Feb 2014 Q & A

Last month I did a Question and Answer post and put out a call for questions. A lot of questions came in, so I decided to carry them over into this post. I plan on doing these Q & A posts more often, and will put out a call for questions as I'm preparing the next one. But until then, here we go:

Q: When a mouse is forced to combat a snake or larger creature would it be like a human battling a dragon or is my thinking off scale?

-Neil Rickmond

A: Yes, the scale is as accurate as it can be...provided dragons aren't real and so their size varies from fantasy realm to fantasy realm. For that same reason, I find the mouse vs snake story more compelling. Mice are very tiny real creatures and snakes are quick and deadly adversaries...we know this because they exist and we've seen them. Humans are us, and we don't think of ourselves as fragile, like we think of mice...and dragons don't exist, so the idea of that battle is more of excitement, thrill and fantasy, where the mouse and snake battle resonates from a place of our worry for the characters.

Q: Do you think you'll ever be able to up my Mouse Guard "fix" to occur monthly? Possibly by alternating Mouse Guard and Legends of the Guard issues?

-Kirk Vangilder

A: Early on when planning solicitation for the Black Axe series, the plan was to do a monthly shedule alternating between Legends and Black Axe. However, I couldn't do it. Black Axe (or any Mouse Guard feature storyline) is a full time job, and Legends is a rather large undertaking as well, so I couldn't manage the full-time project and also take on all my duties with Legends (and that was still with Paul Morrissey as co-editor on Legends) We ended up putting Legends out first and then having me get back to Black Axe. The only way to make a tighter Mouse Guard release schedule work is that I'd need to have almost all the book done before we started soliciting and shipping issues, which would also mean a longer break in between story-lines. This is what I'm hoping to do for the Weasel War of 1149. As a one-man show (who doesn't want to, nor do I think you want me to, pass off any of the duties: writing, drawing, inking, & coloring) it takes a long time to get a book done.

Q: Are you planning to touch more upon the matriarchal structure of the guard in future stories?
-Holy Frickkin Sanjula

A: This is a hard question to answer without revealing future story-lines. The short answer is yes...I'll start by saying that when I showed the Matriarch's room in Black Axe #5 (and in the extras of the hardcover) with all the stained glass tributes to important Matriarchs, I certainly opened the door for lots of potential stories. I also touched on some of the Matriarch lore in the Role Playing Game text. There I mention how a Matriarch writes the name of her successor down in a sealed envelope only to be opened by her at her own retirement or after her death and a new Matriarch is needed. I'll say this...I know someday I will tell a story where a matriarch other than Gwendolyn is in charge.

Q: Do you have any plans to introduce rats to your world? I love reading about the mice, but rats are a special favorite of mine.
-Malcolm Young

A: Sorry, Malcolm (and to all other lovers of rats), but I don't think I'll ever use rats in Mouse Guard. The Rats I eliminated because I didn't want a "big brother" species that close to the mice. Rats also come with some connotations I'd have to work though: being vicious, and filthy, and an auto-villain, but also as a dweller of rural environments. The species I choose to use tend to feel more woodsy, native, and indigenous to the Mouse Guard world. For this same reason we won't ever see cats or dogs....they imply a human world right around the corner that I don't have in Mouse Guard. However, Bill Willingham asked to have a cat in his Legends story, and it made it in, so perhaps if someone in the future pitches me a good rat story I'll also open that door in Legend form.

Q: Do you use photo references? or any of that kind to make those dynamic angles? -Dean Carantes

A: Yes, I do. I reference photos of animals (some from Google, some from books, and some I've taken myself) but always try to do my own take on the drawing and inking. For the mice I don't reference much but my own past drawings. I have to draw them so often, and stylized enough to do the things they do (stand on two legs, hold weapons, talk, emote, etc) that I had to kind of design my own mouse. The other species I try and get more accurate because they need to be the realistic setting, backdrop, and threat to my characters. If this all looks too animated or simple, or stylized, the reader won't invest as much concern into the characters. For the locations I used to rely on stock photo reference, but quickly found it limiting for all the angles and design changes I wanted to do, so I started building my own models.

