The “Knife Hand” is a stereotypical staple of every good Non-Commissioned Officer. Like a karate chop in it’s boldness and aggressiveness, a “knife hand” can single out one person in a crowd in a manner that merely pointing cannot. I figured that there has to be some sort of special class on delivering the proper “knife hand”, so that any Sergeant, no matter who, when, or where, can deliver it perfectly.

Alas, there is not.

The truth is that the ol’ knife-hand maneuver seems to come naturally at some point in someone’s career; perhaps there is a chemical embedded in the rank that seeps into your skin and then, one day, bam– you shock peers and subordinates alike with a decisive axe-chop and a guttural, barked-out “You there, private Hold it right there!” And congratulations– you’ve taken your first step into a larger world.

On a happy note, I am going to be included in part of a local area comic book being published. I’ve been teamed up with a writer and I will be providing the artwork for a sort of mini-anthology comic that is published once a year by a local producer. And, at the same time, a local independent brewery has asked me to help them design some promotional images for a new product they will be releasing soon. Obviously I can’t spill too many beans but I hope that eventually I might be able to post some tantalizing teaser images on the Facebook page at some point. If that happens I will let people know here so they can check it out.