Let's support Troy! Buy Twilight Guardian!

Can I order a copy directly from you, Troy? Drove two hours there and two hours back and they don't have it, and the only Hickman they knew of wrote "Dragonlance".

Ooh, thanks Dark One!

I'll try to get an order in for a signed copy from the first link when I get my tax refund on Friday.

@Troy:

How many issues do you have to sell to afford pants?

Picked it up this weekend, good stuff. The store owner mentioned he'd enjoyed it, too, but when I mentioned Common Grounds, he hadn't heard of it, so I took a moment to advertise. He usually recommends stuff to me, felt good to reverse-evangelize.

So, I finally got to the bottom of my stack and read TG. Fantastic first issue! I take my pants off to you, Mr. Hickman. Wait a minute, that sounded better in my head....

By the way, if you haven't already, I'd suggest you join TG's fanpage here.

You can find supplemental stuff that's not in the comic (like TG's journal entries), see pics of her, ask her questions, etc.

And if you're someone with an artistic flair, feel free to send along any illos of TG or her cast of characters for the gallery.

None of the cool kids are doing it...so join the rest of us outcasts...

For those who are interested, here's the first half of an audio interview where I talk about Twilight Guardian, Common Grounds, and probably my "indiscretions." Give it a listen!

I have to wonder what the trigger is going to be that causes the signed copies to skyrocket in value.

I predict Troy on the news and the story involves a rubber chicken, jumper cables, and clown makeup.

But that's just a wild hypothesis...








It could be fake robot makeup.

Great first issue, Troy. I've got it on my pull list and there were additional copies on shelves at my local down here (and they weren't waterlogged, burnt or windswept, even!)...I do have to say though...

Ape Pagoda. Noone under the age of thirty is gonna even get that gag if it's referencing the tv show I think it is. And if it's not, then I'm making some mad connections in my brain meats. It's my fault if I have....I did skim the issue initially with pants on.

But I think the subject matter is cool, and the one-page one-offs are just totally cool and reminds me of my childhood. One pants down for me.


S.

Just got my copy. Either the only one they got in or the last one they had.

Kudos Sir!
Well written.

Enjoy a taco on me with the money you made off of my copy!

I finally dug through the snow and made my way to the comic shop to pick up my copy, and... well... I have to take issue with... well, this issue.

More accurately... I have to take issue with how it was promoted. There's been a great deal of mistruth spread about this work-- false advertising so egregious that it should not go unchallenged.


This comic is not a miracle cure. It is not a suitable alternative to traditional cancer treatments. It isn't even a good alternative for homeopathic remedies. It will not and can not remove warts, clear blemishes, remove wrinkles, or bring back your lost youthful glow. There was one promising study where readers of Twilight Guardian reported substantially less pain than readers of the control group, but this study has since been discredited after it was found that the control group was given issues of "Brand New Day."

It will not end world hunger. Much to the dismay of starving children worldwide, this comic will not resolve their plight. There is absolutely no veracity in the suggestion that Twilight Guardian will cover the deserts in mana or even bring swarms of edible locusts to be dried, fried, or chomped on live. About the best that can be said is that, when properly prepared and accompanied with toast, juice, and milk, it offers more balanced nutrition than your typical cheeseburger value meal.

It does not in any way facilitate world peace. Quite the contrary. I have to admit that I was quite duped by this claim... going so far as to offer to lend the comic to a co-worker that I normally don't get along with as a peace offering. He was so enthralled by it that he refused to return it and tried to sneak it home in his laptop case. The HR director was able to mediate before the shouting match escalated to full physical violence, but that deep-set hostility and sense of betrayal lingered well into the evening... in the parking lot... where Mr. Tire Iron proved to be much better at conflict resolution.

It will not make you wealthier than your wildest dreams... especially after the lawyers get done with the abovementioned "world peace" issues.

It does not revolutionize comics. No, we've all seen enough promotions over the years to know that comic book revolutions take the form of character deaths, rebirths, redeaths, heroes going bad, villains going good, travels through time, demonic pacts that rectcon decades of content without actually retconning, younger versions of time-tested charcters (with boobs), and foil-embossed covers.

This comic has none of that. In its place, Twilight Guardian offers so many things that any veteran comic book reader will recognize as irrelevant to a comic book's greatness. Things like: solid narrative; wit; a complex character psyche that isn't just a reflection of two dozen different authors' rewrites; solid coordination of word and art; and an alternative perspective into the superhero genre reminiscent of Troy's other work, Common Grounds. It is a breath of fresh air-- but anyone who's ever been on the floor of a comic convention on the final day knows that there is no such thing as fresh air in this industry.


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I know some will say that all this criticism is too much... that this is only one issue... that maybe by the third issue, he'll have a chance at bringing order (and food) to Somalia... That maybe prolonged exposure to new issues will still prove beneficial to those suffering rickets... or maybe that greatness will be grasped when our intrepid Guardian adopts a costume that's more prone to wardrobe malfunctions in combat...

I know those responses will come, and... I'm sorry... but I know time will prove me right. Twilight Guardian will always be just a smart, insightful, somewhat-irreverant and always-enjoyable aberration in the comic world, much as I've come to expect from Troy. You can believe otherwise, but I'll stand by my guns-- and I'll have the complete Twilight Guardian collection at hand to prove it.