STAR BUSTER ATOM Continues! Indoor Scenes Occur!

This scene is just a bit shorter than the last, but there's probably more actual text, so whatever. I'm shooting for around 3 or 4 pages per scene, but we'll see how things develop.

I'm staying pretty busy with freelance work this month, but the holidays are always a little hectic I suppose. I've also spent probably too much time playing Xenoblade X, which is an absolutely gigantic game. I have a pretty strict code about not bothering to fight anything that isn't a legit threat, so most of the side missions aren't really of interest to me, which I guess makes levelling up a little harder, but whatever. I also downloaded Metabots for GBA over the weekend, which is a surprisingly hard RPG considering its target demographic. I've never played a Medabots game before, though I always watched the show, and I'm glad its available on Virtual Console. I hope this means Natsume might consider bringing one of the many 3ds Medabots games to North America! We'll see I guess.

I'm trying to see if there is any other type of content I can post here during the week. I'd rather not do another comic, since I don't want to get distracted from Star Buster, but there has to be some other kind of weird content I can put together, narratively driven or not. I'll experiment and see what happens! Maybe some kind of weird RPG type thing... hmmm... I have an idea... actually... anyway! That's all for now!

NEW COMIC! STAR BUSTER ATOM!

I deeply regret how little I have posted here lately. While it's true that I'm spending alot of time doing freelance work to pay the bills, it was definitely my intention to increase the frequency of my posting here on Doki Doki. As of last year I was doing pretty well with content, but that sadly slipped away from me. I very much want to change that and get back to using Doki Doki Arcade.

With that in mind, I spent several weeks preparing a new ongoing feature. Learning some lessons from Heckbringers (which I definitely want to revisit someday), I've changed the structure here to be somewhere between Janken and Heckbringers. Slightly shorter chapters, slightly more frequently!

This is a story I have been kicking around and working on in various forms for a very long time, so please enjoy this first scene!

The plan is to post a new scene every Monday, and I have at least 3 weeks ready to go, so I think I'll be able to keep up with this. I don't want to say too much about this yet, but make sure to check back in the future for more!

Update Dump of Ultimate Guilt!

Sooooo... I know I said I was going to be posting more, and that I was going to have more free time. One of those things turned out to be true! But I swear, I haven't been not posting because I haven't been doing stuff! I just haven't done anything finished enough to show off. Sad, but true.

So what have I been up to? Well, Mario Maker got me in the mood to hit game development again, and with a vengeance. I actually put together a little Castlevania style platformer that was shaping up nicely, but honestly that will take a very long time before it is actually done. A finished stage as a demo isn't out of the question, but even that would be a little ways off. I'll dump some of the graphics and screenshots up here in the future, but that is a story for another time. Here's a mock up of th first boss fight, just for fun!

I also did a crap load of work on Nova Phase, the 5th issue of which will probably be done this week. That means it will come out like... in February probably, but whatever. It will be good to be close to completing the series' run, and some of the art in this issue is pretty awesome. Maybe I'll post some spoilers. Maybe.

I've also been trying to take steps towards finishing some other little projects that have been sitting around. It is my genuine intention to do one more chapter of Janken before doing an Amazon e-book or something of the whole thing. The cover is done, and the "last" chapter is thumbnailed, with a few pages even penciled, but that's it on that. Here's a look at the updated cover and logo.

A lot of my down time has been spent basically practicing my digital work, including lots of inking and sketching. Some of these turned out pretty cool, so I'm posting them here for fun!

This one was a concept design for a comic my old collaborator on Heckbringers was thinking of doing called Dragonomics. Not much to say about that yet, but could be seeing more of this little rascal in the future. He's up to some other stuff, which I will post about a little later this week.

Anyone who follows my blog knows I come back to this guy every now and then. I'm working on a small project involving him that is going really well so far, but I want to have a bit more of it done before I post it here.

Another one that comes and goes pretty frequently! I don't remember why we stopped working on this game, but I love the designs from it and I'm trying to find some place to use them here. Ideally something that wasn't a full blown comic, but I guess we'll see.

I've got some other stuff brewing, but this is the major stuff. I'm also finally biting the bullet and sitting down to remake and ultimately finish the original Bird Force in a more reliable program. There were was supposed to be a pretty involved story, and a handful of characters that never made it into the version I posted here because I was terrified Construct would collapse and I'd lose what I actually had done. I'm working in Multimedia Fusion to program a definitive version of the game with all the features I initially imagined. It's going well considering its literally been one afternoon of work. Hopefully more on that in the near future!

