Outbound

Howdy. I joined a group last year called the Boston Comics Roundtable, to learn about writing a comic book story. They put out two anthology series, a general collection called ‘Inbound’, and one more focused on sf called ‘Outbound’. I work for a phone company, and have long been a fan of stories about King Arthur. So when talking one evening with the guy in charge of ‘Outbound’, I half-jokingly mentioned my idea of King Arthur working for the phone company. Instead of the Romans leaving the Britons to fend for themselves, a large telephone company leaves a small town to fend for itself (not very far-fetched, sadly). Who will stand up for the townspeople? To my surprise, Roho said to go ahead. So “Tin Cans and String” will be a prose story in volume 2 of ‘Outbound’. I hope you will look for it when it comes out in late winter or early spring. BTW, there’s a story in Vol 1 called ‘The Caerulean Dream’ where the big blue aliens look the Na’vi from “Avatar”. You can find out more at http://outboundmagazine.blogspot.com or at http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com
Thanks, Patrick

Congratulations! Sounds like a really cool concept!

Very cool! I’ll be sure to look for it, sounds like an interesting tale.

Well, I’m happy to report that ‘Outbound’ Volume 2 is now on sale in great comic book stores everywhere (everywhere meaning Cambridge, MA and Portland, ME). We were hoping to get it out in time for Free Comic Book Day May 1, but there were delays with the printer. I prefer to think of it as being hurled three weeks into the future, myself. So please check out the adventures of various robots, fleas and chess masters at http://riverbirdstudios.blogspot.com or the websites mentioned above. Thanks, Patrick

HMM. Color me intrigued. The product looks excellent, and at least one of those stores (Cambridge, MA) is within a fifteen minute drive of my work. I just need to figure out where the hell to park!

Million Year Picnic was a regular haunt and my favorite shop in Boston. Take the T in and make a day of it. (Grendel’s Den, Charlie’s Kitchen, Bartley’s Burgers or Algiers for an inexpensive lunch, and Toscanini’s icecream) It’s fun to explore the square and the surrounding neighborhoods, and there are a bunch of festivals in the area over the summer. (Sigh) How I miss Cambridge.

Here I am to plug another story of mine. The BCR is putting out their latest anthology, ‘Inbound’ Vol 5, and the theme is about food. I was stumped for an idea, until I thought about how little time I have in the kitchen to work on a meal. Then I recalled how different mealtime was when my parents were growing up in Ireland & Canada in the 50’s. Back then, milk was kept in the icebox and water came from the well. So I ran with it, and I knocked out a script for a local artist named EJ Barnes to draw. The story goes back and forth between the biographical and the cartoonish, and sometimes a bit of both (the Tuna Helper glove makes an appearance). Competition was stiff, but we made the cut. The book will premiere at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (yes, M.I.C.E.) on Sat 9/25, and you can find out more at http://www.masscomics.com