N.U.S. December 3, 2004

I have reached the point where I realize that no one is reading this, but somehow I am okay with that. Therefore, while it shall retain it's Newscast Update Status visage, name, and general purpose, I shall also now post about things in general. How am I doing? What about me? All questions will be answered here garenteed (not a garentee).

Newscast as I'm sure you've noticed went through a little bit of a lull. But you know something, even if no one reads it, I shall keep going because I want to do so. You may notice some changes to the comic in the next few months, nothing too major I hope, but certainly changes there shall be. I'm still working with page layout and all that. What will happen? Tune in to find out.

Now some of you may be wondering why the HELL I haven't been updating. Well, I gotta tell ya that I...can't really...tell...ya....suffice to say I have had a lot of...issues lately and have been going through a process of change. I am not going to come right out and say there were razor blades involved, but I won't deny it either. Regardless, I've been just as pissed off as you have about the lack of updation and so, I have devised a clever plan. A plan so utterly brilliant that it will SHAKE the very FOUNDATION of what we know as webcomic artists. What am I talking about? Check the site starting Monday December 5th and all shall be revealed.

Taylor is again doing much better than me. Not only is he doing a very cool FLASH! animation for some webcomic I've never heard of, but his guest comic was featured today on WoT Now which REALLY pisses me off. I should be glad that he's doing so well, but I can't be. I never get breaks like that. Ah well. When he's famous and rich (I won't be because of various reasons, not to mention the fact that he'll have forgotten about me) then I'll be able to bore my grandchildren with the fact that "I knew that guy back when he wasn't famous". So there!

Anyway, my last little bit of news involves Newscast reaching it's 1st (and possibly last) birthday on December 2nd. I didn't do anything special, but I PLAN to. he he he. Remember, Bob's the word and December 5th is the date. Be here.

N.U.S. October 24, 2004

Hey everyone!

Well there's Newscast again. I finally got to show Nienna's ship which, not to brag, is one of the best ships I've ever designed. I know the first picture of it looks a little weird, but that's just because I'd never drawn it at that angle before. In fact, I've only really drawn her ship twice up until this point cause I wasn't planning on using it this early. However, it occours to me that it's been almost a whole year since I started this little comic and there are still a few characters left to introduce. So instead of taking the long route, I decided to save the story for later on and go the express route.

In other news, I saw "The Grudge" last night and it's scary as hell. Very similar to "The Ring" if you want to know, and it was just...just freaky. I was a little disapointed just because I guess it was like, prom night or something and because of that and the PG-13 rating, the theater was full of couples who were laughing at the deaths and screaming all the time. It was rather obnoxious and undercut the fear. But still, excellent movie. Very creepy.

In web site news, I'll be fixing the fan-art page as well as adding a few more submissions after I get out of the shower (in about an hour). Thanks to my good buddy Norman Scott Norman from The Rules and Yarpsdat for providing me with the HTML script I needed to make the page work.

And finally, I might soon be adding a Newscast gallery to show off all the different Newscast drawings and other things that exist. Right now I am working on a mini-bust of Kioko that I might sell later on. Of course everyone's favorite news reporter will soon follow and there may even be a Nienna one in the end.

Well, that's all from the newsdesk of Ayame. Keep reading folks cause together, we can make this comic a success!

Gatcha ba goose!

N.U.S. October 17, 2004

Hi all,

Well, okay so it was a LITTLE late, but hey, I had unforseen circumstances arise this morning in the form of having to run into school and work on a project with a group.

This evening after work I went to see Team America: World Police and I have mixed feelings about it. There was some stuff that was absolutely hilarious, but at the same time it had the usual Trey Parker and Matt Stone shit in there that makes me hate South Park so much. I will say this: The songs are awesome. I can't get "America: F**K YEAH!" out of my head.

In other news, tommorow I will be fixing the fan-art section as well as fixing the archive. I know the site REALLY needs some repair. I'll be getting up early to do it. Well, till next time enjoy the comic!

Gatcha ba goose!

N.U.S. October 15, 2004

Just a quick post to let you all know that the fan art page is up. It's not working properly, but it's up none the less. I'll be getting in contact with someone who might be able to help me get it working. In the meantime, you can admire what you can see.

