Reality Amuck

What?

It has been said one should never talk about politics, religion or sex in polite society, but no one has ever called the internet polite. Reality Amuck talks about these things and more; pop Culture, movies, being a grown up geek and more are discussed from the points of view of a group of friends from different ends of a generation.

Where?

Some of the places frequented by our gang:

Random Acts of ADP (RAoA) - a smallish local I.T. support company where several of the cast members ‘work’. Started by a group of friends the company soon grew after picking up a few big support contracts to the point it now has a pretty sizable staff.

Scott’s Sushi Bar and Comics – Originally called “RA Comics”, Scott changed the name after accidentally hiring a Master Sushi Chef to sort his stock room. Several of his employees have more than a passing resemblance to failed Democratic Presidential hopefuls.

1704 Yorktown Drive – Home to Ben and his family, it serves as a central meeting place for the cast. Specifically the converted garage/man-cave.

Who?

Meet the regulars of Reality Amuck.

Name: Ben
Age: Mid-30s
Occupation: Cartoonist / part-time IT Consultant
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Monica (wife), Jack (son), Dan (son), unnamed daughter, unnamed older son
Group Affiliation: Member of several Trek fan clubs and MMORPG guilds
Base of Operations: Converted garage at 1704 Yorktown Drive
First Appearance: 20 August 2003
In Brief: The quasi-protagonist of Reality Amuck, Ben used to work with most of the guys at RAoA until he left to become a cartoonist. The realization that money for food and rent was still required aided him in his decision to return as a consultant. A geek-dad trying to figure out how to be a grown-up. Doesn’t seem to get things right too often.

Name: Grant
Age: Mid-20s
Occupation: I.T. Support
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: N/A
Group Affiliation: Several Online Gamer groups
Base of Operations: Random Acts of ADP
First Appearance:
In Brief: Youngish engineer brought on to replace Ben after he left RAoA. Sometimes takes his online gaming to extremes.

Name: Ira
Age: Early 30s
Occupation: I.T Support
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: N/A
Group Affiliation: MMORPG Guild- “Brandox’ Battlers”
Base of Operations: RAoA or Online world of current MMORPG obsession
First Appearance: 9 August 2003
In Brief: Ira is a competent technician but spends most of his time in whatever MMORPG currently has his attention other than ‘in the real world’.

Name: Jim
Age: Late 30s
Occupation: Manager of ‘Random Acts of ADP’
Marital Status: unknown
Known Relatives: N/A
Group Affiliation: none, that’s how ‘they’ get your information
Base of Operations: RAoA
First Appearance: 3 August 2003
In Brief: Jim enjoyed the 80s, perhaps a bit too much. This doesn’t seem to interfere with his inventive nature and creativity. He’s a very knowledgeable engineer and has been known to tinker.

Name: Uncle Joe
Age: “Nunna-ya business, ya little bastich”
Occupation: Retired
Marital Status: Divorced, current status unknown
Known Relatives: unnamed ex-wife
Group Affiliation: CRANK – Committe for Removal of All Noisy Kids
Base of Operations: Upstairs bedroom at 1704 Yorktown Drive
First Appearance:
In Brief: Uncle Joe has had a long life and welcomed retirement. Now he can spend his days listening to Talk Radio in the park while yelling at “…damn hippie kids that need to get jobs..”

Name: Monica
Age: Mid-30s
Occupation: unknown
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Ben (husband), Jack (son), Dan (son), unnamed daughter, unnamed son
Group Affiliation: N/A
Base of Operations: 1704 Yorktown Drive
First Appearance:
In Brief: Monica is a confident individual and knows her way around. May get a little too focused on a subject and lose sight of the big picture at times.

About the Cartoonist

Tovias has wanted to be a cartoonist since forever. No seriously, since forever. There’s these stone tablets in a cave that have some kind of cuneiform writing on them that mention his wanting to be a cartoonist (they also mention that an art class wouldn’t hurt). While growing up a poor child in Alabama, he knew he was destined for greatness. Later it was explained to him that there had been a clerical error and it was actually the kid living two farms down who was destined for greatness and Tovias was only promised mid-level mediocrity, but he chose to embrace that mediocrity with a passion.

Inspired by the works of George Herriman and Charles M. Schulz at an early age, he started cartooning in the fourth grade. Decades later, while serving in the United States Navy as a Data Systems Technician, Tovias discovered the world of online comics. In August of 2003 he started posting comics online and made every rookie mistake possible. After six years of attempted starts, he left his job as a Systems Engineer for a defense contractor to work on the comic full-time.

Tovias currently lives in Southeastern Virginia with his wife, five kids, two cats, a studio full of comic books and Green Lantern action figures (“THEY’RE NOT DOLLS!”) where he writes and draws Reality Amuck into the wee hours of the night.