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Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Red Book™ Line--Free PDF MAJOR UPDATE: Three Line Studio has posted a 10 page/1.1 meg PDF file as an Update and Proposed Product Line Map for the Red Book™ Line. Very Exciting! D...

Exploit kit activity remains fairly unchanged since our last winter review in terms of active distribution campaigns. But this spring edition will feature a new exploit kit and another atypical EK, in that it specifically goes after routers.

The main driver behind these drive-by download attacks are various malvertising chains with strong geolocation filtering. This explains why some exploit kits will be less visible than others.

According to our telemetry, the US is by far the country most affected by exploit kits, while Spain and South Korea are leading in Europe and Asia, respectively.

Spring 2019 overview

• Spelevo EK
• Fallout EK
• Magnitude EK
• RIG EK
• Underminer EK
• Router EK

Vulnerabilties

Internet Explorer’s CVE-2018-8174 and Flash Player’s CVE-2018-15982 are the most common vulnerabilities, while the older CVE-2018-4878 (Flash) is still used by some EKs.

Spelevo EK

Spelevo EK is a new exploit kit that was identified in March 2019 and features the most recent Flash exploit (CVE-2018-15982). Based on our internal tests, Spelevo’s Flash exploit will check for and avoid virtual machines before delivering its payload.

Payloads seen: PsiX Bot, IcedID

Fallout EK

Fallout EK is one of the more active exploit kits with some of the more intricate URI patterns. For a while, Fallout was loading its IE exploit via a GitHub PoC, but it eventually switched back to self-hosting.

Payloads seen: GandCrab, Raccoon Stealer, Baldr

Magnitude EK

Not a lot has changed for Magnitude EK during the past few months, as it continues to target a few Asia Pacific (APAC) countries, and exclusively drops its own Magniber ransomware.

Payload seen: Magniber ransomware

RIG EK

RIG EK is also one of the popular exploit kits enjoying a wide distribution via malvertising campaigns, such as Fobos. RIG still uses Flash’s CVE-2018-4878, which comes with its own artifacts.

Payloads seen: AZORult, Pitou, ElectrumDoSMiner

Underminer EK

Underminer EK is distinct from its counterparts for its overkill obfuscation of Internet Explorer and Flash exploits, but more importantly for its unorthodox Hidden Bee payload.

Payload seen: Hidden Bee

Router EK

Router exploit kits are not new (see DNSChanger EK), but they are quite dangerous, as they are part of drive-by attacks that alter your router’s DNS settings via cross-site request forgery (CSRF). The particular one we show here (Novidade) targets Brazilian users. The end goal is typically to redirect users to phishing websites with victims being none the wiser.

Payload seen: DNS changer

Mitigation

Malwarebytes users are protected against these exploits kits, thanks to our anti-exploit and web protection technologies. The animation below features Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection and Response, one of our business products, and shows how it blocks each of these attacks.

The post Exploit kits: spring 2019 review appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

The best tales climax when the heroes must choose between what they’ve learned is right and an easy route to what they thought they wanted. In fiction, such moral dilemmas reveal character. When a woman who only ever wanted to be queen realizes that someone else is better suited to the throne, will she still take the crown?

Everyone who enjoys games such as Dungeons & Dragons likes making choices and seeing the outcomes. Many of those players also enjoy exploring and revealing their characters. So in roleplaying, moral problems may rank as the most interesting and most revealing. In the Dungeon magazine article, “Temptations and Dilemmas,” printed in issue 148, Wolfgang Baur writes about the joy of posing dilemmas. “They make the player really engage with their characters and the game world. Sweet sweet perfection: all you have to do is let the PCs wrangle about it for a while.”

Creating moral choices in D&D proves harder than creating similar dilemmas in stories. In fiction, moral choices often force characters to pick between what’s right and what’s easy. But D&D characters rarely make decisions alone. They face choices as a party, and these groups inevitably mix rogues and paladins.

More than popular classes, rogues and paladins represent two ways players often imagine their characters’ moral outlooks. These make popular character perspectives because they bring escapes from either the restrictions or the unfairness of modern life.

In our world, we often feel bound by rules and obligations. Playing a rogue who’s free from ethical burdens and who boasts the power to ignore rules feels exhilarating.

In our world, we see misdeeds rewarded, good people suffer, and too often we feel helpless to act. Playing a paladin with the strength to punish wrongdoers, help the deserving, and right wrongs feels rejuvenating.

Choices between right and easy inevitably split a party’s rogues and paladins.

“Assassins, poisoners, sneak thieves, death priests, drug smugglers, necromancers, diabolists, and warlocks make it tough for more heroic, lawful, or good characters to look away or condone their smuggling, sneaking, theft, magical abuses, and so on,” Wolfgang writes. “There’s a dilemma for the party every time a character crosses the line and does something that another, more moral character might find unforgivable.”

In D&D, rogues and paladins must find ways to work together or the game falls apart. “If you wind up with that one paladin singled out and forced to choose to compromise his character just to keep playing, you have a problem.” See A Roleplaying Game Player’s Obligation.

So in D&D, moral dilemmas must avoid posing an unsavory-but-easy solution as an option. Instead these problems must force players to weigh which of two, imperfect choices brings the most benefit—or the least corruption. In “5 Tips on How to Design Diabolical Dilemmas,” Johnn Four imagines starting the party with a simple job to capture a war criminal, and then adds moral complications. What if the players discover that the elderly criminal now repents by running an orphanage? If the players decide to take him to justice, what if they learn that the alleged crimes may have saved a village? Do the players still bring the man to execution? None of these choices make the adventure easier for players, but they all land the players in thorny dilemmas that reveal characters.

Johnn suggests developing moral dilemmas by starting with a simple choice and asking questions that help you imagine complications.

• Who gets hurt?
• Who escapes justice?
• Who undeservedly benefits?

While moral dilemmas benefit the game, you can press too hard to create them. Players enjoy difficult choices in balance with uncomplicated situations where their power lets the good guys win. Often players use their ingenuity to solve a moral dilemma without any tough choices. Players savor those victories.

