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I know I owe an entry about the Whiteout set visit. It’s coming. The trip to Montreal allowed me to fall behind in a variety of areas, and I’ve been trying to regain ground without sacrificing the ground already taken (if that makes sense, and I’m frankly not certain it does).

The CheckOut arc is all but completed — only Outsiders #49 remains to be written; Judd and I are set to break that down tomorrow. I’m also scheduled to have three separate conference calls with three separate editors. And supposedly will have time to do some writing, too.

Yeah…we’ll see about that.

However, amidst all this, I had some Xbox 360 time, and at a friend’s urging, finished playing the latest adventure of Lara Croft.

And damn if it didn’t do that rarest of things, elicit an emotional reaction.

The list of games that can do that to me are sadly short. Namely this one, it’s sequel (brilliant until the last act, where the story falls apart because the story is abandoned in favor of making shipping in time for Christmas), and a short list of others. (Anyone remember Planescape: Torment?)

Worth checking the Tomb Raider one out, for those of you interested in that kind of thing.

And now, for the first time in almost six damn months, I’m going to run some D&D for my gaming group!

I normally don’t veer to politics (though I do believe that writing — and capital ‘A’ Art — are always political), but I think this is well-articulated, well-delivered, and, frankly, spot damn on.

If you’re a Giuliani fan, don’t follow this link.

Damn.

That was NOT fun.

Crisis appear to be over, now. Damage was kept to a minimum, thanks to some quick thinking and some very good luck.

Now to get that dehumidifier….

I go down to the office this morning to check email and the like. My office is in our basement, in what was once the “rumpus room.” Used to have a wet bar in it, built in the 50s, brass rail and all. Has a sink. I use the bar for storage and displaying far too many Star Wars action figures.

I have just downloaded email when I hear the unmistakable sound of water overflowing.

Yeah, you can guess the rest.

Waiting for the plumber now.

This day has just made its second dramatic turn, and it’s not yet 10 am.

Heading home first thing in the morning. Two days on the set.

I have been to Amundsen-Scott Base, and I’ve been to Vostok, and I’ve see Carrie and Delfy and Pryce, and I’ve seen a whole hell of a lot of snow and ice. I’ve met some amazing people, cast and crew both.

I could not be happier with this interpretation of the work. Could. Not. Be. Happier.

Summer ‘08 cannot arrive soon enough.

More later, and maybe one or two declassified photographs, if I can get permission for ‘em.

Went off the radar for a while there. Trying to get all of the CheckOut arc finished before leaving for Montreal on Wednesday oh-dark-thirty. Still alive, and will have more to say — and responses to comments — hopefully before the end of the week. May post some art from Q&C #32 and CheckOut, as well.

The last great 52 firefight occurred last week. All combatants are off the field. Unclear who won. The issue will ship on time. Which, I suppose, means we can cautiously claim victory (though until May 2nd, it’s probably quite premature).

Still…job well done and all that, wot?

Finished the second part of John Siuntres’ wordballoon interview Wednesday night, which was very pleasant, as always. John has a great style and knows how to ask the right questions. I always feel that I’m talking waaaay too much when all’s said and done, but I’ve often felt that’s one of my (many!) problems.

The whole broohaha with Comicraft is a great example of this. I put both feet into it with the post in question (below) and, as I said in my response to Richard (also below), it was entirely unintentional. But intent doesn’t matter as much as the words do, and the words — newsflash! — have power.

But it’s driven something else home, something that I rather naively (or perhaps even self-delusionally) allowed myself to believe, which was this: nobody was listening.

Oh, foolish, foolish Greg.

There’s always someone listening.

As writers, we have to own our words, be they ill-conceived or brilliant. As human beings, we have to own our words, because they reflect directly upon us, and illuminate us to the rest of the world. This isn’t profound; it’s common damn sense.

Yet it’s something that all of us seem to forget from time to time.

Which is to say that today is the second day of the Emerald City ComiCon in Seattle. I’m looking forward to it. Day One was excellent — lots of very cheerful, very friendly fans, and the pleasant addition of a handful of my peers who I truly enjoy spending time with. Highlights included speaking with a serviceman who had only just returned from Afghanistan. He was attending the show with his wife; they told Jen that they’d been married for five years, and of those five, yesterday was only the second of their anniversaries that they’d been able to spend together.

I cannot imagine how much that would suck. It’s the kind of sacrifice that you hear about in public interest stories on the local news and radio, and that you go, awww, that sucks. But when you face it, and you see her face, and how happy and relieved and genuinely joyful she is to have her husband back, and the cheer and strength she obviously exhibited in their being separated…it really does reinforce the kind of sacrifices we ask our service men and women to make.

Other coolness included meeting Michele Carter and her husband Bill Slavicsek from Wizards of the Coast. We didn’t get to speak for very long, but it was a treat; frankly, it was my chance to geek-out a bit, if nothing else.

(I just remembered that Michele is probably one of six people who actually reads this, so, HI!)

Only downside is that it’s getting somewhat annoying for me to have to repeat the same, “I can’t say, there are projects in the works, none have been announced yet” line to fans who ask me what I’m doing next, now that 52 is finished. I’m in the midst of a wordballoon interview with John Siuntres at the moment (well, not literally at the moment) and I let slip some of the upcoming projects in that, but the big one still is embargoed, and frankly, it’s starting to get a little frustrating.

Got to see Darick Robertson at the show, too, and for the record, he ranks as one of the nicest pros in the industry. Unsolicited, he dropped off art for Mark Waid and myself from Weeks 42 and 48 (and considering that Week 48 doesn’t come out until Wednesday, that’s a treat indeed). I’m very much hoping he and I will get a chance to work together again soon.

On the road until Tuesday late, back home Wednesday, and back to work. Work is becoming more and more of a joy, at long last — finally knocked off one of the scripts that had been hanging over my head, am working on a second, and spoke to Kate last week about the next novel. Think I’ve got the broad strokes of the plot nailed down. My friend and ace research resource Jerry and I should start on the actual groundwork for it soon. And finally, at long last, Patriot Acts is to bed. Looks like it’ll be on shelves in early September.