HGSComics Blog

"Hypergate" Retreat

Author: BRAD THOMAS

Last weekend, the boys of Hypergate Studios got together for a weekend retreat on Mason Lake. Although all the member of Hypergate Studios were present- it was hardly business... in fact it was no business what-so-ever (we didn't even have the foresight/enthusiasm to record a podcast)!

None-the-less, it was an incredible weekend with plenty of stories. There were the typical man-cation activities you would expect at a lake cabin; drinking, BBQ, campfire, jumping in freezing water, throwing hatchets, drinking, eating, sleeping... (repeat). But, the weather was a constant reminnder that May in Washington is not quite summer. How did we pass the spells of rain?

Red Dead Redemption

Knowing that poor weather was unavoidable- Jake, the only non-HGS member present at the retreat- picked up a copy of the new game from Rockstar, Red Dead Redemption.

If you are a fan of the  Grand Theft Auto series, this game is a must. Or, if you feel like nothing exciting has happened to the Grand Theft Auto series since it first went 3D with GTA III, then you should try out this game.

There is something so special about jumping on your horse and riding into the sunset... It has everything you would expect from a western- showdowns, bar fights, train roberies, gambling and you can even play horse shoes! Single player was great and I can only imagine how great it would be riding with a posse in multiplayer!

Ticket to Ride

Next on our list was the board game "Ticket to Ride." A great board game for 1 to 5 players that requires strategy, a little luck and an iTunes play list featuring Kid Cudi (at least that's how we would enjoy it).

A simple game to learn, but a difficult game to master. We were playing on the European board- the best from what I hear. Most games can be done in under an hour- leaving you wanting more and the quick games keeps it fresh.

Settlers of Catan

We've been playing this game for years (going on 6 years now...). If you've never played... its hard to describe. Unlike the train game- the rules of this game are a little more intense but if you can make it through your first couple games, you'll be hooked! It's probably best described as Risk meets Monopoly meets TwixT... don't knock it until you've tried it!

And for all you "traditionalist," its time for you to start playing Cities and Knights.  You've been on the baby food too long- time move up to the big leagues.

Artemis Symposium

Author: BRAD THOMAS

Last week, the new and improved HGS team met for our first ever Artemis Symposium. This was an all day event 100% dedicated to the planning and creating of the Artemis comic book. Eric, Brad and Nate gathered in Seattle while I skyped-in from down here in San Francisco.

The results were magical and we are confident that Issue 4 will be our best yet! Here's why:

• We are a team of 4 now. Our writing team is Nate and Brad while the Production team will be Eric and Brad (me). By splitting up these responsibilities, we'll be able to produce the same quality comic in less time.
• The Artemis story is only getting better. A large portion of the Symposium was dedicated to really focusing on what will be happening with Artemis and how we will tell the story of Greek Mythology. I'm confident our readers will be very happy with the results.

On the business side, we discussed some plans for our next convention. We've been invited to attend Anime Evolution 2010 in Vancouver, BC as featured artists! We are so excited about this opportunity and are making big plans on how to make this an amazing trip for HGS Comics.

Anime Evolution is scheduled for August 15. This means...

WE HAVE 3 MONTHS TO FINISH ISSUE 4!!!!

But, we are ready. With our new team and direction, we know that this goal can be met. Plus, Issue 3 took waaaayyyy too long. We realize that if you want to publish a serious comic, you need to be consistent with your deadlines. That is one of our #1 priority for Artemis from this point forward (well, in addition to upholding and improving the high standard we set in the first 3 issues).

Thanks for checking in. We took a little hiatus after the excitement of ECCC and Sakura-con, but now things are starting to pick up again. We will be meeting again next week and story boarding for Issue 4. Check back in to see some behind the scenes pictures!

Conan!

Author: Brad Duncan

4/19/2010 was the day, Seattle was the place, Conan was there, WHERE were you?

That's right, Conan O'Brien came to Seattle while on his 30 city tour, and man... it was a great show, from beginning to end. It started out with Reggie Watts, who has an amazing talent, but I don't really know what talent that is. He was making jokes, beat boxing, singing, and riding a scooter. Check out his video below!

 
After Reggie made his f_ck sh_t stack, it was time for the main show and you could tell people were getting excited. Well... except for a couple next to me, who were complaining about being at the show. I don't think they were on team coco...

~INTERMISSION~

After an awesome opening by Conan's band, Conan took the stage. It was very surreal; I used to see him on TV and I never thought I would be able to go to one of his shows. I guess I can thank NBC for their obsession with Leno, and giving Conan the opportunity to tour. Check out an old clip from the Late Night Show!

The show just kept getting better and better. I heard that the night before (the first show in Seattle) Dave Mathews made an appearance because it was Conan's Bday. I didn't think we would get any special guests, but then again, its Conan; he always seems to have surprises. About 45mins into the show Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam got called onto the stage to perform a couple songs.

So after all that, I would say that was a great show. I don't think I could have asked for a better show. I just want to give thanks where necessary and THANK YOU NBC!

