Inactive

For current Hoshen news and stuff, check out the new site at hoshencomic.com, it's got a blog that I'm actively updating. Also there's Tumblr for WIP stuff.

Nekocon

Whipped up this poster over Friday night to display at my and ohmonah's table at Nekocon. Ended up printing off some 9x12" mini-posters to hand out as substitute business cards over the weekend, as Zach was bro-ly enough to write my contact info down on the back of them. So if you followed one here... welcome! Help yourself to what's in the fridge.

Chapter 2

...is complete, and you can read it here!

Sorry for the delay, school's been pretty tough. Managed to get this out right before Nekocon, which I may do a post about at a later time.

I must warn you, this chapter is boring, depressing, and nothing happens.

Also, I hope to get Chapter 3 out very, very soon. Like, within the month. This is when this thing really starts snowballing.

Formspring

Got a Formspring set up for Hoshen. People seem to have a lot of questions during Livestream sessions, so I thought I'd give it a 24/7 Q&A panel.

Book 1 Update

My apologies for disappearing for the summer; had an internship, a job, and Otakon taking up most of my time, and I just didn't have it in me to spread myself thinner for Hoshen. Had to take some time off, but I spent that time reading, watching, learning, and thinking.

As of September, I've been back in the saddle - finished inking Chapter 2, and I'm now working on Chapters 3 and 4 - I'm going to release the entire book online by late October. I'm shooting for a complete book to sell at MangaNEXT at my booth. I'll be on Livestream, working live on the inking for the next two chapters over the coming weeks if you'd like to watch the process.

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Now playing: Future Prophecies - September (featuring Roger Ludvigsen)
via FoxyTunes

Hoshen #1 - free PDF download

Interested in reading Hoshen #1 like a real comic book, but not interested in paying for it? I gotcha covered. Click here to download the first issue as a digital comic book in PDF format. Everybody likes torrenting those, right? Now you don't have to feel bad.

Destroyer

jugga-jigga-juhhhh

Doug Tennapel

Stickers

MOYCHANDIZING!

Coming soon... Hoshen the flamethrower!

Printing

Working on getting the final print of Hoshen #1 produced. I can barely afford to print these to begin with... had to scrape together all my change to print the first dozen copies. My business model needs some work.

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Now playing: Mighty Mighty Bostones - Wrong Thing Right Then
via FoxyTunes

Chapter 1

It's done. Also available at http://controlshiftblack.com/hoshen.

Gonna work on getting it printable over the next few days.

Almost There

just finished inking the last page of chapter 1

here we go

John Aether

004: Better Late Than Never

Panera Bread

Anything is better than working at home at this point.

This table is too short for my knees.

page 8

page 8

Man, this week is crazy. Stuff keeps popping up, and I've got midterms... just gonna have to take it as it comes and catch up over spring break.

Also, my bro Matt Steele just up and wrote a brand new code for the website to display the comic - gonna implement it tonight.

You ever have people do something for you that's just so perfect, and they don't want anything in return - they just do it out of their own kindness? And there's nothing you can say but "thank you?" Yeah, it's kinda like that.

003 - There Is No 002

Kinda forgot about last week's blog. Too busy playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii with ma bros. It was cool, a nice time to enjoy the company of friends all in one place.

This comic is really quite an experience. Emphasis on the experience - as in, not the sensation of external realities, but rather the acquisition of tangible EXP. It's not just an "oh hey I'm actually doing something creative and not just talking about it"... it's "hey I should quit fooling around with other crap that gets in the way of me doing this on the schedule that I've set for it."

I'm finding that, for the first time in pretty much my entire life, I'm vigorously defending my time - my sleep schedule, my meals, my homework... at the very first moment a thought enters my mind about what to do next, be it "hey i should go play modern warfare 2" or "hey i could go check facebook for the billionth time today" or "hey i should go watch princess tutu", I filter it through, "What about Hoshen?"

Some might say this is obsessive. Those people have probably never done anything great with their lives, and will probably have nothing to show for it when they die.

Some might say this is idolatrous. Those people have probably never devoted something completely to God, and probably think that church attendance is more important than going out and sharing the good news.

I've also crossed a couple of Rubicons in the last two weeks. The content of the comic was a major point of conflict for me early in its conception - what level of vulgar language and violence do I include? Where do I draw the line between realism and compromise? I decided to lock in on a middle-of-the-field option, the uncensored writing with the censored publication. You big kids who've been around the block can fill in the blanks, and you little kids can persist in ignorance and be thankful. And as far as the violence... well, I've got reasons, but to sum it up, you won't be seeing anything new. I've heard too many pastors brag about their love for CSI and The Office to think that I'm forcing gory imagery or mock lewd conversation onto the unwilling. It's not like everybody doesn't already listen to this shit crap and selectively ignore the parts they "don't agree with". The problem is when a "Christian" comes along, praising Jesus but using words, even in fiction, that sound like the stuff they already love... hark! this cannot be! A religious person who talks like the unwashed Philistines! Kill it with judgmental fire!

"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." - Yeshua

Hopefully my wisdom will be justified in my choice of where to stand with the whole content thing. People are so easily offended, no matter where they stand... most religious people will get upset because I just put an obscenity in strikeout, some non-religious people will get upset because I put Bible verses in my blog post... I'm sure some artists will be disgusted by my lack of skill, and plenty of writers will laugh at my attempts to combine genres and present worldviews & philosophies... frankly, I don't blame any of these people. I'm not good... I just can. So I am.

Its like waiting for all the waves to die down in the ocean before you jump in and swim... the waves will always be there... - mdotstrange

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Now playing: Demon Hunter - Collapsing
via FoxyTunes

page 7

Like so. Kinda slipped my mind when I finished it. Still fighting to catch up with my schedule.

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Now playing: Showbread - The Sky
via FoxyTunes

page 6

urrrgh still trying to catch up

freaking school, having to get in the way of my art projects

and video games

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Now playing: Showbread - The Beginning
via FoxyTunes

page 5

page 5

wayyyyy late i know

i'm sorry

i blame omegle

and zach