N.U.S. October 13, 2004

(I know it says that it's actually the 14th, but I don't care.)

Well, not much to report today except that I did get a little writing done for Saturday's comic. I've got some good karma going and everything is on track right now.

It's Halloween season and today I bought my pumpkin! I'm very excited because this year I am actually going to give out candy at my little apartment. I wanted to decorate, but haven't had the money to do it. If I get something good going with Newscast, maybe I'll be able to decorate next year (insert hysterical laughing here). On a similar note, I got my ears pierced yesterday evening for my costume. I know I'm just being a wuss, but I was sure it was going to hurt like all hell. Fortunately, it was nothing.

Lastly, I did watch the debate tonight. I almost skipped out on class to do so, but as it turned out we watched it in class so I didn't need to. I have been unsure as to who I am going to vote for, and to be honest the debate tonight helped me along a little, but I'm still undecided. I came into things a little too late, but I'll know by election time. This'll be my first vote. I'm very excited.

Gatcha ba goose!

N.U.S. October 12, 2004 (cont.)

There is a small problem with the archives that will be resolved by tonight as soon as I get home from school.

Song of the moment: Don't Stop Me Now -Queen

Yeah, I finally got off the Silent Hill 4 kick (I beat the game and then my headphones went out) so now, after seeing Shaun of the Dead I can't hear this song enough!

N.U.S. October 12, 2004

Finally that darn comic is up. I'll be perfectly honest with you, I am so glad to be done with it. It's not one of those; run-around-in-my-bikini-screaming-while-drinking-sake kinds of glad, nor is it one of those...those...um, okay...so I don't really know what other kinds of glad there are, but this isn't that first one. This is more of a: "*phew* I'm glad THAT'S over with" kind of glad. One where I sit around a lot and just veg out on the couch.

So what now? Onto the next comic? Oh no no no. I have a better idea. I have decided on an ultimatum for myself. I have a reader who is continually harassing me about updating and then coming down on me when the comic doesn't meet his expectations. This reader of mine has a certain catch-phrase that REALLY p's me off. So if I hear this phrase again I will quit Newscast and

NEVER UPDATE AGAIN

So lets hope I don't hear it. Anyway, until next time...

Gatcha Ba Goose

N.U.S. October 10, 2004

I sit here, battered and bloody. My eyes, bloodshot and crying out for relief. Newscast #41 sits at my side, written and drawn, but not re-traced or colored. It's 3:14 a.m. Phoenix time and I have to wake up at 8:00 so I can be ready to be at work by 11:00. Once I get home (around 10:00 p.m.) I can come back and kick out the last bit before I struggle back into bed and try to think about Tuesdays issue.

After my little escapade with this issue, I wonder a few things:

#1. Is it really worth it to keep going?
#2. Am I really creative enough to try?
#3. Have I confirmed my worst fears (namely, I can't write and draw as well as I've been told)?

Halloween is only a few days away. Hope my costume makes it here from Florida.

N.U.S. October 6, 2004

Well, today is a good day in fall.

I know some of you may be upset about my not updating in awhile. Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. This is just a small update to let you people know that soon I'll be posting a new comic. For once, I haven't been lazy, I just can't think of anything. I have spent like, 3 weeks now trying to write it. But something broke through today so a new one will be up soon.

Gatcha ba goose!

Kevin N.

N.U.S. September 11, 2004

Hi all,

Well, some of you may have noticed that there was no update today. Well, this (for once) isn't my fault. There seems to be some problem with AUTOKEEN the service that updates my comics automatically. Since doing it manually would be a major pain in the keister, you'll just have to wait.

The following few paragraphs express my thoughts about 9/11. If you are a sheltered individual who can't stand to hear someone elses' opinion without freaking out, I advise you to skip right on down to the bottom of this little thing.

