Pixels, Paint, Powerups, and 1-Ups

Any Fans Of Grasshopper Manufacture In The House?

2011-03-27T06:51:16Z

Once again... been a while, hasn't it? Insert the same excuses as before, though it's still the truth: both yaytime and soggytoast, as well as myself, have been super busy juggling multiple projects for quite some time now (plus life in general has been very much hectic). So it might seem that Life Meter is hardly a priority at this point, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Though while we all wait for the next big development that directly pertains to the Life Meter community, I've been allowed the chance to pass along the following, which is somewhat relevant to you fine folks.

I'm doing another art contest! Perhaps a few of you might recall the Persona related one I held over at my site two years agon. Which was such a success that I'm doing another one. This time, the subject matter involves the various ladies that have appeared in assorted Grasshopper Manufacture titles (No More Heroes, Killer 7, & Flower Sun Rain to name a few).

Why just the ladies? Well, the grand prize winner's piece will appear in my upcoming forth installment of the FORT90ZINE, as that issue's pin-up! Past installments have included Claire Redfield, Mona from WarioWare, and Samus Aran. Which means there are a few additional things to note, as it pertains to size and dimensions and the such, cuz it's a centerfold and all. Though before getting into all that, how about we check out the prize package that also comes with the winning entry? The pot includes...

Two sets of postcards, pre-order bonus items for No More Heroes for the Xbox 360 and PS3, which were only made available in Japan:

A guidebook for those same game(s), which also includes tons of awesome "making of" material:

A special mini comic featuring sexy stories (the PG-13 variety, nothing rated R) that was a pre-order bonus for No More Heroes 2, and again, was only available in Japan:

A (surprise, Japanese only) Killer 7 art book that includes autographs from many of the game's staff members, including the dude who runs the Grasshopper Manufacture Empire himself, Suda 51 (!!!):

And four, count 'em, FOUR extremely limited edition shirts, all having to do with various Grasshopper titles (of course):

BTW, I suppose it's worth mentioning how Grasshopper Manufacture is officially sponsoring the contest as well! Hence why some of you, fans of the company at least, might have heard about this already via their Facebook page a few days ago. Along with Jap-Sai, bar none the only place you need to go for classic Japanese games and hardware on the net! Once more, there are additional details, as well as additional pics of the prize package, over at my blog:

http://www.fort90.com/journal/?p=837

I'm fairly confident that at least a few folks around here are fans of No More Heroes and the like, plus it would simply be an honor to have some members of the Life Meter family take part! If anyone has any question, please pass them along. Thanks!

Mega Man Tribute!

2010-12-09T03:17:55Z

Well, if you haven't heard by now, our pals at UDON are holding a contest to be in their upcoming MEGA MAN TRIBUTE artbook! It was only a matter of time, and just like the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers tribute books, this one will surely have some of the coolest and most gorgeous Mega Man art you've ever seen! Make sure you check out the website for details. Submissions are due by January 31st, so what are you waiting for??

http://www.megamantribute.com/

Life Meter on the west coast

2010-10-14T18:47:56Z

I'll be selling copies of Life Meter #2 and #3 at:

Alternative Press Expo October 16 & 17th at the Comics Bakery table, #202

Long Beach Comic Con</a, October 29th-31st in the Artist Alley. Join us for Halloween comic craziness.

Sonic the Hedgehog

2010-09-08T02:43:31Z

Here's a recent drawing I did of Sonic The Hedgehog:

Life Meter at PAX Prime & SPX

2010-09-02T17:14:51Z

It's been way too long since our last update! But rest assured, we've all been busy busting our butts compiling the best game related comics and funny drawings this side of the [insert favorite video game locale]. Though also, each one of us has had a particularly busy past couple of months. But excuses, excuses, excuses...

