Just a few comics for you this morning:

• Bloogyo let us know about Rat’s Nest 17 5 (and reminded people to hit the ‘previous’ button a few times for missed eps).
• N. Rackley sent word that his webcomic, Lakewood, is Halo-related today in honor of the episode number (117). Heh.
• TTL Demag0gue stopped in with word of Reclaimer 193 (Recollection) – Ferial’s virus is not a pretty thing.

Coffee and comics… mmmm…(Louis Wu 14:21:18 UTC)

Awesome – Split-Screen noticed that a new trademark application has been filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office by Bungie, LLC – “We make games that we want to play“. Sounds about right! (Bungie has been saying that this is what they do for a dozen years – but this application was filed just 3 days ago. Guess they finally decided to make a decent woman out of the phrase!) (Louis Wu 20:56:54 UTC)

You might remember Marissa’s Bunny – Fairfax has been traveling around the US, raising awareness about Marissa’s illness, infantile spasms. We recently got word from Marissa’s dad that Marissa is back in the hospital – her spasms are out of control. He’s hoping that anyone who can send along kind wishes will do so – in his words, “Perhaps the combined goodwill of the internet at large can help, because nothing else seems to be.” Mike – we’re with ya! There are lots of ways to help – from donating money or buying a bunny to simply emailing Marissa with your happy thoughts. Swing by the Marissa’s Bunny website for lots of links.(Louis Wu 20:55:50 UTC)

Zeouterlimits pointed out that Jason Sussman (Bungie Finishing Artist) mentioned in his twitter feed that he’d recorded the Bungie public^* demo of ODST – it’s 20 minutes long, and is presented by Brian Jarrard and Curtis Creamer. If you’ve been watching every movie that comes out, you’ve seen most of this before – but it’s nice to see the entire demo, start to finish!
^* ‘public’ means ‘public to E3-goers’, as opposed to ‘behind closed doors’(Louis Wu 20:54:41 UTC)

A blog called ‘White Rabbit Trails’ has been creating Halo 3 wallpapers based on vectorized versions of the medals you can earn during multiplayer games. The backgrounds are nicely distressed – if you’re looking for simple but attractive Halo 3 images for your wallpaper, check these out. There are three wallpapers per set:
Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Set 6 | Set 7 | Set 8(Louis Wu 20:53:35 UTC)

Firestorm12 sent word that Halopen has released the Halopen Pencast 10, ostensibly recorded at E3, with lots of discussion of Bungie’s upcoming projects.(Louis Wu 20:52:56 UTC)

Pete Cooper found out that his Operation: Chastity project was included in an OXM UK article about ‘Gaming’s Most Extreme Fanclubs’ – nice going, Pete!(Louis Wu 15:02:33 UTC)

Over at the Hushed Casket, rapture takes a close look at the Halo 3: ODST pistol – and compares it to its predecessors. Go rap!(Louis Wu 14:58:31 UTC)

mrsmiley let us know that Pyrosmile’s Master Chief Theater 3000 Episode 305 (covering 343 Guilty Spark) is now live. That poor Jenkins…(Louis Wu 14:57:49 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy runs down the Series 6 action figures from McFarlane; go see what’s coming in October!(Louis Wu 14:57:13 UTC)

Joystiq wrote up a sighting of a Master-Chief-helmeted dude playing Rock Band – we saw him at several booths throughout the day on Wednesday. Thanks to Adam Kovic for the heads-up.(Louis Wu 14:55:32 UTC)

Some additional reviews of ODST have popped up (I pass over the two-paragraph, you-could-write-this-by-reading-the-web reviews):

• Kombo.com has a Firefight Hands-on
• Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry breaks down the additions to the engine, based on what’s visible in the trailer
• Destructoid thinks the $60 pricepoint is justified
• BigPond’s GameArena looked at ODST
• GeekTyrant posted some First Impressions
• GameInsano.com did a Deeper Detail Preview

Grab a cup of coffee and get reading!(Louis Wu 14:52:00 UTC)

QuietHALO3MSTR sent us word about his buddy, ReconRevolution, who put together some really nice lawn decorations during the holidays last winter – you can see them in this video (along with a bunch of Halo 3 screenshots). Apparently, he also let Hawty McBloggy know about this – her writeup made me smile. (Louis Wu 23:13:34 UTC)

The Bungie Weekly Update was posted, as usual, last night – and it’s FULL of goodness. A recap of ODST info released over the week, plus some new graphic goodies… some info about Reach (but not much)… a bunch of rumor-busting answers for questions that have popped up this week… a way to win cool exclusive schwag… and info about the recent Recon screenshot contest. (We should have more info about the Haloscreenshots.com service in the near future.) Go by and indulge! (Don’t forget our Weekly Update Archive, if you have any troubles with Bungie.net, or if you’d just rather read the content on a light background.)(Louis Wu 13:54:18 UTC)

jake108 let us know that the latest Teabag Prevention article went live recently – they can teach you how to suck less with the Prowler. When to use it, how to use it, and how to fight against one. As always, good stuff!(Louis Wu 13:45:47 UTC)

Yes, I know, I said there’d be news catchup this weekend. No, it won’t happen this morning. (I’ve got real-life catchup that takes precedence, apparently. Hi, honey!) A few tidbits to tide you over, though… let’s start with MLG Columbus, which has been running since last night. Swing by the MLGPro.com website for full coverage, including live streams, brackets, writeups, summaries, and other sundry goodies.(Louis Wu 13:42:43 UTC)