Do I have any characters with autism? Yes I do.

Thank you for the question, Simon Passant. Yes I do have two characters with autism and both of them will be revealed in my next novel. But I will tell you right here and right now who they are. But first I want to explain something about  diversity in GZ.

I am far far less interested in making brownie points with any one certain group or classification of people and more in making a complete and believable universe. Look around at the world we live in. GZ is a modern day universe and therefore it makes sense to have modern day people in it. I want it to be rich and diverse in every possible way. It isn't easy to fit all that together in rich character profiles with deep backgrounds.

We live in an age were people point and yell "SJW" at the drop of a hat and that label carries some terrible stigma, especially online. Marvel is constantly getting lambasted for being too "sjw" in their recent story arcs. See here:

I don't want that for GZ. Every person and what makes them up are details in a massive painting of a universe. Without those aspects of those people, it just wouldn't be complete. So just who are these characters with ASD in my universe. Well, if you've been reading and you're all caught up on the story so far, you already know one of them.

Blacktide with the Parahuman Activity Commission (PAC) has Aspergers. His real name is Larry Peters and when he was just a young boy his powers manifested and killed both his parents. It can be hard to separate the trauma he has endured in life with his Aspergers but it's there. When it's revealed in the novel that I'm working on now, it won't be a big thing for him, rather a passing note. He knows what he has, but frankly has bigger fish to fry and it doesn't define him.

Next:

This is Spaz and yes he likes being called that. Spaz works with the Crazy Harry Detective Agency. He is an inventive savant meaning that he can invent bizarre contraptions out of ordinary items. Spaz has messed up eyes and never seems to be looking at anyone he's talking to, but he is a genius in a number of ways. He is also ridiculously rich. That allows him to do just about anything he wants and he seldom takes no for an answer. Sometimes unfeeling people call him retarded and he sets them straight in ways readers will love.

This is where I point out that neither of these characters are representative of all persons with autism. Autism is a spectrum disorder/condition that has broad combinations of effects that are different for each person. Only a few factors of autism are common enough to keep all the combinations on the spectrum. My son and I both have Asperger's and even for the two of us the effects are different in many ways. We have the social difficulties and sensory issues, they are just different for both of us.

So there you have it, two ASD characters getting some spotlight time along with several other distinct characters coming soon. Do you have a question about GZ? Post in comments. And if you enjoyed this post, please share it.

I Don't Feint

Unlike with this guy, there is nothing
up my sleeve.

There is no doubt that, as an individual with autism, I don't see the world around me the same as the average person. This leads to misunderstandings and judgments that are not accurate of me as a person. These times frustrate me because, at times, they've been very costly to me in social circles. It happens on the internet the most because of the impersonal nature of posting or communicating on the net. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen in person too.

I never felt well understood in my youth. I would be referred to as "sneaky" or "shady" and usually "angry" when non of these were remotely true of my actual intentions or actions. Because I was different, I was inherently evil. There was some saving grace however with people in person. Those who took the time to actually get to know me after making such judgments, wound up apologizing to me. Sometimes it was years down the road after they met me, but it was always the same. Of course, this was all before I was diagnosed with Asperger's so I never understood why it happened.

But it still happens. In fact, I think the internet makes it worse in some ways. Mind you, there are just as many people who make a true effort to understand and just as many who live the same issues. I know I'm not alone.

One thing that happens with my internet posts a lot is the taking of one example and blowing it up into some that I did not intend it to be. It's like people lose the distinction between topic and example. My last blog post on here is a great example of this point. I really feel that internet hate is a broad and even serious problem. That was the main topic. I geared the post as an advice column (albeit rambled a bit), but that was still the main topic. Quite a few people took one example and treated it as if that was all I had to say (basically ignoring the fact that there were actually other examples or other words at all). They then formed their responses or opinions on only that example.