And a head's up! See that first image below? We are officially 24 hours away (actually, a little less than) till the Penny Arcade Expo! Or PAX Prime as it is now officially called. And once again, I'll be on-hand selling both Life Meters Volume 2 & 3 at the Attract Mode table. No doubt everyone reading this has a copy already and could perhaps either use another to, either as a gift for a dear friend, or to replace your own copy, which has become tattered and torn from the constant lending?

[/salesmen pitch]

But serious, stop on by for some additional cool stuff, which is related to the Life Meter universe, but is a surprise! Guess you lucky folks going will find out for yourselves this weekend!

Then, the weekend after that, the entire Life Meter crew is converging at Small Press Expo! And as most of you folks already know, our fine Life Meter cohort Raina Telgemeier did the official poster!

Hope to see you all, on whatever side of the country you might be!

Life Meter at Comic Con

2010-07-21T01:12:14Z

Hey gang,
If you are going to be at the San Diego Comic Con this week, I'll have copies of Life Meter #1 and #3 (sorry #2 is currently sold out) at The Comics Bakery booth in Small Press L-06. There will also be tons of Life Meter contributors at the show as well! Hope to see you there!

Mario's Ladder by Cory Godbey

2010-06-08T02:56:26Z

Every now and then it's fun to post some animated video game fan art.

Check out the fantastic short, "Mario's Ladder" by Cory Godbey, who is also a brilliant cartoonist/illustrator, whose work can be seen in Flight volume 6.

I also really love the piano soundtrack!

You Got: Life Meter 3!

2010-04-28T17:21:56Z

Finally, after all those hard battles, grinding for experience, and completing numerous side-quests, you can own Life Meter 3!

120 pages, in full color!!!

$20 + $5 s&h in the US and Canada
$20 + $10 s&h for our friends in foreign lands!

Happy Birthday, Matt Hawkins!

2010-04-18T15:55:40Z

Blogger and Life Meter wrangler fortninety was released on this day 33 years ago!

Photo by Jen Vaughn

Check out all of Matt's stuff that's relevant to your interests here!

Life Meter on the road

2010-03-23T20:51:57Z

Just a heads up that freshly-printed copies of Life Meter 3 will be available through this site in late April. But you can also can grab them (sans shipping fees) at one of our various convention appearances. Here is the rundown:

Matt Hawkwins will be teaming up with video game culture shop Attract Mode and exhibiting at Pax East in Boston, MA. There will be an assortment of Life Meter books as well as Matt's new Fort90zine and all the cool T-shirts, prints, buttons and assorted merch Attract Mode has to offer.

Dave Roman along with the Comics Bakery will have Life Meter books at the following shows:

MoCCA Art Fest in NYC, April 10th-11th.

C2E2 in Chicago, IL, April 16th-18th.

Stumptown Comics Festin Portland, Oregon, April 24th-25th.

TCAF: Toronto Comics Art Fest in Toronto, Canada, May 8th & 9th.

Main Comics Festival in Portland, Maine, May 22nd.

Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 4th-6th.

UPDATE: Zack Giallongo will have Life Meter copies at Anime Boston in Boston, MA, April 2nd-4th.

Hope to see you out there!

Video Game Box Arts Redone By The Artist Behind Remake

2010-02-24T01:13:59Z

Hey, another update! About time, right? Right!

This time, it's all about our good pal, and long time friend of Life Meter as well, Lamar Abrams! Partly inspired by all those comic blogs that ask folks to reinterpret classic Marvel & DC covers, Lamar wondered why no one has really done the same for classic video game box arts? So to get that ball rolling, here are some of his favorite games (and conveniently enough, some of mine as well), with a new coat of paint!

First we have Lamar's take on the long forgotten NES classic Crystalis, which I too am a BIG fan of...

Next is much cooler Japanese cover to Soul Blazer, known as Soul Blader in its native tongue...

Here we have the Japanese cover to Shockman, which in Japan was called Kaizou Choujin Schbibinman 2. It's like a mix of Mega Man X and Gunstar Heroes, but years before either games existed...

Finally is a Time Soldier piece, not based upon any box art, since it was arcade only. Perhaps it's based upon the cabinet art?

