-
Announcements
-
Welcome! 03/05/2016
Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change. If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away. I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!
-
heroesofcrash
-
Content count
213 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by heroesofcrash
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Break out the syrup; Dino-Mo is about to make some robot pancakes. I'm quite proud of that last panel. Drawing an ankylosaurus doing a cannonball dive is pretty daunting, but finding visual references helped a lot. I drew her like a rather bulky person, then added the shell, horns, and tail afterward. But as daunting as that was, I was not looking forward to drawing the Necrobots. I'm simultaneously proud of and annoyed at my past self for coming up with such a weird, detailed design for these bots. Contrary to popular belief (or at least the TV Tropes page for my comic), Necrobots don't have actual emotions, or at least Necros didn't program them that way. I might be willing to consider that they have developed one emotion: annoyance. Somewhere in the back of my head, I wonder if my GPS gets annoyed when I choose not to to go with the route it's planned and don't ask it for an alternate route. Dino-Mo's a bit of a hypocrite for calling Dodge a nerd, then giving her attack an alliterative name that sounds like something straight out of Pokemon or Digimon. At least, that's my take on it. Just a reminder; my birthday is next month, and like always, what I want most is fan art! My annual contest has evolved into a bit of an art trade, so that anyone who submits me fan art or a video game avatar based on my characters will get some free art from me! But there's still two big prizes that only two people will win...! Check out the full rules on my site at TheHeroesOfCRASH.com today!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Dodge isn't just a jock; he's also a fashion critic. But Necros can hurl more than dodgeballs and quips...! I'm not sure which I came up with first: Necros or the Necrobots. I honestly wish I could say I remembered how I came up with Necros' design, or why I decided on a skeletal theme, but I don't. However, they do remind me of a previous villain I drew up. When I was in junior high school, I came up with a superhero named Sidney the Mutant Scarab Beetle (I may put some form of him in the comic someday... unless you count a low-detail version of his face appearing on the top-left comic book cover in this strip: http://www.theheroesofcrash.com/2010Strip04-06.htm ). His foe was a mad scientist spider named Dr. Achnid, who had an army of spider-bots. The spider-bots resemebled their creator, much like the Necrobots resemble Necros with their triangular eyes, stripes, and skeletal theme. They used to look a bit more humanoid like Necros, too, until I changed their design to look scarier and more animal-like. The top three panels' backgrounds were initially a bit more sparse. When I saw how dull they looked, I added gradients to the first two panels. I didn't want to add a background, lest it distract from the action, so I used the gradients to bring focus to it instead. The dark edges of panel 3 were the result of me experimenting with a spray-paint tool in my program that I'd never tried before... I liked how it looked, and stuck with it. By the way, if you've been enjoying my comic, why not enter my contest? All you need to do is some artwork or a video game avatar based on my characters, submit them by May 19th, and you'll get some art in return! If your entry is the best, you may get a grand prize! The full rules are at TheHeroesOfCRASH.com, so check them out!
