5/29/07: Other Photos, Rob in a bad mood.

ME with my new prize from the Sony Loyalty site, a rifle from the game, KILLZONE. Yeah, I'm still not sure where I'm going to put it, either...


















Me with a Mohawk...before I cut all the hair and beard.



















Fubar and his daughter, Hayden.



















Rob, foaming at the mouth...okay, not really in a bad mood. Stop thinking nasty thoughts, you sick fucks.

5/29/07: The Dogs...

Landis and Ardy...in odd, and embarassing moments.




The second one is my personal favorite, since Landis looks like Flo from 227...yeah, that really bad show that used the front flat from Sesame Street. The first two pics taken by Christy, and the last one, taken by me.

5/28/07: Comic Update and more shite...

www.ardyvanstarr.com <--The Official homepage of THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES by JK Radke of Junior Bruce and Rob Potchak of Pots and Pans Ink. (Updates Every Tuesday and Thursday)

Yeah, I'm putting the advertisement on every blog for the time being. I know, everyone is probably getting sick of it, already, but heck, if it helps more people check out the comic, then I am getting the job done and my point across...so don't be mad.

The Ardy Vanstarr Adventures started Chapter 2 the other day, and I'm really excited to see how many people that read through the first three months worth of strips feel and their opinions of it, however, we haven't gotten the direct link to the forums up yet...oops. Oh well, its just a minor detail, I guess. JK says he's got more new pages ready to send me, as well as the promo art piece that he's going to be getting scanned over at his local Kinkos. When he does get that to me, I'm going to color it and make a print out of it (and maybe give some away, and YES, April, I know I still haven't gotten to the post office, but I have to this week, so your comic will be in the mail, and probably with a little extra...even though you haven't bugged me at all about it, I'm feeling bad about not having sent the prize yet).

I did some art recently, a piece of Batman closeup, that makes him look battered and beaten, so I'm pretty happy with it, I drew Strong Guy again, and then two other pieces, completely off the wall for me, Tony Stark cartoony style as well as Morpheus from SANDMAN...which I think looks interesting, but I'd definitely need more visual of the character to perfect him. I'm contemplating doing more of my colored paper drawings that utilize both black and white ink, and maybe even some red ink, to try to add a new element to some pieces of art. I really enjoy looking at when Jim Lee or Travis Charest or Adam Kubert do it, so I want to really try that some more and I think I want to use a dark gray board to do it on, or maybe even a brown, but who knows...still in the thinking stage with it at this point.

The search for an artist begins...I'm looking for an artist to draw the second issue of DEAD SONJA, which will actually be called DEAD SONJA VS. THE ARMY OF DARKNUTS, as it will be a parody crossover like no other. Being a Red Sonja AND Army of Darkness fan, I'm really hoping to find a cartoony artist to lend their talents, and though my old pal and partner in comic projects, Eric Kent is working on some samples, we may be looking for multiple artists to draw different parts, similar to how Tony, Owen and Eisu did with the first one, which is now getting reviewed better than by some folks that reviewed it earlier.

In the coming weeks, I'll begin the next TAVA script, and I think I'm going to have a six page interlude that may introduce a character JK created, but I've been wanting to write since he came up with him, THE SILVERFISH. Trust me when I say, he's not your typical Supervillain, but he is definitely ...something. I just love the concept of the character so much that he just makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

I'll also go back and edit both of my other side (pet) projects, THIEF and TAGGER, which I haven't touched in lord knows how long. I just wasn't happy with where Thief was headed, as its supposed to be about the struggles of a man, and yet it started getting campy...and Tagger, I'm almost wondering where I want that to go, since its his ultimate origin story, and I don't want people to be let down by possibly my favorite character from the LANDIS tale.

Also...The search for a manga style artist for the next arc of LANDIS has started...ANYONE know anyone? Owen, if you are reading this, I know how busy ya are, pal, but we could go with a simpler style if you think you could take on the project, hehe...I'd ALWAYS ask to have you back on the project, since I feel that it just wouldn't be the same without you, but I understand the need to have shelter over your head :).

I was thinking about it the other day, and the people that were starting out when I first started writing books that were getting published were numerous...crazy thing now, is that all these guys are getting bigger work...for example, Alp Altiner (alpaltiner.com) drew the first SCORN tale I fully wrote myself, and he's worked on Spawn, for Top Cow, and now is a graphic artist for movies like FF2 and Transformers. Tony Furtado (AP to non-friends, heh) drew a lot of the Blatant books I originally wrote, and has worked for Heavy Metal. Owen's worked with John Layman on projects, and he's writing Army of Darkness...Ryan Stegman, who I met over ten years ago online and was supposed to draw ARDY at one point is now working for Marvel through the Dabel Brothers imprint. Mike Kelleher (of RIB fame) is now doing the redrawn classic covers for Marvel's Masterworks titles (like Amazing Fantasy) for the large oversized books...Buddy Scalera has written for Marvel and Wizard, Jas Ingram, Rus Wooten, Rob Nikolakakis, all working for other big time folks, the list goes on and on.

