Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Logic and reasoning is starting to set in

And I realize I'm expecting too much of myself. Now, I'm not talking about delaying when I want to start putting this stuff out, I'm talking about not doing weekly updates, and this is mostly due to reasons I detailed in past posts. I'm aware, this is unprofessional, but it's better to get the disappointment over with now, than to make constant updates about nothing. If I started to just post panels and stuff, then basically the release date would have changed. What I AM considering, however, is that I could upload my black-and-whites, and then after that's over, upload colored versions afterward, so if you want the story as early as possible, there it is, and if you want to wait for the best result, then you can do that. That honestly is probably how this is going to go down, and I just came up with the idea. So, we did indeed have an update. Look at that.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

So, we've got good news, and mildly annoying news

For me. Mildly annoying for me.

So, for our weekly StarCross update on Tuesday of all days, let's start off with the good news.

I got a scanner! Yeah, now I can get all those pages I penciled onto the computer!

And now for the mildly annoying (for me) news.

I got a job. A full time job. That is about twenty miles away. And they don't have any spaces for personal belongings, so I don't know if I'll be able to work on StarCross pages during my breaks.

Well, that's it. No, seriously, that's the update. Remember when I said the script was finished? Well, that takes up most of what I'd actually have to say about the story.

Bye.

Oh, also, if you know anybody who'd be willing to take up their time on a long inking project for no pay, then I'd love it if you'd contact me about it. No? I'm the only one who'd trap themselves into this kind of thing? Okay, I thought so.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Mirror of the Bat

See what I did there? See, I combined Mirror’s Edge with Shadow of the Bat, and the only other option was Shadow of the Edge, and this isn’t an article about the Shadow the Hedgehog game, so that was out of the question.
Anywho, did anybody order a conspiracy theory?
Yes? Great! So, I was looking at a render of Faith in Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst earlier:

Render done by Amia2172 on deviantART, by the way, so check his account out, it’s great.
Back on track, however, I couldn’t help but notice I’d seen basically that exact face somewhere else. It took me a while to realize: That’s Lady Shiva (Or, Sandra Wusan, if we’re going by her real name). From Arkham Origins.

Well, in the concept art, anyway, in-game she looks like a completely different person, which is just the start of what that game did wrong with Shiva, but that’s a discussion for another time. For now, however, let’s look at Shiva and Faith’s similarities! Exhibit A: the eyes.

Take note that while their eyes point in the same direction, Faith’s eyes are slightly taller. Now, whether or not this has to do with the fact that Sandra’s scowling is up to debate. Also worthy of note is the difference in eye color. But now that we’ve covered the eyes, let’s move onto exhibit B: the noses.

Now, there isn’t much to say on this, as they are noses, but note that they have the same long, narrow quality to them. Once again, Faith is only slightly off from Sandra’s. Next is the mouth

Upon observation, we see that each lip is approximately the same size in terms of height, however, Sandra’s mouth is slightly wider than Faith’s. Finally, (aside from having the exact same haircut, which shows some kind of like-mind, even if you don’t believe fashion sense to be hereditary) I want you to look at an outline of Sandra’s outer face and jaw.

