FAQ About My Writing and Comics

For no reasons, a FAQ about my comics and writing I have gotten in general

1: What is (blank) about?

A: "Muzzle" is a parody/dramedy/fictional account of my life. Shade is about a ex-con (wrongfully accused) turned psychologist that becomes a superhero. I Am Nothing is about the "survivors" of the mysterious town of Minxton.

Goria is about Jacob Nathaniel/Nathaniel Andrews, who after a "cure" seemingly fails to kill a virus he's infected, he "dies." After his death, the "cure" rebuilds his body to its needs: making his skin turn into tendrils, leaving behind open wounds deep enough to expose muscle. After his father is killed, Nathaniel assumes an new identity, a starts to, unwittingly, fight the evil that seems to seeping to city of LaFayette, including a demon who thinks Hell isn't cruel enough, a fallen angel wanting to become God, and several others that are Infected.

2: Who is your favorite character to write?

A: This is another one I'm going to separate.

For "Muzzle," most people would think Patty because of her sheer insanity, or Binkie, because I've known her for so long. Actually, it's Jenna, because of her abrasive sense of humor, and trying to hide her old career.

For Shade, hero-wise, obviously Shade/Dr. Sam Garrison is due to his wise-cracking persona outside of the mask, and professionalism inside the mask. Villain-wise, it's a rough choice, but I'm going to have to say Psycho,being, well, psycho.

For Goria: Hero: You would think Nathaniel, being, you know, Goria. It's actually a villain who becomes good (which is hinted the entire time she's around): Ivy de la Rossi/Gomorrah. She can be so cruel and sadistic, but so sweet and caring. It's fun writing a character that seems to develop constantly, and she does it more than anyone else. Villain: Hodge Podge, due to the fact that as insane he is, you never know how insane he really is at that moment. You comes in a close second, because it has so many bizarre, funny, yet, horrific moments.

3: Who is your favorite character to draw?

"Muzzle": Patty by far, due to the piercings, and the pink hair. She's also the hardest to draw.

Shade: I'll get back to you.

Goria: Hero: Again, Gomorrah. The piercings and tattoos (and scars) make her a challenge, but she's well worth it. Villain: Either Azrael, due to the details of bone and muscle on her, or Pandora. Pandora, as physically hideous as she is, is a treat to draw because she's designed to look as insane as she is.

4: Who was the hardest Goria character to design?

A: Mimic was a pain to design, simply because I was tossed up between two different design choices. Gomorrah was a pain because of the tattoos. But, the hardest to design was Samael/Julian Dyson Hayes. Human form: wears a business suit. Demon form... um... big. That was it for a while.

5: Who was the easiest Goria character to design?

A: Mystery came to mind when I was playing Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Goria came naturally. But, the easiest character to design was Jillian Dyer. After seeing her inspiration, she just flowed on to the paper.

6: Why don't you respond?

A: Sorry, I was busy. ...What? Some one may ask? :P

7: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: I don't know. Sometimes, things to mind, and I have to draw them. Other times, I'm working with a concept for years until it falls into place.

8: What other media have you thought of trying to work in?

A: Aside from comics, I've always loved to write. I've written stories, poems, and lyrics. Oddly enough, though, I've always wanted to design characters and write a game. In fact, I Am Nothing was originally a game concept.

9: What is your favorite artist/comic/comic artist/graphic novel?

Artist: Salvadore Dali

Comic: Tossed up between Spider-Man and Legends of the Dark Knight.

Comic artist: As much as I like Brian Haberline's realism, and Ryan Bodemheim's style, I'm going to have say Greg Capullo.

Graphic novel: Surprisingly, not Watchmen, though I do love it. I would say Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth or How Loathsome.

10: Is it hard to design the creatures for I Am Nothing? What's your inspiration for them?

A: Yes, it is hard, but rewarding. My general rule is the harding something is, the more rewarding it is. My inspiration for them is pretty varied. "The Emaciated," a creature that vomits up its intestines to use as a weapon (and represents bulimia), came from a nightmare, as well as the "Missing," which represents child abuse. "The Victim" was the result of seeing the aftermath of when one of friends was raped, and was meant to represent the vast negative effects rape has on the victims. "The Masques" were inspired by an Anatomy Coloring Book used for colleges. "The Unnamed" was inspired by the stretched faces in the original Doom game. Others just happened.

Concept Gallery: The Victim from "I Am Nothing"

All right, so I've been away from here for a while, and I apologize. I've been busy with reviewing, school, drill, and a project I've been debating starting for pretty close to nine months. The project is I Am Nothing, a post-Cthulhu horror that people have tried to describe as the deranged love-child of H.P. Lovecraft and Silent Hill. In I Am Nothing, the city of Minxton has a secret. Several secrets, actually, according to the people who've suffered inside its borders. At times, the fine folks of Minxton shows their true colors; they become creatures that represent what they suffer or how they made others suffer. Each story of the I Am Nothing mythos follows a person that tries to escape, or ends up in the town unwittingly and is struggling with survival.

Unlike Goria, I Am Nothing has a mix of realism with a surreal aesthetic. The citizens aren't the only surreal part of the town, as the town can seemingly become a living being as well. But, more on that. Here, I want to talk about some monster concepts. Since it is extremely rare that I draw monsters, feedback is appreciated. Happily, this the blog where I get positive feedback, too.

Let's start with where I started: "The Victim." Initially, I made her look like a female silhouette from a distance, with her knees touching, arms crossed, and slouching. Upon closer examination, clear veins course her black body, pumping a viscous, white fluid through her body. Her face, marked with the veins, has one eye, wide in perpetual expression of fear, yet seems to glaring as well.

Everything for the initial pose of the Victim suggests what she has suffered: she was raped. The notes on the sketch reveal some secrets, though. When her prey is turned away, her arms unfold in a fluid motion, and her legs separate, though stay bent at the knees. What I don't have in the notes is the blade that comes from her pelvic area. When she attacks, she tackles her prey, and... well... do I have to spell it out?

At first glance, while scary looking, the Victim seems harmless. The character sees her, is scared at first, but puts their guard down when she seems to cower away from them. When she attacks, though, her method can suggest something worse than our first impression. Is the Victim waiting to take revenge on anyone that represents her attacker? Or is the Victim the attacker, suffering a punishment for their crime, yet driven to do it again out of pure rage caused by the punishment?

This may be controversial, but that's part of what makes I Am Nothing scary. Topics that are taboo are put to light (I'm currently working on one with a closeted gay main character, a trio of college students who made an amateur porn site, and a convict who killed his own mother), and the characters beliefs, warped or not, are shown by both the monsters actions and appearances. Keep an eye out for more on this topic, because next time, we're talking eating disorder.

Yet Another Project

Here's a little background on how this one started, and I'm not going to mince words with this post like I usually do on this blog; I've had a pretty shitty but good week, and I was 90% certain that I was going to lose my mind. Here's a list of things that went wrong, but went right almost right after.

1: After Laurel broke up with me (trust me, it was actually for a reason that made perfect sense in the long run), I'm pretty sure that my depression has kick started again, though not as severe.

But... I did find out that there is someone interested in me... buuuut, she's engaged. I am not going to pursue someone who has no idea what a relationship, especially since I'm a little busy with school right now. Good thing most of classes are easier.

2: That would be good if my car didn't decide to be a pain. Tuesday, Binkie, Jenna, Patty, Yuki, and I went to see Devil. Pro-tip: Don't. Anyway, my car stalled every time I started it. Wednesday roles around, and it won't even start. After my parents and apartment manager helped, my parents gave me a ride to school, and Jim picked me up to pick up gas for the car, and hopefully get it running. Luckily, the car was only out of gas, backfired once it started, but now runs beautifully. I mean, better than when I first got it. Also, as a result, I found I had a lot more money in the bank than I thought I did. The car thing did make it so I couldn't get poster board for my class, and because I was concentrating on working on three school projects, and studying for a psychology test, (and because the teacher never reminded us), I didn't know about a Photography quiz today. I did horribly on it, which is funny, because I know what I'm doing... most of it was getting my steps mixed up. Better on a quiz than in practice, but still.