Q: Which is harder for you to do in a comic, a full, single panel page or a page with a number of panels?
-Aaron Ebertowski

A: Since I do everything on Mouse Guard, there are several different points of view I can have on this question depending on which part of production I'm doing: writing, layouts, pencils/inks, or colors. From my writing point of view, the harder is the single panel page, but mainly because of my 23 page count per issue, I'm giving up a full page for one moment. That moment will need to be worth it to justify cutting away from other moments and scenes. When I'm doing the layouts, a page with a number of panels is the more difficult since I have to puzzle piece together a series of moments (some in tall panels some in wide panels) in a way that fits in the page and still has clear flow for the reader. Once a layout is established and I'm drawing and/or inking, the two are often the same amount of difficulty. Both occupy 11" x 11" on my original pages...and while the multiple panel pages have gutters, that space is negligible. When coloring I can also go either way as to which is harder, and is more dependent on what the content is on each page rather than the size or number of the panels.

2014 Appearances:

MSU Comics Forum: February 22

Emerald City Comic Con: March 28-30

C2E2: April 25-27

Motor City Comic Con: May 16-18

Comicpalooza: May 23-25

Phoenix Comic Con: June 5-8

Heroes Con: June 20-22

San Diego Comic Con: July 23-27

Boston Comic Con: August 8-10

Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 5-7

NY Comic Con: Oct. 9-12

Jan 2013 Q & A

This week's post will become a semi-regular topic: Fan/Reader Question and Answer. I put out a call for questions on Facebook and Twitter, and received more than one post's worth, so I'll break this up and post another one in the near future and also then put out a call for more questions.

I apologize in advance that due to the nature of this topic, there will be very little in terms of visuals to spruce up the post.

Q: What is your timeline for books on the Weasel Wars?

-Katie Timko Bath

A: I have not yet started writing, plotting, or planning the schedule for my next full Mouse Guard series: The Weasel War of 1149 (which will most likely be an 8 issue arc instead of 6). After I finished Black Axe and Legends Vol 2, I decided the timing was right for me to take a break from Mouse Guard. I have another creator owned project I'm planning on releasing in 2014 as a one-shot 48-64 page graphic novel. Once I finish that project, I will start The Weasel War, but don't expect it to be solicited until I'm several issues into the series...for my sake and yours I don't want to be under the deadline gun every issue.

Q: Have you started working on your "taking a break from Mouse Guard" project yet? If so how goes it?

-@almostahermit 

A: Speaking of that project, no, I have not started yet. At least not in earnest. Due to various cover work, conventions, and some personal commitments, I have yet to get a real chance to dive in. However, I did sit down with two other creators (on separate occasions) and verbally walk them through the story and each were positive about it and what they thought I'd do with it. That is like a step zero for me, before I start a story, I'll often verbally tell it to a few trusted folks (tightening up the overall flow with each re-telling) and get their knee-jerk reaction. So step zero: check! Now to just do all the rest...and there is a chance I'll not get to it before getting back to more Mouse-work.

Q: What do you DO with all those elaborately constructed models when you're done with them? Do you keep them? Is there an entire replica of the Mouse Guard world in your home?

-Barbara Guttmann

A: Most of the models I build have stood the test of time and are carefully stacked on the tops of the bookshelves in my studio. A few were built rather quickly in the early days, without thought of longevity, so they bit the dust and were scrapped (the gates of Lockhaven, an early model of Gwendolyn's office, and the interior of Sprucetuck are among these). But most of the rest I either made of sturdier stuff or I've gone back and reinforced and improved. After all, I do plan on returning to these location in the Mouse Guard world, and they are super handy as reference. There are a few problems with displaying them in a world of Mouse Guard fashion: 1) As you implied, they would all take up a great deal of space, as it is I've dedicated almost all the spare space I have to storing them stacked and puzzle pieced together. 2) None of them are in the same scale, so putting them next to each other for viewing always seems a bit wonky to me. And 3) None of these are built as display models, they are all made of scrap materials and often they are modular, so there is only 1/2 a room built, and it's all paper glued to cardboard. Someday I'd love to do a few real models of some of my favorite rooms with layed tile floors, cellophane windows, and wood trim.

Q: Will there be Spring & Summer books?

