Tag: webcomic

#5 Schreck Baboon

| November 5, 2011 | 0 Comments

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Buy #30! Inhuman Issue #1 – Notebook

| November 5, 2011 | 0 Comments

Soshika Lypha doesn’t much like Humans. When her commanding officer orders her to help release Grey from a military controlled psychiatric ward, she has no choice but to come face to face with one. Only now, the Rulerist military wants him back…

A dark sci-fi comic about a schizophrenic, an intergalactic struggle, jaded aliens and the meaning of humanity. When Grey is freed from a hospital, no one could have expected the entire force of the Rulerist military to come after him…

BUY HERE!

Tarou of Undercity from my Novel “Mentor”.

| November 4, 2011 | 1 Comment

2011 Day 04 -Tarou by Gibbi from my novel "Mentor"

 

A rock painting of the hunter, Tarou, attributed to Gibbi the Seer painted in her youth.

Tarou: A young man of burning intensity. Wary, incredibly strong and yet still fast and agile in spite of his size and bulging muscles. Sometimes huge slabs of grey stone would fall from high above. Once, Tarou lifted one of these slabs to rescue the contents of the storage hut that had been crushed beneath it. He was very strong. The strongest in the tribe. But he was also smart. He could quickly size up any situation and then act upon his conclusions. Sometimes the conclusions were wrong, as where Marnal was concerned, but where danger threatened, or when new tactics were needed on a hunt, he was more often right. The packs that he led on hunts always returned, to a man or woman, not always whole or with all their limbs, but alive to hunt another day. And always returned with that for which they had gone out to hunt. And as he grew in stature and aged into his first manhood, there were fewer and fewer casualties. In this he had more and more of the awe and respect of the tribe.

Tarou was considered the best hunter the tribe had ever had and was therefore in line for the leadership. That was something he wasn’t sure he wanted. But the present leader was still young and had all his digits, so that decision could be put away for now. That being the case he couldn’t help being a little full of himself. A little arrogant, though always respectful to the elders. This showed mostly in his pursuit of the woman of his choice. Marnal. She was perfect for him. She matched him in every way and one day she would realise it and stop this silly holding him at bay, putting him off. Pretending that she had no interest in bedding with him. No matter. He was patience itself. Though he wasn’t adverse to pushing her a little. She always gave as good as she got. He’d love to experience that passion under the skins of their own hut someday.

He smiled inwardly at the thought. He rarely let others know his inner feelings, though his actions usually spoke louder than his expressions. Yes, he was pleased with the way things were going, with Marnal as his constant companion, even though she never sought him out. She sought the company of no man. Likely this was to reduce the jealousies that her kind could induce in a well balanced hunting team. He was aware that there was no other man in the tribe who could stand up to him in either appearance, strength, or wit. And Marnal. She was all business all the time. She was focused and quick witted and though not as strong as he (how could she be? She was a female!) But she used her wit to advantages that strength alone couldn’t match.

Then there was the rock painting that  little Gibbi had made of him. She had mixed ash and ichor and had stroked it deftly onto a piece of the black rock that lay under  every part of his world.  It was a special honour to be chosen as subject for one of her paintings. She had done something unusual with the eyes. Not unpleasant, but strange, that made the subject look both determined and intense. Was that how he looked to others? Still it pleased him like so many things did. He was pleased and yet there were stirrings of unease in him, as if a change were coming, bringing the unknown hurtling down upon them like a falling slab of grey rock.

#4 Smiddy The Kid

| November 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

Sam Medina – Day 4

| November 3, 2011 | 3 Comments

Flatiron, one badass beaver

Becka Plath

| November 3, 2011 | 1 Comment

Becka PlathBecka Plath is one of Bridgette’s closest friends. She’s the only child of Robert Plath, an owner of a small comics and collectables shop. She works at the shop after school were she’s befriended the local geeks. One of which is Aziz, Bridgette’s boyfriend. Becka now feels conflicted, she’s seen first hand just how much Aziz means to Bridgette, but she can’t help but sense the growing feelings she has for him herself.