Even when DMs work to foster moral dilemmas, most D&D games only occasionally feature such situations. But one sort of quandary appears frequently, and it’s awful.

Blame co-creator Gary Gygax and his adventure The Keep on the Borderlands (1979). D&D’s first Basic Set included this adventure, so through the 80s, the keep easily ranked as the game’s most played scenario. In a reprint, D&D creative director Mike Mearls writes, “In its 32 pages, Keep on the Borderlands provides the clearest, most concise definition of D&D that you can find.” The keep showed countless dungeon masters how to create a D&D adventure, and mostly it set a good example.

What awful moral dilemma appears 8 times in this classic?

When Gary wrote the keep, he aimed to create an infestation of D&D’s various evil humanoids: kobolds, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, and lizard men. Gary favored applying some natural order to his imaginary world, which included various young monsters incapable of fighting.

After slaughtering the orcs’ parents, do you put their infants to the sword? As a player who favored the paladin type, I wanted to right wrongs, not debate whether to murder young. The rogue-types in the party would open the 1977 Monster Manual and point to the word “evil” beside a pig-faced monster, but I had no taste for the baby-orc dilemma. I want to smite evildoers, not kill helpless foes. I’m far from alone in that sentiment. Worse, young non-combatants appear in 8 of the keep’s locations, and then in the countless adventures that follow the keep’s example.

I recommend contriving situations that leave helpless foes out of reach. Instead of populating the Caves of Chaos with generations of humanoids, why not imagine war parties locked in a standoff?

Even though the baby-orc problem rates as something to avoid, other dilemmas can enrich the game. M.T. Black’s adventure The Lich Queen’s Begotten ends with an interesting variant on the question of whether to kill an innocent destined for evil. Both times I ran this adventure, a party of mixed paladin and rogue types chose to protect the innocent—not necessarily the easier choice. Both groups wanted a follow up adventure where they worked to thwart the innocent creature’s evil destiny.

That’s the sort of choice that makes heroes.

Hey, y’all.

Did this show with Zaklog the Great last Friday. Enjoyed talking Lovecraft and Lord of the Rings and… these obnoxious people that poison your mind until you’d begin to think that your “beloved past had never been.”

Lovecraft writes three times that “there was no hand to hold me back that night I found the ancient track.” After mulling this whole scene over in light of the Boomerclypse we’re in the process of rolling back, I’ve concluded that there was in fact a hand there. The hand of wisdom!

I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

There’s a horror story for you. Don’t let it happen to you!

With summer on the horizon, it's the perfect time to create your own Light-Up DC Teekeez!  These glowing collectibles are the ideal decorations to give those warm nights a tropical, fun vibe! You can watch the tutorial video, but also remember to read the full instructions below.  As always, remember to be safe!

 

What happens when your players know every last classic monster in the Monster Manual, Monster Manual II, & even the Fiend Folio? This applies especially when you want to run something different in a retro clone mod like Dungeon Crawl Classics. Never fear we've got some monstrous options. One of the biggest problems lately that I've found with OSR players? They know all of the classic Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Last week on Labs, we discussed what to do when you discover a data breach, how 5G could impact cybersecurity strategy, the top six takeaways for user privacy, vulnerabilities in financial mobile apps that put consumers and businesses at risk, and in our series about vital infrastructure, we highlighted threats that target financial institutions, fintech, and cryptocurrencies.

Other cybersecurity news

• Mozilla announced their new add-on policies, which will go into effect June 10, 2019. The emphasis is that add-ons inform users about their intentions, and are not allowed to contain obfuscated code. (Source: Mozilla)
• The FBI, working in conjunction with authorities in multiple nations, has arrested several individuals in connection with Deep Dot Web, a website that allegedly profiteered by taking commissions on referral links to dark web markets. (Source: Gizmodo)
• An international malvertiser was extradited from the Netherlands to face hacking charges in New Jersey. The defendant conspired to expose millions of web users to malicious advertisements designed to hack and infect victims’ computers with malware. (Source: US Department of Justice)
• In an attempt to allow users to block online tracking, Google has announced two new features—Improved SameSite Cookies and Fingerprinting Protection—that will be previewed by Google in the Chrome web browser later this year. (Source: The Hacker News)
• A slew of high-severity flaws have been disclosed in the PrinterLogic printer management service, which could enable a remote attacker to execute code on workstations running the PrinterLogic agent. (Source: ThreatPost)
• On Monday, May 6, accounting firm Wolters Kluwer started seeing technical anomalies in a number of their platforms and applications. After investigating, they discovered the installation of malware. As a precaution, they decided to take a broader range of platforms and applications offline. (Source: Wolters Kluwer)
• After getting pounded with ransomware and malware for deploying distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, unpatched Confluence servers are now compromised to mine for cryptocurrency. (Source: Bleeping Computer)
• The FBI is investigating a ransomware attack on Baltimore City’s network that shut down some of the city services. (Source: CBS Baltimore)
• The Dharma ransomware tries to divert victim’s attention by using an old ESET tool. While the user is dealing with the installation of the ESET Remover, Dharma runs in the background. (Source: TechNadu)
• The FBI and Department Homeland Security have jointly issued a new Malware Analysis Report warning of the dangers of ELECTRICFISH, a tunneling tool used for traffic funneling and data exfiltration by a North Korea government hacking group. (Source: SCMagazine)

Stay safe, everyone!

The post A week in security (May 6 – 12) appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

What’s better than giving away Crochet Themed Coloring Pages to one lucky winner? Giving them away to everyone! This week I’ve got a gorgeous new free crochet themed coloring book by Andee Graves for each and every one of you! Andee Graves is the crochet designer behind several pattern books and the blog Mamas 2 [...]

The post Crochet Themed Coloring Pages Giveaway For All! 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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www.knittedbliss.com

Original Pattern: Tecumseh Knitter Extraordinaire: Sarah (Ravelry Profile) Mods: Knitted slightly smaller sleeves, steeked the pullover into a cardigan and then added buttons! Details are on her project page, here. What Makes This Awesome: I’ve seen lots of beautiful Tecumseh sweaters, but doesn’t it look so AMAZING in cardigan form?! I love Sarah’s cardigan version,

The post Modification Monday: Tecumseh appeared first on %%www.knittedbliss.com%%.

