• Announcements

    • Robin

      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

Moderators
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    213

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by heroesofcrash

  1. theheroesocrash.com I'm gonna be honest; I was planning to have this filler comic in some form or another this weekend. Even if Hillary won, I felt that Trump wouldn't see justice if he was to continue harassing women and spreading hate without consequences, just because he's rich. As I - and many others - have said before, artists can shape their vision for the world in paintings, books, movies, and of course, webcomics. So, just as I have based a handful of my characters on real people before, I have this new character based on Trump: Assistant Janitor Drumpf. While many wish physical harm on Trump - and such thoughts are tempting, indeed - I decided to take a different route: teaching him a lesson in humility. In my world, Trump has lost the election, his fortune, and the legal rights to that which he values most: his name (which is why he's going by his family's original name of "Drumpf"). Now, he must live his life serving others and living paycheck-to-paycheck. It's a life that many kind, humble people can take quiet pride in... and Trump can either learn to do the same, or let the job be his prison. Will he ever learn to take pride in helping others? Or will he continue to be as obnoxious and hateful as his rich, real-world counterpart. At this moment, I'm not sure what - if any - character development he will undergo, but for now, I'm just gonna savor Assistant Janitor Drumpf's current situation. For those of you who want to take REAL action against the REALTrump, there's a petition on Change.org (With over 3 million signatures at this time, I might add!) to get the electoral college to vote for Hillary on December 19th. It's one of the reasons the electoral college actually exists (Huh; the electoral college actually has a purpose! Who knew?). If you want to check it out, I've provided a link on my comic's main page! Sign it and share it!

  2. Comic 11/5/16 - The Hurt Ego Locker

    heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash

    theheroesofcrash.com Seems Belt Boy can't bury his metaphorical demons under activities... or under all the junk in his locker. The third panel was originally going to look a bit different; the shadow on the wall would have cracks in it in the section near BB's head. However, that spot was the only place where his thought balloon looked right, so I decided to nix the representational imagery.

