Well here we are.  Still in black and white – and this page is really, REALLY supposed to be color.  But it isn’t.  That’s what I get for naming my computer “HAL-9000” when I set up Windows.  However, good news: I have bought a new computer.

I shall name him “Mike.”

It will be delivered to me mid-week, and it will allow me to go back to full color starting next week.  It cost me an awful lot of money, but it was well worth it – I did a lot of research and made sure it was custom-built to my specifications, including a number of studio extensions I have been putting off getting for close to five years.  So we’re back in business!  (Assuming Federal Express delivers my stuff to me on time!)

Anyhow, this was a lot of fun to draw.  Having the Feddies come tromping in with radiation gear and geiger counters was the first image that came to mind when I planned this chapter, and here it is.  It speaks of the naivete of the 6-Commando Universe, I think, that they are basically walking into the outer perimeter of a nuclear blast maybe 30 minutes after it went off, which is the kind of thing they were training soldiers to do in the 1950’s, before they really realized how foolhardy that was.  I also have a great affinity for aircraft, as you may know by now, and one of the things with the Federate technology I’ve been drawing is the idea that it’s a bit more rugged than that used by the UNA, and is kind of retrofitted.  One of the things about Soviet military hardware was (is?) that it was very no-nonsense stuff.  If a tank still worked, they’d still use it, and retrofits and repurposing was very common – in fact, it’s why Soviet-era planes, tanks, guns, and helicopters are so widely used: they’re dependable and easy to modify.  So something in me liked the idea of power-armored soldiers juming out of a refitted Mi-8 helicopter.  Why build a special chopper when they already have one that’ll work?  The gunship in the background is my own invention, a rendition of the cancelled Mi-40, albeit without the coaxial counter-rotating blades that model had – they were too obtrusive to draw.  An interesting thing about Russian helicopters, actually, is that the rotor blades are place-synchronized, so that when they are spinning a full speed, each rotation takes the blade back exactly to its original position, and thus they appear to stop in place.  At least, on film.  It’s a really wild effect, so I drew it as such.

Well, at any rate, my thanks to everyone for bearing with me during my black-and-white phase, but we’re going back to color soon.  And thanks also for the votes and comments – it’s really been encouraging, especially during this odd time of technology problems.  And so I’m off to take out the garbage and go to bed.  Another heavy-duty week lies ahead, and by the grace of God everything will run smoothly.  So until next week, folks, be well!