COMIC - File #58: "Hella Bar Talk"

Though the S.N.A.K.E. Eater's rampage has ended, the repercussions are still being felt!


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Q & Ages 25 & Up #9: September 2009

Monkeywrench and the gang from HissTank.com are back with a new volley of questions! Here we go:

It's time for the September Q & A! Here is the questions:

Question #1 - Monkeywrench asks:
What was your first thought and reaction when you discovered that Ages 25th and Up made it to the front page of Hisstank.com?

1337W422102 answers:
I was surprised and honoured. C.I.A.D., a member of the HISStank.com staff, sent me a PM asking if he could put the comic on the front page of the site. I naturally agreed! Now you'll find new A25U comics on HISStank's front page. Just look for the slightly updated Ages 25 & Up logo!


Question #2 - Monkeywrench asks:
Did Duke survive the attack from File #55 "S.N.A.K.E. Eater," Part II?

1337W422102 answers:
I don't want to give you guys a Hasbro-ish answer, but it's still too early to tell. The S.N.A.K.E. Eater DID mess him up pretty badly... I mean, Clutch had a suit of techno-armour but still got his ass handed to him.

Between those two and Flint [who lost a hand in Army of Plastic], Doc's been working overtime!


Question #3 - Monkeywrench asks:
Do you currently have any plans to make another alternate universe story?

1337W422102 answers:
Actually, I was just thinking about that the other day. This answer might get long and convoluted, so I'm just warning you from now.

Before I started A25U, I used to do stop-motion animation. My very first stop-motion ever was a short called "Don't Fear the Reaper," an elaborate fight between Stikfas figures [you might remember them from the Army of Plastic story], featuring some Joes along the way. It was crude but fun and was even screened in England at a convention as part of a compilation of fan-made Stikfas videos from across the globe. Unfortunately, they video was taken down due to copyright reasons even though they sent me a message telling me that I could use the music... At any rate, if the film is still viewable, it's the large one at the top of my Youtube page.

I did some more stop-motion in college, but they were mainly rushed projects, such as "All Fall Down," a Transformers battle, and a tribute to Fahrenheit 451, one of my favourite books.

In terms of personal projects, my plans went much bigger. A spent a summer, a full two months, writing, shooting, voicing, and editing a 15-minute buddy-cop action flick starring two truck-based Transformers are detectives Fred Liner and Peter Built and other toys, such as the Sigma 6 ninjas. The story was split up into 3 Acts, and called the series Bad Mother Truckers. If you're interested you can watch the show by clicking on the following links. Act I: Situation introduces the characters and sets up the plot, Act II: Investigation reveals the bad guys and furthers the story, and Act III: Confrontation is the action-packed conclusion, complete with montage and shootout.

Those three Acts make up the first "case," the first instalment of the Bad Mother Truckers story. It was meant to be a three-part series, with more mystery [notice those yellow cars?] and cool fight scenes. Though I made up the stories for BMT II: Highway to Hell and BMT III: End of the Road, I never ended up making them, due to real life, school, and well, the comic, which I started around that time.

BMT isn't like my other toy-based animations, which only work in the world of animation. You couldn't make a short story out of "Don't Fear the Reaper." It works because it's a short, silly video of toys beating each other up. BMT could work in another medium, say, as comic... See where I'm going with this?

What I would like to is finish the Bad Mother Truckers trilogy as an "Ages 25 & Up Presents" sort of deal. I'd comicfy the first Act [I should still have the original photos on my hard drive, somewhere] of the first arc, and do the others on a once-in-a-while basis until I'd manage to tell all of the Bad Mother Truckers story. It could work.

I just don't want to alienate you guys, the loyal readers, who show up every week to read about the Joes and the Cobras. I wouldn't want to upset people because for a few weeks, some Transformers and Stickfas would take centre stage.

When I'm ready, I think I'll do it. It'll give me the chance to finish my truck-to-robot-cop saga.


Question #4 - Monkeywrench asks:
Army of Plastic was solid story. In the last panel of the story, Doc is working on repairing Flint's hand. Was Dash successful in getting his hand back? Can we expect any future adventures with Dash?

