Ramblings of a Narcissist Ramblings of a Narcissist Syndication Thu, 16 May 2013 13:38:27 +0000 forum@bzpower.com (BZPower Forums) IP.Blog 60 THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS I HAVE EVER ASKED  
and can I program it
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

and why the @#$! am i premier]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 04:49:00 +0000 The Subculture of Sprite Comics
So, I've been wanting to write an article like this for a while now, coming from the view of someone actually involved in the forum.

Take note, of course, that not only is this all opinion, it is of the most biased type of opinion you can get. By no means expect this to be the absolute say on this matter. If it does happen to stir up discussion, even up to debate, it will have more than achieved its purpose.

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There's a reason why Artwork III (now "Comics", but old habits are sometimes hard to break) has persisted as one of the most drama filled (and to many others, just plain annoying) forum of BZPower history. Several, to be in fact. I honestly think that AIII has evolved beyond a simple separate section of the forum for people to post their comics.

Artwork III, simply put, is a subculture.


That seems quite a lofty title to attribute to the forum, especially where the masses of other creative forums have, let's be honest here, a much more gratifying reputation. BZPRPG, BBC, Epics, Short Stories, General Art, all of these have history of being reputable parts of the forum to hang around. Inevitably, Comics and Comedies were shafted into being the least attractive parts of the forum as a whole, which, at that point, was honestly justified. Both were the spawning place of newer aspiring comedians/writers who started out with their skill level not anywhere near tolerable and then moved on once they began to master what they had practiced. For the longest time, Comics was home to the "MSPaint generation", who's only drawback was not that they used a certain tool, but that they used it poorly. This was not a welcome site to any newcomer, and those who saw what they had to offer as a whole routinely turned around without a word, save for the required post in the ever recurring "What Forum Do You Visit The Least?" topic.

But Comics had something different about it - several things, in fact - which led to them developing their own history, legends, generations and more,

For one, it was the method of making the sprite comics themselves. Sprite comics in general have had a poor reputation, mostly because they were the results of ripping the actual game sprites from numerous games and placing them in premade backgrounds from the levels included in the ROM. Complete with some unreadable text and horrendously written stories or jokes, they cluttered up the internet chock full with their sub-mediocrity. Generally speaking, the video game forums faced the brunt of this onslaught, with the obvious connotation that, at the time, most sprite comic makers were satisfied with either directly ripping the game sprites or minute edits to the bases. Very rarely was a whole new spriting style made for an existing sprite base or new sprites made for a series that had no basis in sprites whatsoever.

But for Comics, something interesting happened. Not only were 100% hand-pixelled sprites actually created and used, they actually became the norm. Ironically enough, while BIONICLE's early Game Boy Advance exclusive titles did include a variety of Matoran sprites, never were they known to be used in BIONICLE sprite comics. Instead, the standard was (unknowingly) raised for the entire forum by having different artists make it general practice to create their own representation of the characters, pixel by pixel, and put them in different "poses" for others to use. In other words, what is known as the sprite kit. This practice is unheard of in other general fanbases that have sprite comic communities, and while hand-pixelled creations had always existed, never had they been so expansive and diverse. In fact, it was the fact that each artist hand-pixelled his sprite that led to different styles of sprites existing simultaneously and in turn, different styles of comics. In fact, that is the perfect segway to my next point:

Note: The following is a rather large rant on the history of the Comics Forum; feel free to skip past it if you want to get to the point proper instead of getting a more in-depth look.


While there were numerous kits made before the time, arguably the two most popular in the early days of comics were Razor (made by Marty Razor Kirra) and the various Rayg series (made by InnerRayg). The two were as different as day and night: the massive headed, skewed proportions of Razor Matoran, compared to the more set-like and anatomically correct (for toy-based biomechanical beings, at least) Rayg Matoran, Toa and everything else drew a distinct line in the sand between the styles of comics (there were, of course, several other kits that saw frequent use, such as the Chibi and Rahi Zaku Mega Kit (otherwise known as RZMK), but their styles folded mostly into the Razor and Rayg sides, respectively).