"That's not what your mad about and you know it." Was the accusation of one person in a Facebook forum that I'm not naming right now. (Note to person: congrats, you got quoted!). I responded that I was very specific and thus not interested (in his comment). Facts are; I wasn't mad at all. I was discussing and debating my position and trying to make my point. That was it. Nothing more and nothing less. Mind you this is an example and I will make another one to be fair.

But that person was 100% wrong about me. I don't feint, veil, or otherwise engage in such shadowy shenanigans. I do what I say, and do the best to say what I mean (and mean what I say). I only admit that I have a hard time getting my full message across. That is frustrating and has been pretty much my whole life. Oh, the other example to be fair:

This was a long time ago on another forum that I won't name. People on the forum were enacting a drive for donations for a legitimate non profit that was geared to board gaming. Great people, but for the sake of this article, I'm not naming them either because what I'm about to tell you hit me hard and deep. That means it really hurt and had a profound affect on me. One fine person, whom I respect greatly, was selling jewelry products advertised on the forum that normally wouldn't allow it and promised a percentage of proceeds to the non profit entity. I thought that was a great idea and had quite a bit of my own artwork I was willing to sell at low cost with the same offer. My post for that was taken down and I was penalized by a site moderator (of a lofty position even to this day) because said mod decided that I was running a scam to profit off the situation.

The mod wasn't the only one, rather part of a board clique of a few people who had decided they simply didn't like me as a person. Donations were to be brought to the non profit's booth at a convention that I attended. I won't deny feeling somewhat justified when I handed the check of the money I raised directly to the hand of one of the people who judged me (not the mod though). I saw that person swallow a hard lump in their throat as they took the check. That person had told me in direct message that I was untrustworthy. I was nice though. I just smiled, took my receipt and walked away. I did complain to a couple of people managing that forum above said mod, but the results were not good. They got together, called me out on public forum under the title of "manufactured drama" and proceeded on Facebook to mark everything I posted about anything as spam. But don't get lost on me here. The point remains that I was still misjudged, leading up the whole thing in the first place. In the end I blocked quite a few of them, including said mod, and walked away. I don't go to that forum any more.

I don't aim to manufacture anything of the sort. But it is common, if you ask enough of us autistics, to get accused of such, when it's really a simple misunderstanding. We aren't trying to cause any such thing, rather  make sense of the world around us. It's where the ideology of "wrong planet" comes from with us.

But I don't feint. I'm not sneaking anywhere. I'm not trying to rip people off. I do what I say I'm going to do and I really try to follow the group dynamic in what is allowed. My efforts are genuine.

Now I'm going to beat some to the punch, because I guarantee you some people out there are going to message me with:

"You just wanted to whine about these things. You are a whiner."

If that's all you get out of this, please don't bother commenting. I won't respond to you and you'll only be supporting my initial point. As a matter of fact I'm going to share this with other autistics I know and hopefully some of them will chime in with their own experiences. And being autistic isn't making excuses either. That's another rich one actually said to me.

"You're just full of excuses."

If that were true, I wouldn't have published 4 books and 2 games. My work ethic speaks for itself. So save your fingers the typing efforts. You will also, only prove my point.

What can you do to help? I would be remiss to fail in offering what you, the common person, can do to help us with this. Here is a minor list:

Don't rush to judgment. Stop and think and...

ASK... yes, ask us to clarify. It's not unheard of. It's okay to say, "hey, I don't understand what you are trying to say"

Be specific. As a rule of thumb, avoid too many "figures of speech" or slang terms. We are literal beings and sometimes words on a screen lose their intended context. I realize this goes the same for me or other autistics.

If you have autism and are reading this, please take the time to post your own advice on how people can be more helpful.

Here's hoping this reaches and understanding audience. That's all I really want, both for me and others with autism who know this struggle.

What I used to be.

There is no doubt I always wanted to do my own stories, comics and games. I was taught by my Godfather to make my own games when I was about 7 years old. Ever since, it's always been a bright idea to me.

