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Name: |
(CLASSIFIED) |
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Alias: |
Dinendal "Lyger" Zephronic |
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Site Position: |
Site Administrator; Author, Double-U Tea F |
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Occupation: |
Student, Writer, Actor, Wanderer, King of Middle Ground. |
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Location: |
Portland, OR, with Shadow Worm. |
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interests: |
Web comics, both writing and making them, and writing stuff that I never intend to get published, just because I'm insane and feel the need to entertain myself. Also, video games (mostly RPGs). And I'm into the comedy, this is what I dig, so I try to make you laugh whenever I can. Oh, and heavy metal. Absolutely love the heavy metal Stay metal, kids. It's good for you. |
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Bio: |
Grew up in California, moved to Oregon because the air smelled better there. And because I was ten at the time, so what choice did I have? After that, spent most of my days on the computer and in front of the TV and I've been there ever since. I'm now in college, and it's too much work for something that just looks good on a resume, lemme tell ya. Although, high school was shit until the graduation party, and college is better. The first web comic I ever saw was YAtripleSC, done by Dragon Goddess, an author and comic that are now all but gone from the web. After that, I started looking for more of them, and was inspired to create my own. They sucked. Then I read ROTDN, and thought "Damn, I wanna be like these guys" and started trying harder at making them. The comics I read now are Ctrl-Alt-Delete, F@NB0Y$, The Rogue's Gallery, 8-Bit Theater, and a few others.
I'm generally a friendly person unless you catch me on one of those days where I would sooner kill you than talk to you, which is most days that can be called "weekdays." My life philosiphy: believe what you want to and shut the hell up. And if you have anything to say about it, go suck on a tailpipe, suck that smoke deep down into your empty soul, and blow it out your arse. I listen to music LOUD all the time, and if you tell me to join your church, I will tell you the true way to enlightenment: the Holy Spoon. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
EyeOfLyger |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
middrox@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
middrox@hotmail.com |
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 |
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Name: |
Darren McRoy |
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Alias: |
RedFox |
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Site Position: |
Author, Mobius Strip; Co-Author, Not For Resale |
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Occupation: |
Senior in high school, cartoonist, author |
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Location: |
Massachusetts |
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Interests: |
Volleyball, cartooning, writing, history, golf, journalism |
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Bio: |
My little obsession with everything Sonic-related began two Septembers back, when I happened upon a PC version of some of the games in a store. After playing it for a little, I began to wonder if there was a Sonic comic book. The characters had always been familiar to me; in fact, Tails was my favorite video game character ever. When I discovered some of the old comic scans, I read through them and got hooked. My days became devoted to researching the archives of information and learning a ton. (For instance, I had always thought of Tails as almost Sonic's age, not eight or ten.) Then I discovered fan fiction, and read the works of the greats. (Dan Drazen, Aaron Lye, etc.) Soon after, I wrote my first story, Tranquility Disrupted, which was a huge success. In the course of that undertaking, I met MTP, and we shared stories.
After I finished the novella, my attention began to turn towards sprite comics. I was an admirer of the DPI, though I had only read a few of the comics. When I got deeper in, I discovered a fascinating new world and became eager to try it myself. Thus, STK Adventures was born, and kept on a small Angelfire site that barely topped 500 hits in its month and a half of existence. After fifteen comics, the title was changed to Mobius Strip. Early that December, I got a suprise e-mail from Cez inviting me to join him in starting a new site in the wake of DPI's collapse. I accepted instantly and moved all of my comics here. From then on, ROTD just got more and more popular as our comics got better and better... until it died. Personally arranging for a smooth change of power - and employing Rber to do all of the real work - I formed the Middle Ground. Eventually making the aquaintance of Naroclie, I also began Not For Resale, my purely Sonic-based plotless humor comic. After Naro's resignation, Psy of FB20xl worked on it for three comics, then also had to depart, wich was how Rally came onto the job. Today we have ten staffers working nine comics, and the site becomes ever more popular by the day. I'm quite happy with how far I've come, and look forward to a happy future for this site!
Despite my tendency to consistently speak as if I'm applying for a position as a grammar teacher, I've got my crazy side as well, as you may be able to tell from reading MS. I'm always very glad to hear from people who enjoy the strip, and my buddy list is open, so you can contact me at any time. One thing, however. I don't draw. Some people seem to have problems grasping that concept. I am physically incapable of artistic skills. So don't ask me to draw or sprite for you, okay?