And then I look at myself, and I see that I haven't gotten the "big" break, yet. I've gotten breaks, like the fact that Chris Crosby sees enough in my work to hire me for Blatant books, even to this day, though I am sure it is less because of the quality and more because of the price I charge, heh. I wonder if my break will happen? I'm not down about it...I KNOW I haven't put as much time into it as I'd like, and that's because I have a motivation factor of paying bills and living a certain type of life.

I want to publish THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES in book format by middle of next year, and then I want to try to get some guys together and finally do my Horror Anthology called HORROLOGY, since it never came to fruition the first go round. This time, I want to do it, and get the proceeds to a charity, probably the MAke a Wish foundation, or heck, even the HERO INTIATIVE, since I believe in that cause...and may even be able to get some backing from Joe Quesada for that one...

Anyway folks, this rant has gone on long enough. Its late, I have a long day ahead of me, and Happy Birthday, Dave...and everyone else have a happy holiday.

5/25/07: A Brand new RECORD for THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES

www.ardyvanstarr.com <--The Official THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES Web-Comic

I started a tracker in March to show how many hits THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES got on a day to day, week to week, and month to month basis. Yesterday, we destroyed every record we had in just a couple hours, but more importantly, over 12250 hits yesterday on the Extreme Tracker we have.

Yesterday was our second advertisement for the site, so I knew we were going to make a pretty good jump, but the 14200 people (exact, as of this moment), is not only a record, but it truly is huge, since it ALMOST beats both other tracked months by 10,000 hits for the month, meaning we'll easily hit the 10,000 MORE hits than March/April combined by the end of May, unless the holiday hurts us, which has been known to happen previous holidays.

I want to say, "THANK YOU!" to everyone that DID check out the site yesterday, and apologize for the website not saying when we update (its Tuesday's and Thursday's at the moment), and that there is a forum open for anyone who wants to write in their feelings (at the keenspot forums).

This story still has some fun left in the tank, and then we'll start Chapter 3 shortly after, but I'll encourage anyone that wants to take a stab at drawing Ardy, Dread Mutt, or even FBH (Female Bounty Hunter) since I want to see what everyone else would do with the characters, and I don't think JK would mind...

Heck, if we like them enough, we'd probably post them on our Deviartart pages, or better yet, include them as a page of THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES next time we take a little break to get more pages in the bag. All submissions can be sent to rpotchak@gmail.com, and I'd even be up for Art-trades, though JK is the artist on the series, we are both on deviantart.


NOW, onto my question of the week...something I'm going to ponder on and possibly even try to get some insight from the publisher (or entertainer) on, in hopes of further cluing in the public.
-------------------------------------------

Did Marvel hold off Ultimates 2 #13 for printing reasons, or was it to buy Joe Madureira more time on ULTIMATES 3?

ULTIMATES 3 and ULTIMATES 4 were announced in JOE QUESADA's own words, "like a year and a half" ago, and yet we still haven't seen anything more than a couple sketches on Newsarama or Wizard (Universe). This led me to believe that there may have been a conspiracy theory as to WHY ULTIMATES 2#13 was held off so long.

Bryan Hitch has gone on record to say that he was done penciling the book in December, and even had art to prove it. Heck, him and Mark Millar have been working on a TOP SECRET project for Marvel (art here:
http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/hitch_millar/firstpic.html , THANKS NEWSARAMA) for a while, which looks like it may be something like the PULSE meets BLACK WIDOW...who knows though.

Why would Marvel ACTIVELY hold off the sale of this book, that ends EERILY like Civil War #7 (Tony Stark claiming this was one of 15 possiblities, not 42, but you get the idea, and then the crying) until well after Civil War #7 hit the stands? I think it became clear for two reasons, the ends were very similar and they need to keep the two universes separate, and I believe that Marvel doesn't want to have a 12 month delay between Ultimates 2 and Ultimates 3...and how do you prevent this? By delaying ULTIMATES 2's finish (which will still be a 100,000 seller) and announcing Ultimates 3's release schedule at San Diego Comic Con.

Problem: This really does mean that Ultimates 3 is in the works for literally 2 years with NO Preview art to show for it, and the rumor mill had been running rampant that Joe M was way behind. However, you don't hear the same issue about Ed McGuiness on his Ultimates 4 run, which they apparently are doing simultaneously to ensure that they can keep to a tighter schedule...