The lines they drew were best personified by the most popular comic makers of those styles back in the day: the Editorialist for Rayg users, and Dark709 for the Razor ones. Dark709's early Razor strips followed a classic formula: a slapstick, almost random sort of style of humor reminiscent of the Merry Melodies of Looney Tunes fame or the more recent SpongeBob SquarePants. The Editorialist had started out with Razor, but soon switched to Rayg and took on the embodiment of a more situational comedy, an almost dry humorist look at the world the characters lived in. While this didn't stop each from crossing into the established "territory" of the other, clear lines were certainly drawn between the two. Lavaside Rahi took note of this in his own article, "In the days of Razor and Rayg..." (which, from the point of view of someone who actually lived through this era, has a lot more credence than my own opinons do). Obviously, with such a common denominator separating the forums, there was plenty of controversy to go around. Razor users were "childish, random and nonsensical", while Rayg users were "stuck-up, sarcastic and rowdy".

The differing styles were in turn represented by the kits they used: the more cartoonish Razor was used for the zany humorists, while the more "edgy" comic makers found refuged in the more grounded in reality Rayg. Even after those two kits fell out of use, their successors more or less followed the same formula with the advent of Razor icon Dark709's Chimoru (which notably gained more of a following after the retooling of the kit into the less ugly Chimoru Omega) following Razor and Rahi Zaku Mini Kit (more commonly known as RZMIK, not to be confused with RZMK, the Rahi Zaku Mega Kit noted above*.

Dark709 still stayed as the mainstay Razor/Chimoru representee, but the Editorialist left and was succeeded by not just one comic maker but a whole group of them. Often just called "The Group", they took the essence of Rayg humor to a new level, developing and popularizing the "multi-author series" (or MAS, as they are often referred to as), a cooperative circular format introduced with their Project Klinkerpoop, and moved into a more definite snarky style of comic making. It was also during this age that many users started to switch to different programs for comic making that offered them a wider range of tools. GIMP was the common tool of use due to the obvious benefit of its cost (free!), while Photoshop was used by those who could either afford it or had a copy stashed on their parents' computer for some unknown reason. While before colored text and static pixel lines were used to differenciate between the characters' dialouge, stroked text and word bubbles began to spring up. Graphical effects began to be less pixelated and instead done with brushes, patterns and filters. Backgrounds went from two blocks of color to a gradient and wood pattern, a black line firmly inserted between the two to mark the end of one and the beginning of the other.

Even farther after that, Chimoru Omega began to become larger and larger due to fan additions, with more poses created as time went on. Six Shaded Chimoru Omega (a fan revision by Gerlicky) slowly replaced Chimoru Omega as the de facto version of the kit, and a comic maker named Dokuma made comic history when he actually took
care to make his sprites look like they fit into the photos as a whole and, at the time, made the most photorealistic series to date. Other comic makers like Nuparurocks and RZMIK Revolutionist Emkay took it further with series like The Fourth Wall, Irreversable and Worlds Beyond the Horizon of the Mind, making use of the "Photorealistic Comic Technique" (or PRCT, as Ennar nicknamed it later on). Ironically given its appearance, RZMIK soon became the icon of serious stories within the forum, contrasting the more popular episodic comedic series.

The controversy also continued on, with the same general arguments given before, but with an additional point of argument: graphics vs. humor. Several started to state that one was more important than the other, while another vocal group voiced the latter. This was rooted more in style than actual kit use, but many saw the early veterans as an example of what the comics forum should emulate instead of focusing on "shiny new backgrounds and explosions on unfunny comics were just a shine of gloss over a rusted car". Others found that the older veteran comics were outdated in visuals, and that "No amount of humor in the world could make any unreadable comic enjoyable".

The Group soon faded away and Dark709's visits became less and less frequent. In their place sprung the Continuities, groups of comic makers that banded together to create their own personal cooperative BIONICLE universe and timeline. While the original famous continuity, the North Western Isles Continuity (NWI, of course) had existed during the age of the Group, they never really got anywhere and had faded as well by the time the Group left. BZPower was instead greeted by the International Comic Continuity (the ICC), which gathered many popular comic makers together in order to tie all of their series together in a cohesive timeline. The success of the ICC led to many others making their own spinoff continuities, although none but the Next Generation Continuity (the NCG) managed to stick.

With continuities also came continuity wars, and these spread throughout the forum like wildfire, often escalating into flame wars that had to be broken up by the ever vigilant Pohuaki. Even beyond that were untrue conspiracies of members trying to shut down other series or get people banned, which by themselves gave the forum a more sinister undertone than previously thought possible.