I'll be attending the Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois as of September. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
RedFox742 |
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Yahoo: |
RedFox742 |
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MSN: |
redfoxspike@yahoo.com |
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Email: |
redfox742@yahoo.com |
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 |
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Name: |
??????? |
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Alias: |
AkumaTh |
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Site Position: |
Author, AkumaTh's Comics, Out of the Spotlite, Darkwing Beyond, Final Fantasy 6: Aftermath, The Sprite Royal Rumble, The World Spriter's Tournament... |
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Occupation: |
Classified |
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Location: |
Brooklyn |
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Interests: |
Wrestling, Spriting, Fighting. Been a wrestling fan all my life. That inspired many things I do in Sprite Comics. |
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Bio: |
Before I became a spriter, I tried to do RPs and Fanfics. They didn't turn out so well. Then, when my requested sprite sheet was finished made, I began my spriting carreer. Like any newbie, I started out with no general direction. Then I finally got a plot, even though it was cliche to a Sonic Sprite Comic. Then when I did the first tournament I did and completed it, my focus was set. I focused on fighting because I'm a big fan of fighting. I originally started out with being hosted on various sites. Three of them. They belong to TapamN, Chasupi, and Chaos Claw. Since they didn't update as fast as I make comics, I used a Geocities site to hold my comics. To keep the bandwith available, I used a network of other free image hosting to hold my stuff, like Geekshelf... Then when Geekshelf shut down, mostly due to me, I began looking for a host to hold my comics. That what lead me to Warped Incz. It was a great site. Piccolo, Trinity, DP, Caracal, Nemi and I tried to get Warped Incz as popular as we can. Then, the big move came. We were moving to a new server so we can have more bandwith. With my dial-up modem at the time, it took days to get all the files off that server to a new one. Once the new server was up, almost everything was back to normal. Until that one day, when the domain name was expired. We all completely forgot about that when we were moving. So we were all offline. And still with the Dial-Up, I didn't make a copy of all the fan stuff I got at the time... After a month of waiting, I opened a temp site to keep updating my comics. I waited two more months for the site to come back up, but sadly, it wasn't looking well. So I decided to move again. The Middle Ground decided to host people and wanted to hire new people. I was going to compete with alot of other great comics but this was my chance to be back in buisness. I entered and waited. A few weeks later, RedFox announced the two chosen authors to be in it. Along with Fury, I too was chosen to be there. And that's where I am today... |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
AkumaTh |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
N/A |
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Email: |
AkumaTh@aol.com |
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Name: |
Nick White |
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Alias: |
Nomad |
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Site Position: |
Co-Author & Artist, Not For Resale |
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Occupation: |
Grocery Store Lackey :P |
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Location: |
Bastrop, LA, USA |
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Interests: |
Sonic, Comics, Art, Drawing, Games, and sleep. Which I don't get enough of. |
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Bio: |
Well let's see...not a whole lot to say here...I like Sonic and comics surrounding him. I like to draw. Red needed an artist. Do the math. ...I haven't been on the internets for very long...bout a year now. So I guess you could say I'm still a bit of a n00b at this game. Not that I plan to get all (in)famous on here or anything, just a guy who likes to draw comics. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
nomad6547 |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
gamer_guy350@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
gamer_guy350@hotmail.com |
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Name: |
Withheld |
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Alias: |
DP, DPsiko, MrDeePay, etc. |
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Site Position: |
Author, The DP Show; Site Design |
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Occupation: |
wut |
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Location: |
Lampasas County, Texas |
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Interests: |
Stuff |
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Bio: |
Read the first question. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
MrDeePay |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
N/A |
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Email: |
dpsiko@gmail.com |
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Name: |
Chris Dowell |
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Alias: |
Xergrim |
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Site Position: |
Author, 20 Miles to Robotnikland, Nintendo E.T.tainment System |
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Occupation: |
Legend in Training |
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Location: |
Jackson, Michigan |
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Interests: |
Anything old, anything cheesy. The 80s. Video games. |
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Bio: |
I don't know when the heck I started, but the earliest date I have according to my computer is right around the start of 2003. I began humbly, on a free Geocities site, and made my first edition of NETS there. It wasn't much, let me tell you. As expected, almost no one read the thing. Not even my real life friends. Except for a few folks I managed to also find on Geocities that also made comics, the only one reading my stuff was me. I affilated as much as I could, trying to get more readers for everybody. Things were decent enough for a while, but the other geocities comic makers started dropping off one by one.