  3. Comic 10/29/16 - Halloween 2016

    heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash

    theheroesofcrash.com I typically don't like to get into politics on my own site; I like to think of this comic an escape from the frustrations of the real world, and into the land of stories and fantasy. But the current situation needs to be addressed. This election is a big one, and it may not be farfetched to say that the state of the world hangs in the balance. I understand that many people are disappointed with all the choices we have. Clinton had that e-mail scandal. Johnson has shown in interviews that he doesn't know what certain government departments do, nor is he aware of current events in other countries. Stein also demonstrates a lack of knowledge of how government works, and - despite being a doctor - would not stand up for vaccinations so as not to dissuade anti-vaccination voters. And then there's Trump. Oy vey, there's Trump. Fact-checking website Politifact's scorecard for Donald Trump rates 70% of his statements as Mostly False or worse (19% are rated as Mostly False, 34% as False, and 17% as Pants on Fire), compared to 26% for Hillary (14% Mostly False, 10% False, and 2% Pants on Fire). Trump has been recorded making statements that insult or belittle women, African-Americans, Mexicans, Muslims, Jewish people, POW veterans, people with disabilities, and more. He wants to build a wall under the false pretense that most immigrants are criminals - a wall that not only will cost a ridiculous amount of money to build and maintain (that he can't make Mexico pay for), but will also probably result in MORE illegal immigrants due to overstaying their visas. He has encouraged violence at his rallies, bullies at polling locations, and racism nationwide. And finally, he's not all that good a businessman, as he owes his fortune to exploiting loopholes in bankruptcy law - a skill that cannot carry over to helping our own economy - and he is known for ripping off people in his business deals. Trump is, to put it simply, a con man. The message of my comic has always been that anyone has the potential to be a hero, even if they aren't perfect. All you need to do to be a hero is to fight injustice in some form, and Trump is injustice incarnate. Trump is hatred, racism, bigotry, violence, wrath, ignorance, greed, and pride, all wrapped up in one orange-painted package. Hillary may not be the candidate that we deserve, but she may be the one we need. You can be a hero, too, by voting for her this November. Please. On the lighter side of things, I'm pleased with Enticia and Titanium Maiden's costumes (as Patty from the new Ghostbusters and Wendy from Gravity Falls, respectively). Not only are both of them based on paranormal pop culture, but they're both based on something we've seen this year. Between my three characters, it's like a nice little time capsule for 2016. Oh, and if you're wondering why the haunted house patrons aren't regular cast members from my comic, it's because I wanted to keep my characters' ages vague, so they may not be old enough to vote. They are all - to borrow an expression from Homestar Runner - "Someteen" years old. Wishing you all a Happy Halloween, and the best of luck this coming election day.
  4. theheroesofcrash.com Today's comic shows that Belt Boy always has a plan, TM has a forgiving temperament, and Cannon has a sweet tooth (a bit like his real-life counterpart). Belt Boy (as well as the other members of my comic's main trio) is largely based off me, so we share a lot of qualities. One way in which we differ is that I would probably be blurting out apology after apology in a situation like this, whereas BB sees any mistake as a temporary setback that he can fix... especially when he's in "perfectionist mode". Guess the title of today's comic is a bit ironic, as he never officially apologizes in this strip.
  5. theheroesofcrash.com Seems that Cannon and Titanium Maiden are displeased with their fearless - or rather, clueless - leader. Has he bitten off more than his team can chew? Is that a weird metaphor if one person's biting and three people are chewing? And has Cannon ever had a hot date? Stay tuned for the next installment for the answers to none of these questions! I love understatement being used to convey humor, which is probably why I love having my characters not getting explicitly angry and just speaking iciliy, indicated by my word balloons with icicles on them. Decided to try a different tool today to draw the icicles on this time around... what do you think of 'em?