But then you grow up and have to become something else. You have to support yourself, work a job and take care of business in life. I did this by my other drive in life; helping people. I started out as a security guard and joined the Army. My unit was Military Police so I hoped to learn more from them as well. Every avenue I sought out. I wanted to be a detective even though I was told I would never make it. But then, one day I did. Just not the conventional way.

I became an Animal Control officer, yeah you might say "dog catcher". You might say "dog catcher" and laugh, but I guarantee you, the cases I worked were no laughing matter. I worked side by side with all forms of emergency services. I've been to the sites of house fires, murder scenes, suicide, drug busts, and all sorts of warrants served. I had no arrest powers myself, but I wrote real citations to court for animal cruelty and neglect as well as other infractions. I was recognized for my efforts to help others even before that job, but these are solid examples of my work.

This just shows a couple of general adventures and weird happenings. I had a lost bird that managed to tangle its head in the wiring of it's carrier. Fortunately, it didn't feel bitey at all as I helped it retreat. The weasel was loose at the airport and everyone thought it was someone's pet ferret. They had managed to scoop it up in a box before I got there. Imagine their surprise when I correctly identified the critter after getting my gloved hands on it. Poor thing was relocated to much better running grounds.

This woman fell in a city park and her trained dog wouldn't let any emergency personnel near her. Worse, she had fallen on the leash, making it nearly impossible to use it to get the dog away. Maybe it's because of all the hours we worked with animals, but we were able to calm him down and move him away. This clipping is from the local newspaper. The grateful daughter wrote in because, yes, we did take steps beyond the norm. We didn't impound her dog. We took the dog to her home with her keys and put him inside. The keys were returned by a city police officer. This was my job before health conditions caught up to me.

I was the reptile officer and no other officer minded that fact at all. When ever someone had a snake call, they offered it to me where ever I was at. I only needed help moving one once and that was because this guy weighed in around 200 lbs. No worries. He was docile. He had been left abandoned in a shut down stripper bar. Apparently the ladies would pole dance with it. He wasn't put down either. He made his way across the state for educational purposes.

Some guy was keeping this cayman in his bathtub and was going to throw it out in the snow because his girlfriend was sick of it. I convinced him that a ticket for an illegal animal was better than a ticket for animal cruelty plus abandonment. Save the little guy's life in the process. Nebraska winters can be brutal. It made it to someplace where it didn't have to be killed as well.






After I served for 6 and a half years I went through some very hard times and my work ability suffered for it. I still strove to help others. I was working as security for a bar and we had just closed. That's when we heard the shots. I looked out the front door and saw a man face down in the street. People were running all over. I ran out to him and administered first aid until the ambulance arrived. No, the shooter had not been located yet.

But now, I can't do any of those things anymore. Even today, I want to be as much help to others as I can in the ways I can. So I help online with autism and MS advice. And then there's my games. I want to help people through them as much as I can too. I know that sounds weird, but it drive me. It allows me to show my son that I can still do something. Life has changed so much and yet I strive to keep being me. We found homes for three kittens in the last year because old habits just don't die. I believe I would still "run" (yeah, I can't run anymore) out to someone hurt even under dangerous circumstances. But alas, I shall end this one before I ramble completely. I really just want people to understand.

In spite of Multiple Sclerosis

Really, it's more like 'in spite of anything barring my path', but I think you'll get the idea. It's helpful to remind myself what spurs me on to overcome disability and be even borderline productive. With the seasonal change bringing barometric changes, the cognitive fogs have been slapping me around. Imagine allergy season getting you moderately stoned every day instead of plugged up. Or consider that your cognitive abilities (to think clearly) are plugged up instead of your sinuses.

All the more reason to fight like a cornered animal.

The less you do, the more MS takes away. The less you use any particular life skill (especially physical) the faster MS takes that away. You have to pace yourself, but definitely don't want to just give up. Even so, MS, or as people are calling it now 'the MonSter; does a lot of damage to a lot of people. It's not so easy to just overcome.

