Friday, December 31, 2010

No More Comics for 2010

Hey, guys and gals. Due to technical issues, there won't be any more comics for the rest of 2010. My computer is dead again so until I get that up and running once more, I'm out of comic-commission. That Christmas issue will be the last comic this year. I'll make a New Year's writeup tomorrow, which is a poor substitute for a comic, but the most I can offer right now.

Sorry, team. Have a great New Year anyway. We'll be back after this.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Saturday, December 18, 2010

COMIC - File #120: "The Biological Chronicle"

At long last, the conclusion to the "Find the Power" story arc and the overly-long subplot about the Cobra Commander's capture!

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Q&Ages 25 & Up #22: December 2010

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Ready for some more Q&A action? Might not be as fun as T&A action, but damn it, it's the best I can offer. Dig in!

Question #1 - Monkeywrench asks:
Will there be a holiday strip this year?

1337W422102 answers:
You bet. I haven't written it yet, but here's the plan for the rest of 2010: December 17th, the conclusion of the "Find the Power" story and the "Cobra Commander is Captured" ongoing arc; December 24th, Christmas special; December 31st, New Year's issue. Release dates tentative and subject to change without prior notice-- well, not really, but you know what I mean.


Question #2 - Monkeywrench asks:
How long until a PoC figure makes an appearance in the Ages 25 & Up universe?

1337W422102 answers:
I only have one Pursuit of Cobra figure, but if I can, I'll try to write him into the Christmas issue.


Question #3 - Monkeywrench asks:
What is the status on the comic archive?

1337W422102 answers:
My goal is to have the Archive fully restored and better than ever during my time off this winter. A crapload of work, but I'll do my best. You can still access the Archive by visiting the Ages 25 & Up blog and clicking on the Archive link on the navigation bar on the left. At the top of the page, in red letters, I update the status of the rebuilding of the page.

I'm still not sure why the Archive page was deleted, and even more unsure why I didn't make backup copies of the HTML in a timely fashion, but I really want to get the page back up to 100%. Without it, navigating backissues is a pain, even for me. Sorry for the trouble, and thanks for the patience, everyone!


Question #4 - Monkeywrench asks:
Have you been keeping up with Renegades? What is your opinion on Cobra Industries?

1337W422102 answers:
I haven't been watching it, but I did enjoy that "Cobra Cares" propaganda commercial.


Question #5 - Monkeywrench asks:
Where is Captain America? I miss him

1337W422102 answers:
The last we saw of him was during the "A Real American Teamup" arc, and the open ending is rather ambiguous. But, keep this in mind: as long as the values he stands for are upheld (taking other peoples' land by force, robbing them of natural resources, etc.), the satirical Captain America character will never die.

For a straight answer, he's not dead, despite getting stabbed in the chest with a sword. So he could return -- one day!


Question #6 - Monkeywrench asks:
Seeing #118 getting tied back all the way to #71 was a nice surprise. Can you share any intel on any other past files that will be reconnected?

1337W422102 answers:
To be completely honest, I don't really remember of any files which I meant to connect other stories to in the future. I missed my chance with the S.N.A.K.E. Eater, though. He was an homage to the BattleTech franchise (you might/should remember the MechWarrior games), and swore revenge on the "Freebirth toads" from the Inner Sphere (basically, the good guys of the BattleTech Universe). I had some Inner Sphere 'Mechs appear in the "Find the Power" arc (the Axman in #113 and the Mauler in #115), so I COULD have had the S.N.A.K.E. Eater appear to oppose them. I think that would have been a little too much, since there was enough action with the Bionicle characters, the Transformers, the Joes, and the Jurassic Park references.


Question #7 - Monkeywrench asks:
Duke Nukem recently appeared in a cameo. His next game is finally coming out in early 2011. Will there be a story arc involving him around the same time?

1337W422102 answers:
Good question. I'm a massive Duke Nukem fan (the first video game I ever went to a store and bought with my own money was Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project) who's been waiting for Duke Nukem Forever for more than half of my life, so you can understand why I made a custom Duke Nukem figure out of Joe parts. We've seen him a few times, such as in #49 and #58.

In #58, I had Hawk offer Duke Nukem a spot on the Joe team after the codename he requested was available following the attack of the S.N.A.K.E. Eater. I don't know if I'll make a full arc featuring him, though I want to.

