Author: VD

16 Million and Counting

Arktoons has now passed 16 million views! Thanks to all of the supporters, creators, and readers who have made it possible. And special thanks to the devs and the production team, who keep cranking out episodes every single day. We’re pleased to be able to say that GHOST OF THE BADLANDS will be coming to Arktoons soon now that its digital edition has been released.

In other comics news, HYPERGAMOUSE is approaching its third stretch goal and DC Comics has been reduced to turning to its critics to provide inspiration for its new villains, with Jeremy Griggs from Geeks + Gamers being the latest to see himself lampooned in a DC-published comic.

Even though DC Comics says they’re All In with this new initiative from Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson, it appears they’re just all in on the same tired, woke nonsense. With Absolute Batman race-swapping Barbara Gordon in a bizarre virtue signal, there was already too much politics in their recent comics, but now they’ve turned Jeremy Griggs into a rambling villain in the new Blue Beetle YA Graphic Novel… It’s not the first time DC Comics has done this, either. Just last year, they did the same to Eric July, turning him into some Alex Jones rant to presumably attack his Rippaverse imprint as it was getting off the ground.

I don’t think that I’ve been provided with a DC Comics stand-in yet, although it would appear that Marvel’s Vox Supreme was at least partially inspired by your favorite dark lord. The resemblance is certainly striking.

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Pixel Artists Wanted

A very small team and I have been working on a game project. We’re at the point where we need some art, so if there are any pixel artists interested in volunteering – this is a labor of love, not a business project – please get in touch. It’s a very cool game; imagine being able to play MMO-style battlegrounds without the MMO.

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The Leak was Real

Apparently Israel was genuinely observed making preparations to attack Iran on October 15th and 16th, but appears to have cancelled the attack for reasons that remain unknown, but are presumably related to the “earthquake” that was observed earlier this month.

The US has launched an investigation after highly classified intelligence reports about Israel’s preparations for possible strikes on Iran were leaked online, CNN reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter. The apparent security breach occurred amid an intense standoff between Iran and Israel – which has vowed to respond to a barrage of missiles fired by Tehran earlier this month.

On Friday, two documents were posted to the anonymous Telegram channel Middle East Spectator, which covers events in the region and is critical of Israel.

The first of the files, apparently prepared by the Pentagon’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “continued key munitions preparations and covert UAV activity on October 16 almost certainly for a strike on Iran.”

The second document contains a detailed report about a “large-force employment exercise” conducted by the Israeli Air Force on October 15-16.

An unnamed US official confirmed the authenticity of the documents to CNN, describing the leak as “deeply concerning.” The official told the network that the ongoing probe is aimed at determining who had access to the top secret files that eventually made their way to social media.

The plan reportedly involved a combination of ballistic missiles and air-to-surface missiles, although considerably fewer than were involved in the Iranian attack on Israel. Which, of course, tends to raise suspicions that some of them may have been armed with nuclear warheads, and may explain why the US intelligence source decided to try to stop the attack by leaking news of it.

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The Digital Ghost

Now available on Kindle and Kindle Select: THE GHOST OF THE BADLANDS

Arizona Territory, May 1896

Canyon Diablo is a reascendant Gomorrah.

With rail bridge construction halted by hellfire and tragedy, and railroad companies warring with local land owners to complete it, the town becomes an open boil on the Arizona Desert.

Gamblers proliferate. Prostitutes ply their trade. Brigands roam on the roadways, waylaying the innocent for an unknown purpose.

But the bandits are not alone.

Something stirs in the Painted Desert. Someone systematically exterminates coach robbers and murderers. Dealing out a deadly reckoning to all who assail the weak.

Gunfight after gunfight. Coffin after coffin. Legend soon grows of this phantom of the high desert.

A lone pistolier dispensing God’s judgment. A one-man vendetta ride, wielding a strange mechanical weapon of the Old World. Baptizing the heathen in hails of gunfire.

Eventually, folk find a name for this masked missionary of death…

The Ghost of the Badlands

UPDATE: So that was fast.

  • #1 in Supernatural Graphic Novels
  • #1 in Western Graphic Novels
  • #1 in Pulp Graphic Novels
  • #19 in Graphic Novels

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Play to the Whistle

Whether it is the so-called Prevent Defense in the NFL or the various tactics used to waste time in international football, these are counterproductive tactics that serve absolutely no purpose except to allow the other team back in the game.

