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So yeah.
My vacation in Maine was absolutely beautiful.
I'd ramble on and on about all the cool stuff I did out in the middle of nowhere, but the real beauty of it is that I didn't really do anything at all. I just sort of... existed. It was very zen and very relaxing.

But now I'm back, and it's time to get back to work.

I'm still packing up my entire life, changing my address on all my bills and slowly transferring everything over onto a new computer. Things are still very much in transition around here and I'm doing my best to stay organized. If you ordered a shirt from me before the Store closed and donated money for a wallpaper, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to send you your stuff. Please bear with me while I try to make sense of this disaster-area of an apartment. Everything I need to send out will be in the mail by Thursday at the latest.

I hope y'all are enjoying the Best of Dominic Deegan pictures in the meantime. I think they're all amazing and I send my thanks out to those who have been generous enough to help me while I'm in transition.

That's all from me for now! Now it's back to figuring out just where I packed all my DVDs...

I'm back from the greatest summer vacation of my entire life.
I'll post a more proper update later.

If you're reading this, I've probably got one foot out the door. I'm going on my first real vacation for the summer. Granted I've had to take some time off from the strip now and again, but that was just to make room for other work I had to do. And contrary to popular belief, conventions are "work weekends" for those of us behind a table.

So everyone behave yourselves while I'm gone. I don't want to come back to a mess.

But I feel it's only courteous of me to leave y'all with some goodies for your viewing pleasure.

First of all, we've got the newest Best of Dominic Deegan picture up above. Nice, huh? Got some good ones lined up for you next week, too. I'm super excited.

Next, the Fan Art pages have finally been updated! I've had this stuff since May, so there's plenty of stuff to take a look at. Go and have a look see! I guarantee you'll be impressed.

And finally, some quality pictures from the one and only Otakon last weekend! Cosplayers galore!
Luna in her shawl!
I autographed a rather scandalous body part on this young lady.
Rock out, Quilt!
Caylin Bren lives!
Luna in her blue dress! I even had to get a picture myself.
Dominic himself! I had to get a picture with him, too.
Donovan knows what real mean wear.

It was great to hang out at Otakon with all my webcomics friends, including Lem, Hawk & Ananth, Jeph, Trish & Damien, Matt & Ian, Brian (we need to do road trips more often!), Aido, Garth, Dave & Jamal, Jamie, and anyone else I forgot to mention because it was such a freakin' blast!

Now it's off to Maine for me. I'll be back next week sometime, just in time to pack up my house and scramble off to Texas. Yeesh.

It's that time again, my friends. New comic books came out yesterday, so here's a glance at what I picked up.

The first title I actually want to talk about came out last week, but I didn't get a chance to sing its praises because I shipped off to Otakon. The All-New Atom is a fantastic read and contains some great comic book superscience. The new scientist who has taken the mantle of The Atom is a great character, and so are his "mad scientist" cohorts. It's only two issues into the series, so be sure to pick this one up. It's a lot of fun.

I decided to give a new mini-series a try this week. Martian Manhunter is getting his own limited series, and so far it looks pretty awesome. It helps to have read the teaser story in Brave New World to really understand what's going on, but even if you haven't it's a pretty solid alien story. I was very pleased with issue one and I'm curious to see what limits the normally passive J'onn J'onzz will be pushed to.

The Incredible Hulk is continuing to impress me with its epic storyarc, Planet Hulk. It's amazing how the momentum hasn't faltered once with this whole tale, and it just keeps rolling in the newest issue. Everything on the war-torn planet is going straight to hell, and The Hulk seems to be at the helm. Between the prophecies, crazed emperors, rebellions and transformations in this issue, things just keep getting cooler.

The newest issue of Superman was quite enjoyable. Even the Man of Steel has awkward moments with ex-girlfriends. I thought this issue suffered a little from too much "standing around and talking about stuff," but that didn't stop me from enjoying the appearance of the mysterious Subjekt 17 and the sorcerous Arion. Am I a sucker for magic types? Yeah.

And last but not least, it's week fourteen of the stellar 52. Just for the record, last week's installment was nothing less than heartbreaking. Read it. This week we visit the partying streets of Kahndaq and the laboratory of Doctor Magnus. The intrigue is really building up, and I'm curious to see just what the connection is between the disappearing mad scientists, Intergang, Kahndaq, the ressurrection cult and Lex Luthor's sinister plan. "Tell me today's not Wednesday." *chuckle*

I said I'd have Otakon pics and a con report up today, but I changed my mind. I'll put them up tomorrow along with a massive update to the Fan Art pages. Might as well start the weekend with a bang, right?

Hope you folks are enjoying these fine Best of Dominic Deegan pictures. I know I am. And there's even more to come, so stay tuned!

I just wanted to pop my head in to say that I should have an Otakon convention report up tomorrow (complete with pictures!) along with yet another installment of Comic Book Day reviews. Also, the much-neglected Fan Art pages should be updated on Friday when that day's "Best of..." picture is posted.

That's all from me for now!