3: In speaking of school, and while waiting for Jim, I sat in the Student Union working on a logo for "Subject 30" when this beautiful young woman caught my eye. I sat there for a minute, thinking, Dear God, if I was anyone else, I could talk to her no problem. As it was, I made myself sit in my chair, thinking I wasn't good enough to talk to her, because of the crappy events going on. After talking to Jenna about this (including the fact that she would stretch and adjust her hair occasionally, while looking at me), Jenna smacks me upside the head and says, "You dumbass! She was trying to get you to talk to her!" You live you learn, I guess. But, that does get better, too. I get to school this morning to find the same young woman talking to Yuki, of all people. And, from what I've gathered from Yuki (damn her coyness) is that I didn't completely blow everything.

Needless to say, it's been a roller coaster, and an idea stemmed from it: The Tease. It's going to be more simple than Muzzle and Goria in the sense that its only one story line. What it's about is one man starting a new stage of his life, and nothing seems to want to go completely right or completely wrong. The bad leads to the good that leads to more bad that leads to more good... to the point where he doesn't know if he's going crazy (not literally) or if the Powers That Be don't know what to do with him.

The trick to it is how I'm presenting it. It's going to be more monochromatic than most of my other comics, and the narrative is going to be more free-verse/prose with a rhythm than a straight narrative. I'll have some samples of it up here (as well as Muzzle) when I get some writing done. Right now, I need to sleep.

Announcements About Muzzle, A New Concept, Goria, and School Updates

I know I've been away for a week, at least, but I've been a little busy. School's going pretty well. My color theory teacher reminds me of a female Walter Bishop. One of the old Kaplan Photo teachers is my Photo 1 teacher, and I think my Psychology teacher thinks I'm too smart for my own good. I'm slowly getting integrated into the school, and I seem to have made fast acquaintances with the "nerds," (I mean that in a good way, I'm a nerd, too) an Arab med student, and a Japanese art student.

I'm changing a bit of "Muzzle." There has been some interest from some unexpected places about the "Wounded/Nobody Took Your Pride Away" two part story line that will affect the characters of the strip in some way. Due to that, I'll probably skip "Who Needs Sleep?" and possibly come back to that at a later time (mainly due to the fact that my new neighbors next door are nearly as bad as the old ones). We're currently working on the script for the two part (both me, and the subject of the story), and I'll say this, right now: It's not going to be an easy read, especially if you've read my old Deviant Art Muzzle strips. It will be a lot more serious (this story), but, it does have humor. It's just that the humor isn't meant to be "funny," more character development than funny (for example, showing that Patty is trying to expunge the situation from her mind by making references to TV shows). After that storyline, Muzzle will go back to its drama/comedy roots.

I'm working on Muzzle Wallpapers, as well as concepts. Below are the ones I'm currently working on:

WP:

Patty

Binkie

Jim

Heather

Kevin

Ben

Laurel

Alexis

Concepts:

Jenna

Joe

Tim

Laurel (casual)

Jim

Binkie (After Attack)

Yuki

On the Goria front, I'm tossing a few ideas around. I am still going to introduce Mimic, but that won't be until later on in the series. She is, in fact, an extremely good foil for Goria, and there is going to be a story based on just that. Where it gets tricky is, once again, Jillian Dyer. SPOILER ALERT! She eventually gets possessed by Succubus, and is the third, and most dangerous, incarnation of the demon. Herein lies the trick: how is Succubus going to be driven out of her? But, I'm sure I'll think of something.

I also started tossing around a new idea. Entitled, Subject 30, the story is about a man in a mental institution who is being experimented on. One day, his "handlers" are attacked by creatures while he's being transported to a lab, and he starts to escape, only to find that the experiments that are being done to him and the other patients aren't meant for humans. He also finds out that he himself is a psychologist.

That's all for now. I'm going to talk about some pretty good game design choices here a little while though. Stay tuned!

Tragedy In Writing: Whether Sexual Assault As Character Development Is Uncalled For Or Not

Atop The Fourth Wall reviewed a comic this week that implies that a supervillain forced Superman and Big Barda to do porn, thus raping them. A lot of arguments have flown from this, of course, both supporting rape in fiction and not supporting it. Obviously, in the comic, it was done purely out of poor taste. But, we're not here to dig that grave any deeper.

Instead, I'm going to put forth why I think that, done right, this "trope" can be effective, thus showing why we shouldn't just ignore it, and how it could go horribly wrong. Let's start with the second thing, since it's vastly easier. Other than that comic, how can rape be used wrong in a work of fiction? The Hills Have Eyes 2 has one of the most unnecessary rape scenes I can think of in modern cinema. It was all ready implied from the first five minutes (the infamous birth scene). Yet, to be edgy they showed one of the main characters being raped. I had just about walked out of the theater when that happened. When it's thrown in to be "thrown in," the context of what happened is lost.

If you're going to tell me that rape shouldn't be used at all, try telling that to Alan Moore as well. He has used rape at least twice to push a story along. The biggest one was Miracle Man when Kid Miracle Man was raped, and turned into a city destroying villain. The most well known example, though, would have to be the Comedian's attempted rape of the original Silk Specter. Even then, it wasn't blown off as something that just happened. It was a big deal, and more defined the second Silk Specter than the first. The event showed part of what molds both women into who they are. The survivor moves on to see another day, and forgives her rapist, while the daughter takes up a seeming crusade against crime, condemning the rapist. It shows that rape doesn't just affect the victim, but other people as well.

I have to admit, I have two characters in two different comics who do suffer this tragedy, and I assure you, it isn't just because I wanted to do it. I carefully researched the mental and physical effects, as well as talked to survivors. The first person is Jillian Dyer in "Goria." It may not be direct, but think carefully about it: Samael places Jillian in the porn industry, which she works in for two years. This is after he Infects her, making it so she Infects other people when she has sex with them. The thing is, Jillian, while at first blames herself (she was brought up in an abusive family, where Samael killed her father then kidnapped her for this purpose), as the character grows, the scar, while still there, begins to shatter. She lives through it, and still stays a bright, vibrant person. And while people will think that she then becomes a superhero from this, guess what? She doesn't. Not once does Jillian go out of her way to save people's lives.

In fact, a later story has her confiding in another member of TORAH, Bonnie. Jillian starts to feel that what happened to her wasn't rape because she did agree to be in the porn industry. She then starts to wonder that by Infecting the men and women she filmed with, if she's a rapist as well. The story isn't meant to make Jillian look bad, but get into the mindset of a woman who is raped, and feels that the only way she can connect with men is to have sex with them. This story is also based on someone I knew who went through a rape to suffer that very same train of thought, as well as an incurable STD. In the real life situation, she thanked me after years of talking to me for not once trying to make a pass at her. To her, it proved that she didn't have to sleep with a man to earn his respect. The last I heard from her, she's living a beautiful life and engaged.

This isn't to imply that all rape victims and survivors feel this way. Some are catatonic, while others just live on with their lives normally. Some may break down and be afraid of sex for the rest of their lives while other will seek help to fix this. Some women get pregnant and have an abortion so they don't think of the rape, while others keep the child.

It varies, which brings me to character #2, from, of all things, "Muzzle." This character is based on a person I've known for longer than most of my friends. She has worked as a rape victim counselor for three years, runs a rape survivor group, and, even though she works in a different job now, still takes on clients who were raped. As young as she is, she is compassionate and considerate to those of who she takes care. She's the type of person who would go out of her way to make the person feel safe and comfortable.

I was devastated when I got a phone call from her one night, saying that she was just raped. I panicked, and didn't know what to do. Frankly, I wanted to kill the guy who did it, but true to her form, she talked me through it. God bless her, she was the one suffering, but she talked me through my wanting revenge for what happened to her.

When I saw her, I did my best, as did some of my other friends in our group, not to break down. Her left eye socket was broken, the entirety of the left side of her face was swollen. Three of her ribs had hairline fractures that could've gotten worse if she ran or even spoke too loud (due to the lung expansion). Her right ring finger was broken, and her doctor didn't think she'd be able to play piano again. Two of her teeth needed to be capped.

