NOTE: Dork Tower will only be running Tuesday and Thursday this week, again. My apologies – but getting back on track AFTER San Diego Comic Con is taking up an more time than I assumed.

Muskrat Ramblings
Munchkin Memories Madness Contest
posted by MONICA

Monica here. Patching in from Muskrat Central to tell you that–

What’s that Cartoon Boy? Yes, I will tell them about… Yes, I know you wanted to blog today, but… No, it will be all right. Your readers will understand. Seriously!! Draw another comic or something.

Anyhoo, I wanted to buzz in today to tell you that Steve Jackson Games is featured all week long on a website called FlamesRising.com. Disclaimer: I am associated with the website but this promotion was in the works before I started working with Muskrat Central.

To celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Munchkin, which John has illustrated many cards for (including The Luggage card inspired by Terry Pratchett’s DiscWorld), Steve Jackson Games has sponsored a contest.

The contest is easy to enter and (better yet) offers you the chance to take a trip down Munchkin lane. Read SJ Games Week and Munchkin 10 Year Anniversary Contest for details and check out their interview with Steve Jackson.

Later this week, the website will publish an interview with Cartoon Boy. Where did the questions come from, you ask? Why, I’ll be happy to tell you. From YOU. John posted about the interview on his Facebook page and answered every one!

Now, if I could just get him to finish The Tao of Igor… Hmmm… Must try new tactics… Mind control, maybe?

Oooooo… John… This is your conscience. You will finish The Tao of Igor before Halloween. Ooooo…

Heh, heh. Let’s see if my powers of telepathy will work. I think I heard him muttering about Igor.

Good luck with the contest!

====== Monica

NOTE: Dork Tower will only be running Tuesday and Thursday this week, again. My apologies – but getting back on track AFTER San Diego Comic Con is taking up an more time than I assumed.

Muskrat Ramblings
“What Do You Want?”
posted by JOHN

So, this last weekend at San Diego Comic Con was pretty amazing.

I didn’t have a booth there, and I didn’t do any panels. Just meetings. Lots and lots of meetings.

I always leave, feeling like the Uncool Kid in school. And remember: this is around NERDS… Possibly because of all the LA nerds at SDCC. LA nerds are strange and powerful creatures of beauty. Stare not directly at their auras…lest they drain your soul…

Anyway, these meetings were great and cool and productive. But I’m a bit haunted by a question someone asked: “What do you WANT?”

“To tell stories,” was my answer.

But now, I’m not entirely sure that was it. I’m not great with on-the-spot answers. I usually have to think about things, for a bit.

So I though. For a couple of days.

What do I want?

(1) To be the best father and husband I can be.

(2) To keep working, and to do the best work I can.

(3) To make people happy, through my work.

(4) To be a good, honest person. And world peace. And +10 Sprinkles of Awesome on my SOLID GOLD ICE-CREAM CONE. And unicorns and double-rainbows, and…YES, YES, YES, we get it. So let’s just stick with (1), (2) and (3), and assume all the rest is lurking back there, the same as it ever was, OK? Jeeze. This is maudlin enough already. You people hve no idea how much work it is, being this sincere!

Anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah. What do I want? (1), (2) and (3). In that order? Probably. Though (2) and (3) may change places, from time to time…but in general, you get the point.

I’d add “To be Happy,” but my family and my work make me very, very happy. How ridiculously lucky am I? All I need to do is be around my family, and work harder, to become happier.

My work is telling stories. I haven’t been telling enough, recently.

That’s changing.

Honest. (See #4).

====== JOHN

NOTE: Dork Tower will only be running Tuesday and Thursday this week, gang. My apologies – but gearing up for San Diego Comic Con is taking up an enormous amount of time. I won’t have a booth, but I’ll be wandering around, with lots of meetings scheduled. I may Tweet some secret times and places where you can get a “THE LUGGAGE” Munchkin Discworld card from me, so follow me at @muskrat_john on Twitter, if such silliness interest you…

Spork Tower I: Stew it begins…
John’s Tuscan-ish Chicken and Chard stew
posted by JOHN

No matter how busy things get, a slow-cooked supper just seems to make life easier. A few weeks ago, things were chaotic: I was behind on deadlines; I needed to rush off to the big-screen showing of Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower (Extended Cut – or “DANG, by butt is numb” in Elvish); Judith and Louisa were coming home late. Fortunately, necessity is the mother of om nom nom nom (NOTE: holy cats, am I getting tired of the phrase “om nom nom nom” – don’t know why I went there, just then…sorry about that – shan’t happen again), and this dish saved the day.

