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I think you were all in a garment making mood this round! Hookin On Hump Day is back again with another fantastic collection of knit and crochet patterns and posts for you! Get all the links, and check out the new entries below – there’s so much amazing stuff to explore! What is Hookin On...

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So my Castles & Crusades rpg campaign has been humming along with me updating various adventure elements thanks in part to the Castles & Crusades rpg community on Facebook. I was able to get my local print shop to do an incredible bang up job on my recent purchases from Drivethrurpg.So I've been incorporating huge swaths of past campaigns & that brings me to one of my most Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Just looking over these old sessions and I have to say, it really takes my breath away:

• The Hole in the Sky
• The Thing in the Sewer
• The Big Score
• The Drums of the Dog People
• Altar of the Beast-women
• The Pugs of Slaughter
• The Overbearing of the Crystal Men
• The Song of Fàgor

The excitement from that initial flash of inspiration coming to life. My attempts at adventure design blowing up in my face or collapsing in unexpected ways. One page dungeons that never got used. My mistakes in carelessly interpreting monster manual entries being revisited and then evolving into significant campaign elements. Encumbrance rules creating an awesome game scenario out of nothing. Players going in disorganized and without a plan and nearly meeting their doom for nothing. That time we stayed up until midnight because we HAD to play one more delve. That one multi-class elf character that took over the game session with his unquenchable thirst for the ludicrous. The Swoleceror spellbook that never got recovered. Oghma sitting in and showing everyone what play is like when an elite player seizes the initiative. The crescendo of a half-orc’s improvised composition conjuring an entire world.

Every session completely different from every other. Rude sketches on loose leaf paper held together by little else than random monster results, a fanatical commitment to playing by the AD&D rules as closely as possible, and the audacity and persistence of the players.

All of it emerging out of exchanges that go like this:

Players: Who the frack is this guy’s superior officer?
DM: Uh… I dunno… uh. He answers to the prince.
Players: What? That’s insane.
DM: Yeah, yeah. Sure. He totally answers directly to the prince.
Players: Okay, we go talk to the prince.
DM: (Under his breath) Oh crap.
DM: Okay, you go see Prince… uh… um…
Players: Yeah?
DM: Yeah, it’s Prince Elric.
Dan: I LOVE THIS GAME

It shouldn’t work. It can’t work. None of this makes sense. But then out of the chaos something just seems to emerge in spite of everything: Swords & Swolecery! A Game of Terrific Trollops, Glittering Gold, & Punishing Pugmen!

No other campaign would play quite like this. And yet… it is undeniably pure and unadulterated first edition AD&D.

Easily the best game ever made. Don’t settle for less!

CGC is excited to host comic industry super-duo Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner for an In-House Private Signing! Co-founders of PAPERFILMS, Palmiotti and Conner are currently working on the extremely well-received Harley Quinn relaunch and other Harley Quinn-related titles for DC Comics. Some of Palmiotti and Conner’s other popular titles include Daredevil and Punisher from Marvel Knights, X-O Zero, Johah Hex, Ninjak, Powergirl, Silk Spectre, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman.

“I have been working with CGC for years, and I’m very excited to spend a day at their headquarters, signing books and interacting with all of the people who support us,” said Palmiotti. “I can’t wait to see what’s submitted, from our newer works to the classics that got us where we are today.”

Conner added, “While it looks like the conventions are going to be a bust this year, this CGC In-House Private Signing means you can still get signed comics! It won’t be the same as seeing all of your beautiful faces in person, but you can still fill out some of your collection.”

For Palmiotti and Conner’s CGC In-House Private Signing, both free and paid CGC members can submit collectibles directly to CGC headquarters in Florida. CGC will coordinate with Palmiotti and Conner for the collectibles to be signed in mid-July.

If the CGC In-House Private Signing needs to be rescheduled due to travel restrictions or other reasons, CGC will securely store all submissions in its vault until the event can be rescheduled.

Books can be submitted for only Jimmy Palmiotti’s signature or for only Amanda Conner’s signature, or books can be submitted for both signatures! After Palmiotti and Conner sign the submitted books, CGC will grade and encapsulate them with an expedited turnaround time of only three weeks. If CCS pressing is also requested, the expedited turnaround time will be six weeks. After grading and encapsulation, the collectibles will be shipped back to their owners.

Check CGC social media channels for any signing and scheduling updates.

The fee for this CGC In-House Private Signing is $60 per item for Jimmy Palmiotti’s signature OR Amanda Conner’s signature, or $70 for both signatures per collectible. The applicable fee includes:

• The signature(s) of the creator(s)
• Expedited turnaround time of three weeks for CGC grading
• Expedited turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading and CCS pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CCS pressing)
• Encapsulation with CGC’s iconic yellow Signature Series label

CGC must receive all submissions for this event at its Florida headquarters by Friday, June 26, 2020.

Submission Instructions

For this CGC In-House Private Signing event, you can ship submissions directly to CGC with a FREE membership. Paid memberships are also available and include additional benefits. For more information and to join, visit CGCcomics.com/join.