Yet, when she saw us, she smiled. It's been two months, and she hasn't let it hold her back. All of us have been extremely supportive of her. The friendship we had has changed drastically, and for the better.

I'm not doing the story line where she was raped because I want to, or because it'll make my comic edgy. I'm doing it because she asked me to. She asked me to do the story because I wouldn't focus on what happened to her, but the what happened after. Yes, she was raped, but she survived and lived on. It has had an effect on all of us, but it brought us closer together as a group. She has grown, I have grown, and our friends have grown from this horrible event. That's the story that she wants me to cover, not "my friend was raped. Let's beat the guy up and forget about it."

In both "Goria" and "Muzzle," the characters who were raped do live with it for the rest of their lives. Neither comic follows the axiom of "characters never stay dead." Death has its scars in both of them, much like the rapes will have on the two characters given here. Or like Silk Specter's rape had on her daughter. Or Kid Miracleman's rape had on the entire city of London.

I'll admit, handling a topic like rape, or any sexual abuse or assault, is always going to be a tricky matter. I'm betting that, even if a person who was raped wrote a story about a character being raped, someone would be offended for the story being there in the first place. The ramifications would be less so if it is handled with the dignity and respect that a delicate topic like it deserves. I'll admit that I don't know if I'm completely qualified to do it, even after knowing rape survivors and talking with them. One thing is for sure, though: it isn't going to be as tasteless as forcing Superman and Big Barda to have sex and forgetting it. It is something that will have ramifications for those close to the victim has well as the victim. It'll be their story of survival and coping, not the story of "Hey, look! She was raped! Let's move on two stories later like this never happened!" Think about it: Would you act like that in real life?

Thoughts on Goria #5: Seriously? And Character Development 101, a.k.a. Why I Purposely Use The Models I Do

After having to show the last post to people, I finally got some feed back. All I can say is this: Really? I ask and I still get a split answer? I actually had one person tell me that neither of them would be good because they look like their going to jump into bed with someone. I had another person tell me "draw them both, and see which one fits." Seriously, I can't help how someone would read the pictures. The thing is, I have this weird ability to see something else when I look at pictures. I don't see, "Hey, look! She's horny and hot!" I see the facial structures, the proportions, and the basic shapes that make the person who they are, as well as a more human quality that most people don't see in the picture. I really wish I had a dollar for every time I saw a picture of someone who was "smiling," and I asked them why they were upset, and was right.

No, it isn't a superpower, but something I have acquired in my years of drawing, and learning to draw. It's something I acquired in the Army, no less, too. Attention to detail. It's really a basic thing to have for an artist, when it comes to art and photos. Other people have it in computers, engineering, or even math. So, I honestly, while I was upset by that bit of feed back (mainly because I took it as an insult saying basically that I only draw women because "they're hot") I realize that I'm probably asking the wrong type of people (read: over analytical for the wrong reason) when I ask everyone for their opinions.

I did get some very good feedback, as well though, and mostly of Model "A." The first bit was from Alexis, who mentioned that she'd be better because she doesn't look cheerful constantly, and there's more simplicity in her design that makes her more attractive yet more mysterious at once. While that seems a little off, let me rephrase that last bit: she's easier to draw and make into a character that would have a personality a spy would need.

Another, and even better feedback, was that Model "A" looks like she could get to a high class party to sneak into a secret lab by any means. Due to her needing to get a DNA sample from a person to change her fingerprints and retinas to another person, realistically, she'd need to be attractive enough to draw people to her, as well. Model "B" looks like she'd be chased out of the party, being mistaken as a street urchin or a teenager, and therefore would not be able to access high class or high security areas. Mimic needs to be able to get in, but not be sneaky (well, completely sneaky) about, all while having some basic combat knowledge to defend herself if need be.

An interesting bit, though, is that "A" seems to make for a good foil for Goria. Goria, on a first impression level, is very quiet, mild-mannered, and polite. It's only when people get to know him that they realize he's more stable than he really should be. Face it, two people you loved die before your eyes, one of them twice and the other coming back completely changed (the Infection is a bizarre thing), your father sold his soul to save your life, and is now a 4000 pound demon, and your skin is used as a grappling device and weapon. You're not going to be well adjusted without some sort of motivation, Goria's being that he's had a year before this hit the fan to get used to his new life. While the loss is painful to him, the fact that he can fight back motivates him to live a "normal" life. That's why he can be mild mannered and quiet.

Mimic is the opposite. She may have had time to get used to her abilities, but she hasn't had the situations Goria has had. Her father isn't now a demon, she hasn't lost any loved ones by the hands of an eyeless gunman, and she's pretty much relied on herself for years. It's only at her whim that she joins TORAH, because she wants the adventure. Due to her active nature, she does in fact create a good foil, and that may be, in fact, what draws Goria and her together.

See, that's something a lot of people don't understand about "Goria." The comic is scary and morbid, yes, and a little intimidating when you think about the central themes: Religion, Psychology, Genetic Manipulation, etc. But, the biggest draw in "Goria" is the character development. One of the most popular changes that people have heard is Gomorrah's evolution. She goes from being a protector, and an unwitting fighter, to nearly destroying the world due to losing her grip of sanity after Sodom is killed. After she realizes what she was doing, she tries to redeem her actions, all while questioning if Sodom was using her, and how much control she really had in the first place. What begins as an unwitting villain turns into a huge villain, and finally into a story of redemption and soul searching.

The minor characters aren't exempt from this. Personally, one of my favorite story concepts is when Angeldust, the seraphic member of Barnum's Circus, goes to see her mother's grave to apologize for losing her humanity. What we see as a mindless drone, in 32 pages exudes a sympathetic stance on what it feels like to not be human. It's story lines like this that make "Goria" on of the pinnacle works I'm attempting.

This goes to why I choose certain models for this. I usually hate doing the conventional comic character, i.e. the men are ripped and the biggest muscle a woman has are her breasts. Goria, while muscular, isn't exactly buff. He's tough looking, but not so much that he's an action hero. Instead, he relies more on the enhanced strength the Infection gives him, and his skills as a gymnast. On the flip side, when I needed someone for R.E.M., the psychologist whose fascination with nightmares makes him into a dream-manipulating madman, I needed someone who was quietly intelligent, more of a defensive fighter than offensive, and someone who could pull off a manipulative personality. Strangely enough, Michael C. Hall came to mind. Anyone who has seen him play Dexter can see why, too.

As much as I hate using the tried axiom of "bigger breasts is better," two female characters seem to bust that especially (no pun intended. Seriously.) Bonnie Carson was influenced by Playboy model Breann McGregor, not just because of her body, but her intelligence as well. Initially, I wanted Bonnie to be human, but when I decided to use Breann McGregor as a base type for a reference, I decided to give her some sort of "flaw." In this case, her Infection causes her to have a thin layer of skin, but her muscle is impenetrable. Her big scene where this is exposed has her coming out of a freshly exploded building with half of her skin missing, and she doesn't notice it. The other character that breaks my rule, is more out of necessity of design. When I first designed Mystery, I needed someone who looked at least half Asian, and had a, shall we say, artificially sturdy build. I stumble upon a picture of Julri Waters, and was stunned by how well she fit the sarcastic Mystery. Unfortunately, I thought she would be too bust until it was pointed out that Mystery's chest and stomach would actually be thicker due to the armor plating on it.

At the same time, consider this. Jillian Dyer, who is personally one of my favorite characters just for the fact that she's stronger than what she shows, starts her main arc as a porn star. Oh noes! A porn star in a comic! Whatever shall we do?

Well, consider this, her ability is to Infect people that have sex with her. This is a bad thing, for those of you out of the loop. There's also a moral here: There are consequences for using someone for your means. Given what Jillian Dyer starts off as, notice that her proportions are 34B-22-32. That's right, she's smaller than Bonnie (38D-26-36), Mystery (32G-24-36 including armor) and even the modestly built Sodom (34C-22-34). Surely, this must be an error, right?

