New Character Design!

Today I bring you a concept image of one of the new characters to the world of Of Mages & Pages (our game in the works to be released exclusively on the Nintendo Wii U).  This is Raviela the griffin.  Rumor has it she's part dragon, but I wouldn't bring that up to her if I were you!  This concept drawing comes to us by way of our in-game artist (and everyone's favorite Hatman & Indigo artist), S. LaDon Ware!

We at 3twins hope you all have a blessed and Merry Christmas!

-Jason

New Logo for Of Mages & Pages!

Earlier this week Andy and I were brainstorming what would be a good logo for our Wii U game and the world of Of Mages & Pages/Midieville.  As I mentioned previously, I've been writing some back stories for the characters widening the scope of the world and really getting my head in the space of Of Mages & Pages.  One of the things Andy and I created years ago was a list of different creatures in Midieille, one of those creatures is the phoenix.  In Midieville a phoenix is not the large fiery bird from other mythologies; instead, the phoenix is akin to a goldfinch in size and shape, it is still on fire, but its job is to deliver message like a carrier pigeon.  These little creatures are not sentient like Gidju or Marvin, but instead are more along the intelligence of a real-world talking bird but a bit more intelligent perhaps.  How they work is someone tells a phoenix a message and whom/where to take that message, the phoenix remembers it and flies off to the recipient and whispers it in their ear.  Since phoenixes are on fire, their voices emit flames, so they must whisper the messages.  All that to say that Andy and I decided that the symbol of Midieville would be one of these phoenixes.  I discussed this with Chuck Bedard and he was gracious enough to design it for us!  So, as you can see in the image attached to this message is that symbol.  This image will become the key logo of our game and a symbol of the united kingdom under the good king Mathos.

-Jason

So much I can't talk about!

So, I was trying to give you teases once a week, but obviously fell behind on that.  I have so much to talk about, but I can't!  I know that just seems mean of me, doesn't it?  Well, Andy and I discussed a lot of the progress we've made over the past couple of weeks and decided that we should keep a lid on it for now.  However, I can tell you what he and I have been doing.  In addition to being the producers on the game and directing the various elements that go into the game, Andy and I are writing the story that will unfold in the cut-scenes.  Since it has been over five years since we posted a new Midieville on our site, What we've been doing is writing loads of appendices and back-stories for the world and characters.  A lot of that stuff won't end up in the game itself, but it is helping us to flesh out the world for "Of Mages & Pages" and give our artists, animators, sound designers, and programmers a better feel for the world of the game.  Maybe we'll touch on some of that content later on, but for now, its all just helping to put everyone whose working on the game into the realm of Midieville.

Loads more to come!

-Jason

NEW CHARACTER: Selaxi the Minotaur

Here's another peek at a new character for our Nintendo Wii U game, Of Mages & Pages.  This is Selaxi the Minotaur!  This concept image comes from our favorite Hatman & Indigo artist, S. LaDon Ware!

I'll be back in a week or so with yet another tidbit about our game!

-Jason

NEW CHARACTERS: The Golden Knight

Our Nintendo Wii U game, Of Mages & Pages will feature some new characters.  I'd like to do a short series introducing each of them briefly.  The first new character is The Golden Knight.  This addition to the team is narcissism personified.  The Golden Knight sees himself as the bravest, second most important person in all the Land of Midieville; second only to the good King Mathos.

What does he look like?  Well, he's a knight and his armor is gold.  That's all you need to know for now.

I'll be back in a week or so to tease another interesting tidbit of the game.

-Jason

As an added bonus, here are some old concept drawings of what the Black Knight's helmet might have looked like (art by Steve Surine).

3twins and Gaming!

Greetings 3twins fans!

I know it has been a while since I posted, and I have a lot of exciting news to share.  I was just waiting permission from Nintendo to find out what all I could share.  Did I just name drop, Nintendo?  Oh, yes I did!  That's right, we are currently making a game for the Nintendo Wii U!  Our Midieville story is being re-worked into: Of Mages and Pages, a puzzle game for the Wii U.  This is the biggest opportunity we have had yet for any of our franchises.  As hinted at above, there are rules and regulations we need to abide by, so there are certain things I cannot share with you.  However, I will try to regularly tease bits and pieces of the game to pique your interests.

So far, we have a team of 16 people working on the game.  The game will likely take between 9-12 months to complete (depending on programming).  I'll bring you more teases later!

