Still Seeking my A-Team

It's no big secret that I'm still looking for a team to take GZ to the next level. While I do have a couple of people pitching in some artwork here and there for the board game expansions, I'm definitely seeking more than that.

I want to find someone who can be committed to the project from beginning to end. Not just an artist who does a few illustrations and walks, but someone willing to do more than that. I need people to help me get the word out and take on social media marketing, preaching to the masses, and yeah; even selling some games. Someone with a work ethic that may even rival my own (and mine is pretty strong if I do say so myself).

GZ can totally go places and I know it can. That's why I'll never stop creating, doing the artwork, or writing or trying to sell the game and get it in peoples hands.

I know what I seek is not a small or minor request. It comes with all the risks of failure that anyone could dream of. I've certainly taken some hard knocks in moving forward. But look, I'm still here. That  has to count for something. As a partner, I don't think you could find anyone more serious about it.

But it will take commitment and hard work with rolled up sleeves to make it happen. I'm not looking to give out ownership, but do know that I never forget those who help me and I will give back. Upon success, it's like this. If the game makes money, YOU make money. If I make money, YOU make money.

You have to be strong, have geek roots and be willing to work with me.

Who has what it takes to be part of my A-Team? Well, here are the places I want to go:

Graphic novels
App Games
Video Games
Card Games
Board Games
Already doing novels and short stories to establish a history.
Coloring Books

GZ needs a pro website with all the bells and whistles. It needs consistent and cool art postings of the characters in action. It definitely needs better pics of the female characters! I admit it.

The person or persons I'm talking about would have access to the GZ Facebook page as Admins so they can freely post GZ stuff and same for any websites or the blogspot. I do have a couple of people in mind that I'm about to approach, but we will see what happens.

How game are you? Are you who I'm looking for?

Galaxy Zento Heroclix!

No, no, I'm  not actually getting my characters made into clix yet. Sorry, I sure wish I were. No, today I'm diving into my personal fantasy of having my characters made into clix. What's Heroclix? Heroclix is a tabletop game played on a map. It uses figurines of comicbook characters on special game dials to simulate comic book battles. Here, are a couple of site you can visit to learn about it:

Heroclix.com

HCRealms.com

HeroclixWorld.com

Anyway, it's my fantasy that one fine day my characters will become a set of Heroclix. I will likely do more than one blog on this. Why? Because I've actually made a set and designed dials too! HA! Credit for how I was able to make the dial maps goes to HCRealms. Love those guys. So if you don't totally understand this, it's okay. This post is just part of my dream.

So, allow me to show you the team of PAC (Parahuman Activity Commission), federal agents. They are in my novel Chaos Rising available on Amazon.

SANDSTORM: You see him right there, the worlds most powerful elemental. He has quite a few special powers (black bordered sections). General info for those who don't know the game. Each vertical section of numbers shows up in a special window on the plastic dial base. See the symbols on the left? Those are for (in order from top to bottom) Movement (how many spaces the character can go); Attack (how good the character is at attacking other characters); Defense (the number an attacker has to make with dice to hit this character) and Damage (how many times you turn another character's dial toward KO when this character hits them).

Now back to it. Those who know heroclix may just choke a little at the sight of power like this. His ability to switch up powers serves to show just how many ways he can use his elemental forces. Since he's an elemental/weather controller and shape changer, it all makes sense. He has a high price tag in use since he costs 260 points. You wouldn't see him in lower point games.

ELECTRODE: The Nuclear-Electric Man moves at twice the speed of light and hurls super powered lightning. He's Sandstorm's partner and protege. His points allow for  a duo team with his partner in a 400 point match. I'm confident they'd be dangerous. I should also mention their Team Ability since listed on a team (PAC). When outwitted their defense rises by 1. His trait is powerful, but outwittable, unlike most.

ATOMIZER: He can cause inanimate objects to go atomic by mental command. He can control those explosions to any magnitude (as far as he knows). His favorite object is a ping pong ball. He tosses them at perpetrators to subdue them shockwave style.  He's Redeagle's partner. His special attack power has been done before so it shouldn't be too much of stretch. It lasts his whole dial but his attack numbers aren't outrageous.

REDEAGLE: The Native American hero with animal senses, super strength and a wicked eye for shooting. He and his partner Atomizer fit nicely in a very small team for 200 points. They would also work well for general built teams. I think his dial is really pretty basic for sharpshooter character with a couple extra powers.

BLACKTIDE: This dial demonstrates his disintegrative powers and all the ways they work. He punches through defense like a champion and it's nearly lethal to attack him up close. Fortunately, he has to get fairly close to be dangerous. But that's where his partner, Nyhtwulf comes in.

NYHTWULF: The Twilie demon who is Blacktide's partner, point costed to be with his friend. It's dangerous to attack Blacktide up close, and dangerous to attack his partner from range. Never mind the fact that Nyhtwulf can carry a friend 12 spaces. They can almost human shield each other.

So playing them all together as one massive team will cost 849 points. Not awful for a large point team. I don't think they are terribly off balance either. Each team of two fits in a team point category and should be able to hold their own there. So, Heroclix fans, what do you think of my guys as clix? What would you do differently? Let your voice be heard in comments and have a great day!