-
April Fools' 2018 Filler 3/31/18 - "Alvery and Ardrienne"
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
Featuring the cast of "Alvery Nerveaux's Secret Case Files" (used with permission from the author)! TheHeroesOfCRASH.com It's that time of year again...! Every year for April Fool's Day, Cannon pranks someone from another webcomic (Whose characters I use with permission). This time around, the characters are from Alvery Nerveaux's Secret Case Files; the heroic Alvery Nerveaux herself, and the villainous Ardrienne Renelsoir. It's a funny, wacky comic filled with spies, robots, costumes, typewriters, and Weird Al references, and you can check it out through my Links pages, which have recently been updated with LOADS of new webcomics (Nine in the G/PG section, and eight in the PG-13/R section, all of which have been marked)! Drawing other artists' characters in my art style is always fun. :-) It is a bit tricky, though. I didn't want Alvery and Ardrienne to look like the same character with different hairstyles - I was already making them look similar to each other by giving them both opaque glasses. In the comic, Alvery's glasses always hide her eyes, while Ardrienne's are always seen through. I took some artistic license to keep Alvery's eyes hidden and made both characters' glasses opaque (You can blame the lighting in the room). But I digress; I made sure that Alvery and Ardrienne had different noses, face shapes, and body types, taking how they were drawn in the comic and exaggerating them a bit. Alvery has more curves, whereas Ardrienne is thinner. I made sure that for this comic, Ardrienne's body is a bit more angular, harsher, and more streamlined than Alvery's. Anyway, if you enjoyed this comic, then I suggest you do the following: 1. Go to my Links pages and visit Alvery Nerveaux's Secret Case Files, and get archive-binging! 2. When you finish Alvery, check out some of the other new Links I've added! 3. Enter my birthday contest; everyone who submits a proper entry by my birthday gets a prize! Click the button on my main page for the rules! -
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Necros isn't the only one with surprises...! Like I said, if Necros does have a stereotypical villain weakness, it's that he enjoys monologuing, but he's able to keep himself from going too far. Necros has no intention of revealing his entire plan to our hero. He gives Belt Boy just enough information to play off his fears. I asked some people on Twitter who were discussing onomatopoeia what the proper sound effect for a dodgeball would be. I got "Poonk" and "Bont", but I don't think that the sound would end in a letter as hard as K or T. In the end, I went with my original idea: "Poomp". What do you think? Is there a better sound effect for a dodgeball hitting something? Leave me a comment and let me know! Just a quick reminder; there's less than two months to enter my contest! The full directions and rules are on my site, but essentially, if you make a video game avatar or some fan art based on my characters, you get some free art by me! And the best avatar and the best art will each get a special grand prize! I haven't received any entries yet, so now's a great time to enter, yourself!
-
Comic 3/17/18 - "Good Evil Monologue" is Technically an Oxymoron
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Necros isn't doing Belt Boy any favors, even if it is a villian tradition to offer some courtesies for the hero. While I don't mind the occasional cliche, gimmick, or typical plot device in media, I find it's a lot more fun to subvert expectations and turn cliches on their ear. Take Titanium Maiden, for example. It's a common cliche for the main heroine in a group to be a love interest who's feminine and wears pink, and Titanium Maiden is no exception there. But she doesn't look like a typical heroine; she looks more like a bodybuilder than a supermodel or the girl-next-door. Furthermore, muscular characters are often stereotyped as being brutish, dumb, or savage, and usually male... and TM is none of these. By combining two popular tropes that don't go together, I created a character that's more interesting than either one by itself. She's not the typical heroine, nor is she the typical strong character, and that makes her fun to work with. Necros, however, doesn't twist cliches around or enjoy playing with them; he outright rejects them. Necros is no-nonsense; he prefers to be effective and to the point, which is why he finds the "honorable villain" tradition of granting a hero a last request to be ridiculous. He cares more about winning than being honorable or dramatic. He sees no reason to do anything nice for his enemy - heck, as a bad guy, he sees no reason to do anything nice at all. If he has one cliche weakness, it's his tendency to monologue (partly because of his own ego, and partly because he enjoys taunting Belt Boy), but he'd never own up to it. And to be fair, Necros does dial back his monologues compared to other villains. He hasn't even revealed his entire plan or his "endgame" to Belt Boy just yet, whereas most other baddies might go full-"Bond villain" and explain the entirety of their plan and goals, and possibly their motivations. Necros enjoys playing with Belt Boy a bit and keeping him in the dark to a degree, but largely his reasons for not explaining everything are strategic. If you've been enjoying my comic, please, please PLEASE leave me a like! Leave me a comment! Share it around! You can even enter my annual birthday contest! If you haven't heard about it yet, ALL properly-submitted entries win a prize! Just create a game avatar or some art based on my characters and e-mail it to me, and you'll get some art in return! Check out my website for all the rules and details, including the two GRAND prizes! -
