Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies Vol. 1 - Update 2

So I just got back from a meeting with Anthony, we are really close this time. 9 out of 10 characters are finalized and going to inks+colours soon and the 10th character is being worked out as well. His look is almost perfect!

We also discussed the cover and the layout a bit as well. It's gonna be very very cool.

Instead of sharing more sketches I thought I would give you a preview of the characters that will be in Volume 1 of Public Enemies and then the names of the coming volumes as well.

Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies - Volume 1

Adonis – The Roman God of Beauty, he comes to Earth to either challenge those men he feels are contenders for his beauty or to woo the hearts of women he finds attractive. His attention is like that of a puppy, he moves on quickly with no concern for the damage he causes as he goes.

Nightviper – She used to Nightsparrow, the side-kick of Nightraven. That was then. Now having turned on her mentor, she uses her training as an assassin for hire. She is a martial-artist who uses batons with spiked ends and has no problems killing heroes for money.

Black Shroud – Consumed by the darkness that inhabits his soul, this gothic lad can control shadows, project darkness and even teleport through the inky blackness of his soul. He is an unhappy young man, prone to fits of anger.

Colt – Everything is bigger in Texas... and faster! Colt is a wild-west themed speedster who uses twin Colt .45s to rob banks, armoured cars and even do stick-ups at ATMs. His true super power seems to be his ability to keep his 10 gallon hat on at high speeds.

Damselfly – She shrinks. She blasts. She has bug wings. She's seven different kinds of crazy! Damselfly is the kind of villain no hero wants to face. She is hard to hit, does decent damage and has no logical behaviour patterns.

Energion – Once a scientist studying the stars accidentally captured a being of pure cosmic energy who just happened to be flying by the Earth. That being fused with the scientist and now together they are Energion, and Energion is not happy.

The Green Gargoyle – A gargoyle given life by a stray bolt of mystic energy in a fight between Doctor Diablo and Lord Necron, the Green Gargoyle is a solitary but powerful creature. Normally he protects a building, but through spells more than one evil wizard has bent him to his will.

Jackie Frost – What happens when a ski-bunny-party-girl dies in an avalanche and is reborn with the power of ice and snow? The party gets hotter! Um... er... colder? No that's not it... um... Yeah like awesome ice powers!

Skullsmasher – Powered by antimatter energy and a bad attitude, this energy wielding brick is the very definition of the irresistible force. He is huge, powerful and likes to rob banks, jewelry stores, whatever.... and he L-O-V-E, loves to battle punk heroes who think they are tough!

Wolfen – Cursed with the power of the Beast Lords, the man known as Wolfen has given into his new animal nature and uses it for personal gain and to hunt heroes with Beast Lord powers. Like the werewolves of old though, 3 days of the Full Moon every month he goes into a murderous blood frenzy!

So there you have the roster for the first volume of Public Enemies! I am willing to bet that at least one or two of those villains sounds like someone you would want to use in your campaigns. Of course I subject my players to all of them. ;)

Also, moving forward, we have planned out what we intend to do as follow-up books, and though plans change, this is what it looks like for the most part after Public Enemies Volume 1;

• Zenith Comics Presents! Public Enemies Vol 2 - Another 10 unique villains for use in your campaign. Featuring the winner of the Earth Alpha: Who Is This Guy? contest: The Bug!

• Zenith Comics Presents! Dastardly Duos & Terrible Trios! - Two duos and two trios that are themed villains who work together.

• Zenith Comics Presents! The Citadel - A secret society that has plans to over through America. This one will have their soldiers, their super agents and their mysterious leader, Lord Sovereign!

• Zenith Comics Presents! Mayhem Inc/Ravage V - Two teams of five villains each that are the stuff of legends... or nightmares for heroic teams. These two teams are made to test your heroes to the limits!

• Zenith Comics Presents! Master Minds & Mercenaries - 3 would be world conquerors and the types of villains they hire to carry out their agendas. This one will make an excellent Iron Age roster book, though it will be usable with Bronze Age or Modern Age campaigns.

• Zenith Comics Presents! Public Enemies Volume 3 - And if the previous volumes weren't enough, we return to where it all started with another 10 villains to challenge your heroes with and make them earn their capes!

So there you have it. These are the plans for Earth Alpha moving through 2010 and into 2011. The supplements will first be released for BASH! Ultimate Edition, but will be followed by versions for Mutants & Masterminds (via Superlink) and ICONS (the new games by Steve Kenson).