To submit books for the signing:

• Log into your account or sign up for an account HERE.
• Click Submit in the CGC website navigation and select Submission Forms.
• Next to Comics / Magazines, select Online Form.
• Select Comic or Magazine from the drop-down menu, then select Private Signing and IN-HOUSE SIGNING – JIMMY PALMIOTTI, IN-HOUSE SIGNING AMANDA CONNER, OR IN-HOUSE SIGNING – JIMMY AND AMANDA from the dropdown menu in that section.
• Under Services, select Grading and, if you would like it, Pressing. Then hit Next in the top right section of the form.
• Enter the information requested for your comic, and make sure to check the box next to JIMMY PALMIOTTI, AMANDA CONNER OR BOTH under Private Signing Details.
• On the next screen, you can add one of CGC’s custom Marvel labels to your submission for qualifying books.
• Select Add to Cart, and then repeat if there are additional books in your submission. If there are no additional books in your submission, click on the cart icon and proceed to checkout.
• Note: If you want to submit magazines, please group them together on their own private signing form separate from comic submissions. The same rule applies for any custom labels. Please group them together on their own private signing form separate from non-custom labels. To see the available labels, click HERE.
• Put ALL ungraded books in window bags or they will not be accepted.
• Books that are already certified by CGC, including CGC Signature Series books, can be submitted for this event. CGC will remove a CGC-certified book from its holder an additional $5 fee.
• Carefully package books in a box for shipment. If you need a CGC shipping kit, they can be purchased HERE.
• Please write JA on all sides of the box.
• Books will be received into CGC’s system when they arrive and will be safely stored by CGC until the event. (Please note: Payments are processed as they normally are: at the time of the collectibles’ arrival at CGC.)
• Once books are signed, they will start an expedited CGC grading process.

PLEASE NOTE:

All submissions must be received by CGC no later than Friday, June 26, 2020, to qualify for this private signing event. No change requests will be accepted after Friday, June 26, 2020.

Membership credits cannot be applied to CGC In-House Private Signings.

*No Multi-Sigs included with other signings. Learn More

Discover the Star-Studded “Must Read” Limited Series from BOOM! Studios in June 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 19, 2020) – BOOM! Studios today revealed a first look at the surprise release of WYND #1, kicking off an all new original limited series by the award-winning superstars James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children, Batman) and artist Michael Dialynas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), with letterer Aditya Bidikar (Isola). Tynion IV and Dialynas previously collaborated for three years on the GLAAD Award winning series The Woods.

WYND #1 introduces readers to a world where magical heritage is punishable by death, so a young boy named Wynd must keep his true identity – and pointy ears – a secret from everyone in Pipetown, even if it means he’ll never have the normal life he wants. But when his secret is threatened, Wynd is forced to leave his home behind to embark on a dangerous quest that will put him at the heart of a royal conspiracy beyond his imagination.

This is the first original series from BOOM! Studios to be announced and solicited outside of the traditional solicitation cycle, which normally involves soliciting product three months in advance to retailers and fans. Though WYND was originally announced as an original graphic novel from the BOOM! Box imprint for a November 2020 release, the company saw a unique opportunity to deliver fans and retailers a new Must Read series at a crucial time in the comics industry.

WYND #1 features a main cover illustrated by series artist Michael Dialynas and variant cover art by acclaimed artists Dan Mora (Once & Future) and Peach Momoko (Batman: The Adventures Continue).

WYND is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Faithless by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet; Folklords by Matt Kindt and Matt Smith; The Red Mother by Jeremy Haun and Danny Luckert; King of Nowhere by W. Maxwell Prince and Tyler Jenkins; and Alienated by Simon Spurrier and Chris Wildoose. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties including Joss Whedon’s Firefly from Greg Pak and Dan McDaid; Buffy the Vampire Slayer from Jordie Bellaire and David López; Angel from Bryan Edward Hill and Gleb Melnikov; and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Ryan Parrott and Daniele Di Nicuolo.

Print copies of WYND #1 will be available for sale on June 17, 2020 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire.

For continuing news on WYND and more from BOOM!, stay tuned to boom-studios.comand follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

Sprouse, in partnership with Heavy Metal Magazine & DIGA Studios, presents new

action-packed series, now available for preorder

 

NEW YORK, NY (May 19, 2020)— Actor and entrepreneur Dylan Sprouse today announced details of his upcoming comic book series, Sun Eater. The series, which he wrote and is drawn from his enthusiasm for his Scandinavian roots and all things Pagan, will be brought to life through Sprouse’s recently formed partnership with Heavy Metal, the world’s foremost illustrated sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine, and DIGA Studios, the next-gen content studio.

 

Sun Eater is a nine-issue saga that takes place in ninth century Norway, where a drug-addled warrior sacrifices his leg to the Gods.  In return he is fused with a parasitic beast, giving him the power to rescue his son from his sworn enemies—history’s first Norwegian king and his five personal guards. The result is a grim and bloody adventure—a dark metaphor for drug addiction, selfishness, and the children it affects.

 

“I love fantasy-action and I wanted to create something that would appeal to newer fans of the genre while tackling an elevated story,” said Sprouse. “The characters I wrote are from actual tales and bardic songs, and the story is about the adult, dark, grotesque, and somber world of Sun Eater and its desperate, faulty protagonist. While I have been actively writing Sun Eater for years, the culmination of the content rings especially true for me now, at this stage of my life.”