-Ben Farrow

A: I started a pattern there with those first two books that implied I was going to round out the year of 1152 (or carry over into 1153). However, the titles of Fall and Winter work as a homonym & metaphor respectively. Fall works as the Autumnal season, but also that there is an uprising with a potential potential fall of the Guard. Winter can be a metaphor for the end of someone's life, and that is a meaning I meant to imply in that book. As for why no Spring or Summer, I don't want to plan out every day of these character's lives (for your sake and mine). I'd rather leave some open space, for you to imagine your own adventures, for me to leave wiggle room for events if need be, and to suggest that not every season of the character's lives have something so important going on, it's worth writing and drawing a book about. When I do get to the 5th book, which is untitled for now, it will pick up with a post-Winter 1152 storyline....and 5 years or so will have elapsed. So there will be more books, but I don't know if any more will necessarily be seasonally titled.

Q: How much of the future direction for Mouse Guard do you already have planned out in your head?

-Ronn Dech

A: Currently I have The Weasel War (which will be the 4th Mouse Guard book), a 5th, as-yet-untitled book, a few more of the Free Comic Book Day style stories, and a story about Saxon & Kenzie joining the Guard planned. Beyond that I have several ideas for stories directions already, but haven't spent too much time focusing on developing them since I already have a back log. Not to mention, with each story I write, I seem to open doors to characters, events, locations, and history, that I can spin out into if I ever feel stuck...one such example is I'd like to do a medieval Dickensian-style story set in Copperwood which not only is a good story, but explores all of Copperwood as a city.

Q: Is there any form of religion in the world of Mouse Guard? Midnight's Black Axe "following" could loosely have been called a sort of religious cult worshiping the weapon, but I wondered if any other religious sects push the medieval mice along much like Christianity and paganism were a major driving force in medieval Europe

-Kyle Healy

A: For a wide variety of reasons, I have avoided religion in Mouse Guard stories. One of those reasons is that it can get messy both in the story and with fans and/or parents of fans. Perhaps if we change the word "religion" into "belief" in your question I'd say that I could explore that idea more...like a belief in certain superstitions, prophecies, or remedies, but I'd still like to avoid the mice (or any other species at this point) having a deity or dogma they focus on. And while this doesn't reflect my views at all, I think having the mice essentially "alone" with no form of life-line on which they rely but themselves, makes for a more interesting society and story in the books. Any time I deal with something, lets say "supernatural" in Mouse Guard, I'd like to offer no real proof either way to it's true existence, and when you start doing that with real world religions & beliefs, you are making statements I don't wish to make.

Q: Did you have any plans to do stories on the territories as they were before the guard and perhaps the determined mice who helped to start Lockhaven? 

-Neil Rickmond

Q: Are there any plans for a story set in the distant past of the Mouse Guard world?
-Luis Enrique Aguilar

A: Do I have plans to tell those stories, no, but I certainly could mine those bits or use them as settings for a deeper story when one occurs. Each story I do has a purpose beyond just telling an adventure, so if I came up with a good reason to set a story at the founding of Lockhaven or to nail down the pre-history of the Guard, I would certainly do so. Seems like there are at least two fans wanting to know more about that era of the Mouse Guard world. And Jeremy Bastian gave a me an excellent story start of when mice banded together in his Legends of the Guard Volume 1 story.



I'll do another Q&A post next month...so if you submitted a question and don't see it here, you probably will next month.

2014 Appearances:

MSU Comics Forum: February 22

Emerald City Comic Con: March 28-30

C2E2: April 25-27

Motor City Comic Con: May 16-18

Comicpalooza: May 23-25

Phoenix Comic Con: June 5-8

Heroes Con: June 20-22

San Diego Comic Con: July 23-27

Boston Comic Con: August 8-10

Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 5-7

NY Comic Con: Oct. 9-12

Questions and Answers:
A few of the same questions hit my email on a regular basis and today I thought I'd address a few of them here for everyone to read.I figure that if a question is being asked by a few, it's something that may interest the many.  If you would like to submit a question for a future Q&A blogpost, email me through the mouseguard.net site or Twitter or Facebook.

Q: How you handle just a bad day artistically? What has worked & what hasn't?

A: I don't handle them well, that's for sure. I have two basic approaches 1) Walk Away or 2) Push Through. Depending on the situation I may try either or both of those. To walk away doesn't mean necessarily to give up. It can mean to take a break. In that break I may take a hot shower (something that almost always clears my head and improves my mood) play a game, watch TV or a movie, read a book, go for a bike ride, or it very well might mean quit for the day. The break can serve to purposefully inspire you or it may just be the mental distraction you need to clear your head and get back into a good place. Other times it's just coming back tomorrow and seeing where you stand...but more than a few of those days and you are in serious trouble.