So cheers and I hope at least something in there caught you eye. ;)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Preview: Zenith Comics Presents - Public Enemies - Adonis

Up next is an image of one of those bothersome villains, Adonis the Roman God of Beauty. He is essentially one of those arrogant types who either challenges male heroes who are deemed attractive by the media or goes after any female hero that strikes his fancy, attempting to win her heart through feats of combat and being an all around great looking guy.


He even has a harp.

I asked Anthony, why he had armour and a helmet and his answer was along the lines of Adonis knows he will get into fights and doesn't want to get his pretty face all mussed up.

I loled.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Company Renamed!

Hey there, just a side note to let you all know that I have decided (since the time is rapidly approaching to decide these things) to call my hobby-publishing company;

Earth Alpha

That's it. Not Earth Alpha Games, or Earth Alpha Publishing, just Earth Alpha.

Originally I was going to call it Tin Hill Press, but that is too locked into fantasy for me. Then I was going to go with Andrew Collas Games but nah, that's too arrogant for me.

So Earth Alpha it is ... thank you for reading this completely unimportant message and we now return you to your regularly scheduled day. ;)

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Preview: Zenith Comics Presents - Public Enemies - The Green Gargoyle

Well no sooner do I suggest a preview than I get a lovely email with some sketches from Anthony Green (click on his name to see his DeviantArt page) the artist for the project.

Without further ado I give you the rough sketch of The Green Gargoyle!


Now a little bit on this guy, he is essentially a mindless brute style character.

His story is that he is an actual gargoyle that was brought to life by a stray blast of magical energy from a random supers fight and now haunts the city. All he wants is to sit atop a building and protect it, with quiet and peace.

Of course that allows for players to accidentally disturb him in his task from time-to-time, making him a great mid fight spoiler, etc... and of course evil magicians can take magic control of him and use him as a soldier/brute as well :)

More previews to come. Cheers!

Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies Vol. 1 - Update

Just a fast update to let everyone know that I had a meeting with our artist today and of the 10 characters for the first volume, 8 are ready to go to finalized images and 2 remain in the design stages.

I don't want to curse myself, but I am very excited about the speed this project is moving forward at and should have some preview art soon.

We also moved forward on the cover image and other details related to the graphics for the project.

With me returning to school full time in April, my writing time is going to be limited but it will be more focused as a result.

I do much better under pressure after all ;)

Monday, March 22, 2010

Contest Winners

So the contest entrants have come in and after careful consideration I have made my determinations.

Let's start with the Runners Up and work our way to the winner.

3rd Runner Up;

We have a tie. Two entrants who both stood out and also interestingly enough had the same name for the character. That name was Bombardier Beetle. Both presented a different take on the idea, but both were quite interesting and fun to read. Congrats Congrats to;

Kevin Scrivner
Mike Ceranko

You will both be receiving a PDF copy of the Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies #2 when it releases.

The 2nd Runner Up;

The 2nd Runner up not only provided a very disturbing and weird character idea he also taught me a new name for a cockroach; Steamfly. Congrats goes out to;

Marc Gacy

You too will be receiving a PDF copy of Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies #2 upon release.

1st Runner Up;

The one that came close to winning was an interesting character with a nice magical and Egyptian angle, that I must confess was very intriguing and quite well thought out, the name of Scarabaeus was also very cool. Nice job;

Justin Myers

The Winner;

The one entry that really stood out to me was that it took a character that could be a hero, could be a villain, but was really in the end just a pain in the butt to both, The Bug!

Congratulations and a nice job to;

Walkerp (real name withheld on request)!

Look forward to your creation (with all new custom art) and full credit to you as creator in Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies #2, of which you will of course be receiving a free PDF copy of as well!

Thanks to everyone who entered and let me say I was very happy with the turnout for the contest and with the creativity shown by everyone involved. I will certainly do this again!

Cheers!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

John's Notes - The Sentinels - Session 4

Session Notes - Sentinels Session 4 - March 13, 2010

Renzo - Galvanos/Kenji
Mike - Max Plastic
Anthony - Monolith
Pat - The Angel
Robin - Zero-G
John - Masonic Knight/Bronco

So the public is liking the team. Almost as much as they still like Vanguard... Team Justice is still working for the Man, so they're off most of the public's radar.

It's early spring in Capitol City, and 0G is returning to the base after lunch with Tori. Lots of brainstorming and cursing the general policies of those Vanguard pricks.