But really, guys, a "Tighter Schedule?" Its been almost 20 months since we've seen ANYTHING from either of these series, we still haven't seen the end to Ultimate Wolverine vs. Ultimate Hulk, and What about Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner's Ultimate Wolverine series? What about the "Ultra secretive" Spider-man project from Jeph Loeb and J. Scott Campbell? Doesn't it seem a little odd that we were all excited to mention these titles, but yet...HAVE NOTHING PRINTED TO SHOW FOR THEM? If I remember correctly, Marvel went bankrupt at one point, with stockpiles of non-used stories and art...Though they are in a safer place today, why announce a project two years before it ever ships?

Do us all a favor...make announcements about awesome projects that are coming IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS. There are enough Major shows throughout the year to give you enough space between MEGA-ANNOUNCEMENTS if you do it properly... And don't worry about the fans...if you give them a completed project within six months...WE'LL BE THERE TO BUY IT...but only if we are guaranteed an ending within a monthly / bi-monthly schedule.

As a lifer, I hate this...Necessary evil to stockpile the art? Sure...just don't announce it until the shit becomes a solid...heh...no one likes a fart...if they don't deliver, they can stink up a room.

5/24/07: THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES CHAPTER 2 STARTS TODAY!

www.ardyvanstarr.com <--The Official Home of THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES

Chapter Two begins today, and it starts off with a confrontation between Ardy and the mysterious bounty hunter, Dread Mutt.

To celebrate this new Chapter in THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES, we've also changed the name of the LANDIS FORUM to THE LANDIS AND THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES FORUM (located here: http://forums.keenspot.com/viewforum.php?f=100&sid=09dab9f671c902eb12436980200958ad ) as well as Keenspot granting us our second adspace for the story. Its a big day as this story will change what the UNIVERSE thinks of Ardy forever.

Yes, this first story arc really does have a change in the status quo SO BIG, the whole UNIVERSE will change how they perceive the character after it is over...

Come one come all, as we invite you to take in THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES!

5/23/07: The best DEAD SONJA REVIEW yet, and more...

"A satire that actually gets better with every page in both writing and art, Dead Sonja starts off as a fairly light, pun-based joke, and builds toward a neat, weird, little meta-fictional ending. As the basis for the jokes runs out, it feels a little padded at 48 pages, but at least it’s got great, energetic art to ogle (by three different artists) before writer Rob Potchak brings it home to rest. Assuming zombies ever rest…"

That was from atomic comics...that is probably the BEST comic site review of a book I've written...and the craziness is this...I never saw this review until today, when Chris Crosby sent it to me, publisher of Dead Sonja.

Okay, so I have a statement for everyone reading...WINNERS get the job done...everyone else make excuses. I've begun truly feeling like this...that's why I do what I can, I work on what I can, and I get my work done...why? I don't ASK that ANYONE has to do more work than their position states...However, what I've noticed is this...

Some people feel that they can leave work for others to get done, and get away with it...I've come to realize that some GET THE JOB DONE and OTHERS...give excuses.

I have two employees that will do every bit of work I ask of them...I have 7 other employees... one is too green to be explained here...one only thinks its about sales and the others think they can get by with witty banter and leaving work for everyone else.

The funny thing? The only two that get the "free pass" on sales numbers? Are the two that get the work done that's asked of them...why? Because I know that you can get one or the other done...

Some people TAKE responsibility...other's HAVE responsibility...you know the difference? Those who take it, get their work done...they're the ones that tell me, "You are a great manager..." Those who HAVE responsibility are the ones that make excuses as to why they can't get the job done in twice the time it takes a part timer to get the job done.

We all have both...but the real question is how do the TAKERS continue to do their job, when they know the HAVERS don't? And here's what happens...at some point, the takers realize that the HAVERS aren't doing their job, so the Takers stop doing their's...And where does that leave a manager or leader?

I consider myself a leader...I work more and HARDER than ALL my employees...and when I complain, its because I'm working HARDER than I need to. the word there is NEED...If I wanted to keep my job and not worry about anything, A) I wouldn't take ANY vacations... B) I wouldn't take two days off per week, and C) I'd just suck it up like some and work 60hr weeks...

Here's the problem...I don't want to do those three things...I work hard enough to deserve those things...however...does everyone else?

I've told Austin, my new third key, that I expect him to run things like a drill instructor...why? I want to rank well, and I want to win. Simply put. My job is ot to ensure that everyone likes Austin, but to ensure that everyone respects him and gets their work done around him... and that's what I feel I've done.

People who do not get respected at work have no one but themselves to look at...if you accept excuses as to WHY you can't get your job done, you are IN THE WRONG PROFESSION. If you can't EXECUTE because you don't BELIEVE, then you aren't getting YOUR JOB DONE. Don't tell me that it can't be done if others are doing it...