... Along with Gradius, Time Soldier was a staple at my local pizzera. Haven't bothered to fire it up in MAME since I'm pretty sure there's no way to play the game without the eight-way facing joystick.

Another Random Round-Up: Lots and Lots of Darkstalkers

2010-02-03T05:34:56Z

So I recently stumbled across some random Japanese image board that's chock full of ultra high quality Darkstalkers fan art. Some of it is truly stellar! Here's the link, but be careful, cuz some of it somewhat scandalous! Though I wouldn't go so far as to say anything it totally NSFW. But just to be on the safe side, I've handpicked what I believe are the best ones.

Though two things: unfortunately I am no able to isolate who the original artists are, sorry, and furthermore, I have no idea where the pieces originate. Translation, some could have been shameless picked from Pixiv or Deviant Art. Also at least one of the pics presented might be from that new Darkstalkers tribute book from Udon, which alas I have yet to acquire, so I can't really verify this. Sorry!

... That last one both Zack and I believe are from the aforementioned tribute book. Can anyone confirm or deny?

Another Random Round-Up: Link, Pac-Man, Mario, and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2010-01-21T00:41:29Z

Time once again to scour the web for neat stuff, some of which you might have seen elsewhere, and some that might be totally new to you...

First up, and via Tiny Cartridge, is a neat Zelda comic by Ryot Iras that proves once again that those chickens are not to be messed with!

Next is someone who needs no introduction, by Nathan Stapley...

I'm fairly certain that most have seen this by now, but if not, Mario trying to figure out what to head out the door with by Glen Brogan...

And finally is an image that also deals with clothing, but unfortunately I have no idea who the original artist is! Anyone who might not, please drop us a line so proper credit can be given!

Dig Dug Vs Digger

2010-01-12T00:58:11Z

As awesome as the upcoming US version of Tatsunoko vs Capcom is gonna be, with new fighters like Zero (from Mega Man X) facing off against Frank West (from Dead Rising), I'm far more interested in showdowns that force the participants to do what they do best, and therefore ask whose the best. Like...

Most folks remember Dig Dug, he's made quite a name for himself (and even fathered another notable game face, Mr. Driller), but does anyone recall Digger? I kid you not, I actually played it many years back, and the game's Wikipedia page actually explains why the kid I knew who had the game (the only computers I personally owned as a kid was the NES, SNES, and Genesis) was from Canada!

Anyhow, another person who remembers the IBM classic is Braden Lamb, who whipped up a pitting of two, as a ballad with visuals!

... BTW, for more of Barden's excellence, his webcomic Kitty Hawk is well worth checking out.

Once Upon a Pixel - Mega Man A to Z

2010-01-06T02:29:49Z

Steamboat Mario

2010-01-05T07:25:59Z

First off, happy new year! Like many of you, I'm glad 2009 is finally done and over with. Was a poopy time for many, so let the good times roll! And my New Year's resolution? To keep my promise from two months ago and update this place on a more frequent basis! Though once again, a lot of that depends on you fine folk lending your even finer artistic talents.

BTW, apologizes in advance if you've sent something recently that hasn't made it here and should. To be perfectly honest, I've been having problems accessing the email account! Dave, Zack, if you guys could help me out... that would be awesome. :)

Anyhow, to kick 2010 off is fine little piece from Dan Helle called Steamboat Mario. Which answers the question: "What would Mario and company be like in the hands of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks?"

... Via Tiny Cartridge!

6th Grade Submissions!

2009-12-08T02:51:44Z

These are some Life Meter comics by goraina's 6th grade Afterschool Comics Workshop students! They were asked to write and draw a comic based on their favorite game, and we promised to post them here. Please give them some feedback, as they'd love to hear it!

Transforming Popping Kirby, by Andru

Job Try-Outs for Mario, by Liam

One Day in Dreamland, by Kees

Blazing Angels, by Alessandro

Metal Gear Solid 4, by Nuridin

Pokemon and Okami, Doom and Street Fighters, Bayonetta and Person, Plus Even More!

