So, I've had this comic book in my head for a loooong time. Actually, the genesis was when I was only 12 years old. At the time, it was pretty much an X-Men rip-off, but I think there were some good ideas in there. Over the years I kept trying to tweak the story as I got older and realized it wasn't very good. Eventually (when I was in college), I finally realized it was fundamentally flawed and I needed to completely rewrite it instead of trying to fix it. A friend (my old roommate Kevin Savage) gave me the idea of focusing on this one character, who was actually kind of minor in what I had before. That character, named Vince because he is inVINCible (come on, I was 12) has been alive since the dawn of civilization and can't die. So, the book follows him, jumping around in time and showing how he affected history and how history affected him at different times.

Well, that's what been in my head forever and ever but I never found anyone to draw it. Until I met Liesje here in Japan. She was actually excited about it and pushed me to write a couple of pages so we could do them for the Art show they hold here in Miyagi every year. The amazing thing is that I did write them and she drew them and now they exist. These are intended to be two "prequel" pages that take place right before the beginning of issue one.

We've had to put it on the back burner for now because of other things like the MAJET play, the short film we just made, and The Drum (the Miyagi magazine we work on). But it will happen. Oh yes, it will.

Anyhow, figured I'd post the two pages here. Today you get page 1. And at some point in the future I will put #2 up.

o Well, for some of you it may seem like it's been a while (because it has) and for some of you this may feel like your very first issue of The Drum ever (because it is)! A lot of people are coming back to The Drum after a nice summer vacation. Perhaps you even traveled out of the country, so you also had to come back to Japan. Maybe just out of the area, so you had to come back to Miyagi. Either way, you second and third years have all had to go back to work, just as all of your students have had to go back to school. And hey, did you notice we accidentally put the whole issue together backwards? The pages still read like they normally would (that's left to right for those of you not paying attention), they're just in reverse order. Going from... wait for it... back to front.
And it's because of all of these myriad and, let's be honest here, trite ways that I can shoehorn the word "back" into this editorial that you now hold in your hands The Drum's All New Back Issue! "How can a back issue be all new?" you may ask. "Isn't the very definition of 'back issue' an issue that is not current, and therefore not new?" you may also ask. "Isn't this just another of your horribly weak attempts at comedy?" you may then inquire. And I will say, "No! This is absolutely not another of my weak attempts at comedy!"

It's Kennard's. Blame him.

My weak attempt at comedy is on page 16. Blame me for that one.

Anyhow, our regular features are ba-... I mean, returning. Heather's From the Land of Near Noon is here with another couple of great entries. And Geekin' Out is also here with a decidedly non-technical article. We've also got a very special version of He Said, She Said, our regular movie reviews, and something to do with Babyback Ribs. (Come on, you didn't see that one coming?) On the completely useless side is the Back to the Future article featuring interviews from tomorrow! And on the much more useful end of the spectrum we have advice for your next Disney vacation and a tutorial on how to use Bit Torrent. Once you're hooked up to Bit Torrent, check out the new season of TV Shows by using our handy guide.

And last, but certainly not least, be sure to read all about this year's MAJET Panto on page 5. This is an amazing event that MAJET sponsors every year, but we they need your help to do it! So, go check it out and get involved. Trust me, this is one of the things that people talk about for the rest of the year.

So, it's great to be back, even if it did take us longer than expected. Keep those submissions coming and let's make this the best year of The Drum ever!

Kevin Davies
Editor In Chief