Okay! That's it! I'll probably be posting another small comic later this week!

A Little Ja-Ja-Ja-Janken Update!

I know that I wrapped up Janken a VERY long time ago at this point. Things are busy. That said, I go crazy if I don't work on something fun for myself, so I spent a little time putting this together tonight. I need to fix up some mistakes in the dialogue, and I really would like to do an epilogue or something to give a little closure to the story, and maybe a summary of the events of the hundreds of chapters I skipped to get to this conflict. Could be fun. Need time.

Recently wrapped up a project that had been on the back burner for a little while, but it could be some time before I ever have anything worth showing off on that front, as it is a collaboration and my contribution is pretty much over. I'll see if I can post anything related, as some of the concept art and stuff is just plain cool.

Also! I went to San Diego Comic Con to sign stuff and help sell Nova Phase to people! I met lots of really cool people, some of whom even bought stuff from me! If you came and saw me, thanks! I hope you enjoy your book! And if you're one of the people that just asked me to draw them Steven Universe for free, I hope you enjoy your drawing of Steven Universe!

Oh, and on a much less important but still potentially cool note, I have actually been posting stuff to the Doki Doki Arcade tumblr with some regularity lately. Mostly marker doodles of super heroes, so nothing super exciting, but take a look if you want to see a hastily thrown together illustration of the X-Men that screams "I grew up in the 90's".

http://jmatchead.tumblr.com/

That's it!

Genius Dialogue in New Page of Heckbringers!

Hey, that's what you get when you don't ever write a script, right? My process on this comic is completely backwards and probably a terrible idea, but whatever. Working out so far!

Confession time. When I started doing Heckbringers as a feature here, I literally thought about it zero seconds. I had the characters and setting and what not from an older project, and figured it would be an easy way to get a color feature going on here. Then, of course, I started actually doing the comic, and after a few weeks I came to a startling discovery.

I had absolutely no idea where I was going with it.

This was tough, because it threw some real bumps into the whole weekly feature thing. I was lucky to have Weeping Pines in the wings anyway, and I'm glad it encouraged me to get it out there, but I seriously feared I would have to give up on Heckbringers before I even made it to the first fight scene (probably not a good way to measure the progress of a comic, but whatever).

Maybe there is something stimulating about the rushing of water, or maybe isolation really does lead to self discovery, but I think I tend to do some of my best thinking in the shower, and sure enough, without any explanation or warning, I suddenly had a rush of ideas. They came slowly at first, but one thing very naturally led to another, and before I knew it, I had the entire story outlined. Not just the first chapter either, but like, the entire arc of the whole series. So there I was, with a sweeping post apocalyptic epic fully formed in my brain, butt-naked and dripping wet. Hot.

Not really sure why, but I thought it'd be fun to get that insight into my creative process. Sorry! Weeping Pines on Friday!

Saturday Morning Anime for Grown Up Kids: JA-JA-JA-JANKEN! CONCLUDES!

Well, I said I was gonna wrap up JANKEN!, so here it is. Just in case you can't remember the complex narrative so far, here's chapter 248 and 249. Some talking afterward, but for now, enjoy!

Oh, suspense! If Twin Peaks taught me anything, it was to never resolve anything! To be honest, I already know exactly what the next chapter would be, but I planned this as a three chapter series, so that's how I'm gonna keep it for now.

This has been a pretty fun experiment, and it's hard to believe it has taken as long as it has. I first posted JANKEN! On here back in September, and it's already almost April. That's an awfully long time for 18 pages to happen, but I suppose  that's just the nature of doing this stuff in your spare time. I'm happy that this last chapter managed to come out only two months or so after the last one, which is considerably better than the five months it took to get the second chapter out. The idea of putting out something like this monthly isn't COMPLETELY inconceivable to me at this point, though I don't know if that will be happening any time soon.

Of course, since I spent extra time prepping this, I neglected to have a page of Heckbringers ready. I know that's a bummer, as I haven't exactly been plotting that comic at a breakneck pace, but I do promise that it is going somewhere. I have a lot of plans for the world of Heckbringers, and once I get it off the ground a little bit, I think that will start to show. For now though, we wait until next week.

In terms of what's next for JANKEN!? I'm not totally sure. I do really like the characters and premise. My plan is to, in the near future, compile the 18 pages I have already completed, toss in some bonus material like character profiles and summaries of the 247 chapters leading up to the arbitrary starting point I chose, and a fancy color cover illustration for a little mini collected edition through Amazon. Might even toss in an exclusive chapter. We'll see if I have time.