Hell, I admit my WORST WEEK ever last week, and ow did I return this week? I'm at 40-something percent going into the midpoint of the week, OUTSELLING THE WHOLE STORE from last week as of today...This isn't luck...its irritation as to how bad we did last week...and how bad *I* did last week.

Not only do I NOT want anybody saying "I beat you last week..." during my WORST WEEK EVER, but I don't want anyone saying, "I BEAT YOU LAST WEEK..." during my best week ever...why? I'm too competitive...

If you aren't competitive, you are in the wrong profession...if you don't have a WILL TO WIN, then you don't have a will to COMPLETE your job...this is where problems come up...

If you can't complete your tasks, you FORCE it on someone else...is that fair? Especially when part timers get that done? You need to look inside and fix the problem...you need to work harder, if the people that pull half the hours get twice the work done...

Look inside...if you don't go home tired, you aren't completing the job description.

5-22-07: New Art and my week so far...

Just got to sketching the other night. I'd noticed that every time I attempt to draw the hulk, it doesn't come out right, so this time I used the "trick" that I've seen a lot of other artists use...I gave him the Gorilla Jaw. Instead of making his mouth closer to the nose, I gave him a much more elongated area to the mouth, and I like the effect it had.

Still not comfortable drawing the Hulk, but this has been my best attempt thus far.







I also decided I was going to try to draw a Kryptonian, so I did a face of what I thought one would look like, using Jim Lee's stylings from his run on Superman. I liked how the contours in the face came out on this one, so I'm happy with the final product, here...



















And finally, a quick sketch of a character I'm becoming more and more fond of, the AUTHORITY's Midnighter. This was a pretty small sketch, and very rough, but I like the feel of motion in it, but I feel I puffed his cheeks out a bit much...













Alright, so last week what my worst performing week in my store to date. I pulled a 3.0% reservation for the week, but if I had ZERO cancelled pre-orders, it would have been 9.0%. I did however, post my best Subscription percentage that I can ever remember, selling 20 subscriptions for a WHOPPING 20%!. So with our +/- 15% score (adding the goals of 10% reservations and 5% subsriptions = 15% total), I was still at a +8.0%, meaning I was third in the rankings in my store. Now, mind you, the only two people that ranked higher than me only worked one day each, I take it in stride. I will say this, though I had a ton more transactions than them, I was still confident that I could put up a good showing, which I feel I did...

The problem that this created was simple. I had MY WORST WEEK EVER, and I ranked THIRD, with everyone who worked more than one day being BEATEN by me...what does this tell you? The store RANKED HORRIBLY. Anybody who tells me, "Yeah, well I had a better Res percent than you..." is basically saying, "I didn't suck as much as you did this week..." Whereas, what they need to be saying is "Rob, I'll get my 10%, and I'll aim higher, because 10% should be the bare minimum..." But they don't.

I'm competitive, and after having my worst reservation week ever, how's this for a start to the week...fourteen reservations in two days... this is 2 more than THE ENTIRE STORE had last week. My percentage week to date...over 40%. The only person other than me to have a pre-order sold this week so far? Austin, the guy who is only on his second day, who already has one res and one sub, meaning he's doing extremely well for someone who has NEVER sold anything.

Speaking of Austin, he gets it. I told him as long as he has common sense and allots his time correctly, the job is simple. He understands this...maybe its his military background, or maybe he is just the most competent person I've seen walk through the door in a long time. Thursday is the first day he'll deal with shipments, so we'll see how that goes...but I let him close the registers on Monday night (after only seeing me do it once) and he only missed two little things, that I'll make sure he doesn't miss on Thursday and Friday night when I close with him.

So that's my week so far...it's going well, although I'm already exhausted. Tonight's my final alcohol class, so I'll be doing my homework and preparing for that. This truly closes a chapter in my life that I want behind me, so this will give me something to be proud of, as I make my final step to atone for my mistake.

Finally, although technically it started today with a rehash page, THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES is ALL NEW starting Thursday (ardyvanstarr.com). I hope everyone liked the DVD extras that JK and I provided, but its time to get the story running again. We're hoping for no interruptions before the end of this story, though we may take a little break (with more DVD extras) after this story to get a larger amount of pages done for the next story arc, so we can possibly go to updating more frequently.

5/18/07: 425th post: More Photos...

Isn't this the greatest collection of pictures? Yes, I caught the wife, on the couce, using the dogs AS her pillows...I guess turnabout is fairplay, since the dogs are making sure they are using the pillows...this is one of the funniest pictures EVER.

Next two on the list are from my buddy Dominic's (don't call him Dominique's) birthday...hard to believe the Long Island native is 31... There's me pointing, Dom in the green hat, and Brian with the cocked New England hat...with Fubar jumping in at the last second just to be in the photo it seems...