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By Rudolf St Germain Studio St Germain 5e/13th Age Levels 3-4

The small city of Shallow Bay is plagued by a gang of smugglers who sell contraband alcohol and luxury foods to the people. The mayor’s expensive lifestyle has depleted the city coffers and the head of the city guard orders his men to investigate the smugglers and put an end to their activities. Unbeknownst to most, the smugglers are a front for a radical chaotic water cult that wishes to sweep earth free of “the wicked”. The money made with the contraband is intended to buy better equipment and hire powerful allies for an expedition to the lost Temple of the Chaos Elemental. By awakening this ancient evil the cult can take the first steps towards their ultimate goal of destruction and mayhem.

This twenty page adventure, describes, in twelvish pages, some smugglers in a big fishing village and two small dungeons of about six rooms each. A competent but simple adventure, it struggles against its formatting choices and lack of specificity in detail. It’s easier to run than most modern dreck.

When is an adventure a sandbox and when is it just an outline? There’s some point of crossover where the DM is given enough information to improvise further and it’s a sandbox and some place else where the DM needs to add some substantial labour. This adventure is somewhere near the dividing line. You can take this, as written, and run it, with little to no more prep. Given that you can’t do that with most adventures today, this is a not insignificant accomplishment. It correctly provides an environment in which the party can have an adventure. A village. The local fence and a few other town personages. The smuggler base. The dungeon underneath. The OTHER dungeon the smugglers want to get to. The supply ship that drops off goods to smuggle. A rough timeline/events that can happen. Now … go run an adventure. You can do that with what’s written. You can’t do that with most adventures. Then again, it’s also VERY basic. Ask some questions, find the fence, pressure him, ambush smugglers, raid base. A pretty cut and dry adventure formula. If I were forced to choose all of the crappy Adventurers League, DMSguild, and others and their shitty formats, or the one used here, I’d have no problem choosing the format used here. It provides a high level overview of the situation and then answers some questions on how folks will react. I’ll take that ANY day over the overwritten garbage that passes for a modern adventure.

But, it’s also playing fast & free with the abstraction. The town is presented in paragraph form, single column paragraph form, on a page and a half. The event that caused the town to act against the smugglers was boat of tollkeepers getting sunk while they were trying to stop the smugglers. That’s as much detail as you get … besides the adventure noting that the party could follow up on that to determine how far out the smugglers are. Am I’m serious when I say I’m now summarizing what’s in the adventure. I’ve just told you everything it says about the situation in as many words as the adventure uses. Another two sentences about grieviing widows, the name of the boat, and some such would not be out of order for such an important event and potential plot point for the party to follow up on. I’m not looking for two pages, or even one, but SOMETHING about the event IS needed if this is going to be an adventure rather than an adventure outline.

It provides some decent support for escalating the situation, with the smugglers, but not really with the town. So while it tries to be a sandbox it does, by leaving out half the adventure, force a certain point of view: the adventure is with the smugglers and any potential complications with the town are not important. But the journey IS the destination in D&D. Just not in bad D&D …

On top of this is fumbling in several areas. It’s one column presentation is almost always a No No, because of well-known readability issues with that format. The town overviews rely on italics in the paragraph to pick out information; whitespace, bolding or bullets would be better. The cult leader is bad because she was raped as a young woman. It doesn’t dwell on her background, but it’s always weird when things like this are used and called out in otherwise generic-ish adventures. It’s weird tonal shift that doesn’t fit. A water elemental is “bound to her service with a collar. LAME. That’s explaining WHY and justifying things. She’s the leader of an evil water cult, of course she has a water elemental. Likewise the use of Sahuagin mercenaries. A tonal thing that doesn’t quite match with the water cult thing the adventure is trying to do. Sent by the evil water god? Sure. Sahuagun mercs though? That implies some setting that is off putting to me. As is the Satyr that acts as the local fence. Magical RenFaire. Bleech. And then, in this village of 600, five thugs are hired to kill the party. Hmmm, again, a tonal imbalance, I think.  The dungeons, the two of them, are more line “art project” one page dungeons, with some small text blocks pointing to rooms, rather than a traditional room/key format.

Take the usual 5e adventure and rip it apart and try to make it less of a railroad. Get rid of most of the text and just put inthe generic-ish essentials. You’d have this adventure. On one hand it kind of resembles the level/amount of detail I use in my home game; a list on a piece of paper with a few words each and some notes on a map. This takes those home notes and adds a few more words and formats it not as modern dreck but as a sandbox-ish adventure.

It’s going in the right direction. The adventure needs to make wiser formatting decisions and provide a little more detail in almost every area. Then you’d have a basic adventure like you might write up in 30 minutes for a home game/the usual 5e adventure. A little investigation, some sneaking, some hacking, some crazy plans, etc.

This is showing up a Monday because the blurb says it can be OSR, with some specific advice for 5e/13th Age. This means “statless, with stat suggestions for 5e/13th Age.” On the one hand I’m kind of intrigued to see that Generic/Universal label applied to modern games like 3e/5e, and games like 13th Age. On the other hand, I’m saddened to be tricked in to something with an OSR label. Sure, I guess, as a generic adventure, it could be OSR. In the same way that any adventure OUTLINE could be for any game.

This is Pay What You Want at DriveThru with a suggested price of $2. The preview is six pages and gives you a good idea of what you’re getting. The first few pages outline the town/cult, and then one of the locales, where the fence hides out, is presented. This gives you a good idea of the one-pager dungeons to come as well as the kind of abstracted/outline/sandbox that the adventure is. All you’re not seeing is the section on how the cults reacts to various events, etc. IE: a little guidance. A VERY little guidance. Which would be enough if the adventure was more sandbox and less outline.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/274990/Cult-of-the-Blue-Crab?1892600

When I was a boy, the annual Sunday School picnic was a highlight of the summer for our modest sized church in Saskatchewan. From the day its date was announced in June I lived in expectation.