I really hate the fact that I can't work a regular shift job. I have to be able to rest at any given time my body requires. I also have to be able to move around because my nerves go haywire from time to time. So I work from home and put my power into things I always wanted to do.

Wanted to write books about my fantasy universe: published 3 of them so far.

Wanted to make my own board/card games: published one board game so far.

Want my son, who has autism to understand that Dad is still productive: working so far.

My hands don't want to do my artwork. I force myself forward anyway. I will fight for what I love to do until I can't sign my name anymore. That's why I dedicate my artwork to everyone who fights MS or other disabilities  to keep doing what they love to do. That includes just being able to get out of bed on any give day.

You have to have some spite against the disease. You really do. It's amazing what you can accomplish if you just turn Hulk against MS. Decide that MS can go to hell and you're going to make it across the room today (or to the park, or whatever). Yeah, I'm stubborn in some of the wrong ways too, but you kind of have to be. What are the wrong ways? Well, you pay for what you do in a day when you have MS. The harder you exert yourself, the harder MS tends to hit back. So if I got outside and dig that rotten portion of tree root sticking up in my yard, I'll probably be physically and mentally useless for about three days.

I'll probably still try to do it.

Just to spite my MS as if it were an entity that could understand said spite.

So, between showing my son the importance of never giving up and giving MS the finger; you pretty much have my reason for doing anything. What do you do in spite of your MS? Let me know in the comments. I'll end this with an uplifting song:

Still working on re-writes and goal for my son

GZ Hero mash up

As you can see, I finished and digitally colored that hero mash up from the last posted GZ Blog.

We are still working on the rewrites of GZ Legends and they are looking really really good. I want to have at least three done so that I can post one at a time while reworking the next one. This is actually awesome writing practice for me. I'm getting better at it and that feels good.

Another project has come in on the front burner and that is the project to send my 10 year old son with autism and child bipolar to meet his hero Stan Lee. We started a fundraiser and it is slowly taking off. Slow is okay, the comicon isn't until November. You can read all about that in my other blog HERE.

I know this could be the achievement that shapes his growing view of the world around him. It will show him that good things can and do happen. It will show him that he can be successful in great things. It will help him to say "I can" instead of "I can't".  It will show him that our medical conditions do not have to stop us.

Doing homework last year

My son has had a hard time and a lot of tough things to deal with early in life. He's overcome great hurdles but had to learn about  things like death a bit too early. He was born in 2002 3 months early.  In 2008 we lost a dear 19 year old friend (considered my Godson), Zak D. to a car accident. He still thinks Zak is his guardian angel. He dealt with a divorce (even though amicable it was hard on him).  In 2009, we lost my Father to cancer and attended his funeral.  About a year later his Grandmother on his Mother's side died.
This year, (he only met my Uncle at my Dad's funeral but still) my Uncle died. As if that weren't enough, he's always worried about his older half brother. That one has been on a bad path (lives no where near here and doesn't have any direct contact) and recently committed a crime in Florida that has him facing 7 years in prison. Denver is very disappointed in his 18 year old brother. He feels like he should help get his brother out of gangs and trouble, but has had to learn that his brother must be and adult now.  Now he has to be on a special diet and isn't used to it yet and he's going through changes that make his condition an issue.

For a 10 year old to be screaming at himself, huddling up crying because he says his "brain" is bothering him (possibly racing thoughts) or slapping himself, is heart breaking. I hope this makes more sense on why he needs such a morale boost.

Year end Award for B average

Now, on the flip side, this is not a child who doesn't try or wallows in misery. Last year, for all his difficulties, he maintained a B average in school for the whole year and received an award for it. He was invited to the school spelling bee last year for being in the top ten of his grade. It was confided to me that he was actually within the top 4. He's highly creative and surprises people often. This year, he's also the only kid in school who has a special school poster for anti-bullying, framed on the wall donated by his Dad. Talk about making you one of the cool kids right from the start. We keep every achievement among our parenting tools to remind him of what he can do, but this would be the star on top of the tree.