I look forward to watching Conan's new show on TBS this fall!

~Brad HGS Comics

Emerald City Comicon Wrap Up

Author: ERIC JOHNSTON

EMERALD CITY COMICON WAS AMAZING!  We had so much fun!  It was completely different from our last convention.  We had Kristyn Wilson our model hanging out with us!  We sold tons of Issue 3 of Artemis!  And I got to meet my favorite artist of all time Omar Dogan!  I'm going to keep this short this time because we recorded a short podcast live from the Event which we would love for you guys to listen to here.

I'll leave you all with a quick reminder, if you want to catch up with us and get your copy of Artemis Issue 3 or get your picture with Kristyn Wilson (ARTEMIS), we will be at Sakura Con 2010!  Check out some pictures from the Artemis Photo Shoot Below!

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Author: ERIC JOHNSTON

After much waiting, thinking, writing, rewriting, drawing, redrawing, and experimentation, we finally have our long awaited issue 3.  Not only is it finished, its in my hand right now (well not right now I am typing but its on my desk).  I have to say what a relief it is that its finally here.  I know that we are pretty dang late for this issue but the time we spent reworking our process and style really paid off.

I know that as the artist of this series I can't be more proud of how the book came out.  It really is about 20 times better than the first two issues put together.  My hat is off to our entire HGS Crew.  It really is amazing what friends can make together when they put there minds to it.

Of course as I'm sure all you already know, we will be at the incredible Emerald City Comic Con this weekend!  Artemis is all lined up for her first photoshoot tomorrow with our professional photographer and Nate, Brad D. and I will be setting up our booth at the con hall tomorrow night.  Even Brad Thomas will be flying in for the event late tomorrow night!

If you are in the Seattle area this weekend be sure to stop by and say hi the booth L21, Hypergate Studios!  There will be soooo much to discuss after the convention!  Stay tuned!

~Eric HGS Comics

ECCC Reminder!

Just wanted to leave you all this this little reminder video.

FREE Admission to Sakura Con or Emerald City Comicon, 2011

Author: ERIC JOHNSTON

Another special announcement from Hypergate Studios today!  We will be raffling off FREE ADMISSION to Sakura Con 2011 and Emerald City Comicon 2011.  Interested in getting on the fun?  All you need to do is track down Artemis on Saturday March 13th at Emerald City Comicon and get a postcard from her.  Bring it back to the HGS Comics booth and we'll enter you into the raffle to get free admission to ECCC 2011!  That's it!  Pretty simple right?  And who wouldn't want to track down Artemis?

Interested in getting Sakura Con 2011 tickets instead of Emerald City Comicon Tickets, or win both?  No problem, just follow the same rules at Sakura Con this year instead!  Visit us at our booth with a postcard from Artemis and you could be entered too!

While at our booth, don't forget to check out all of our artwork for sale and most importantly, "Artemis Issue 3: Lessons" exclusively for sale at Emerald City Comicon and Sakura Con before you can get it in stores!

Well that's it from HGS, have a great weekend everyone.

Eric ~ HGS Comics

Meet Artemis!

Author: ERIC JOHNSTON

Well last week I promised that we would have some big news this week and I am not one to disappoint.  Hypergate Studios is proud to present, Artemis!  This year at Emerald City Comicon and Sakura Con you can have the chance to literally meet Artemis in person!  HGS spent some long hours and debated some hard choices to hire the perfect model to become Artemis at these two incredible conventions!  Artemis can be found on either Saturday March 13th at ECCC, or on Saturday April 3rd at Sakura Con.  She'll be in full costume handing out mini postcards to convention participants! If you bring it back to the HGS booth when she is there, she'll even sign it for you and you can get a free print when you purchase the third issue of her comic book, Artemis.  

Which brings us to our next big news item, Artemis Issue 3: Lessons, will make its world wide premiere at Emerald City Comicon this year!  Since the last two issues, we have completely revamped our process.  This time, every page, every cell, every drawing in the book was done solely in Photoshop.  The entire book is filled with cover worthy art that will blow your mind.  See Artemis' true power unleashed as she battles her first Titan foe, Dione!  On top of new art styles, the third issue also features our 1st and 2nd place winners from our deviant art competition: Draw Artemis!  If all that wasn't enough we even feature an exclusive Artemis rendering from world class artist, Dominic Marco!!!

Finally if you haven't already gathered from the information above, HGS is going to be at Emerald City Comicon and Sakura Con this year.  We will be selling issues 1 2 and 3 of Artemis as well as our sexy prints and posters.  Visit our booth and see our process and how we make the comic book.  Also come by and visit so you can enter our raffle to win free admission to either Emerald City Comicon or Sakura Con next year!  If you are lucky, you might even be able to join us for a quick segment of our podcast: What Are We Doing Here?

Well that wraps up this edition of the HGSComics blog.  There are so many exciting things going on in the next two months and we couldn't be more pleased.  I'll leave you all with this exclusive picture from Artemis Issue 3, only found here at the HGSComics Blog!  Have a great weekend!