I recall that one year, I prayed in my boyish way that it wouldn’t rain on that day. The day before the event seemed iffy, but it didn’t rain after all. A rained-out picnic would almost have ruined my summer, so I felt.

Sunday School picnics are probably not enthralling to today’s children like they were to me and my friends eighty years ago. Our church was small and our town’s activities were limited after school was out for the summer.

Today there is so much more to create summer excitement — swimming facilities, little league baseball, camping activities, and sports events, for example. This is to say nothing of personal diversions like television, smart phones, Netflix and other streaming services. Who needs picnics?

It’s not that the thirties of the last century were completely without excitement. Still, the Great Depression and the Dustbowl together generated the nickname of “the dirty thirties,” and our parents were in survival mode to “make ends meet.” In summer months we mostly had to generate our own entertainment.

I remember that one summer, the picnic was held at Woodlawn Park in the wide valley two miles straight south of Estevan. It had swings, and teeter-totters, and a place to swim. The Souris River formed its southern bounds.

On the bank of the river — which I remember as less than two hundred feet wide — there was a diving board and in the middle of the river there was an anchored raft, easily reached by swimmers. On a hot afternoon they splashed and bobbed like corks around this raft, and shouts of excitement filled the air.

The park was set in a large grove of trees, which was not usual for the Prairies, and they made an appealing setting for our picnic. The gathering there was like a large family. Some people who were only slightly connected to the congregation attended and increased the numbers.

There were games (like three-legged, and gunny sack races) and other contests for all ages. And there was pick-up softball for the older kids and young adults.

There were things to laugh at too — like the grunting, sweating, red-faced adult contestants who gave their all in an attempt to win the tug-of-war. Or the girls who fell in a heap while attempting to hop to the goal line with legs confined in a gunny sack. Even sedentary onlookers cheered as racers, each balancing an egg delicately on the bowl of a tablespoon, headed past them for the finish line.

The minister was always called upon to bless the food. During those hard times in the 1930s the food was simple but satisfying and special when served at picnic tables out of doors. Open air and brisk activity awakened hearty appetites.

At the end of the afternoon we had ice cream which almost by itself made the event outstanding. Ice cream back then was not an everyday treat.

It still seems to me that such a picnic can do something for a modest sized church community that more spiritual activities can’t. Bible studies, prayer meetings, and picnics each have their place.

They contribute to bonding between churchgoers. Many quiet people become involved. Children possibly benefit the most, as they make brief connections up and down the age scale, with parents, the middle-aged, and even grandparents of their chums. Everyone mingles under a Summer sky.

Maybe a picnic wouldn’t work today. But plan one like I’ve described here, and I’ll be there! Just don’t ask me at this point in my life to take part in the tug-of-war!

Photo credit: cwwycoff1 (via flickr.com)

Discussing cosmogony with an being of chaos, much less a Chaos Lord, is likely to only led to more confusion. Linear logic, causality, even truth, are concepts beings of Chaos find unnecessarily limiting. Turning to their sacred writ (such as there is) will be of little help, either. The Hymn to Perplexity is composed entirely of questions and no answers.

Still, when they choose to, the ancient monsters and angels of Chaos remember the Godhead, the One that encompassed all. It was no more Order than Disorder, no more Constant than Mutable. If there was a Fall, it was Chaos that was indistinguishable in any meaningful way from what came before; It is Law that is the aberration. And even that aberration was born of Chaos.

Limbo is akin to what the multiverse was before Mechanus, before time itself existed. It is primordial soup from which any concept or being might be instantiate.  Chaos did not remain untainted by Law, however. Form, causality and other concepts gave shape to the previously formless. The border regions coalesced into something different.


Arborea is the home of beings who revel in the the gratification of the senses. They seek to woo other souls to throw off the shackles of Law and experience the pleasures of greater freedom. They never coerce beings into accepting their gifts (such would be a violation of freedom), but mortal souls may not be prepared for the experiences they offer.

The sad, dangerous monsters of the Abyss cling only to the concept of Self. The entirety of cosmos is merely an insufferable dream they can never wake up from. They torment or toy with other beings, even other demons, in attempts to exorcise their irritation. They are seldom successful.

The post 1295 appeared first on Looking For Group.

The PC's learn of a haven for mutants,artificials, altered, humans, & peoples  of all stripes  in the deserts  of California. The Ancients state park of Brodie a former ghost town that has been transformed into a seeming heaven on Earth. But there are devils in this heaven & their evil is spreading.  The characters are called to investigate this seeming paradise on Earth. Deep within the Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

One of the things I wanted to do last month was release a whole bunch of product and see what stuck. I wanted to get a sense of how much interest there was in my stuff. Here's a recap since March 1 for five releases:

Stalwart Age Issue 1 (149 Downloads; $23.60 Gross Sales)
Stalwart Age Issue 2 (96 Downloads; $5.16 Gross Sales)
B1: Dungeon Denizens (181 Downloads; $8.65 Gross Sales)
C1: Trove of Treasures (114 Downloads; $4.00 Gross Sales)
D1: Against the Goblins (96 Downloads; $3.05 Gross Sales)

However, for context, there are two other important figures:

Sentinels of Echo City Deluxe Edition (9 Downloads; $78.11 Gross Sales)
A1: Tales of the Splintered Realm Core Rules (44 Downloads; $3.00 Gross Sales)

It's hard to take away anything concrete here, but there are a few general observations about these trends:

1. The primary purpose of the PWYW supplements is to drive sales of the core rules. Since the core rules for Tales of the Splintered Realm are also PWYW, that breaks the whole model. The benefit of Stalwart Age is not necessarily the sales of those supplements, but the way it drove sales of a game that is over a year old. At this rate, each PWYW release for Sentinels could be reasonably expected to generate 3-5 downloads of that game, which is nothing to scoff at. Making $20-$30 for releasing an 8-10 page supplement is a good business model from my end.