* To make matters worse, most comic makers refer to RZMIK as RZ, and even more confusing is that what most comic makers refer to as RZ/RZMIK is actually RZMIK Revolutions, a fan revision by Emkay and Tahuri, which added colored outlines and 360-degree views to the original kit.


Well, wasn't that an oh-so-informational history lesson, you say, but what does this have to do with your original point: why comics are their own subculture? Well, unlike the other forums, the separation in art styles and humor led to a giant separation within the forum, almost like two opposing political parties. We had controversy and legends and debates and spokesmen, but most of all we had an notable evolving style that enveloped both parties and made several key stops along the way. The kits unified the forum while also separating them, and the evolving status of quality in the forum alongside the many comic makers who came and went gave us something more than just the usual addition and subtraction of artists in the forum. Using sprites gave us a common ground, something that allowed enough diversity for personal style but enough in common to properly track the style of a evolving art style. This was more easier to identify than normal writing, and the common ground made it easier to pick out than general art or MOCs.

The next point was BZPower itself. Unlike the Library, whose forums were given leeway, AIII originally had the strictest revival limit around: 20 days with no posts and the topic was dead. This led to one of the things that have also driven many away from the forum itself: the spirit of competition. Competition, of course, is nothing bad in an of itself, but within Comics it seemed to take on a more sinister tone. The only way to keep your series alive was to become popular, and if your series wasn't popular, it often died with no resulting fanfare.

As a result, popularity became a key player in the forum. The amount of pages and posts in a given topic drew much more attention than it should have, becoming almost like a trophy as to how popular you were among the other members. Competition drove critics to be harsh and for newer comic makers to be constantly put down, but it also gave many members the motivation to improve. Many strove to be "the next Gavla", "the next Dark709" or "the next Nuparurocks", and studied the more popular series intently to see if they could try and do something more.

This unfortunately led to harsher critics, but it also gave the forum a sort of "survival of the fittest" aspect to it. Several members were made to pay attention to what was current or be washed over by the waves of newer or popular comic series' posts coming in. GIMP was pressured onto many users and the result was that the noobish members got weeded out quickly, if not by the death of their series by the critiques that they met. This was not to say that the critics were upright snobs who never really gave any useful advice; there were layers of useful tips and tricks laced into the reviews and there were also countless newer members who were apparently astounded that anyone would find their work anything less than amazing. What it did mean, though, is that the older comic makers were not afraid to be blunt and didn't bother to sugar-coat what they had to say. The newer members either had to get with the program as soon as they could or just leave the forum.

Again, the comic revival limit did contribute heavily to the evolving state of the art style. When comic makers left or when newer comic makers just fizzled out, they died and they stayed dead. This resulted in something resembling the layers of earth in an archeological digsite. The death of a comic series often discouraged newer members, and the rules didn't permit them to restart their series without something new. This led to piles of dead series in "layers" coinciding with the art styles of the age while the new "dirt" or posts of popular and new series covered them and shuffled them lower and lower down the list of topics. MSPaint style comics, while they would endure popularity through the lower levels, were quickly killed during the GIMP layers and remained buried while the current comics continued on. If the comic maker came back, he had to try something different. Very few continued to do the same thing (although there were many notable ones, take my word for it) and when they soon became talented enough, they kept their series going. Basically, the terrible series would, more likely than not, get buried under the new layers of posts very quickly until they finally got something that kept them alive enough to keep up with the top layers.

While it was far from a perfect or even ideal system and by no means meant that every comic series on the top layer was a good one, it kept the system alive and kept the art style evolving.

That's why Artwork III is the subforum it is today. That is why members find it harder to pull away. That is why, even after many have been banned, left the site, or just plain retired, they still check back up from time to time and even return once in a while.

Its not just because of BIONICLE. Its not just because of what they created. Its not even just because of the community of members. No, they all contribute to varying degrees, but that's not it. Some came back after BIONICLE ended. Some came back restarting everything they did before. Some came back even when other people they knew didn't come back with them.

I think its more deep that than. Its because it has unique combination the art style and the rules it was blessed and cursed with that all unwittingly shaped the forum into one of the most interesting subcultures on BZPower. And because of that sense of culture, its a lot harder to pull away.