With the crushing realization that geocities was absolutely useless for comic making, and that there was no one left to read NETS, I left it be for a bit. I had written myself into a situation I didn't like anyways. So I sat, and I thought about what to do. For the rest of the year. I attempted to reboot NETS, with various changes to make it actually interesting, but I still couldn't shake off the feeling I was doing it wrong. The second edtion of NETS lasted a measly two and a half strips before stopping. The writing always seemed bad.
I tried helping folks out during this time, and I got nothing but anger and confusion aimed at me. I was a nobody, with a comic nobody read. So I stopped bothering to offer to help folks, stopped caring and basically let NETS rot until the end of 2004. I would've been just one more dead comic if I didn't have the strangest urge to come back and try it again. NETS, the third and current edition, was created.
While making the third edtion of NETS, I came across Drunk Duck and joined it. For a while it was a very nice place. I still barely got any readers, but I kept on chugging along because there were many people here and I thought it would only be a matter of time. I saw multiple sprite comics being extremely popular, so this gave me hope.
I wasn't very nice for a while, I shot my mouth off at times about things I didn't think were that great on those super popular comics. Maybe I did it out of jealousy, I don't know. But whatever the reason, it didn't last. I eventually realized I wasn't going to get anywhere being blunt to folks who didn't want to listen. I have since learned to be much more careful with my words.
Drunk Duck crashed, and I went over to Smack Jeeves for a bit. I hated Smack Jeeves. I didn't like the fact that there was annoymous ratings. People would go and snipe everyone's comics low, and nobody would know who it was. I recieved little to no comments there and was basically dealing with a slightly more advanced Geocities. So when Drunk Duck was finally put back up, I was over there as quickly as possible.
During the new edtion of Drunk Duck, I met Tony. He had a pretty generic comic, but he was just starting out, so I commented on his stuff, and he listened and slowly improved. Obviously, he's gotten very good by now. All others I contacted and attempted to talk to have since either quit or simply vanished.
When Tony was finally allowed on Middle Ground he was shooting for me to get on here next. I was content with being on Drunk Duck and trying to find another person who would listen and realize his full potential of his comic making, but things turned sour. All the super popular comics I once knew ended with pathetic excuses or mysterious disappearances. Drunk Duck was becoming a place of hatred, and thanks to the nonstop arrogance of many, I finally attempted to earn my place on Middle Ground with the next hiring. And here I am.
Basically, my life is a busy one now. Comic making seems to be my destiny. This bio is merely a fraction of what all has happened since I've started 4 years ago. I've got tons of ideas for other comics. Some drawn, some sprite. I honestly believe I'll be comicing for the rest of my life. I am never bored anymore. There's always something to do. That also leads to a serious guilt complex on my part because I always think I'm not doing enough.
For the person reading this bio, I'm honored you took the time to, I really am. I hope that whatever comic you make, you take it seriously. Once it gets fans, you're no longer making the comic just for yourself. You have responsibilities. All the comics I ever read get archived onto my computer, and my graveyard section is sadly the largest. So don't ever think nobody cares about your comics. Keep at it, and stick with the community. Do not give up.
While not much has changed in my life, my friends still don't care I have a comic and that I'm basically alone for 9/10th of the day, I have personally changed quite a lot since I began. Realizing the power of words when I give critcism, learning what it means to be a real leader of a community, and how being really freaking stubborn can eventually pay off. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
Xergrim |
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Yahoo: |
Xergrim |
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MSN: |
xergrim@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
xergrim@hotmail.com |
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Name: |
Donovan C. Judge |
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Alias: |
FoxtrotTango |
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Site Position: |
Co-Author, Feeling Rushed |
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Occupation: |
High-school Student, Author, Concept, Unemployed (for now) |
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Location: |
A cozy little town in Kentucky that they made a movie after. It starred Orlando Bloom. That's all I'm saying...no, it's not Pirates of the Carribbean... |
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Interests: |
Concepts and everything to do with them. I just love coming up with new ideas. Also, I enjoy video games a lot and some good classic rock never hurts. Like Lyger, I like comedy, especially the halarious jokes made in the shows like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". In other areas, I like history, action, gunfights, and people randomly getting hit with stuff. Oh yes, and I like guns. Lots and lots of guns. =D |
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Bio: |
I was born in some unknown place in Kentucky, though I think it was near Astrabula, and then we moved over to (Feed Me) Seymour, Indiana and then on to Nashville, Tennessee when we got bored there. After a long time living there, we decided to head to Kokomo, Indiana for a bit, then finally settled down in the city we are currently at. Good school, good neighborhood, good TV, and good games. It was all good. But I got bored, so I started hanging around at online forums, but after I was actually banned from a place called the Crossover Comics Archive (and they had good reason for banning, as I had not eMatured yet), I realized that I can't let that happen again, so I migrated over to Newgrounds, then over to a site called Mobius-X (plug), and then afterwards to the Middle Ground. Each were found completely by chance, but I rank finding the MG as the funniest coincedence, as I had been looking around for information on Dan Hibiki, and I was linked to a discussion between AkumaTh & Creepy about the Dan-man. That's why I'm here.