Moving forward, I think that will probably be the plan in terms of ongoing comics. That is to say, I might use DokiDoki Arcade as a place to accumulate content for personal compilations. If I keep up a weekly schedule on Heckbringers, by this time next year I'll have a pretty sizable amount of pages, so being able to get all that collected in one place might be a compelling proposition, if it all turns out good of course.

In the mean time, though, I hope anybody reading enjoyed the ride on JANKEN! while it lasted. It was a fun experiment for me personally, and I'm very satisfied to have, for the first time in many years, carried an idea out to completion,at least as far as my vision is concerned, since JANKEN! could theoretically go on forever. It has been quite some time since I actually finished a comic of my own creation, so I feel very accomplished, as silly as that may sound.

That's it for now! I might have a write up on what seems to be a game nobody I have talked to knows about but that I am very much enjoying, so look forward to another sloppy article posted from my Wii U! Hint hint: the game is Lone Survivor.

New Ongoing Comic: HECKBRINGERS!

Trying something a little different today. I really want to post here more frequently, and part of doing that involves  experimenting with some content that is a little less time intensive on my end. The articles are good because they require relatively little preparation, but I don't want to go too long without posting any art, and although I will continue to post more shirt designs and stickers (I promise those are coming), I think narrative art is really my strong suit, and I want to do more of that. JA-JA-JA-JANKEN! is nearing the end of it's first major story arc, so I thought now would be a good time to start introducing a new ongoing series to experiment with.

A few things to note. First of all, this series will be posted in single pages at a time. This means less work on my end in between postings, as I don't need to finish a whole set of six pages to post an update. This also means that each page will be a little more self contained than before. This also means that I'm more able to spend a little extra time per page, and as a result, I'd like to keep this format in all color. It's certainly not necessary, but I think it's fun and adds a lot. 

Heckbringers is actually a comic that me and some friends put together years ago, and even printed a book or two of, but this version is going to be a bit different in tone and execution due to the shift in format. I may post some bits of the old comic, or some designs for characters and such, but for now I'll just be posting single pages here and then in between other things. JANKEN! Will still continue for at least another chapter, after which I may rotate in a different series to be the six pager. This will help keep things fresh around here, and hopefully build up a colorful and fun cast of diverse characters to play with.

For now, enjoy the first page of Heckbringers, in glorious COLOR! I have a few other announcements to make this week (all good, exciting things!), and a few more articles planned, but I need to get some things in order first. Be excited, please!

A Shirt I Want To Make So Bad I Share With You

There was something wonderfully naive about growing up in the 90's. I'm not sure if there was ever a generation that held surfers and ninjas in such high esteem, or that there ever will be in the foreseeable future. Put this on a shirt and proudly show that you too have been irreparably damaged by 90's pop culture.

If you don't feel like fiddling with color printing, you can use this hastily decolorized version, which I almost think turned out better for it's wild jankiness.

Awesome. In other news, I'm almost done sticker stuff. I have three sets of four stickers in the works. Although I mainly wanna focus on original characters and stuff, I couldn't resist drawing Robot Masters and Ninja Turtles, so look forward to those as well.

Also contemplating the game situation here at Doki Doki. I don't have the time or a reliable enough piece of software to develop a whole game, but I think I might be able to manage doing single "episode" style stages every now and then. Would you play a vertical shmup one stage at a time? I guess we'll see.

Saturday Morning Anime for Grown Up Kids: Ja-Ja-Ja-Janken! Continues and Serious Matters

Finally, the thrilling continuation of Ja-Ja-Ja-Janken! Maki's Counter Attack! In case you missed it here's part one.

I've had this nearly finished for about 4 months now, but was totally thrown of course by my new job. Now that I'm more accustomed to my new schedule, I wanted to finally start back into getting more content up here. I plan on doing just a bit more of Ja-Ja-Ja-Janken! Before moving on with other stuff for Saturday Morning Anime for Grown Ups, but I'm already working on other little treats for this place. Hint hint: I desperately want to start making stickers!

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this place lately. My last big post happened just before I ended up finding the job I mentioned earlier, and I've spent most of my time just getting to and from work, trying to adjust to my new schedule and still find time to spend with my wife, my family, my friends, my pets, my games, and finally, my art. It's tough, honestly, to balance the things I care about, and thought I hate to say it, I have pretty much prioritized my art pretty low on the list. That probably won't be changing, but I do desperately want to continue to create on my own, so I'm trying to push myself more to be as active as I can in the time I have available.