-Jason

New Merchandise home for 3twins.net!

Greetings Hatman Fans!

We are currently in the process of moving our store over to cowcow.com.  I have only added a couple design images, but they are available on literally hundreds of low priced items.  So, check out the new store at cowcow.com/3twinsnet (be sure to click the Hatman & Indigo link too).

Pick up Master of Fright: Return to the Dark Woods!

Hey there Hatmaniacs,

A dear friend of mine recently published a new book, Master of Fright: Return to the Dark Woods.  You all know that it is not typically my thing to plug items, but I would like to do my part in helping her get a few more sales.  So please check out this book.  Also, while you're at it, be sure to look into the first two in this same series, The Dark Woods and The Runner, as well as other books by Carol Culver Rzadkiewicz.  Here is a link to her Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Culver-Rzadkiewicz/e/B00386109I/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Jason

P. S. I'll be back next week with another installment of Scotty's Scholarly Scroll.

Celebrating Seven Years of Hatman!

Hey There Hatmaniacs!

To the right (if viewed on our blog proper) you will see a large image, much larger than I am used to posting in our blog.  This image depicts every artist who has worked on Hatman & Indigo over the past seven years.  Today is a month after the actual seven year anniversary of our first comic.  Originally published on 3twins.net May 4th, 2006, Hatman has been the heart and soul of 3twins.net ever since.  Even in the lull we have experienced since I went back to school, we have still slowly but surely continued to roll out Hamtan Comics!

So, for their hard work, I would like to personally thank, Chris Secondi, Chuck Bedard, Debi Solomon, Michelle Meinema, Benjamin Schooley, Stephen Surine, S. LaDon Ware, Juanito Moore, Scott Matteson, Jennifer VanMeter, Michael Lude, Kendall Stump, Tilian Wagner, and Alex Harvey!  Each of them is represented in the collage image and we couldn't have had any Hatman without their help!

I would also like to mention the newest member of the Hatman tribe, Jamie Butler-Houts, who is currently coloring Zapman: Reimagined pages.  I did not have a true representation of her work for both Hatman and Indigo yet, so she was not depicted on the collage.  Also, a special mention goes out to Steve Steffel who did some background work for us back in the original Zapman story.

So, here's to Hatman, and many more stories to come!

-Jason

More hand-colored Hatman!

Greetings Hatmanaics!

Today I bring you another quick note about the progress of Zapman Re-imagined!  My cousin Jamie Butler-Houts is currently hand coloring more pages (one colored panel featured in this blog post).  I also just today spoke with S. LaDon Ware who is fast at work on part 3 of this epic adventure!  Hoepfully by Summer's end we will have all three completed and published on 3twins.net!

Check back for more updates to Scotty's Scholarly Scroll hopefully next week!

Until then have a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend!

-Jason

Scotty's Scholarly Scroll: Leprechaun

Entry 1: Leprechaun

A Leprechaun is a magical creature in the service of the fairy folk.  Said to be poor cobblers since they often only make one shoe, these creatures actually have a variety of tasks.  They serve as the Fairy Queens reserve agents, but normally they are free to live their lives as they see fit.  Every Leprechaun possess magical powers and the ability to grant wishes.  However, most Leprechauns are stingy with their magic and will only use it if they are required to.  If a Leprechaun is trapped, the one who releases him is given two to three wishes; even if the one who releases him is the one who trapped him.  Irish Leprechauns are crafty with their magic and the wishes they grant often do not turn out like the wisher intended.  Not all Leprechauns are Irish, but most do originate around the area humans know to be the United Kingdom.  It is said that Scottish Leprechauns are bonded to one who releases them with unlimited wishes, and those wishes do not have negative repercussions, but they are the rarest type of Leprechaun in the world.

[Editor's Note: The contents in this blog are for entertainment purposes only. The lore presented only pertains to the 3twins Universe and should not be taken as any type of historical lore or mythology, though some of it has been inspired by lore and popular culture]

Hatman #50 script is finished!

Hey there, Hatman fans,

I don't recall if I have spoke much about my grueling process for Hatman & Indigo Issue 50 yet.  I believe years ago I may have posted about the 50 covers (one of which is to the right by Tilian Wagner and has nothing to do with the story whatsoever!) we wanted to have for it.  However, I have had a script for quite some time now that just didn't feel right.  I have had several of the 3twins staff (both past and present) look over it and offer suggestions on how to fix it.  Nothing seemed to give it the tone I wanted and I kept adding to it and changing parts.  That is until very recently it dawned on me that there were only a couple core things that needed to happen for the following story arc and all the rest was what was wrong with the story.

