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  Now that's real sci-fiOct 31, 2019 9:21 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "The Nobody" in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #14, August 1959. Script possibly by Joe Gill; pencils by Bill Molno, inks by Vince Alascia.
 
 
 
 
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  Oh well tomorrow's page will be betterOct 30, 2019 9:44 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "No. 9 Swanson St." in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #14, August 1959. Script possibly by Joe Gill; pencils by Matt Baker, inks by Vince Colletta.
 
 
 
 
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  A scientific assessmentOct 29, 2019 8:38 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "No. 9 Swanson St." in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #14, August 1959. Script possibly by Joe Gill; pencils by Matt Baker, inks by Vince Colletta.
 
 
 
 
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  Star maps, the Big Bang, and DESIOct 28, 2019 10:37 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:Here's a pretty cool map of the night sky compiled from various surveys, where you can zoom in on part of the sky to see all the galaxies we've been able to see so far in it.
 
What's really amazing is when you zoom OUT, and turn on the constellation display overlay, to see what a tiny bit of the sky you were looking at with all those galaxies in it!
 
I got the link from a BBC article about DESI, a telescope that will conduct a detailed measurement of the distance to 35 million galaxies, using its 5000 robot-controlled optical fibers to take simultaneous spectrographic readings of many objects in the sky at once.
 
Primordial oscillation very early in the life of the universe, when the hot plasma that made up everything after the Big Bang began to cool, finally allowing light to travel freely, can still be seen today as a slight perturbation in the distribution of ancient (high redshift) galaxies; according to the DESI site, there is "a slight tendency for pairs of galaxies to be separated by the distance the waves traveled, which owing to the expanding Universe is about 500 million light-years today," and "with that, we can infer the distance to the galaxies. [...] DESI will [...] measure the relationship of distance to redshift over a wide range of redshifts with subpercent precision. This in turn allows us to infer the expansion history and the evolution of dark energy."
 
"Dark energy" is the name for whatever the heck is causing the observed acceleration of the expansion of the universe, which scientists don't yet know how to account for; the hope is that the DESI project will start to provide some new insights.
 
 
 
 
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  Nothing up her sleeves...?Oct 25, 2019 9:39 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:You can help keep A* rolling along by supporting the comic through my Patreon campaign, and even get yourself unique A* rewards in the process! For instance, here's a sketch I got to send to a reader for their support in a recent month:
 

 
Thanks very much to all the supporters! And thank you for reading the comic. : ))
 
 
 
 
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  The great breakthrough in marketingOct 24, 2019 9:13 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "An Air of Honesty" in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #14, August 1959. Script possibly by Joe Gill. Pencils by Charles Nicholas, inks by Sal Trapani.
 
 
 
 
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  Standing in front of explosion makes you coolOct 23, 2019 9:43 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:If you enjoy A* and would like to help me bring the comic to life, consider pitching in through my Patreon campaign, where you can support the comic and get uniquely A* rewards in the process, sent right from me to you. For instance, here's a sketch I got to send to a reader for a recent-ish month of support : ) :
 

 
Thanks everyone who's helping me bring this comic out, and thanks to everyone for reading! ^)^
 
 
 
 
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  Proof the '90s were betterOct 22, 2019 9:11 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "Strong Boy" in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #13, June 1959. Possibly by Joe Gill (script), Bill Fraccio (pencils), and Tony Tallarico (inks).
 
 
 
 
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  It was just like two days but manOct 21, 2019 10:00 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:And we're back! Let's get back in the swing of things~~ Off with you, rust!
 
 
 
 
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  Plausible explanation for taking the week offOct 16, 2019 9:37 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:I'm being visited here in my little town by a family member for the next few days, so I'll be away from the drawing board. Back to making new pages on Monday!
 

 
From "One Way Trip" in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #10, November 1958. Story possibly by Joe Gill; pencils and inks by Steve Ditko.
 
 
 
 
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  Back when they had prioritiesOct 15, 2019 8:56 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "The Night the Grand Canyon Disappeared" in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #2, January 1957. Script possibly by Joe Gill; pencils by Bill Molno, inks by Sal Trapani, letters by Jon D'Agostino.
 