~Eric HGSComics

Super-Chuck?

Author: ERIC JOHNSTON

I watch a lot of shows.  Wait that doesn't sound right, let me rephrase, I watch ALOT OF SHOWS.  I think its pretty scary and I'm sure there are psychologist that would diagnose me with a problem.  When I am drawing/working on the comic book, Artemis, I usually have a TV show on in the background.  I think I can honestly say that I "listen" to more TV than I watch it.  So what do I do with all this useless knowledge?  I find patterns in casting for TV shows like the following.

Have you guys noticed that NBC's Chuck is slowly being taken over by Superman?  Recently cast as romantic interest to Yvonne Strahovski's Character, Sarah Walker, is Brandon Routh playing Shaw, a  SUPER agent (pun intended) in charge of bringing down a terrorist cell called the Ring.  For those that don't know, you might recognize Brandon Routh from 2006's Superman Returns, where Routh played the big man himself!

Now there have been four (maybe three and a half) actors in my life that I can say without a doubt are Superman to me, and Christopher Reeves hands down is Superman.  Tom Welling, especially in this season of Smallville, is Superman.  Brandon Routh, despite a weird script, really looks and plays the part of Superman.  I would even give Dean Cain props cause I loved that show, but I think I even appreciate more his willingness to be a villain in Smallville which is why I give him half credit.  My point is that these actors are now iconic and carry with them a mantle of Truth, Justice and the American Way! So now that Shaw is in the show and messing up Chuck and Sarah's relationship, I am having a serious crisis of consciousness. How can Superman, er, I mean, Shaw be doing this?  I mean they haven't even changed his look around enough for him not to look the part of Superman.  Ugh its killing me.

But Brandon Routh isn't the only Super-Culprit on Chuck these days.  Welcome Kristin Kreuk to the Chuck cast as Hannah, super-smart, super-into Chuck and super-geek-squad-repair-woman.  Hannah left a tech job to join the staff at the Buy More and get closer to Chuck.  But again, how is this Super-related?  You might remember Kristin Kreuk from Smallville playing the part of Lana Lang.  Seriously when I saw the episode with both Brandon and Kristin, my head about exploded.  Now I don't have as much of a problem with Kristin because I've always viewed her as an obstacle on Smallville ever since they brought Lois Lane into the show.

To add to this complex problem of mine is the fact that, like any creative person, I dream about casting the role of Artemis in the movie adaptation of HGS's Comic book "Artemis".  How does that add to my problem?  I thought about casting Yvonne Strahovski to play Artemis. (In my purely hypothetical dream driven movie).  So now I have Chuck, who I like to identify myself with (basically pretend I'm Chuck).  I have my super hot co-worker, Sarah Walker/Yvonne Strahovski/Artemis, being hit on by my hero Superman, all the while being distracted by Superman's second choice, Hannah/Kristin Kreuk.

This is seriously a convergence of ridiculousness and its just about brought my brain to the brink of destruction.  Solution? Let the shows be separate from each other like they were meant to be.  Nah, realistically, I need to slow down on TV.  Anyway have a great weekend everyone!  Stay tuned for HUGE HUGE HUGE HGS news coming next week!

HGS Comics ~ Eric

This will get you through the week

Author: BRAD THOMAS

Recently, I've come across two great finds.  I'm excited to share them with you!

Archer

A brand new show on FX.  Warning; this show is not for everyone, there are some very adult themes.  But, if you are a fan of the humor of Sealab 2021 (or any of the Adult Swim shows), you will love Archer.  Sterling Archer is a spy, but only because his mother runs the agency.  He uses the agency's budget and his top-secret clearance to woo women and take expensive trips around the world.

It really must be seen understand.  Adam Reed, the voice of Archer, is amazing at being a huge jerk... but a jerk you can't help but find hilarious.  The rest of the agency is made up of equally dis-functional people including Archer's mother played by Jessica Walter- the mother in Arrested Development (...if you don't know what Arrested Development is- educate yourself).  Her voice is PERFECT for the character.  Also, Chris Parnell of SNL is one of the leading voices.

I currently don't have cable at my house (I know- living in a cave, right?) but I have been watching the current Archer episodes off of CastTV and Hulu will be posting them in a week.  For those of you who are blessed with cable, you can watch the show on Thursday nights on FX.  If you are not sure that this show is for you, here are some clips to give you an idea:

My Latest Kick

As I continue to be frugal in my love for gaming, I've come across another amazing online game!  Prepare yourself for battle!

In order to truly enjoy this game, you can't think Eragon or How to Train Your Dragon.  No- you must think Matthew McConaughey in Reign of Fire.  Yes, there will be dragon blood but there will be no time for sympathy!

As you begin this game, you will think to yourself "Wow, this is pretty easy."  Ha- I just hope you're ready for level 15!  The game is a very fun, relaxed game until you meet one of the bosses.  Then, its game on!  I currently have made it to level 25 (the 2nd boss).  Good luck to all you dragon slayers and I hope to hear some reports from the battle fields (click the image above to play).