Spoiler tag removed. The spoiler tag is only to be used for spoilers. - Kohaku]]> Sat, 28 Jul 2012 04:34:00 +0000 <![CDATA[[Review]: Professor Layton And The Last Specter (Nintendo Ds)]]> So, I wanted to try something out here and start reviewing video games. Its something I've thought of doing for a while, and this seemed like a good place to start. There's two parts of this review: one for people who haven't played the game, and the other for people who have or who aren't too concerned about spoilers.

Anyhow, I recently got a copy of Professor Layton and the Last Specter for the Nintendo DS, the most recent release in the best selling puzzle adventure franchise. As with the other games in the franchise, you play as the good professor of archeology, Hershel Layton and his apprentice Luke Triton. There's also a "new" character appearing this round: Emmy Altava, his assistant. I mark her as "new" because whether you find her new or not depends on if you haven't already seen a subbed version of Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, the animated movie that was released some time ago.

This game is supposed to be a new trilogy in the franchise after it finished off in the high note that was Professor Layton and the Unwound Future and is actually a prequel to the franchise as a whole. Professor Layton is called to the town of Misthallery at the request of his friend and current mayor of the town, Clark Triton, who also happens to be the father of Luke. With the unexpected arrival of Emmy as his new assistant, the professor travels to the town to investigate the sudden appearance of the specter, which has been ravaging the town and leaving it in rubble.

The story that ensues is another good Layton mystery, but the reveal is not as good as Unwound Future. There's a key point in the revelation that seems a little out of place, and you can also see that they were trying to emulate for the dramatic, tear-jerking scenes that the last installment had, only to fall short because of lack of sympathy. Its not terrible in the least, but it does seem forced.

I did like the other parts of the game, however, such as the ensuing mystery of the Black Market (yes, there actually is a black market in this game) and the characters within. Emmy seemed to be an interesting character to develop; she's very different from the shy, quiet Flora and specializes in hand to hand combat, so she does add something to the cast. The character designs are also quite well done; their varied appearance and oddly shaped noses guarantee you'll never quite forget which NPC is which.

There are, of course, much more puzzles which are still as challenging as ever. They vary in difficulty, but the harder ones make you earn your picarats. The Memo feature has been expanded into having multiple sizes for the pencil and different colors as well, though admittedly I hardly used the Memo feature as opposed to my previous experiences with the other games. I will admit that I used the Super Hint feature a lot more than usual; some puzzles really got me stumped. However, hint coins were easier to find and I was left with about 87 after my run-through, having gained over 100 during the first half in the game.

Of course, the soundwork is still performing at the high quality bar that was set even by the first game. The tracks are lovely and still have that sort of European feel, and the voice acting is superb. I almost wish they had them record lines all through the game just so I could hear them all. In an age of so many games featuring subpar work, this is certainly a breath of fresh air.

The scope of the game is moderate; bigger than St. Mystere in Curious Village, certainly, and perhaps about as big as the locations in Diabolical Box. However, it is small compared to Unwound Future.

In fact, you'll probably hear me say that a lot in this review. The truth is, that basically can sum up all my thoughts about the game: its not as good as Unwound Future. The scope is smaller, the mystery is less memorable, the locations not as diverse, the characters not as compelling...its a good follow up to the previous games and a good addition to the franchise overall; I just didn't find it as fun as Unwound Future. I would still recommend it, however. I do admit that Unwound Future may have been really good because it was the end to a trilogy, and as this is the start of a new one it may take a little while to build up steam.

While that sums up my review for the actual game, this game also features something that no other Layton game has had before: the alleged 100-hour RPG, London Life. While I can't say that I've completed that yet, from what I've played it seems to be a good add-on. It has a surprising amount of features for what I initially thought to be just a tacked on bonus feature, and although most people say that it doesn't take the amount of hours advertised to complete, so far its been good sized in its regard. Its sort of a cross between Mother 3 and Animal Crossing in that the graphics look like it was made to be a sequel to Mother 3 (and in fact, a few Earthbound fans theorized that it was when they saw initial screens), but the gameplay is very similar to Animal Crossing, what with having neighbors and performing tasks. While not entirely fleshed out as it could be if it was an actual game, it does go beyond what I thought it would and for that I commend it. I'll just have to wait and see if Fantasy Life delivers a more meaty package.