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Observant readers might be able to solve how TM and Cannon figured out where Belt Boy is. Can you? Have you been paying attention to the story and dialogue so far? If your detective skills aren't up to snuff, don't worry; I will reveal how they figured it out within this storyline, so stay tuned! Not much to say about the art for today's strip, but I do have a little bit of trivia: the streets of "Warburton/Hirsh" are named after the creators of Codename: Kids Next Door and Gravity Falls, respectively. Because I'm an animation nerd. And proud of it. This is the 700th canonical HoC strip! Woo-hoo! Hope you enjoyed the last 700 comics, and that you enjoyed the next 700! If you want to help me celebrate, why not contribute some art to my annual contest? Remember, the rules are on my main page, and ANYONE who submits a drawing or a game avatar based on my characters will get a prize! But there's only two GRAND prizes, so make 'em good! Check out the full rules on my website!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Normally B.O.N.N.I.E. trusts Belt Boy's plans, but to be fair, his judgement has been a bit off today... I've always drawn B.O.N.N.I.E. with sharp angles; I envision her as looking like Nintendo 64-style graphics. I think I may have been inspired by the opening to Super Mario 64, where you get to play around with Mario's abnormally-stretchy face. Not sure how stretchy B.O.N.N.I.E.'s face is, but no one's been terribly curious about that (yet...). If you've been following me on social media (and you should!), you know two things: first, I haven't been promoting my comic as regularly as usual this week, and second, that today's update is a bit late. To address the first issue, it's because the filler this week was regarding my cousin's passing. I felt a bit weird about reblogging that announcement all week, especially along with my contest announcement. Didn't feel right to me. As far as the lateness of today's update, it's because some winter weather briefly knocked out our power yesterday, and I decided not to turn my computer back on to complete my comic until the wind subsided. Well, better late than never; my comic's back up, and I didn't even lose the entire day! Anyway, just in case you've already forgotten, I want to remind you that I have my annual fan art contest, and EVERYONE who submits a valid entry gets a prize! Check out the rules by clicking the button on my main page!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com A tribute to my cousin, who passed away this week. :-( Thank you for believing in me, Linda. In unrelated news, I'm re-posting the rules to the fan art contest I announced last week below. That's all for now.
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com My comic is having its annual contest, and EVERYONE gets some art in return! Either make some art or a game avatar based on my characters to enter! You can read more details by clicking on one of the attached images, and you can view the full rules by clicking on the button on my main page. Give it a try! It's loads of fun! Diligent readers may recognize that one of the two images is my announcement filler from last year, but with a new, introductory, 2-panel filler comic preceding it. Due to some family emergencies (and Valentine's Day), I wasn't able to get much work done on my comic until Friday night. And even then, I had to contend with another family emergency that had me driving around for a few hours until 1am, and some computer issues. But being the faithful comic creator that I am, I managed to stay up all night to finish this filler. True, I may have stayed awake more than 24 hours, but I haven't reached a delirious state of exhaustion or anythKUMQUATHIPPOPOTAMUSBOOGIEOOGIEOOGIE! ... I may need to lie down...
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com While I always strive to update my comic every single week, I tend to put some other aspects of my website on the back burner. No, I'm not talking about the Links pages - although I definitely AM working on adding some new sites to my Links - I mean my downloadable wallpapers. I find this particularly embarassing because most of my wallpapers have been prizes for my Annual Birthday Fan Art contest, and I tend to wait until the next contest comes around before I actually get around to creating the prize for the previous year. To be fair, it's usually because I try not to do too many filler updates in a row anymore, and I tend to have a few fillers around my birthday, but I still feel bad that I tend to make my contest winners wait. But that's in the past... Last