 

Day 3 – El Guapo

| November 3, 2011 | 0 Comments

#3 Sterling

| November 3, 2011 | 2 Comments

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#2 – Warlord Madurk

| November 2, 2011 | 0 Comments

Warlord Madurk is a new character who will soon appear in Dungeon Legacy, my webcomic.  His history is a bit of a spolier at this point, but it is clear he will be a powerful enemy if the party chooses to side against him.  What is his true goal?  You’ll have to read the comic to find out.

A Piercer Defender from my novel “Mentor”

| November 2, 2011 | 6 Comments

2011 Day 02 A Piercer Defender, UnderCity denizen from the novel "Mentor" by J.S. Rowe

The Piercers are a large breed of insectoids who hunt the humanoids in UnderCity in my novel “Mentor”. In turn they are hunted for their eggs and ichor, as well as the chitinous plates that cover the flexible eight- to ten- foot lengths of their bodies. Hunted during molting season and again in Laying season, these creatures are extremely dangerous, and in molting season are in particularly bad temper, having less balance due to their loss of wings. The Wings provide a little lift and balance to the two legged insect, but no flight.

Piercer Layers will lay up to six eggs in a nest secured to the damp walls with mud daubs. Once the nest is full they will patch together another nest and proceed to fill it, each Layer can fill up to 20 nests if left undisturbed. Usually only one nest will survive, this serial abandonment. The eggs are much sought after by the smaller fauna of the UnderCity.

In later days it is speculated that many of the strange creatures found in the UnderCity were the product of brutal cost-cutting by the corporate entity that held the sole rights over synthetic DNA (aka SynthDNA) operating under the name BioSynthetics (See T’rest vs BioSynthetics, sect 536, para. 43(a)&(c)).

BioSynth Corp created designer biotics (for scientific study and experimentation), domestic animals, feral animals (for freak shows and safari parks), as well as the more socially problematic designer humanoid “servants” (entertainers, caregivers, and mentors) for the very wealthy.

It was determined that some of the experimental and designer DNA biomass as well as some of the rarer creatures created escaped the Grid and were found later to have morphed and evolved in closed off areas of the city, and also to have spread to other areas of the planet. It is undetermined how much of the extant DNA is “natural” or “tainted” by SynthDNA.

The legal battles raged for centuries. BioSynth Corp. claiming that legally every plant, animal, humanoid containing any part or copy of SynthDNA belonged to them. This of course was disputed by the offspring of the original carriers of SynthDNA.

Note: All creatures sold as pets, domestic animals, feral animals. or servants were guaranteed to be biologically infertile in order for BioSynth Corp. to retain it’s favourable position in the market place.

The Piercers were originally created for the owner operator of a Fun Farm, who went bankrupt through poor decision making. At the time of their creation their size was DNA limited to three feet in length.

Day 2 – Wildcat

| November 2, 2011 | 0 Comments

#2 Flare-Up

| November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

Click Here for more info on Tank-Monkey

#1 The Crypt Kid

| November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

In a world ruled by monsters, can a monster rise up to save the world?

Read the Crypt Kid’s web-adventures at http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Crypt_Kid

and buy the mini-comic while supplies last at www.Dubisch.com

Day 01–Marnal of Undercity from my novel “Mentor”

| November 1, 2011 | 8 Comments

Day 01 -Marnal of UnderCity

 

Marnal is one of the main characters in my current Science Fantasy novel “Mentor“.  Mentor has been brewing on the back burner of my imaginative processes for at least two decades, perhaps longer. This will be my sixth novel.

Imagine a small world out on the Far Rim where human dependency on computers is absolute. If you are not “connected” then you no longer exist, and without connection you cannot access anything that would sustain your life. Food, shelter, clothing. All are replicated by the Artificial Intelligence  machines only at personal request over the Grid. No Grid, you soon die of exposure and/or starvation. And perhaps even die of grief over the loss. But accidents happen, though people turn a blind eye. Corruption in the code, metal fatigue in an ancient machine, great over-ruling System, MAICS, can drop a person off the Grid faster than the engineers and their trained apprentices can locate and repair any damage. And once a person is gone.. they are not even mourned. They have ceased to exist. But do some mourn regardless..?