All in all, I'd recommend the games to anyone who enjoyed the first ones. It has a large amount of challenging puzzles, fantastic voice work, and a good story to back it up, though it may not be as compelling as the bar that its predecessor set before it. If you don't have the money to buy a 3DS yet, but want to try one last hurrah for your DS or DSi, definitely try it out.

As for the franchise itself, I hope Mask of Miracle will be hopefully able to build on the new foundation the series has with its prequel trilogy. The new 3D features will definitely offer up some new puzzle-solving possibilities. There's rumors of another animated movie coming out, and of course, Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney is coming out in the near future. Its games like that that just compel me to grab a 3DS whenever I can...

Story: 7.9
Graphics: 9.1
Audio: 10.0
Gameplay: 8.8

Afterthoughts:

Spoiler
]]> Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:38:00 +0000 Nap Time Can someone please tell me why they have exceedingly hyper pre-school aged kids to have manditory naptime, but offer no such relief to sleep-deprived college students?

Really, I hated naptime when I was a kid and never really spent much of it napping anyways. But man, would I pay money to have a hour block of time in which I can just doze off...

Oh, and C3 has been put on hold because of the Advent Calendar. Just saying.

By the way: anyone know how much time we regular members get Premium benefits?]]> Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:31:00 +0000 C3 Is Rolling Around Again... I think that it was about nigh-time to use this blog feature, so I've retitled and repurposed this for more general blog-usage.

Anyhow, C3 is coming back up and I plan to hold it in about two weeks. It was supposed to be held in June, but that obviously didn't work out too well. If you want to apply for a spot, just PM me for it. I'll be announcing this later on, but wanted anyone who saw this to get a heads up.

I'll be posting up a new, detailed FAQ later tomorrow, but so far, this is what to expect.]]> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:26:00 +0000 C3 2010: Final Day Part Two The Impossibles by Kahinuva and Maphrox

There has been a sort of line drawn between 2D and 3D comics. On one hand, you have a fully adjustable background, a variety of poses, and a kind of awe-inspiring quality that you really cannot get anywhere else. On the other, you have a much easier and efficient way of making a comic, while also giving off a distinct graphic style that 3D comics cannot hope to capture. On one you have meticulous modeling, long render times, modeling accuracy complaints, and more of a time space between each comic. On the other, you have limited poses, less quality, fewer and less flexible backgrounds, and little realism.

However, there is still another way. One that could utilize the flexibility and awe of rendered 3D while avoiding the complaints of the modeling and shortening comic times. One that could combine both sprites and 3D to create a new type of graphic style, one never before seen in a fully-launched comic series.

Kahinuva and Maphrox  proudly present:



In the far off island of Engima Isle, mutants with extraordinary powers have begun to slowly spring up all around the island. Seeing great profit in them, numerous independent companies and nations have tried to get their hands on the citizens. Refused by the government, they then decide to hire kidnappers, terrorists, and assassins, desperate to discover what exactly makes these certain Matoran special.

To counteract this, the government has assembled a group of Matoran specially trained to combat whatever may try to harm the mutants: a teleporting uber-genius, a darkened former soldier, a wielder of a Cosmic force, and a young psionic. Together, they stand as a unequaled force to protect their island.

Polymath. Cowman. Vor. Kinesis.

They are the Impossibles.


(First look at the style that will be produced in this series.)


(A mockup of the Impossible's Airship)


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Tavakai: The Movie by Tavakai




After being submerged in Energized Protodermis, VakamaTK finds himself to be...changed. And it's not the change you'd expect from Energized Protodermis. No, this was as if his old appearance simply slipped of and revealed the new one beneath. Perhaps he isn't from Metru Nui after all--he can't be sure about anything about him anymore--not even his own name.



Along with a few friends, VakamaTK sets of on a journey to discover his home island. Little does he know of the dangers that face him--a storm on the seas, a volcano, a tribe of savages, and an enemy he never expected.




But at the end of this journey, VakamaTK will remember who he was, and who he will be forever afterward...

Tavakai.

(I have other stuff I'm working on too, but there's only so much you can get ready at the last minute)

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Taone Nui Offline Game by Kahinuva


When Dark709 released his first movie, the event was also marked by the first game based on a comic series: “Dark709’s Comics: The Movie: The Game”, by the great designer Leppy. While being a fantastic game in itself, it also got comic makers to think in a sort of rut that all games based on a comic series would have to be platformers.