  6. theheroesofcrash.com No surprise, but this comic was a LOT of fun to draw. While I am trying to do more realistic anatomy, being able to show off my characters' more toony side is a lot of fun to draw, and lends itself to better comedy. At one point, I was going to have Belt Boy merely raise his hand in that last panel, but I decided to exaggerate it and have him stand dramatically on the desk. I think it's funnier, and it fits with BB's personality rather well. The backgrounds were a lot of fun as well. The last panel was originally going to be gold, but it looked too similar to the orange panel above it. I decided on blue to contrast with the previous two panels, and to suggest that Belt Boy's psyche got a bit of relief from not holding in his heroic ambitions (although that relief will no doubt be short-lived!). The first panel is a callback to Belt Boy's first meeting Enticia; she tried to seduce him with her powers, but Belt Boy was focused on getting to class on time, and everything was colored in grayscale save for the clock to emphasize his focus. This time around, Belt Boy is focusing on his own problems, which is why he's the only thing in color. And yes, that IS a Taz-Mania reference in the first panel.
  7. What's this? More new characters? Well, this is a classroom. You didn't think Belt Boy, Cannon, and Titanium Maiden were the only three students in there, didja? You've seen Road Racer before - near the beginning of the Gym Nauseum storyline (on 2/28/12). Her design is partly based off of two famous speedsters; the Road Runner and Sonic the Hedgehog. Her color scheme mostly borrows from the former, and her ponytail is supposed to be like the plumage on the Road Runner's head. The jet plane-like fins on her pilot-like cap are inspired by Sonic's spikes, as is her running posture. The green strap and lenses to her goggles are inspired by Sonic's green eyes. Orange Ocelot is a character I've been thinking of adding for a while. Lots of superheroes have color-based names: Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Green Lantern/Arrow... but nothing orange. I wanted to stick with alliteration, and my mind settled on "ocelot", because it's fun to say and not a commonly-known animal. Plus, I thought it might be a funny running gag if everyone mistakes him for a tiger or leopard or other feline.
  8. http://theheroesofcrash.com Belt Boy's getting a little tired of getting grabbed by the arm and yanked off-panel... and Cannon's not even remotely tired of bragging about his victory against Jackknife. BTW, if you saw my Daily Drawing for Friday 9/23, you realized that I took a LOT longer drawing this than I meant to, as I had done most of the inking in a "sketch" layer. Drawing in the wrong layer is the bane of digital artists everywhere. Addressing this comic's title... I know I tend to make fun of Michael Bay, but I can't help but wonder if Zack Snyder's worse. Snyder's like what Bay would be if he tried to be serious. Say what you will about Bay's lack of talent, over-inflated ego, and terrible treatment of women (It's all true), but at least he gets that there's an element of silliness to the imaginary worlds of the Transformers and Ninja Turtles (not that he harnesses it effectively, but at least he acknowledges that it's there). Snyder, conversely, denounced She-Hulk and the Martian Manhunter as legit superheroes, calling She-Hulk essentially a trophy for the male power fantasy that is the Hulk (If he knew comics, he'd know that they're cousins, so... EW. NO.), and Martian Manhunter a stupid character (And yet he considers Aquaman to be fine). Plus, despite getting some elements of Batman V Superman, let's face facts: he got some elements very very wrong (I highly recommend watching the Nostalgia Critic review). This comic, thankfully, is silly and colorful and everything that Snyder is not. And I'm darn proud of it.
  9. theheroesofcrash.com Sugar Rush is capable of slowing down her speech when she's in "hyper" mode. However, as she focuses herself, she speaks like someone singing marcato - giving each note (or in her case, word) a little "thrust" of emphasis. I hope that what she's doing is evident in her hyphenated dialogue and the way she grits her teeth. Belt Boy's "shoulder angel" and "shoulder devil" (yes, that's a reference to The Emperor's New Groove) are given dark yellow outlines to indicate that they're all in Belt Boy's head. I made Belt Boy's angel look like some sort of angelic warrior, while his devil looks like a supervillain. Both seemed apt for Belt Boy's good/evil sides.
  10. Well, it's been a while, due to my trip to Texas (and subsequent post-vacation recovery), but fillers are done, and it's back to the story! The punchline of today's comic actually harkens back to some commentary for the 4/30/16 comic, where I mentioned Sugar Rush's previous attempt at tasting her dessert-like teammate. Of course, Gelatin Boy is half gelatin, half boy, and he tastes like a combination of the two. Not very appetizing. Also, not sure if I mentioned this before, but Sugar Rush won't have any digestive problems with those erasers; she's got a cast-iron stomach, and has eaten stranger things before. Now if they were pencils, they'd probably be sitting in her stomach like lead! Buh-DUM-tch!

