JEN: "Whoa! You're back! Am I. . , are you here for real?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Nah. I'm a little burned out on physical time travel. After that Toronto fiasco, I want to play it safe for a while."
JEN: "So I'm just. . . Imagining you again?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "I'm here just as my energy body. You're seeing me but you're in an altered state. I'm invisible to everybody else."
JEN: "Great. So I'm going to look like a raving lunatic talking to the air once again?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Don't worry. We're not going outside today. I'm just here to use your computer."
JEN: "So. . . am I sitting in that chair typing right now for you. . . I don't get this."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Yeah, that one's going to strain your brain. But that's good! Confusion stretches the mind and you need the exercise. Ah! Here's what I'm looking for! The internet is the home of everything 9-11! Your one stop conspiracy shop!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Yeah. I've been meaning to do something about that whole Truth Movement counter intelligence moron-fest. The psy-ops department has been sitting on that heap all smug and self-satisfied for far too long, but I've got a few free afternoons to kill. I'm thinking of releasing some modern information a decade early. Something concrete about Directed Energy Weapons maybe. To jump start the discussion while it still has popular attention. That ought to make the black hats scramble. Ha ha!"
JEN: "You mean like space lasers? I'm pretty sure the fringe people were talking about that ten years ago."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Ha. They still are. A bunch of disorganized researchers loaded down under a landslide of misdirection and toxic personalities. The result is a psychological environment so repulsive that the casual viewer doesn't have much chance. The internet is a hopeless morass at this point. And yet, despite all of that nasty social engineering, you can't help but have a few interesting nuggets sift to the top. Some people have managed to work out a few things."
JEN: "So. . , what are you saying? Was it space lasers?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Not quite, but some kind of resonance device it looks like this time around."
JEN: "Seriously?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Why not? In combination with a material preparation of the towers. —Plus maybe some conventional chemical demolitions. You know; to keep people arguing. —You gotta remember, Divide and Conquer is the primary goal with these sorts of operations. It's all psychological. They weren't knocking down buildings because they were in the way. New York and your Pentagon thing, and those planes. . . They were doing it all to mess with people's minds. No other reason. So you have to expect the same style of manipulation to extend through every aspect of the operation, before, during and after. The internet and all this crap is the 'after'. And humans are easy to manipulate. Once you know their buttons. . . People have for the most part been programmed to seek binary solutions to everything, to attach a sense of personal identity to one interpretation or another, and feel offended by everything else. Knowing that, all you have to do is stick in a few extra Oswalds and your opposition bickers itself into irrelevance. Psy-ops 101."
JEN: "Oh. So. . , the people who blew up the buildings used energy weapons and bombs? At the same time?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Maybe. And a couple of jet liners, don't forget. There might also have been certain design attributes implemented during the original construction way back when they first built the things."
JEN: ". . . Really?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Wouldn't put it past them. When the boogey man is a time travel, mind-control master, arranging steel girders for specific resonance effects is probably easier to do during the blue print stage than it is to sneak a metric ton of explosives past everybody in the lobby. But I don't actually know. Honestly, I gave up keeping track this stuff. The details are too mutable. —In one of my trips through the time line, the Statue of Liberty was the big target and the towers were left alone. In another trip, it was the towers again, but the Greenbaums held a subway car hostage under the buildings for twenty-four hours before setting off a suitcase nuke. They seem to tweak the presentation format in each successive time line. Anyway, the details aren't terribly important. It's the bigger patterns, the ones which remain stable which I find interesting. For instance. . ."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Did you know there was a huge storm just off the coast of Manhattan on the morning of 9-11? —And I mean, huge. Winds just a few miles per hour shy of a category 4 hurricane. Right on New York city's doorstep. Do you remember that?"
JEN: "Um. . . No."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "You're not alone. In fact, with very few exceptions, nobody has any recollection of that hurricane at all."
JEN: "Um. . . Okay."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Well consider that. A near-category 4 storm. —Didn't you just live through the media blitz on Hurricane. . , what was it? Hurricane Sandy, right?"