I was nicely surprised with how well this hearty, tasty stew turned out. I was also pleased with how very easy the stew was to prepare. So I wanted to share (by which I mean: “Wanted to write this down before I forgot it,” but sharing is ALWAYS a good thing…even with ulterior motives).

Here’s the recipe I based mine on: http://www.food.com/recipe/tuscan-chicken-stew

The basic recipe – found by Googling “Tuscan chicken stew,” looked fine, but I had other ideas – I wanted to turn it more into something like the amazing, rustic bean soups served by the Osteria Papavero. AND LOOK! I have Parmesan rinds in the fridge. MANY Parmesan rinds. Good lord – HOW did I collect this many Parmesan rinds? They should do a reality show about me and my Parmesan rind problem. Like “Hoarders,” but with huge hunks of Parmesan rinds…and less of the soul-crushing sadness…

BUT I DIGRESS! Bottom line: It came out great: easy to make, with layered, rich flavors: best of all, it was both healthy and delicious. Happy cartoonist was happy! So were wifey and daughter.

Tuscan-ish Chicken stew with Chard

Serves 4-6
Time: 4 hours
Active time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lb chicken thighs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced, or 1/2 large onion
1 large bunch chard – I dunno – I’m thinking 1 lb, or so. Stemmed (leaves only)
10 garlic cloves, added whole
1 (28 ounce) can peeled tomatoes, blended smooth
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb Parmesian cheese rind
2 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 large fresh oregano sprig, chopped
2 teaspoons Herbs du Provence (not really Tuscan, but here ya go – this was just because I had some fresh stuff on-hand. Many other herbs would do)
2 (14 1/2 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste – NOTE: most American canned tomatoes are salted, overly so, and need little if any added salt. The Parmesian will also add saltyness to the stew. So add salt at end only, if needed.

Transfer stew to bowls. You’ll need more good extra-virgin olive oil and finely grated Parmesian for garnish, ala Osteria Papavero, BUT WE’LL GET TO THAT LATER! Hold your horses, already. Sheesh.

EQUIPMENT:

Slow cooker
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Ladle for serving

TECHNIQUE

In a crock pot set to high, place the Chicken thigns. In a bowl, mix all the other ingredients except for the chard. Add to crockpot, and stir gently, to mix it around around the chicken. Cover and leave cook for 2 hours.

At the two hour mark, the stew should be bubbly. Add the chard, sliced and chopped into large-ish (1″ x2″) pieces. Turn Crock Pot to “Low.”

Leave for another two hours.

Remove the Parmesian rinds and bay leaves. Do you like chewing on soft, plump Parmesan rinds when you remove them from soups or stews? Because I sure as hell do. It’s like turbo testosterone tofu. Well, “tofu” due to the texture. Everything else is all flavor, baby! BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN. Serve the stew drizzled with good olive oil and topped with freshly-grated Parmesan to taste. I tend to go for at least a good tablespoon or two of each per bowl.

At this point, a real Food Blogger will mention you should serve this with a lovely, crusty, rustic bread, But I know you people are not idiots! What do they THINK you’re gonna serve this with? Marmots? So I’ll just say, if you live in Madison, the best baguettes by far are found at La Baguette and Batch Bakehouse. They also do good rustic Italian loaves. If you don’t live in Madison, you’re on your own, buddy.

A bit of refinement might be needed, but I was wonderfully happy with at the simplicity and depth of this marvelous little dish. I’d have shared some photos, but I began eating it too soon.

Good grief, I’ll suck as a Food Blogger.