2. Stalwart Age 1 did remarkably well; earning over $20 when none of the other PWYW releases got to $10. That's maybe the first issue effect or something, since sales for 2 were in line with other PWYW releases.

3. The fact that the monster book had twice as many downloads, and over 2x the sales, of the adventure was surprising. I guess that the takeaway is to come out with more monster books than adventures; I didn't expect that, but I suppose that's already the model that D+D pretty much established; core rules sell the most, monster books and player guides second, and adventures in third place. My own small sample shows this trend to be true.

What all this means is that I better get going on Stalwart Age #3... that's in the early stages, but I hope to have it out by the end of the month (so I can still put May on the cover). I have a handful of story ideas for it, but I'm working out long-term plot stuff that will help the unify the whole thing later on a little better.

"Green Death... That's what old hands call the Great Dismal Swamp. For centuries, this tangled maze of sluggish watercourses, stagnant ponds, and festering marshes has defended Blackmoor's southwestern frontier. Large armies and smaller parties have disappeared altogether inside its vast, dripping, claustrophobic corridors.Among those who have dropped from sigh in this arboral hell is young Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Our goal is always to provide you with the best possible viewing experience on WWE Network. Unfortunately, several device manufacturers have stopped updating the operating system of older products, which may impact your ability to stream high-quality video. As such, the WWE Network app will no longer be available on the devices listed below starting May 21, 2019:

• Amazon Fire Tablets
• Apple TV (3rd Generation and earlier models)
• LG- 2016 and earlier models
• PlayStation 3
• Samsung (2016 and earlier models)
• Samsung and Sony Blu-Ray Players
• Sony (non-android TVs)
• Windows 10 Desktop
• Xbox 360

You can stream WWE Network on many other supported devices. For a full list, please visit WWE Network Support.

Everyone comic fan has their answer to the question of what was their first comic.  The answers are incredibly varied. Equally varied is the answer to the question of what was your first import comic. Mine was Judge Dredd and 2000AD. That experience that still reverberates with me today. Even now, decades later, I am a fan track of the 2000AD universe.

Imagine my surprise to discover an independent publisher of 2000AD’s current publisher (Rebellion) that is publishing 2000AD characters. That company, FutureQuake, is wildly interesting.  Not only are 2000AD creators popping up at FutureQuake, the company (like 2000AD) has also launched the careers of popular creators of today.

In today’s industry, there are more differences in how companies operate than there are similarities. I think it’s refreshing to see these differences. I applaud FutureQuake uniqueness as a publisher.

I’m excited to present to you an interview with three key editors and creators of FutureQuake.  Their line up includes a lot more than just 2000AD centric titles, too. Find out more below!

Joeseph Simon: As a fan of 2000 AD characters I’m happy to have found a company devoted to the creations at 2000 AD. FutureQuake publishes Zarjaz and Dogbreath. Both are comics devoted to the worlds of 2000 AD.

Judge Dredd is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the coolness that is 2000 AD. One has to include Strontium Dog, who you happen to devote Dogbreath stories to.  How would you describe 2000 AD and then how would you describe FutureQuake?

Dave Evans: 2000 AD is the source. It is the first comic I read that made me want to read more. 2000 AD is probably best known as the home of Judge Dredd, but it should possibly be more widely known as the ‘birth place’ for Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Simon Bisley, Dan Abnett… the list could go on. 2000 AD is a home for the finest storytellers to work their craft. The core of 2000 AD has always been its very healthy disrespect for authority. At FutureQuake Press we started publishing our own work but quickly realized that there was a wealth of talent working in ‘Small Press’ that deserved to have their stories seen.

Owen Watts: I think it’s all about giving space to new talent. FutureQuake is a sounding board for people who might otherwise get lost in the notoriously vast 2000 AD ‘slush pile’ of unread scripts and unseen sample art. For me the vital element of 2000 AD as an anthology first and foremost is variety – and in the small press, you have access to boundless new and exciting talent which is what draws me to it.

Richmond Clements: For me, apart from the fun of playing with all these incredible characters, it’s about giving a platform for new writers and artists to practice their craft. We can work with an artist or writer, taking them through many rewrites and getting their work just right in a way that an editor on a ‘big’ comic simply doesn’t have the time to.

JS: From IPC to Fleetway to Rebellion, 2000 AD is always an exciting read. I became a fan during the Fleetway years, but thanks to reprints I admit to loving the early years as well. Dredd was my gateway into 2000 AD. Everything else quickly followed.

Where does your appreciation of the 2000 AD comics begin?

DE: My first prog was 120 (July 1979) and what grabbed me was the cover by Dave Gibbons. The issue boldly proclaimed itself the ‘Big Robot Issue’ and there on the cover was a huge robot with humans held in the palm of its hand. Inside the comic were the traditional five strips, but what pulled me back for the following week wasn’t Judge Dredd; it was the A.B.C. Warriors.

OW: It wasn’t Dredd for me either! Mine was Prog 1218 (Nov 2000) and I fell in love with Henry Flint’s spidery chaos art on Deadlock and Simon Fraser’s bold characteristic Nikolai Dante. 2000 AD had only just been taken over by Rebellion and there was a lot of new things being tried out and that new energy was palpable – it was all really exciting! Then when you find out there’s twenty-three years of back issues to catch up on….

RC: Not saying that I’m old or anything. But Prog 1 for me. I remember seeing the ad on TV and tracking down an issue at the local newsagents.

JS: Rebellion coming into the picture was quite the shocker. I view their dedication to archiving the history of British comics as inspiring.

Speaking of inspiring, what happened that clicked everything into place and made FutureQuake a reality?

DE: FutureQuake grew out of pain and rejection – for Arthur Wyatt. Arthur had been pitching ideas for Future Shocks to Tharg the Mighty (TMO) for a while and had built up a number of rejections. Rather than just let these stories die, Arthur had them drawn by artists he knew through 2000 AD fandom and published the first issue of Future Quake. Arthur produced three issues, and by the third he was already using other writers to help him hit page count for the comic. I was an artist on one of the strips in the third issue, which was a big deal for me at the time (around 2003). After the third issue Arthur moved to the US, and FQ was continued initially by another fan named James Mackay. He hadn’t any experience of putting a physical comic together, but he knew I had, having seen my ‘Whistler’ stories that I put out as a Dogbreath special. He contacted myself and writer Richmond Clements to effectively generate the content for what became FutureQuake 04. We launched in Bristol 2005 and that was it. We have been producing at least one issue of FutureQuake a year since then.