 

Kveldulf, a character written for and dedicated to Sprouse’s mother, is a fantastical rendering of what he wished she could’ve been when he was growing up.  The Norwegian setting and its mysterious clans and violent sagas are based on stories told to Sprouse by his Scandinavian-American grandparents.

 

The comic book series is available for pre-order now via https://shop.heavymetal.com/collections/suneater, with the first issue starting to ship on July 17th. The series will also be available in select comic retail stores starting August 7th.  Packaged pre-order options with issues shipping monthly include:

 

 

• Issue 1 only: $4.99 + shipping & tax
• Issues 1-9: $39.99 + shipping & tax
• Issues 1-9, each autographed by Sprouse: $179.99 + shipping & tax
• Issues 1-9, each autographed by Sprouse with a four–pack of mead with every issue from Sprouse’s All–Wise Meadery: $379.99 + shipping & tax
• Issues 1-9, each autographed by Sprouse with a four–pack of mead with every issue from All–Wise Meadery, and special reads and behind the scenes videos from Sprouse about Sun Eater: $449.99 + shipping & tax

 

Additionally, five Sun Eater Gold Cards are hidden in issues for a few lucky recipients to find and win one free glass of mead upon every visit to Dylan’s meadery in Brooklyn, All–Wise Meadery, for life.

 

Sun Eater is co-written by Joe Harris, edited by Joseph Illidge and illustrated by Diego Yapur, with cover art by Brian Steelfreeze.  The comic book series is part of multi-genre project under DIGA Studios and Heavy Metal’s recently announced partnership, with plans to adapt the content off the page and onto the screen and beyond.

This week marks the fourth year of Blizzard Entertainment’s hero shooter Overwatch, which brings with it their yearly anniversary event. It is also most likey the last anniversary event before the release of the shooter’s sequel Overwatch 2, due out later this year.

With the anniversary event comes new skins, dances, emotes, sprays, and icons for the heroes. All previous items that were exclusive to specific events will be available as well. Also, all brawl events during the year are unlocked to play. Different brawl events will be playable each week.

As with previous events, there will be 3 new weekly challenges. These will involved Sigma, Widowmaker, and McCree. Players will have a chance to unlock a new spray, icon, and skin for the three heroes. A new item is won after winning 3, 6, and 9 games with the new skin being the last to be won.

The Overwatch 2020 Anniversary Event runs May 19-June 9. Check out more below:

 

 Discover the Robot Hero of Silicon City Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before in August 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 19, 2020) – BOOM! Studios, in partnership with WildBrain Ltd. and Dentsu Entertainment USA, today announced MEGA MAN: FULLY CHARGED, a brand new six-issue comic book series from Mega Man: Fully Charged television series writers A.J. Marchisello and Marcus Rinehart, along with artist Stefano Simeone (Read Only Memories) and acclaimed comics creators and TV/film executive producers, creators, and writers, Man of Action Entertainment.

Based on the television series of the same name, MEGA MAN: FULLY CHARGED features heroes like Mega Man, Rush, and Dr. Light in fully charged adventures battling the wickedest of Robot Masters led by Dr. Wily.

After Mega Man’s father Dr. Light is kidnapped, a shocking truth rocks Mega Man’s world as it seems the Robot Masters know more about his secret history than he does. But as Dr. Wily’s machinations trigger Mega Man’s forgotten memories of the brutal human/robot war, our hero is left to question just who he is and if he can trust anything or anyone – including the man he calls father.

“We are excited to see the expansion of the Mega Man: Fully Charged television series into comics, a medium we love so dearly. AJ and Marcus have been with the show from the beginning, and along with Stefano are delivering a fantastic, slick looking and modern Mega Man tale.” said Man of Action Entertainment

A.J. Marchisello is a storyteller and meditation guide based out of Silicon Beach, CA. After graduating with an MFA in Film and Television from UCLA, Marchisello went on to be a screenwriter or story editor on multiple Cartoon Network shows. Most recently, his two passions have collided through co-writing on a to-be-announced series about mindfulness with his brother, Tanner.

Marcus Rinehart is a screenwriter and story editor with an affinity for all-ages action/adventure. His credits include Ben 10, Power Players, and Mega Man: Fully Charged, both the TV series and now the comic. Born and raised in South Carolina, he currently resides in Los Angeles.

“Having worked on the Mega Man: Fully Charged television series, we’re honored to help usher this story from screen to page. Man of Action’s unique take is a Mega-fan’s dream, and thanks to BOOM! Studios, that dream has come true,” said Marchisello and Rinehart

Stefano Simeone is a comic book artist from Rome, Italy, best known for his four award-winning graphic novels for Tunué and Bao Publishing and also his work for Sergio Bonelli Editore. Simeone has also done work for the Disney Pixar’s Cars 3 graphic novel, Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated for Aftershock Comics, and Read Only Memories, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi for IDW.

“I can’t believe I’m working on something that I grew up with and enjoyed so much when I was a kid,” said Simeone. “I’m very happy to be working on a new Mega Man comic book, and I can’t wait to share my enthusiasm and excitement on the pages of this series with readers and fans everywhere!”

