6-Commando

Page one-hundred-ten… TWO left to go!  Is the suspense killing you?  IS it?  I hope so.  I do TRY to make it suspenseful, without overdoing it.

I was really glad to have another exterior scene to finish out the chapter – although I like the claustrophobic effect the interiors in Command Post Alpha have (and the irony of calling this massive Maginot Line-style subterranean base a “command post”) the exteriors are very evocative, as well, and a final shot like this is just what the doctor ordered.  Incidentally, the soundtrack for this closing scene, if I were directing a movie, would be “Harry to the Hospital” by Riyuichi Sakamoto, and it would probably have had one of those Sam Raimi fly-by-wire shots that runs along the telephone cable to get us up to the surface.  But, well… we can’t all be Frank Miller and turn our tendentious comic books into heavily-stylized movies, can we?  So for now, I’ll go with this.

By the way, I just had to add in a visual homage this week, in honor of the fantabulous news that my favorite boardgame of all time, Ogre, is being reprinted in a fabulous deluxe edition, to be released this November, rather around the same time I’m aiming to release the first volume of 6-Commando.  It’s also being partially supported by means of a Kickstarter campaign, to fund the addition of extra material and parts for the game, like I’m thinking about doing for 6-Commando, to see if a hardcover “director’s cut” is manageable.  So this is really a thrill to watch for those reasons, as well as to look forward to.  But beyond that, I have to say that game-playing, the way we did it when I was a kid, anyhow, is much misunderstood, I believe; it’s a far more valuable activity than many people think.  It teaches strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, communication skills, hones personal interaction and the ability to see things from others’ perspective, and most importantly, it encourages imagination and an active mind in a way that television does not.  I spent many happy hours with friends playing Ogre when I was younger, friends who I’m still very close with today, and though some people may not have known it at the time, especially me, it was this much-maligned “geeky” activity which developed in me a deep respect for the value of intellectual pursuits for both my work and my recreation.  This been my greatest asset in both my private life and my professional career, and this has allowed me to find my way to making a living doing what I love to do rather than dreading my work and living for the weekend.  So to me, it’s particularly gratifying to see this game returning at last.  It may seem like I’m getting overly sappy over a science fiction boardgame, but believe me, it represents a lot to me.

And Ogre, of course, on a more mundane note, DID introduce me to science fiction, and also to giant tanks like the eponymous Ogres, Laumer’s BOLOs, Welles’ Land Ironclads, and all the others, which have been such grist for the 6-Commando mill.  And I don’t know if Steve Jackson has ever seen this page, but he can rest assured that there’s going to be a copy of 6-Commando with his name on it for that.

Anyway, enough of my nonsense for this week.  I will, however, mention that the last two pages are the new voting incentive at topwebcomics.com, if you want to have a look at them.  Other than that I’ll just shut up and let you get back to your regularly scheduled silliness.  Until next week, be well, folks!