I'm sure some of you figured it had something to do with 9/11 but you'll have to forgive me, but I totally forgot. If I hadn't I would've done something special. It's not that I don't care, but 9/11 doesn't seem to be about the lost lives and heroes anymore. It's been twisted in many unpleasant ways. And it also marks the day when we, as a country, went totally batshit and decided that we were no longer safe going into a movie theater without 3 ticket checks because someone might set off an explosive. We can no longer take toenail clippers on airplanes cause heaven forbid we pinch a pilot to death with one. You know, even a pencil could stab someone if it was rammed into them with enough force. Are we going to take those away from people on airplanes too? And what about shoelaces? A man could be HUNG by my shoelaces. Ph33r!
You know, I've never felt any more or less safe on a 'red' day than I might on a 'green' day. You know why? Because we have a better chance of being shot down by a drunken redneck out for a good time than we do getting a letter full of Anthrax in the mail. I personally am more afraid of being beaten to death by a teenager who thinks that anyone who isn't white, male, and straight is an incarnate of the devil himself than I am of getting on an airplane and flying home to Utah.
And here's another thing, 9/11 was HISTORY okay. It was a major event in our country and even the world. It and it's aftermath will be discussed for centuries to come. So why is it that I can go out and buy a copy of "Escape From New York" with the World Trade Towers digitally removed? Why is it that if I mention them in anything but hushed and sorrowful tones that people come up and smack me? No, I didn't loose anyone in the tragedy. But I've had family members die of Cancer and several more who are going through it now or have survived it. I don't freak out everytime someone makes light of loosing ones hair during Chemotherapy just cause it happened to many people I know who meant and mean more to me than life itself. My point is, the World Trade Center and the towers themselves were and still are monuments to our great country. If it offends you to see them, GET THE HELL OVER IT!
Now, I'm really not trying to be insensitive. But what do politics have to do with supporting people? I can't say that I think George W. Bush is an idiot and I disagree with his policies without people deciding I don't support our troops in Iraq? Well clue in! I have friends in Iraq just like the rest of you. I want him to come home safely, I want victory for our side, but I also know that it's thier own damn fault they're there. They signed up for the military. They knew that meant they might be called off to war. So just because I think Dubya is a twink doesn't mean that I don't think about how hard they have it and how dangerous it is for them. So if I get into a political debate with you, expect it.

Anyway, my whole point here is this:

Live life to it's fullest. Don't panic because there might be a terrorist on the bus. We have a very small percentage of people like that here. Don't be a hyper-sensitive nerfherder. If I can't talk about the World Trade Center or 9/11 however I deem appropriate then you can't talk about Ham cause it offends me and I'll sue your sorry ass.

THIS IS THE END OF THE 9/11 THING. IF YOU WERE EASILY OFFENDED AND DECIDED TO SKIP IT, YOU CAN NOW CONTINUE READING IN TOTAL SAFETY

Anyway, I saw Resident Evil: Apocalypse last night. Woo-Hoo! I can't wait to see it again. Let me just say that the parts taken from the game were awesome and the parts that Paul W.S. Anderson made up SUCKED! He really needs to have his testicles removed with a rusty spork and force fed to him until he swears to never direct a movie again.

And I FINALLY got Silent Hill 4: The Room. From what I have played so far, it's t3h r0><><0r! I don't want to hear ANYTHING about it until I beat it. If you tell me, I'll have a good hot face-stabbing waiting for you.

Anyway, when Newscast FINALLY updates (I hope I hope I hope) tell me what you think about the changes. I am very excited!

Oh, and if you JUST CAN'T WAIT for the next comic, You can always visit my MIRROR SITE Taymation Studios.

Anyway, this is Kevin N. Signing off. Join us again next week. OUT!

N.U.S. September 4, 2004

Greetings all,

Kevin N. here with yet another look into the ongoing struggle to create the next Newscast. Well, the biggest news is...well, there are two. The first is that I am currently busting butt on making a new layout for the Newscast page. Will it suck? Most probably. But as long as it's navigatable then I think you people can deal with it until someone sends me some helpful information regarding page design and coding help (i'm now using dreamweaver. yay!).

The second big news is the NEWSCAST POSTER that I now have hanging over my computer. It's really cool and features Kioko and Nienna being all cute and stuff. Admittedly, it's a little out of character for Nienna, but If you knew her as well as I do, you'd understand. Oh, and don't start drooling yet people. The poster is not for sale. After this little t-shirt fiasco (a situation which I am STILL trying to resolve) I won't be offering anything for sale for a long time.

