blue's news

Impromanga

2007-03-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, a new page. To be honest, this page has been sitting on my computer for weeks, half done. The reason I've been procrastinating is because I really didn't think I could do this page justice. It's a simple page, and I think that's why I had such high hopes for it. Because there's not much happening, the art was even more important to me, if that makes any sense. I wanted the first panel to pop out, and when I finished the lineart, I just didn't see that happening. So I fiddled around with this page until I finally got fed up and decided to finish it, warts and all.

In the end, I'm happier with this page than I thought I would be. I hope it was worth the long delay. The next page will be along shortly, since it's also partially finished.

In other news, please visit the Impromanga I'm helping to manage.

Also, Sass Studios has started the recruiting process and story creation for the next anthology. I'll keep you updated on our progress.

Cover tutorial/preview

2007-01-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded a tutorial of sorts of the Chapter 7 cover to my deviantart account. To check it out, go here.

Media frenzy

2007-01-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

OMG. I wrote this entire post and while I was trying to insert links, something else opened up in this window and the entire post disappeared. Sometimes I hate computers.

Anyway time for a shorter rewrite ... so by "media frenzy", I really mean my frenzy about the media. In terms of comic news, there's very little that I haven't already posted in the forums. I have, however, learned that I can't draw horses or people falling. Argh. But I can draw people staring into space. In any case, back to the media:

1. Pan's Labyrinth. I wrote a long, gushing testament to the movie which I don't want to rewrite. Especially since there are reviews and an interview (spoilerific!). Needless to say, this movie has now usurped Donnie Darko as being my favorite movie. I highly recommend it you don't mind gore (I just looked away XD) and gothic sensibilities.

2. Hot Fuzz. Despite it's name, it's not a movie that's rated M. It's a comedic cop movie by the makers of Shawn of the Dead, a hilarious romatic comedy with zombies. Zombies! I'm not a zombie fan, and I was disappointed (and traumatized) when the comedy suddenly became Dawn of the Dead, but I still remember the movie fondly because it was the funniest thing I've seen in a long while. The Hot Fuzz trailer is hilarious. And they spoof themselves! Just watch the trailers for Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and you'll see what I mean. It's awesome.

3. Heroes. Watch it. It's cool. It's back tonight. It's about ordinary people who gain superpowers (think Spiderman x 10! But less corny and without Kirsten Dunst. Yay!). It's got angsty heroes, japanese heroes and cheerleader heroes! I usually hate anything related to cheerleaders in general, but the actress and the writer just make her instantly likable.

4. Battlestar Galactica. Also back in action and as good as ever. But more angsty. The twists are just as shocking as ever.

5. Ugly Betty. Not so happy with where this show's going. But the actors have superb comedic timing, so I'll forgive them as long as Henry keeps coming back.

Links and stuff

2007-01-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Last time I pretty much ran my mouth off so this time I have very little to say. So instead, I shall post up linkies, thus sparing my fingers and your eyes from reams of text.

1. My new DrunkDuck account! Awesomely, I was featured on DD. Totally made my week.
2. Yet another poll. This one is about my inking. It's in the forum but there's no need to register. Vote to determine the fate of the comic.
3. Go here for progress on Chapter 7. I will randomly post news there.
4. Thanks to everyone who sent me an email asking questions, giving me encouragement and plain ole letting me know you're still reading. It was much appreciated. I started up a FAQ in the forum to answer the questions that I was asked, because I wanted to let everyone else know the answers. I'm assuming if one person has a particular question, other people do too.
5. Vote at TWC to check out some character designs.

Pan's Labyrinth

2007-01-08T00:13:00.000-08:00

The title of this blog is in reference to a movie that is in limited release (and thus has various release dates around North America and ?the world?). It's received droves of critical reviews so far from the likes of Rotten Tomatoes and Ign (the two places I check for reviews before deciding whether or not to see a movie). Rotten Tomatoes is usually known for its harsh critiques and reluctance to give any movie rave reviews, which really peaks my interest for Pan's Labyrinth. Ah ... but before I go further I should mention that this movie is supposed to have a lot of gore (it involves "dark fantasy" and the Spanish Civil War). So ... if it's going to be illegal for you to see this movie ... don't go see it. I won't condone anything illegal ... in writing. Anyway, it's by Guillermo Del Toro, the same guy who directed Hellboy (which I wasn't a huge fan of, but lots of people seemed to like that movie). In any case, if you happen to be itching for a movie, something more cerebral and dramatic and imaginative and original all at the same time, then go see it. If you're chomping at the bit for more cookie-cutter Hollywood fare, still go see it, because it'll make you realize that there's more to storytelling than what Hollywood has to offer.

