Starbolts #226: Prelude to Armageddon

 For it to be an officially sanctioned maniacal, evil or maniacal evil laugh; it must have at least a guild standards (3) "ha's" to it. Points are awarded during the annual maniacal laughter competitions for sound quality, duration, overall menace and evil tone. Bonus points are awarded for using for scaring any audience members. Points are deducted if contestants launch into monologues.

 Wow. There's a lot of stuff going on this week, huh? Jo'Trill's recovering from that smackdown Mateo gave him, Shrall's prepping for battle and oh yea...the Gods' realm has been sacked by the Goddess of Death herself. Hmm. It appears...yes...we're in a new storyline called "Our Gods at War". Not to be confused with "Our Worlds at War", which was a DC crossover event.

In other news, tomorrow I will be putting up the last Comic Showcase on Youtube before I start over again with the new New Warriors #1. The review should be out in late March so be on the lookout for that. And after that, there'll be a new Amazing Spider-Man and you KNOW I will be reviewing that comic. Then comes Nightcrawler #1. By August, I hope to also review a book starring a ragtag band of heroes you might know as...The Guardians of the Galaxy.

Looks like my dance card for the rest of the year is full. Here's hoping these comics rock, huh? See you next time!

Starbolts #225: Where Angels Fear to Tread

Don't need money. Don't need fame. Don't need no credit card to ride this train! 

Yes, I'm going to be singing that song for a while. Hey, it's a great song. Don't knock it until you've heard it a million times or so. So, Bescano's avatar is down for the count and has been vacated from Mateo's mind. Bescano is the God of Discord, yes. But, he is also the God of Tricks and Manipulation. The poor guy here couldn't hold a candle to the god he was supposed to represent. Whoops.

I also wanted to show that Mateo and Aquita's relationship isn't just physical. Yes, Aquita is pretty. But, their relationship is beyond the physical. They understand each other and compliment each other in various ways like how both are determined to achieve their goals.

As I said last week, I was going to make a new Mateo sprite and I think it worked out well. The sprite is now much easier for me to manipulate. The wings, I admit, took me a while to deal with. The comic was fun to do as I took the old ranch background, upgraded it and then turned it into Hell. Yay, symbolism!

Not much else to report today. Went to a small con last weekend in town and got a couple comics. I'll probably look at one of them. Perhaps this summer. When a certain movie starring a talking raccoon airs. =)

Starbolts #224: Our Gods at War

 Hail!

Robkas, Robkas, Robkas. You have been a bad little amphibious monkey haven't you? You back the wrong horse, incur the wrath of the Gods and now you've hurt Mateo just after sexy times. I don't see anyone rooting for this obvious ass. He has no redeemable qualities save for the fact that he didn't take advantage of the situation after Mateo was shot. I couldn't write that. Besides, Aquita would have blasted him through the wall with her sonic scream.

I think next week we may see a new sprite design for Mateo. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. The sprite is one of the last designs I have held over from before JewWario gave me the sprite template. I held off on making one because the wings make things hard. But, I do have them separate and I may change him and Pal'idin since both use the same body shape. Doing them side by side would be easier, I think.

Of course, I may have to redo Mateo's outro as well. We'll see. Videos are going up at an even clip. This weekend will see the launch of me talking about the characters in the New Warriors again. Fun will be had at this channel:  http://www.youtube.com/cferra1227

Speaking of the New Warriors, I did get the first issue of the fifth volume and I believe that will be the first video I'll do when I get back in March. We'll see. For now, we've got Robkas and his zany antics.

Oh and giant green sea monsters that turn into goddesses. Don't forget those. Damn, that was fun to draw. =)

Starbolts #223: Double Date

Hail!

I know it's the day AFTER Vakentune's Day. But, here's a Valentine's Day comic. One of these years Valentine's Day will come on a Saturday and then you'll be amazed. AMAZED, I tell you!  Or maybe not. I don't know. I did this comic to show both Aquita and Mateo being a little antsy about Robkas being on the loose and a bit of Robkas's past with her to show WHY he's infatuated with the Princess. As for the promise? Well, it doesn't really count if she dates someone off world and he had been missing and presumed dead for years. Hell, the state has deemed him persona non grata if you go by the panels at the Xemplara Academy. He's an outcast. His own people do not want anything to do with him after the incident from 100 or so comics ago.

I also showed off some new designs for Xazes and Delclina this week. Xazes, I wanted to show him in more heroic garb. He's the God of Justice is he not? He needs something to show that he is a mighty warrior. His father, Delclina gets a more windy/sky like appearance since he is the God of the Sky. I was also going to have a giant sprite of Aquita overlaying on the panel every time Robkas gets cursed or something. But, that may detract from the original arts.

