Rodney Caston

Infobox Writer
name = Rodney Caston


imagesize = 155px
caption = Caston at the Libertarian Party of Texas (2004)
pseudonym =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1977|5|13
birthplace = Baton Rouge, LA
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Writer, Author, Engineer
nationality = United States
period =
genre = Comics
subject =
movement =
influences = William Gibson, H. P. Lovecraft
influenced =


website = http://www.rcaston.com

Rodney Caston (born 13 May 1977) is an American systems engineer, freelance writer and author currently living in Dallas, Texas. He is the co-creator and original writer of the popular comic book series "Megatokyo" and an active member of the Libertarian Party (United States). He is presently employed by Linden Lab [ [http://www.rcaston.com/?q=node/648 Employment with Linden Lab, makers of Second Life] ] , makers of Second Life.

Background

Rodney was born and spent most of his early life in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He attended Louisiana State University and majored in Computer Science. After finishing school he moved to Dallas, Texas. While in Dallas he began work on what would become "MegaTokyo."

Fandom

Rodney is known for being the co-creator and writer of the comic "MegaTokyo". He has since parted ways with his partner, Fred Gallagher and relinquished control of "Megatokyo". He is credited for the first two published volumes of "Megatokyo".

His alter ego, Largo, was the insane gaming fanatic while Fred Gallagher's alter ego, Piro, played the straight man. Caston quietly parted with Fred Gallagher from "Megatokyo" in mid-2002 and began to work on his own online comic, Überclocked. The legal details of the breakup are private and not much was said about it at the time.

Rodney's connections to software designers and writers at Bioware landed his alter ego cameos in two of their games. In there is a NPC tavern keeper named Largo; and in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic there is an NPC named Largo that you can either help, not help, or kill for fun on the first planet. [ [http://www.rcaston.com/?q=node/515 About - RCaston.com | RCaston.com ] ]

In early 2005, a controversy erupted after Scott Kurtz of "PvP" wrote a forum post that congratulated Caston on his impending fatherhood as well as accusing Fred Gallagher of stealing "Megatokyo" away from Caston. Due to the fan speculation that ensued, Gallagher was forced to explain the reason for the breakup, citing creative differences [ [http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=660 MegaTokyo - [660 pretty girl discount ] ] and insisting that the breakup was amicable. Caston then gave his version of the events. [ [http://www.rcaston.com/?q=node/71 The truth about Megatokyo? | RCaston.com ] ]

While speaking at a panel at A-Kon 15, Rodney responded directly to the reason for the breakup saying, "We had creative differences, I was creative, he was different." However he maintains the two are still friends. [ [http://www.rcaston.com/?q=node/515 About - RCaston.com | RCaston.com ] ]

Rodney has been a guest speaker at various conventions such as Otakon, A-Kon, Animefest, Ohayocon and others.

Family

He famously used the main page of his company's website to propose to his then-girlfriend, Ruby. They subsequently married in 2002 and had a son, Ethan Case Caston, in 2005.

His son's middle name was said to have been chosen because of Rodney's appreciation of the novelist William Gibson. In Gibson's cyberpunk book Neuromancer, the main character was named Henry Dorsett Case, but often just referred to by his last name, Case.

Books

Megatokyo comics are currently published by D.C. Comics, and have been published by Dark Horse Comics, and Studio Ironcat. As of June 21 2006, four volumes are available for purchase.
* "Megatokyo Volume 1: Chapter Zero" ("Megatokyo" vol.1 1st ed.) ISBN 1-929090-30-7
* "Megatokyo Volume 1", 2nd ed. ISBN 1-59307-163-9 (published March 21 2004)cite web | title= Darkhorse's product details on Volume One | url=http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-072 | accessmonthday=1 September | accessyear= 2005 ]
* "Megatokyo Volume 2" ISBN 1-59307-118-3 (published January 22 2004)cite web | title= Darkhorse's product details on Volume Two | url=http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-071 | accessmonthday=1 September | accessyear= 2005 ]
* "Megatokyo Volume 3" ISBN 1-59307-305-4 (published February 2 2005)cite web | title= Darkhorse's product details on Volume Three | url=http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-541 | accessmonthday=1 September | accessyear= 2005 ]
* "Megatokyo Volume 4" ISBN 1-4012-1126-7 (published June 21 2006)cite web | title= CMX Manga's product details on Volume 4 | url=http://www.dccomics.com/cmx/?action=on_sale&i=5407 | accessmonthday=9 April | accessyear= 2006 ]

In July 2004, "Megatokyo" was the tenth best-selling manga property in the U.S. [http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/5241.html] . Volume3's highest ranking in bookscan is 3 ending February 20,2005. [http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/6520.html] Which broke all previous records for sales of an American manga until that time.

References

External links

* [http://www.rcaston.com/ Rodney Caston's Personal Website]