0G notices the not-quite-rightness of the skies overhead. Reminiscent of the Anti-Matter events of a couple issues ago. As he's admiring the effects, a monster crackling with energy drops down and attacks him. Though 0G takes a hit, a divebombing manoeuver dispatches the monster handily.

0G's radio call to base is interrupted by an Earth-shattering kaboom. Renard and Gal spring into action and the team rallies at the Blue Jay.

So a big anti-matter storm and a huge pillar of energy are centered on Hero's Hill. 0G is first on scene, and sees ground zero is The Guardian's memorial entombment crypt cairn. He lands, puts up a shield, and gets knocked unconscious by a really big fist.

The rest of the team arrives to see the Negative Zombie Guardsman looking dessicated and pissed off. He drops the unconscious 0G and begins a fray with the whole team at once.

NZG gets all ragey after Monolith punches him soundly. Gal sends a fist off into the night. NZG punches Monolith in the face. Monolith gloriously holds his ground.

Then gets punched again, and is out of the fight for a while. The fray continues.

The Angel pokes into NZG's mind only to find no cognitive mind. NZG continues to flatten the team. Then Gal whips out the giant fucking sword and manages to inflict the first actual damage on NZG. NZG retaliates and knocks Gal offline, sword still glowing.

Monolith grows more and loses his mind attacking NZG. NZG returns the favour and goes a little more crazy, too. He continues to pound the team and shrug off most of the damage we're dishing out.

Then Gal comes back online and fuckstabs NZG mightily.NZG keeps coming. Finally the stomping eases off and the heoes turn the tide of battle. Monolith strikes the coup-de-grace and NZG looks like he's going to explode. 0G ties to jettison the bastard. Enough altitude isn't reached and the team takes some additional damage when he goes kablooie.

Fight over. Dust clears. EAGLE shows up just in time to miss everything.

At the base, The Masonic Knight learns he's needed elsewhere and quits the team. Renard Roux also quits as he's been killed too many times recently and is becoming more and more afraid of his beast within.

The Sentinels reconvene and have a team meeting at HQ. 0G and Tori have a private conversation about the future of the team. It is decided they need to recruit "female and ethnic" members, or at least Tori decides this. On Tori's suggestion the team heads out to an Unlimited Power Wrestling match to scout for super powered wrestlers.

She didn't want them all to go, they just do, anyway...

On the way out Garrison get's Max's goat. Max takes a swing, and gets punched out for his efforts. He's woken up and they head out to see the rasslin'.

Garrison's interested in checking out a prospect (once that's explained is the purpose of the wrestling field trip). He and The Angel steal a car and head to the arena, too.

The lead in to the main event is a women's championship match, handily won by Amanda Reese. Then the main event is Eric Bluemoon, a tall drink of water with a Native American theme, and The Kenyan Lion, who seems to be a lion beast master. Eric does well, but does the job and the Kenyan Lion retains his title and looks great in the match.

Tori arranges for backstage passes, 0G and Kenji go with. While waiting to see the champ, Kenji gets to meet the lady's champ.

Amanda Reese is quite pissed that Kenji came to see her, revealing her identity as Lady America, and surprising the hell out of Kenji. "Ooh, I gotta tell 0G about this!" He suggests that she join the Sentinels. Lady A doesn't really want to join the team, but is horrified by the environment this child is existing in. She nearly goes ballistic when Kenji explains robot servant jousting.

Meanwhile 0G and Tori have made their way to Bluemoon's area in the lockers and have a brief conversation with the naked Indian.

Tori's more than impressed, 0G offers him an opportunity to join the team, which he'll take them up on. He likes the name Bronco as a codename.

0G, Kenji and Tori leave the arena with Max and head over to WYM to bug the Wiccan, and maybe get some tits for the team.

She categorically denies the request, citing the amount of chaos we generally attract. She feels the team's cumulative blood debts are attracting bad things. Then she kicks them out.

So... team meeting with Bronco. The team seems cool with him, and Tori's doe eyes are fluttering, so he's in. Then an EAGLE shuttle lands on the lawn and Amanda Reese gets out. She wants in, too.

"So Lady America's joining the team, too...?" Monolith

"Amanda Reese is Lady A...?" Bronco.

She's retired from EAGLE, but really really wants to team to stop being jackasses.

Lady A reveals the president is upset at Vanguard, and it's up to us to distinguish ourselves.

Angel takes some flak for recent shenanigans. He dishes some back, but is ultimately aware of his issues. But he still defends his attitude.

