Just heard tonight from another one-time Scryptic Studios columnist who wants to come in from the cold. So my efforts to revive and rejuvenate that site appear to be paying off.

And speaking of former Scryptic Studios columnists, Elizabeth Genco today suggested we be each other's Accountability Partners: someone you know you're gonna hear from every week, finding out what you've done that week and what you're planning to do next week.

That's a good, good thing right there.

Thanks, Elizabeth.

Is Elton Pruitt, aka the Ecto, aka recent accomplisher of the fabled NEGATIVE BURN Hat Trick:

A. An idiot with way too much time on his hands?

B. So confident in his own pitches that he welcomes all competition? Or perhaps...

C. A straight-up guy who actually wants to do something constructive and helpful for the aspiring writers out there who may come across the contest late in the game?

You decide -- but only after reading The Shadowline Who Wants to Create a Super-Heroine Contest Ultimate FAQ!

Brought to you by Scryptic Studios, the #1 site for aspiring comic book writers!

I don't blog enough (or really, at all) about what's going on with me. Caleb does. Drew does. Elizabeth does.

But me, I've never been much of a blogger. Well, all that changes, right here and now.

What's Going On Right Here and Now

Took the afternoon off work to do comic book writer stuff. Good, good, good times indeed. I don't know when I've ever been so happy and at peace Friday at lunch, than today, knowing I had all afternoon on a workday to don my comic book writer hat and Get Things Done.

So what did I do/am doing? (Weird construct there, yes, but I kind of like it)

First, Scryptic Studios pimpage on a grand scale. I'm glad I got inspired to get back into my columnist role and really take it seriously, and try to help get Scryptic back on the radar of aspiring writers and others in the industry. It's been such a help and inspiration to me over the years, so now I'd genuinely like to give something back, and play a role in some Elton of the Future getting his career off the ground.

So, pimpage-wise, I've posted a "the columns are back!" blurb touting mine and Drew Edwards' latest columns on Digital Webbing, Penciljack, Shadowline, CBR, Newsarama, Comicon, and tried to post on the Bendis board but got some weird error. Gotta try that one again in a bit.

Second, I'm starting to sift through the ginormous threads on Newsarama, Shadowline, Kris' Korner and Digital Webbing about Shadowline's Who Wants to Create a Super-Heroine contest, and collate the relevant nuggets of wisdom and clarification that Kris Simon and Jim Valentino have been posting here and there. That'll serve two purposes: help me to craft the perfect pitch for my own entry into the contest, and give me the raw info I need for next week's Running Up That Hill, which will be all about that contest.

I've got R.E.M.'s DVD-Audio remix of New Adventures in Hi-Fi on an endless loop (best album of their career btw) and drinking this delightfully sweet cherry cola called Cheerwine that Dina brought me back from a business trip to Albuquerque, while munching on Reduced Fat Cheez-Its (they are much, much tastier and crunchier than the regular ones!). And as always, when wearing my comic book writer hat, my magical mystical Boston Red Sox cap is close at hand.

So, there's my first-ever What's Going On blog entry. That wasn't so bad, now was it?

NEGATIVE BURN #15 features "Fall of the Triumvirate," an 8-page tale of friendship, guilt, and redemption, written by Elton Pruitt (that's me!), illustrated by Juan Romera and edited by Kristen Simon.

Newsarama's Best Shots called it "an ambitious story with a terrific tone and a well handled touch of magical realism" and called Juan Romera's work "a mixture of Charlie Adlard meets Dean Haspiel — fantastic."

It's on sale now at finer comic shops everywhere. I hope you'll check it out; it's a story I'm especially proud of.

So I'm hanging with my 2.5 year old son, Jackson, the other night, and I'm wearing my Beavis and Butthead Do America t-shirt. And he points at the huge Butthead on the left and asks me, "What that?"

"Butthead," I reply.

Then he points to the huge Beavis on the right and asks, "What that?"

"Beavis."

Then, for the next two minutes, back and forth, over and over:

"What that?"

"Butthead."

"What that?"

"Beavis."

And all the while, I'm thinking two concurrent thoughts: (1), how cool it is to be teaching my son to identify Beavis and Butthead, and (2) how very strange and un-fatherlike of me it is to be teaching my son to identify Beavis and Butthead.

* * *

Continuing on with the "things that toddlers probably shouldn't be exposed to" front, I've been on a real Avenged Sevenfold kick lately. The incendiary guitar, locomotive drums and soaring harmonies on songs like "Beast and the Harlot" are like a defibrillator for my soul, shocking away 20+ years of growing up and leaving me feeling like I'm 17 years old all over again.

Which is great and all, but not so much what I want to play when driving my son somewhere. So, on our way out this evening, I grabbed what I thought was one of his favorite CDs, aptly titled Children's Favorite Songs. But when I got in the car and ejected Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil disc and tried to play it, I discovered it was actually the DVD of Children's Favorite Songs, not the CD, and thus would not play.

For a second or two, I toyed with the notion of popping Avenged Sevenfold back in. But it just didn't seem right. So I flipped through the other CDs in the car and what to my wondering eyes should appear but Johnny Mathis's 1958 classic, Merry Christmas.

I think Jackson's early exposure to one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time, as we drove to and from the Little Gym this evening, just might counterbalance the Beavis and Butthead.

NEGATIVE BURN #14 features "The Barber," a 6-page look at the things, and people, we leave behind, written by Elton Pruitt (that's me!) and illustrated by the brilliant Renzo Podesta. It's on sale now at finer comic shops everywhere!

NEGATIVE BURN 13 features "This Is Where I Am," an 8-page story of a life-changing encounter between a Yankees and a Red Sox fan, written by Elton Pruitt (that's me!) and illustrated by Harvey Award-nominated Noel Tuazon. And the best part is, it's on sale now at finer comic shops everywhere!



For those keeping score, this is the 3rd publication of my nascent career...

This fall, I'll achieve the legendary NEGATIVE BURN Troika:

I'll have three stories published in three consecutive issues of Desperado Publishing's renowned anthology, NEGATIVE BURN.

NEGATIVE BURN #13 features "This Is Where I Am," an 8-page story of a life-changing encounter between a Yankees and a Red Sox fan, illustrated by Harvey Award-nominated Noel Tuazon. The order code is JUN073449 and it ships in October.



NEGATIVE BURN #14 features "The Barber," a 6-page look at the things, and people, we leave behind, illustrated by the brilliant Renzo Podesta. The order code is JUL073476 and it ships in November.



NEGATIVE BURN #15 features "Fall of the Triumvirate," an 8-page tale of friendship, guilt, and redemption, illustrated by Juan Romera. Newsarama's Best Shots called it "an ambitious story with a terrific tone and a well handled touch of magical realism" and called Juan Romera's work "a mixture of Charlie Adlard meets Dean Haspiel—fantastic." The order code is AUG073548 and it ships in December.



There's no better time than today to reserve your copies. I think you'll find a lot of great stories between the covers of each issue. And frankly, I couldn't be prouder than to have three of my own stories included in such an outstanding anthology.