  11. 9/3/16 - Birdwatching at the SA Zoo

    heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash

    theheroesofcrash.com I'm finally back from my San Antonio trip! It was a lot of fun, but getting back on track after such a long vacation is not quite so easy, so I decided to do a filler, similar to the San Antonio postcards I did some years back. Among the sights I got to see on this trip was the San Antonio Zoo. Belt Boy's right; there ARE a lot of birds at this zoo (especially compared to Philly's zoo)... but it's also filled with Poké-stops! Don't worry, folks; I paid more attention to the real live critters inhabiting the zoo than the digital ones! By the way, did you get a chance to listen to The Playlist of C.R.A.S.H. while I was gone? In case you missed my last update, it's a collection of thirty songs, all related to your favorite HoC characters. You can search for it on Spotify, as I've put the playlist there. However, it's come to my attention that HoC fan Grayson Judd recreated this playlist on YouTube, so you can search for and watch The Playlist of C.R.A.S.H. there, too! Sweet!
  12. I'm gonna be in San Antonio, Texas for a week and a half (starting Monday), so the site won't update until I get back. But don't despair, because I've got two things that will keep you amused in the meantime. First, I'm still doing Daily Drawings, which I'll be posting on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, as usual. Second, I've created The Playlist of C.R.A.S.H. - a collection of songs related to your favorite HoC characters. Search for my playlist on Spotify, or recreate it yourself! Now you may be wondering why I chose these particular songs. Most of them are songs that I feel capture each character's personality and/or their taste in music. Want more specifics? Okay: Belt Boy - Superman seemed like the kind of catchy, upbeat song Belt Boy would like, plus it's about superheroes. Corner of the Sky capture's BB's dreams of meeting his destiny as a great hero. Titanium Maiden - I think these song titles speak for themselves. Heh heh! Cannon - Cheer Up captures Cannon's sarcastic attitude toward life pretty well, whereas EVERYTHING EXPLODES is all about his love of blowin' stuff up, as well as video games (it's by the same band that did the music for the Scott Pilgrim game!) B.O.N.N.I.E. - A song by a robot A.I. and a song associated with internet mischief... Gee, what could those have to do with B.O.N.N.I.E.? Caped Cod - Because "Under the Sea" was too obvious. Enticia - A song about Enticia enjoying life, and one about her confidence (with just a smidgeon of egotism). The former was harder to pick for Enticia, as I wanted to use a song by a black female artist that didn't use any swears, but also had an element of "girl power" to it; it took a lot of searching to find this song. Unk - I feel like these songs show off how mellow Unk really is. They also seem to suggest Unk has some sort of link to the beach or islands... Jackknife - Because no one likes Jackknife. Nyah, nyah! Dino-Mo - Do I really need to explain this one? Dodge - The first song was obvious, and Eye of the Tiger seemed like the kind of song Dodge would listen to while working out. Sugar Rush - How much more obvious can I get? Gelatin Boy - Ennui (On We Go) sums up Gelatin Boy's pessimism pretty well, while the second one shows that GB can relate to the often-mocked Aquaman. Bonus songs - Just a handful of songs that I've heard over the years and thought were appropriate. We Are Giants is particularly appropriate if you check out the music video. Cartoon Heroes seemed very appropriate to end the playlist, as it addresses just how toony and zany my superheroes are. It also gets a little meta, pushing against (but not breaking) the fourth wall like a cartoonist's signature. What better way to end it?
  13. theheroesofcrash.com While Gelatin Boy is questioning Sugar Rush's common sense, it prompts me to consider the notion that common sense isn't so common. In college, I studied Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences; simply put, it's the idea that there's different kinds of smarts, like book-smarts, people-smarts, body-smarts, etc. Everyone is smart, just in different ways. While my experiences in the realm of education taught me that everyone can be smart, my experiences in working retail taught me that the opposite is also true: everyone can be a bonehead sometimes. Just as we all have our mental strengths, we all have our weaknesses, too. So while Gardner has his theory of multiple intelligences, let me take this moment to call dibs on Winthrop's Theory of Multiple Stupidities (Although I'll likely change the name to something less offensive, but equally catchy and expedient). It's true of real people, and people in my comic... especially when it comes to social cues. Cannon doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, Sugar Rush acts (and eats) before she thinks, and Belt Boy... well, you could probably write a book on the stuff he doesn't grasp. So if everyone's got these mental Achilles' heels, then perhaps what one person considers common sense may not be quite so obvious to someone else...? Maybe that's why it's only "common" sense instead of unanimous sense: because it's not obvious to everyone. But that's just a theory. A BRAIN THEORY! Thanks for reading! (All apologies to MatPat for that last joke!)