The animated television series Mega Man: Fully Charged is based on the Mega Man video game franchise from Capcom. Developed and produced by Man of Action Studios, Dentsu Entertainment USA, and WildBrain, the series originally aired on Cartoon Network in the United States. In the series, regular robo-kid, Aki Light, discovers secret programming and transforms into Mega Man to battle the wickedest of Robot Masters in Fully Charged adventures!

“You’ve never seen Mega Man like this before,” said Matthew Levine, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Joe, A.J., Marcus, and Stefano have created a high-octane adventure that explodes off every page. Longtime fans and new readers alike are sure to find everything they love and expect from the character, but packaged in the rich and provoking world of the Mega Man: Fully Charged television series.”

Print copies of MEGA MAN: FULLY CHARGED #1, featuring main cover art by Toni Infante (Champions), as well as variant cover art by artist Miguel Mercado (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), are scheduled to be available in August 2020 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the one nearest you) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers like comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire. Due to the ongoing impact of the current global health crisis, the final release schedule of this series is subject to change.

For continuing news on the MEGA MAN:FULLY CHARGED comic book series and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

5150 Send Lawyers, Guns and Money now on sale. Includes:

• 35 Color Counters including Billy Pink and the Crew, Mr. Bad Example, Razors, Grath, Hishen and more.
• 2 Full color Battle Boards.
• 10 Encounters you can play anytime you want.
• 16 Encounters tied into two Stories.
• All this and more.

Check it out!

First Official Owen Hart T-Shirt in 20 Years – All Proceeds Go To The OHF!

To commemorate Vice Media’s Dark Side of the Ring Episode ‘Owen Hart’s Final Days’ the OHF has produced Owen Hart T-shirts with One Hour Tees. Includes a Authenticity Certificate. https://t.co/hcJOAvBgUt pic.twitter.com/sCSKnmo3jV

— The Owen Hart Foundation (@owen_foundation) May 19, 2020

New release dates include the official start of EMPYRE, Marvel’s earth-shattering comics event of 2020!

 

Find and support your local comic book shop at http://comicshoplocator.com

 

New York, NY— May 19, 2020 — As fans everywhere prepare for the return of new Marvel comics at their local comic shops next week, Marvel is thrilled to reveal its release schedule for comics and collections through the rest of July! Upcoming releases include new installments for fan-favorite series like X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, and AVENGERS, and the highly anticipated start of Marvel’s earth-shattering comics event, EMPYRE!

 

Now releasing weekly starting July 15, Marvel’s sprawling space epic will leave the Marvel Universe changed forever. As EMPYRE begins, the Kree and the Skrulls have united under a new emperor – and their war fleet is on a collision course for our world. The Avengers are ready to strike with the full power of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, while the Fantastic Four are seeking a diplomatic solution…but will they be able to stop this unstoppable new Alliance?

 

“We couldn’t be more excited to start rolling out new Marvel comics again on a weekly basis, including our long-anticipated cosmic summer event, Empyre!” said Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski. “We know Marvel fans are eager to dive back into the Marvel Universe, and we can’t wait to bring you spectacular new stories with stunning art every Wednesday. As anticipation and excitement builds, we’ll continue to keep a balanced release schedule for our comics and trade collections, and starting in mid-July, fans can look forward to even more releases for Marvel’s latest comics!”

 

Check out the current release schedule for your favorite Marvel comics below, and be sure to ask your local comic book shop about their current business policies to observe social distancing or other services they may offer, including holding or creating pull lists, curbside pick-ups, special deliveries and other options to accommodate. Find and support your local comic book shop at http://comicshoplocator.com or by visiting http://marvel.com/lovecomicshops.

 

Marvel Comics Additional Release Schedule (available in print and digital):

For Marvel’s full release schedule starting May 27, visit Marvel.com:

 

Wednesday, July 15:

Comics:

• 2020 iWOLVERINE #1 (MAR200973)
• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #44 (FEB200926)
• AVENGERS #34 (MAR201019)
• CAPTAIN MARVEL #17 (FEB200964)
• EMPYRE #1 (FEB200753)
• FANTASTIC FOUR #21 (FEB200793)
• GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: MAGNETO #1 (FEB200889)
• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #4 (FEB200975)
• IMMORTAL HULK #35 (MAR201021)
• SPIDER-WOMAN #2 (FEB200916)
• VENOM #26 (MAR200999)

Collections:

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: FULL CIRCLE HC (OCT191101)
• ASTONISHING X-MEN COMPANION TPB (FEB201062)
• CONAN: SERPENT WAR TPB (JAN201066)
• DEATH OF WOLVERINE PRELUDE: THREE MONTHS TO DIE TPB (JAN201073)
• MS. MARVEL BY SALADIN AHMED VOL. 2: STORMRANGER TPB (JAN201060)
• RUNAWAYS: PRIDE & JOY MARVEL SELECT HC (OCT191102)
• THE UNCANNY X-MEN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC KANE COVER (NEW PRINTING 3) (NOV190957)
• THE UNCANNY X-MEN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC WATSON COVER (NEW PRINTING 3, DM ONLY) (NOV190958)

 

Wednesday, July 22

Comics:

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: SINS RISING PRELUDE #1 (FEB200922)
• DAREDEVIL #21 (MAR201052)
• EMPYRE #2 (FEB200766)
• EMPYRE: AVENGERS #1 (FEB200782)
• EMPYRE: X-MEN #1 (MAR200834)
• HELLIONS #2 (FEB200872)
• LORDS OF EMPYRE: EMPEROR HULKLING #1 (FEB200784)
• NEW MUTANTS #11 (MAR200909)
• STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA #2 (FEB201027)
• WOLVERINE #3 (FEB200881)
• X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR #4 (FEB200877)

Collections:

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2099 COMPANION TPB (FEB201056)
• AVENGERS BY JASON AARON VOL. 6: STARBRAND REBORN TPB (FEB201055)
• ETERNALS BY JACK KIRBY: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION TPB CLASSIC COVER (DM ONLY) (APR201085)
• ETERNALS BY JACK KIRBY: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION TPB REMASTERED COVER (APR201084)
• MILES MORALES VOL. 3: FAMILY BUSINESS TPB (FEB201048)
• RUINS OF RAVENCROFT TPB (APR201103)
• VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOL. 4: VENOM ISLAND TPB (FEB201050)
• WOLVERINE: WEAPON X TPB (NEW PRINTING 2) (FEB201066)
• X-FORCE BY BENJAMIN PERCY VOL. 1 TPB (DNMC) (FEB201053)

 

Wednesday, July 29:

Comics:

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #45 (MAR200987)
• CABLE #2 (FEB200874)
• CAPTAIN MARVEL #18 (MAR200875)
• EMPYRE #3 (MAR200838)
• EMPYRE HANDBOOK #1 (FEB200788)
• EMPYRE: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 (MAR200846)
• EMPYRE: SAVAGE AVENGERS #1 (MAR200844)
• IRON MAN 2020 #5 (MAR200977)
• STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #3 (FEB201032)
• STAR WARS: THE ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVERS 1 (FEB201035)
• SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN: ALIEN REALITY #5 (FEB200933)
• X-FACTOR #1 (FEB200865)
• X-MEN #10 (FEB200789)

Collections:

• ADVENTURE INTO FEAR OMNIBUS HC (DEC190975)
• AVENGERS EPIC COLLECTION: THIS BEACHHEAD EARTH TPB (MAR201110)
• AVENGERS: LIVE KREE OR DIE TPB (MAR201115)
• MARVEL MASTERWORKS: MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL. 5 HC (DEC190977)
• MARVEL MASTERWORKS: MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL. 5 HC VARIANT (DM ONLY) (DEC190978)
• MARVEL-VERSE: CAPTAIN AMERICA GN-TPB (MAR201119)
• MS. MARVEL MEETS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE GN-TPB (FEB201074)
• SILVER SURFER: PARABLE TPB (NEW PRINTING) (APR201107)
• SPIDER-VERSE: SPIDER-ZERO TPB (FEB201047)
• STAR WARS: THE RISE OF KYLO REN TPB (SDOS) (FEB201057)

 

More information about other Marvel comic book releases will continue to be shared over the coming days and weeks.

Social media sites are stepping up their efforts in the war against misinformation… specifically, the coronavirus/COVID-19 infodemic. There’s a seemingly endless stream of potentially dangerous misinformation flying around online related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that could have fatal results.

It’s boomtown in fake-news land riding high on the wave of people being left with their tech devices 24/7. I myself regularly see everything posted online from “hand gel is an immunizer” (nope) and “children can’t be affected” (not true) to “UK rules mean domestic abuse survivors have to stay with their abusive spouse” (absolutely not true at all and hugely dangerous to claim). 

We even have engineers being spat on thanks to 5G conspiracy theories potentially resulting in transmission of coronavirus. Turns out a global pandemic is a lightning rod for pushing people to conspiracy theories galore, to the extent that some folks have to go hunting for guides to wean their family members away from internet fake outs. There are serious consequences taking shape, via every source imaginable—no matter how baffling.

What is being done to tackle these tall tales online?

Youtube: We begin with the video monolith, removing multiple “Coronavirus is caused by 5G” videos (one of which had more than 1.5m views) after an investigation by PressGazette. Some of the other clips about Bill Gates, the media, and related subjects were from big number, verified accounts—often with adverts overlaid from advertisers who didn’t want their promotions associated with said content. While YouTube claims to have removed thousands of videos “since early February,” the video giant and many others are under intense pressure to take things up a notch or two.

While the top search results for “5G coronavirus” in YouTube currently bring back a variety of verified sources debunking the many conspiracy claims, filtering videos by what was posted “today” results in an assortment of freshly uploaded clips of people filming 5G towers and tagging them with “Coronavirus” in the titles. Should you see something specifically pushing a conspiracy theory, the report options are still quite generic:

• Sexual content
• Violent or repulsive content
• Hateful or abusive content
• Harmful or dangerous acts
• Spam or misleading

While you’d likely select the last option, there’s still nothing specifically about the pandemic itself. This may be concerning, considering a recent study by BMJ Global Health found that one in four of the most popular videos about the pandemic contained misinformation. What that looks like is 62 million views across 19 dubious videos out of 69 popular videos from one single day. It’s quite concerning.

