A short post today on the coming Olympics before we get back to art next week.

Expatriate takes place in the run up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, hosted primarily in Rio de Janeiro (and the surrounding areas). While most talk of security and the favelas has dropped out of the news - for now - construction and corruption have become the two key areas of concern.

Rio is attempting to accomplish 30-40 years of investment in 7 years (now 2) with only 73% of the projects underway. You can check out recent reporting on the progress HERE and HERE.

These real events intersect Expatriate through Frank and his former employer, Victor Rego, who becomes a target when Frank is kidnapped by police (as mentioned last week.) Victor is one of the richest men in Rio - to the point where too much money has become a liability. That's where Frank comes in - or rather came in - until some extra attention caused him to run for it.

Stay tuned for more Frank, Victor (and most importantly, more of Ricardo's fantastic art!) in the coming weeks.

Earlier this month police reportedly broke up Rio de Janeiro's largest paramilitary militia, arresting over 20 suspected members. It's said the militia worked the Campo Grande favela, charging people fees for protection against drug gangs and for illegal cable television - taking in more than $450,000 USD a month.

The make up of the militia? Active and former police officers, fire fighters, prison guards and private security. Local law enforcement.

As Frank attempts escape from the initial conflict in Issue #1 (some of which we've teased so far) he runs into a local cop, Erica, and her crew - what's left of it anyway, after higher-ups abandoned their posts due to the coming UPP takeover. Police at Erica's level are losing their authority, transforming into groups like the aforementioned real-life militia - adopting violent reputations associated with drug traffickers.

Here's page 6 of Expatriate with process GIF included. :)

Expat invades Boston Comic Con this weekend!

Ricardo will be at D804 alongside Stacey Lee, and Chris will be at D413 with the New England Horror Writers.

Swing by, chat us up, check out an Expatriate zine (and/or prints, postcards, commissions and more) and say hello.

The Brazilians may have crashed out of the World Cup but we've still got your weekly Expat fix covered! This week we take a peek at a few panels from pages 4 and 5. While a tough crew has taken seats around a table, Frank sits at the bar nursing a beer. Tired of Brazilian soccer/football (how's that for timing?), he changes the channel to find himself featured on the news. The FBI is closing in - and a member of the gang seated behind Frank picks up on the development.