Lady A and 0G have a tete-a-tete in 0G's nice new office. They discuss staffing issues. She expresses that the Wiccan is a full of shit side-liner and should be ignored. And she has dirt on everyone. Particularly Tori. They emerge from their meeting, only to have Tori grab 0G and drag him back. Tori doesn't want Lady A on the team. Thinks she's a lesbian. 0G points out the demographic widening of the team. Tori leaves in a huff.

So now Monolith wants an office, too.

The Angle, Monolith, and Bronco head to the boathouse to see Garrison.

A fight is picked and the session comes to an end...

-End of Session-

-J

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Quick Contest Update!

It seems that some folks are having troubles sending me info via Blogger/Blogspot... so if you are, use the following email address;

(removed with contest end)

Hopefully that will help.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Earth Alpha Contest #1: Who Is This Guy?

So last night, in a fit of fevered creativity I made this bug based character;

Photobucket

I really like the look and I am sure it has been inspired by a bunch of different looks I have seen over the years, but regardless this guy insisted on crawling out of my brain last night and wouldn't let me sleep until he did.

The problem is, I have no idea who he is, or what he does. After buzzing about my mind and finally crawling out that was it. Nothing else.

At a loss for the identity of this character and who he is, I decided that maybe it wasn't up to me to figure that out. So I decided to open it up to you all and why not make a contest out of it.

That contest being; come up with a name and background for this guy.

Who is he?

What does he do?

What is his story?

Is he a hero?

Is he a villain?

Does he walk the fine line between hero and villain?

You tell me. Contest deadline is Friday midnight PST.

The winner will have their idea presented, with full credit given, in an issue of "Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies" (I am targeting issue 2 since issue 1 is already underway).

Also the winner, and two runners-up, will receive a free copy of the pdf upon release!

I will post the winner and runners-up on Monday, March 22nd (1 week from today).

Also, please don't post your ideas here in the comments, send them to me as a message via the private message feature of Blogspot (click on my name and it should take you to a profile page where you can send me a message.

Good luck everyone!

Note: After speaking with a legally inclined friend of mine, I must also add the following for legal reasons; the character chosen as the winner will become the property of Andrew Collas Games Inc. and may not be published by any other company. I wish I didn't have to put this in, but the nature of our litigious society forces me to. Understand I am not trying to be a jerk, just have to cover my butt. I totally understand if anyone doesn't want to participate because of this.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Most Wanted? Public Enemies? Other?

So work began today in earnest on the Zenith Comics Present: X villain roster books I will be producing as for sale PDFs (BASH, Mutants & Masterminds and later ICONS versions to be released).

The only stumbling point for me is... do I call it Most Wanted (used originally for some V&V roster books) or maybe Public Enemies (no idea if that has been used) but the actual whole title would be "Zenith Comics Presents: Most Wanted" or "Zenith Comics Presents: Public Enemies".

Which do you prefer? Or do you have another idea?

Friday, March 5, 2010

How To Find An Aritst?

So one of the by products of my working on the Zenith Universe is that I have finally managed to solidify a lot of the story for the inevitable Lady America comic I have wanted to write for the past decade or so.

Now before I start writing it, one of the things that always has kept me from writing comics is the lack of artistic talent or the ability to find an artist to draw what I write.

I have known a lot of artists over the years, but alas most of them also want to write so they have little to no interest in working on another writer's project.

Hiring an artist is just out of the question as the cost would be fantastically expensive and ultimately I would not be trying to sell this comic, but putting it online for free as a sort of webcomic.

So, as I do at times like these, I turn to you all and ask your guidance and advice, how would one go about finding an artist?

If you have any other ideas or thoughts about this, please let me know.

P.S. I also promise my next post will be about my Zenith Universe and MSH since I haven't posted one of those is a long time. Cheers :)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

20 Followers? Thank you.

I just noticed tonight that this blog now has 20 followers. Wow. That's a milestone for me and it really makes me a happy camper to see this many people have taken interest in my ravings and ramblings.

I know there are others who follow this blog as well, who are not subscribed via Blogspot, so to you as well I say thank you.

I hope I continue to provide interesting reads and entertaining ideas.

Like Bartles & James used to say, thank you for your support.

Monday, March 1, 2010

John's Notes - The Sentinels - Session 3

So my best friend is back in the game after a brief hiatus and he is taking notes like he always does. :)

For those who don't know, I present his notes unedited, typos and all. Feel free to ask questions if you want clarity. Remember this is from a player's perspective, hence he only notes what he thinks is important or what caught his attention.

There are none for session 1 or 2 as he was not there. I will see what I can do about making an "Our Story So Far..." post later.