  14. Comic 8/6/16 - No Sweat!

    heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash

    theheroesofcrash.com Seems that Gelatin Boy and Jackknife HAVE crossed paths... and Jackknife is looking pretty cross, himself! Also, in case anyone's wondering: no, Gelatin Boy is not sweating away his mass. Because fiction. Much like an onion or an ogre, this strip has many layers. I used seperate layers for the background, the posters, and the translucent "whoosh lines" in panel 3. I don't like copy/pasting in my comics, but I did with the poster, although I made it a different color in each picture.
  15. theheroesofcrash.com Seems that Belt Boy's caught in the middle of another team's problems... but that's par for the course for him today. Will Gelatin Boy remain unbullied for the rest of the day? Or will Jackknife best our stressed-out hero? Stay tuned, folks! I'm really happy with the lower-left panel. Foreshortening is one of my problem areas in terms of my art, and I've been working on it. There's a method of drawing your character in boxes to keep him/her in proportion, and it seems to work for me. I also like the backgrounds I used here; Dino-Mo's background is meant to remind you of a blazing fire, whereas Belt Boy's background is strongly anime-inspired. That anime influence stuck out at me as I was creating it; my art style has shifted away from anime/manga and more towards western retro styles, but it still incorporates elements of both.
  16. theheroesofcrash.com As I've grown as a writer, I've been worried about making Belt Boy (and his relationship with Titanium Maiden) seem too perfect, like a Mary Sue. Perfect is not funny. It's boring. Trying to be perfect - and failing - is funny and relateable, and in case you haven't guessed, that's the concept behind this storyline. Belt Boy always means well, but one thing I learned from looking back on my high school days is that even well-meaning people can be obnoxious, especially when they're teenagers who are still learning more complex social and moral rules. Belt Boy has a problem that I had in high school (and that, to some degree, I still deal with), and that's being oblivious. While not the worst character flaw to have, it can make some people feel offended, ignored, or unimportant when you don't pay attention to them or prioritize other things over them. Conflict arises in stories where one character's wants/needs conflict with another's; in this instance, Belt Boy has let his obsession over being perfect take priority over TM and Cannon's wanting to be heard. As Belt Boy's always a do-gooder and being heard is a basic emotional need, these issues seem totally within character for Belt Boy and TM (I hate it when a cartoon character randomly develops a character flaw for one episode just so they can awkwardly cram a moral in there).
  17. theheroesofcrash.com I've been working really hard at trying to improve my comic's art and writing, whether it's been working on anatomy, perspective, punchlines, or character development. However, today's strip reminded me that sometimes, you need to throw some of those things out the window. If you haven't read today's comic, please do so before continuing with this commentary. You finished reading it? Good. This strip, in many ways, does not make sense. Take panel #2: I agonized over this panel SO MUCH, trying to get the perspective just right. I drew and redrew it. At one point, the table was in the panel. However, when I couldn't get it to look right, I decided to go with Disney's concept of "the plausible impossible" - little tricks that break the laws of physics, but seem fine to the viewer (such as the fact that Mickey's ears only change angles - never appear flat - when his head is viewed from the side, or how Jiminy Cricket shrinks - unnoticed by the viewing audience - throughout a scene in Pinnocchio in order to fit inside a padlock). The table in panel #2 should be visible from this angle, but it's not. But the image makes sense to the viewer anyway. Sometimes aesthetics trump realism. Second, why is Klawroc asking such esoteric questions? The answer is simply, "Who cares?". Clearly, all these random subjects must have been covered in a previous class, but what goat webs and lasers have to do with one another is anyone's guess. But I hope you enjoyed some random science trivia! Also, I totally ignored my new model sheets for Cannon in this strip, and I think he looks better this way. I may need to update those model sheets.
  18. theheroesofcrash.com If you saw my 6/21 Daily Drawing, you probably know all about HiveMind. If not (or if you need a refresher), here's some info on her: The world is a diverse place, but if you read superhero comics, you might not think that. The comic pages are dominated by white guys, and that's a poor reflection on how the real world is. My comic suffers from the same problem, and I'm looking to add diversity to my comic. With this (and many other ideas I've had floating around) in mind, I created HiveMind - a superheroine who's telepathically linked to a swarm of alien bees. She has Vitiligo - the same skin condition that Michael Jackson had, and that model Winnie Marlow has (HiveMind was inspired by the latter) - in which the skin becomes lighter in blotches, most obviously around the eyes, nose, mouth, and hands. The blotches on her face resemble a stripe - meant to suggest that she has embraced her appearance and sees it as a thing of beauty; the "bee stripes" on her dress are an extention of her appearance, rather than a distraction. In my initial design, the stripe pattern continued down her arms, but I changed that; I want real people to look at HiveMind and say, "She looks like me!", and that couldn't happen if I took too many liberties with her design. By the way, if you can't read the title of Belt Boy's blue book, it's "Writing the Perfect Extra-Credit Essay".
  19. www.theheroesofcrash.com If that exclamation in the last panel came from anyone but Belt Boy, you'd think it was sarcasm. I love it when Belt Boy makes superhero-related exclamations, like "By Superman's Leotard!" back in comic #105. Professor Klawroc is back! You may have noticed that he doesn't have his scimage staff; I assure you, he's got access to it whenever he wants. Magic, and all that. Realistically, in those last two panels, Klawroc's head shouldn't come up past Belt Boy's chest, but I'm employing the same suspension of disbelief that the Muppets use. They're always taller when their legs are off-screen. Otherwise, it'd be a lot more difficult for them to talk to people face-to-face, drive a car, etc.
  20. theheroesofcrash.com Gelatin Boy does NOT want a repeat of Comic #168...! (In case you're wondering, here's #168: http://www.theheroesofcrash.com/2008Strip03-01.htm ) I totally love the poster in the background. I normally don't copy-paste the ink layer of a comic, but I did, admittedly, copy-paste that poster's lettering.