JS: You are not only creating fan based 2000 AD stories for other fans to enjoy the greatness that is 2000 AD. You are opening it up for those same fans to contribute to your comics out of love for these characters.

What do they have to do to be part of this? Let’s say someone submits a story, does it have to have an artist attached? If you’re an artist who loves 2000 AD, but has no story, do you play matchmaker? What is the process from fan to seeing your work in a FutureQuake publications?

DE: This is the part of putting the comic together I’m best at. Scripts arrive, via email, and are initially read by me. If I like it I pass it over to Richmond Clements (Still my compadre in this after all these years) and Owen Watts – my co-editors; to gain their opinion. I am a fair judge of scripts, but comics are a synergistic medium. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts and I greatly value the advice and opinion of both of these men.

Script accepted – I inform the writer and the script is logged in my spreadsheet ready to go to the artist.

Artists simply need to email us at FQP through any of the email addresses in the comics (they all get forwarded to me) and I’ll get in touch to see what their art is like. Ideally, I want to see sequential pages, but if an artist simply has never drawn a comic strip and wants a go we can help with sample scripts or in some cases actual scripts that are waiting to be drawn.

We have had a fair few strips arrive fully formed over the years, but there is almost always something we want to adjust – be it a line of dialogue or a caption, a panel that doesn’t quite convey the story as well as it could or most likely – poor lettering.

This process applies to all the comics we produce – after all the standards that see FutureQuake enjoy critical success also allow creators working on the other titles to hone their skills with actual results when a comic is published.

JS: The 2000 AD characters must have a great synergy with creative people.  2000 AD itself has launched many careers in the comic industry. Thanks to your own efforts, you have helped launched a few creators into their own careers.

Cullen Bunn, for example, and others started their careers in your comics.  That has to be exciting. You also had Alan Grant, Al Ewing, Charlie Adlard, and others pop up as guests at FutureQuake.

Any surprises from working on these titles?  Have fans shown you new insights to characters you thought you knew everything about? Have any stories submitted about obscure characters or storylines?  Has 2000 AD shown interest in new talent that comes by way of your company and the stories published in your pages?

DE: We’ve been putting out comics for almost 15 years now, with a largely unchanged process. We’ve seen many creators move from Small Press to being working professionals and it never stops being exciting. Recently, with Rebellion expanding into work relating to the vast Treasury of British comics we have seen more than one artist actively contacted following a strip that they have worked on for FQP to work on a strip for Rebellion.

OW: More and more in new creator interviews you see “Zarjaz” and “FutureQuake” pop up in the first paragraphs where they explain where they started working. It’s genuinely amazing.

RC: Speaking to your question about insights into characters, yes. I wrote a Slaine script for Zarjaz a few years back, and it was only then in writing the dialogue between Slaine and Ukko that I realised the complex dynamic between the two characters. Apart from Slaine’s physical bullying of Ukko, there is also the way that Ukko will subtly undermine Slaine and use psychology to get the barbarian to do what he wants.

JS: What are you hoping for in submissions that completes the FutureQuakes goals? What won’t you accept in submissions? While you are from England, do you accept submissions from fans from all over?

DE: For submissions to FQP, be they script or art, we want to see talent. A script needs to be complete, in and of itself with a beginning, middle, and end (and a twist in many cases). Art needs to show a grasp of storytelling; if an artist is inexperienced but has a good grasp of storytelling then working on scripts for us will help them to hone their craft.

RC: I’d also add that if you are submitting to Zarjaz, we get a LOT of Dredd scripts. You’d be more likely to catch our eye if you went for something less obvious. We’ve never had a Dante script submitted, for example.

JS: I always felt Dr. Who has its own identity as a science fiction show, it has its own feel. The same can be stated about the 2000 AD characters.  There is a completely different mindset. 2000 AD characters are unlike anything else in comics. Even more so, each series has its own vibe. As an editor for FutureQuake how do you keep the spirit of 2000 AD in FutureQuake?

DE: I’d say that the spirit of 2000 AD is in everything we do at FQP. The amount of classic Future Shocks, Time Twisters, Terror Tales and even Past Imperfects that have gone before serve to act as guide and inspiration for the type of storytelling we want to present.

JS: There is something wonderful in what FutureQuake is doing. Publications that are devoted to and celebrate other creations can be found in journalism and fanzines. It’s a valuable part if the creative community. Specific to 2000 AD there is a bigger idea that I’ve been thinking about that I’d like to go into.

Many creators at 2000 AD and also at FutureQuake later go on to work at bigger companies in the states. This is very interesting. British creators have innovated and energized the American comic industry.

The comics media has coined this over the decades as the British Invasion.  This also happened in the music industry starting with the Beatles and TV starting with Dr. Who.   I’m keeping within modern times and pop culture. One could easily go back throughout history and discover plenty more examples.

This has been repeated by other countries as well.  Japan with a wide variety of things such as manga an anime. Africa with afro-futurism. Chinas (Hong Kong) action films and current success with science fiction are a few examples.  Each is unique, inspiring and innovative.

Its an interesting, because, it’s hard for those involved to acknowledge that in the moment. The different creators behind these great works, in the moment, don’t realize the impact that they have.

With the internet and the data it brings, this impact can be quantitatively observed and understood to a greater degree. But that’s just raw data.

I suspect, FutureQuake is more intimately knowledgeable about that based on the kind of publisher FutureQuake is.

I said quite a lot with the above statement. As a fan of 2000 AD and as part of FutureQuake, and obviously a fan of comics, what are your thoughts on what I stated?