Speaking of which, I just want everyone to know that if I can't find a solution to this problem soon I won't be doing the shirts. Everyone who sent me $$ will get a refund, unless you REALLY must have one. There is a shirt-to-shirt thing I can do, but the quality isn't as good...something you might get off Cafepress. You know, Iron-ons, but professionally done ones so they last for about 6 months instead of 1 wash.

In other news, I was at work yesterday and suddenly realized something very important. SILENT HILL 4: THE ROOM comes out on the 8th. I hadn't pre-ordered my copy and I was panicking! Why? Well, it's not that I think it will be a hard game to find on release day, but GameStop and assosiates give out FREEBEES with a pre-order. So I called up GameStop and they said THEY'RE GIVING OUT THE FULL SOUNDTRACK WITH EACH PRE-ORDER! So I started to freak out cause then he said that they only had one left. Long story short, an hour of mild freak-outs and several spells of hyperventillation later, I was the proud owner of the SH:4 soundtrack. It's been blasting on my CD player since then. Ah....blissss.......*drool*

Finally onto Newscast news. Well, I was a day ahead on todays, but now I am stuck again. I have every faith that something will work out (hopefully by tommorow instead of monday at 9:00 P.M.) cause I like to get them done early. It takes a lot of strain off me.

Now if you'll excuse me, Silent Hill 4 and I must merge some more. *drool*

N.U.S. August 11, 2004

Well, as some of you may have noticed, I didn't update on Tuesday. I thought about doing it, but realized that since I posted on SUNDAY not everyone may have read Nienna's introduction and it is kind of important seeing as she's not going anywhere for awhile. So I thought I'd use the downtime to get ahead on some comics. I have attempted this before and it always ends in total failure. But perhaps THIS time, I will triumph!

In the meantime, I am totally angry at my computer. I was running Photoshop yesterday and the machine crashed. Not a HUGE deal, but when I rebooted, the )4\/n screen went all wonky. I run on a 1024X768 setting and now everything on both sides is squished and the middle is all stretched out. Also, I can no longer go higher than this current setting but I can go down to 800X600, which appears normal. I can't figure out what is wrong. I can't PAY someone to fix it, and I have no one I can ask for help! THIS pH4r91\ piece of 5-4+ is REALLY making me mad! IF YOU KNOW HOW I CAN FIX THIS, PLEASE EMAIL ME!

In other news, I have been enjoying Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube) on my downtime and I have to tell you, it's friggin incredible. Not only is it a lot of fun especially for an RPG, but it's got a great stroy and exercises the full potential of the Gamecube graphics chip. This game is sweet! The best thing is it does a lot of things right that I think Final Fantasy (another great RPG series) does wrong. For example, you can set yourself as any character, even though the main one is, and will always be, Lloyd. What I mean is, you can switch out which character you control in the overworld and in battle (the battle is a real-time Soul Calibur 2 style) which can lead to different types of levels for your characters and titles, and...oh, just try it out already! I took a chance buying it and I have not been disappointed.

Well, this was a long one, so I'd better get going. Kev OUT!

N.U.S. August 8. 2004

Okay, I probably should have waited for Tuesday to upload this one, but I decided that if I dated it yesterday and uploaded it today MAYBE no one would notice. I am of course, undoubtedly mistaken cause you people are smarter than that.

Okay, okay, so I just wanted to post it and get it over with. I like this comic a lot. It's actually been done since last week, but the layout has been KILLER. I finally had to re-arrange the entire thing and cut out one of my favorite panels. Ah well, such are the hazards of a forced-limited layout space.

I still haven't gotten any new shirt pre-orders. I guess no one wants them, so I suppose it WAS a good thing that I didn't have them run after all. The problem is, SOMEONE (you know who you are, N2) already sent me some money despite the fact that I can't take any cause I don't really plan on RUNNING the shirt until I get all the pre-orders filled.

*sigh* It's such a hard life being a poor web comic artist.