Well, it's not. I did this for a very specific reason. The same reason Elaine Carver originally had a broad hip measurement (this was changed for realism and because I liked the Goth Elaine design a lot more). The same reason Sin was influenced by Devon Aoki, who isn't conventionally attractive, why Zeta is 6'2", and why Gomorrah has tattoos, scars, and a blind right eye. It's why I have a character who is "fat" but is still seen as beautiful in Goria's eyes. Hell, its the same reason I keep track of all of my female character's measurements! Each character is different, therefore, they should look different. It would be boring, and unrealistic, for every character to look the same. It would also be too typical to make the porn star character busty and vapid, as well. That, or giving some people what they want. No, instead, I'm not a moron, and would apt to give my female characters a brain (hint, hint, Frank Miller).

If this seems like I'm aggravated, it's because I am a little. This isn't the first time (nor will it be the last) that I felt like I was under attack for choosing the models I use. For the record, I do use some of my friends as bases for characters in "Goria" as well as in "Muzzle." But, I don't just go for the models who look like they're going to put out. For me, there is a whole different perspective on it that most people (mainly men) don't understand. As for my other projects, such as the Pin-Up Project, yes I've drawn from "questionable" sources for it (the first one was referenced from a picture of porn star Priya Rai that a friend sent to me), but at the same time, I'm doing it to learn, as well as to show a different vision. I'm not planning on selling the not-original-source-material Pin-Ups (and probably not the purely original ones, either) anyway.

What it comes down to is this: stop making assumptions. I know I've butted heads with a few people mistakenly who did appreciate what I was doing as art. But for those of you who still don't get it, I'm not the first, and I sure am not the last to do it, either. Live with it.

Thoughts On Goria #4: Mimic and Love Triangles

Where I last left off in my last TOG entry was a hint that Goria would have a future love triangle between Bonnie Carson, whose skin is extremely thin, but has impenetrable muscle, and Mina Ross, who was thought dead, but is now the Infected "Chronophage," who can absorb liquid from a person, virtually aging them. I left off with kind of a hint that not even I knew who he would end up with. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that neither would work.

Yes, in his future, Goria has at least on child, a daughter named Charla, who has a similar ability to his, except individual strands of muscle are used as tendrils, the can pierce objects for a better grip, and they're twice as strong as his skin tendrils. I figured that in order for her ability to work, she'd need two parents who are "Flesh Infected," seeing as the DNA alteration is embedded into the person's genetic structure. Chronophage is a "Liquid Infected," meaning this wouldn't work. Also, her ability would more than likely consume the child before birth.

Bonnie, on the other hand, has a different problem. Her muscle is pretty much a malleable but tough material. Certain muscles in her body would hinder the growth of a child, or crush it. On top of this, as much as I like Bonnie's character, she isn't a good match for Goria. He's a leader type that takes on his failures, and feels he needs to protect someone or something. Bonnie doesn't need protection because she pretty much cannot die from any outside means.

So, back to the drawing board for me. I couldn't figure out what ability a Flesh Infected could have that isn't a repeat of another character, when Patty hit me with a clever idea. Flesh Infection goes deep into the soft tissue of the human body, including organs. What is there was a character who could change her finger prints, and retina make-up to "disguise" herself as someone else to get into high security areas? If she can do this, she may also be able to form makeshift weapons as well, but cannot change her entire appearance. Thus, the concept for Mimic was born.

I only have one more issue. I try to use a reference for every character just to get a natural feel of how they'd look. Unfortunately, for Mimic, I have two possible candidates, and I don't know which one would work better.

The first one has a face I really like, and has a body that looks like she could hold her own in a fight, if she isn't distracting anyone first. While she's attractive, there seems to be more to her than that, especially when she has a feature I've used on another character, Jillian Dyer: her mouth never seems to completely close. For some reason, I like that, it gives a more human quality to the character. At the same time, I'm worried that she's too attractive to be taken seriously as a fighter and a potential romance for a character who uses his skin as a grappling device, even if she's Infected, herself.

The second one seems more reasonable in that case. Unfortunately, due to her smaller frame, she doesn't seem like a possible fighter. Even worse, in other pictures I've found of her, she is skinny, but her bust is fairly big for her size, while model A has some pretty good proportions for her size. Despite this, model B's face (the more hometown girl look) seems to be a better fit for realism.

So, in a move I rarely do, what do you, the readers, think? A or B? Or none? All I ask is that you explain in intelligent terms (i.e. not "She's hot!!!!11!!! LOL!!!1!).

Muzzle Development Journal 2: Pin-ups

This is a different meaning of the word "Pin-Up" than you might be thinking. At least, for now, it is. The picture to the right is my first Muzzle Pin-Up, one of our psychologist with a bizarre past and video game addiction, Jenna. I could go into the whole "she likes long walks on the beach" spiel, but I won't. Instead, I'm actually going to use this to talk about why I'm doing this style of Pin-Up, and why I'm only doing the "risque" style for certain characters.

Firstly, I'm doing this style (clean, humorous, and kind of biographical) mainly because it's a good way to get some concepts going for characters that are pretty much already designed. This type of pin-up is the comic book definition where its a decorative picture that shows the character or group. For the individual pin-ups, I'm throwing in somethings about the characters. For this one, we see Jenna in an office, twirling her hair, in a somewhat seductive pose. We can deduct that she works in an office (which she does), and that she does come off as being seductive (whether or not she means to is another question). The next one I'm working on in this series is going to be of Alexis (which should be fun), and then Binkin and Patty as well as the rest of the cast. Not all of them will be "seductive," but more of a showcase of the characters themselves (i.e. Alexis's could be seen as being seductive, but she's more playful than anything else, while Binkie is more "serious.")

Now, question the second: Why am I going to do the "risque" pin-ups, and why only certain characters? Well, lets get the first out of the way. Remember that I said this is going to be a more mature comic? While there isn't any senseless sex thrown in, keep in mind that A) I'm an artist who draws, more often than not, women, both clothed and nude (i.e. the Pin-Up Project). B) The comic isn't just about me, but the other characters as well. And C) This is a grown-up comic (not Hentai) with grown-up subjects, both funny and serious (in the case of the second chapter, very serious), and yes, sometimes something that involves nudity will pop up (again, me being an artist, and other matters as well).

When you have characters such as Jenna, Alexis, and Patty, its hard not to have people asking "are you going to draw her naked?" Case in point, this happened quite often when people saw both pictures of cartoon Alexis and real Alexis. Had I been more violent about it, I'm sure both of my hands and feet would be broken. The trick is, only a few of the female characters would want to be seen like this. So, yes, expect "actual" pin-ups of Jenna, Patty, Vanessa (Patty's girlfriend) and even Alexis (at her request), mainly to poke fun at my other project, and to get people to stop asking to "see them naked." I've found that if you want take away any imagination you don't want people to have, give it to them early.

On the other hand, don't expect me to draw some of the other female characters or any of the males in this manner. First thing's first, I hate drawing men, especially in a manner that, personally, I think works better for women. Read as "men don't have that nice, curvy shape that women have that is fun to draw and look at." Secondly, certain women in the strip are not meant to be seen like that, period. This includes Binkie, Heather, and some of Alexis' friends that will appear later on. Some of these are out of respect for the person's wishes (the ones I am doing requested it, or agreed to it of their own volition), to respect another's wishes (most unsaid), or due to it being unnecessary (well, most of them are, anyway, but it's meant to be funny). There is only one exception. If anyone asks why after this, I will personally pay them a visit to pin this next paragraph on their thick skulls.

I will not draw Binkie as a "risque" pin-up for the sheer fact that all of the above apply plus these two reasons: 1) I've known her longer than I've known anyone else in this strip, and I hate it when guys see her as a nothing more than a sex toy. 2) A huge part of the story would clash with this entirely, and it would be in extremely poor taste to do it in the first place.

Now, the question of "Why is your girlfriend getting one?" pops up. Well, that's simple: she requested it. By her words, it isn't like people are looking at her photographic nudity/lingerie in a comic. They're seeing a cartoon representation of her. Besides, according to her, its meant for fun anyway, so why not?

That's only a small part of what I'm working on. Stay tuned for more!

