First, I want to let everyone know ItsAllTrue.Net & TheDailyThor.Com will both officially resume operations tomorrow, but I do want to use this space to dole out and a few thank yous and also to give out a couple of links about what’s going on here in Joplin before we get back to our regular schedule.

First, I want to thank all of our readers for being patient with us through the last few days. Your support in the comments, on the forum, on other sites noting our absence, and on Twitter has been nothing short of amazing and we really do appreciate you guys. You’re what makes IAT worthwhile and even now as we struggle a bit pulling away from recovery efforts to return to our normal workload, you’re what keeps us going.

I also want to publicly thank each and every one of the first responders, visiting Police, Fire, & Rescue personnel, National Guard, and volunteers that have not only been helping to pick Joplin up after this stumble, but to help us move forward. I have seen so much goodwill and brotherhood the last few days that it’s making me well up just thinking about it. From seeing volunteers in shirts describing faroff churches & organizations or ambulances of cities hundreds of miles away to the people who simply went next door and made sure their neighbors were okay, Joplin pulled itself together in the days after the tornado. I’ve never been more proud to be from Joplin than I am now. I love it here and while the damage on Monday broke my heart, seeing what we accomplished in just a week has filled me with hope. It’s going to be a long road to return to even a semblance of Saturday before last, but what I’ve seen in the last nine days lets me know that we can, that we will.

And finally I want to publicly thank the people in town who went to work on the 23rd and have been at work in the days since. I was fortunate enough to be able to unhook from my regular responsibilities and directly help in the damaged area. And, nearly every day, I had a conversation with someone that was dissatisfied that they had to work “as if nothing happened”. I’ve said it each time and I’ll say it here – they have been just as crucial to recovery as anyone else. Whether it’s been teaching the area students that were affected indirectly or just opening and running a restaurant or store to give people a bit of calm, that’s where we needed you and we, as a whole, do appreciate your contribution.

Even though we at IAT are also returning ‘to work’, there’s still plenty to do. While I’m grateful for all that went right after the tornado, we still have people that are unaccounted for, we still mourn those we lost, we still have a lot to rebuild. We’re still going to help everywhere that we can. Two things I wanted to point out are RebuildJoplin.Org. Setup by Joplin’s Bright Futures program to help organize volunteers and aid in the rebuilding process. And, IAT’s favorite comic shop, Hurley’s Heroes is asking folks to donate some all-ages comics for the children displaced by the tornado. They’ve been receiving and distributing the comics to area shelters:

This is a call to publishers, distributors, stores, anyone who has all ages books they would like to donate.

My name is Jason A. Hurley, my brother and I own a comic shop called Hurley’s Heroes in Joplin, Missouri. This last weekend, Joplin was hit by a deadly tornado that wiped out a huge chunk of town. Several hundred, perhaps even thousands, of families were put out of their homes. Now, hundreds of children are stuck inside huge shelters, and no doubt bored out of their minds. We’ve taken a few books from the store to a shelter nearby, and they were greatly appreciated. I’ve been inspired, and I want to make this effort bigger.

I have plenty of people, mostly my loyal customers, willing to distribute these books far and wide to the various shelters around town. Now, I need books to distribute. If anyone out there has all ages comics that they would be willing to donate to this cause, you can just send them to me, and I’ll get them out to the shelters.

Hurley’s Heroes
1515 W. 10th
Ste. C
Joplin, MO 64801

I’ll wrap this up, it’s already longer than I meant for it to be. Updates will start tomorrow. We’re shooting to get back on our daily schedule, but we may miss a day here or there as we arrange our schedules with rebuilding efforts. For the rest of this week, we’ve got reviews of Spymonkey’s Chalybeous – The Hammer of War and MOTU Classics Catra. Also, I know that after months of not getting new info on some of the lines we provide checklists for, we missed quite a bit this last week. I’ll be getting those up to speed over the next few days too.

Thanks again, everyone. We’re glad to be back.