Happy 20th, Forte

Twenty years ago today, four guys sat down at a dining room table in Roseville, California, to start a Champions game together. Three weeks later, a gal joined up with them, and all the pieces of the legend that would come to be known as "Forte" fell into place. And two decades later, it's still going on. In new forms, but with the same creative spirit, the same long-lived friendships, and the same old magic.

On this historic date, we have some new additions to the ForteUniverse sites to celebrate the occasion. First, Forte Prime has been updated to now include the first seventy-five Forte "issues", having added twenty-five more to the list. These new ones are where things really started getting good, issues that ushered in the second era of Forte, with new heroes, new villains, new tales and new surprises. I'd advise checking them out for yourself.

Also, to help us all look back on the past two decades of friendship amongst the Forte creators, we've added a special "Twenty Years of Forte" photo gallery. Prepare for good times, bad haircuts, questionable fashion choices and a fifth of a century of the lives of one group of grateful friends.

And the characters, like their creators, get a chance to look back at the road behind them in a story simply titled "20", one that takes place on the eve of the anniversary in the Forte world, and stars every living Forte hero. Find out how it's being celebrated, experience the memories and emotions of a band of selfless defenders who have saved the world, and the universe, together for so long, and be there with them to commemorate the milestone.

I had started a very large retrospective on the last twenty years of the Forte experience, which I'd planned to post up here, but it got TOO big and I wasn't able to finish it in time for the anniversary. Soon, once I finish it all, I'll be posting it here in several parts for your reading pleasure. The tale of Forte is the tale of all of us who've been a part of it, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it.

I've said what I needed to say to my Forte friends via email already, but once more here I'll simply say thank you to them all. We did good, guys. Like (most) of our characters, we all managed to make it this far. And along the way, we've created something we couldn't have imagined, together, and have had laughter and tears, good times and trying ones, and can look back it all with pride, a bit of awe, a few appropriate head-shakes, and a smile. Thanks to K.C., to Jeff, to Tim, to Kaye, to Kevin, to Randy, to Jim K., to Jim M., to Andrea, to Logan, to Ben, to Adam, to Aaron. All heroes of Forte. All friends for a lifetime.

Happy anniversary, Forte.

Mike