year's winner has done enough waiting! CD Rudd, creator of SailorSun.Org (Check out my Links page for his site, along with a full description!), requested that I draw my characters doing whatever it is they do in their spare time. I decided that they do the same thing my friends and I do when we get together: eat pizza and play video games! I wanted to make sure all the characters looked interesting and dynamic; usually when you're playing games with friends, you're all sitting in the couch, controller in hand, and that's it. I decided to give everyone a different pose and a different controller (If Nintendo can make multiple controllers for a single console, so can I). Cannon - or rather, Dave - may not be wearing his big, clunky armor, but he does have a controller based off the N64 controller, but with his armor's color scheme (I'll bet it's one of those see-through controllers that I wish they still made. Also, Dave would totally rule at Mario Party, since his prosthetic hand can't get blisters from the Tug-of-War minigame). His pose is the most aggressive - albeit comedically so - of the three, which fits his personality quite well. Max may not be in his full Belt Boy gear, but he still wears his goggles (which just look cool) and his belt to help him snack without distractions (And yes, the design on his cup is based on a famous paper cup design, but with Belt Boy's uniform's red and blue hues). Max is holding a controller reminiscent of the classic SNES controller, even with its classic color scheme (The SNES was always one of my favorite consoles). Tiffany doesn't wear an outfit as Titanium Maiden; she just takes on the name, so she doesn't really have any costume change. The controllers are based of the Wii nunchucks, except they're two joined remotes without a joystick (and their color-scheme is based off another pizza-eating hero who uses nunchucks!), which shows off Tiffany's impressive biceps rather nicely. I've put some work into this background: look closely and you may notice that a photo in a wall frame offers a subtle homage to CD Rudd's comic (Those figures look a lot like Bay and Honey...), and that Tiffany forgot to use the wrist straps the first time they played. The gaming console looks like a GameCube and Wii mashed together, with dual cartridge slots on top reminiscent of one of those non-official consoles that are designed to play both NES and SNES games. I call this console the PlayTend Box 90 (Because it forms a 90-degree angle). I didn't intend for this to be any character's specific living room, but in hindsight, it does have Cannon's purple-and-green color scheme, so maybe this is at his house. This is my first wallpaper designed with phones/tablets in mind, which is why I centered the characters to appear on the screen even if the image is cropped. Still, I like how the scene looks as a whole, so I think it looks best on a tablet, or even centered on your PC. I hope you all enjoy it, especially you, CD (Sorry again for the long wait; I hope it was worth it)!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Maybe B.O.N.N.I.E.'s calculations are rounded down...? 0% feels like it should at least be some kinda decimal, like 0.5% or something... This storyline has been a bit more dramatic than most; it addresses a lot of characters' baggage. Don't worry; this comic isn't going full-drama. Even the best comedic cartoons have their dramatic moments (If the ending of the "Jurassic Bark" episode of Futurama didn't make you tear up a little the first time you saw it, you have no soul). B.O.N.N.I.E. gets her name from being the Belt Operation Network Neohuman with Inexplicable Emotions, and this comic showcases part of her inexplicably emotional side we haven't seen before. As a computer program, B.O.N.N.I.E. can't disobey a direct order, but she does have a degree of agency, and she's very protective of Belt Boy. She's not just a warning system that tells Belt Boy when systems are offline or when he's been seriously hurt; she makes her own judgements, and tells Belt Boy that he's putting himself in danger. She's being a friend as much as she is a program.
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Enticia accepts Dino-Mo's accusations; conversely, Belt Boy can't accept defeat. I like how this storyline's been exploring Enticia and Belt Boy's characters in different ways. Enticia has always been a flawed and somewhat egotistical character, who has put distance between herself and others, and allowed people to get hurt in the process. Now, she's seriously considering what people think about her and trying to listen. Belt Boy, on the other hand, has always been a seemingly perfect boy scout-type, but while he's friendly with others, he's hard on himself. Now, he's sinking further into his delusion that perfection is attainable, and he's becoming blinded to what he's doing. On a related note, I mentioned in last week's commentary that there's a key difference between Enticia and her mother; namely that Rose Greene's flirtiness was a string of short romances, while Enticia's playing for keeps. Enticia gathered the whole idea of dating lots of boys in a casual way, but her mom never explained a whole lot about ending relationships, apparently.