Why I stand upon this post is another reason. In my early infancy at the MG, I met up with Chibi-Tails (still one of my best friends), slowly learned the ropes, and then got a whole mob of friends after discovering Messengers. With some webcomic knowledge from Mad Spence, an old CCA friend of mine, I found out a good niche for myself in comicing: the role of the concept/writer/plot and scripter guy. Now I hang around MG, reading the comics that interest me and making issues of gold with my co-author, graphics man, and one of my best friends, Koivo.
I've got a rather...eccentric...personality, thanks in part to mild autism, but I still am one of the most friendly people around. It takes me a while to get mad at someone, but I've got a Berserk Mode on my FT sprite sheet for a reason, so I suggest you not attempt to irk me. I'm very empathetic and I always try to help others through tough spots in life, so I'm like a psychiatrist, but I don't think you're nuts before you even sit on the couch. My philosophy regarding the world is this: the world's not going to end in your lifetime, so stop panicking every time the month, day, and year numbers match. I don't know how many times people have gone crazy just because of natural synchronization. They didn't panic on December 12, 1812, so there's no reason to think that December 12, 2012 will be any different, and if anyone mentions the Mayan Calendar to try and support the theory, they need to redo their research. Anyways, I heart rock music, love life, and don't go to church. Have you ever heard of the phrase regarding straight jackets? "You don't have to be crazy to wear one, but it helps!" That's the view I take to churches: you don't need to go to one to practice a religion, but it helps......oh yeah, and I love being badass. (You weren't expecting so little usage of that word in the bio, huh?) |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
DanikiSaikyoFox |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
danikithesaikyofox@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
akumakillerattack@yahoo.com |
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Name: |
Lee Koivunen |
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Alias: |
Koivo, Dr. Drawman, Princess Kivvy X3 |
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Site Position: |
Co-Author, Feeling Rushed |
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Occupation: |
Pending |
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Location: |
Australia, mate |
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Interests: |
Sonic the Hedgehog, Megaman, Singing, Voice Acting, Acting, Golf, Drawing, Kitty *wink*, Anime, Looney Toons |
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Bio: |
Where do I start.....I was born. That works. I grew up playing video games from about 4 years old, as it was the only way I could be kept from tearing around the house like a lunatic. The only other option was cartoons. And be it fate or destiny call it what you will, my first game and first cartoon were both Sonic. I was instantly hooked, probably more than whats healthy at my age. Sonic has dominated my personality and attitude for my whole life but at the same time, I don't have much merchandise..... probably because for most of my childhood I believed I was Sonic but thats another issue for another time.
Anyway, I loved reading the comics and desperately desired to make my own and I did.....a lot......badly. With video games and TV filling my head my imagination began to grow totally out of control of my parents, teachers or anyone else for that matter. I was in my own world and I loved it. Anyway, Captain Mom and Dynamo Dad came to save the day and found another way for me to channel my imagination.... The Internet. Which was then taken away from me for a month cause I ran up a $2000 phone bill viewing porn sites. So anyway, I thought of the only thing safe to search for...Sonic. And I found more porn....evil....disturbing porn. But I also found some Sonic forums which I began to hang around and discovered that many Sonic fans still existed.
This rekindled my interest in the hedgehog and the comics starting appearing in the back of school books and on scrap paper again. Now this time, I was much more mature and while I was proud of the drawings I made, I knew it would pale in comparison to some of the stuff I found on the net. So most of my drawings have to this day remained hidden because I have very low self confidence in my own ability. Apart from the fact that the drawings sucked, I actually thought the humour was entertaining and I managed to make others laugh as well. Now I was more determined to get my work out there and began a crusade to draw like a god....which failed miserably. So I began to try and find a way to get my work out despite my lack of drawing skills. Then I saw THEM...SPRITE COMICS!! While the first ones I saw were not real flash I saw the potential to be great at them. All the focus was on the writing as most looked the same. I also began to discover forums hosted by sprite comic authors including the Middle Ground.
