A very nice thing happened to Leanne and myself last Saturday. We were both honored as Friends of the 501st Legion in a ceremony at the A N S Sci-Fi & Comic Con in La Plata, Maryland. A very special thank you to Eric Grubb from the Old Line Garrison for spearheading our nomination and for presenting us the plaque and honorary badges!

Through our work on the Star Wars fan webcomic Blue Milk Special we have built a small audience of loyal readers and done our best to bring a laugh or a smile with each strip. The 501st Legion is probably the largest fan organization in the world, and so it is a given that many of our readers belong to that community. They put their fandom to good use, helping promote charitable causes and bringing Star Wars to life for children and fans everywhere. So, we were truly honored to be given their hand of friendship and look forward to working with them in whatever way we can.

As I said on the day, the 501st Legion are OUR inspiration. Without their example, who knows if I would have started actively getting involved in supporting and donating to help children like Emily and Morgan. They showed me that, with the readership of BMS behind us, we can make a difference. As corny as that sounds, it’s actually true and it’s a powerful feeling to know you helped someone, especially a child.

Pictured left: Sarah Hoppes; Joe Carabeo & Carolyn Belefski; Leanne & Rod Hannah; Christopher Rizzo; Jimmy & Liz Reed.

The show was a lot of fun and Leanne and I were part of a panel discussing Making Comics from the point of view of creative couples. We met some pretty cool fellow creators in the process and look forward to discovering more of their work. Check out Curls Studio, Cuddles and Rage and Dark Ink Pictures!

The money raised at the show will benefit the Archbishop Neale Catholic School and was organized by the super awesome Tom Boone and his wife.

More pictures can be found at our blog at BlueMilkSpecial.com