====== JOHN

NOTE: Dork Tower will only be running Tuesday and Thursday this week, gang. My apologies – but gearing up for San Diego Comic Con is taking up an enormous amount of time. I won’t have a booth, but I’ll be wandering around, with lots of meetings scheduled. I may Tweet some secret times and places where you can get a “THE LUGGAGE” Munchkin Discworld card from me, so follow me at @muskrat_john on Twitter, if such silliness interest you…

Muskrat Ramblings
A Blast from the Past
posted by JOHN

As Monica has me getting things ready for Dork Tower’s 15th anniversary year, next year, I’ve been stumbling across a ton of interesting stuff in the archives.

One things many folks may not realize is that my first web strips actually went online in late 1995/early 1996 (still trying to ascertain the exact date). I was quite aware, at the time, that only a very few people had been putting comics up on the web. Now, with thousands of web cartoonists out there, many doing just amazing work, it’s kind of nice to look back and take a bit of pride in knowing I was amongst a mere handful of others, at the time.

Then I stop it, because I start to feel old.

The earliest WILD LIFE comic strip (starring Carson the Muskrat, my precursor to DORK TOWER) I can find, at the moment, seems to be have gone online December 1996. But there’s a note on the page saying “It’s been about a month since I’ve updated these pages, but I’m back!” Which would make sense, as I think I was first posting Wild Life online sometime in 1995.

(Hilariously, the page also notes “Downloading the entire week can take a couple of minutes, depending on your modem speed.”)

I’m not sure of the month, but DORK TOWER first went online in 1997, soon after it debuted in the January 1997 issue of SHADIS magazine (which came out in 1996). But anyway, THIS is what the website looked like back then:

(CLICK HERE for a larger version of the 1997 DORK TOWER HOME PAGE).

And here are the earliest WILD LIFEs I’ve yet found:

(CLICK HERE or on the image for a larger version of the EARLIEST WILD LIFES ONLINE (so far)).

More to come, as I unearth the archives…and my eyes continue to bleed…

*****

NOTE: Dork Tower will only be running Tuesday and Thursday this week, gang. My apologies – but gearing up for San Diego Comic Con is taking up an enormous amount of time. I won’t have a booth, but I’ll be wandering around, with lots of meetings scheduled. I may Tweet some secret times and places where you can get a “THE LUGGAGE” Munchkin Discworld card from me, so follow me at @muskrat_john on Twitter, if such silliness interest you…

====== JOHN

Muskrat Ramblings
And now, a note from Monica
posted by MONICA

Hoi! Monica here. Not John. Monica. Hi. Pleased to meet you!

Over the past, few weeks there’s been a lot going on behind-the-scenes at Muskrat Central for one purpose and one purpose only…

…to offer you MORE Dork Tower.

Occasionally, you’re going to get some updates from people that aren’t John – LIKE ME, MONICA! – about what he’s up to or his work, because I’ve locked him in his studio he’s busy drawing at his table. So, without further adieu, I shed my cloak of invisibility to drop some hints about what’s coming up.

You might have seen John’s previous post about The Perky Summer Sale. If you haven’t picked up a digital copy of the earlier Dork Tower releases, We’ll be doing more stuff like this, and soon. John’s been working with the folks at DriveThruComics to get his back catalog online — just in time for the fifteen-year anniversary of Dork Tower.

Before we can start celebrating that, however, there’s another little milestone that’s just around the corner. Hard to believe, but this year is the ten-year anniversary of Munchkin!

***SPOILER ALERT*** In a couple of weeks, we’re going to announce a really fun Munchkin contest sponsored by Steve Jackson Games! ***END SPOILER ALERT***

Speaking of the Munchkin anniversary, Steve Jackson has posted a behind-the-scenes look into the changes Munchkin Czar Andrew Hackard has made over the past year. It’s a good read and talks about how the game has changed. Check out One Year of Color Munchkin.

Personally? I just want the Munchkin shot glass… For milk, of course!

We’ll keep you posted about the Munchkin happenings when we get a little closer to the last week of July.

That’s all I have for today. Excuse me while I– Hey, CARTOON BOY!… Who said you could be on Twitter? Did you finish the strip yet?

Yeah, I’m a slave driver. But this next strip’ll be sooooooo worth it.

Have a great day!

====== MONICA (Not John)