Have some confidence in yourself! If you’ve dominated the game for 80 minutes, or three-and-a-half quarters, keep doing what you’re doing! Don’t let up the gas and let the other team back into the game!

This season, our team had a problem with this. We’d go up one or two goals and the midfield would go passive while the defense would go to sleep. We lost three games we absolutely should have one before the guys seemed to get the message and keep pressing; we won the next game 10-0. The final game of the season, we were up 3-0 when the defense relaxed again; at one point one attacker went right through three defenders without any of them making a serious effort at stopping him. Fortunately, after going into halftime 4-4, we went back on the attack and ended up winning 8-5.

The key is that the team leaders need to stress the need to keep attacking, and the scorers need to keep taking their shots rather than getting cute and clever with their chances as they often do when the game – or the practice – start to feel easy. The best teams always blow out the bad teams instead of relaxing and playing down to their level. In those two high-scoring wins, our star striker took control and scored 9 goals in the two games.

The problem is that the human psyche doesn’t permit simultaneous passivity and aggression. If you start trying to waste time, you’ve stopped trying to actively win the game. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t practice wise clock management, and sometimes injuries force you to take off a key player and implement more defensive tactics. But the best defense is always a good offense; a team that is constantly rocked back on its heels isn’t one that is likely to get back into the game.

Every sprinter is taught the importance of finishing strong. Run THROUGH the tape. Save the celebrations for after the race. Always focus on finishing strong, never be content to just hang on.

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The Second Phase of WWIII

Didactic Mind explains the significance of the BRICS Pay card announced last week:

Each individual BRICS+ nation is at a different stage of development along the path of having a proper banking system. Therefore, trying to create a unified messaging and money transfer platform, is COLOSSALLY difficult. The back-end infrastructure of global payment systems IS NOT easy to build – take my word for it on this – and nor is it a trivial matter to get different national payment systems to work together. I have barely even begun to describe the problems involved, and I am by no means a deep-knowledge subject matter expert on the issue.

But… we are now seeing the beginnings of a new financial order coming together. And that BRICS payment card prototype, is the first demonstration of the front-end technology. Whether the back-end is fully operational, is very much open to question – but it does seem to be getting there.

The importance of this development cannot be overstated. If the architects of the Western financial system are paying any attention whatsoever to the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan’, which starts very soon – in fact, the BRICS Business Forum wrapped up just today – then they should be sweating bullets.

The advent of a true globally scalable, secure, stable, and reliable BRICS+ payment system will allow for rapid digital settlements between BRICS+ central banks. That was one of the original ideas behind this system – to use some sort of digital currency backbone to settle in national currencies between different countries. I had heard many different idea proposed, ranging from a stablecoin of some kind, to a gold-backed and metals-backed currency, to a new currency built on a basket of currencies, like the old “bancor” idea that John Maynard Keynes proposed as the fundamental unit of exchange within the old Bretton Woods system, or the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) that the IMF has the ability to issue.

If, or rather, in my opinion, WHEN, this becomes a reality – in whatever form it takes – the dominance of the dollar is DONE.

This is not hyperbole. Think about it. Why would anyone want to use SWIFT, and pay the (quite exorbitant, in relative terms) fees to send money through a literal cartel of correspondent banks to transfer money overseas, when they could go through a digital system with far lower fees, and transact directly in local currencies, with local exchange rates? And if people can do this peer-to-peer, or business-to-business… what need is there for the dollar?

I think this is why we’re seeing the Clown World provocations heating up everywhere from the Korean Peninsula to Ukraine. The end of military supremacy is bad enough, but the direct undermining of the international dollar system spells out the end of Clown World. And desperate people accept very low-probability odds…

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Trump Declares War Lost

It would have been better if he’d said this two years ago, when the inevitable outcome was already obvious. But it’s still helpful to prevent the Kiev regime trying to fight to the last Ukrainian.

Former US President Donald Trump has declared that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has already “lost” the conflict with Russia. The Republian candidate also accused President Joe Biden of ‘provoking’ the fighting in the first place.

“That war is a loser,” Trump said on the PBD Podcast, on Thursday, criticizing Zelensky as a “great salesman” who repeatedly secured billions in US aid without securing victory. Trump added that the conflict could have been avoided had he remained in charge after the 2020 election.