So, from then on, all such games were planned to be mostly platformers. Of the very few that actually got a working demo, the physics and the gameplay were merely the same kind that Dark709’s had used all those years ago.

However, one day, Kahinuva was playing Earthbound and realized something. The whole purpose of comics was to tell a story in pictures. So why were there so many comic games based on platformers, when it would make more sense to tell a story with the medium, perhaps doing an RPG?

And so he pitched the idea to his fellow comic makers, the ICC, and, for the first time, an RPG was made from the humble beginning of a comic series.



While mainly based on Taone Nui and Kahinuva’s series, “Live, Learn and Lawsuits”, the Taone Nui Offline Game (or TNOG as it was more commonly called) was made to focus on a story that would include the whole ICC universe as well. The game’s story progresses with its tongue firmly placed in its cheek, providing a wry humor that takes after the game’s inspiration, Earthbound. Numerous characters, locations, and enemies all tell a serious story while still parodying the many stereotypes that populate our world.

The new levels themselves have been going well; here are some work-in-progress screenshots of the LLL Towers level:





We hope to have a playable chapter available next month, in which you will see all of what we've been cooking up for this thus far.


---------------


Aaaaaand, that's a wrap, folks. Thanks for joining us for C3 2010, and we hope to see you next year.

So long for now.

k.gifh.gif
]]> Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:13:54 +0000 C3 2010: Final Day Part One That's Messed Up: The Legendary Gerlicky by Gerlicky

The year was early 2008- when Tavakai, Bladeran, and even Gavla had entered the world of comic-making. I was working on That's Messed Up: The Series at the time, and just before spring break, I was doodling with sprites and creating some TMU characters known and yet to be revealed. Yet at the same time, I was devising a completely different world with its own story. I decided not to reveal these sprites to the BZP public, keeping them only to myself.

As time went by, the sprites were improved, and many were made, but the general idea was still kept secret from the BZP populace. A second series, That's Messed Up: Creator's Wrath, was made, and it showed a hint of these sprites (referred to as a "wall decoration stance").

When I first got a laptop, I decided that I should probably remake these sprites for it. I used a sixshade version of a palette for a currently unreleased kit. But what was special about these sprites was that there were enough to create a world- or even recreate the canonical BIONICLE world. And that was when I decided that I would spill some beans and make a series from it.


Oh, and you still can't have the kit, Kahi.

(Kahi's Note: sad.gif)


Welcome back, old friend. Or, well, kind of.

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Retrograde by WithoutAWord




Hello, welcome to the “Retrograde” exhibit. Though there isn't much on display here, it's more like a “what's to come” exhibit. The image above is a preview panel of Comic 10 of my series Retrograde. I plan to make it big and juicy, full of nice little gift bags.

Retrograde is not unique. You will not find anything “different” in it. The story revolves around Word, the unfortunate astronaut without a helmet. There are quite a number of cameos, including Nuparurocks, Dokuma, Zonis Vahkoro and more.


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(3L)2: Live, Learn and Lawsuits by Kahinuva


On June 4th, 2009, a series was created in BZPower. The main purpose of said series was to both create a genuinely comedic and graphically pleasing series as well as show a more realistic take on the traditional comic studio.

Soon, the series evolved into an epic-comedy, taking stage in numerous alternate dimensions, introducing multiple new characters from cosmic entities to alternate clones, and became more detailed and technical.

Now, a year later, the series is finally returning to its roots.

Welcome back to Live, Learn and Lawsuits: (3L)2.



After the events of the Alternative Saga, Kahinuva Govaki became one of the richest man in Kato literally overnight. Granted both money and a new studio complex in the heart of Taone Nui by the Couch Potato Entity, Govaki Enterprises leapt from a low-budget comic studio to one of the biggest production studio in the market. However, as Kahi soon learned, the bigger it got, the harder it went. Far from living a life of ease and comfort, the Matoran of Plasma was going to have a rough ride trying to make it through, and his enemies were not going to make it easy for him.

With more improved graphics and longer comics, (3L)2 thrives to correct the mistakes that the original series had while still trying to keep keeping the original formula that made it so popular to begin with.

