Maq #041 » Blog

Contest Update and New Poll

Kim Samson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:06:20 +0000

Alrighty! I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who entered the contest! Craig and I will be going over the entries to pick our favorite this week, and we’ll let you know who the winner is! I’ve gotta say, it’ll be tough. I glanced at a few of the entries as they arrived, and you guys have some amazing ideas! We will most likely do another contest like this again soon.

In other news, I’ve been gearing up to get all the other chapters of the comic into a printed form. But I wanted to get everyone’s opinions before I proceeded with the actual printing. Mostly, I just want to know if you’d prefer a single book, with lots of chapters, or small individual comics for each chapter. The smaller chapter comics would come out faster and more frequently, but would ultimately cost more to collect (since they’d be about $5 each, plus shipping). A larger book, however, would only come out after so many chapters were complete, but would be cheaper in the long run. So feel free to be completely honest. Your choices will dictate which direction I go.

Stop SOPA / PIPA

Kim Samson — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:32:48 +0000

As I’m sure you’ve already seen, quite a bit of the internet has been ‘blacked out’ today, in protest to two bills being proposed to American congress. If this were a perfect country, and nobody abused their power, we would not be so afraid, since on the surface the bills seem to want to protect the internet and it’s usage. However, the reality is that these bills can easily be abused. If you trust the American government, or just don’t care either way, then please ignore this message. If you want to actually do something, then please, Click Here to let your representatives know that you are opposed to the bill.

Contest Update

Kim Samson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:03:06 +0000

Okay, looks like the Design a M.A.Q. contest is well underway! Already, we’ve received some really great entries, and I can’t wait to see what else you all turn out! However, something I forgot to mention, was naming/numbering the agent. It wasn’t until after I had received a few entries that asked about what to number them or name them, that I thought I’d clear things up.

The agent in question will be given the brand #025. If you wish to give her a name (from before she became an agent or a nickname people gave her later), please feel free to.

I hope this clears up any confusion. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Original Post with Rules.

Chapter 13 Update – Sick

Kim Samson — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:10:25 +0000

So, it looks as though my once a year socializing has paid off. I went up north for two weeks to spend with family and friends, and the day after I return home, ready to get back to work, I’m sick.

Happy 2012, everyone.

Chapter 13 will start up next Thursday. Tomorrow, I’ll be hosting a live stream at 3pm to work on the cover. Feel free to stop on by!

Happy Holidays!

Kim Samson — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:00:50 +0000

Hope your holiday is a good one! See you after the New Year! Also, don’t forget about the contest! I look forward to seeing your entries!

Design a M.A.Q. Contest!

Kim Samson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:20:33 +0000

You read it right: Our next contest is to design your very own M.A.Q agent! The rules are very easy:

1)- The entire idea is to design the appearance, powers, background, and personality of a female agent. There’s no real boundaries as to what can be done or not done, so feel free to let your imagination run wild.

2)- Entries can be either written or drawn or both. The more detail, the better your chances of winning.

3)- Only 1 entry per person.

4)- All entries must be submitted to maqqy96 (at) gmail (dot) com.

5)- Contest deadline is January 31st.

The winner will get their design a cameo at the end of Chapter 13, with a reappearance in later chapter (possibly they will even get to fight one of our main characters!). We’ll be looking for something original and unusual, so be sure to flex those creative muscles. Have fun with this one, guys! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

Next Comic Project!!

Kim Samson — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:43:12 +0000

Alrighty, I’m to the point of deciding which comic to work on next. However, I’ve been having a tough time picking which project should finished first. As such, I thought about posting the ideas here, to allow you readers to vote on which one gets selected.

Here’s a brief description of each one.

Demon Rose
- A quiet, young high school girl is accidentally cursed by a demon skull. In order to break the curse, she has one year to assemble the other parts of his skeleton and make him whole again. If she fails, she will suffer and slowly die. Now, she is forced into a life of crime to steal back all the bones, bringing her into the eyes of the world’s greatest Magical Girl hero and her group of fighting friends…

Magical Mayhem
- Attending an elite school for magic and politics, Sammy is considered the great catch among young, handsome single nobles. His magic is unparalleled, and rumors spread that he’s even gone so far as to catch the critical eye of the immortal king and his lovely young daughter. Life seems fairly good for the boy, until one day, his magic puts him in touch with a dark entity that threatens to expose his life-threatening secret.

Avina
- Avina was an honest girl who wanted a quiet life of study and research and computers. However, meeting with and befriending a sentient computer virus turned her world around, and now she finds herself one of the very few willing to speak for these ‘unwanted pests’, and must struggle constantly to preserve what little freedom they have.

Zombie Brother
- Derrick Zimmerman was born with a weak heart, keeping him from playing and running around like the other kids in his 5th grade class. One evening, in the quiet of the night, he passes away. Before the Shinigami in charge of collecting his soul can spirit him away, his occult loving sister comes out of nowhere and brings his back to life as a zombie slave!

Magic Hunter Luna
- Abandoned and neglected by her mother for years, Eugene was left to the mercy of a local orphanage run by the church. During her time there, she became mute and refused to betray her thoughts through her emotions. Then, not long after her mother reclaimed her, she’s approached by strange people, who tell her she has a latent power which she must learn to control. But how can you cast spells when you can’t speak?

120 Days
- 20-something Kevin is a nobody that feels he will never be missed. And with his heart growing weaker each day, he feels the end will be soon. But just as he’s resigned himself to his fate, he comes across a strange girl fighting for her life from a seemingly super-natural being. Without thinking, he shields the girl from harm, only to end up being stabbed. Instead of dying, he wakes up, only to find that some of her blood had managed to get inside him. Now that he has the blood of an apparent goddess running through his veins, he’s only got 120 days before it wears out…

Your vote will decide which comic I work on next, so make sure to pick one which you feel is worth reading!

Xion’s Dream

Kim Samson — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:37:59 +0000

Hmm…what could THIS mean? Could this be an attempt at merging my sketches with tablet work? Hmmm….possibly!!

Live Stream Event!!

Kim Samson — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:15:18 +0000

At 9pm (Central time; 10pm Eastern), I’m gonna try and host a live stream! I need some practice with my tablet, and this will be a good way to get it! So come on in and make requests: I’ll draw anything I’m asked! Tune in and have fun watching me fail at tablet drawing!!!

Live Stream Channel

Good News – Bad News

Kim Samson — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:18:28 +0000

The good news: My parents were to come down on Sunday to stay for a week after visiting with my uncle in Texas for a few days. As such, I made my weekly to-do list around getting comics done for next week so no updates would be missed. I even managed to get all the pages fully sketched ahead of time!

The bad news: My Uncle in Texas had a heart attack. It was a minor one, and he’s doing fine now, but he told my parents that he wasn’t up for a visit. He’s going in today for another surgery, but is expected to pull through fine. If you’re inclined, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

The result: My parents had already booked a hotel at their halfway point, and it was too late to cancel. Also, they had already taken the time off and didn’t just want to sit at home bored. As such, we talked it over, and so they should be arriving at my house later today! You can guess what this did to the comic schedule, though.

I’ll try my hardest to post something next week, but please understand that I don’t get to spend much time with them (since they live on the other side of the country). I haven’t been able to visit with them since last Christmas, so I’m hoping to get some good quality time with them this week. If nothing else, updates will resume as normal on the 15th.

Sorry again for the delay, and thank you for being so understanding!