QUANTUM CHRISTMAS CARD FOR 2014!

And we're back for the holidays after a long absence which will be explained shortly, I hope to your satisfaction.  It's time now for the 26th annual unveiling of the most awesome holiday event of all:  THE QUANTUM CHRISTMAS CARD!  And here it is.

Making his fifth official Card appearance is Nature's Child himself, Jon Wilde, a.k.a. WILD JON, accompanied this year by boyfriend and lifemate Thomas "Tom" Tierney, who I believe is the first supporting character ever to appear on a Card.  As we look in on Jon and Tom on Christmas morning, we find them in the middle of opening their goodies--or at least some of them!

Now, as for what's been going on the past few months.  We were supposed to have had The Adventures of Lucky Vega fully up and running after that first sequence of strips.  But I've had a lot of personal things going on that put the strip in a stall, and after that loss of initial momentum I started to reconsider some things.  I was happy with the strip as I had it, but I started to realize that I wasn't completely comfortable with the comic-strip format, those tight bands of panels in which I was drawing the story.  I found I wanted the story and the artwork to have more room to be more expansive, as in a regular comic book page.  At the same time I found my heart wasn't really in the idea of starting the whole thing over yet again.  At length I reluctantly decided it was time to change my major project for a while and come back to The Adventures of Lucky Vega more refreshed and really ready to do it up right at a later date.  That left me with the question, to which project should I switch?

For the present state of my personal life, I decided that I should go with the simplest thing I have.  Not simplistic, just simple and comparatively easy to accomplish while trying to negotiate some other things I have going on.  There was only one choice, and it's something as imaginative as you would expect and as sexy as you would like!  As for exactly what the new major project will be...   I've already dropped a big hint, though you'll have to come back for further news to learn exactly what it is I'm up to.  

Meanwhile, please feel free to forward and share this cosmic Card to your friends and loved ones as always.  It's about giving.

Happy Holidays, everyone, from Quantum Comics Blog.  Ho-ho-ho!

QUANTUM CHRISTMAS CARD FOR 2013!

It’s QUANTUM CHRISTMAS CARD time again! Can there be a more awesome holiday event than the annual unveiling of the cosmic Card?  Short of the appearance of Father Christmas at Macy's Parade, methinks not!  But this year's Card marks an extra-special occasion, for it is in fact the 25th annual Card!  Our tradition is now a quarter of a century old!  Bear in mind, since not everyone has known me or looked at my work for 25 years, only a very few people have actually seen the Card every year since I started.  And for some years there were actually TWO Cards, one of which went only to gay men and heterosexual women.  It's true.  But this is the 25th year in all that I've been creating these heroic holiday offerings, so for 2013 I wanted to do something really memorable.  So in the midst of production I made a critical decision and called out to the assembled Quantum heroes:  "Okay, lads, costumes off this time!  We're making it a SWIMSUIT EDITION!"

Everyone got on board for this, even Cirrus of the Environauts, who's very straight-but-not-narrow and prefers to strip only for his very fortunate girlfriend.  His little brother Aquarius, who's a model on the side, cajoled him into it.  "Come on, Trey, the Boss says costumes off.  Take one for the team…"  Wild Jon, Draco Rex, and Seastorm (making his debut this year) were game for it on the spot, as their standard or preferred outfits are either very revealing or almost nude anyway.  The World Champion, who publishes a men's fitness magazine, doffed his duds without hesitation.  The Serpent (also appearing for the first time), whose ambition other than to be a hero is to be one of those "octagon fighting championship" guys you see on TV, duly shed his suit; you know those guys do their fighting in nothing but their boxer briefs anyway.  (And this is supposed to be entertainment for straight men…)  And the also straight-but-not-narrow Satellite, another hero making his Card debut, has one of the best costumes ever but was willing to take it off for the entertainment of any ladies watching.  And so, here we have the 25th official Card in all its glory, and the tradition goes on.

As always, the Card is free to share with friends and loved ones as you desire, with my compliments.  Cheers and greetings from Draco Rex, Wild Jon, The Quantum, Idol, Seastorm, Cirrus, The World Champion, The Satellite, The Stone, Lucky Star, The Point, The Serpent, Aquarius, and their creator.  And may you all have a historically happy Holiday Season!

THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY VEGA: "INTERFACE" PAGE 8

Paloma is down, but she's not nearly out.  Lucky does not immediately press the advantage he's gained.  "Are you all right?" he asks.

Paloma replies, "What have I taught you about being afraid to hit 'a girl'?  Against some opponents that could cost you.  In fact, that could cost you now if you're not careful!"