This is the story of one person on one of the ancient Rim Worlds, who so far is surviving the terrible loss of connection, and of another who naively plots to be removed from the perceived restraints of the Grid. It is the story of those they encounter and gather around them on their disparate journies–one desperately trying to get home; the other with equal desperation trying to get away.  Woven through out is the story of the plight of the artificially created servants of the ruling classes–the caregivers and the mentors. As well as the story of another lost people, Marnal’s people, who are born off the Grid with only comforting distortions about it that have been handed down through too many generations. It is an adventure story of the ever present struggle between the Haves and the Have-nots, and it is a journey of both enlightenment and redemption.

It is also the novel I’m writing for NaNoWriMo this month.  Wish me luck!

Day 1 – Bucktooth

| November 1, 2011 | 3 Comments

#1 “The” Zombie

| November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

"the" zombie

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2011 Challenger: Robert Worstell

| October 31, 2011 | 0 Comments

Robert C. Worstell

Thanks for this opportunity to show off my artwork.  I’ve been doing cartoons and such all my life, but it’s been taking second-fiddle to many different interests, such as “making a living” and “getting through school”, among others. However, I’ve recently been unearthing my old stuff I did in the odd corners of my life and reviewing these to see how I could get these going as a real enterprise – you know, start making money with this stuff and all my various talents.

And it’s encouraging to see how people are doing this, and all the connections which online publication and sales make possible these days. For I started in the days of actual cut-and-paste, having to send submissions by snail-mail and getting no feedback on the rejections. With cartoons and online publishing, I can get them out via my own virtual publishing house, with the whole world wide web to bring new clients to my virtual door. (You can tell I’m a bit excited about breaking into this, can’t you?)

My characters will be based on the caricatures I’ve been doing at County Fairs during recent summers. (Felt-tip pen and crayon-pencils on art paper.) In fact, I found out about 30 Characters from the website of a fellow caricaturist at Columbia College in Missouri (where we’ve shared gigs there for years.)

Final Series Issue - the end?

End of the Mexico Goat

Here’s a collection of a test run I did last year for a local Facebook celebrity called the Mexico Goat (who annoyed local pet-control officers for several weeks before a literal cowboy caught him with lasso from horseback.)

Luck to us all!

2011 Challenger: Warren Frantz

| October 27, 2011 | 0 Comments

I am the creator of the webcomic “Off Season“. It’s regularly published Mondays and Thursdays, with occasional extra guest strips or bonus strips on other days. It follows the adventures of a mild-mannered goalie surrounded by the zany world of ice hockey.

I have taken on the 30 Characters challenge for the last two years. In 2009 I did it on my own website, while in 2010 I joined the “Official” website. It can be a grueling experience, but I have a direction this year, which will hopefully make it a bit easier for me!

It has been a goal of mine to write and illustrate a graphic novel. I’ve been kicking around the idea of writing a story centered around my Day 4 Character from last year. During this year’s 30 Character Challenge, I’ll be taking my first steps toward making that happen by trying to develop that story’s world through it’s characters.

 

I can be found at Google+ (Warren Frantz) or at Twitter (@puckhogg4)

2011 Challenger: Jesse Kiefer

| October 21, 2011 | 4 Comments

Hey everyone, this may end up sounding like a horrible bachelor intro off of the dating game but… here goes nothing!

My name is Jesse Kiefer , I’m a full time Elementary Art teacher and a martial arts instructor (hence the sword in my pic…) in Fremont, NE. With my free time I do some work as a freelance illustrator. I have also tried my hand at various webcomic projects off and on for the last 5 years, with my most recent project being Tank-Monkey.

I was inspired to sign-up for the 30 Characters Challenge after meeting some former participants and seeing how positive everyone has been about the work created. It seemed like a fun online environment to create within.

My goal is to create and develop characters for my current projects but I’m going to leave myself open to new ideas regardless of whether they fit anywhere or not. I’m really excited to meet new people and see new things, and I am chomping at the bit to get started.