DE: My thoughts on this boil down to this – around 50 years ago, many of the creators working in the small press today would have been gainfully employed by publishers and working full time making the comics of the day. As the current market for comics has shrunk to what almost amounts to a cottage industry, many of these talents will forever labor at comics around a full-time job, as they provide for their families. FQP; with all of the titles we produce, is determined to provide a facility for writers and artists to learn, gain experience and work to the best level they can. The upside of working on the 2000 AD fanzines is that as the characters are ‘known’ it is possible for a writer to and artist to effectively work on submissions for the comic that need to work within the reality of the strip. That provides other editors with a view of how the writer understands the source material and can still bring original ideas to it.

JS: FutureQuake, of course, is also known for MangaQuake (a Manga influenced anthology) and the horror anthology Something Wicked.  2000 AD science fiction, Manga and horror. It reminds me of a more culturally inclined EC Comics to a degree. This is exciting stuff. I know the company is non-profit, and with that understanding, I am curious if FutureQuake intends on staying small press? Non-Profit doesn’t have to be small. At the same time, I understand wanting to stay small.

DE: The dream. I would dearly love to be able to pack up my day job and allow the love, sweat, effort and dreams of others to fund my life. I spend roughly 20-25 hours a week making comics, real-life allowing and I know that for the effort I expend I would love to have financial recompense. FQP print sales are stable currently, after a few years where none of the books broke even. However it means that currently the non 2000 AD books do not provide free ‘print’ editions to contributors- this is a source of shame personally but I know that the financial knife edge is such that it makes decisions like this essential.

Print runs almost never sell out, and when they do it is currently not financially feasible for me to keep issues in print. We have 15 years of works out there and I do not have the space to keep a comprehensive back catalogue.

Digital sales, via comiXology, (https://www.comixology.co.uk/FutureQuake-Press/comics-publisher/7307-0?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pbXByaW50U2xpZGVy)  comicsy (http://www.comicsy.co.uk/bolt01/)  and now comichaus (https://www.comichaus.com/) are interesting, as they are slowly providing a source of revenue that can be returned to the creators of the comics. I am maintaining a database of sales and revenues that are generated with an eye on actually passing funds back to creators once the funds reach a level where a payment would be worthwhile. However, even here I’m yet to see a return for a creator reach more than a couple of pounds. Time will eventually allow for this though.

The cover price of a FQP book is £6.50. For this you get around 100 pages of content. This is astounding value in my opinion. A 100 page trade from Marvel or DC will cost you in the region of £15 these days. Zarjaz & Dogbreath both run around 40 pages for £3.00, with a full-color wraparound cover by an actual droid. This hasn’t changed for 15 years, despite price rises in printing. We are proud to be able to produce a quality book – it’s not about making money.

JS: Charlton Neo, Warrant, Indellible are all American companies that are in many ways doing what you are for Charlton Comics, Warren, and Dell Comics.  They are also finding comic greats contributing to their pages and a happy fanbase. In many ways, these publishers and FutureQuake bring back the way comics used to be before comics got too serious in tone and business practice.  Each of the above-mentioned companies have their own way of reaching fans. How do you promote FutureQuake?

DE: FQP promotes by contacting select groups of news sites and bloggers who will provide quick reviews and promote news items. We have our very own blog where I try to keep up with promoting the new issues as they are released as well as cross-posting content from former contributors on books of interest. (https://futurequake.wordpress.com/) We also mail each and every contributor a digital edition of the book for them to promote on their personal social media platforms. We also try to attend several shows a year, mainly the Thought Bubble convention currently where we get to meet creators and readers.

OW: We’ve recently set up a FQP FB as well – and Dave is active as himself/Futurequake on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fqp_bolt/) & Twitter (https://twitter.com/FqQuake). We’ve already had some amazing artists contact us through our new FB page – https://www.facebook.com/FutureQuakePress/

RC: And also, to blow our own trumpet a bit, we have built up a reputation over the years. We have a proven track record at delivering quality books and people know that. It’s always satisfying to have folks come up to our tables and buy their regular copies of the latest issues.

JS: I used to own a Japanese pop culture store and I am a fan of Manga. Manga spans quite an incredible range of genre as well as writing and art content. Is MangaQuake as wide-ranging or do you focus on a specific type of Manga? With MangaQuake you focus on a longer form of storytelling than the 2000 AD inspired titles?

DE: MangaQuake was a wonderful experiment that for us ran its course. Back when FQP was finding its feet, genre-wise we received a lot of submissions for strips by British Manga creators. We decided that the simplest way to handle these was to give them their own title. MangaQuake ran for 7 issues, which are now collated into 2 digital archive editions available from the digital outlets for a mere £1.49gbp each. They are exceptional value, as each of these collections runs for over 300 pages.

JS: This is a curious question from someone like myself, an American. Both 2000 AD and Manga came over as import comics. In my opinion, both were successful as import and changed American Comics. No doubt American comics had an impact in England. The superhero aspect of America comics wasn’t the only thing that British readers enjoyed.  What other aspects of the American market came through? How do other countries such as Japan take in England? How about Australia? I am also a fan of Australian comics and I have this feeling that there is a synergy between England and Australia.

DE: Due to the wonderful way comics were marketed in the 1980’s, American super-hero comics went from appearing in each and every newsagent across the country to being the province of the specialist store. At the time, as a consumer this was amazing as all the comics I loved, from around the world were available in one place, but over time this has lead to a comics ghetto, where instead of comics being a celebrated mainstream method of entertainment they are seen by many as the province of the ‘nerd’.

Here is the UK there are very few avenues for comics from Australia. I have been lettering a couple of titles that are part of the Australian small press and through that, I have forged links with a shop down there that I am proud to say carries print copies of the FQP books. From the feedback, I’ve had they regularly sell out too, which is great.

OW: Before I read 2000 AD I was addicted to “Marvel Heroes Reborn” which was a British reprint which packaged together three different Marvel comics. Iron Man, Fantastic Four & The Hulk – I used to absolutely love having the three different stories in the one issue… then I found 2000 AD… FIVE stories. Much better! I remember being shocked to find out you’d have to buy those same Marvel comics separately.