New characters will populate the series, and new enemies will make themselves present. Lawyers, psychiatrists, government officials, publishing houses, insurance policies, contracts, the International Revenue Service, con men, workers, press, tabloids, fans, haters, guards, stocks, strikes, protestors…the list goes on and on as to the many problems Kahi will have to face in the upcoming season.

However, there is some unfinished business to be done, namely, what exactly happened at the end of the Alternative Saga. While we know what happened as a result of the events that transpired, the exact details were unknown.

Until now.

Live, Learn and Lawsuits: The Alternative Saga Finale
Three Part Promo
(Animated Version. Note: Animation quality is terrible, but I felt that I should release it anyways. I’ll try and work out the kinks for the future).
]]> Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:45:46 +0000 C3 2010: Day Three Morning Exhibits Part Two SpoofQuest by Gerlicky

OTHER MEMBERS- WHEN YOU ASK OTHER MEMBERS TO SHOW YOU A COMIC MAKER, THEY WILL LEAD YOU TO DARK709 OR ONE OF HIS NEWB WANNABES!

TO THIS I SAY: NO MORE!

GERLICKY'S COMICS WILL REACH SEASON THREE. AND THEY WILL BE THE GREATEST COMICS IN THE HISTORY OF BZPOWER! NEXT TO DARK709'S COMICS. AND GAVLA'S COMICS.

*slams fists on podium*

Now that that riveting speech is over, I invite you to look at my first solo non-TMU series. In SpoofQuest!, we look at the misadventures of a dysfunctional comic studio...



---------------


Jolt by Skorpyo



What if you could be more than you were for 24 hours?

JOLT is my forthcoming mystery-thriller comic that puts two Matoran detectives in that position. Their boss gives them objects(“Jolts”) that make them Toa for 24 hours so they can solve a murder case. As the mystery unfolds, the Matoran become involved in what'll have a chilling outcome...

JOLT's experimentalness is that it'll only be updated for 26 consecutive days;  Introductory/Conclusive Comics, then 24 in between for each hour. This means I'll finish every comic before releasing JOLT.


-Skorpyo]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:07:12 +0000 C3 2010: Day Three Morning Exhibits Part One
However, let's start with the first one, a series long thought dead that is coming back...:

The Newsroom by the International ComicContinuity




Once, there was a man.  A very Australian and extremely BZPatriotic man.  One day, he sat down to write a sprite comic.  And that he surely did.

It was called The Newsroom.  Initially people were suspicious of it - and rightly so, as the man himself wasn't too fond of it either - but it caught on years later and popularised... I don't know, something.  Upon realising this, he cackled with evil glee.  And that's something the history books won't tell you.  They also won't tell you that he got his Photoshop skills in a pact with Hero Factory which played a role in the end of BIONICLE, and that he consumed baked goods with his left ear.

Eventually, though the dark and malevolent arts of transmogrification, by means of which we dare not speak, The Newsroom - having died with this man among men himself long ago - was resurrected by its inheritors, his International ComicCon partners.  This zombie series will, by August 12, have successfully dragged itself out of its grave, stumbled back to Artwork III and resumed its efforts to amuse and/or tick off fans of childrens' construction toys everywhere.


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The Pirogi Vampire by the Zakitano


The Pirogi Vampire:Reimagined

An  Upcoming Series by Zakitano

The Pirogi Vampire: Reimagined is the story of Zakitano, the last  Tiny Toa, who is obligated by duty to protect the Comic Land and its  surrounding islands from the dangers of the world. In addition, as a form of  income, Zakitano also authors an unpopular comic series, directed by his  friend, Hoji. Whilst Zakitano is off defending the world as they know it, Hoji  is defending the crew from…eachother.


Zakitano inspects disturbed plantlife in a forest.

TPV:R will feature many creatures  from around the Comic Land, including Whoamis, Trolls, Pumpkins, and others,  though oddly united under a single force. The comics will be produced starting  on December 25th, 2010 and will lead up to the animated season  finale, the date of which is undetermined. The series will be accepting guest stars.


Hoji supervises the head of sound crew.

The Pirogi Vampire: Reimagined  will use a previously untested combination of Dark709's Chimoru sprites and real  life images for backgrounds. It is also an interesting combination of a studio  comic and a plotline comic. In fact, it accomplishes so many firsts, it would  be difficult to list them all.