Twitter: This is an interesting one, as Twitter are looking to flag Tweets and/or accounts pushing bad information in relation to COVID-19. While this is a good move, it appears to be something done entirely at their end; if you try to flag a Tweet yourself as COVID-19 misinformation, there’s no option to do so in the reporting tab. “It’s suspicious or spam” and “It’s abusive or harmful” are the closest, but there’s nothing specific in the follow up options tied to either of those selections.

This feels a bit like a missed opportunity, though there will be reasons why this isn’t available as an option. Perhaps they anticipate false flag and troll reporting of valid data, though one would hope their internal processes for flagging bad content would be able to counteract this possibility.

Facebook: The social media giant came under fire in April for their approach to the misinformation crisis, with large view counts, bad content not flagged as false, and up to 22 days for warnings to be issued, leading one campaign director at a crowdfunded activist group to claim they were “at the epicentre of the misinformation crisis.”

Ouch.

Facebook decided to start notifying users who’d interacted with what can reliably be called “the bad stuff” to try and push back on content rife in groups and elsewhere. Facebook continues to address the problem with multiple initiatives including tackling bad ads, linking people to credible information, and combating rogue data across multiple apps. The sheer size of their user base suggests this fight is far from over, though.

TikTok: Thinking that conspiracy theories and misinformation wouldn’t pop up on viral music/clip sensation TikTok is probably a bad idea. In some cases it’s flourished on the platform away from serious researcher eyes still focused on the big social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

While TikTok is somewhat unique with regards having COVID-19 misinformation as a specific reporting category, it’s not exactly been plain sailing. Popular hashtag categories seemingly have more than their fair share of bad content, tying bad data and poorly sourced claims to cool songs and snappy soundbites.

Internet Archive: Even the Internet Archive isn’t safe from coronavirus shenanigans as people use saved pages to continue spreading bad links online. Even if a bad site is taken down, flagged as harmful, or removed from search engines, the act of scooping it up and placing it on Archive.org forevermore is a way for the people behind the sites to keep pushing those links. For their part, the Internet Archive is fighting  back with clear warning messages on some of the discredited content.

Beware a second Infodemic wave

Although some major online platforms were slow to respond to the bogus information wave, most of them now seem to at least have some sort of game plan in place. It’s debatable how much of it is working, but something is likely better than nothing and tactics continue to evolve in response to those hawking digital shenanigans.

However, it seems at least some warnings of the present so-called Infodemic were not heeded across many years and now we’re reaping the whirlwind. From Governments and healthcare organisations to the general public and online content sharing platforms, we’ve all been caught on the backfoot to various degrees. While the current genie is out of the bottle and won’t be going back in anytime soon, it’s up to all of us to think how we could do it better next time—because there will absolutely be a next time.

The post When the coronavirus infodemic strikes appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

How adorable is this Bernat Crochet Petal Poncho?! This cute crochet poncho pattern includes 2 sizes, and is perfect for your little woodland princess! Get the link to the free pattern – and the yarn – below on Moogly! Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate and tracking links.  Multi-purpose and Super Cute! Available in both 12/18...

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The post Crochet the Cutest Velvet Petal Poncho appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post. If you are viewing this on another site they have scraped the content from my website without permission. Thank you for your support.

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This week!

Online Game Show!
May 22nd – Friday 7:25 – 9:25pm
Bring another device as we play a game with the grand prize and a McDonalds meal delivered to your door!
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ONLINE SERVICE!

Hello Students and Parents!

We are continuing our interactive services and are enjoying time with our students online! I hope you have been able to hear feedback from your kids! We always want to improve!

We meet  Friday HSM Night from 7:25 pm-9:30 pm. This will likely be our new normal for a while. But we are always up for suggestions!

There have been concerns of security over Zoom and I can assure you that the platform is safe for us to use. There are several measures we take to ensure our student’s safety at this time. Please email if you’d like to here the steps we are currently taking!

How do you do join us online? We’ll be hosting a ‘Zoom meeting’. That means, we can play games together, talk and even worship! If you aren’t familiar with ‘Zoom’ it’s simply a video-conferencing application that can do a lot!

Here’s how you prepare for our Interactive Service!
Step 1) Download the ‘Zoom’ app on your device! Here are the links below!

Mac – CLICK HERE
PC – CLICK HERE
Andriod – CLICK HERE
iOS – CLICK HERE

*You don’t have to download the app if you’re on a laptop/desktop, but it’s more robust if you do!*

Step 2) On Friday May 22nd @ 7:25pm – click our Zoom Meeting URL

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ONLINE SERVICE!

Step 3) Enjoy the service by listening and participating!

Feel free to email Mathew, our Youth Director, if you have any questions.
mathew@churchoftherock.ca

MONTHLY CALENDAR

 
Click here for the church calendar

The post High School Ministry – May 19th – Youth Events appeared first on Church of The Rock.

Lovecraftian nightmares become reality in a new adventure due for release in June 2020. Doctor Who: The Lovecraft Invasion is the third (and final, for now) release featuring the Sixth Doctor, Mrs Constance Clark, and Flip Jackson. Landing in New England in the 1930s, the time-travelling trio must grapple with the realisation that brilliance as […]

The post BIG FINISH: Doctor Who: The Lovecraft Invasion – Eldritch horrors for the TARDIS team appeared first on Blogtor Who.