Muzzle Development Journal 1: Writing the Girls

Most people who know me know that I seem to have two groups of friends: the guys (Jim, Heather, Kevin, Joe, and Tim) and the Girls (Binkie, Patty, Jenna, and, of course, Alexis). Due to the fact that Muzzle is a fictional take on real life experiences, I do have to make some of these things up, but I realized something today. When it comes to the Girls (and the guys as well), I barely have to write their material.

A few examples:

1: Patty is a psychotic. Several times, Patty has done something, or said something, that makes no sense to anyone but her. This strip is actually inspired by her telling me that she was haunted by the ghost of Caligula before. Another bizarre Patty moment was a few years ago when her, the girl I was dating, and I were talking about Nine Inch Nails' album "Year Zero." Patty decided that when you mix government, religion, and music, you get butter. She was serious, too.

2: Jenna is throwing a costume party, and wanted to make sure Binkie would make it (and to make sure she was up for it due to her father's sudden passing). The following occurs:

B: What are you going as?

J: Why do you want to know?

B: So I know what not to dress up as.

J: Don't dress like me.

This isn't the first time the two have had unusual banter like this. Even when they were renting the same apartment (Jenna now owns a house that Bink lives in as well), they had some... interesting conversations.

3: As much as we all like Jenna and her Valley Girl attitude, it can yield unexpected results at times.

"Alexis: Jenna mocks and humiliates your attempts to--

Jenna: Yes! I'm famous!"

"Patty: As the toughest person in the game, I demand I go first!

Jenna: As the "smartest person in the world," I demand you go fuck yourself.
-Before playing "Arkham Horror""

"Jenna: You're right, Kate Gosslin goes have nice breasts. But you know who has better?

Bink: Kim Kardasian?
Patty: Chuck Norris!"

(While I'm trying to find a reference picture of Jenna) Jenna: You know, if you have a picture of me in a bikini, it may increase you're readership.

Me: ... You know, you're right.

Jenna: Or you could--

Binkie: No, he's not making you a French Maid.

Pause

Binkie: You're making her into a French Maid, aren't you?

Me: It's possible...

4: You know how most people have terms of affection for one another? Well, Alexis (as much as I love her to death) has one of the most bizarre ones I've seen. She acts like she's biting my arm, and calls me "taestee foods." That combined with her big brown eyes has to be one of the funniest and cutest pictures I have seen in my life.

5: Binkie's extremely conservative, Jenna and Alexis are extremely liberal, and I think both sides have no idea what's going one (mostly the liberals, but conservatives aren't exempt). You would think this would cause a lot of arguments. It actually doesn't. Unless, of course, you try to convince Jenna to move back to California, and tell believe that Alexis supports certain politicians due to her political affiliation.

6: Their fashion sense and personalities couldn't be any more different, but they get along like they've know each other for years. Well, Patty, Bink, and Jenna have, but Alexis grew on them fast. Yet, its funny when you see the professional dressing and acting Binkie, the Valley Girl Jenna, the crazy tomboy Patty and the feminine tattooed goth-girl Alexis in the same room together, and talking like they're sisters. It's surreal, but in a cool way.

Muzzle Year One Soundtrack

Because most of "Muzzle" is musically inspired (and movie line inspired, too), I felt it right for each year to have a soundtrack. The first year's should be as follows.

Who Needs Sleep? by The Barenaked Ladies

Want You Bad by The Offspring

Midnight by Novatone

Wounded by Third Eye Blind

Blood by Abandoned Pools

The Night I Punched Russell Crowe by Gælic Storm

Solvent by Charmparticles

Shine Your Cadillac by Evans Blue

Brown Eyed Girl by Everclear

Synchronicity II by The Police

Adam's Song by Blink-182

Icarus: Borne on Wings of Steel by Kansas

Less Talk, More Rokk by Freezepop

The Royal We by Silversun Pickups

Volvo Driving Soccer Moms by Everclear

Dirty Little Secret by All-American Rejects

Firefight by Jimmy Eat World

Under the Table and Dreaming by Dave Matthews Band

Into The Light by In This Moment

Company by Third Eye Blind

Catch and Release by Silversun Pickups

Someone Else's Dream by Youth Group

Quote by Evans Blue

Last Train To Awesometown by Parry Gripp

Vital Signs by Rush

This Is War by 30 Seconds to Mars

Never by Abandond Pools

Better by Guns 'N Roses

Just Breathe by Pearl Jam

I'll Buy That For a Dollar: I Wonder If They're Actually Round Steak

Being a vegetarian, I don't normally pay attention to Ponderosa ads. Ben showed me this, though, when it came in his mail, a rictus crossing his face that he only has when he sees something unintentionally hilarious. I looked, and I knew right off what he was grinning at.

This is a big typography failure. Notice that the first three letters you notice are "ASS." The "A" is slightly smaller than the two "S's," but they're the same font, meaning that they're going to be associated into the viewers minds together. The rest of the phrase is a san serif font, with the kerning cut to push the letters closer together. The kerning is also cut back to the two "S's." Unfortunately, the difference in font sets the the curvy letter from the rest of the word, and reenforces it's association with the "A." So, the ad pretty much reads "ASS tampede teaks" with "Of New" tucked under the "A," in white, and a third san serif font. More than two fonts in the logo, too? For shame.

Amusingly enough, on the back, a similar flaw is found. "Price Rollback" is done in such a way that "PR" looks highlighted. Maybe the designer knew what he did, and figured he'd let us know who we should call.

- Alexis

"Muzzle" minor characters, and changes for it.

Here's some of the minor characters coming up in "Muzzle." Obviously, some names have been changed (i.e. "Binkie").

Vanessa: Patty's girlfriend, and an old friend of Ben's. Wear's two different glasses frames welded together.

Reggi: A friend of Jenna's that met Ben while on vacation from California. Since, she's been the model for one of Ben's comic characters (not this one), and attempts to start an actual band with Ben.

Cameron: Reggi's travel companion, and "bass player."

Jess: Jenna's sister who works at a bank.

Mina: Ben's lawyer and occasional model for some of his art. She also helps him find other models.

Dalaja: Binkie's old college dorm room mate. Unwittingly gets along with Ben and Jenna as if they've been friends since they were kids. Known for her sweet demeanor.

Mike: A blue haired mechanic that has known Ben for a while and manages to put up with Patty's insanity.

* * *

Now, for some changes. When I started "Muzzle," it was going to be mostly gaming, music, movies, and random humor that may or may not have expletives involved. It had no nudity, and no violence. If I'm going to tell a story like this, I can't do that. I'm an adult, and my life is one of an adult. My humor is more adult. And the things that have happened, both good and bad, are adult. I draw people, both clothed and nude, as does Alexis. My friends are mostly okay with this (not sure of my family), but even if they weren't, I can make my own decisions. Aside from the fictional stories and Patty's bizarre lack of reality, I'm making this a more adult comic (read "mature" not "porn") to fit what my style as of late is.

It is also important to note that, while the characters are based on real people, the way they are written in the strip does not necessarily reflect on how they would behave in real life. This is first, and foremost, a fictional comic making fun of reality by not being real. If you're confused, I refer you to Pictures of You, How Loathsome, and other comics that are both drama and comedy combined.

Finally, again, the humor won't be as often, but it'll be there. Expect a lot of ranting and discussion about bad drivers and horrible video games and movies, but also expect something more grounded and not in your face hilarious. I'm going for a more dramatic approach on purpose.

Other than that, when it starts, enjoy!

Ben

Started Working On An Old Project Again

I owe another web comic some credit for this one. If any of my readers like web comics, check out this one, "Pictures of You." I promise, you won't regret it, even if it isn't always funny (or work safe). One story line in it has left me in complete awe of the main character's actions in a bad way, but in one of the most recent chapters, he makes up up for it in a big (albeit violent) way that if the same situation struck one of my friends, I'd probably attempt the same thing. It sounds awful to say on paper, but what happened was inevitable.