I saw how easy it was to make a sprite comic and saw the format as a golden opportunity. So I made a few crap sprite comics in MS Paint that I actually enjoyed but I lacked the knowledge to upload them and the guts to show them. Then my computer broke....which was a good thing. The computer we got came with a number of extras including Flash, Word and ADOBE PHOTOSHOP!! I had so much to work with I didn't know where to start....so I made some more comics. While entertaining they lacked the professional look and feeling. So I found a few tutorials on layout and presentation and SHAZAM!! I made the first Feeling Rushed ever. I made 10 or so before I finally started uploading them via a site found by TonyTH called Drunkduck.com. Feeling Rushed was up and running and more importantly people were reading it. So, I reached 50 and decided to make a contest to see who could be the most random. The winner was an interesting fan by the name of FoxtrotTango. FT skewered the competition with ease and ending up hanging around to chat with me. He offered to help with a few ideas and became the concept/writer/co-author of Feeling Rushed. Then there was an announcement that Lyger was hiring again. FT hassled me to enter in Feeling Rushed which I did and the rest is history. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
Koivocartoonik |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
koivodaaussieman@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
koivodaaussieman@hotmail.com |
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Name: |
Tony Mattingly |
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Alias: |
Tonykewv1, TonyTH |
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Site Position: |
Author, Tony the Hedgehog, Got Into the Middle Ground |
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Occupation: |
Still in school |
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Location: |
Kentucky, USA |
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Interests: |
Video games(Sonic, almost anything Nintendo, Metal Gear, ect.), sports(Watching them anyway, this includes WWE, NFL ect.) comicing, hanging with my friends. |
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Bio: |
Well, long story. I used to only go to Sonic forums, even made my own Sonic site with all kinds of back story, crazy theories and little to know facts on Sonic. Then, I met this girl on The Sonic Stadiums forum (My main online hangout at the time) and, yeah, we went out and stuff. This WOULDN'T be important, but she and her sister made my character's design. Believe it or not, I originally had a cape, but I told them to drop it. That design was used for my sprites and everything today!
Anyway, a few months later, I met my buddy and soon to be comic partner Razor (We met fighting over that girl I mentioned earlier...weird how friendships start, huh?) We became fast friends, and he soon made sprites of my character, being a comicer himself, and wanted to use me for his stuff. This was around the time he gave me a link to Akuma's stuff. I always wanted to read some sprite comics, but couldn't find an archive that wasn't short, or didn't suck. Akuma's stuff had me hooked, then I moved on to read ToR, SV, MS, WTF, and all the other MG comics. Loved them. So, I started to hang out on the MG forums, and left my old Sonic community behind. It was boring me anyway... Sonic wasn't, the COMMUNITY was though...
Anyway, I tried to get cameos in people comics, didn't work. So, I tried to make some myself. With Razor's help, I was surprised it wasn't extremely difficult. Razor became my partner, and I started my first series, that is still going on today. Although it wasn't as good when I first started, it slowly improved, mostly thanks to Razor's help, and the help of another good friend of mine Xergrim, who is GREAT working/helping on sprite comics. Took me a while though, I tried to apply for the MG early in my career, didn't go too good. I soon started my second comic, Getting into the Middle Ground. Just meant to parody off my favorite comic site. It soon built into its own series, and now it's used for MG crossovers and is a TonyTH spin-off. Things changed after awhile, I ended up comicing solo, without Razor, the last TonyTH comic he made was #99 and the last MG comic he made was #50. Not his fault, more of his parents fault. But I started to improve and update by myself... Updating was never a problem for me though. I updated 315 comics in my first year...
I changed the bubbles the first time I didn't get accepted into the MG, then the second time I didn't get accepted?ell, I changed them again, and tried to work on my presentation. Worked on effects, my comic borders (Although screw the old ones I had, since DP made me two SWEET borders!) and other stuff. Xergrim was always a big help (Helped with BGs, sprites, writing, effects, everything!). And Razor still made sprites for me and such. So honestly, thank you both so much.
