Hired. Hired As.

So, Heroes For Hire - just announced. Andy and I are very excited, and it's nice that Marvel is giving us a tilt at something a zillion light years away from our cosmic stuff. We think you'll really enjoy this series, and we're shooting for that tightly plotted, unexpected character combo feel we had in the very un-street team book Guardians of the Galaxy. Read us talk about the series here, and see the pre-buzz build here. Brad's art on this is eye-gasmic*.

Just so we're clear before the comments flood in, two things: first, I KNOW some of these characters can't be 'hired'. It's a little format reinvention, so go with it and see how much happy-happy-joy-joy it can be before you express outrage. Second, please PLEASE realise I have no say in - or control over - how, or when, or in what form the cosmic books might be published, or whether they're on hiatus or not. That's why Marvel is the "publisher" and I'm the "hired word monkey". I don't make the decisions, and when you wag your finger at me as though I do, please bear in mind I might be quite emotionally invested in the cosmic stuff too.

Aaaand relax. Anyway, one bright spark of cosmic loveliness to come that I can promise (apart from the cock-spankingly** amazing conclusion to The Thanos Imperative) is the Rocket and Groot mini series. Tim Green is doing amazing work on this, and we (by 'we', I mean DnA,) feel confident that you'll enjoy more explosive fun with this series than you would from twenty four hours locked in a XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX with XXXXXX XXXXXX and two XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX and a full XXXXXXX and absolutely zero inhibitions. ***

In other news, Games Day UK fast approaches. Look, look at it, whizzing towards us! How will we cope? How will we begin to navigate our way around the sheer awesome-ness-ness**** of it all? I'm glad you asked. Here's a map.

Now don't say I never give you anything.

Are you excited yet? Is your costume ready? is it? Iiiissssss it? Nik's is. Are you part of Xhalax's Titan crew? What do you mean, you don't know what I'm talking about?


The last few days, we've been having great fun hanging with Shira Calpurnia author Matt Farrer who, along with James and Donna, is visiting from Australia in time for Games Day. They are great company, and we've had a lot of laughs. An unnecessary amount of our amusement has derived from this vid. And the concept of the indifferent lamington. And awful puns based on the word "Hever".

Haven't got time to post all the pics, but here are a few:








Matt versus Anne Boleyn's attack swans. Bro, they were beached as, them swans.
















We gave them Hever, Hever in the morning (see what I mean about puns?). Donna was also denied gravy at Hever, but we don't talk about that.

















A maze, like wot we got lost in. There was a water maze too, wot we got wet in. Wet as. In the Tudor-bethan era, people must've thought: "I know what would be a fun activity. Extreme hedge navigation."











Meanwhile, in a moodier part of the county, Rochester Castle continued to look windswept and interesting, even though his name was Norman.











Speaking of Rocket and Groot, as we were earlier:


Idea for a new series house ad Marvel would never allow #9
A full page splash shot of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, full figure, armed to the teeth, posing with guns, looking us right in the eye. Leave space for series logo and credits.
Caption: “Got wood?”



* technical comic editor terminology.
** technical term of literary criticism, copyright Big Steve 2010.
*** Content redacted for extreme rudity.
**** A real word in real dictionaries. Look, I ought to know, I is a writist.