 
 
 
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  Happy Columbus Day! Also off Thurs & FriOct 14, 2019 8:35 AM PDT | url
 
Turns out today, Monday, Columbus Day, is a federal holiday. : o This one kind of snuck up on me, partly because I've got a family member coming for a visit on Thursday and Friday of this week, and had been planning to announce in today's blog that I'd be taking those days off.
 
After figuring out this morning that today is a holiday, I considered working anyway since I'll have to be off Thursday and Friday—but then I realized that's silly. : P So, happy Columbus Day! \o/ I'll be back tomorrow for my big two day work week! =o
 
 
 
 
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  Sneak sneak sneakOct 11, 2019 10:32 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:Sketch for a reader supporting the comic through my Patreon campaign : ) :
 

 
You can support the comic through Patreon for as little as $1 a month, and it's a huge help—Patreon really makes this comic possible! Thanks to everyone who's doing that—and thank you for reading the comic. : )
 
 
 
 
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  What everyone wantsOct 10, 2019 9:06 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "Under the Lens" in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #1, August 1956. Script possibly by Joe Gill, pencils by Charles Nicholas, inks by Vince Alascia, letters by Jon D'Agostino.
 
 
 
 
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  The Big BangOct 09, 2019 10:00 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:Ink sketch for a reader supporting the comic through my Patreon campaign : ) :
 

 
A* keeps going thanks to reader support! = D And thank you for reading. : )
 
 
 
 
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  That's exactly what he meansOct 08, 2019 7:45 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From a full-page Popsicle comic ad in Master Comics #104, June 1949, starring Popsicle Pete—probably by his creators, Woody Gelman and Ben Solomon.
 
 
 
 
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  Toth and ShirowOct 07, 2019 8:54 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "Torpedo 1936," written by Enrique Sánchez Abulí, art by Alex Toth. First publication Creepy (Spain) #32, February 1982. First English publication Vampirella #108, September 1982.
 
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On Friday I finished going through that digital stack of graphic novels I'd wanted to read through in my free trial month of Comixology Unlimited—ended up skimming a lot of them just for the art, or skipping entirely after seeing the first few pages. : P Two stood out:
 
- "Black Magic" by Masamune Shirow: one of his early works and just a lot of silly, semi-fantasy sci-fi fun with killer robots and stuff.
 
- The first, Alex Toth-drawn "Torpedo 1936" story in the collected "Torpedo Vol. 1," written by Enrique Sánchez Abulí; Toth drew the first two short stories, although it looks like he rushed the second one. But his clearly delineated black and white art in the first story (there is some slight nudity) is breathtaking, and a clear inspiration for Frank Miller's style in his "Sin City" crime comics from the '90s, as you may be able to see in that panel I posted above. "Torpedo 1936" probably also inspired Miller's writing and, unfortunately, depiction of women in that series.
 
 
 
 
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  Pack your bagsOct 04, 2019 10:13 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:Sketch for a reader supporting the comic through my Patreon campaign : ) :
 

 
Big thanks to everyone helping out the comic! And thanks for reading! More comics next weeeeeeeeek~~
 
 
 
 
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  Bingo or Quiz-Whiz?Oct 03, 2019 8:56 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
Panel from a half-page Cracker Jack ad, "Quiz-Whiz: That's Me," in Master Comics #103, May 1949.
 
(The dog's head appears in the middle of the ad's title in the first panel, which might lead you to think that "Quiz-Whiz," which is otherwise unexplained in the ad, could be the dog's name; but the dog also has the same spot-over-the-eye markings as the traditional Cracker Jack canine mascot, Bingo, who also talked in at least one ad, from a different period—but is also clearly a different breed of dog than the one portrayed by Bingo in his named appearances. The ad also appeared in an issue of "Whiz Comics," among others, by the same publisher.)
 
 
 
 
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  While falling, try to look your bestOct 02, 2019 9:03 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:Sketch for a reader supporting the comic through my Patreon campaign : ) :
 

 
It's support from readers like ~you~ that keeps A* going. Thanks for reading! : D
 
 
 
 
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  It's the beretOct 01, 2019 8:13 PM PDT | url
 
Added 1 new A* page:
 
From "The Anonymous Crook" starring Captain Marvel Jr. in Master Comics #103, May 1949. Art by Kurt Schaffenberger.
 
 
 
 
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