Needless to say, inspiration struck me, partly due to that comic, partly due to a few things that have been happening in my life lately, and part of wanting to tell a story that funny, emotional, and a satire at the same time. One that may not always be true (especially talking about a certain pink haired psychotic, or a fictional Rock Band camping trip), but something I hold true to my heart. Something true to life, that its funny, but not always. Maybe things work out in the end, but not always. Those who know me know what's going on by now. For those who don't, I'm starting my old web comic (that was on Deviant Art), "Muzzle" again.

Especially for those who don't know what I'm talking about, "Muzzle" was a web comic project that I was working on that was a web comic that I was working on back when Deviant Art wasn't a glorified porn site (remember those days?). It was my original way of reviewing movies. It was a way of making jokes that were ridiculous to anyone outside my circles of friends, but in a good way. It was a good way of telling a personal story, and giving a little background about me in a humorous way. Also, I could make fun of Jenna being a secretary for a psychologist, and why Patty got into photography. Really, it was my way of telling people about my life, in a weird, funny, and dramatic way, although I threw some fake stuff in as well, just for fun.

"Muzzle" will be getting a little bit of a reboot, though. Granted, not everything will be wiped clean off of the slate, but the story will pick up way after where I left off, to what has been going on lately, with, some spicy fiction involved. No, people, not hentai. I mean story lines like "The Rock Show" where I start a band with my male friends. Also, to note, it's not going to be as slap stick, or as funny. Humor will be involved, but not nearly as constant as it was. I kind of want this to be a bit deeper and personal to me. Especially in light of what I've been going through, what a close friend of mine has been going through, and, well, I'm good at telling a dramatic story with some humor, but not constant humor.

Also, I'm expanding the cast list. It'll be as follows:

Main cast:

Ben (yes, me, what did you expect? :-P): Age: 26. An Army Reservist, Graphic Designer, Artist, and soon to be college student... again. I know, but figuring his old school went the way of Annondale, after graduating, or getting his degree in the mail, which will take about the same as it took the money the school owed him to actually be refunded (almost three months), he felt it was time to go for broke and get a somewhat meaningful degree than an Associate's in Graphic Design. That is, when he isn't lambasting bad horror movies, selling games he never plays, playing video games, listening to Indie rock, and trying to convince his girlfriend to look at his amazing horse...

Alexis: Age: 26. Ben's girlfriend, though you wouldn't put the two together at first glance. Alexis is 5' even, weighs maybe 100 pounds, has several ear piercings and tattoos, but a smile that would make the sun jealous. Despite her bright persona, she does fear a few things: her devoutly spiritual, 4'8" Japanese mother, and monsters in the closet. Like Ben, she's a Graphic Designer, but unlike Ben, she uses her Bachelor's Degree. She is, though, stunned at Ben's designs to the point of near excitement. With design, and life, she's a kid in a candy store, and no one would have it any other way.

The Girls:

Binkie: Age: 25. If Ben had a best friend, Binkie would be it. They've known each other for over 20 years, and better of worse, they've been their for each other. After losing contact with her twice, Ben has vowed not to lose her as a friend again. It would seem that she had done the same, as well. Despite their "hard friendship," mainly due to Ben's lack of knowledge of other races at the time, if one has a problem, the other is there to help. Usually, as of late, its been her helping him, but a few times, Ben has to defend her, as brutal as it may be at times.

Jenna: Age: 27. Those who recognize Jenna have one of three reactions: 1: A quick look away. 2: A tongue hanging out of their mouth. 3: Asking her for an autograph. While she doesn't broadcast why, Ben knows, and he isn't talking. She's Binkie's housemate (with Hiroku), and was Ben's stabilizing factor in a particularly hard time. When people see her talking to Ben, it makes them wonder what their friendship is actually based on, due to him constantly teasing her. Oddly enough, it's her that gets the last laugh.

Patty: Age: 21. The brat of the group, for more than just her age. Patty is the pink-haired, nose and lip pierced psychotic that keeps Ben on his toes, and the girls wondering what she's going to do next. Nothing is out of range for her, from sitting in a video store watching Clash of the Titans because her hamster is named Harry Hamlin, to talking to Lego displays.

The Guys (and one nonguy):

Jim: Age: 25. If Ben had another best friend, Jim would be it. Like Binkie, Jim is an intellectual in the logical sense (much like Ben is the abstract intellectual), but unlike her, he's more honed to his emotions. When Ben is in a dark area, Jim is usually the first person he talks to, if available. He's seen Ben at his worse (which makes Ben afraid that he's pushing things too far to the negative at times), but he's always been a willing listening ear to him, and the other guys. Jim is, at his heart, the best friends a nerd like Ben and the guys could ever want.

Joe: Age: 25. Jim's longest known friend, and former co-worker of Ben's. Joe is usually quiet to people he's never met, but the life of the party when he warms up to them. When Ben does helps Joe out, as well as when the rest of the guys do, they enjoys the company and the "adventure." He also serves as the logic to Ben, and the illogic to Jim, evening both of them out.

Tim: Age: 25. Tim is the outdoors man and mechanic of the guys. He owns his own house, has a good job, and spends his weekends watching "The Deadliest Catch" or "Dirty Jobs." That is, when he isn't telling Kevin to shave his fro. Or shooting Kevin with an invisible gun. Or just making fun of Kevin in general. Needless to say, he seems to feel a deep kinship with Kevin... despite the outside looks of things.

Kevin: Age: 26. Kevin has more nicknames than anyone on earth, and most of them are vulgar. Foul-ball, gutter-ball, wang-smaggler, disco, fro-boy, MJ, Captain Slow, James May, nothing can describe Kevin more than the series of nicknames. Despite the ribbing, Kevin is often the voice of reason among the guys, and is the first one of the guys Ben has met. If any of the guys has an issue they need to talk about, Kevin is the listening ear. And he may not know how much they all appreciate that.

Heather: Age: 23. Jim's significant other, and the needed estrogen of the group. She comes off headstrong at first, but rightfully so. It isn't that she's stubborn, but more goal oriented than people give her credit for. Upon first meeting her, Ben was weary (for reasons the guys know), but she grew on him, as well as the rest of the guys. They may butt heads occasionally (mainly when Ben says something that can easily be taken a completely different way), but there is no denying that he sees her as a good person and a friend.

I'll have some more, minor cast up later. Right now, sleep beckons.

Ben

Born From Interpretation: Spawn #166, Last Page

I mentioned on this blog before that I have lost all respect for Todd McFarland. While this is still true, years ago, I had gotten my hopes up for the series when I heard that it was being taken to its original, dark roots (where it was supposed to be if it hadn't been for marketing). After the Armageddon Saga had been used as nothing but a McGuffin to reboot the series, and a cheap one, at that, the series needed a complete overhaul.

Enter writer David Hine, writer of the recent Daredevil comics as well as District X, and Brian Haberlin, co-creator of Witchblade. After seeing samples of Haberlin's art, I was still suspicious that the stories would be trash, but I was impressed with the art style. It was more realistic, grittier, and his monsters where disturbing (save for his fairly infant-looking Violator, but that's a topic for later). One day, out of curiosity, I opened up Spawn #166 on to the last page. This was the image that made me get into the Spawn series again, until Haberlin left (due to his wife giving birth), and McFarland screwed the character over.

Illustration is not as easy as people seem to think. Where in art, you're taking what you feel and putting it on paper, in clay, or whatever medium you're using, Illustration requires you to translate someone else's thoughts and ideas onto paper. With comics, these ideas can be written pretty specifically, or very loosely depending on how well the creative team is working together. With this image, Haberlin and Hine created a haunting visage of what the series could become: a grotesque, horrifying portrayal of life after the Apocalypse, that is, if the Apocalypse banished the existence of God and Lucifer to another realm.

Some background on the context: Throughout the issue, this woman had been biting her cuticles, tearing the skin back. A voice goads her on to keep tearing at her skin, until her boyfriend comes to pick her up. When she answers the door, she's wearing opera gloves to cover the fact that her hands are bloody. Later, her boyfriend comes back to see her, and she tells him that he won't love her anymore. Cue this page.