And ... this newspost is still not done. I've started a fun little forum game for my own amusement and my characters' torment. Let's see how many of my own characters I can traumatize (like I don't do that already). There's also this sadistically cute dog.

Finally, like I requested in the mail list, I'd really appreciate it if people voted for KM again. I miss the good ole days when KM was in the top 100, which really meant a lot to me. I'd probably be lucky to have 100 readers at this point ... but I can dream ... and you can help me get there. And yes ... I'm writing this at 2am, so I'm entitled to be a sap right now. Oh, and if a smattering of you happen to drop me a line to tell me what you think of KM, the good, the bad, the ugly, I'd love you for it. I forgot you can comment directly to this blog, which isn't too hard at all, or you can drop a line in the shoutbox. (Though to be honest I like email best, cuz then I can look back at it later and be encouraged ^__^).

And ... this is a really long post already, but I've got to mention that I HATE Eunice for getting me addicted to another YouTube show. Kidding. Well, only sorta. Here's Eunice's blog, here's the show and here's the manga. Hana Kimi is rather ridiculous, but it's wierdly addicting. I usually hate shoujo, and heck, there are parts of this manga/show that make me want to smack my forehead, but I still keep reading/watching. I'll just pretend I'm using the videos to studying Chinese.... (And that I'm looking at the cute guys trying to learn how to lip read in Chinese XD).

The end of the longest blog. Ever. *SLEEEEEP*

New Year, same ole comic

2006-12-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

... except shinier, and in color. Not much to say, though I must admit that rain makes everything looks pretty and angsty. There really needs to be more rain in this comic! Anyway, I've been yawning for the past two hours so I can't think of much to say. There's a new poll to the right of the news box that I'd love if you voted on (only once though!).

Also, in the world of online comics, My Shining Knight by Modesty is finished. Probably one of few comics out there that actually made it from beginning to end. Another comic, by Eunice P, called I Come From Mars looks like it'll come to an end soon. And finally, a comic that needs some loving is Star Cross'dDestiny, which has recently been reborn, much to the fortune of the comic community and the web at large.

Cheers!

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated....

2006-11-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Apologies for the lack of updates. What with being out of town, filling out applications, finishing papers and finishing my commissions, the comic got put on the back burner. It didn't help that I ended up hating every version of this current page. But for the time being, I've got my art groove back, though KM still wavers from looking almost manly to looking like a little elf kid.

Couple things, I'll be looking for some commissions come Christmas, so if you're interested in a belated Christmas present/New Years gift I'd be happy to oblige. More details to come, when I finish these other two pieces I'm working on.

Secondly, Sass Studios has started an Impromanga. It's still in its infancy, but the next set of pages feature my story and Modesty's art and lots of awesome characters. The Impromanga will include variations on the KM gang (think alternate dimension). Dai and Tak will both be featured as (possibly) prominent characters, and KM might eventually meandre in to make an appearance. So if you're interested in adding another comic to your list (something to read when KM goes AWOL?) then bookmark the link. An actual website will be up and running eventually ... but for now, check the Sass Studios forum for updates.

Lastly, I'll post some contest prize art and commission snippets in the voting incentives. And the Sass Studios Anthology is still on sale (and will be as long as Comixpress is in business).

Cheers, and seriously, for those of you who are still reading and checking back, I really appreciate it. Thanks terribly for all your patience. Unfortunately, updates will be unreliable until after February, but I'll try during Christmas to pump out some pages. Anyway, to keep abreast of all the pages updates, join the mailing list. I use it only to email everyone about page updates, so it is by no means spam.