Donations have been received and special thanks go out to those who have given. Heck, special thanks to YOU just for reading this. You know, I create heroes, but Denver is a hero, he's my little hero.

Donated to his school

Down time

I've been quite a bit off course in down time recently because of health issues. I just want everyone to know that I'm still here and coming back on with a vengeance. There have also been setbacks, but that's just a fact of life, right?

As some of you may remember, I'm on a health journey. I've had two MRI's confirm that "something" is amiss. We've ruled out MS but we know "something" is still there and needs to be identified. I had a lumbar puncture this week to try and find out more. Oh, a lumbar puncture is where the put a needle into your spinal column to draw out spinal fluid to test for a variety of diseases, like MS and meningitis. No, we don't think I have meningitis. So, the journey for answers continues.

I also want to remind my friends that my sharing of GZ is more than just putting my characters out there and sharing their stories. It's about doing in spite of my medical conditions. It's about overcoming. That's why I also say that GZ supports autism education, and always will.

Now, with setbacks and downtime, good things are still happening. Guest artists and compliments from professionals have been a great motivator and just outright awesome. I'm definitely coming across a lot of awesome people as well. I am endlessly grateful. There are so many possibilities coming up with this and I am excited to see them develop. I'm excited to have friends see them develop right along with me.

So, please stay tuned, there is more to come and I will be hard a working to make it so! (Image is Durgan of the Iron Hand vs an army of demons, a work in progress sneak peek!)

Two special posters

So I've done two special project posters. One on Bullying and the other on Autism awareness.

You see the Autism aware poster here first. I drew my character, Dimension Man for the very first time in making this poster. I've put it in several groups and have it available for purchase at my DeviantArt page. Just click on the "prints" tab toward the top of the page. A large poster is only about 20 bucks and I get a small commission of that. Past that, it's okay to share on your website so long as you post links back to me. It's okay to share on your Facebook page so long as you post link to the fan page or share about me. Fair enough, right? I also want to give access to the Autism Society.

Dimension Man is a cool but rare character. He exists on multiple dimensional planes so nothing can physically stop him from going where ever he wants. His evil counterpart is Tick Tock.But more about him later.

I chose King Falcon for the anti-bullying poster because he's the defender of several planets in his stories. It just made sense to me. I wanted that arm to come across really huge in the picture and then I did my own form of lettering. I ordered a print to donate to my son's elementary school.

So, how easy is this for me? Well, as you can see in this picture, I tried to draw a single line. My hands shake so badly at times, that it takes me quite a while to get a drawing done. It gets frustrating too. I'm hoping, once my diagnosis tests are done, there will be something that I can do to help steady my hands and slow the tremors. Till, then, no giving up!

Still no entries for the guest artist program, but it takes time so I'm hopeful that maybe the holiday week will stir things up. I really look forward to writing an article here about a fellow artist!

Guest artists, what's in this for you?

Yes, this is another bid for guest artists to come and take part in Galaxy Zento. But I realize you must be wondering if it's worth it. After all, I'm just getting started. Still, I'm not showing any signs of stopping, and I won't. Just check these places out.

My deviant art page!

My Facebook fan page!

My Facebook page! Add me, I have over 3000 connections and growing.

My Twitter! Follow me and I'll follow you!

Numbers are growing, even if slowly. So what will I do for you?

- Blog article all about YOU. I'll post links to your pages where ever they are and I would also like to interview you about your art and influences in art. The article will include the piece you do for Zento and hopefully a couple other pieces of your work to showcase your talent. I've been writing for some time and gathering a decent following of readers, just look here: Wildeman's Words So, I'm putting my writing to work for you, plus the publicity.

-Exposure across all my mediums. I will create a guest artist folder on both DeviantArt and the Facebook fan page. When the official website launchs there will a guest section there too! I will put links to you with your work in any place that I can. As I get more attention out there, so will you.