Then, the third hirings I've seen since I been on the MG forums started. So applied, and finally made it into the site, with my good buddy DP as well. I'm so happy to be working here, at last, on my favorite comic sites on the net. I'm having so much fun making comics, and I have no plans to stop anytime soon... |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
Tonykewv1 |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
N/A |
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Email: |
Tonykewv2@yahoo.com |
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 |
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Name: |
Rob (That's all you get) |
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Alias: |
Gear Reaper / Moe Chibbler |
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Site Position: |
Author, Scattered Tales |
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Occupation: |
Bored college student |
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Location: |
California |
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Interests: |
None. I get bored easily.
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Bio: |
I did comics for a year at Gamefaqs. They sucked hard.
I came here and made a comic that people joined. It sucked hard.
I made another comic, it got hired on here. Obviously, it didn't suck as hard.
Honestly that's all there is to it. >>; |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
Gear Reaper |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
robbbert2000@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
robbbert2000@hotmail.com |
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 |
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Name: |
C.J. Oxenbury |
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Alias: |
DeltaStrata, D.D. Strata, Drake, Russ Estratus, Terrorist_Arrow (don't ask) |
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Site Position: |
Forum Administrator; Site Technician; Former Author, D&D DX |
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Occupation: |
Musician, Composer, Comic Maker, Author, Comedian, College Student, Cynicist |
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Location: |
Colorado, USA |
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Interests: |
Music (listening & making), animation, voice acting, role-playing, Sobe, games, comics, one-upping DP every now and again |
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Bio: |
I add e's onto the ende of certain wordes. Yes, there is a reason for it. No, I'm not telling you what it is.
I first joined the general online community in spring 2003, one weeke before my one and only trip (so far) to Europe. Having just beaten Star Fox Adventures, I had become highly interested in Star Fox, and began writing some fanfiction. But I had never done as such before, so I found myself a Star Fox message boarde to go to, to get some pointers and perhaps some praise. I met Lyger at said boarde, who eventually showed off his very first sprite series to me. Now, I'd been writing fiction (both fan-based and original) for quite some time, and believed myself to have a goode sense of humor, but had never found an outlet where I could really make people laugh. Sprite comics seemed relatively simple, and could be very funny if done right. So, I started making some. My initial series, entitled For Your Viewing Pleasure, ran on a free Geocities site, so, needless to say, it didn't get too much traffic. I didn't mind much; I was just starting, after all. My already slow pace, however, ground to a halt as business in high school got to be difficult, along with interpersonal activity online that I won't go into since I've moved past it at this point. Besides, this site is not a place for drama; I've got a LiveJournal for that.
In one of our occasional random conversations, Lyger gave me a linke to the Return of the Dragons Network (MG's predecessor), which I quickly...well, devoured. My passion for sprite comics returned, but I unfortunately lacked the time (and drive) to make comics, so I contented myself with reading. And, eventually, watching, as some non-internet friends introduced me to Newgrounds. With all the new content before me, I couldn't helpe but finally regain my worke ethic, and started writing some scripts for a Flash sprite series, Sprites At Work, with several characters modeled after more real-life friends of mine. I even had them do some voice acting. In the midst of all this, I learned of the ROTDN's imminent closure and of the site that would rise from its proverbial ashes. I quickly transferred some Flash scenes from S.A.W. into comics and submitted them, and while I did get some votes, I was not selected. Sadface.
The idea for D&D DX, the comic that got me my spot on this staff page, came to me during one of the general studies required classes in college (where I was learning nothing new). I had spent the prior summer playing D&D with some friends, and since our method of gameplay had been so funny, I figured it would be a good starting point. Besides that, very few people (to my knowledge) have done a comic about people actually playing D&D. Within a weeke of when I started this new series, the Middle Ground was hiring again, and I was inducted into the staff along with Maikeru.
D&D DX updated regularly once a weeke for three or four months (I believe; might've been less, might've been more), but soone my energy began to fade, and new comics came out with larger and larger gaps of time inbetween. A little over one year after the comic started (and around the same time King Lyger came to power), I semi-officially ended it, stepping down to the role of site technician and forum moderator. For a goode while I did behind-the-scenes stuff, revolving mostly around managing the site's main pages and banning the occasional idiots that popped up on the forums. It was when we started talkeing about switching web hosts and forum providers that I came backe to life a bit, helpeing out with logistics here and there and eventually purchasing the MG's current forum; suffice how I gained the Forum Administrator title, my current role here.