N.U.S. July 27, 2004

As some of you may be aware, the comic is a little late. I'm not sure what happened, but some negligent fool on my ordinarily crack team of comic...er...people....forgot to write and draw the darned thing. A full investigation has been underway for hours and my team is closing in on the one responsible. I'm being told now, via radio, that my team is about to deliver the notice of the poor saps' notice of termination.

What? Oh thanks. What's this? Oh....It appears I have just been fired.

Well, the comic will be up soon anyway. I guess I'd better clean out my desk. Wait! I don't EVEN HAVE A DESK! MY LIFE IS A LIE!

Oh yeah, there's only ONE Newscast shirt left! If you want it, you'd better hurry up and order it! Good luck!

N.U.S. July 24, 2004

Greetings Newscast fans!

Well, first I want to express my sheer joy at creating a comic that I actually am quite happy with. I mean, that middle panel, I don't like to gloat, but I get a tingle up my spine when I look at it. I am just really really happy with it. *sigh*

I feel really bad for T.B. I mean, every other day since Kioko fell from the sky, he's been blown up, and had his wardrobe reduced to shreds. I guess it's not so bad when you only have one white shirt, purple tie (?) and khaki pants but still, pretty inconvienient.

Speaking of shirts, we are up to 9 pre-orders which means there are only a handful left! If you want one, PLEASE make sure to submit your request via the link on the shirt page ASAP! I would like to stress that these are PRE-ORDERS and that if they don't fill up, the shirt will not get run.

Anyway, back to the drawing board. Enjoy the Newscastery for today, I know I am.

N.U.S. July 22, 2004

Well, it's Thursday again, and we all know what that means. Yes, I have been up since 5 a.m. and I'm in a MURDEROUS mood. The comic is going slowly this week, cause I have been a tad behind on homework, but I should have a good bead on it before I go to bed.

Last night, I tried to watch Saint Tail, what a load that was. Now I'm trying out "All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl: Nuku Nuku DASH!" I'll give a report on that as soon as it's done.

 

N.U.S. July 20, 2004

Well, the comic is finally up. Better late than never right? Thing is, I had a major internet outage lasty night which prevented me from doing ANYTHING let alone uploading a comic. The other thing of course is that the A/C units all over my complex have gone out rendering it approxamately 4,000,000 degrees ferenheight in my apartment. YOU try drawing a comic when you stick to every surface (including the carpet).
 
However, on the plus side of things, I picked me up an SNES last night for an undisclosed price that can only be described as "Kick Ass". It was totally refurbished, and works great. I also got some games I've been sorely missing:

Super Mario World
TMNT 4: Turtles in Time (best TMNT game EVER)
Aladdin
Jurassic Park
Ranma 1/2 Hard Battle
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
 
Yeah, I own LoZ:LttP on GBA but man, I have an SNES now! Gotta have the card man. It's my patriotic duty! Anyway, back to the gridstone I guess. Enjoy the comicage.

N.U.S. July 19, 2004

Well, it's Monday (2:30 a.m.) and I have been as unproductive as ever this past weekend. I usually have Sundays to work, but I was called into GameZone to help shoot a commercial and will probably be spending the next few Sundays down there working on a special project. I urge any of you that have the ability to get to 35th Ave and Peoria here in Phoenix Arizona to come down and see it when it's done.
 
The T-Shirt information is finally all up and the comic will be done ASAP. I already have it written and I just really need to spend some time drawing it. Of course, that will be tommorow most likely, sometime before or after work. I am gonna work on it a bit before bed so I can be all ready for tommorow.
 
School is back in full force and true to my nature, I have not done a single one of my homework assignments yet. HA HA HA HA HA...ha ha ha......ha.........ha.......... I need to get into the swing of things and I will. Oh yes, and the comic is going to start being done weeks in advance so I don't have to worry about it so much.
 
Here's hoping those shirts go well! I hope everyone who wants one gets one.
 
-Kevin N.

N.U.S. July 17, 2004

This is the first post on the Newscast Update Status Blog. I don't know if I'll keep this, but I may and for now I am just trying it out so...deal with it.
 
I finally got done with Newscast #32 which has been over 3 weeks in the making. I am not entirely happy with it or proud of it, but it's done and that's what it's important. The next one is already in the works and it's going well.
 
Hobgoblins is now on my computer! r0><><0r!