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Some insight into how Enticia learned about relationships. Although Violet's behavior/advice explains quite a bit about what Enticia did, there is a key difference between how the two have treated boys. Looking at Dino-Mo's expression - which has suddenly changed from surprised (and possibly sympathetic) to annoyed - she may have caught on. Have you? In the early days of my strip, I wanted there to be at least one established couple; having EVERY character be un-attached seemed a little unrealistic - or at least boring - to me. I wound up pairing Sugar Rush and Dodge, and that pairing has helped influence Dodge's personality a bit. Dodge does have a wild streak that he lets out on occasion, which Sugar Rush loves. But he can also be patient and logical, which helps balance out Sugar Rush's impulsiveness (not that impulsiveness is necessarily a bad thing). However, Sugar Rush hasn't been the only one to make me think how I wrote Dodge's character; his protective nature was influenced by having the often-defenseless Gelatin Boy as his best friend. Perhaps it's because of his sports theme that Dodge has grown to be a team player in his team and in my comic's cast! Ah, the return of character-colored flashbacks. Every character's flashbacks are a different color. Enticia's are tinted in browns and reds, to match her hair, skin, makeup, and the broken-heart-halves on her pants (And because using blacks and grays to match her clothes and shoes didn't look vibrant enough). Similarly, Belt Boy's have been yellow to match his hair and his belt buckle (and, admittedly, because yellow is my favorite color and he's the semi-central character), Cannon's were green to match his armor, and Titanium Maiden's have been pink to match her scrunchie, lipstick, shoes, and the flower on her shirt. Hmmm... in hindsight, this may get me backed into a corner if other characters have flashbacks... Obviously, Gelatin Boy would have orange, but what would Dodge have, if orange, red, and yellow are used up? And what would Sugar Rush have? In the future, I may do two-tone flashbacks. I might have to study how Kathleen Jacques colors her Band Vs. Band comic (Which should be on my totally-needs-to-be-updated Links page)... As far as that “bundle of hormones and crazy” comment, I think it sums up teens pretty well (although it doesn’t necessarily disqualify them from serious, meaningful relationships). To be fair though, I think “bundle of crazy” (minus the hormones part) sums up most adults pretty well, too. Just look at the loon that adults got into office a year ago today.
-
Comic 1/13/18 - Enticia's Least Favorite Running Gag
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com A callback to comic #312, this probably won't be the last time we hear this phrase. And yes, we will soon get an explanation of what Mrs. Greene has to do with Enticia's attitudes on relationships... to some extent, anyway. Enticia's got a lot going on below the surface, and I look forward to exploring more of her character in the future. :-) Titanium Maiden and Dino-Mo, as you can see from panel #2, are still there. TM tends to be quiet and gives other people space, whereas Dino-Mo's still taking all this in. If comic #475 and the last panel of today's strip didn't make it clear, Sugar Rush is canonically bi. While she finds other women attractive, she's quite happy in her monogamous dating relationship with Dodge. The two of them happen to be a loving, passionate young couple who just happen to high-five each other whenever a beautiful woman passes by (I think I let Marshall and Lily from How I Met Your Mother influence how I depict their relationship a smidge). Oh, almost forgot; Enticia's last line was, at one point, going to be, "I'm being punished, aren't I?!", borrowing a quote from one of my favorite movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze. I decided to skip that quote and use some dialogue that made Enticia's feelings of frustration and guilt a bit more apparent. -
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Enticia realizes that her confession may have been a bit easier to overhear than she intended. She's not embarassed about Dodge and Sugar Rush knowing she's sorry about Bastion - he was their teammate and friend, too - but she IS embarassed by the fact that she now realizes how loud she was and that almost anyone could have heard her. Thankfully for Enticia, there are almost no students left in the school at this time of day to know she's afraid that she's turned into her mother. I'm mostly happy with the art for today's strip; the one thing that bothers me is the third panel; I realized after I finished the whole thing that Enticia and Titanium Maiden are in similar poses. Granted, TM is grasping her head in frustration and Enticia is nervously scratching her head, but they both have their right elbow out. It's probably a nitpick, but I can't help but think it could have been better. On the plus side, I'm happy with how I drew Sugar Rush skidding to a stop in panel two (I fiddled with her pose quite a bit before I got it to look right), and I like Enticia's toony expression in the last panel. Overall, not a bad comic to kick off the new year!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Dexter and I bid a fond farewell to 2017... by which I mean, we're fond of the fact we're bidding farewell. 2017 has been a rough year. Natural disasters, an awful tax bill, threats to Net Neutrality and healthcare, half the celebrities we like that survived 2016 turn out to be racist or accused of harassing women, and of course, we have a president so awful and unqualified that there's probably nothing I can say about him that hasn't been said already. Despite all that, I have high hopes for 2018. Many of us who survived what 2017 threw at us fought for our rights and the rights of others. We protested. We called representatives. We made the media notice. We made the government notice. We flipped seats. We didn't back down. And I don't plan on backing down in 2018. Sometimes, we need a fire lit under our butts to get active and make a change. And sometimes that fire just happens to be a garbage fire of a year. Get out there and take 2018 by the horns. MAKE IT YOUR YEAR.