JEN: "Yeah. . ! That wasn't that long ago. Everybody was talking about it. New York city got flooded. I remember some of the websites I go to were down for days because their servers were underwater."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "So, a big hurricane, right? This, Hurricane Sandy? Newsworthy. I mean, they don't hit New York city that often, so it's a pretty big deal. I bet there were news reports all week long leading up to it, weren't there?"
JEN: "There were. Everybody was preparing and battening down the hatches. But people still died. The subway system got flooded."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Meet Hurricane Erin. Satellite picture, courtesy of NASA. This was Erin on September 11th, 2001. Bigger than Sandy and they knew it was coming. The weather bureaus were tracking it. But did you hear about it? No. There was no news coverage about it at all. The weather forecasts on 9-11 made zero mention of it. In fact, they reported clears skies even while the thing was bearing down, hardly a hundred kilometers away from making landfall. The airports in the area reported hearing thunder but nobody in authority told them to ground their flights. Hardly standard protocol. And just look at it! I've lived through 9-11 five times now, and I'll tell you something. That thing has been there every single time."
JEN: "Wow. That sure looks like a big storm."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "It was. And you see where it was heading?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Bingo. Erin was making a bee-line for New York, would have trashed the city if it had made landfall, but it didn't. It stopped in its tracks right at the moment the towers were hit and then veered off."
JEN: "Really? I didn't know that. That's pretty weird!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Weird, yeah. It's really cool, actually. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. See, all that energy made landfall in the form of the attack. Transference from 4th to 3rd level reality. That's what I think happened. There's a couple of people out there who have figured out a bit of it. Anyway, you can read up on some of it when this load of texts arrive at your door."
JEN: "What? Hey! Those books are expensive! You can't order all that stuff on my credit card!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Don't worry. I've gotcha covered. I just transferred two million into your account."
JEN: "TWO MILLION dollars???
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Yup. Two and six zeros. —Don't sweat it, kiddo."
I'm sure you'll find a better use for the CIA's ill-gotten cash than whatever it was they had in mind."
JEN: "You. . . You STOLE money from the CIA? And you put it in MY bank account?! Won't they come looking for it?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Nah. Drop in the bucket. They won't even miss it. Plus I bushwhacked the whole black hat squad responsible for those particular funds and shunted them through one of my assets in the financial world. Got him to perform some of his bank-fu, so you're good. Anyway, we'll be needing a slush fund for our operations."
"Not to mention. . , your student debts were getting out of hand. —I can't have you spending time working retail just to make ends meet. I need you ready to go on a moment's notice. It's going to be difficult enough to juggle things considering all the time you're blowing on that whole 'school' thing."
JEN: "Well school is important. Aside from all of this time travel stuff, I AM trying to earn my degree."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Yeah, about that. . . You'll need to switch your course load over to psychology and language studies. Aside from it being way more up your alley, Environmental Science is a waste of your time. The world has a surplus of mis-guided green do-gooders as it is."
JEN: "Wha-!? RRRR! You're really beginning to make me angry, Jenny! Studying the environment isn't misguided! It's important!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "No doubt. But the important aspects are heavily obfuscated or not even mentioned. You can't learn anything at your school which hasn't been poisoned with anthropocentric bias, cooked data and decades-old programming."
JEN: "Ohhhh. So what, you're a climate change denier now?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Heh. Cute. Jen, when I say 'anthropocentric bias' I only mean the barest fraction of what other people mean. And you know better. You're the one with a BFF who wears space jammies. Try not to lose focus on your situation. --And this is what I'm talking about. The environment you submerge your brain in, tunes it to become part of that environment. Clone School will have its way with you unless you're proactive about how you run your head."