  21. 6/18/16 - High-Strung Hero

    heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash

    Seems that TM's not the only one noticing that Belt Boy seems a bit odd today. Not much commentary to add to this picture... except that after having posted lots of Ninja Turtle-themed Daily Drawings to social media* as of late, I wound up coloring the four panels based on the Ninja Turtles' bandanas for a chuckle. Tee-hee! *You HAVE been looking at my Daily Drawings on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, right?
  22. Once again, Belt Boy's thinking just a liiiiiiiiiiittle too hard about Gelatin Boy's legs (or lack thereof). The first panel was me trying to challenge myself with perspective a bit; the weird angle of the wall was new, but my giving thicker outlines to things in the foreground is something I've done before quite often. By the way, he's totally reading his DNA Sequencing for Pinheads book that we saw earlier. I played around with the positioning of Belt Boy's mouth in the last panel; his expression changes quite a bit depending on whether his mouth is moved up, down, left, or right. It's amazing how elastic his face is.
  23. After a few weeks of celebrating my birthday and the comic's 10th anniversary, the story comics are back, baby! :-) In case you're new to my comic, I want to make it clear that this gag is poking fun at the fact that Gelatin Boy is, in fact, made of gelatin, and is a legless blob from the waist down. This is NOT making fun of transpersons, who TOTALLY deserve the right to use whatever bathroom matches their gender identity. On a related note, some of you may have noticed this bathroom sign resembling that from the "Ally Need is Love" storyline, except that was a unisex bathroom and this is a boys only bathroom. I decided that C.R.A.S.H. would have both gender-specific AND unisex bathrooms. Because why not? If they can afford exercise rooms with laser jai-alai courts, they can afford a few extra plumbing fixtures. The signs for both bathrooms were my own attempt at making a somewhat original-looking bathroom sign. Believe it or not, back in high school I actually met graphic designer Roger Cook - the man who designed many of the signs we see every day... including the stick figure men and women on bathroom signs. I felt that it would be respectful to a fellow artist to acknowledge his art without ripping off of it, so I did my own, more superhero-y take on bathroom symbols. One last thing... When I wrote Belt Boy's first line in this strip, there was a certain rhythm to it, so that he was rhyming the words "negatory" and "lavatory". I wish I could have made that fact obvious, short of seperated his lines into stanzas like in a song or poem (which I thought was overdoing it a bit). Did you catch that rhyme, by any chance...?
  24. TheSlugCar is the winner of the Generated Fan Art Contest, who created generated avatars meant to resemble Necros and the Supreme Master. As my contest entrants know, the prize for this category is a drawing based on their generated fan art, and this is it! Don't let Necros' harsh words get you down, TheSlugCar - I think the designs are pretty cool (And Necros doesn't seem to like much of anything, anyway). Thanks for your submission! And in case you're wondering, canonical comics return next week!
  25. 5/21/16 - Birthday Fanart Contest Winner: Autumnotopia! Well, folks, my birthday has come and gone, and with it, the contest deadline. And now we have our winner! Autumnotopia has created this beautiful picture of Cannon, initially intended to be part of a triptych - a three-part picture. While she was only able to submit one section of the triptych before the deadline, it still looks amazing all by itself (And I'm certain Cannon agrees!). I hope that she's able to follow this up with parts 2 and 3 at some point...! Thanks again for your submission, Autumnotopia! :-)