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com It's been a rough year for our country. A large number of us have been calling, protesting, and fighting for human rights in the face of greed and bigotry. It can get emotionally and even physically taxing. Between that and the typical holiday chaos, it's easy to wonder what's the point? Why bother? Does anything I do really matter? Well, despite a recent defeat regarding a certain tax bill, I still believe YES. Yes, it DOES matter what you do. While the words of Jacob Marley's ghost in today's filler may seem grim, in the context of the picture, I feel that it serves as an important reminder. While we are alive, we should do all that we can to help others and spread happiness. Joy is infectious; when you spread it around, you can feel it yourself. While you may not be able to change the world, the changes you CAN bring about can mean the world to one person... maybe two, including you! Meanwhile, those who fail to help others and think only of themselves are probably gonna discover karma laying the smackdown on them, in this life or the next (Okay, perhaps that's a little less "peace-and-love-y" than most of my Christmas messages, but I'm sure that thought comforts a few of you)! Anyway, if you're still willing to help out those in need, I recommend contacting your representatives every day. There's lots of great causes to fight for; if you like my comic and other webcomics, you should try showing your support for Net Neutrality. Tell the House and Senate to use a Resolution of Disapproval (under the CRA) to overturn the FCC's decision to repeal Net Neutrality laws! You might also want to help out by donating to a charity or a food bank that supports those hit by this year's hurricanes. If you want a suggestion, FeedingAmerica.org seems to be a well-reputed charity that's aiding in the relief efforts, and even a small $1 donation will be a big help. Anyway, today's comic took me all week to figure out. I knew I wanted to use this quote - I felt like it expressed justice during a time when a lot of people are losing faith in justice. However, I didn't want the shadenfreude of bad people being punished to overshadow the message that it's important to be kind to one another. Like the story of A Christmas Carol itself, there needed to be a good balance between the light and dark. Some earlier ideas felt too dark to me - like having ghostly politicians wearing Marley-style chains, or my characters posing as the Ghosts of Christmas Past/Present/Future to pester politicians. Ultimately, I felt that the picture should show my characters exemplifying the notion that charity and generosity is everyone's business, rather than bemoaning it too late like Marley, so I put my characters in a food pantry (much like my family and I volunteer at a homeless shelter every Christmas morning to serve food at a luncheon and do crafts and drawings with the children). I still felt that there needed to be a little jab at those who think only of themselves and merely pretend to be generous (That is a big issue going on right now, and I felt that I had to address it), so I put in the politician. It's no coincidence that the senator is under the quote about the consequences of selfishness, while my heroes are stationed beneath the words about giving to others. My fellow Pennsylvanians might have noticed that Senator Nat Tooman is a parody of Senator Pat Toomey - my state's Republican senator who's been pushing the tax bill, praising Trump's nominees (most notably Betsy DeVos, whose family contributed to his campaign), and opposing Net Neutrality. I was considering making the parody character's last name "Toomer", because like a tumor, he's malignant and should be removed, but I think I might save that joke for some protest signs. The name "Nat Tooman" sounds a lot like "Not Human", stressing his lack of humanity. Y'know, I might find a place for this guy in a future storyline at some point...! Anyway, here's hoping that whatever you celebrate - whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just having a quiet winter's day - that you have a happy holiday season! Take care, everyone!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Enticia utters four words that everyone fears. Enticia's been one of the more fun characters for me to write. She may be my favorite character outside of the main 3. She started off as a femme fatale, but I found myself discovering her character and backstory, and she's evolved as the story progressed. That being said, she isn't always easy to write. I've become increasingly aware of how frequently men take advantage of women in the real world, especially in the last few months, and while I enjoy subverting expectations to create new characters and situations, I didn't want to make it look like I was dismissing what women were (and are) going through by turning men into the victims*. There's MORE than enough of that online. I hope that as the story goes on, that readers will find Enticia to be as deep and loveable as I do. As far as the art in today's comic, my first sketch of Enticia in the last panel had her face looking even more cartoonishly exaggerated, but I felt that it made her look crazed instead of distraught. I feel pretty pleased with how I have her hands clutching her head and messing up her Halle Berry hairdo. By the way, If you've been following me on social media, you know that I'm disappointed by the FCC's recent decision to repeal Net Neutrality laws (And if you enjoy webcomics like mine, you're probably disappointed, too). That being said, this isn't over. There's still plenty of things you can do! 1. Go over the FCC's heads and demand that your representatives in the Senate and Congress put Net Neutrality laws in place. 2. Tell the FCC that you are displeased with their decision; Net Neutrality isn't about taking away people's ability to take selfies and make memes, but about people's ability to have a voice that can be heard globally, and about small businesses having a chance to compete with big businesses. 3. Tell your ISP that you're not a happy customer; you want their website to guarantee that there will be no throttling back the speed at which information comes to you, that there will be no paid prioritization, and that they can still guarantee that low-income families have access to the FULL internet. Don't give up on this cause! Keep listening to what's happening, and keep speaking out! *In the context of this statement, I mean men as a whole. I am aware that men can be victims of abuse in relationships as well as women. However, a disappointingly high number of online complaints involve men complaining that women have it easier than they do, or that feminism is "taking away their rights", and that's just total malarkey.