Pushing through can be a tricky one. It means that you are going to force yourself to do bad drawings and work that makes you perhaps madder than you are when considering 'how do I get past this bad artistic day'. It's a "darkest before the dawn" scenario. And it doesn't always work. Trying to draw the character on a new sheet of paper can help (put away the bad drawings) focusing on a new part of the drawing, or if working on a layout, change the camera angle or panel size to something drastically different and see what happens...even if you hate it, by seeing what you hate about it, you may find what you like and need to focus on for a better layout

The only surefire's for me to kick the bad art days (or at least the most reliable) include keeping in touch with other creatives (even if just to verbalize your issues with the work you are unhappy with, if not to also share jpgs of process work), the hot shower mentioned above, and staying fed & rested on a schedule.

Q: What are your thoughts on college or art school for a future in illustration/comics. Are there classes you recommend?

A: First off, to get a job working in illustration or comics (which can sometimes just mean producing work and self-publishing it) no one will ever check to see if you have a degree and if so, what kind. The gates to art employment won't be barred to you because you didn't go to college. The chief criteria for getting work is: can you do the work well...which is to say, can you draw, illustrate, & tell stories well....AND can you prove it. That being said, college and art schools can help you become a better artist. Their programs are designed to do so.

Then you get into the debate of structured educational learning of art vs self exploration & study. Both have benefits and detriments. School gives structure, a social web of like-minded creatives to bounce ideas off of, and a forced schedule for getting work done...however, it can also be as good or flawed as the professors who have tenure and it costs a great deal of money. Self study focuses on what you want to learn, costs little, and leaves you more artistic freedom ..but can be tricky to stick with & push yourself hard enough and won't expose you to as much artistic diversity as school.

I started at a community college for two years, and then transferred to a university. At the time of the transfer, I also considered an art school, but decided I wanted to experience the college campus life and not leave all my non artistic studies behind (science, literature, etc.). The two most important classes I took were 2D design (which I've posted about before) and Printmaking (which I've posted on a few times A, B, C) The artistic education was sturdy, and certainly forced me outside of my comfort zone, but I found the lack of illustration classes at my school and the desire of professors to re-mold you into their artistic image a step backwards. So do you need a college degree for this line of work? I think the question needs to be What do you think you need to get your work ready for this line of work?.

Q: What materials do you use?

A: Paper: Strathmore sketchbooks & 300 series bristol

Drawing: A 0.5mm mechanical pencil with HB lead & a kneaded eraser

Inking: Copic Multiliners (the 0.7 nib mainly) Dr. Martin's Bombay Black ink and a #1 brush for fills or brushwork

Watercolor: I have a few Sakura portable trays and an assortment of Windsor Newton tubes (especially their Payne's Grey)

Digital Coloring: Photoshop 7.0

Watercolor Wednesday: 
Last week's watercolor pieces were of inanimate objects. First up is a traffic signal. Mr. Rogers had one in his house, and when I was a kid I thought it would be a cool item to have in your home...not one of those novelty ones, but a real, weathered, street-used traffic signal. Of the three pieces from last week, I painted this last asking myself "what other object that we all see every day would be interesting enough to paint" and my mind flashed to that childhood desire to own one of these.

The spigot came first in the order of these being painted. I was in my basement laundry room and saw the shut-off valve in the floor joists for the outside spigot and thought the valve looked cool and would be interesting to paint. But when I sat down to draw it, I thought showing a spigot would be more interesting for someone to own than just a valve.

Last up from last week's pieces is a pair of scissors. My friend Mike Davis (who is the inspiration for Rand) did a lot of college sketchbooks themed around him drawing every day objects over and over: utensils, eyelash curlers, drafting implements, simple hand tools...and I think he did a page on scissors too. Anyhow, that flashed to mind after the spigot painting and I aped his idea to do this pair of scissors.

Tomorrow I'll post more paintings in my online store.

2013 Appearances: 

Heroes Con: June 7-9

Albuquerque Comic Expo June 21-23

San Diego Comic Con: July 17-21

*more 2013 dates coming*

Jan '09 Q&A Part II

Here we go again with Q's from the comments of last post:

Neil had a question in two parts: part 1:
What other properties would you
like to work on (besides Hellboy)?