Commish

2006-08-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I'm still alive. I'm in the midst of three commissions right now, so I doubt I'll have a lot of time to work on the comic. However, I will do my best to sketch out a few pages once I finish the basic sketches for two commissions. The above image is a preview of the commission I'm currently working on. I really like how his arm turned out. The problem is the rest of him looks less detailed by comparison :P So bottom line, the comic will continue ... for the two readers who are still left. >_>

Anthology and Animethon

2006-07-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Here's my belated post about Animethon and the Anthology.

Almost Famous.

I met a fan at Animethon, someone who actually recognized KM and the gang. Totally the highlight of my year ^__^ . I did a whole shwack of art for people at Animethon. It was great fun, because it gave me a chance to draw what other people like for a change, rather than KM characters in various incarnations. The best drawings were the gothic ones and the pirates, because I've never really drawn either. But what I loved most about Animethon is that I could snap pictures of people without having to chase them down. XD All in all, it was horribly exhausting, yet terribly fun. And the fun's not over. I got a number of commissions from Animethon, a few of which I've finished and posted in my dA account or my forum. If you're visitng my site and waiting for a commission, don't worry, I haven't forgotten! I'm working on a couple of doozies, so it'll take me a while to complete all the commissions that I owe. If you're visiting and you're interested in a commission, email me :) I'll put up a detailed commission page soon ...

Elves in Print.

The Dark Souls Anthology is OUT! (It's been out since the second week of July ... but who's counting?) I got them in my hot little hands, and I must say, they look even better than I hoped they would. It's fantastic. Now if only people would write glowing reviews in our ComixPress store :P The link, by the way, is www.comixpress.com

For pictures of the anthology and of my work at Animethon, visit the forum!

Vote for KM and check out an incomplete version of my latest commission.

Come visit me!

2006-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Big news. I'm headed off to a convention in Edmonton (Canada) July 8-9. If you're in the area, come visit me! I'll be the one sporting red hair (highlights) and drawing fast and furious. There might even be smoke coming out of my head. You don't want to miss that, do you?! I'll draw anything you want (disbarring, you know, anything that's not PG) for five loonies. You can't even get a kumquat for that amount. Well, maybe you can, but it wouldn't as yummy as art.

I'll also be selling the anthology ...with any luck. I'm praying it gets here in time. The printers are located in the US, so I was told I was pushing my luck to get them within sixteen days ... which seems kinda silly to me. But what with the long weekend and the army of rabid squirrels and drunk chickens protecting the border ... I guess the postal system might run into difficulties. So while rain, sleet and snow may not stop postal workers, stat holidays and evil critters do. Who knew?

Oh yeah, and I guess in actual, sensical news ... there's a new voting incentive. It's Brooke - giftart for Hawker Reed of Culture Shock fame.

Cheers! (I need to get me a clever sign-off line like Adis from Count your Sheep. Unfortunately, while "Die evil, scum!" might fit with KM's winning personality, it just doesn't have the same ring as "Go to bed!". If anyone can think of anything fitting, I'll bow to your cleverness and throw invisible chocolate truffles your way.)

(Would it surprise you to find out I haven't been functioning on much sleep lately? I think my brain works much better now ... Everything's so much clearer ...)

The Bottom Line

2006-05-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'll make this short and sweet.

Page Notes: Go here. (Reading these will clarify what's happening on this page. And YES, I will be going over these pages and finishing them later. I just want the hiatus to be over, so much so that I'm giving in and posting half-finished pages).

Voting: New vote image! Itaka as Princess Yue from Avatar.

Color previews: Go here. Periodically I'll post my coloring progress as I finish coloring/shading etc these pages over the next few weeks.

Anthology: Will be on sale at Comixpress in the upcoming weeks. I'll edit this post and probably create a big fat banner when they're on sale, so check this post periodically. For more info, head to Sass Studios.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't so short and sweet XD.

Pseudo chapter

2006-05-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

First off, for the next few weeks, the voting incentives will be spoofs of characters from Avatar: the Last Airbender, a show I'm totally obsessed with now. So go vote!

In other news, as you can probably tell, I want to get this chapter over and down with. It's been staganating waaay too long with this hiatus. Unfortunately, that means quality will be down (ie. no pizzazzy coloring). Not YET, anyway. When the chapter is over, I'll go back bit by bit and color everything in at my own pace. The reason I'm doing this is because otherwise, you and me both would be waiting till doomsday for each page to be completed.