The next issue shows a behind the scenes look at the creative team's process of making a splash page like this. Hine's notes are extremely specific, and thumbnails are included as well. I would've loved to see this page done behind the scenes, mainly because it imbeds into your mind. She peeled so much of her skin off, that her fingers weren't strong enough to see how far she could go, so she pulled out a knife. Only her forehead and left shoulder have skin left. While she most likely shouldn't be alive, she should be, at least, in immense pain, but she doesn't seem to be.

Double that with the text: "I just had to see what was underneath." If this is the first image you saw of this particular issue, the combination of the image and her quote would most likely create some sort of indelible mark on your imagination. Moreover, Haberlin, who knew a lot about the human anatomy as an artist before, likely had to due extensive research on the muscular system. Speaking from experience as both an artist and someone who took anatomy classes in school, memorizing how the texture of each muscle looks (and how to separate the groups) is no easy task. Yet, Haberlin pulled it off like a true professional. His art work throughout the run continued to impress not only audiences, but the rest of the series' staff as well.

Next time (which should be next week or the week after), I'm going to take time to talk about an unfinished miniseries that was one of the most underrated comics in recent history. I'm only going to show two or three pages, but trust me, it'll be worth it. Besides, the fate of Earth depends on it. Well, not really, but it'd be cool if it did. Then, the series may actually be finished!

- Ben

Functional Vs Impractical: Crackdown 2's Impossible Mission, Game Breaking Flaws, and Special Guest Star

Here's a trick for game designers: Solve this puzzle. See that red "C" with the white around it? I can't go five steps out of that without being yelled at. See those triangles? Those are all on a roof of a building. The building below, in fact. The very same building that I can't climb without automatically failing the mission because I don't want to pay upwards of $10 a month to play with an uppity twelve-year old with a mouth foul enough to make Quentin Tarantino blush. And yet, Ruffian Games expects people to know how to pass this part in single player. Stunning, figuring the only thing they did was reskin the original game.

So, here's the puzzle: If Ruffian Games are professionals (from teams that made the original Crackdown as well as Project Gotham Racing, the only car racing game I can control), how did they screw up on this massive of a level? See, Crackdown is a game where you should be able to climb buildings easily. Yet, in this one, you can't because a protrusion juts out to keep you from the ceiling. Oh, and this one? The ledges are too high for you to reach at maximum agility level, so you have to go over four buildings and climb them to even get to the roof of this one. When you do that, you fail the mission. I'm not the only one who caught this, as Jim Sterling of Destructoid has too: "Some of the missions are broken, too. One tactical location is actually impossible to complete in single-player, because leaving the location's radius causes the mission to be lost. Unfortunately, all the Cell soldiers that need killing at at the top of a building that requires players to leave the radius in order to climb. Without a second player, this mission simply cannot be completed. It's oversights like that are simply inexcusable in a game where the developer did very little of their own original work."

What else is broken? Targeting. Imagine that you have a guy blasting at you from five feet away, a cop minding his own business, and a cow. You'll aim at the guy trying to kill you, right? The agent will opt for the cow about 80% of the time, and the cop roughly 18% of the time. By the time you actually aim for the guy who is killing you, you're either dead or need to retreat. Or, you'll have to buy a grill for some hamburgers.

Finally, though, something that isn't broken in the game, but is purely unusual. Instead of the old agent, you play as a new one. One of the agent skins in this one, I kid you not, looks like Dr. Gregory House on steroids. If I'm looking to play as someone intimidating, I can think of better designs than a misanthropic doctor. But, admittedly, it is kind of awesome. It'd be more awesome if the show wasn't a complete waste of time anymore, though.

So, back on track. Crackdown 2 is not worthy of being called an original title. It's also not worthy of being called a single player game. If designers want to make a multiplayer game, don't put single player campaigns in it. Its just that simple. Next time, I'm going to try to find a good design to talk about. It might be a game, it might not. But, I need to stop the negative speak while I can.

- Ben

A Further Note About "Painted."

Some of you may have all ready read Alexis's take on the Evans Blue song, "Painted." Well, being as it's one of my favorite songs that they've done (seriously, music is supposed to evoke emotions), I listened to it again. This time, purely unintentionally, I figured out what the voices are saying in the background during the last two minutes of the song. People, if you thought it was creepy before, get a load of this.

1: "I can see you and you can't see me. I am right here and I'm waiting" is echoed in a woman's voice as well as Kevin Matisyn's.

2: "Be a nice puta" is uttered right after this. Puta translates from Spanish as "bitch" or "whore." This voice goes on but is drowned out by the guitar.

3: Another voice gets progressively louder, as if yelling angrily at someone. This will change eventually as the song gets closer to the end.

4: As it does, you can hear him say something along the lines of "I can see you and you can see me. You will die while your waiting." I'm not exactly sure if that's what's said, but I can make out "You will die" pretty clearly.

5: He then yells: "I can't believe this is coming! Oh my God... don't!"

6: While Matisyn goes on like a circus barker, you can her the guy who was screaming seemingly plead and beg for his life. Occasionally, he'll scream "Put it down," "No body does this to me," and finally "Put down the knife." (I'm iffy on that last one, but most of it becomes pretty clear when you really listen.

7: Finally, as the "waiting' part drones on, "Oh my God, the place (sic) is sick" is uttered.

8: Towards the middle of the second droning, "I'm so sorry" is whispered from the man who was screaming. Then, "I'm dying..."

9: This is followed by someone whispering "Good night."

Considering that Evans Blue has done songs about heroin addicts, relating a woman to a dragon (and saying that its a confession to an adversary), and one that I'm pretty sure is about a man in love with a prostitute, this one really shouldn't surprise me as much as it does. The writing is pretty well done, but the execution goes from sympathetic to frantic to down right frightening, only accentuated by the little details that are drowned out by the music. This is rather impressive.

- Ben

EDIT: I caught this one tonight, and it changes the initial interpretation of the song.

After the frantic part fades out, and the droning starts, a female voice can be heard. Think back to Alexis's analysis, when the part "She whispered in his ear, 'don't hurt me, don't forget me, I'm not completely together.'" The female voice says, rather weakly, "Don't hurt me." Right after this, another voice says, "Goodnight," before the initial ending.

Why does this change what we had thought before? Because, this means she didn't kill him. It means he killed her. Whether he had killed her before the song and he's cleaning up the scene while he's talking/remembering, or whether he killed her just then seems to be left ambiguous. Funny how the song only gets scarier.

Fallen Idols

Those who have known me for a long time know that I've always enjoyed a good comic book. From reading Spider-Man comics when I was a kid to re-reading Batman: Arkham Asylum for the tenth time (at least) last year (and Watcmen), you can't keep me away from the way it made me feel when things were simpler and when I thought I could just draw for a living. Huh... Well, I am a graphic designer... but anyway...

Back in the days of the mid '90's, a "controversial" comic came out: Spawn. Spawn was one of the first independent comics that outsold Marvel and DC in a first run, and one of the most prolific adult comics out there. The comic was about an anti-hero named Spawn who made a deal with a demon to come back to Earth to reclaim his wife. Only, he's sent back five years later, his best friend is now married to his wife with a kid, and he's more cooked than a hamburger on the 4th of July. People raved how this was original, and a great adult concept, but we're appalled that this was in a "child's medium." Don't you love how often people forget the more adult comics they've read, i.e. Alan Moore's run of Miracleman, where Kid Miracleman's human form is sodomized, unleashing Kid Miracleman who destroys London in one of the most unsettling ways depicted in comics. Or Legends of the Dark Knight which deals with drugs, murder, serial killings, and, in the storyline "Flyer," an Aryan obsessed woman who wants to bear Batman's child. Or even the Watchmen, the comic that has a naked blue man walking around because he can, and even tries to have a threesome with his girlfriend. Oh, yeah, sure... kids medium. Right.

Well, anyway, the creator of this comic is Todd McFarland, and at the time, the man was my hero. This is when I was a naive child, and wanted to create a comic that I, at the time, refused to make scary despite the fact that it is. Now, I look at his works, and despair... just not in the King Ozymandias sort of way.