I also like moonlit strolls on the beach, and champagne by candlelight.

BONUS! #31 The Android – Net Avatar

| December 1, 2010 | 0 Comments


Okay, I was pretty sure I was done with this, but I had one more killer ass idea…

Got the inspiration for this after trolling the TV Tropes archives and coming across the lovely article about Humanoid Abominations (Wow, I’m twisted). He’s not technically a new character, but I figured since the firefly and the master AI have incarnations that only appear on the droids’ network, it’s only appropriate our old buddy, the Android, have the same thing going for him.

So if you’re floating around the droid world’s computer network, this is what the Android looks like. Feel free to run in terror when you see him.

Day# 30 MobU and Stats, robot symbiotes

| November 30, 2010 | 3 Comments
#30 MobU+Stats, robot symbiotes for Wheeler's Orbits by Jande Rowe

#30 MobU+Stats, robot symbiotes for Wheeler's Orbits by Jande Rowe

“Days like this make me think I was manufactured under a bad sign.” ―C-3PO.

#30 MobU & Stats, Robot Symbiotes

You might be forgiven if at first glance you think there are two robots in this artist’s sketch of Stats and MobU (pronounced “Mow’bew”). And in one fairly obvious way you would be right. They look separate, though MobU can attach itself to Stats’ head piece once the antenna has been retracted. But they were created in fact as a single unit. Though if Stats‘ personality splits any further, there may be a true dichotomy.

Wheeler and Ikey assembled Stats when they were kids from parts scavenged from the local industries on their home planet of Foglio IV, many of which were experimental, some of which were top secret. That may have been the reason why Stats often had memory failures. It may account for the fact that the robot could spout statistics about things that Wheeler or Ikey had never even heard of. It also may be why he or uh.. lets just call it “he” for now, since it, uh… he has just achieved a conscious state of sentience for the first time in over a decade –Well its system combination of CPU [Central Processing Unit] and HMC [HoloMemoryCore] had. Consciousness had been hard-wired in by a series of bizarre accidents, perhaps even before Wheeler dug the logic core out of the recycle bin. Then again, with Wheeler’s luck, not to mention timing, and total lack of training, the boys might have had a little to do with the personality, or… Personalities, that emerged.  But to all intents and purposes Stats had finally been delegated to a dark corner of the jet park cubby-hole the last time he had a memory failure. Wheeler wasn’t that interested in statistics anyway, though Ikey got a bit of a kick out of them. By this time he was frustrated by the breakdowns, and he and Ikey having just discovered that girls were not the icky fragjaws he used to think them, he managed over time to forget all about having tried to create the world’s first Super-Destructo Paintball Robot (Some fads never die).

Later with the rise of the family fortunes, the house and jetpark were sold off, the contents of the jetpark including the deactivated robot were sent to a Goodwill recycle plant, and the family moved literally up to the next level on Foglio IV.

The Techs at Goodwill were astounded to find the rather scuffed Robot as part of a donation delivery. They tried activating it. The lights blinked and went on blinking, but nothing happened. No response to voice input anyway. One of the techs thought he might have an old keyboard stashed away in the back, but when he looked for it, he decided it might not be worth digging through centuries of museum pieces for it. Then another truckload of donations came in and he left the Robot powered up and didn’t remember until the following day when he came in to find its lights had stopped blinking and it was turning its head this way and that as if looking for something, or maybe… scanning?

He tried voice commands again but all the tech could get out of it was a stream of archaic statistics. It did however make a fine cup of tea, and so it was installed in the tech lunch room. There it stayed for about a year, entertaining them with tea and statistics, until one day they arrived for tea and the robot was gone. No one seemed to know where or why. It hadn’t been sold. It might have been stolen, but who would steal from a charity organisation run by volunteers. Nah. The Robot was an unstable device at best. It probably had the  mechanical equivalent of a brainstorm and wandered off. They would miss the tea.