2009-11-10T10:33:33Z

Hey there!

Yes, we're still alive. Apologizes for the lack of updates as of late... its just that a LOT has been going on everyone's end. You know how it is, we live in crazy times! Anyhow, we're going to try our best from this point forward to maintain a more regular posting schedule, though a good deal of it is up to you guys. How so? Simply send us stiff that we can share, it's as simple as that!

And since the inbox is a bit empty at the moment, may as well share some odds and ends that's been stumbled across the web. But first off, how was SPX? You'll have to ask Dave and Zack that, since I wasn't able to attend. Though I believe if you head on over to their respective LJs, you'll be sure to find a full rundown of the show, which apparently rocked, and the third collection was a smash success!

For those wondering when it'll be available online, that's being worked on at the moment, so please stay tuned!

Anyhow, I myself was at the New York Anime Fest that same weekend, which was also a fairly super cool show in its own regards. The standout was easily the artist alley, which was chock full of amazing stuff by amazing people. Though my favorite had to be the work of Efrain Farias...

Here's a better look, btw...

... And here’s a collaboration between Efrain and Hans Tseng featuring Okami!

Meanwhile, on the totally opposite end of the spectrum, check out Brandon Duncan's fantastic Doom inspired illustrations...

... Who else agrees that the demons from Doom 1+2 >>> Doom 3? BTW, just started re-playing the original, via the pretty decent iPhone version! Anyhow, I found out about Brandon via GameSetWatch a few weeks back, along with Chad Manzo...

... Though even more awesome is this fantastic Ice Climber illustration...

So guess what game is all the rage in Japan right now? Sega's Bayonetta, which was recently released there (unfortunately, us Americans will have to wait till early 2010), hence why I don't feel too silly for passing this along so well after the fact: Sega and Wizard Magazine held a contest a little while ago called "Bayonetta Re-Envisioned", and here we have first place winner Niccolo Balce’s entry...

Though the real stand out, IMHO, is the runner up, Eric Huang’s subission...

... If one pokes around his DeviantArt, one can also find this pretty fab Darkstalkers piece...

... It's a submission to the tribute book. I wonder if it got accepted?

Also quite popular in Japan at the moment is Persona 3 Portable, the P3 remake for the PSP. Check out this quite inventive concept piece courtesy of Joka...

Though if anyone's been around Pixiv as of late, they might have noticed the sudden massive influx of Touhou Project related drawings. Now, I fully realize that most people reading this site are perhaps unaware of Touhou, so for those folks, Wikipedia to the rescue! Anyway, here's one of my more recent, favorite illustrations, by kurot@...

And here's another, though unfortunately, because its's from Danbooru, it's hard to tell who the original artist is...

SPX 2009

2009-09-25T12:24:17Z

Life Meter 3 will be debuting at this weekend's Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland. You can find it exclusively at the Comics Bakery which will be tables H7-H8.
marionv made a handy info-graphic, to show our table placement:

There are only 40 copies of this first run, full-color edition and they come with a special Mega Man print by Zack Giallongo! Sadly, he won't be there, but many of the other artists from the book will be at the show for signing!

Mario, And Bowser, And Pokemon! Oh My!

2009-09-23T22:20:18Z

Well, SPX is finally upon us! And as Dave already noted, the big show marks the big debut of the long-awaited third anthology. But since we have a few days to kill, how about a few random pics, as found on the web?

First we have a really nice piece by Joakim Sandberg, who in addition to making some pretty fantastic games (Legend of Princess is an absolute must play for any Zelda fan), can also draw!

Next is a fantastic assortment from just another dude on Pixiv, who goes by Masa. The guy sure loves Boswer! Try to guess what games the following scenes are from...

... A big thumbs up to Tiny Cartridge for the fantastic find!

Meanwhile, also from Pixiv comes Pechika and an equally delightful assortment of Pokemon illustrations...

