Yes, well, quite. No posts in a while aside from the new comic, sorry about that. I have been distracted by various PS2 JRPGs, a new TV, lots of comics and the idea of classes starting again next week. The latter, I think, is the major culprit. The idea of writing a post is one of the further things from my to-do list while I have the inevitable to worry about. You understand. However, some talking points do exist…

I recently finished playing Shin Megami Tensei – Persona 3: FES for the PS2. It was a great value for $30, I got well over one hundred hours of gameplay out of it. The narrative dragged on a bit longer than I would have liked and twists were few and far between, but when they happened they were effective. In retrospect, a lot of grinding had to be done in order to be strong enough to take on the various bosses, but I think the collector in me aleviated most of the monotony by trying to fuse Personas as much as possible and level up all of my social links at school. A very unique and quirky RPG, possibly the best of 2007. I am definitely looking forward to Persona 4 which comes out here in the US at the end of the year. Check out Persona 3: FES if you have any love for RPGs of the Japanese persuasion.

Aside from SD gaming on an HDTV (on to FFXII!), I have been doing a little campaigning for Top Cow’s Pilot Season event this year. For those that do not know, for the past several years Top Cow has been running an event called Pilot Season where they bring out a half dozen or so #1 issues of different comics from different creative teams. Once they’re all out, voting is opened for one month and the top two most popular books get turned into a regular series the following year. This year, two of my favorite writers – Jay Faerber and Jonathan Hickman – both have creations in the running. My adoration for Hickman’s work runs deeper, however, so I have been voting every day for his entry, The Core. It’s a Science Fiction comic written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Kenneth Rocafort, though it is clear throughout most of the book that Hickman has had quite a bit of influence over the layouts and that he has even done the art for a few pages himself. We are even blessed with one of Hickman’s patented “dialogue spreads” (“story spreads”? help me decide) that packs half a comic’s worth of conversation and storytelling imagery into two pages without boring or confusing the reader.

I would urge you guys to participate in Pilot Season. It’s a very fun and unique event to have in comics. Buy all the books. At least, buy The Core. Though, if you don’t want to participate by buying the books and simply want to help a brother out by voting for The Core every day, I won’t hold it against you. You can get a list and full synopsis of each book as well as vote for your favorite at the Pilot Season MySpace page. It’s the most fun you’ll have voting this year (oh yeah, I went there).