Next Update: Monday, July 6, 2009
		Now that we've gotten Mabel back up onto the path safely, here's another fine character moment for our intrepid duo.  You've probably realized by now that I have a tendency to use action scenes and plot to simply get you folks from one character moment to the next.  I love these pages more than I love the big spectacle, to be honest. We take a moment here for Raz and Mabel to catch a breath and to take stock of the situation at hand.  It doesn't look good, and Raz's choking up is a reflection of just how hard-hit they really are.  This is a tough moment for Raz.  As second-in-command she's still learning from her mentor Mabel.  Moments like this are not something you can easily soldier through.  Even the most hardened, grizzled, experienced veteran is hard-pressed to keep a dry eye when so many are lost.  And if they manage to keep it all choked back.  Know that deep inside themselves they are breaking.  Every time. Some more great emoting here through some awesome facial expression.  I think I said this before, but if I could just do this comic and have it be nothing but close-ups of characters emoting, I'd be happy.  I know Danny would deliver the goods. In other news, Danny and I just completed an interview with the cool cats at The Xcentrikz.  These guys do their own web comic, but they also do interviews with other "cartoonists," as they call them.  Their stuff is pretty damn cool, so check these guys out.  We have a link to them over on your left with our other links, or you can click on the linkage that Danny will be adding to one of my words above.  And look for our interview to hit their site next month.  It was a lot of fun! That's it for me this week.  Fourth of July is coming up for us Americaners.  That's that summer holiday where we, as a country, celebrate telling the English to stick it.  (To be honest, I love the English.  They gave us "Doctor Who", the good "Life on Mars", Earl Grey tea, and Monty Python.  I can't believe we ever told them to shag off.)  Looking forward to an extended weekend.  Even if you live outside the US or otherwise don't celebrate, you all have a great upcoming weekend! See you in seven! -Donnie Sturges, head writer Email Donnie			Howdy, Faithful Followers!  Danny here. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record--or, for a more modern example, a malfunctioning iPod--but I love drawing Raz and Mabel.  These two have a very fun little dynamic for me, at least from an artistic standpoint.  It's fun to try to tell a story of Mabel's eventful life just from the way she looks, and how that contrasts with Raz, who's still pretty young and still in pretty decent physical shape.  Her life is still just getting started.  Like Donnie said last week, it's not the years, but the mileage. For those of you looking for a good soundtrack for this page, might I suggest "My Country," by the venerable Australian progressive-rock powerhouse, Midnight Oil.  Lead singer Peter Garrett is just amazing, and a good example of someone who doesn't just sing about politically-charged topics, but actually went and followed up on them by running for and winning public office in the Australian House of Representatives.  That's commitment! To those of you following along in our History section, we're now up to the big showdown between Queen Oscura's personal army attempting to rescue the derelict Sombrana, and Princess Kiriad's finest.  It was one of our very first attempts at a big action scene, or at least as much as we could get in one frame.  You can see just how far we've come in the past 8 years. Finally, and sadly, we mourn the passing of Michael Jackson.  Yes, he had a rather strange personal life, riddled with mistakes and embarrassments.  He always seemed delightfully oblivious to how the world viewed all this.  I honestly can't say I was all that big a fan of the man himself.  But when you take a look at the body of music he's left behind and his work ethic to produce it, you can't help but be awed. Sadly, in many people's eyes, his personal life will forever be inseparable from his music, and that only sullies an otherwise incredible legacy as a performer.  I, however, firmly believe that one's bad qualities can be overlooked if they are outweighed by the good.  And so, his eccentricities and legal issues notwithstanding, I think Michael was truly one of the great people of our time. And so now the pressure's on his sister Janet to carry the Jackson torch.  No pressure! Take care, and thanks for reading.   -Danny Valentini, artist & creator Email Danny