Now, look at that exact same mold, applied with no changes, save for angle, to Faith’s face.
Now, I can’t exactly compensate for the fact that they’re facing slightly different angles, but you’ll notice it’s almost a perfect fit.
So, where am I going with this? Consider if you will that Faith is half-Asian.
Lady Shiva’s actual daughter is also half Asian.
Now, in the interest of playing Devil’s Advocate, Erika Connors (you know, Faith’s mom) is presumably Japanese, or at least according to the Mirror’s Edge Wiki entry, but the thing is, that doesn’t matter for what I’m getting ready to throw your way.
in actual DC continuity, Lady Shiva (who is Chinese by the way) had a daughter with master assassin David Cain, in a series of events that basically ended in a proposition of “bear my child or die”, and we’re gonna just jump past the uncomfortable part of that little situation, and move to the important part. After the child was born, Shiva’s part of the deal was over, and she went off to fight people around the world, which left her daughter with David. Now, as comic fans are so accustomed to, I’m going to ask you to envision a different universe. One where things went a little differently. Now, let’s go a little further, and say this is the Arkhamverse, which houses the Batman: Arkham games.
In this universe, Sandra’s daughter was still born, but under different circumstances (much in the same way that Sandra’s sister dies in two different continuities, but in much different fashions, or how Damian Wayne was born in New Earth, and Prime Earth continuities, but in slightly different fashions). In this world, Sandra has a child with a man while she is in America. As those who played Arkham Origins will remember, however, she was a part of the League of Assassins (a member of which may have even been the father of her child), and they had a goal of cleansing the Earth of sinful people. Shiva, in a moment of what was perhaps weakness, or clarity, or some other kind of emotion she has yet to truly come to terms with, decided that this wasn’t the life she wanted for her daughter, and gave her up for adoption. That she doesn’t entirely believe in this life is further supported by the fact that by the time of Arkham City, Shiva is no longer with the League of Assassins.
Now, what becomes of her daughter? Why, she is adopted by a married couple, named Erika, and Martin Connors. From there, she is named Faith, and grows up having no idea the life she almost had. And now, we understand that the slight discrepancies between the two of them are due to the traits Faith takes from her birth father.
It is clear, however, that she inherited her mother’s fighting spirit, and aptitude for martial arts, both of which, she uses for the good of the people. Does that last sentence remind you of anyone? If you read Batman comics, it should, because that is exactly the case for Shiva’s in-continuity daughter, Cassandra Cain, otherwise known as Batgirl.

In conclusion, I would like you to consider the possibility that Faith Connors is in truth, an alternate-continuity version of Cassandra Cain, and that the Mirror’s Edge reboot, Catalyst, actually takes place in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham series. Thank you, ladies, gentlemen, and all willing to listen. I bid you farewell.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

StarCross update 1: Sometimes life is unfair

Oh boy, isn't that title just enticing?! Yep. Turns out that the post office has managed to send a box that had some StarCross pages in it back to the sender. Which was me. When I was living in Minnesota. So, now I'm multiple states away, and through a series of calls, I've pieced together that someone has stolen my box.

The good news is that most of the pages weren't in that box, so we're still rollin'! Anyway, at the moment, I don't have my scanner, so I can't really show you much in terms of the pages, but what I can do is give you the first page, as it's been colored. Now, for this, I decided to take the Power Puff Girls Doujinshi route, where you start off with one property, and become a far more generalized comic as a whole. So, for those of you who needed a crash course on the essentials of the first 3 Shinobi games. Here it is.



And then, we have the much less finished second page



So, have fun with that, gang, and we'll be back next week with another update!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

It's time to start promoting!

Goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I've got something to talk to you about, and it's this comic I've started making, called StarCross.

Now, "what is it" you may be asking, as one would hope, as that would mean I've captured your interest. Not to waste your time, StarCross is a story of characters from multiple video games coming together to save the world. It is, at its core, a story of ideals, and of consequences. Now, are those consequences always bad? Not entirely, but then again, labeling them as good or bad really does undermine the relativity of the whole situation. That's the long and short of it, anyway.

To explain all themes covered in StarCross would take a good bit longer, and also start to defeat the purpose of reading it in the first place, so I suppose we can talk about other things, such as the release date, or lack thereof. See, the thing about this is that while the script is complete, I am also the artist, and believe me, it is much easier being the writer than being the artist, I can tell you that much, especially on a one-person staff (I've got quite a bit of respect for manga artists).

Things are a bit weird right now, as I just had a big move to another state, and certain things, such as my scanner, had to get left behind. Basically, production has slowed down a bit, but it should be finished around late this year, or at the latest, early next year. Yes,  that's vague, but this whole thing is based around video game characters, so the people who would be interested in this are no doubt used to this kind of thing.

And lest I forget, I suppose I should explain the name, shouldn't I? See, the characters involved in this crossover are video game stars. Thus, it is a StarCross. Also supposed to be a pun based on the phrase star-crossed, but I regret to inform you, it has nothing to do with that. Goodnight, everyone, I'll talk you all some other time. How about next week? I'll post a StarCross update, then. Yeah, that sounds good.