DC Announces DCeased: Hope at World’s End
Tom Taylor’s Epic Becomes the Newest Addition to DC’s DIGITAL FIRST Catalog!
In the Earth’s darkest hour, heroes will bring hope!

DCeased, 2019’s blockbuster series, makes its DC DIGITAL FIRST debut with new original stories set before the fall of Earth! Fan-favorite Injustice: Gods Among Us writer Tom Taylor’s epic DCeased story line continues on May 19 with DCeased: Hope at World’s End with art by Dustin Nguyen, Renato Guedes, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Marco Failla! Set in the span of DCeased #5’s time jump, DCeased: Hope at World’s End will expand the story of the Anti-Life War, featuring Superman and Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Stephanie Brown, Wally West, Jimmy Olsen, and more.

“There was a point in DCeased where we had to make the decision to skip weeks of losses and triumphs and heroism or our first miniseries wouldn’t exactly be a miniseries,” said Taylor. “But we knew we had a larger story to tell, so we seeded plots we could expand on and deliberately left huge characters off the table for the future. That future is here.”

This new DC DIGITAL FIRST series, in addition to DCeased and DCeased: Unkillables, will pave the way to the launch of DCeased’s sequel, DCeased: Dead Planet, in June 2020. By adding DCeased: Hope at World’s End to DC’s robust digital publishing program, comic book readers will have even more variety of content and immediate access to stories that have never been available on digital platforms.

In DCeased: Hope at World’s End, the Anti-Life Equation has infected over a billion people on Earth. Heroes and villains have fallen. In the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Metropolis, Superman and Wonder Woman spearhead an effort to stem the tide of infection, preserve and protect survivors, and plan for what’s next. In the Earth’s darkest hour heroes will bring hope! The war for Earth has only just begun!

“With Hope at World’s End, we finally get to tell the tale of what Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Black Adam, Wink, the Aerie, Martian Manhunter, Black Manta, Steph Brown, Robin, Superboy and more did to save as much of humanity as they could,” continued Taylor. “And Super Sons fans won’t want to miss the apocalyptic adventures of Damian and Jon as they stand up to the worst crisis the Earth has ever seen, and take their first steps on the road to becoming the next World’s Finest.”

DCeased: Hope at World’s End, written by Tom Taylor with art by Dustin Nguyen, Renato Guedes, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Marco Failla, will publish digitally twice a month through its fourteen-chapter run beginning Tuesday May 19, 2020. Cover art will be by Ben Oliver, Francesco Mattina and Yasmine Putri.

DC’s comics are available on participating digital platforms seven days a week, including ReadDC.com, Comixology, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, DC UNIVERSE and more.

Doctor Who’s biggest and most comprehensive monster guide yet, The Monster Vault takes you on the ultimate tour of the Whoniverse, discovering and cataloguing every wonderful and terrifying creature the Doctor has ever encountered. From the notorious Daleks, to the evil Stenza warrior T’zim-Sha and the ancient Thijarians, The Monster Vault features in-depth profiles on […]

The post DOCTOR WHO: The Monster Vault – New book release announced from BBC Books appeared first on Blogtor Who.

While every version of Dungeons & Dragons has a rule for who goes first in a fight, no other rule shows as much of the game’s evolution from what the original books call rules for “wargames campaigns” into what the latest Player’s Handbook calls a roleplaying game about storytelling.

Before you old grognards rush to the comments to correct my opening line, technically the original books lacked any way to decide who goes first. For that rule, co-creators Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson supposed gamers would refer to Gary’s earlier Chainmail miniatures rules. In practice, players rarely saw those old rules. The way to play D&D spread gamer-to-gamer from Dave and Gary’s local groups and from the conventions they attended. D&D campaigns originally ran by word-of-mouth and house rules.

Gygax waited five years to present an initiative system in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide (1979). Two things made those official rules terrible.

• Nobody understood the system.

• Any reasonable interpretation of the system proved too slow and complicated for play.

Some grognards insist they played the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons initiative system by the book. No they didn’t. Grognardia blogger James Maliszewski writes, “Initiative in AD&D, particularly when combined with the equally obscure rules regarding surprise, was one of those areas where, in my experience, most players back in the day simply ignored the official rules and adopted a variety of house rules. I know I did.”

Not even Gygax played with all his exceptions and complications. “We used only initiative [rolls] and casting times for determination of who went first in a round. The rest was generally ignored. We played to have fun, and in the throws of a hot melee, rules were mostly forgotten.”

With Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the D&D story grows complicated, because original or basic D&D soldiered on with workable initiative systems. My next tale will circle back to D&D, but this one focuses on AD&D, the game Gygax treated as his own. (See Basic and Advanced—the time Dungeons & Dragons split into two games.)

Some of the blame for AD&D’s terrible initiative system falls back on Chainmail and Gygax’s love for its wargaming legacy.