Anyone who has read the most recent issues of Spawn now realizes that Spawn's K7 Leetha suit is pretty much nothing but the symbiote suit that Venom wears in Spider-Man. Let's face it, it's possessed Al Simmons, Nyx (twice), Morana, Al Simmons' aborted daughter who is now a vrykolakas, and and now a guy that was introduced in the second storyline of the comic's run. A magical symbiote suit, how original. Then, we get Haunt, a character who is possessed by his dead brother's ghost, and can spin webs. Singlehandedly, McFarland ripped-off The Darkness and Spider-Man. Among comic fans I've talked to about this, I found that I am not the only one who thinks this, as several forums have been using this comic as a laughing stock.

Admittedly, despite this, I was a little hurt that an artist I looked up to could sink this low. I was told time and again that he created Venom, and even if Spawn was essentially the same character, that isn't too bad. Well, then I find this out: McFarland didn't create Venom. He only derived a version of the costume from a preset. David Michelinie created the concept of making a different character to wear the symbiote costume, and McFarland drew someone else's design, and character, and took credit for it. Not completely, mind you, but he is usually credited as co-creator along with Michelinie. Controversy has also been thrown over Michelinie's contribution as well, due to it just being an evil Spidey, but consider this: Venom is a different character completely.

We can say that McFarland drawing Venom put the character as a popular figure, but he didn't design Venom. He used someone else's design. That isn't a ripoff, due to him being hired to draw the comics, but why is he given credit for drawing a pre-existing design? Should I get credit for designing a menu for a restaurant that changes nothing but switching the drinks and entres? No, because I didn't design the template, I changed the arrangements. If I made a new template, then I should take credit.

I can say one good thing has happened from learning this: I'm more secure in myself that I have more original ideas than using the same few over and over. Yes, many characters in Goria are "Infected," but consider how vastly different they all are. It'd be boring if all of them made tendrils to swing from using their skin or muscle. People may not like it, but you can't deny this, I'm not a one trick pony based on this. Or else I'll have to change my name to Todd.

- Ben

Too Many Notes: "Painted" by Evans Blue, and a Connection to "Dread."

As much as I like music, I usually stray away from long, seemingly "show-off" songs that come off as pretentious. Ben's going to kill me, but I can name one band in particular that is bad about that (seriously... 17 minutes for a song? Corgan's out of his mind.)I do grant the exceptions that most people would expect a music fanatic normally would.

Along with that, its extremely hard to introduce a new band to band, unless they're an Indie band ("Lazy Eye" was all it took for me to like Silversun Pickups, though "Panic Switch" remains my favorite). So, imagine my shock when I hear Ben listening to, not only a band that I never even heard of, but a eerily beautiful sounding hard rock band. Of course, its bizarre that I'm saying all of this, because the song I picked to "study" is one of the most disturbing songs that I've ever heard. Yes, its far creepier than anything Marilyn Manson or Tool or even Nine Inch Nails (in speaking of pretentious, overdrawn out songs...)has done. If you're familiar with them, that's hard to imagine, but a nearly ten minute Evans Blue song named "Painted" evokes a feeling that a horror writer from England would use if he chose to use any brain he had left and remake one of the worst movie adaptations he has ever produced.

Before I go any further, I saw the movie Dread before Ben and I met (I saw it at a film festival in Philly), and I hated it for a few reasons. 1: It's not scary, it's sick. It makes Saw look like Bambi. Seriously. If I'm a vegetarian from working with meat, this movie only serves to reenforce that choice. 2: After reading the story, I realized a glaring flaw: Abby was only there for nudity, and to justify torturing a woman. Let me explain: Eli Roth made all of the main characters of Hostel: Part II female because women are never seen as victims in horror movies. You know, except for all of them. Anyway, ever since, horror movies need a "weak female" to torment to be "edgy." Enter: Cute Abby with her birthmark. There to show off that makeup effects team can make a birthmark cover nipple, and there for the writers to torture. Funny, considering that its one of the few Barker stories without sex, and Abby wasn't in the story. As far as I know, the story only took place with three characters, and had nothing to do with a sadistic college, but a science minded one (albeit twisted as all hell).

But the big reason I hated it: it missed that "precious" feeling of dread it was going for. Watching a girl skin herself, is sick, not causing dread. Causing nausea maybe, but not dread. Watching a woman eat rotted meat? Same thing. Watching our bad guy being chased by an axe murderer... well, in this movie, hilarious.

Which brings to our song, "Painted." The first time I heard the ending of it, it sent chills down my spine. I felt like something was right behind me, waiting... watching... getting ready to strike. Doesn't help me that I'm still afraid of certain people... but what could make something that scary? Well, let's start at the beginning of the song. Here's a video. It's here to help you understand what I'm talking about.

As far as I can tell (Evan's Blue songs are vague, generally, so much so that I didn't know "Pin-Up" was about a heroin addict until Ben's friend told me), the song is about a woman at the verge of committing suicide, while her significant other is trying to find a way to tell her not to because he cares about her, despite her mistakes. But, she counters that his argument is stale, and she wants to show him what "its" like. What what's like, exactly?

Next verse, her other says to not worry what everyone else thinks, because he'll clean her "painted wings" until her heroes arrive. This is where the song takes an even darker turn. Painted wings from what? What heroes? Well, remember when I mentioned she wants to commit suicide? Well... she kind of did... sort of. We'll get back to that by the end. Her other mentions that he doesn't want the "venom" and doubt to control her in her final moments. We then get a disturbing visual: he mentions that he hates pouring his heart out, especially when it's "pouring down her leg." Yes, she's "pissing on his emotions" by her suicide.

Let's dissect the chorus real quick.

"Look before you end it all

Look before you shut your eyes
For the last time
There's no more room to go back down
Your picture trends in black and white
(I will show you)
I will show you what it's like "

We've got that the first part is him saying "don't jump," then "don't die on me." That's when she says to him, "your memory doesn't mean anything to me. I'll show you what pain feels like." Again, why is she so tortured? Well, the bridge answers that: "She whispers in his ear, "Don't hurt me, don't forget me, don't hurt me, I'm still not properly together."

She jumped to get away from his abuse. And she survived, and is still afraid for her life. After this though, we get the chorus, but two things change: 1: After "There's no room to go back down," another line is added "Will you fight for me and not back down." 2: Also, a coda: "(If you let me) Your picture trends in black and white (I will show you) I will show you what its like." We now have a third party in our song. Just in time for the instrumental break. Cue awesome guitar solo!

This is one of those "symbolic" instrumentals that bands do in songs like this. The solo is there because the characters are doing something, and the music is illustrating it. What are our characters doing? Well, what ever it is, it can't be good. The music gets extremely dissonant, and, dare I say, off tune?

It is. It's a psychology thing, actually. Watch the end of this trailer, and tell me, why do you feel like something is off? It's not the bad special effect, it's the off tune piano pinging away. When people hear off key notes that are horribly off, the brain tries to translate it as actual music. The auditory section of the brain knows other wise, and a fight ensues. Instead of it being a war, its more or less your emotions are shifted to nervousness. Your brain knows its not right, but wants to translate it to make it right, but your auditory functions won't allow it. Hence, you get nervous.

Musicians use this technique when they want to make something seem scary. They'll also usually put even more dissonance over it. In this case, a man progressively screaming at someone, the drums, the grinding guitar, and several voices, inharmoniously saying "I can see you and you can't see me. I am right here and I'm waiting." This picks up until we get Kevin Matisyn barking the line out like a circus ringleader (which is still pretty frightening), until it dulls down to the piano, the synth, and a man droning "I am right here and I'm waiting" twice before quietly snickering and whispering "Good night." Take a second, especially if you listened to that part, to think about what just happened.

Did her other die, or did they just put the fear of God into him? Either way, do you really want to know? That feeling in the pit of your stomach, that morbid sensation of "Oh my God, what did I just hear" entangled with regret? That, folks and folkettes, is dread, what the movie Dread was missing. Actually, it's what most modern horror movies are missing. That, and William Shatner masks.

With that song done, I need to relax. You know, mellow out. Next edition, I'm going to take the Wolverine back to something a little Old School.

- Alexis