Enjoy

=-=-=-=-=

Session 3 Notes - Sentinels - Feb. 27

Mike - Max Plastic
Robin - Zero-G
Renzo - Galvanos
Pat - The Angel
John - The Masonic Knight

So as of late the media has been unsympathetic to the exploits of our heroes. One outlet likes us, otherwise...

Capitol City isn't really happy, but they do like Vanguard.

Cut to the Masonic Knight in a big windowless room with a nice oak table. He's directed to go make contact with the Sentinels. They have a public image problem, and Vanguard is almost certainly staging their exploits.

MK flies out to their secret base after checking the security on satellite pictures and rings their doorbell.

It's an exciting household, busted robots and everything. Zero-G answers the door. MK explains he wants to join and a team meeting is assembled. Renard Roux and MK exchange some familiar greetings and a team meeting ensues. Renard vouches for MK on the square, but Angel is apprehensive.

Cut to Max Plastic working a matinee dinner theater show. The rough day on stage is brightened by the appearance of the rather attractive blond Tori Fields. She suggests he cash in on his powers. And she wants to talk to the team about the same. She gives her card and leaves with a flourish. She's an Entertainment Agent/Manager.

Max returns as the team meeting is still going on and brings news of the offer. Renard psychoanalyzes Tori based on her card and boldness. Max confirms he's bang on and the team decides they want to work with her. Tori first destroys her telephone when Zero-G calls, but communication is eventually made.

Plans are made for brunch, and half the team goes out on patrol.

Things were going well until Angel accidentally blew up a tanker truck. Not so good for the press image...

And Renard is going to be on the late night news. He behaves, and now 1 out of 12 citizens like the team, specifically because Renard is a part of it. "1 in 12?" says The Angel; "I'll take it."

Next morning 0G goes to meet Tori for brunch.

She has lots of ideas about the team... Plastic needs more face time, 0G needs a jacket, Gal needs to age-up his voice, Monolith needs to shut up, The Angel, too. Follow the rules, success will ensue.

Three weeks pass. First week highlights: Gal breaks some shit, but 0G spins it well with a cheque and a smile; Max has a great comedy show and hits one out of the park, gets a spot on morning television as a result; 0G gets good ink in the Chronicle. Second week: Angel dramatically burned down a prostitution league, and is getting underground fans; MK saves a busload of teens; Plastic bombs on stage. Third week: Angel gets some good face time on the Dick Walsh Show; A lodge in England gets into some hot water, MK takes some flak over a local connection and not doing well in a presser; Plastic hits the stage again and goes over reall well when he plays the meltdown card; 0G on the other hand, has an unspectacular week; and Renard popularity continues to grow.

Tori gets a team meeting together to discuss the last three weeks, and her media intervention therein.

She wants us to do an opening bit in the upcoming Sylvana Wolfe concert.It would be a great public appearance as everyone except MK has a fan base.

She also wants us to train with a retired Golden-Ager named the Champion - aka Bob Garrison.

We agree, a week passes, the concert arrives. As we hit the stage calamity ensues.

Starts with Gal getting an EMP.

Then the ice wall forms up and a fray begins with Ravage 5.

The heroes certainly get their attention, but Ravage is clearly getting the better of the heroes to start.

The Mexican Non-Union Wolverine does significant damage to multiple members of the team, most to Renard, before 0G introduces him to the harsh mistress - Gravity.

Angel squares off against Trauma and gloriously punches her heart out. This proves to be a turning point.

Brain Flex warps the team's minds and tries to make good an escape. Gal boots back on line and the tide swings back to the players. He opens with shattering Frostbite with a rocket fist. Trixie's shot at Max Plastic is interposed by MK. Gal attacks Brain Flex with his other hand and the retreat is fully halted. Gal, with his hands back, flies through the crowd and super laser sword attacks Brain Flex directly. The villains are subdued, heroes are triumphant, and EAGLE arrives to clean up the aftermath.

Renard, however, is dead from his wounds. As the team is mourning the loss of their teammate, their dead teammate walks into the scene to ask why everyone is so sad. He explains his resurrection is from being a beast lord. MK and the Angel nod knowingly, everyone else seems to get the gist of it.

Tori arrives all oh-my-god-ing and super excited. She wants us to go rest, there will be a big presser in the moring on the steps of City Hall - please everyone be sober; I'm looking at you, Angel...

We get back to the base to find that Bob Garrison has let himself in, and wants to work with us.

-End of Session-