Chainmail lets players enact battles with toy soldiers typically representing 20 fighters. The rules suggest playing on a tabletop covered in sand sculpted into hills and valleys. In Chainmail each turn represents about a minute, long enough for infantry to charge through a volley of arrows and cut down a group of archers. A clash of arms might start and resolve in the same turn. At that scale, who strikes first typically amounts to who strikes from farthest away, so archers attack, then soldiers with polearms, and finally sword swingers. Beyond that, a high roll on a die settled who moved first.

In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the 1-minute turns from Chainmail became 1-minute melee rounds. Such long turns made sense for a wargame that filled one turn with a decisive clash of arms between groups of 20 soldiers, but less sense for single characters trading blows.

Even though most D&D players imagined brief turns with just enough time to attack and dodge, Gygax stayed loyal to Chainmail’s long turns. In the Dungeon Master’s Guide (1979), Gygax defended the time scale. “The system assumes much activity during the course of each round. During a one-minute melee round many attacks are made, but some are mere feints, while some are blocked or parried.” Gygax cited the epic sword duel that ended The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) as his model for AD&D’s lengthy rounds. He never explained why archers only managed a shot or two per minute.

Broadly, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons held to Chainmail’s system for deciding who goes first. Gygax also chose an option from the old wargame where players declared their actions before a round, and then had to stick to plan as best they could. “If you are a stickler, you may require all participants to write their actions on paper.”

Why would Gygax insist on such cumbersome declarations?

In a D&D round, every character and creature acts in the same few seconds, but to resolve the actions we divide that mayhem into turns. This compromise knots time in ridiculous ways. For example, with fifth edition’s 6-second rounds, one character can end their 6-second turn next to a character about to start their turn and therefor 6 seconds in the past. If they pass a relay baton, the baton jumps 6 seconds back in time. If enough characters share the same 6 seconds running with the baton, the object outraces a jet. Now expand that absurdity across AD&D’s 1-minute round.

Years before D&D, wargamers like Gygax had wrestled with such problems. They couldn’t resolve all actions simultaneously, but players could choose actions at once. Declaring plans in advance, and then letting a referee sort out the chaos yielded some of the real uncertainty of an actual battle. Wargamers loved that. Plus, no referee would let players declare that they would start their turn by taking a relay baton from someone currently across the room.

Especially when players chose to pretend that a turn took about 10 seconds, the Chainmail system for initiative worked well enough. In basic D&D, turns really lasted 10 seconds, so no one needed to pretend. Many tables kept that system for AD&D.

But nobody played the advanced system as written. Blame that on a wargamer’s urge for precision. Despite spending paragraphs arguing for 1-minute rounds, Gygax seemed to realize that a minute represented a lot of fighting. So he split a round into 10 segments lasting as long as modern D&D’s 6-second rounds. Then he piled on intricate—sometimes contradictory—rules that determined when you acted based on weapon weights and lengths, spell casting times, surprise rolls, and so on. In an interview, Wizards of the Coast founder Peter Adkison observed, “The initiative and surprise rules with the weapon speed factors was incomprehensible.”

In a minute-long turn filled with feints, parries, and maneuvering, none of that precision made sense. On page 61, Gygax seemed to say as much. “Because of the relatively long period of time, weapon length and relative speed factors are not usually a consideration.” Then he wrote a system that considered everything.

Some of the blame for this baroque system may rest on the wargaming hobby’s spirit of collaboration.

Even before D&D, Gygax had proved a zealous collaborator on wargames. Aside from teaming with other designers, he wrote a flood of articles proposing variants and additions to existing games. In the early years of D&D, Gygax brought the same spirit. He published rules and ideas from the gamers in his circle, and figured that players could use what suited their game. In the Blackmoor supplement, he wrote, “All of it is, of course, optional, for the premise of the whole game system is flexibility and personalization within the broad framework of the rules.”

I doubt all the rules filigree in AD&D came from Gygax. At his table, he ignored rules for things like weapon speed factors. Still, Gygax published such ideas from friends and fellow gamers. For example, he disliked psionics, but he bowed to his friends and included the system in AD&D. (See Gary Gygax Loved Science Fantasy, So Why Did He Want Psionics Out of D&D?.)

Weapon speed factors fit AD&D as badly as anything. In theory, a fighter could swing a lighter weapon like a dagger more quickly. Did this speed enable extra attacks? Not usually. Instead, light weapons could strike first. But that contradicted Chainmail’s observation that a fighter with a spear had to miss before an attacker with a dagger could come close enough to attack. Gygax patched that by telling players to skip the usual initiative rules after a charge.

AD&D’s initiative system resembles a jumble of ideas cobbled together in a rush to get a long-delayed Dungeon Master’s Guide to press. The system piled complexities, and then exceptions, and still failed to add realism. In the end, AD&D owed some success to the way D&D’s haphazard rules trained players to ignore any text that missed the mark.

In creating D&D, Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax faced a unique challenge because no one had designed a roleplaying game before. The designers of every roleplaying game to follow D&D copied much of the original’s work. Without another model, Gygax relied on the design tools from wargames. His initiative system may be gone, but ultimately Gary’s finest and most lasting contribution to D&D came from the lore he created for spells, monsters, and especially adventures.

Next: Part 2: “It’s probably so different that even if it’s better, people would not like it.”