With that all said, I'm still left with something of a mystery as to what exactly I want to do with this place. Of course, I know that I'll probably keep doing comics and random articles about nonsense (I'd like to talk about LBX models at some point in the NEAR future), but I want to have a more specific goal in mind for all of these things. I've been very into Dinosaur Dracula lately, and on some level I think I've come to start building more of a goal for Doki Doki Arcade. At its heart, I think I want Doki Doki Arcade to appeal to the kid in all of us, so that's what I'm going to shoot for from now on.

More importantly, I'm going to try to shoot for much more frequency in my posts, so hopefully if you get in the habit of coming here often, you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised with new stuff. It won't always be comics, and often won't have any art at all. I've experimented with that in the past, and the relatively positive responses to articles like Pac-Man Fever and Halloween Turtle Treats would seem to indicate that people are fairly tolerant of my frank and open discussions of my juvenile delight at small trinkets, provided that occasional photos are tossed in for reference, so expect some more of those (LBX coming soon! Maybe!)

In any case, I hope that anyone reading this is enjoying what little time they spend here at Doki Doki Arcade, because I'd like to make it a place where you could spend more of it. Not because I think that this will ever go anywhere, or because I want an audience, but because I like the idea of a place like this existing, like a run down old comic shop, or Mr. Higsby's shop from Battle Network. Maybe those two things aren't actually the same, but to me, they kinda are.

So yeah, come back soon for Bird Force Stickers, an in depth discussion of some Little Battlers Experience models, and of course, more Ja-Ja-Ja-Janken!

Steven Universe may be in DANGER and it really needs to keep going.

Despite being a grown man, I am still a pretty major cartoon enthusiast. Most people don't get that, and maybe it's because I'm an artist and am interested in the craft, maybe I am intensely susceptible to nostalgia, or maybe I really am just a giant kid that can't grow up, but for whatever reason, cartoons still resonate with me in a powerful way. Of course, I was never a typical kid, and was always a little quirky in my interests, and was drawn to cartoons that were a little offbeat compared to standard children's fare. As a kid, and even more now as an adult, it takes something special and unique to hit the right chord with me, and it doesn't happen very often.

Steven Universe is a show that, from the very first episode, I was overwhelmingly positive about. There is just so much right with this show that its almost difficult to put into words. It is a show that is overflowing with charm and heart. It's got a certain purity in its design and execution, like some long lost anime from the 60's or something, it's evocative of all the things that made cartoons great without any of the trappings of modern cynicism. It's earnest, it's honest, and it explores themes and feelings that are so universal that I think anyone, of any gender, and of any age could watch this show and take something from it.

As an artist, I love this show for the bold and unusual design sensibilities, gorgeous use of color and abstraction, and dedication to traditional animation techniques. As a writer, I respect this show for the well realized characters, the emotional undertones, and the brave exploration of unusual plots and under represented themes. As an audience, I watch this show for the heart, the humor, and the personality it exudes with every episode.

Its also probably the most casually progressive show on television right now, as it very naturally challenges and changes up pretty much every stereotype of the genre and medium. Like, seriously, the diversity of the cast, when it comes to size, shape, color, personality, gender identity... its remarkably inclusive, but manages to be so without ever seeming like that's the point. It all comes off as completely natural, which it should, because that's how diversity tends to actually be.

As a grown man, I can honestly say that this show has become one of the highlights of my week. Cartoon Network recently released a DVD of the show, which despite coming out over a year after the show's premiere only has 12 episodes, which is disappointing, but I believe they did the same thing with Adventure Time and Regular Show, so maybe that isn't a bad sign. The show is also available OnDemand or whatever your cable provider calls it. Either way, I can't recommend this show enough, and hope to be able to continue to write about it.

Saturday Morning Anime for Grown Up Kids: Ja-Ja-Ja-Janken!

Imagine, if you will, that it is 6:00 am, and you are eight years old. In your hands you hold a bowl of Lucky Charms, and a television remote. The rest of your family is either still asleep or already out of the house, and the television belongs to you for a few glorious hours. Eager with anticipation, you turn on a fuzzy network TV channel, maybe twenty three or forty eight, and witness something magical...

That's it for now. More of this, as well as probably many other comics, coming in the near future. Enjoy!