I do still have hopes of one day getting backe into the spriting business. Might take a few months, might take a few years, but I looke forward to being able to sit down and make comics again; just because I didn't sit down and create anything during my long hiatus doesn't mean I wasn't coming up with ideas... |
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Contact: |
Note: The forums are the best place to contact me. My email is the second. |
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AIM: |
DeltaStrata |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
*Private* |
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Email: |
DeltaStrata@hotmail.com |
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Name: |
Michael Sykes |
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Alias: |
MaikeruShisuke |
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Site Position: |
Former Author, Sonniku Version |
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Occupation: |
Student, Slacker, Trainee Fallen Angel of DOOM |
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Location: |
Barnsley, UK |
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Interests: |
Gaming, Writing, DDR, Anime, Wrestling, D&D, Hanging out with Friends, Tennis |
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Bio: |
I was born in Barnsley and have lived here ever since for all 17 years of my life. I go to college and study the exciting subjects of A2 Accounting, Law and English Literature along with AS Business Studies.
My comic career hasn't been as vivid as others. Before I started SV I made a few comics and such but I never really showed many people them other than the odd forum. Then I auditioned for a spot on mgcomics and hey presto I'm making comics. How awfully exciting eh? Of course I wrote a lot of fan fiction but none of it worth viewing. There? not much else I can think about saying really. I've been a Sonic fan most of my life, since I played the first Master System game. As is the case with almost all of the Sonic fan community I? not exactly a huge fan of Sonic. Tails used to hold my favourite character but lately it's switched to Emerl after I finished Sonic Battle. SV is pretty much your average comic. It finds its roots in Sonic Heroes (which I started playing AFTER the first 10 comics) and Sonic Battle. It's based around humour rather than action and it can be updated between 1-7 times a week, depending on how harsh college work is, whether I've got some scripts planned or whether I'm suffering from some form of intense lethargia.
Personality wise I'm a nice person at heart. Occasionally I'm a bit moody and irritating to talk to but usually I enjoy chatting with people (especially about my favourite subject, me!). Usually I'm lazy unless something attracts my attention, then I'll be motivated to do something with it. I really love Tennis and want to play more of it. It's unlikely I'll get to though. I'm 100% single right now, but that's not important. I'm also still on 56k dial-up, which IS important. I need broadband. I like toast. Toast is pretty cool. There? not much I can think of saying. I'm a bit introversive. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
MaikeruShisuke |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
N/A |
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Email: |
kunamatic@hotmail.com |
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Name: |
Laura O'Brien |
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Alias: |
Trinity |
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Site Position: |
Former Author, Trinity-o-Rama |
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Occupation: |
Student, Comic maker, Queen of the Everything (and modest too!) |
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Location: |
Co. Meath, Ireland |
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interests: |
Art, internet, video games, films, music (no specific favourite bands, just anything that takes my liking), hanging out with friends and just being lazy... |
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Bio: |
I've lived in Meath all my life (although I moved a half a mile down the road when I was 13) and am currently 17 in my last year of secondary school.
My comic career started a few years ago when me and a friend of mine had planned to make a sprite comic together. But because we only met up about once a week, he suggested that I would make one on my own. And I did, with little thought of plot or script! He didn't send me his sprite sheet for ages so, with the help of sprite sheets from Akuma, Chasupi, Sonic2k1 and Blake, the whole first series was revolved around searching for him until he sent his sheet to me. I made it up as I went along and got into many plot holes. That series is completely gone now, and you can read a summary of it in comic 1 on my site. I was hosted on Sonicspeed's geocities site for until the end of that first series where someone suggested that I'd make my own site to host my comics.
So I moved to geocities and started on series 2. I had a bit more of a plan, but it was still a little unorganised. I introduced some more characters (original and from others) and kept going from there. Many series followed after that and I was beginning to struggle to find space to hold all my comics, setting up new geocities accounts and linking one to the other. During that time, my good friend Nadia taught me how to use HTML, but even to this day, I find it a bit confusing. Later on, Akuma asked me and DP to join Warpedincz, which was great, as I didn't have to worry about space anymore, plus the people were nice. I also learned how to use FTP. I stayed there for a while until the site went down. After seeing Akuma and others moving onto different servers, I decided I had to find a new server too. So my grand quest began, with elfs and ninjas and ponies which sung tunes that would make any cold-hearted villain confess their mis-deeds!
.... Ok, that last bit was a lie, but I needed something exciting to keep your attention... anyway...