In the photo below that one, we again have a pic from Dom's birthday, before we got to the karaoke bar, and tested our skills as a boyband. Now, as you can see, I'm sporting the Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart goatee, and this may be the last photo that is seen with it, since I look like a Ginger Santa Claus with it...

Finally, at the bottom of the photo bucket, we've got Ardy, the dog, named after, you guessed it, Ardy from the comics...in fact, the pug's named Landis, also named after said comic character. In this photo, him and I are staring each other down while he is literally sitting ON my legs. I always win the staredown with the dog, however, as he knows which male is the dominant one in the house.

So with this blog I was going to say something like these were the photos from the 425th blog entry party, but that just sounds stupid...but now I'll definitely have to come up with something for the 500th post party.

To all the readers out there, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and based on the one of the wife with the dogs, *I'll* probably be the one sleeping with the dogs for at least the next couple weeks.

Last post of the night, I promise!

5/18/07: New PRINTS, LANDIS cover, ARDY/TORCH

Okay, so it might not end up being a "barrage" of photos, but here's the most important one of the group of photos that I've been trying to upload this evening...

What we have here are two prints that I made from my Cafepress.com/potchak site, and I just want to say how great they look.

The ARDY/TORCH one does have 1 inch borders of white on the top and bottom, but since I'm going to frame these pieces, I don't mind the borders.

The Landis piece is the same piece I gave to a former contest winner a couple months ago, and is from Owen Gieni's art, fully colored by Studio Makma, and what was our original #2 cover for the series.

At the Cafepress.com/potchak store at the moment is the ARDY/TORCH print only, but I may bring the LANDIS print back if anyone is looking for one...as of this very moment, ONLY 4 LANDIS prints are in existence and only 3 of the ARDY/TORCH prints have been made.

Any friends of THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES, so everyone knows, there is NO profit made from ordering the prints at the site for the 4.95 pricepoint. I'm leaving them at making NO money right now so anyone that wants them can get them and knows I'm not trying to cheat anyone.

5/18/07: New Transformers Trailer...

For all intensive purposes, this message will be real short. With the disappointment that was SPIDER-MAN 3, we've all begun to look for what is going to be the movie blockbuster, and well, the geek in me has decided it (HOPEFULLY) will be the TRANSFORMERS movie...

Now things I noticed in this trailer...Optimus made the transforming sound we are all used to... was it just for effect in the trailer? Maybe...it did kind of sound like it...but if Bay is smart, its in there.

So here's your chance to check out the new trailer, exclusive from Yahoo Movies...

http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/Transformers/1808716430/trailers/31

5/16/07: Has it been 4 days since my last post already?

So today was one of those, "I'm gonna get'cha days," where everything that could "getcha" goes ahead and gets ya...we've all had them, we all hate them, because there's NO way to get a day back... its an intangible...but every so often, it slaps you in the face, steals your oatmeal creme pie and dances a jig on your naughty parts for shits and giggles...and with that, the rest of this post is FILLED with BAD WORDS...if you are easily offended, I would stop reading...but then you'll miss the good stuff...like changing the channel from HBO...

So I go into work already pondering how I'm going to write a schedule around this HUGE freaking sale our company is doing starting NEXT Saturday (YES, Gamestop is having a huge sale, lots of stuff, 25%-75% off), while I've got an inventory at a store over an hour away, and have to train a new guy that has NEVER worked for our company before...but alas, I decided it couldn't be that bad, right? I was going to schedule my vacations from June 4th-6th in Atlantic City, (Sorry JK, but I just can't take a week off in June to go to Tahoe...but I'll be in Vegas in September), and the family vacation in Sea Isle NJ in August. You'd never guess I'm in NC from where I vacation, but I enjoy those spots.

Okay, so that's all dandy, but then I start working on the schedule when a customer by the name of MIKE URBAN comes in. He's pre-ordered games with us before and always been a decent guy...(movie voice) UNTIL TODAY...(end movie voice). He came in saying that he had to sell his Nintendo Wii and no longer needed the two games he pre-ordered for it...Cool. "I'll refund them to store credit because that's how you paid for them." I didn't even offer another pre-orderable item because I knew today was "THAT DAY" already. Here's the conversation... now let me tell you, I stayed completely calm, which normally I'd lose it at some point, but I've worked on it enough to not have it happen until someone REALLY gets to me...

"I'll go ahead and give you the store credit you ordered it with..."

"No, you'll give me my money."

"Sir, you didn't pay for it with money, so there's no way to give it back as money. You used store credit to purchase these, so I can give you store credit."

Wait for it...

"No, you'll give me back my fucking money because I traded in games and I want my fucking money!"

"Sir, I'll give you back what you paid for in cash, but you did not pay with 'money' so you can not get money for them...And I don't appreciate that language in my place of business." (Swear to God I said it).