Lucky says, "You're the teacher!"  As Roger looks on, Lucky shuts off the energy sword of his duo-blade and swings it around to its other business end.  And from the targeting laser that the other end emits, we get our first inkling of the truly clever and versatile way that the duo-blade lives up to its name!  Our mock combat has just gotten even more interesting...

THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY VEGA: "INTERFACE" PAGE 7

See what Lucky is doing with his gloved hand in Panel 1?  You'd think he was about to fire a line of webbing, but this is the wrong character and the wrong universe for that!  What he's really doing is activating the emitter in his glove for...the Vega Shield!  It's a personal force field whose original purpose we will learn as our adventure progresses, but for now Lucky and Paloma are field testing it in their mock combat on the Vega Estate grounds.  So far it's proving pretty effective--which is to say, effective enough to use as an offensive weapon with which Lucky gives his teacher a swat and sends her flying!  Lucky scores the first fall in the battle--but will he really be able to get past Ms. Reyes and break the Saturn-shaped pinata, emerging triumphant in her challenge?  We'll see...

THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY VEGA: "INTERFACE" PAGE 6

And the battle for the Saturn-shaped pinata, the challenge having been laid down in the previous post, is on!  With the energy swords of their duo-blades at the ready, Lucky and Paloma have at it!  FZZZAP!  Roger looks on as the duel is joined, narrating in his thoughts.  Lucky Vega--smartest kid in America, maybe the world.  My best friend.  Anything scientific, he can do it.  And he's as rich as a small country, probably richer than some big countries.  He and his Dad are out to create the future.  They invent things, make things happen.  And I get to see it first.  What scientific surprises is Roger about to witness this morning and in the adventures yet to come?  Keep following along and you'll get to see them too!

THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY VEGA: "INTERFACE" PAGE 5

We left off with Lucky facing a challenge and here it is.  The lady facing him, also with a duo-blade, is Paloma Reyes.  She is the head of security for Vega Enterprises and Lucky's self-defense and martial arts trainer.  Esteban hired her to keep an eye on Lucky years ago, after Lucky went through an abduction-and-ransom experience and was traumatized.  If you think of The Adventures of Lucky Vega as a latter-day Jonny Quest, Paloma is Race Bannon.  We'll learn more about Paloma as we go along.  What we need to know about her for the moment is that she is essentially a fearless woman.  In fact she loves danger and challenge and faces risky, perilous situations with a smile on her face that can be positively unnerving.  It's almost scary the way nothing ever rattles her.  She's an expert at all forms of armed and unarmed combat and can drive or ride anything, especially if it's male and gorgeous, as we'll see--though she loves her job with the Vegas and considers Lucky and his father off-limits.  They are among the few hot-looking single men whom she will not take to bed! 

Another young stud who is exempt from Paloma's voracious appetites is Lucky's best friend, Roger Blaisdell, the blond lad who also makes his first appearance on this page.  Lucky is an only child (another thing we'll be going into); Roger is kind of a surrogate brother for him.  Roger is a drama major and a semi-professional surfer; he's working as a lifeguard while he's in school.  He is Lucky's closest confidant; he and Lucky tell each other pretty much everything.  One day, Lucky and Roger will be half of a super-powered hero team, The Environauts.  (And we'll be meeting the other two as we go along--one of them, in fact, is right around the corner in this very story.)  Lucky will be the team leader, Lucky Star; Roger will be his lieutenant, called Aquarius.  It is here in The Adventures of Lucky Vega that we begin to learn that Roger always has Lucky's back.

Lucky's challenge from Paloma is simple:  All he has to do is use his duo-blade to break the Saturn-shaped pinata that she has mounted behind her, using the skills she has taught him and the technology at his disposal (not all of which we've seen yet, so keep following along!)  Oh, and to do it...he has to get past Paloma.  If you're thinking this will be easier said than done, you've obviously been paying attention!

THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY VEGA: "INTERFACE" PAGE 4

Segueing ahead from the Prologue (see the previous two posts), it's now the "Tomorrow" that little Lucky Vega dreamed about on hearing his father talk about the future he wanted Lucky to help him create.  That "Tomorrow" is also literally our tomorrow:  morning on the great Vega Estate in Manhattan Beach, CA.  But our Lucky is not so little any more:  He's 21 years old look at how he's grown up!  The weapon you see him handling here is called a duo-blade.  It appears to be a light sabre of the type that the Jedis and Siths used in Star Wars.  It's one of Lucky's father's inventions and there's a little surprise to it that George Lucas and company didn't think of; among the pages immediately to follow you'll learn just what that is!  Meanwhile, Lucky seems to be challenging someone to some kind of duel.  But whom would he be facing--an invader in his home (while he's dressed like that!) or someone else?  Keep following future posts and you'll see!