any of the bigger Forte 2000 stuff I have planned, but I was able to at least get a couple new things done for you. The first is a new Forte 2000 story called "Stakeout" (check the Online Chronology to see where it takes place, why don't you?). Fairly light reading, just a fun and funny one (I hope), featuring all eight of the F2K characters doing the non-glamorous part of the hero job. Hope you enjoy it.

There's also an update to the Forte 2000 NPC Guide. Go to that page and scroll all the way to the bottom, and you'll see the addition of a Realmwatch section. Over the summer I was reading some of Marvel's "Annihilation" event, and that, along with my adventures in Boise playing the Ultimate Alliance game with Aaron, Russ and Tony and running around the Shi'ar empire and the Skrull homeworld, got me remembering how much I love cosmic super-hero stuff. Which made me want to finally fill a hole in the NPC Guide and write up the members of the latter-day Forte's version of the Imperial Guard. You might remember these guys from "Forte Chronicles #1: Into the Realm". Well, now you can learn all about 'em. Click the Realmwatch logo to get a little history on the Realm empire itself, and then click on each Realmwatch team member to learn all about them. I know...you want sheets. One of these days. Promise.

But enough of this reading crap! Let's get to some art! I was just at Comic-Con, for crying out loud! And I got some great new eBay stuff as well!

Take a look at the Forte 2000 gallery page and scope the "latest additions" section. We'll take 'em in order. First, I already mentioned, on the board, the new color Rainier shot that Eryck Webb did for me. Check it out again, because it's just THAT cool. Next, I managed to get another TG Sangalang shot. He did those great Nightsable and Dyna Girl shots for me earlier, and I've been meaning to get a Tinker, but I either miss his auctions or they shoot up to more than I feel like paying (he's pretty popular on eBay). Finally scored with one and I got my Tinker, and it rocks! I also had it within about three days...he's another one that's worth the money, both for his talent and his customer service. Next, I got a watercolor painting of Nightsable off an eBay auction from DC artist Bill Marimon (remember him on "Damage"?), which turned out pretty cool. And I also gave Prez a try again, this time with a color auction, and got a Nightsable to go with the other ones he'd done for me. Hmmm. I don't think color's his thing. It's funny, actually...after I got my shot, I was over at his page where he was posting about how much he hates doing color, and just does it to get more money at auction. Heh. If I use him and his big booby fetish again, I think I'll stick with pencils. Oh, and there's that Chuck Wojtkiewicz Knightsabre shot again...but this time, it's in color. After waiting like 15 years for Tim to ink it, I decided I wanted to see it in color, and I turned the job over to Nice Guy colorist L. J'amal Walton. Nice job, L.J.!

The first of my Con art starts with an old-school favorite artist of mine, Bob Hall. I remember Bob best from his stuff on West Coast Avengers, myself, but you may know him best from the Valiant stuff. Either way, I couldn't believe Bob Hall was sitting there and no one was talking to him! So I did for a while. What a great guy! He's seventy-five years old now. We had a great time talking about Ireland, since he spent a couple of years living there. Seeing as how I loved how he did Iron Man back in my early comic days, I just had to get him to do a Seahawk for me. I have a Bob Hall Seahawk!!! Okay, that means nothing to anyone but me, probably, but that's a score in my book.

Oops...a little out of order on the art. I'll keep talking in order, so let's jump back to a couple of eBay works. Check out this guy Dustin Evans and his Seahawk. How much fun is that? I love this guy's style. I first tried him out on a Windjammer shot which you can now see posted on the WJ gallery. Had to step him up to Forte. Can't wait to see what he does with some of the other characters. And I will, because I've got a standing offer from him to skip the auction part and just email him direct for a set rate. See what happens when you take care of your artists (and tell them how great they are)? And WOAH...check out that Sean Harrington Dr. Jackal shot! That is AWESOME! Totally captures the Doc. Now that I've discovered Sean can do more than just big booby shots, he's going to get some more dude work from me, for sure. Love how this guy always comes through, and always has my stuff done within a couple of days. And I also love how much he loves Forte and is really into the characters.

But back to Con art! I spotted Marvel artist Terry Shoemaker doing commissions and had to hit him up. He does really great female art, so I thought I'd try him on a Nightsable. Sure glad I did. Beautiful shot. It's funny, but the biggest score for me was probably the least-known pro artist. A couple or three years ago I picked up a comic called "Dead@17" by a guy named Josh Howard, and I feel in love with his art in his storytelling. I've been trying to find a way to get a commission or two from him ever since, but he wasn't ever doing (was never in the Alley, just at the Viper Comics table). But this year, I was checking out the Alley, and there he was...not only doing commissions, but only doing them for $20 each! So I had to grab two. Check out his Nightsable and Dyna Girl shots and I think you'll see why I was so jazzed. Actually, giddy is a better word. And what also made me giddy was finally getting a Jeff Moy Tinker! As I've mentioned in the past, Jeff has a daily list at Comic-Con for commissions, and it usually fills up right away. So I've only been able to get one per year from him, and usually have to come back for two or three days to even make that happen. This year I made the list and got a great Tinker shot! And I also liked the fact that he remembered my name. Okay, maybe it was the name badge that gave me away, but he did remember me and always seems to enjoy the commissions I give him, giving him a chance to do some different characters besides always drawing Legion gals and Supergirl.

So not a bad haul at all this time. Getting some big names up on the old Gallery. Let's see what other ones I can pull off next year.

Next Time...On "The 'F' Word"...

Okay, got plenty of stuff I'd like to do (including getting back to the Anubis story and getting Windjammer out of L.A.), and I might have a good shot at it considering I'm taking a week off for Labor Day week just to stay home and work on projects (I deserve it!). Plus, of course, I'm sure I'll have a few things to say about the big Forte 20th reunion that's coming up in less than a week! So stick around, and I hope to bowl you over next time around.

Michael O’Connell
I'm Bringing Forte Back (I'm sure Martin gets that joke, at least...)