RC: I’d echo what Dave has said. Back in the old days, comics were considered worthless. So much so that they were used as ballast in container ships from the US. These books then found their way onto the shelves of local newsagents. I remember picking up random issues of Daredevil, Spider-man and the like. They always ended on a cliff-hanger and you almost never found a copy of the next issue. Then when dedicated comics shops came along, these books disappeared from the local shops entirely. Which I think is a shame – where are the new generation of readers going to stumble upon these characters now?

JS: I’ve mentioned EC Comics and Warren above. Those two styles of horror are pretty varied, but there is quite a lot more for variation out there. What are you looking for in Something Wicked?

DE: Something Wicked is the only title that was completely originated by FQP. In a similar situation to that formed MangaQuake, we were getting a lot of horror submissions for a science fiction comic. The logical answer was to give them their own home. I did try to float the idea of the title being ‘HorrorQuake’ but luckily I didn’t get away with that as Something Wicked is a much better title.

OW: …I dunno I quite like HorrorQuake…

JS: What’s coming up for FutureQuake? FutureQuake being small press isn’t available like Marvel and DC. For those interested, what are the options for people to purchase what you have? How can someone keep in touch with what’s going on with FutureQuake?

DE: The simplest way to pick up the books is through the FQP webshop (https://www.futurequake.co.uk/) the latest issues are all there as well as the available back issues.

Digital readers can visit comiXology, comicsy and comichaus to devour the digital content in whatever method they prefer.

It is worth noting that Rebellion has asked that Zarjaz & Dogbreath are not for sale digitally. There are stories to be read for free via the blog and comicsy has digital versions of 2 2000 AD specials – Drokk and Stak! That can be purchased.

Several shops around the country carry FQP titles, most notably Orbital of London.

FQP will be at the third Oldham comics day in the north of England in May (https://en-gb.facebook.com/oldhamcomiccon/) along with an appearance at Lawless (http://lawlesscomiccon.co.uk/), where FQP are creating a special edition of Zarjaz to act as the convention booklet. The only other event apart from that this year is the Thought Bubble convention in November. That event should see the launch of both Something Wicked 2019 as well as a new Zarjaz too.

PORTLAND, OR 05/10/2019 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal a special Mike Mignola (Hellboy) cover for the forthcoming Sea of Stars by Jason Aaron (Southern Bastards, Thor), Dennis Hallum (Cloak & Dagger, Vader: Dark Visions), Stephen Green (Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.), and Rico Renzi (Spider-Gwen), an ongoing series launching from Image Comics this July.

When recently widowed Gil gets a long-haul gig across the universe, he figures it’s safe enough to bring his young son Kadyn along for the ride—that is, until their “big rig” gets bitten in half by a gigantic Space Leviathan! Sea of Stars follows Gil, now separated from his son—with a breached suit that’s venting oxygen at an alarming rate—as he struggles to defy the odds and stay alive long enough to rescue Kadyn. But meanwhile, Kadyn seems to be getting all the help he needs from a talking Space Monkey riding a Space Dolphin… or maybe it’s the strange powers he’s suddenly manifesting…?

As Hallum told Deadline, “Jason and I talked about co-writing a story for years, but our sensibilities are so different it never clicked. He had an adventure story about a little boy swimming through the stars. I wanted to turn it into an ice-truck driver who’s kid goes missing in the arctic. Our brains just wouldn’t line up. Instead of compromising, we decided Stephen could pull off both stories at the same time.”

Sea of Stars is a brand-new science fiction series with all the scope and heart of the The Neverending Story crossed with the imaginative weirdness of Miyazaki and promises an intense, galaxy-spanning adventure perfect for fans of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender.

Sea of Stars #1 Cover A by Green (Diamond Code MAY190023) and Sea of Stars #1Cover B by Mignola (Diamond Code MAY190024) will be available on Wednesday, July 3. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is this Monday, June 10.

Sea of Stars #1 will also be available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.

Discover The Official Continuation Of The Hit “ANGEL” TV Series in October 2019

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 10, 2019) – BOOM! Studios, in partnership with 20th Century Fox Consumer Products, today announced a new graphic novel program collecting out-of-print and rare stories officially continuing the world of Joss Whedon’s hit television series Angel. Beginning with ANGEL: LEGACY EDITION BOOK ONE in October 2019, BOOM! Studios will collect every issue of Angel from previous publishers in chronological order, including hard to find and out of print stories in the value-priced Legacy Edition format.

Created by visionary writer and director Joss Whedon (Marvel’s The Avengers film franchise), Angel premiered on the WB Network on October 5th, 1999 and was a spin-off from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The series ran for five seasons from 1999-2004, starring David Boreanaz as “Angel,” the tortured vampire destined to walk the earth with a soul who moved to LA to set up shop as a supernatural private investigator. Despite Angel’s best efforts to deal with the sins of his past all by himself, Angel Investigations soon became home to other lost souls searching for redemption and willing to fight by his side.

Set during Season 1 and Season 2 of the Angel television series, Angel Investigations is dedicated to its mission of helping the helpless…and putting a stop to a seemingly never-ending demon horde intent on destroying first Hollywood, and then the world! This volume features works by the Emmy Award-winning writer of Angel David Fury, New York Times Best-Selling author Christopher Golden, and five-time Eisner Award-winning artist Eric Powell, and is a must-have for long time fans and new readers alike!

ANGEL: LEGACY EDITION BOOK ONE features an all-new cover by Nimit Malavia (Firefly: Legacy Edition).

“Angel is one of the most beloved television series of the last twenty years and has an incredible comic book legacy that we’re excited to honor with these collections,” said Jeanine Schaefer, Executive Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Even if you’re a long time fan of the broody vampire-with-a-soul like me, you’re going to find that each volume of ANGEL: LEGACY EDITION contains a story you might never have read – or been able to track down.”

ANGEL is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Faithless by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet; Abbott from Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä; Bury The Lede from Gaby Dunn and Claire Roe; Grass Kings from Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins; and Klaus from Grant Morrison and Dan Mora. 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 Lopez; and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Ryan Parrott and Danielle Di Nicuolo.