Okay, so I've got two really big announcements to make here, so listen up. Or read up, as it were. Whatever. The following is kind of important.

First and foremost, OTAKON is this weekend! This is the biggest convention of the year for me and I'll be debuting Dominic Deegan Volume One and a Half there! At least I should be, barring any last-minute disasters with the printer. But if all goes well, you'll be able to pick up this 128-page collection of the first nine chapters of Dominic Deegan! That's about four hundred and twenty strips total! I worked really hard on this and I'm very proud of it, so be sure to check it out if you come to see me!

Now comes the post-Otakon news.

Remember how I was preparing to help my ladyfriend move to Texas? Well as it turns out, I'm going with her. Come September I will be leaving the comforts of the Boston area and blazing new trails down to Texas.

As such, I need to take the month of August off from the strip. I need to do things like pack up my house, arrange for transportation, get my life in order to move across the country, say goodbye to family and friends, and just generally take some "time off" while I prepare for this major moment in the life of Mookie.

But that does not mean there won't be any new content here during August. I have enlisted the aid of some very talented artists to do a series of pictures entitled "The Best of Dominic Deegan." Starting as early as this Friday you'll see their interpretations of some of the best moments from Dominic Deegan over the last four years. What constitutes a "best moment?" These are the parts of the strip that were either a lot of fun for me and/or were very well received by you, my wonderful readers. It will update on a Monday - Wednesday - Friday schedule for the month, so be sure to stop by and check out which moments are considered "the best" and who got to draw which ones!

Graciously drawing The Best of Dominic Deegan will be:
Jenny Bannock
"Terra the Dancing Pirate" (link coming soon)
Garth Graham
Sarah Dungan
Pascalle!
Xero Reynolds
Hawk
Aido

Quite a lineup, no?


p.s.- Please don't ask me WHERE in Texas I'll be moving to. My ladyfriend and I like our privacy and she'd downright murder me if I gave out that information on the internet. :)

I picked up six titles yesterday from the comic book shop. Every Wednesday I go to pick up the week's new comics, and this was the first time in a while that my satisfaction with my purchases was literally split right down the middle.

I'll talk about the three I really didn't like first...

I have finally lost interest in The Warlord. I gave the artwork a chance because it was a little unusual, but in this latest issue I finally couldn't handle it anymore. Stick figures? A comic book by a huge company actually has stick figures passing for a crowd? Not to mention the writing is trying way too hard to be "fantasy."

The newest issue of Hawkgirl got on my nerves, too. I've been giving the new mystery storyarc a try, but the pacing has been so slow as of late and the artwork just makes me mad. Not to mention the sheer ridiculousness of Hawkgirl going into battle wearing effing lingerie under her costume? Give me a break. I'm going to stick this one out because I'm a big fan of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and I hope things turn around in this series soon.

I haven't really been enjoying the Amazing Spider-Man lately, ever since that pointless "The Other" storyarc, and I'm enjoying the Civil War tie-ins even less. I guess it doesn't help that I don't like Civil War to begin with. The last six issues or so have just been a lot of standing around and talking. A lot. Nothing really happens. I honestly don't know how much longer I'm gonna stick with Spidey.

And now for the good stuff...

Amazing Spider-Man may be losing favor with me, but the charmingly addictive Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane never fails to provide me with a guilty pleasure every month. Yeah, there's always a lot of standing around and talking about stuff, but there's just something about the writing, the dialogue, the pacing and the charm that keeps me hooked. Not to mention "Dr. Spidey" made me chuckle.

The newest Action Comics! provided me with my healthy dose of Superman this week. I can always count on Superman's adventures to take me away to that special comic booky place in my heart. This month he's up against a global threat of aliens who seem quite good at theft and... merchandising. I'm very eager to see where this goes.

And finally, and this should be no surprise to anyone who's been reading my comic book reviews, but week twelve of the superb 52 was the best thing I read. Black Adam is featured in this issue and he's quickly becoming one of the more fascinating characters in this series. Even Captain Marvel (one of my favorite superheroes these days) makes a particularly memorable appearance. "Stop snoring, Sloth!" *snicker* If you're not reading this, you're really missing out on some excellent comic bookery.

Just in case anyone's wondering, here's what Dominic is "officially" saying in today's strip...

Panel 1: "When did you two get back in Quiral?"
Panel 2: "Mourning clothes? Then Bulgak is...?"
Panel 4: "I am so very sorry..."
Panel 7: "Yeah. Siegfried Gunther Aern Damaske von--"
Panel 8: (if you can't figure this one out, I'm not telling you)

Not much to report for today, my friends.
Gearing up for Otakon in a couple of weeks and a few things have got me super stressed out. Shouldn't affect the comic updating, but keep an eye out here next week for an important announcement concerning the comic and me for the month of August.

I never did a "Comic Book Day!" review last week, so here's the short version of what I picked up:

Shadowpact #3- Entertaining but badly paced.
Justice League of America #0- Entertaining but confusing.
Uncle Sam & The Freedom Fighters #1- Love the look of the new team.
The Flash #2- Solid second issue.
ManBat #4- Darkly funny.
Aquaman #43- Amazing.
52 #11- Funny, action-packed, and creepy. I love this title.