Naturally, you also get to post the work you do on your own pages so long as you do the same in links for Galaxy Zento. That way, we create publicity for each other.

Want another twist? Did you create your own universe and characters? Tell you what, you draw one of mine; and I'll draw one of yours!

What am I looking for? For you artists, no matter how good you are, to do a Zento character in any medium except adult themes. This could include doing just pencils, inks, caricatures, cartoony things, what ever. If you want to get cute, try doing a Zento character versus one of yours (I'll do the same). Do one against any fave character of yours, whatever! But please, no adult themes. Galaxy Zento is family friendly and for a young audience.

Special considerations: Galaxy Zento is all about overcoming disabilities with me. Why? Because I have conditions that I am fighting with daily. I live with Asperger's Syndrome, Bipolar disorder and a degenerative condition yet to be identified (possibly MS- I see the neurologist tomorrow because my MRI was "abnormal"). So I consider anyone who clicks LIKE on the fan page to be a supporter of the same idea. This is why I'm pushing as hard as I can to make something out of Galaxy Zento, while I still can. That includes a series of novels. That being said:

Special consideration goes to any pictures that mix theme with Autism Awareness, Anti-bullying, Anti-child abuse and Anti-suicide. I plan to do some portraits in that way soon too. This will involve yet another special folder in the websites. If there are enough pics done for Autism, I plan to submit work to the Autism Society of the United States. Other considerations are possible.

Special consideration will also go to guest artists when it comes to the novels or any possible graphic novels (at least that's the pitch I will give the agents and publishers).

Remember, it doesn't matter how good you are, it's a show of support with lots of possibilities. I don't care if you are just 10 years old (with parental permissions) or a top notch pro. And that's not to say a 10 year old can't be a top notch pro.

So what do you think? Do you want to be a guest artist for Galaxy Zento? I would love to have you.

(We do reserve the right to refuse any work deemed a conflict of interest or inappropriate for Galaxy Zento)
(Galaxy Zento and it's characters are property of David J Wilde)

My autistic gift?

It's no big secret that I have a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. I've been an advocate for autism education and awareness for several years now. Children with Asperger's are often called "little professors" because they get so absorbed in one interest that they can tell you almost everything about it. The interest is an obsession really and they have a hard time breaking away from it to anything else. There are pros and cons to such an obsessive interest, of course. Pros being that interests could turn into careers. Cons would be that they take over the persons life and effective freeze them from going any further.

I have been asked many times, if my art and story telling might have been my interests. Well, my mother (who also has Aspergers) is an artist. I pale in comparison. My father was also very creative in writing and became an aerospace engineer to boot. My interests? Maybe. I also loved animals and can still tell you almost anything you could want to know about them. Thanks to some events in my life, I developed and oversensitive sense of justice and went into law and protective jobs. So, I had more than one interest really. The unfortunate side was that my life was very random and it put me in strange places. Cant' help it, it went the way it went. I was on my own at 14 because I ran away from school bullying and an abusive step parent. So I had a lot of life to build and learn.

Through all that, I appeased myself and entertained friends with my role playing game based on my stories. I didn't get the writing done back then because I still had a lot to learn, and my medical conditions were undiagnosed and in control.

I think my creativity may well be linked to my autism. I have a way of seeing the world that others don't.

In any case, I don't post this because I want any pity. No need for that. I've survived this long haven't I? I have a wonderful family, great kids, and a loving lady in my life. Being disabled is just another life challenge. And I don't want you to come and enjoy Galaxy Zento because of any of that either. I want you to come and enjoy it for fun.

While I'm making every effort to become published (like so many others) I want to share my universe with you while I still can. I have a lot to overcome and it's not going to be easy, but hopefully you will come along. That's what this is, you see, "overcoming". Nothing else.

That's why I will always stand for autism education and awareness, even through Galaxy Zento. Maybe that's my gift, I'll let you decide.

Galaxy Zento Fan Page