From Emory Allen comes this almost uncomfortable, yet still very much awesome Burger Time piece...

... Thanks to GameSetWatch for the head’s up.

And via Offworld comes this a neat Bioshock 2 wallpaper by Mike Krahulik (you know, one of the dudes behind Penny Arcade)...

Finally, some might recall our mention of The Autumn Society a little while back. Well, over 40 different artists from the group have contributed towards the following massive Mario Kart illustration...

... Those are just selected parts! The entire thing needs to be seen and believed.

LIFE METER 3 released!

2009-09-10T17:25:54Z

Life Meter Comics, the anthology of video-game inspired comics returns, bigger and better than ever!

Life Meter 3 will be the first FULL-COLOR volume, featuring both blast processing and Mode-7! Sporting a dynamic cover by Ben Hatke (Flight, Zita the Space Girl), this print collection will be 120-pages and include original stories by Neil Babra (Flight, Hamlet), Jacob Chabot (Mighty Skullboy Army), Monica Gallagher (Gods & Undergrads), K.C. Green (Gunshow), Faith Erin Hicks (Zombies Calling), Matthew Loux (Salt Water Taffy), Mike Maihack (Cow and Buffalo), Jonathan Rivera (Heartbreak), and tons more! Profits will be donated to Childsplay.org

Debuting at the Small Press Expo will be a limited 1st edition of Life Meter 3! There will be exactly 40 copies, each signed and numbed with an exclusive print by Zack Giallongo!

After SPX, we'll start taking PRE-ORDERS for the 2nd edition that will be sold exclusively via this website!

Jeremy Arambulo www.jeremyarambulo.com
Craig Arndt www.craigarndt.ca
Neil Babra www.neilcomics.com
Mary Bellamy www.marybellamy.com
Thomas Blue www.thomas-blue.com
Kevin Bolk www.kevinbolk.com
Jess Bradley www.jessbradley.com
Joel Carroll www.joelcarroll.com
Jacob Chabot www.beetlebugcomics.com
Liz Cheng pluto@thatdamncat.com
Tony Cliff www.tonycliff.com
M.S. Corley mscorley.blogspot.com
Becky Dreistadt www.tinykittenteeth.com
Adam Elbahtimy www.basurake.com/crapworks
Steve Emond www.stephenemond.com
Keith Erickson keithaerickson.blogspot.com
Hilary Florido hilaryflorido.blogspot.com
Kevin Forbes www.simulatedcomicproduct.com
Monica Gallagher www.eatyourlipstick.com
Zack Giallongo www.zackgiallongo.com
William Gibbons www.tenthousandmasks.org/para-ten
K.C. Green www.rumblo.com
Jonathan Griffiths www.beyondthecanopy.com
Faith Erin Hicks www.faitherinhicks.com
Debbie Huey www.bumperboy.net
Jennifer Moore Keating
Michael Lariccia www.michaellariccia.com
Matthew Loux www.actionmatt.com
Karen Luk paperdragonpress.blogspot.com
Jessica Luong yanyu.deviantart.com
Mike Maihack www.cowshell.com
James Mar www.jamesmarstudio.com
Alexei Martins alexei-myblog.blogspot.com
David McGuire www.gastrophobia.com
Scott McMahon scottmcmahon.blogspot.com
Carly Monardo www.lasagnachildren.com
Bill Mudron excelsiorstudios.net
Jesse Post
Jonathan Rivera www.boxer-comix.com
Dave Roman www.yaytime.com
Dan Schoening www.sketchtavern.com
Katie Skelly www.calicocomics.com
Brian Stone www.poisondartonline.com
Raina Telgemeier www.goraina.com
Erin Thweatt thweatted.deviantart.com
Rosemary Travale www.rosemarytravale.ca
Jason Wojtowicz www.portfolio.daleksinmanhattan.com/index.html
Joey Weiser www.tragic-planet.com
Laura Wilson www.sanguine-art.com
Kasey Van Hise www.spaceykasey.com
Marion Vitus www.marionvitus.com

Those Golden Ads from Yesteryear

2009-09-10T14:48:44Z

Since Lifemeter often attracts retro gamers and designers alike, I thought you guys might enjoy this!