Luckily, my other good friend Lisa told me about someone who had lotsa of domains and was willing to host poeple, so I had a site at fandomish.net. I stayed there for a bit and probably ate up most of her space (as most people used the domain for fanfiction...). Akuma then mentioned mgcomics were looking for two new staff members. I applied and came third in the votes. I remained at fandomish until RedFox told me that Fury was quitting and offered me a place here. So I've been here ever since! Phew! That was long. Wish I could've elaborated more on my fantastic quest filled with lies... but oh well... |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
Trinfortune |
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Yahoo: |
N/A. Or as I like to say: "NNNNNNAH!" |
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MSN: |
trinity1_4@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
trinity1_4@hotmail.com |
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Name: |
Pablo Quarta |
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Alias: |
Shadow-Worm |
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Site Position: |
Former Author, Alternative Religion |
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Occupation: |
Breathing other people's air and occasionally saying something noteworthy |
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Location: |
Currently in an international limbo between London, Portland, and Athens. |
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Interests: |
Talk to me and I’d love to let you know. |
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Bio: |
I’m not Mexican. There, I got that out of the way. Now you have no excuse to come up to me and go, “SW, you’re Mexican right? Your name’s Pablo, isn’t it?” My name is in fact Pablo, but Pablo is a common name in all 21 Spanish speaking-countries in this world, and in plenty of other countries too – it has never been a name exclusive to Mexico. Now that you know that, you have no excuse to come up to me and irritate me by so openly divulging your own ignorance. Sorry if that’s harsh, but it really is a big pet peeve of mine. For further clarification, let me also inform you that I am the son of an Argentine woman and of an Italian man, and I am hence, appropriately, an individual of dual nationality and citizenship. Now onto other matters.
My family has moved often since my birth due to my father’s occupation and I’ve thus had the lucky opportunity to live in various countries, including Argentina, Italy, China, Greece, England, and the USA. It was when I first moved to Portland, Oregon, a lively, and wonderfully quirky city in the States (and coincidentally, also the residence of current webmaster, Lyger) in August 2002, that I came across a person that would eventually, although indirectly, cause the creation of the Middle Ground Comics. This person was Cez, webmaster of ROTDN (Return of the Dragons Network), and I met him out of utter boredom while surfing the Sonic Stadium message boards that summer. His website, ROTDN, was a small grouping of three sprite comics: his own, ‘Super Cez Adventures’; Redfox’s ‘Mobius Strip’; and MTP’s ‘Aftermath Chronicles.’ This was the first time I had come across sprite comics, and loving comics and Sonic to start with, the idea of creating such things wildly interested me. I e-mailed Cez, asking him to give me a few tips on how the hell the things were made, and thus we entered a habitual correspondence, both via mail and AIM. After I felt confident with my spriting abilities, I set up a little, shoddy site on freewebs (whose name I won’t reveal) and put up the first few issues of Alternative Religion (which was originally named ‘An Echidna’s Tale’).
As soon as I had done this, Cez fired their month-old new staff member, Neo, author of the-never-heard-of-again sprite comic ‘Underdogz’. With a new open slot for another author, ROTDN held its first hiring contest to find a new recruit (a tradition that has been preserved since, as the MG has always hired by means of public contests). I entered this competition, since I knew the staff fairly well, and came to a tie at its final round with another contestant… Lyger. After a tie-breaker, I managed to win by a single vote and thus became part of the great crew of ROTDN. The site endured for about two years, going through lots of changes, with lots of new comics and a lot of new authors joining in (among them, previous contestant Lyger, and old MG staff members Naroclie and Rber), and after releasing 35 issues of AR, 2 AR specials, and being 5 issues into my new series (Portfolio of a Liberated Retard) I thought I’d had enough of making sprite-comics, and Cez felt the same way about his own works. He thus decided to close down the site.
Redfox, being the lovely and dedicated person that he is, grabbed the rest of the crew that was still active and formed the Middle Ground Comics that we all know and love today. I followed the site closely and after a while, thought that I’d have another shot at Alternative Religion, and for a while Redfox hosted me on the site, where my comic went through lots of changes, even going into a drawn format… and then, after perhaps a year, I decided I was done with it again and quit. Ever since I’ve continued following the Middle Ground, seeing it through its webmaster change as Redfox became busy with University, and always participating in the forums and acting as one of its higher authorities. I’m really not sure why they keep me around… I guess it’s the old memories, or the feeling of community, or perhaps I’m just a tough habit to break, but I am happy to be here, and don’t think I’ll be turning my eyes away from this place anytime soon. |
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Contact: |
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AIM: |
chaospuppetx |
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Yahoo: |
N/A |
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MSN: |
chaospuppetx@hotmail.com |
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Email: |
chaospuppetx@hotmail.com |
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Old News
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