Posts Tagged ‘Aikida’
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First off, I want to say welcome to anyone who is visiting us from Real Life. I did some advertising with Greg this week and I’ve been seeing a lot of referral hits from you guys. So, welcome! Feel free to check out the archive or take a trip in the Wayback Machine and check things out from the beginning!
Second, I need to call your attention to a new comic that is going to set your brain on FIRE!
Does everyone remember Aikida? Of course you do! It was an awesome comic. Well, Fenris is back in the saddle with a whole new comic, a brand-spankin’ new site and a renewed lease of life! Well, at least the first two. He’s back with a great new comic called Pepperwood.
I sent Fenris a note the other day tell him that I really liked the new direction his art and writing was taking and asked if he might be interested in a little cross promotion. He beat me to the punch with the blog currently on his site, so I’m sitting here kind of reacting to that.
Fenris said some really nice things about our little operation and I want to publicly thank him for that now. He also said some stuff about Theater Hopper being on the way up while he was on the way down. To this I say, “Fenris, throw that idea out the window RIGHT NOW! You’re on the way back UP, baby!”
Pepperwood is a comic that takes some of the best elements of Aikida and pushes them to the fore. Now, instead of a four-panel gag, Fenris is developing real continuity and character relationships from the get-go. I am already WAY involved with the people depicted in the strip. You get the sense that there is already a grand back story and history to them. It’s a real thrill to watch it unfold in front of you. 10 extra points for making one of the main characters Irish.
Another real gift Fenris possesses is his dialogue. His characters have honest conversations that sound like things you and your friends might talk about. He’s like Kevin Smith in that respect. Great back and forth dialogue is a quick way to endear you to these creations.
Does it help that Fenris also draws his women super-sexy? Yes. Yes, it does. (Don’t tell Cami! Shhh!)
Check out Pepperwood now before it becomes so super-popular everyone will call you a poser for not checking it out earlier.
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For those of you that like to read cool web comics, be sure to check out Orneryboy as it appears they are starting a regular update schedule again. Hooray!
Also be sure to checkout the newly reintroduced Aikida, back from a long hiatus.
Some people may ask what happened to Fenris’ other project, Pepperwood Comics. Well, it looks like that’s on the shelf for now. Which is a shame, because there was some great dramatic writing going on there. But it appears Aikida is the focus now, which I think is good because you can already tell Fenris is happy revisiting old friends!
Good luck on ya!
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You know you’ve really “made it” in web comics when your merchandise starts showing up on fictional characters like in today’s Aikida. You’ll notice that the lead character is wearing the ever-classy “Pimp Tom” t-shirt. And believe me, there isn’t any more valuable real estate in web comics.
If “Pimp Tom” is good enough for Aikida, isn’t it good enough for you?
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Just wanted to give a quick shout out to Think Tank and Aikida. Both of their comics were named-checked in the letters section of the most recent Wizard Magazine.
It’s always a welcome change of pace to see web comics mentioned in traditional paper mediums. It brings more attention to the art form and we all benefit as a result.
Frankly, these are the kind of letters I think MORE fans of web comics should be sending to magazines!
Of course, I’m a little biased…
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Apr22
GUEST STRIP – JOSH MEINZER
April 22nd, 2005 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(5 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
I’m handing out major props to Josh Meinzer (AKA “Fenris) the write and artist of Aikida for today’s excellent guest strip.
Josh’s comic is one of my absolute favorite on the internet and it was a real treat when he said “Yes” to do this for me.
If you’ve been following Aikida at all, you know that Josh is telling a MASSIVE new storyline right now. He’s introducing new characters left and right. Fleshing out his existing characters. And doing all of it in an inventive way that doesn’t feel convoluted at all. Top it off with the fact that it’s emotional when it needs to be and laugh-out-loud funny when it wants to be and you’ve got a winner.
The thing I always admired about Josh’s work is that he is able to add layer upon layer of detail to the characters and it always makes perfect sense.
I’ve been actually re-reading his archives and what started out as a kind of gag-a-day gaming comic with occasional cheesecake drawings of the ladies has turned into a very rich experience. It’s like these character have always existed in his head as fully realized creations and he’s been unfolding them in front of our eyes very slowly.
I admire the hell out of him, if it isn’t plainly obvious. If you want in on a little secret, reading Aikida is what inspired me to flesh out Jimmy’s character back in September when he lost his job and also inspired my introduction of Charlie.
The Jimmy storyline went well, I thought. But introducing Charlie was like driving with the parking break on. Meanwhile, when Josh adds new characters or adds layers to his existing cast, it’s like spreading jam over toast.
At any rate, for today’s buzzComix incentive sketch, I drew Aikida in her demon form. I hope you like it. I think it turned out pretty well, but I had hoped to have had more time to work on it. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (which opens this weekend) that leads into Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (which opens May 19). I want to get to the story ideas I have soon so they’re still timely.
I will probably burn through the remainder of the guest strips next week and post a new one every day until I run out. Be sure to check the site every day next week. You won’t be sorry. I have some “big-guns” lined up. Some of these strips are to DIE for!
Incidentally, you might have noticed some of the advertisements on the site have disappeared. That’s a temporary thing. I basically let the ads I have run out before the site redesign and am currently not accepting new ads. The dimensions and locations of the ads in the redesign are different, so it would be moot to take on any new clients at the moment.
So, if you’ll allow the expression, “pardon our dust while we renovate to make things better.” I think once I slap a new coat of paint on things, you guys will be pleased. Things will also be better organized. I’m really looking forward to unveiling things.
Thanks for your patience and thanks for supporting the site!
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My occassional e-mail buddy Fenris over at Aikida got linked by my chum Mitch and he made some sort of comment about possibly breaking his one-day unique hit record. I thought I would toss him a link from the front page to see what happens. Plus, Aikida is a really great comic that I’ve been following for years. If a little more link-a-tude convinces Fenris to stay the course and keep pumping out excellent comics, then it’s time well spent!
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