Last week I printed out the latest version of the script and went at it with colored markers to help figure out what to keep and what to toss.  This was a new process for me since I generally keep all of my work in the digital realm.  However, I needed to have something tangible to chop up and dissect.  After that I had an idea of how to fix it but it wasn't quite ready, so I sat on it.

I sat on the idea until yesterday when I completely re-wrote the script only keeping a few lines at the very beginning.  The new story is very trim and to the point.  I wanted a stand alone issue that marks a turning point in the way we tell Hatman stories for the foreseeable future and the new script finally achieves that!

I have been very tight lipped about the story of issue 50 and honestly the essence of what was always there is still there, but I wanted to keep it a secret.  But, we are going to slowly start offering some new information, sort of back story to the issue.  Those of you who recall our experiment in a blog-based adventure last Halloween will understand what I am talking about, and the most faithful of you will realize that even though we have the script finally, the finished product could still be a ways off.  One of the things I want to do with this is offer fully hand-painted backgrounds.  This will possibly be a time consuming process and will change the way we create the story, but Alex Harvey has indicated that she is very interested in providing those.

I can't say when issue 50 will be published on 3twins.net, but I do promise in the coming months we will get you ready to experience a shift in Hatman and Indigo's life that will reverberate beyond issue 50 for quite some time!

Until next time,
Jason

Hand-colored Zapman Re-imagined!

Howdy Hatmaniacs!

Today I bring you a sneak peek at what is in store with the Zapman Re-imagined three issue story!  To the right (or above depending on your screen resolution) is just one of the finished pages colored by up-and-coming 3twins artist, Alex Harvey!  I made this image extra large so you could take it all in!  Those of you familiar with the original Zapman story know that there was a Superhero Audition.  Well, for the new improved retelling of that story, S. LaDon Ware pulled out all the stops to show just how impressive that audition really was!

Take a moment to gaze at all the amazing superhero wanna-bees!

I really love the combination of S. LaDon's pencils and Alex's coloring.  I am so excited to bring you this story!  We still have a little ways to go before we can start publishing it on 3twins.net, but S. LaDon Ware is surely going to knock the rest of this one out of the park!

There's so much coming up in the next few months!  Andy and I are going to roll up our sleeves and start a ground-up renovation of the website.  We are still working on mastering all of our old comics into one format.  Please be patient though, as we are both still taking classes.  I recently decided to pursue my Masters Degree, so I will not be finished with school until Summer 2015.  However, as I fall into the swing of things and we gather momentum for a re-launch of our site, I can assure you 3twins.net will return stronger and more vigorous than ever before!

Always stay hungry for new stories,
-Jason

Happy New Year, Hatmaniacs!

Greetings and welcome to 2013 my friends!

Boy was 2012 a real bust for 3twins.net posting new stuff online! 

However, we did get a lot of background things going.  Why just the other day I received the final pages for Zapman Re-imagined Part 2 in the mail!  To the right is a preview of one of those amazing pages illustrated by none other than the sensational S. LaDon Ware!

We recently acquired a new artist, Alex, who will help take us into issue 50 and beyond!  As you may recall, digital coloring of these amazing S. LaDon Ware pages takes me quite some time, so I have been in talks with Alex to see if she would be willing to hand color all three parts of Zapman Re-imagined!

The Hatman Clause Part 1 was hand colored by S. LaDon Ware himself, and I think his art looks amazing hand colored (click the link for a refresher of that amazing artistry).  Alex and I are meeting later this week to discuss coloring the Zapman pages further, so I do not have details yet as to which medium she is interested in using, but I know that regardless of the color medium, the Zapman Re-imagined 3-issue story is really shaping up to be our most beautiful and exciting Hatman adventure yet!

When will you see Zapman Re-imagined completed?  I can't give you any definite answer, but I do hope it will be this year.  Also, I do hope to see the completion of the lost Hatman story: Superheroes, and possibly the return of Ion Bunny in 2013 all leading up to the much anticipated Hatman Issue 50!

Stay hungry for Hatman because so much is on the horizon,

-Jason