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Enticia helps Titanium Maiden and Dino-Mo search for Belt Boy. Even with Dino-Mo around and guilt on her mind, Enticia always plays it cool. Enticia's become one of the more fun characters for me to write, largely because I know of her backstory and how I want her story arch to go. Her story is, for the time being, mainly a redemption story, like Scrooge or Scott Pilgrim, and I rather enjoy writing it. I will say this, there's more to her story than just redemption. In fact, there's a whole 'nother side to her story we have yet to explore, but I'm keeping that under my hat for now...!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Cannon and Gelatin Boy apologize, and Cannon channels his inner Jedi. Here, we can see how Cannon and Gelatin Boy are a bit similar. However, they both use wisecracks differently. Cannon's sarcasm is always "on", and usually directed at others, which makes him feel better about his own insecurities. Conversely, Geltin Boy tends to aim his sarcasm directly at his own insecurities, as well as situations that make him nervous. Here, Gelatin Boy's doing something rare; using a quip in a positive way by lightening the mood. Perhaps he still has a little nervousness or snark in his system left over from the last two strips. While Cannon could learn a thing or two about being introspective from Gelatin Boy, Gelatin Boy could learn about how to use his sarcasm against someone besides himself. I guess they could both play the roles of "master" and "apprentice" (I thought this commentary needed one more Star Wars reference!).
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Today's comic is rather surprising! We see a rare moment of courage from Gelatin Boy, followed by a rare moment of introspection from Cannon! Anything could happen now! But what IS going to happen will need to wait until next week...! By the way, I do plan on doing story comics this week and the next three, up until the 23rd, when I'll do my annual Christmas filler *Knock on wood*. I know that the last month was bogged down with quite a few fillers, between the Halloween two-parter, Election Day, and Thanksgiving, and I'm itching to continue this story. Gelatin Boy and Cannon's actions, as I mentioned, are a bit surprising, but not entirely out-of-character for them. GB may not be as snarky as Cannon, but he's definitely more negative. Usually, he's down on himself, but his outlook on most things is pretty pessimistic. While he's frustrated with a lot of people right now, he's not willing to stand up to most of them. There's no way he's standing up to Jackknife because he's a bully. He doesn't want to stand up to his friends, because he doesn't want them to be upset at him. Cannon, on the other hand, is a classmate with whom he has had limited interactions with so far, and he's pretty sure Cannon - despite his attitude - wouldn't attack him like Jackknife would, so he sees no downside to lashing out at Cannon. Cannon tends to be very protective of his ego (I intentionally designed him with bulky armor over his skinny physique as a metaphor for that, in fact!). He talks himself up a lot (especially around the ladies), and is quick to aim sarcasm or blame at others. He also hates bringing up a lot of issues regarding his past, specifically those surrounding his lost hand (Which he's very sensitive about people seeing). However, he's also very loyal and protective of his best friend. It seems that when his ego, his past, and his loyalty collide, loyalty comes out on top.