JEN: "So. . , is climate change happening or not?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Oh, it's happening, alright. And yeah, oil burning is a part of it. But that's small fry. Easy to wrap your head around because it's safe to think about; people feel like they can do something about it, even if it's just to feel guilty or lay blame or whatever. But honestly, there's more obfuscation and psy-ops going on in the area of bio-sphere mechanics than nearly anybody realizes. It's not about oil companies, and it's not about energy politics or any of that stuff. I mean, oil and cars and all that certainly seems important, but I'm sure birdseed seems important if you happen to be a chicken. There are bigger issues at stake, I can assure you."
"If you want to understand the environment, know what's happening to this planet, you'd be better off studying physics and stellar mechanics. Though, your mind isn't well suited to those areas. Plus those disciplines have also been rigged for stupid at the academic level as well. Just ask Tom."
"Anyway. . , you need a different skill-set if you're going to be working with me. Your university has been somewhat less poisoned in the science of human cognition. I'll set you straight on the stuff they miss. Place Order. Yes!" [click]
"Ha! Okay! I'm done. I'll be back when those books arrive. Oh, also. . , while I'm gone I need you to do some computer shopping."
JEN: "Computer shopping. . ?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Office equipment. Order yourself a top-end computer suite. Then troll eBay for a couple dozen old hard drives from the early 90's and whatever gear we need to swap ‘em into a modern machine. It'll be a bit of a pain to track down, but somebody out there is sure to know where to look. Ask around some of the nerd forums."
JEN: "Is it for time travel."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Yup. I need to move data back and forth across three decades. A stack of half-gig drives ought to do the trick. Also, get a good scanner. --Not one of the crappy ones from the box store. Find an industrial high-speed document reader and have it shipped to Tom and Kytanna's place."
JEN: "Um. . . Really. . ?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Yeah. Get a Xerox or an IBM."
JEN: "But, Kytanna hates having big machines stored in her apartment. She's always complaining to Tom about all the stuff for the Time Machine in her living room."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Hm. Good point. She's put up with a lot lately. We'll have to arrange to have the other tenants moved from the building. Maybe buy the whole house. We'll have to approach the owner. But right now I've got to boogie. Thanks, Jen! I always enjoy visiting you in this weird town!"
JEN: "I'm not sure I can say the same!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Ha ha. You're doing well, and I really appreciate your efforts. Keep it up! It's doing you a lot of good. You look really great, by the way!"
JEN: "You're just trying to flatter me."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "No, I'm serious. You're way more clear and focused than when I first met you. Don't you feel good these days? Stronger?"
JEN: "Well. . , aside from finding your antics totally overwhelming and stressful, I do have to admit it's kind of nice to be part of a big mission."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Direction is good for the soul. We're the good guys, Jen. Don't forget that! I picked you because you're sweet and giving and awesome. Which reminds me. . . No boyfriends unless you run them by me first."
JEN: "Excuse me?!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Guys are starting to notice you a lot lately, aren't they?"
JEN: "Um. . , actually, it's sort of true. I keep getting asked out. I'm not used to receiving so much attention. It's even more than Ashelle these days. It's really weird."
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Pah. You're a smart babe with a dash of mystery and some serious musical chops. And now you're growing self confidence. If you were more selfish and less introverted, you'd be an insufferable heart breaker and I'd have to kick you off the team. As it stands, you are attracting attention, so you need to be careful. The stuff we're getting into is dangerous. If you're going to bring anybody into your life, you need to make sure they can handle it. And you need to make sure they're not plants from the dark side."
JEN: "Whoa. . ! What?"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Don't worry. Trust your instincts and stay alert. And no sex until I approve of it."
JEN: "Argh! Holy smokes! Just when I think I'm getting used to you, you say something really upsetting!"
JENNY MYSTERIOUS: "Sorry. Just some stuff I learned from another time line. You'll thank me later. Ta!"
NEW! Stardrop eBook Now Available! (See the Studio News (below) for the scoop on this!)
Here's a little extra item; One of my favorite comic shops is moving location, and I decided to do a little 4-pager about it featuring Ashelle and Tom. The idea is that the comic shop will be giving out this little story to help advertise their new location. Enjoy!
Tip StarDrop's cartoonist!