So, don't worry, the quality of the comic isn't going to the dogs. Well, ok, it is, but only temporarily. Once this chapter is complete, I'll take a break to color and work on the pages for the next chapter (it'll be a doozy). I'll post my progress on coloring in the forums (here)

And finally, as I mentioned in my last post, work on the anthology is complete. It will be available next month. We're having some problems with getting the proof (gaffe in the mailing system). It was supposed to arrive June 1st, but it looks like that probably won't happen. I'll keep you all posted and let you know what's up.

Also, again, Modesty will be at Jafax. Dark Souls will be available for sale at JAFAX (June 24,25). If you want to pick up a copy there please stop by! (Note: This convention is in Grand Rapids, Michigan). There will also be art by myself, Modesty (My Shining Knight) and Animetor Lily (Magician's Quest) for sale.

Thanks for all your patience.

Anthology = done!

2006-04-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

** Pssst! Please vote at Top comics and The Webcomic list. THAAANKS! **
No word of a lie, there are actual KM pages up! I've redone page 7, and page 8-10 are also up (page 10 will have to wait until Monday). Page 10 is another cliffhanger, though in my defence, this chapter is basically one cliffhanger after another.

In any case, I'm out of town for 4 weeks for school related stuff so no update until then. But if you're confused about the current pages or have any questions, check out the forum. I'll be posting page by page explanations of the latest pages.

Anthology news:
Dark Souls will be available for sale at JAFAX (June 24,25). If you want to pick up a copy there please stop by! (Note: This convention is in Grand Rapids, Michigan). (http://www.jafax.org/). There will also be art by myself, Modesty (My Shining Knight) and Animetor Lily (Magician's Quest).

Modesty will also be at RiverTown Comic Con with a proof of the anthology, as well as more artwork by the Sass Studios trio. (http://rivertownentertainment.netfirms.com/)

Thanks for all your patience regarding the anthology and the latest updates.
http://www.sass-studio.com
http://km.comicgen.com

Still on hiatus

2006-03-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

For those of you who got past the title of this post and the lack of a real update, congratulations and thanks for checking out the news. While KM is still on hiatus, I do plan on returning to it as soon as I get this anthology finished. As tempting it is for me to update KM right now (and honestly, it is, since I'm the type who has a hard time saying "no") I'm committing myself solely to finishing the anthology right now. I know, you've heard that for months. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as the case may be, I'm something of a perfectionist. It doesn't help matters that this anthology will be published and thus will be immortalized for all time; I want to make the anthology as polished as can be. As such, I've rewritten the script numerous times and strived to challenge myself artwise. Hence the seemingly neverending hiatus.

For those of you who enjoy KM and would like to read a bit more about the origins of KM and company, I suggest you buy the anthology. It contains a KM prequel and it's chock-full of your favorite characters, and some characters that have only heretofore been spoken of but never seen. Hmmm ... who could that be? XD Anyway, the anthology is an impressively good deal. At 8bucks US a pop and over 60 pages of sheer elven "manga" goodness, who could complain?

As a treat, that's the cover of the anthology, Dark Souls, that you're seeing, complete with requisite watermark :)

To learn more, check out http://www.sass-studio.com

The Voice

2005-12-27T21:36:00.000-08:00

I'll be changing all the links in the next while so that they redirect to comicgenesis, but in the meantime a lot of them won't work because I was silly enough to link everything using http://km.keenspace/*.*

In any case, new page. By way of explanation :
Panel 1: That's a tree branch she's moving out of the way. ...

Panel 2: I didn't want to make the dragon statue THAT obvious. But with the lack of color and such I thought I'd better make it rather visible. It looks kinda silly because you'd think Itaka would notice a freaking huge dragon statue in the middle of a clearing and it would make her pause. Then again ... knowing Itaka ... she probably would just continue bashing KM regardless XD

Panel 4: Huh. Looks like Itaka smashed the statue and cracked it a bit. She also uses the most cliched phrase ever. Bah ....