Well, excluding Hellboy (as you did in your phrasing of the Q) I have been fortunate to get some Muppet work from Boom’s licensing deal. Anything else Henson-related would be awesome too (Dark Crystal) I’d have fun doing some stuff with the X-Men..the Giant-Sized team is my fave. Star Wars is a no-brainer..anyone who gets to play in Lucas’ toybox is a lucky artist. And I was brought into comics with Eastman & Laird’s TMNT, and I’d love to do some Turtles work. I’m sure there are others I’m just not thinking of…the above represent my major ‘checklist’ for work I’d like to do

Part2:
Or transversely, which artist(s) would you like to see do a
Mouseguard story?

Oh there are plenty! First person I have given carte blanche to do a Mouse Guard story anytime is Jeremy Bastian. His work is incredible and he has been there for the creation of damn-near every issue. Another, Based on his own comic series and his pinup from Fall, Mark Smylie is an artist/writer that would be a good fit. A further dream list include: Rick Geary, Joao Lemos, Katie Cook, Mike Mignola, Karl Kershel, Nate Pride, Alex Sheikman….basically artists who have a very unique style that is defining and focuses the point of good storytelling . I’m sure again I’m forgetting some.

Kat & Twice Born commented on my thoughts about
magic in Mouse Guard...

Seeing your comments made me want to add that, while I’m against
using the type of magic that the mice would have control of, I’m not against magic in the sense of the supernatural: ghosts, prophecies, various animal’s abilities to seem like they have esp, or things that would seem magical/supernatural to mice in 1152. I have not really employed this yet, but I’m not against using it if I feel it can be fit in to serve the story without seeming like a loophole or a shoe-horned trick.
I’d say a mouse’s views on death in their 12th c. will be the first place I get the chance to explore these ideas.

Harold Kohl said...
Can you describe what led to the changes in their
look since then, and maybe even the look of Mouseguard
itself?

Sure. Here are a few images showing the transition. The two problems with the original designs were 1)I was referencing someone else’s work to achieve the look (Tom Phort) so I couldn’t keep it up indefinitely and 2) they looked more rat-ish than mouse-ish. This was important because the reader had to sympathize with the mice and consider them defenseless (not feelings associated with rats). Further changes occurred because I didn’t know what medium I would do Mouse guard in, pencil? ink? watercolor? I didn’t know. It had to be something I felt comfortable with and could repeat page after page.

After doing some OZ illustrations and redrawing the mice about that same time, I realized that I was very comfortable with the inking style I was using and could ‘keep it up forever’ (ß the thought that ran through my mind at the time.) Of course, further changes have happened since Issue 1 of Fall. That has more to do with getting comfortable with the characters and seeing what worked and what didn’t. Eyes got smaller, so did hands and feet, body stature became something I needed to keep more consistent as well as more characteristics to differentiate the mice.

Brandon said…
Is there a future possibility of a nice, large
hardcover Art of Mouse Guard book collecting your earlier work,
development sketches and other
Mouse Guard artwork and materials?

I would love an Art of Mouse Guard book…someday. I think we are way too early into me doing this to really be thinking about an artbook yet. I mean of the five story plots I had when I started Fall #1, we are only almost done with the 2nd. And I have written more since then! If something like that comes along, be sure that I want it to focus on unpublished art, things you haven’t bought already. (though I do like the idea of having covers reprinted sans-text.) Until then, consider much of this blog as an online art-of book.

dark turtle said...
With so many movies based on comic books these days, do
you foresee a Mouseguard movie sometime in the future? I think the CGI format would be the perfect way to showcase the world you've created.

A movie is something that we have been working toward for a while now. Mouse Guard is VERY special to me though, so I’m trying to take it slow and make good decisions instead of quick or simply lucrative decisions. As to the format, I agree, CG. A lot of fans would argue that 2d in a way that "matches" my style would be better. I have a few reasons for wanting to go the CG route (though our plan so-far is to have live action backgrounds and exterior models so as to not re-create all of nature). 1) I want the viewer to be afraid for the mice. If they look like cartoons that can squash and stretch, that fear is gone. 2) I do like the idea of the movie version being something slightly disconnected from the comics. If it tries to look like the comics, but doesn’t (as it never would seeing as how one is a 2d image that doesn’t move and the other would need to move and rotate etc.) it might seem like it ‘fell short’ (thanks to 'sally2315' for the cute photo manipulation')

Twice Born and Brandon both commented on the idea of annual
type releases of smaller stories…

I agree and the comments have already gotten me excited and inspired by the idea. I was even looking over logistics of page counts etc. I have a story about Saxon & Kenzie’s first days as Guard Mice (a story that came out of developing background info for the RPG) A few stories about the June Alley Inn and it’s keeper, and some thoughts about how fun it would be to show all the tricks of a ‘weather watcher’.