I'm going to think about it and see what I can come up with. But, I mean, if Duke was on the Joe team, there wouldn't need to BE a team because he's Duke Effing Nukem. How many times has that cat saved the world and its chicks? Cobra wouldn't stand a chance.

But I can see the Joe women enjoying having him around, and the men being really jealous.


Question #8 - The David Harris asks:
We haven't seen Storm Shadow much in your comics, because you mentioned he's too serious, and too hard to parody in your comic. Is he the only one or are there others you deem inappropriate to mock?

1337W422102 answers:
Woah, hold up there, cowboy. That's not what I said! Or, if it was, it's not what I meant.

I like Storm Shadow and I think he's a great character. I really enjoyed how he was torn between his honour and his position in Cobra. There was a lot going on under that cowl! I find him really hard to write for and to try to make funny. I mean, I have used him in nonsensical situations, like the Street Fighter battles in the "Plastic Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action Figures" story and the Beard Radio issue in which Snake-Eyes warms his heart and makes him cry. I don't "deem [him] inappropriate to mock," I just have a hard time writing him and I don't really want to make him a buffoon like other characters are. Maybe I just need to lighten the hell up.

As for other characters who I find are hard to write for... There are probably others, but I can't think of any in particular. One of my biggest concerns (if not outright fears) about A25U is that I make the characters too similar and that their own individual personalities don't show.


Question #9 - The David Harris asks:
Besides for my constant requests for more Gambit, what has been the strangest thing a fan has asked you to implement into your comic?

1337W422102 answers:
The most unusual suggestion I had was during one of the Q&As. A reader wanted to know if there would be a Seth Rogen cameo. I didn't know how to tactfully respond without outright posting "WTF?" I don't have any Seth Rogen figures in the Joe scale, so I guess Cobra won't get "f&$%ed by the long dick of the law" any time soon.


Question #10 - The David Harris asks:
Have you ever considered killing off one of your characters for real?

1337W422102 answers:
I haven't done that yet, other than the possible fallout/casualties of the Find the Power arc and random Cobra goons getting shot. I wanted to kill off Hauser just to get rid of him for good (and he got his ass handed to him by the S.N.A.K.E. Eater), but I still had him show up in the background, not moving, in a full body cast, at the end of the Helix story. I guess I just wanted to teasingly troll the Hauser fans after me being trolled by that character all these years. Scarlett's heart belongs to Snake-Eyes, Hawk is the leader, and there's only room for ONE "Duke" in A25U - Duke Nukem.

I know, I know, I mad.


Question #11 - The David Harris asks:
You are Canadian. Any reason why you haven't shown more love to our great country that other Canadian based web-comics do?

1337W422102 answers:
First of all, I don't consider Ages 25 & Up to be a "Canadian based web-comic." It's a silly comic on the internet made by a Canadian, but that's pretty much it. My Canadianness doesn't particularly come into play in the comic. I don't know of or read Canadian based web-comics, so I don't know what they do. How they roll is their business and doesn't concern or involve me at all.

I did feature Canada in the comic on a few occasions, such as the the time Guardian from Alpha Flight (Marvel Comics' Canadian superhero team) was sent to The Pit to rescue fellow Canuck Wolverine in #99, and there was the "Meanwhile, In Canada..." issue which was made for JoeCanuck.com, the Canadian G.I. Joe site (I'm SnakeEyesOnAPlane over there, so if you're a member, give me a shout) where A25U isn't even welcome due to its lack of family-friendliness. Not that I've been shunned by my countrymen and have sold out to America, I mean.

Besides, just how much Canadian presence do you really expect from a comic about "A Real American Hero"?


That's it for another Q&A! Thanks to Monkeywrench and The David Harris. If you have more questions, post in the A25U thread on the HissTank forums, ask Helix on facebook, or ask your question (anonymously, if you want!) on the Crunching Numbers page's questions page.

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Monday, December 6, 2010

Batteries Not Included #06: The Game

The new Batteries Not Included comic is now online at Crimson Monkey
Click here or on the image below to read it.
Click to see the comicYou can find all of the Batteries Not Included strips here.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

COMIC - File #118: "Legends"

Sorry for the amount of recycled content/stock footage this week. I'd recommend playing it safe and not getting your hopes up for next week's issue, either.

Also, if you want to know what Snow Job is talking about, check out #71.

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