At Norwescon I got asked whether I thought video games were a narrative art form. I knew the answer -- "no, I do not believe that video games are a narrative art form." But I presented my case off the cuff and wanted to spend some time examining it.

I asserted that an essential quality that makes something a game -- interactivity -- is fundamentally at odds with the act of storytelling. I think that was slightly wrong. What I really mean is, the act of playing a game is fundamentally not a narrative act.

Last night we had a zombie-fest which involved 1. Drinking zombies, and 2. Watching zombie movies on Mike's giant projection TV screen. We watched Shaun of the Dead (which somebody there hadn't yet seen... gasp!) and then The Return of the Living Dead (which a few people there hadn't seen... slightly less shocked gasp!)

Until Shaun was released in 2004, Return was the best zombie comedy in existence. I was shocked that it could be knocked out of the top spot after nearly twenty years, but there you go. Shaun is hilarious and touching and grisly and cynical without being mean-spirited and did I mention hilarious? I did.

This is something I found while cleaning out the kitchen -- a half-finished penciled-in Goth House that went nowhere and wasn't very funny.

I post it here because I haven't been updating the comics very diligently, and since I'd already drawn it, I thought, what the heck?

(My excuse for neglecting the comic is that I'm trying to finish a novel and I can only obsess over so many things at one time.)

Anyway, I think the central joke here was supposed to be that Goth House characters were just as alienated in a really gothic universe as they are in our universe. (Or maybe it was some kind of Spice World reference.) Obviously I didn't think of any good gags to illustrate this. But I was still mildly amused by the sight of Percival arguing with a ghost.

On Sunday, March 30, 2008, I saw the LA punk band X at an all ages show at The Showbox in Seattle.

On Thursday, October ?? (the ticket has been torn), 1982, I saw the LA punk band X at an all ages show at The Showbox in Seattle.