October Drabble No. 1: “Tract #17: ETERNAL SECURITY”

Tract #17: ETERNAL SECURITY

The security of Mankind is found in the Blood of ReYuGa*. He died for us, was harvested and preserved by us, so through his sacrifice are we preserved. The faithful trust an enzyme made from ReYuGa’s godly essence – sprinkled across windows and doorways – to repel Night Creatures until dawn. This Salvation is for all Humanity! Even those Taken early are promised a future home in Heaven, forever encircled by the glory of ReYuGa’s many arms, if they have invested in Him.

* Available from your local Church or to those praying with a credit card Online.


I challenged myself to write a bunch of drabbles – tiny fiction that clocks in at exactly 100 words each – throughout the month of October. Since this month is basically candy corn and spooky vibes as far as I’m concerned, I plan to make all of these little stories a bit spooky too. Weird. Creepy? Maybe even a few downright scary ones…

This story was inspired by the wacky Chick Tracts I grew up with, and the generic gospel tracts I keep finding in my laundry room now. (Hopefully it’s clear that my fictional tracts aren’t based on any real religion, but a mix of cosmic horror and a fictionalized version of the worst parts of proselytizing from any religion.) Let me know what you think! Though I’ve got other drabbles ready to post that aren’t these tracts, there will definitely be more from the Cult of ReYuGa as the month goes on…

Re-Reading Comics: Atomic Robo collected volumes 1-3

I’m continuing my big pandemic reread – using graphic novels, collections, and single issues I’ve got in my apartment right now – with another hardback. Last week I talked about the second collected book of MIND MGMT issues, subtitled “The Futurist”. This week I needed something light and fun, so I grabbed a handful of Atomic Robo off the shelf.

If you’re feeling a bit cooped up and restless, call up your local shop to order yourself Atomic Robo V1, “Atomic Robo and the Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne”. Written by Brian Clevinger, art by Scott Wegener (with color by Ronda Pattison and letters by Jeff Powel) the series jumps back and forth through time, telling different pieces of Atomic Robo’s first 83 years of existence. It has everything you’d want from a retro-style modernist comic: video game jokes (Megaman, Jenkins, etc.), Nazis, mummies, steampunk, Carl Sagan being awesome, Stephen Hawking being a bastard, and a wise-cracking intelligent robot swinging his way through it all. It’s sarcastically funny, it’s got a hipster sensibility that perfectly meshes with the crisp, clean art – exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to translate well to t-shirts and messenger bags. It made me happy, and genuinely happy is a little harder to come by these days.

But these are slim volumes, these Robo books, and if I’m going to get through every comic I own in the next few years I have to group smaller issues in these reviews. Which means I also get to talk about the second and third collections!

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