1337W422102 answers:
Plastic Gear Solid was more of a solid story, if the title is any indication.
Okay, that was an awful pun. Sorry 'bout that.

We haven't seen ol' Dash Faireborn since Army of Plastic ended. I guess he needed time to heal up. Dash will return, you can bet on that! He's going to be part of an upcoming story arc featuring-- well, you'll see!


Question # 5 - G.I.Eddie asks:
In the first strips we saw the Joes get upgraded to their 25th counterparts with much enthusiasm… I was wondering if we might see something like this with a few Joes getting an “upgrade” to their RoC counterparts with less then expected enthusiasm?

1337W422102 answers:
I understand what you mean, but the RoC versions are more of 'reimaginings' than straight-up improvements.

That being said, we will see RoC figures in the strip, but they will likely be used as alternate costumes for missions, like Deep Divin' Shipwreck, or World War II Destro. That sorta thing. I might also use some as my own characters/own versions of characters/other characters altogether, like Agent Dana Scully in Major Motoko Kusunagi's catsuit.

Just kidding. But you know what I mean.


Question #6 - Interrogator asks:
Will Firefly be making any more appearances? Maybe you could pit him against Beard Force?

1337W422102 answers:
I haven't used Firefly enough, that's for sure. I mean, he was very important in Black Ops and played a role in the Battle of the GAMP Province in Army of Plastic, but other than that, we haven't really seen him. Except for his poster in File #51 Movie Madness!

Making Firefly Beard Force's nemesis? I'm not sure what would lead a man to hate facial hair that badly, but I'm sure I can work it in somehow. And to answer your question, yes, there will be more Firefly! When I need that extra little bit of Cobra badass, I'll reach for the Guy in Grey.


Question #7 - Interrogator asks:
Any more adventures featuring the Cobra Command?

1337W422102 answers:
Absolutely! What would a non-12" Joe comic be without Cobra? I'm developing a Cobra-central crossover story, but I want to give anything away just yet!

Big Thanks to Monkeywrench, to G.I.Eddie, and to Interrogator for asking the important questions this month!

A new comic goes up Saturday, so don't miss it. See you then!

Another Killer Con

I attended Day One of the two-day Montreal Comic Con today, the biggest comic con yet! If you're in the city tomorrow and don't have anything to do, get your sorry butt to Place Bonaventure and go wild!

I had a great time today. Met up with a friend from JoeCanuck.com, Canada's greatest G.I. Joe website, I got some great deals on some Joe stuff, Herb Trimpe signed my issue of Special Missions #1 and some Transformers books, and I got a second drawing from the amazing Jose Holder.

You might remember that intense Snake-Eyes sketch he did for me back in June. If not, check it out:



Jose was gracious enough to draw me a Storm Shadow this time. That's right - the Arashikage sword brothers are battling over the span of two pages, courtesy of Mr. Holder, and they look fantastic. I don't have access to a scanner right now or I'd post them tonight, so that will have to wait for another post... Stay tuned!

COMIC - File #57: "S.N.A.K.E. Eater," Part 4

And now, the thrilling conclusion of the S.N.A.K.E. Eater story!

If you find yourself in Montreal this weekend, come on down the Comic Con! Hope to see you there.


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COMIC - File #56: "S.N.A.K.E. Eater," Part 3

Cobra has unleashed their latest weapon, and only Flash's modified suit of S.N.A.K.E. Armour can stop it! If Clutch's able to drive it, that is...


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The Front Page of HissTank.com

If you haven't been to HissTank.com lately, you should check out their front page. Ages 25 & Up is up there right now! Feel free to drop by the site and leave a message on their forums!

Thanks to the HissTank crew and all the readers!

COMIC - File #55: "S.N.A.K.E. Eater," Part 2

And we now return to the S.N.A.K.E. Eater story. Last time, the Joes got their hands on a suit of Cobra S.N.A.K.E. Armour, which Flash proceeded to modify. Cobra knows it's gone, and they're mad...

Read on!


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