Update: Game Cards and Short Story Lineup!

Development continues for all things Galaxy Zento this fall! I do love keeping my roster full of fun things to do. I keep my personal deadlines fairly loose, but there is much to look forward to!

CUSTOM CARD OFFER: I have the artwork for two custom cards for owners of my board game. The special offer still stands until Thanksgiving. Anyone who purchases the Galaxy Zento board game is going to get their own personal character card that only they can play. The cool thing about this is that you can be pretty much anything or anyone you want to be for the custom offer. As you can see from the artwork, one person chose a ranger style elf and another chose a variation of the serial killer, H. H. Holmes. I'm not going to show you their stats but I will tell you this;

The ranger has a ranged attack of 10 spaces. When he get's played there will be no safe place on the board from him. Holmes will drop traps on other players whenever they come out of the main deck against him. It doesn't matter where those players are on the board either. That's just a couple examples of how powerful you could be. All of these customs will sport high character defense and abilities to use magic, making your character the envy of your gaming table. So if you are the kind of host who likes to worry or abuse your players, this is perfect for you. It won't guarantee you to win every game, but you'll sure play like a bad ass. Here's where to get it: LINK.  Note that the game is made print on demand but you should still get it in less than a month or near.

SHORT STORIES: I've been hard at work on the next book of short stories, GZ Tales Vol. 2. I've got a great lineup of killer tales. Keep in mind that they continue a history from Vol. 1 and other stories. They will also connect to future stories. Check out these titles:

London Fables: Explosive candy canes and a trapped bell tower are just the tip of the iceberg when Blacktide and Nyhtwulf to go London to stop a terrorist plot. London may never be the same.

Shadowplay: An invisible killer is practicing his craft on New York's homeless population. Anthony James and Panther Steele have to track down an alien psychopath before he ups his victimology.

Anubis and Horus at the Castle of the Demon King: He's the baddest villain that GZ will ever know and this is just his introduction. Brace yourself.

Brother Whale: The aquatic hero, Killer Whale is an alien to Earth and the last of his kind. When he discovers whale poachers, the kid gloves are off!

The Fight in the Dog: You're going to love seeing justice delivered to these creeps. The animal shape changing hero, Dolphin Man is called in to help stop an animal fighting ring. It's justice animal style!

That's just half the roster for what is going to be a blast of a book! If you haven't  dived into GZ yet, you still can! Just hit the link in the top right corner of this page to my Author's Page! Read the first three books in any order you want! You'll find the stories stand alone well.

COLORING BOOK: Yeah! A coloring book! Why not? I've already posted free coloring pages at the GZ Facebook page. But there's going to be a lot more than that to work with in the coloring books. I'm doing lots of touch up art to make it more worth your while too. Each book will be based on the history of the stories so you can almost follow along from them!

Plans are still moving for the first expansion to the board game that will introduce new characters, traps, and spells. They'll come with instructions for customizing your board game experience. Seeing artwork of multiple artists may also be possible here. The adventuring continues! All I can say for sure is to stay tuned as I continue to crank out the hits. I swear, there's too much going on in my head!

Farewell, Clint Thomas. We barely knew ye.

What I have to say today is special and dedicated but also fitting for my standing in this blog overall. Those who follow me know that I have a special place in heart for people who stand up for what they believe in, no matter what other people may think. That was Clint Thomas all the way.

Clint ran the only comic book shop in Monroe, Louisiana. On top of that, it's the smallest shop I ever saw in my life. But don't let that fool you for one second. Clint was a kind and generous man. He'd cut you a deal on your purchase without you even asking. You'd be surprised too. But that's just what he loved to do for people.

"Are you sure that's all you want to charge me?"

"Heck yeah. It's no big deal."

That's par for the course around there. For a small shop, Clint still managed to pack folks in for gaming tournaments. Free comic book day is a standing room only event and everyone who is anyone shows up. I never heard him complain and I never  heard anyone say a harsh word in his store. That was just the environment and I knew I wanted to come back.

Now, people who don't frequent comic books stores and who didn't know him very well, laughed at him and I'll tell you why. Every election time, Clint would run for Mayor. This year he ran for Sheriff. And this is why I'm writing about him today. Clint didn't care what anyone else thought of what he was doing. He could do it and so he did. He had no fear of failure. Not being voted into office was zero deterrent to him. He pursued his dreams maybe better than half the people around here.

I admit, when I was new to this town and heard he ran for Mayor, I thought he was crazy. Then I got to know him. Crazy like a fox. Because he had no fear to pursue his dreams. We could all learn a lot from that alone. Clint was a true example of how other people's opinions don't have to rule your life. They sure didn't rule his and he was a better man for it.

Clint left this world in the way a lot of people say they'd prefer. In his sleep. Maybe that's part of his reward toward the next life. Painless transition. I sure hope so.

Clint always put my Galaxy Zento stuff up in his store and never asked a thing in return. But when I could, I bought things from him. It was the least I could do. Everyone is going to miss him. I don't know what will become of that little store now, but it will never be the same. If they keep it open, I'll sure go there. If not; it shall be fondly remembered.