Over at Capcom Unity, the crew has dug up and posted some old print ads* of Capcom games. Check out the Gallery here!

*Kids: print ads were those things in publications like magazines and comic books that often took a whole page to display. They didn't make any noise and didn't blink. You couldn't even click them!

This day in history

2009-09-09T16:28:08Z

To help celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast here is a link to an interesting article and video and some dancing aliens from Space Channel 5 drawn by Raina Telgemeier

Shin Megami Tensei and Zelda, The Ultimate One-Two Combo!

2009-08-19T22:16:03Z

The funny thing about running the Life Meter blog is that you're constantly on the look out for stuff that everyone else would be really into, but a lot of time, it's just stuff that mostly speaks to yourself. Or maybe that's not true, since Shin Megami Tensei is starting to become popular in the States, right?

As for what I'm mostly playing at the moment, it would have to be Devil Survivor for the DS (not surprising, I know). And wouldn't you know, I just came across some fine Devil Survivor fan art over at Pixiv...

Here's a better look, btw...

From the same artist comes our second totally hawt Devil Summoner piece...

And here we have the cast of Persona 1! Remember, the PSP remake is finally hitting America later next month...

... The originals, as well as other excellent artworks, both game related and non, can be found at his/her's Pixiv profile.

But I still appreciate Zelda fan art whenever it crosses my way, plus I'm also well aware of most folks gravitate towards it the most at the end of the day. So sticking with Pixiv, comes this really cute scene...

... Once again, I can't figure out his or her name, but check out the rest of his person's work, it's fantastic!

And via BF. comes a reminder that I really need to finish the Phantom Hourglass once I'm done with Devil Survivor...

This one's actually from Ameria and not from Japan... maybe? As recently spotted on Kotaku, though I've been holding on to it for some time now. Serves me right for being late to the party as a result...

... Kotaku found it on a blog that has 30+ other examples of neat-o Zelda artwork. They're all fairly decent though two in my mind stands out, like this one from Jacopo Camagni...

... And yet another Phantom Hourglass related piece from "Themrock"...

... But back to the one that I said was maybe from America? Because, upon closer inspection, I just realized that the Flickr account that it stems from is actually just a repository of random images scoured from Pixiv artists (I actually recognize a bunch of the pieces, and they're definitely not from the same person). Remember folks, always try to give credit to the original artist!

Throwing these out there!

2009-08-02T22:13:22Z

As I've been looking over pitches for Life Meter, I've realized there are still a lot of games that no one has touched yet! So if you are looking for ideas, here is an in-progress list of games I'd love to see some comics or fan art for!

Nintendo/NES/Capcom:
Bionic Commando
Blaster Master
Mappy
Clu Clu Land
A Boy and His Blob
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
The Legend of Kage
Legendary Wings
Marble Madness
Rygar
Solomon’s Key
Awesome Possum

SEGA:
Outrun
Space Channel 5
ToeJam & Earl
Atomic Robo-Kid
Samba De Amigo
Altered Beasts
Ecco the Dolphin
Dynamite Heady
Shadow Dancer
Thunderblade
Crazy Taxi
REZ
Strider
Global Gladiators

TurboGraphix 16:
Bonks Adventure

Retro:
Bezerk
Millipede
Moon Patrol
Bezerk
Paperboy
Pitfall
Qix
River Raid

Playstation and Other:
Bomber Man (seriously!!!)
Metal Slug
R-Type
Rayman
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Okage the Shadow King
Powerstone
Rocket Knight Adventures/Sparkster
Soul Calibur
Um Jammer Lammy
Ape Escape

PC:
Myst
Flashback
Out of This World/Another World
Willy Beamish