Panel 5: Don't miss the disembodied voice! Ah ... the rest of this chapter is fun. Well, for me anyway. *evil grin*

New page

2005-12-12T23:07:00.000-08:00

Shockers. It's a new page. Low quality, but at least it gets the story moving, right? If you're interested in reading the prequel to KM, head over to http://www.sass-studio.com or email contact@sass-studio.com to preorder a copy of the anthology.

In other news, I have a deviantArt account ... which I have been shamelessly updating while leaving the comic to pot. I'm sorry!! But, hey, dA is fairly addictive cuz it's such a great community and I ... get regular comments. *Shrug* What can I say, everyone loves feedback.

And finally, if there's any fans of Drunk Duck comics out there, DD is down for the count and it seems like it won't be returning. But don't take my word for it. Go here: http://www.drunkduck.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10

In that forum, you'll also find links to comics that have found new homes. Check out the Migration thread.

About the page:
Yeah ... lots of talky, so sue me. If you've been a regular reader you'll have noticed that my characters tend to blab a lot. Especially when they're angry - which intuitively makes sense to me. After all, when people get angry, they tend to run at the mouth, no? Unfortunately for Itaka and KM, things get out of hand pretty quick. As usual, KM is right, in a way. Itaka feels in some way responsible for what happened to him, because her Clan was implicated in his downfall. In her guilt, she wants to right wrongs and triumph over evil (omg! Was that an inadvertant Sailor Moon reference?!! How scary.). Then KM had to go insult Glothinel, which for some reason made Itaka actually cry. Poor thing.

I will eventually get around to coloring this thing. Of course, I had to save the version without layers ... and so now I just have this flat wierd bluish page to color over o_O;;; That'll be fun.

Anthology news

2005-09-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

*** MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT***
Keenspace has changed its name to Comicgen. The new KM address is http://km.comicgen.com The Keenspace address will probably stick around for a while, but please update your bookmarks in case it disappears for good.

First with the good news. Sass Studios is releasing a monthly newsletter to all those who preorder the Dark Souls anthology. All you need to do is to email me (kurenaimashin(at)yahoo.com) or email Sass Studios (contact(at)sass-studio.com). Each issue will have a featured character, and this issue's featured character is none other than that little ice demon we all know and love. If you enjoy KM, I virtually guarantee that you'll love the anthology. My submission is related to KM, and deals with the characters during their youth. If you think about it, you'll understand why the story will blow you away. I'm so ambiguous, it's sick, isn't it? >:)

Next for the bad news. Most of you will hate this announcement. I know, what a way to start a news post. But I just want to make it nice and clear: there won't be a comic update for months. I'll go out on a limb and say there won't be an update until January. Why? *points* It's all his fault!! (KM glares. "Quiet down. Some people are trying to sleep.") OK, so I can't blame him for this one. I have to blame the anthology. These 20 pages (plus extras art) of sheer comicky goodness won't draw themselves, and in order to guarantee quality pages, I need to concentrate my efforts on the anthology. And given the fact that each page of this online comic takes me 10-12 hours, my pages for the anthology will take at least that, if not more.

Of course, if you buy the anthology ... that's like getting a 20 page KM fix - in one single day! Yes, I am without shame. At least I didn't tell you to donate ... though, you know, if you're interested, we more than welcome donations ... :D

Blogging and page updates

2005-08-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

The mother of all updates is here. Since I won't have much time to work on the comic or the sites when school rolls around, I decided to polish up some of the more neglected pages of the site. The extras page is finished, complete with icons, wallpapers, smilies etc and the links page has been updated with a whole handful of links.

And the colored version of page 6 is now up. Due to the text edits, I don't feel so bad about updating with a finished version of an "old" update. The previous script didn't do justice to KM's growing fury, and though I threw in a little cliche, I think this page does a better job. In order to emphasize the nightfall, I added some blue highlights and a stylized little sunset in the background.

.: About the page :.

Itaka has finally decided that it's high time to give KM some tough love. Disgusted by the murderer that he's become, she's trying to hit KM where it hurts the most: his pride. Having long ago figured out that he was Mokurei (there really aren't that many blind, red-haired elves skulking about), she takes what she knows and formulates her own truth about his life. All of it has a grain of truth in it, which only makes it more galling for KM.