Trump also blamed Biden for escalating tensions with Russia, claiming that his statements ahead of the Moscow launching its miliatry operation were the “exact opposite” of what should have been said. He also expressed confidence that he could resolve the issue swiftly if returned to office in November’s vote.

I have no doubt that President Trump can quickly negotiate an end to the war. Russia has no interest in controlling Western Ukraine, they simply don’t want to permit Clown World to do so. It’s very unfortunate that Finland and Sweden have joined NATO, because that creates an issue that will require resolution before Russia can be reasonably expected to stand entirely down.

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Satanist Confirmed

HEADLINE: Kamala Harris tells Rally-Goers Yelling ‘Jesus is Lord’ They’re ‘At Wrong Rally’.

Indeed. The god they serve is the god of this world. There is a reason they’re described as “global satanists” because that’s precisely what they are. Pizzagate, Epstein, and P-Diddy are only the very tip of the iceberg; once even a significant fraction of the truth is revealed there will be no mercy for them.

Which, of course, is why they are so desperate to cling to power across the West. But I don’t see how anything is going to save Clown World now.

UPDATE: More Satanists confirmed.

Christians must understand that for Jews the cross is a symbol of oppression.
– Giles Fraser

Oh, we know. That’s why we display it, as a reminder to those who worship the god of this world that we don’t belong to them or their master.

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KIA Confirmed

Hamas has confirmed yesterday’s IDF reports of the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar:

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has acknowledged the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, praising him as a “holy warrior” and “fallen martyr.”

The announcement was made by a senior Hamas official, Khalil Hayya, in a televised address on Friday. Sinwar has “sacrificed his life to the cause of our liberation,” Hayya stated, describing the late leader of the group as a “steadfast, brave and intrepid” man.

So, if the “head of the snake” strategy works, the deaths of Sinwar, al-Arouri, Haniyah, and Sharif should bring a rapid end to Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza. However, the dichotomy between the way the IDF and Hamas describe Sinwar’s death tends to cast doubt on the two sides being able to even share a similar perspective.

  • He met his end standing brave, with his head held high, holding his firearm, firing until the last breath, until the last moment of his life.
  • How Israel slaughtered the Butcher: Rookie soldiers stumbled across Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, engaged in gun battle, tracked him down as he cowered in empty building… then blasted it with a tank.

I’ve never seen the point in constantly attempting to portray the enemy as some sort of coward. A suicide bombing targeting civilians is certainly much more evil and malicious than a Medal of Honor-winning soldier heroically jumping on a grenade to save his squadmates, but is it any less courageous? I don’t think so.

A false portrayal of the enemy not only smacks of weakness, but violates Sun Tzu’s admonition to know the enemy. Which is why I think the IDF may have made another PR mistake by publicizing the video of Sinwar’s last moments. Throwing a stick at a drone might be pointless, perhaps even a bit pathetic, but it is a final act of defiance of the sort that most warriors will tend to admire. It reminds me of a poster that I wanted when I was young, which my parents wisely refused to let me buy for my bedroom.

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Where Chuck Tingle Feared to Tread

Fandom Pulse covers the latest abomination from DC Comics, namely, a bizarre new comic entitled Nothing Butt Nightwing:

Nightwing used to be Batman’s sidekick Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who was spun off into his own character as he grew up. The most famous incarnation is Chuck Dixon’s run on the character where he developed a full cast and supporting characters for the former boy wonder.

Now, DC Comics has turned Nightwing into more wokeness with a couple of new offerings in October. With DC Comics “All In” initiative it’s supposed to be a jumping on point for new readers, but it seems more like a jumping off point given how insanely far they’re going to virtue signal to the LGBTQIA+ community.

First, we have Nothing BUTT Nightwing, a strange book that turns Dick Grayson into some kind of bizarre gay fantasy. The title reads like a parody, some sort of Chuck Tingle Amazon porn novel version of the character, but the interiors aren’t much better.

Every time you think the SJWs have reached bottom, they prove you’re not only wrong, but that your imagination is too limited to encompass the depths of their depravity and degradation.

If you ever wondered whether supporting Arkhaven is justified, this new DC comic should suffice as conclusive proof. DC is definitely going “all in” in a very reprehensible manner.

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