Visit the Australian StarDrop Mirror. (Thanks to Andrew and Katherine for their wonderful support over the years!)
Sample Chapter from, Thieves & Kings, Volume 3, "The Blue Book"
Thieves & Kings is not a webcomic. It is an all-ages fantasy/adventure graphic novel series which I've been working on since 1994. It is nearly done; I hope to wrap up the story in the 7th volume, (currently in production). The chapter featured here offers a good example of what it's like to read Thieves & Kings. --It's a peppy sequence, and it contains both regular comic pages, and some text pages. It doesn't show much of the title character, (Rubel) and none of the Shadow Lady, but Heath and Varkias carry the show quite nicely. I hope you enjoy this sample of my work!
The Walking Mage is a complete story. Originally it was done in black & white, (which you can check out here, if you like). I wanted to experiment with color and so began by using a computer to color the Walking Mage for its print release. After a few panels I decided that it would be a lot more fun to paint it by hand, and so switched to water-color around episode six.
The story itself is quite a good little yarn; funny and pointed in many places, as political satire ought to be. I was actually quite surprised to learn this! I found myself laughing out loud in several places. --I don't know why this story in particular was so hard for me to accept, but it was. I avoided reading it for several years after it first went to press. The ending is rather abrupt, but it was a serial strip, after all.
So anyway, after having let this web-comic languish in the digital attic, I've decided to pull it out and post it again for all the world in its full-color glory. This is the first time the Walking Mage has been available in full color on the web. I hope you enjoy the adventures of Quinton and Varkias. Cheers!
Hey, hey! The new Stardrop Book has arrived! (The overnight shipped box, anyway. The big shipment rolls into my driveway in a few days.)
They look GREAT! I'm blown away by the cover brightness and feel; The interiors are sharp as a knife, great reproduction quality. Good feel. Nice weight. No warping in the paper. Friesens Printing did an outstanding job on their very first comic book project. I hope they're proud of the result, because I sure am! (There are so many things which can go wrong on a print job, and my heart is always in my throat when these things arrive. I let out a huge sigh of relief as I inspected the book!)
My life over the next couple of weeks is all going to be about order fulfillment. There are a lot of sketches and signatures to draw, packages to assemble and label, and treks to the post office to be made.
But right now, I've got to get ready to head out to the New Booker School to take another comic book to press! (Well, small press. I was helping the kids there make their own comic book, and it's crunch time for them as well.) So much to do in these wonderful Spring days!
Opened to the Nova Scotian clear skies for the first time! Like a box of treasure. Ain't they pretty?
Feels good in the hand! I like the dimensions of these digest-sized graphic novels.
A nice, thick read! Good comics for your money.
Excellent reproduction; blacks are black, lines are sharp. . . I'm always super-worried until I squint at the reproduction quality; there are a lot of things which can go wrong, (many of which are only visible to the trained eye, but still. . .) These turned out perfectly! What a relief!
Also, these panels are double the size and more than twice the sharpness as they appear in their original incarnation in the Grapevine. It's good to at long last see them as they were intended.
The second volume, having come from a completely different printing company is surprisingly close in quality and dimensions to the first. Good! They'll fit nicely together on a bookshelf.
Though, the second is a touch thicker, and the cover a touch brighter, and I thought the first was next to perfect. Friesens Printing basically just blew me away. They've got a repeat customer in me, no question!
Cheers to you all, and thank-you to everybody who helped bring Stardrop "A Place to Hang My Spacesuit" into the world!
After the Big Shipment arrives, I'll be making this book generally available in a variety of sales venues. Stay tuned!
-Mark
Click on a book cover to learn more about it!
Over-Seas customers, please inquire about shipping costs.
The Red Book Vol.1
(154 Pages)
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ISBN 0-9681025-6-5 Pay: $15.00 CAN Thieves & Kings presents. . , The Walking Mage
64 pgs ISBN 0-9681025-5-7
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Stardrop Vol 2 "A Place to Hang My Spacesuit" (208 pgs) ISBN 978-0-9681025-8-9