"This is unfuckingbelievable! The guy told me I could get twenty percent less cash for my trades if I wanted them as cash...so I want my money back..."

"Unfortunately, you paid for these with no cash, and there's NO way to covert them into cash at this point, since you didn't take that and we gave you 30% MORE for them than you would have gotten had you taken the cash (20% less for cash, but there's 10% more for putting them towards preorders, meaning 30% math majors)."

"I don't have time for this. You are going to give me my fucking money right now!"

"Actually, sire, I told you I don't appreciate that language..."

"So what the fuck are you going to do about it?!"

"I'm going to ask you to leave...NOW."

"Fuck that and fuck you. Where's the store manager?!"

"That would be me. And I asked you to leave."

"Unfuckingbelievable! Fuck this shit, fuck you...and FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING FAG GEEK!"

You can not make up that. Of course I ended with the simple, "Have a nice day, sir." And through the rest of the course of the day, I took care of everyone else...my battle with the day had ended. I gave a valiant fight of killing you with kindness, but in the end, the day beat me, and now I laugh about it.

I told my buddy, Mike, who is a Raleigh cop that works in the mall with a "Where were you 15 minutes ago?" And he tells me he could have arrested him for disorderly conduct. Which means a beat down probably would have ensued...I have been told if he comes back that I can call them and have him banned from the mall, which would also get him a trespassing violation.

I told my boss Kevin if he wants his money back, I'll send it to Kevin, and Kevin can deal with him, but I will not accept that type of vilation of my space, my character or my being. My store worked VERY hard to be one of 25 stores (out of 133) to get a perfect score on our Customer Experience Surveys, FOR THE FIRST FISCAL QUARTER to have some asshole talk shit to me because I'm following a policy and I will not break the policy based on the fact that you were a complete asshole to me. Do unto others. And I'll stand my ground. *I WILL NOT GIVE HIM A REFUND ON THIS* And the reason is simple. You insulted me for no more reason than to attempt to submit me to your pettiness and foolishness and I didn't. I treated you the way I wished to be treated and you did not respect me with the same. I will have you arrested for as much in the future, since I can. And the police will back up the store in question.

I also have a way of contacting security in a quick enough way, now, so that you won't be able to run out before they get there...these guys live for this shit, and they love being able to display their love of their job.

Christy, my wife, told me to write this in a way that it would go over funny, but I don't think there is a way to do such. It wasn't a fun situation, it didn't make me happy, though I can laugh about it a bit now...but I know how corporate is going to handle this..."You will cancel it, you will pay him cash, and you will apologize for the company...and then ask him to not come back."

I like my job, so I'll either end up doing it, or I'll have someone else do it for the sake of the company, but rest assured, if he wants me to give him the money back, and I'm against it... I'll have security there next time.

All this and I haven't had time to send April's prize yet...Friday should be when I get to the post office, the comic store and many other errands should be completed. Til then, I'm out...since I have to leave to do an inventory at another location now...

5/12/07: Just a quick shout out there to the contest winner.

April,

I haven't forgotten the prize, and I hope to ship it on next Tuesday. It's been a crazy couple weeks.

Thanks again for playing!

5-12-07: Haven't been online much this week....

These two kids are really important to me. Its my nephew Drew and my niece Rachel. Rachel is actually my God-daughter and maybe at some point she'll grow into a role of wanting to give her uncle Rob a hug...but for now, I'll settle for high fives because at least its better than screaming and running away.

Rachel is the daughter of my sister, Carrie Anne and her husband Andy, and you can tell exactly how well she's being brought up, because she'll have complete conversations with you and she isn't even three yet. The other day, my family was at a restaurant named RED ROBIN and the restuarant had balloons on the ceiling. Now I ask Drew if he wants to be picked up and he starts grabbing for the balloons. He doesn't tell anyone he wants one, he just starts reaching to grab...Rachel, on the other hand is asked if she would like one, as my other sister, Michelle attempts to hand her one, and her response is, "I don't want one." Then she asks again, and Rachel turns to her, puts both hands on her hips and says, "I don't want one..." It was pretty amusing.

Drew, the son of my brother Dave, is growing up to be like the cutest kid you'd ever see, and honestly, he looks a lot like Dave did growing up. The best conversation I get out of him is, "cars." Then its, "Cars ...nhhhn...cars....hnnn...Rob...cars..." Again, comical, but its a one trick pony. However, Drew likes me, whereas it seems Rachel tolerates me.

To all of you reading the DVD extra pages of THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES, I applaud you for not leaving, however, I think we've given some real insight, and with JK's responses to the UNUSED PAGES coming up, I think you really get inside the artists head. We're gearing up the second part of the story, too, and when I realize where the end of this story is going to take us, we'll develop the next arc, because the current one DOES have an end, and it actually changes the status quo of the character, and may allow him to get back to what he's best at, investigating.