And brainstorm was exactly what had happened. A kind of accidental pre-programmed brainstorm caused by conflicting commands, and timed relay synapses opening certain logic gates that weren’t meant to be opened. And so a robot child was born. And it wandered away in search of its mother, with no clue of how to interact with the world as a sentient being. But it was learning. And one thing it was learning was that that nagging voice in his head really WAS in his head. The MobU was still firmly attached, and wasn’t much liking it.

MobU is the shortened form of “Mobile Unit”, even though its base also had a more limited form of mobility. It was designed to be a completely separate Unit from the MainFrame “parent” (note: MainFrame has a whole different meaning in the 24th Century) while sharing memory and some of the parent unit’s CPU cycles.  During the time Wheeler and Ikey were trying to get the darned Robot to do anything but recite outdated statistics, more and more of the MobU’s capacity was taken up with memory backups from the main. Which had the unexpected result of  both units becoming sentient at the same time but growing differentiating personalities based on their differing functionality and mobility.

The MobU was a free-floating (some say flying, but it couldn’t go far from the parent unit, although no one has had a chance to determine how far that is), dish-shaped device that had one curious aspect. The material it was made from was a top secret amalgam of human biologicals and mineral-metallurgicals at the molecular level. It could not only heal itself, but its logic boards could really think. It’s only limitation to the kinds of changes it could make to itself was that it could not change its own total mass. In that, it was one singular and unique unit. And its biggest problem, as it soon learned, was that it was trapped in a relationship with a slower “thinking” and much more confused other half. But that was only the beginning of its problems.  They were stuck with each other and would have to make the best of it. Unless…

Perhaps could those who had created Stats and MobU find a way to separate them? If MobU was to turn its vast and unique fledgling intelligence to work in tandem with Stats‘ longing to find his creator. More than a decade had passed since lights out. Could they do it?

~~~~~

I had a hard time stopping writing long enough to upload this one. These guys really caught my imagination. Hard to believe I sat and stared at a blank sheet of Strathmore Bristol for over an hour this morning with an equally blank mind. Later, as my panic grew, I started scribbling heads in the hope it would get the juices flowing again. This piece is the result and I’m extremely happy with the Characters, their relationship, and the many ideas for fun story arcs they have given me. I hope you enjoy my Finale piece as much as I do, and will continue to enjoy these two Characters when I incorporate them into Wheeler’s Orbits comic.

#30 The Master AI

| November 30, 2010 | 0 Comments


The Master AI is the leader of the droids. This is its form as it would appear to other droid intelligence on the droid network. No one, not even the droids, know its true physical form.

#30 Chris Brightstar

| November 30, 2010 | 0 Comments

Chris Brightstar is a Native American indie wrestler who currently holds the GWC heavyweight championship. He’s a bit of an anti-hero, playing the part of a face (good guy), but never getting along with other faces. He does what he wants when he wants it and so far no one has been able to stop him. He claims to be the “Bright star that wrestling needs and will turn to in the present and future.”

Day# 29 – Myrll (with writer, James S. Allen)

| November 30, 2010 | 0 Comments
#29 Myrll, a Fincali female, from the novel Alien Artifacts by James S. Allen

#29 Myrll, a Fincali female, from the novel Alien Artifacts by James S. Allen

Myrll is another Character from the novel Alien Artifacts by James S. Allen. This concept sketcb took me two days to pull together this far. She is an exeptionally intelligent ‘avianoid” of the Fincali race. As you can see from the art, the Fincali evolved from bird-like creatures. In Fincali mythology it is said that upon a time, the race actually had the power of flight using their own wings.

Here is a brief excert from the author describing Stephen and Rowen, young Xenoarchaeologists, first encountering Myrll:

~~~~~

It was a Fincali.

Inside one of the glass fronted shops was an adult Fincali, pounding with both hands on the glass wall and shouting at them.  Well, not exactly shouting.  Fincali were not particularly equipped for shouting.  It was really more like wild trilling and screeching.  But for a Fincali, it was the equivalent of shouting.