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com I hope you all have family and/or friends to share this holiday with, and that you have plenty to be thankful for. I also hope that those of you who are especially fortunate can help those whose Thanksgiving isn't looking quite as happy. Any time is a great time to give, but the holidays even moreso. Please consider donating to a charity or a food bank that supports those hit by this year's hurricanes. If you want a suggestion, FeedingAmerica.org seems to be a well-reputed charity that's aiding in the relief efforts, and even a small $1 donation will be a big help. Wishing you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving! P.S.: I'm working on a canonical story comic for next week, and I plan to do story comics until the Saturday before Christmas, so don't worry; we'll be returning to classic superhero action soon!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Gelatin Boy gives Cannon some sass! Has GB grown a spine? Does he even have a spine? I guess he could just have a gelatinous one that we can't see because the rest of him is gelatinous, but it's hard to say... Anyway, enjoy this comic (And yes, the title is a Simpsons reference)! Long before I started my own comic, I read others' comics. Probably the first comics that I read were the ones in the Sunday newspaper, and one of the first newspaper comics I read was On The Fastrack, a comic about a bunch of people working at an office. That strip continues to this day - but the cast has changed a bit, and it now focuses on Dethany, an upbeat goth (as oxymoronic as that sounds) who maintains her individuality and positivity in a corporate atmosphere. An animated version of her now does Q&A videos on YouTube, answering fans questions. Why do I bring this up? Because in this month's video, Dethany answered a question from yours truly (Although, if you've been keeping up with my comic updates, you already knew that)! Crediting me as "The Heroes of C.R.A.S.H.", she answers my question as to to what her powers and costume would be if she were a superheroine! You can check out On The Fastrack for yourself through my Links page, and you can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBCBSQW2XTg By the way, I want to thank everyone who read my recent Election Day filler and decided to vote. But the fight against injustice isn't over: we need to stay politically active! Stay informed on what bills are being voted on, and watch how your representatives vote. You can call your representatives' offices, send letters or faxes by texting ResistBot on your phone, and even use GoogleMaps to locate their offices and rate/review them like a business!
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com I know that we've already had two Halloween fillers, and some more holiday fillers are on the way with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, but I felt like this was a pretty important message to get out. Part of the reason our government is so corrupt is because of an uninformed, uninterested public. We need to watch what bills our representatives support and vote on. We need to contact our representatives and let them know what we want from them. And perhaps most importantly, WE NEED TO VOTE. And every election matters, even local ones. These local elections are where most of our state and federal officials get their start. So if you have an election in your state this month, GO OUT AND VOTE! Oh, and one more thing you can do... I've just been notified that Google Maps lets you rate your government representatives just like businesses, giving them 1-5 stars and writing reviews. So if you have a representative that keeps voting on the most morally bankrupt bills, feel free to post your rating and review. But that's all stuff you can read on the front page of my site. If you follow me online, you want a bit extra info behind why I draw what I draw. For today's filler, I could have drawn any of my characters, or even drawn myself, but I chose Dino-Mo. Partly, this is because we haven't seen much of her lately. But it has a bit more to do with the fact that I see a lot of my "hippie side" in her. Driven and true to her morals, she has the potential to be the strongest activist in my cast, even compared to my main three (She's more outspoken than Belt Boy or TM, and speaks more sincerely than master-of-sarcasm Cannon). I also wanted to have a character address a political issue who wasn't a white male, so I thought that Dino-Mo - canonically a half-Mexican, half-Native American woman - would be a better choice for this filler (Granted, she's still a character written by me, a white male, so this is mostly a symbolic gesture. I encourage you to go online and look at what real, non-fictitious Native Americans and Latinx people are saying about what's happening in our country!).
-
TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Not much to say about Part 2 that I haven't said about Part 1. I suppose I could mention that most of the junk food buffet that's been eaten was munched by Titanium Maiden. Her amazonian physique burns a lot of calories easily, leaving her with a need for a lot of food. She gets a little self-conscious about this, though, so she usually eats a big breakfast and a big lunch, so she can eat a relatively normal-sized meal for lunch while she's at school. You may have noticed that I haven't been posting my Inktober drawings to social media lately; I've gotten a bit behind, so I'm trying to do a bunch of drawings to make up for lost time. I'll be posting them soon! Anyway, I hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween! Be careful, have fun, and don't sue me. This filler is fan-art only, like I said.