So I'm in a bit of a pickle. My sister, Michelle and her husband Shane have invited Christy and myself to Lake Tahoe with them middle of June. Problem is, my friend John that I haven't seen in almost two years is now inviting us to Atlantic City shortly after. Here's the problem. We can do one, but not both. And as much as I think I'd enjoy Reno (near Tahoe), I know I like Atlantic City...so it leaves a situation where there's not really a win win...so I asked Christy, to which she replied that she'd rather go to AC and see John since we haven't seen him in such a while. Now I need to break the news to the Sis and get the time requested off.

So I've been working a lot and the company really seems to be pissing a lot of people off. Why? They aren't giving ANY labor to ANY store, even though we're up almost 150% in sales from last year. Its sad. You'd think they'd reward you, but we've got less hours next week than this week and we need to hit almost twice the number. I hate this stupid BS. Not enough to quit, mind you, but enough to really say I hate it, heh.

I haven't been on much because of work, but also because of two video games I've bought this week. SPIDER-MAN 3 for the Playstation 3 and COMMAND AND CONQUER 3 for the 360. Both are good. I just don't have enough time to play them. Ahh well, I guess they could both be horrible and then it woulda been a waste of money.

It's been a weird week all around, but I'm getting through it...hopefully the next week goes by without weird shit going on...we seem to be getting a lot of that...and wow, Edge is the new Champion on Smackdown...what a "quick fix" way of giving two be guys time off.

Anyway, folks, for now, I'm out...

5-6-07: Random blogging tonight...

Alright. We've all seen OFFICE SPACE. We all know the feeling of, "I only work hard enough to not lose my job," and I don't work that way. I think people that skit by at the seat of their pants really need a reality check, and really need to stop being the victim of "I'm afraid my boss has it out for me, so I'm just not going to do all the work that I've been hired to do" bullshit. Everything I have accomplish has been by busting my ass. Its how I live. When Christy and I fight, I work double hard to make sure that we correct it, and thank God, so does she. I'm just tired of hearing people claim that they are doing everything in their power, when they A) aren't taking care of themselves outside of work, B) Aren't doing what's asked of them AT work, and C) just want to be the victim and get everyone's sympathy.

I don't like hearing it from other people, I don't like hearing other managers discuss it, and its really sad to see the lack of CARING of one's self and their position.

This is something I tell people I hire..."Best Buy lays off people that don't get the job done at your pay rate...why? Because they can hire a BODY at minimum wage to NOT get the job done..." It's a fair statement, and anyone that has heard it should realize, it takes the victim out of it, and makes it just as true as it is...if you aren't performing at your job, why not find someone else that brings your P&L down so at least you turn a profit, even if you don't perform to the company goals?

Is it fair? Is that really the issue? If you are afraid of losing your source of income, look inside and see what's changed in you. I'm sure your boss is still running things the way they always have. Are you pulling your weight? When did you stop, and why haven't you picked it back up?
What makes everyone worry about their job rather than work harder to keep it? I think there's something in certain folks that makes them competitive, and makes them want to win and succeed...Quarterbacks in football that succeed have it...and they just label it...IT. You ask anyone, I have IT. It makes me mad when I see how hard I work go down the drain when it comes to , "You are only as strong as your weakest link..."

I guess the other question to ask there is...did you create the problem, or are you doing what you have to to clean it up?

I mentioned that I bought Spider-man 3 the game the other night in a blog that I will apologize now for, since it was one of those blogs that was written when I probably had more of a different substance in my blood than, well...blood. I enjoy the game, though there are really crippling elements in it...bad camera angles, stupid missions that get repetitive and the like, but the game does have some fun stuff...The NY in the game is just fun to swing around, though there's no one talking to Spidey and even Bruce Campbell's narration is sporadic at best.

I like the game, and I went to see the movie tonight as well.

Let me say this...for a guy that started with such small movies as Evil Dead, Sam Raimi really comes at you in this movie and screams at the top of his lungs, "Take that Star Wars...Take That ET, and BLOW ME Titanic..." And this I applaud. Its obvious some lines are in there for their corniness, (Hi Stan Lee), and others are in there for the children watching ("No spidey, don't!"), but this film collapsed the need of a fourth film. I'm happy Sam got to finish his epic in high fashion, since it allowed him to re-use old footage that other directors probably wouldn't have had approved...Thomas Hayden Church was amazing in his role of the Sandman, with all the depth given to him in only minutes of airtime.

The fault of the film? I knew it, and you all fucking knew I was going to say it..."Eric Forman as Venom..." Topher Grace should not, ever, ever, EVVVER be picked for another supervillain. I Understand it was done to put him on the same plane as Peter, and you wanted someone just as Dorky as Peter for the anti-spiderman, but please...Venom looked cool. I anticipate that Venom COST a lot...maybe not as much as Sandman (WOW), but he cost a lot, and his demise was pretty true...