As they drew near, they saw that the Fincali was wearing an envirosuit.  One of the sleeves of the suit bore the emblem of Universalis University.  The Fincali she as they were now able to distinguish by the distinctive crest of plumage that very conveniently differentiated male and female Fincali to other races – flapped her arms about wildly as they approached and then slumped against the wall and slid to the floor.

Great Goatha’s Infinite Orifices!” Stephen exclaimed.  “I hope she’s not dead.  Quick! Let’s get her out of there.”

~~~~~

Afternote: This one was really, really hard for me to draw. Large bird legs in perspective, how to get her looking natural, poised and balanced. Really tough!  In the end I simply ran out of time. Oh, and that thing in her hand is not an alien cosmetic bag its a kind of ray emitting weapon, and she’s an expert shot.

I hope you enjoy this in spite of its flaws. ;`)

#29 The Android

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments

In the Valkyrie universe, seeing an android is a lot like seeing a coelacanth or a dodo bird.  Put simply, it shouldn’t exist. Humans themselves ceased production of androids nearly a century earlier and the droids themselves have no interest in perpetuating machines that look like their enemies. Since the droids have begun to manufacture themselves, android bodies were broken down to supply making other types of droids, and their consciousness downloaded to other models.

But this…well…thing was spotted recently in deep space and the humans don’t know what the hell to make of him.

#28 Tarantula

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments


Ah, high octane nightmare fuel. Here we go.

To call this thing a droid is somewhat of a misnomer because it’s not necessarily a discrete inorganic organism so much as a fortress with legs. Standing at about 30 feet tall, seeing one of these on the field is enough to make any Valkyrie or Odin weak in the knees. It’s nigh invulnerable to traditional weapons, has enough turrets on its sides to rival any battleship, has anti-air defense missles and can house a number of droids inside, such as Spiders, Scorpions, or even a few Dragonflies.

Really, only heavy duty bombs are the main course of neutralizing this thing.

#27 Hornet Droid

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments

For this particular droid, I drew inspiration from Item #1 in this little slice of nightmare fuel, the Giant Japanese Hornet. I needed a droid that was bigger than a dragonfly, but not too big. So, the resultant is the Hornet.

The Hornet is bigger and more heavily armed than a dragonfly and designed to be a fear factor like the scorpion. While not quite as agile as the dragonfly, the Hornet is rarely used to engage fighters. Much more often, these guys are used as bombers, laying waste to anything below it.

#25 Scorpion Droid

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments


When the droids redesigned themselves into new bodies during the droid wars, human psychology played a significant role in the resulting form. The machines didn’t want a form that just functioned, they wanted a form that would be intimidating, decimating their human enemies emotionally before anyone ever pulled a trigger.

A 14-foot long metal scorpion does that quite nicely.

Beyond the form, though, the Scorpio is a combat droid that is equipped with shield generators and a mean set of claws. It has no projectile payload simply because the machines felt the maneuverability, efficient stabbing weaponry, and sheer fear factor made it an effective enough ground combat droid.

The machines don’t like to waste resources, like extra guns, if they don’t have to.

#24 Mosquito Droid

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments


The mosquito is a surveillance droid. It only measures about 1 ft tall, but these little guys are capable of sensing many different kinds of radio waves, light waves, infrared, ultra violet light, and even EMF imaging.

29.5 El The Demon

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments

El The Demon is an indie wrestler claimed to have come up from Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling focused on larger than vibrant personalities with masks and high flying, fast paced wrestling). Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize that “El” and “The” mean the same thing, and the bookers don’t seem to notice or care, so he looks like and idiot. He’s a heel (bad guy to you non-wrestling fans out there), but try as he may he just can’t seem to get any heat (boos, hatred, the like). Mostly it’s just laughs…

#29 Jacob

| November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments

Jacob is the odd ball of the group. He’s not a total smark, he enjoys being a mark. He gets into the stories and loves the action. He also tends to sneak off and reenact the events with his dol… um, action figures. He also lacks some social common sense, attending wrestling shows wearing button down shirts and khakis. May be fine at bigger shows, but in little indie shows in someone’s barn in Eastern Kentucky… not so much.