I picked up a whole bunch of great new comics yesterday and I want to tell you folks all about them, but it's late as I'm writing this and I have a zit on the inside of my freaking eyelid. But I'll be talking all about 52, Aquaman, The Flash, Shadowpact and other good reads some time later today or tomorrow.

But I want to thank all of you for the tremendous amount of e-mails I've received in the past few days regarding the War In Hell storyline. My inbox is literally flooded. If I had the time to respond to each and every one of you individually, I would, but let me say that I had read each and every one of your letters and they are all very much appreciated. I really cannot express my gratitude enough for all your continued support and encouragement. You folks really are the greatest readers in the world.

And finally, yes, the "Hell's Lieutenant" wallpaper is intentionally blurry. I kinda like how it looks that way.

Wow.
I had a lot of people really mad at me this weekend. Lots of forum posts and e-mails about how upset y'all were about Siegfried's death. There was even some name-calling in a few instances. I kinda felt like there was a big middle-finger hovering over me wherever I went this weekend, like one of those little black rainclouds... only in the shape of a middle finger. Hell, even my mother was mad at me this weekend (although for completely unrelated reasons).

But Siggy's demise seemed to open up a floodgate of feedback about how unhappy many of you are with this storyarc and the comic in general. Many of you said that the comic has "gone astray" or "descended into melodrama" or "there's too much angst." For those of you who would like things to lighten up, I ask you to bear with me for just a little while longer while things wrap up with The War In Hell. Afterwards, things won't be so "epic" around here.
Oh, and there won't be so much crying in the rain.

And finally, July's Donation Wallpapers are finally up, albeit weeks late. My apologies.

Oops. I didn't spell "lieutenant" correctly.
I could've sworn there were two Ns in there.

Oh well. I think I'll leave it there anyway, right along with "flare for the dramatic" a few weeks ago.

July's wallpapers will be up today at some point.

I think if I were the type of person to title my strips, I think today's would be called "Snap." Hmm. I may have finally broken poor Dominic.

Today's Thursday, so that means I picked up a few new comic books yesterday at my local comic book store. Let's see what I got my hands on, shall we?

Oh baby oh baby! The new ongoing Ghost Rider series started! Ghost Rider was the first comic book I ever collected and the artist was Mark Texeira. He drew, in my opinion, the definitive Ghost Rider... and now he's doing it again. This is a pretty solid first issue as Ghost Rider tries to break out of Hell. Worth picking up.

The latest issue of Superman features a new writer, new artist and new storyline. "Up, Up and Away!" was such a great arc that I thought anything following it would be a disappointment. Was I ever wrong. What captured me most about this issue was that despite being the greatest superhero in the world, even Superman has "one of those Mondays." I look forward to more and more Superman these days.

And wouldn't you know it? There's some great Superman moments in week ten of the ambitious and addictive 52! Granted, he's lost his powers in this story so he spends a year simply as Clark Kent. It was the little things in this issue like cutting himself shaving and forgetting to put on oven mitts that really grabbed me. Not to mention the great way he got Supernova's attention. Just who is behind that mask, anyway?

July's Donation Wallpapers should be up this weekend. A great deal of you will not be terribly happy with me by then. Consider yourselves warned.

Aaaaand we're back. Again.
I hope y'all aren't too angry with me for that little cliffhanger. Boom.

Portcon Maine and ConnectiCon were outstanding. I had an immeasurable amount of fun at both, but at opposite ends of the spectrum. Portcon was a lovely, mellow convention where I got to sit back, chill out and have leisurely talks with attendees and fellow guests. Connecticon was a mile-a-minute thrill-ride that blew my mind.

Here's a few memorable pictures to illustrate just what I'm talking about...

PortCon Maine
Dominic is my Maine man!
Nami and I know how to RAWK!

ConnectiCon
I was paid a visit by the alluring and treacherous Lady Loxo!
A little clay Melna by Anne of All Roses Have Thorns!
Celesto, Gregory, Dominic, The Infernomancer and Siggy! All at once!
Dominic, Donovan, Quilt, Celesto, Grench and Melna! All at once! It was rather uplifting!
Three lovely orc ladies?! Ilka tuk tak!
Sorry Stonewater, but Grench is with me.
Donovan really can't stop showing off his Kelsheen Mark.
One-legged Dominic and Celesto in the same room! Unbelievable!

I really cannot express what an amazing time I've had these last two weeks. Much love to everyone at Portcon and ConnectiCon. You all know who you are and you all know how much you mean to me.

And if any other photos of me happen to surface during the course of this week... well... I'm afraid to say that everything you'll see is absolutely true.

That's all for now.

If you're reading this, I'm probably already having a blast at ConnectiCon. The strip will resume on Tuesday.

I know I said I was going to have some fillers for this weekend while I'm gone...

...but I think this cliffhanger works much better.

Boom.