Thanks for all your Q’s. I’m going to try for 1 more ‘regular’ post before NYCC, but if you want to continue to ask more questions in the comments of this entry, I’ll get to them for a future Q&A post.

Jan '09 Q & A Part I

Last Blog Post I asked for feedback on what to post about while we wait for some of the stuff I can't show yet. So here is part 1 of the requests post:

Bo Harris said...I was curious how you come up with characters
(specifically guardsmice). Is it an illustration that guides the character, or
do you have an idea of a personality that you would like to get down on
paper?

Many of the main characters in the Guard started from the personalities or attributes of my friends. It was easier to think of the characters interacting with each other if I could reference our friendships or our experiences roleplaying together. That is not to say that Emerson is the mirror image of Lieam (I have never seen him jump into the mouth of a snake) Lieam started with Emerson, and has since become his own character. None of us are completely like our mice, but the ideas that started those personalities had seeds in our real life interactions.

That is also not to say that the visual or the niche-to-be filled doesn't form the character. The first three mice I drew were Saxon, Kenzie, and Rand. The idea was that the trio would act together perfectly as one. Saxon means sword and with his fiery red cloak, he was the combat/offensive one. Rand means shield, his yellow cloak like a caution sign, he was the defensive one. Kenzie (taken from MacKenzie) means wise and with his blue cloak (which registers as 'calm' & regal for me) was the brains that tied them together.

Rob said...I was wondering what was a deciding factor for you not
having any type of magic in your world?

Rob, when I started Mouse Guard, I really felt that in most stories and comics or even in role playing games I had played, magic was both an easy way out and a knot for continuity. As a writer you have to establish rules for magic. If it can be used at any time, how it's performed, what it's weaknesses are, etc. And all of that has to jive with any story you have already written or ever will. If it turns out that the first conflict of your book can be wished away by a character revealed as a magic user later on, it weakens the stories altogether. Someone who has done a BRILLIANT job of writing magic as an interesting part of life into their stories without ever tying themselves up in the loophole nature of magic is J. K. Rowling, and I'm no where near as clever or smart as she is. I also felt that if there was no magic, it would lend a larger sense of how helpless and downtrodden the mice would be.

Rob continued...will there be of the apiary keeper or spidersilk hunters in future
works?

I'll say 'yes' to both. However I have no idea when. The Apiary keeper was just too cool not to ever draw and explore again, but I don't have a function for him (or the bees) to play in the upcoming stories. Spider silk is something that came up in the talks about the Role Playing Game and it spawned an idea for a story that doesn't tie in to any of the larger story arcs right now (but I have thought about doing it as a deluxe or annual issue). Who knows though...stories change from outline to illustrated page. The Apiary Keeper and the bees weren't ever in issue 6 of Fall..they spawned out of a lunch with Jeremy Bastian.

Luis asksI was wondering if your special edition slip case Mouse Guard
book will only be available at the New York ComicCon or will others get a chance
to purchase it?

The Black and White edition was solicited ages ago and is now set for a Feb. release (we don't know if they will be printed in time for NYCC) So if your store ordered them in the past or not, they will be a Diamond item or available at the conventions either I or ASP do this year (until they sell out)

Me in full plate and unshaven... asksCan you do a series of how to draw
Mouse Guard characters?

Here is a quick video of me drawing Lieam.

rob lombraña mentioned
i hope that make toys with this.

In addition to the printable Mouse Guard finger puppets designed and created by Katie Cook linked here, a set of PVC figures and a plushie version of Lieam have been released by Diamond Select Toys. Poseable figures were not something we pursued because of balance (tiny feet mean they need to be pegged to a base anyhow...so what is the point, movable arms?) Also for future Mouse Guard items through DST, I don't know. I'd love to see more from them, but with the comic series hitting such a pothole last year with the delays and ASP restructuring, I understand why they have not. Once we get the ball rolling again, I will look into extending the line.

So that's it for this round. Feel free to comment more Q's to this post and I'll use them for next time!