But, yeah, this week's comic shows that even though the future's uncertain, they will meet the challenge head on. It's kind of what they do as heroes and as lovers. I was going o have Manta and Jenna in this. But, they don't have as big a stake in it as Mateo and Aquita, do. For those two, the Robkas thing is personal. He's like an obsessive ex with superpowers.

The question is...where was he dragged off to? Find out next week!

Starbolts #222: Clash of the Titans

Hail!

Looks like the Starbolts er...Xemplara have their hands full with the avatars. That is until Robkas came and teleported them away. It isn't over, though. Not by a long shot. I'm still going to do a Valentine's Day comic next week. But, I have a feeling Robkas may show up to stir the pot up a little. Heh. He's always got a plan.Of course, they never work out. Next week will be Starbolts #223: Double Date. We'll see what happens when Robkas interrupts a pleasant evening. Heh...

In other news, I am about to reupload my New Warriors retrospective up on Youtube. It has been a long time coming and FINALLY I'll have caught up on everything. All my videos will be back online and I'll be posting new ones shortly thereafter. I hope I'm not rusty as it has been a while. Eh, I should be fine. You never really forget. Making a video's like riding a bicycle. If that bicycle was Vegas 12...

Until next time, everyone!

Starbolts #221: The Aquan Rider

This comic is dedicated to the memory of Justin "JewWario" Carmical aka The Famikamen Rider.



 I had a few plans when I was going to work on this comic. Originally, I was going to make it a Kamen Rider spoof and show it to JewWario. Sadly, that ship sailed and I cannot dwell on the what-ifs. My two plans after hearing about the news were to 1. Have Bluestreak break the fourth wall and have the Starbolts attend a memorial and 2. Have a special two panel spread at the end. But, you know what? I like the other idea better. Have an extra two panels at the end and dedicating the comic to my friend and mentor. Besides, my friend, MarzGurl may do something with Justin's awesome character known far and wide as "The Famikamen Rider". I can't in good conscience step on her toes. That and I REALLY want to see what she does.

Still, it is a week later and for the most part I am doing okay. It helped a lot to talk about Justin at any opportunity. He meant a lot to a lot of people and I'm definitely sure he'd have appreciated the Kamen Rider spoof and the dedication at the end. I know I don't know much about Kamen Rider. But, I tried my best, you know? It's all I can really do. As I've said many times, I'm going to keep doing what I do in his honor. It's the least I can do.

As far as characters go, yes, Danar is a jerk. Aquita had NO time to change into her uniform and yet he berates her for showing up in the office in a bikini. At least she's dried off. I can imagine salt water stains would be hell to get out of that purple carpet.

I've always got to end on a joke, huh? It's just how I cope with this. Justin, you were my friend and my mentor. This comic is for you and as I said in the last panel, the legend will continue.

Ride on, FKR and Thanks!

My friend Justin "JewWario" Carmical

In the first few hours since I posted my latest comic, I received terrible news. My friend Justin"JewWario" Carmical had passed away Thursday whilst I was working on the comic. For those who don't know, Justin was always a big help to me and countless people on the Internet. He was a friend. He was a mentor. He was the kind of guy who always, always knew how to make you laugh even if you've had the worst day in your life.

The reason why this has impacted me so much is because I've known Justin for years now. In one of the first conversations I had with him, he gave me a sprite template that I use to this day. He wanted to make sure, first, that I was not offended. I laughed and said no. No, I wasn't. Again, that's just who Justin was. He's that friendly to everyone.

We talked on Skype and eventually he made a stream where various tgwtg fans would gather and just talk about things. He'd talk about himself and his vids. He even had other contributors on and we'd just discuss things. I never got a sense of ego from him or anything. He was always honest in his videos and in everything else he did. He just helped me and others a great deal. For that, I will always be grateful.

In fact, his positive nature actually inspired me to create my own video series. I try to be as positive as him in my own work. I told him this and he just smiled. I knew he was happy with that. He was a big mentor to me and so many other people. It's going to take time to get through all of this. Those who knew him have a long road ahead of them. I know I never got the chance to meet him in person. But, through the streams it felt like we did. He let all of us into his life.

Justin loved his fans. He loved everyone. I think it's important to remember that. He was a mentor to me. A friend to many. He was so positive and outgoing that I don't think he'd want us to be upset for long. He'd want us to continue on. I think that's what I am going to do.

I am going to continue doing what I do and though he may be gone to the great Nintendo game room in the sky, he can still inspire us to take our lives to great places and remember it would be what Justin would want.

That's what I think. That's how I feel.

RIP Justin "JewWario" Carmical.