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http://TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Enticia connects her previous backstories. If you're not sure what's going on in panels 2, 3, and 4, you may want to reread the "Even a Rose Has Its Thorns" storyline for a refresher on Enticia's origin story, which also explains how Mick brought her family vacation to a jarring halt. It only occurred to me now that I gave both Lana and Violet (Rose's mom) a similar, uneven striped pattern on their clothes. This was totally unintentional; I'd forgotten about having created this top for Violet years ago. Maybe they both like the same designer (Rose?). Don't forget, folks, I've got my birthday fan art contest going on! Full rules are on the Heroes of C.R.A.S.H. website, but in short, you need to make fan art or a game avatar based on one of my characters before my birthday, and you get free art from me! Sweet!

http://TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Worst. Vacation. Ever. Enticia's story proves that even when you "get away from it all", it's not always easy to escape your worries. Of course, having a swimming pool doesn't hurt. I almost named the hotel the Willby Hotel, parodying the internet cartoon Hazbin Hotel (Which, admittedly, I've never watched; the animation is impressive, but the subject isn't my aesthetic). I also considered parodying different real-world hotel chains. Rose's purple bikini in panel 2 is a callback to a filler I did a long time ago, while her messed-up hair in panel 3 is a callback to how I originally drew Enticia's hair (which makes her being inspired by Halle Berry more apparent). The final panel was going to have Enticia mention having gotten sick on a cruise as her worst vacation ever, but in light of the coronavirus scare, I changed my mind. Besides, "bad clam" seems like a funnier phrase for some reason, so I stuck it into the punchline. Don't forget about my birthday contest! Check out the full rules at http://theheroesofcrash.com/ContestRulesAnStuffPage.htm to find out how to enter and win some free art!

TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Unfortunately, it wasn’t Rose’s fashion career that would heat up… I like my strip to have a mostly comedic tone, as I quickly get annoyed by an overabundance of drama. That being said, having a little to give my characters some depth is okay in my book. Like many of my favorite cartoons and animated films, there needs to be a balance. Enticia and Belt Boy are both leaders with some personal trauma, but that’s not all they have in common; they both have a little design influence from Digimon! Belt Boy’s goggles are reminiscent of those worn by Tai, Takato, and other Digimon leaders throughout the series, while Enticia’s Heartbreaker emblem is inspired by the broken heart on Rika’s shirt at the beginning of season 3. I’m typically not a fan of retconning, but this was a minor detail that would have annoyed me otherwise: I redesigned the flowerpot in the last panel. Way back in “Even A Rose Has Her Thorns,” the experimental plants that caught fire were in flowerpots that looked more like trash cans. In today’s strip, I updated the pots to have more of a lip, like a traditional flowerpot. If you’ve been enjoying my strip, be sure to share it, and please enter my annual birthday contest!

http://TheHeroesOfCRASH.com Enticia may not be using a "burning bridges" metaphor in the typical sense... If you're familiar with Enticia's backstory so far, then you probably know what fire she's talking about. How it impacted her friendships remains to be seen, of course. I do pride myself on making The Heroes of C.R.A.S.H. a funny comic, inspired by Saturday morning cartoons of my childhood. That being said, I'll occasionally take inspiration from newer cartoons, like the Teen Titans cartoon from the early 2000's or the Steven Universe (and upcoming Steven Universe Future) cartoons of today, and throw in a little drama. Today's strip highlights the fact that this current storyline is more somber than usual. But don't worry; just as gray clouds eventually roll away to make way for the sun, there will always be more than enough laughter in my strip to balance out the sadness (Heck, that first text box still contains a little mini-joke with that "Three Musketeers" bit). I will be honest; this week's simple-looking comic was inspired by the fact that I wanted to get it done early this week so I'd have more time to do other non-comic (and non-fun) work, as well as to relax and enjoy Halloween night with some movies. Sometimes, restrictions can inspire ingenuity, and I REALLY like how this strip turned out, visually. Even if you don't read the text, the visuals give you an idea of what is to come. Oh! Almost forgot one fun factoid on last week's Halloween filler: Outside of Titanium Maiden's two outfits, everyone else's costumes show someone who has been animated by someone from Studio Trigger, a well-known anime studio. Former Studio Trigger animator Takafumi Hori has been a guest animator on Steven Universe and OK K.O., while Studio Trigger animated the opening to the latest Shantae game and created the series Little Witch Academia. Cool, right?