Overall, I enjoyed the film. I really did. But the one aspect that I couldn't drive out of my head was that it was...sad. It was sad throughout, and it was really broken down. It made your heart ache by the end as much as it made your hair on your neck stand up during the fight scenes. James Franco was great...until...well, until...

You see how great Tobey, James and Kirsten are in this film, but the other part that made it sad was this...it is probably the last time we'll see a Spider-man film done this well.

Just please, promise me that Brett Ratner isn't allowed to touch the franchise...and...one last bit...

What the fuck is up with people talking throughout the film like, "So this guy is made out of sand now?" Excuse me, but don't you realize that when the villain is called fucking SANDMAN that he is MADE OF FUCKING SAND? Or how about..."Eww, what is that thing going all over Spider-man?" Um...that's the BAD FUCKING GUY....

Really people let's put it this way...the great thing about a movie is this...SHUT UP and if done right, THE MOVIE WILL EXPLAIN IT. Christ. That's probably what made me more than a little ticked at the whole experience, and the only thing that stopped me from saying "SHHHH" was the fact that her boyfriend and other three guys sitting with them probably would have tried to shoot me had I mentioned anything.

Alright, I'm done bitching now, heh...

5/6/07 - I missed Cinco De Mayo

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that I picked up Spider-man 3 for the PS3, collector's edition, and well, it irritated me when I found that I had to replace my PS3 because it was broken and was eating blu-ray discs. I was very disappointed.

Tonight we hung out with some friends and had a decent time singing karaoke after playing pool. It was my boy Dominic's birthday party, and he was a little off from his norm...so was his girl, as well as his friends Brian and Melissa.

Brian and Melissa seemed the most off...seeming to be a good couple at the beginning, then complaining out what each other was doing before the end of the night and realizing this wasn't a Dane Cook Joke and just figuring they would tolerate each other and have fun...and they did.

The couples all seem to be good for each other, but I hold true to my statement...don't hold fallacy to any relationship...because then it isn't real. It's a farce. It's got the chance to fall apart when the other sees the realness of your spot. IF you smoke, tell them you smoke. If you have a hard time working towards making other people happy because you aren't being yourself 100%, it probably has something with not being you...

That's what makes me a little different. I don't change who I am, I don't sugar coat...I just am what I am. I don't make the joke about ME...I just am.

I understand where some people are unhappy about where they started and feel they need to keep the facade, but if you want to spend the REST of your life with them...lies, or not full truths are out to strike at it, and you don't want to take a failing grade before you get married.

Just my opinion...it is what it is...

5-2-07: Superboy

At the drawing table again, and well, I really like how this one came out. I had never tried to draw Superboy at all, though I have drawn his older counterpart quite a bit in the past. To me, I see a lot of youth in this face, but then I decided to add more line work to it.

I really liked the end result here. The character face seems fully formed, but yet youthful.

Comments?

5-2-07: Grifter

Grifter, a mid-90's creation from Jim Lee, has always been a fan favorite. Most people think he looks like a blond Gambit, but in actuality, Jim was able to set this character apart by really delving deep into the backstory and what made him tick.

Last night, I decided I was going to try my hand at drawing him, since I've by enjoying the GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER miniseries by Chuck Dixon and Ryan Benjamin, and here's how it came out.

I decided this would be a profile view face shot early because there isn't a lot of places to go when his mask is down.

I like how it came out, since it now looks like a well-done convention sketch.

5-1-07: Awesome picture of me with Christy.

To my knowledge, this wasn't taken THAT long ago, but I just found it on the desktop under the title "DRUNK" but to be honest, neither of us look "drunk" here, we look more like we're "having a good time..."

No sweat though, I'm sure we were drunk by the end of the night.

Does anyone else think this is how Brady Quinn felt when he FINALLY got drafted on Saturday?

And yes, that IS a Notre Dame hat here on me...and a wife's leg on my shoulder.

5-1-07: Blog contest winner!

Well, I did what I said I was going to, and I pulled the name out of my Notre Dame Fighting Irish hat, and though I believe only 7 people wanted to participate, APRIL was declared the winner from the name pulling.

That's right. April, message me your address and I'll attempt to send out the autographed copy of DEAD SONJA: LIMITED EDITION to you next week.

Thanks to all those that participated, and stay tuned...it seems we may be doing more contests in the near future, especially ones that include THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES website specifically, but you'll ALL hear about those here.

Thanks again to everyone that did participate, and now I'd like to know what characters you want to see sketches of. I'm getting the art itch again. If I like the characters enough, I'll definitely give it a shot!

Thanks!