I haven't spoken with him in years.
For those who don't know the *ahem* joke:
Tom Frank drew a number of illustrations with a Commando sergeant named Patterson. Theme of many pictures - not just Tom's - was to show a commando with a Mark I in the shadows sneaking in for the kill. The thing is, Patterson kept appearing in more illustrations leading one to wonder, how did he survive the encounter? My answer was that he is awesome! Sergeant Steve Patterson specifically appears in the scenario Uncommon Valour where he and Heavy Weapon Trooper "Flamer" Flanagan have to rescue his corporal and some troopers who are wounded and pinned down by Nightmares. Patterson, unlike typical sergeants, has 4 leadership. It is lampshaded in the scenario introduction as the Overlord computer has to keep recalibrating its odds of success because it sends more and more Nightmares to kill Patterson in the engagements leading up to the scenario, but they fail repeatedly.
Then it turns out that Tom had been using the names of his gaming buddies and slapping then on the name tags of the commandos in his drawings. I t was only later that I met "The Real" Steve Patterson, who is a great guy but not someone who would strike you as elite military material.
It was too late at that point as I had already created a backstory for Sgt. Patterson. He is mentioned in Planetstorm as the most decorated soldier in the UNE and possessing supernatural luck.
After that we started encouraging Tom to put friends and fans into the pictures.