What: The Pirogi Vampire: Reimagined
When: December 25th, 2010-?
Why: At least give it a chance; it's a revolutionary idea, so there's no bias to be had.]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:55:43 +0000 C3 2010: Day Two Evening Exhibits Part Two Venom's Comics by The Venom

Venom's Comics by The Venom
For the lack of a better name.



~V.3~

~V.3~ is my main solo-comic series. It's been up for 2 years already, and it's set for its final run.
After the abandonment of The Swift Times- an experimental series I started a while back never to be started again- I felt I needed to finish the story of V.3.
Once its third season finale- or should I say now, series finale- comes around, I will be taking somewhat of a retirement from Artwork 3.
But that's a long time from now, so let's have fun while we still can.

~V~ has gone through a lot over the years. Improvements were recognized and Co-Authors became a nuisance.
So...

F.A.Q.T.H.N.B.A. (Frequently Asked Questions That Have Never Been Asked)

Q: It's final run? So it's ending?
A: After the season finale, yes.

Q: What's happening in the story so far? What certain story element pulled you back to continuing V.3?
A: So far, Venom and his friends have been banished from the Comic Land after nuking it to destroy the large symbiote, Cataclysm.
They've also been blamed for attracting predators to the land known as Xenophage, notorious for their hunger for symbiotes.
I wanted to finish the storyline because I've had so much planning and so many ideas for it, and I couldn't stand the idea of not being able to express them to the public.

Q: What's the atmosphere of V.3 since it's changed?
A: V.3 is now a combination of epic and comedy. I'm resting the epic half of it for a while to focus more on the comedy again.

Q: Why aren't you accepting Co-Authors anymore?
A: There were many complications about co-authoring during the second season.
I just decided I'd rather not have to deal with said complications again.


Civil War

Civil War, the first of its kind. The largest Multi-Author Series to date, with a count of 28 authors.

F.A.Q.T.H.N.B.A.

Q: How did this start out?
A: In May, I've been reading about the American Civil War during school.
I originally had planned a MAS featuring Gavla, The Bohrok Lord, and myself called War, but the idea was scrapped.
The idea was that Gavla and I would spark a rivalry and attempt to kill each other.
I thought about both topics, and the idea of Civil War was afloat.
I started recruiting as many authors that I could based on their comic making.
Whoever was interested, I linked to a blogsite specifically designed to give out details on the series.

Q: Civil War has been going through some problems. Why?
A: Many were worried that Civil War would collapse due to spam, and author insanity as I'd like to call it.
With the history of Multi Author Series falling due to such insanity, some authors were beginning to reconsider being in the series.
Civil War began to fill up with spam very quickly as we were stuck waiting for comics to be made due to the author-rotation.
I discontinued the author-rotation to ease out the tension and make comic making simpler amongst the authors.
Currently, there is a new strategy set amongst the authors, and it's working out smoothly.

Q: How long will Civil War last?
A: That depends on two things-
One: The structure. If the structure of the series begins to fall apart, the series will as well.
Two: How far we've gone.
I'm not sure exactly when I plan to end Civil War. With my retirement coming once V.3 ends, that question lies with no answer as of yet.
But I hope to continue the comics as long as possible.

Q: Why are you going to retire anyway?
A: Personally, I think by the time V.3 ends the comics forum wouldn't matter too much to me anymore.
I also need to focus on my real life. (The thing Dark709 does alot tongue.gif)

And now for my upcoming comic series...





Final Question: What about your retirement?

A: My retirement will not count towards RvB.
Basically, I'd be retiring from the Comics Forum, not comic making, considering this series will be placed as my banner every week.
I still would like to express my creativity without working too hard on something.
And thus, RvB will be that something.


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City in the Sky by Aquatic Lewa




Synopsis:
Ten years before "The Quest for the Meta Sword," the island of Meta-Nui was guarded by the Toa Meta, a group of heroes readied for the worst to happen. However, sinister forces threaten the islands, forces that the Toa have never faced before. But as the conflict continues, a new, mysterious figure emerges…

Who is "Arch-Toa?" What is the purpose of Aeros-Nui? Will the Toa triumph? Find out in "City in the Sky!" An ICC production.]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:36:48 +0000