SHARKNIFE Fight Machine [update]

Whattup Reyyytrons! Tryina get more on top of these consistent updates + behind the scenes PROCESS posts so here we go:

Sharknife Fight Machine, the 3rd Sharknife installment, has changed many forms in the (nearly ten!) years it's been since Sharknife 2. It's important to mention that there was never an expectation or deadline for "Sharknife 3" tho. I never wanted it to be a "yearly" series or what have ya, I just make them when I feel I CAN and WANT TO!

I have been developing what I WANT Sharknife 3 to be in that time, it's taken many forms, many starts and stops. Sharknife "Triceratango" (cool title, but never really had a solid concept that matched it), then there was Sharknife "SPEED DIVING" (this was gonna be a new take on sharknife, completely new characters and a new SHARKNIFE ["TIGER SHARKNIFE"]) hand-drew like 30-40 pages of that-- they're cool pages, but again, the story was minimum. Most recently there was SHARKNIFE EXPOSE, which began when I visited JAPAN in 2018, and eventually took shape to become FIGHT MACHINE. Some lane changes in terms of story led me to change the title yet again, but also mainly because I got ABSOLUTELY FUCKIN SICK of typing the fancy "E" in "EXPOSAY" (yeah it's supposed to be one of those fancy e's with a line above it, I can't even bother to do it now)

SO YEAH. Sharknife 3 finally became Sharknife FIGHT MACHINE (or "FIGHT MACHIN3" if ya sassy)

And it's not just a title change, the title represents 90% of what the book is about. FIGHT MACHINE doesn't just sound cool, it is vital to the story in many ways. YOU WILL SEE!

And here's the thing about SHARKNIFE FM here-- it's not strictly "the third book in the sharknife saga" -- it is a whole new SAGA for Sharknife. It is the ultimate new SAGA for Sharknife. It is MAXIMUM SHARKNIFE. Sharknife the way he was always meant to be. It's taken me this long to get here, is the simple fact.

It's all that, while simultaneously being PART of the already created book series-- it is everything SHARKNIFE has been meant to be, while simultaneously validating and enriching those old books. I retroactively explain, call back, and link to many fun things that were randomly established in those books. Fun easter egg stuff that new fans won't need to know about, but old fans I think will appreciate! (I do!)

In that spirit, SHARKNIFE FM itself is divided into several books. Five to be exact (at the moment at least)

The books are not quite mammoth GRAPHIC NOVEL / MANGA size, but far bigger than single-issue floppies too. BOOK 1 is around 100 pages. Sounds like a lot, but that's still ~40 less than the first Sharknife book (and 100 something less than the 2nd Sharknife book)

Okay let's show some art:

Here's our boy. Keeping it fairly simple this go round. No fancy upgrades (yet), no over complicated lines, just PURE SHARKNIFE baby. The muscle style I go for lately is a mix of implied CAPCOM-style shapes, mixed with somewhat open DRAGON BALL esque cartooning, adding detail to specific muscles to make it POP. He's pictured here next to a new FIGHT MACHINE character THE WORLD AINT READY FOR YET... But you will meet them in the future...

Posing with a modified version of the SHARKNIFE. Playing with modes where the sharknife is almost entirely BLADE. 

Here's a foppy looking villainous looking character in a vaguely HYPEBEAST fashion. This guy is a work in progress. Probably gonna modify his face to look less obviously OROCHIMARU-y lol 

Here's some fun new shit. It's KARATE RAY, our fav hero from the SHARKNIFE FREE COMIC BOOK day story! On the right is ENTA DADRAGON, one of the antagonists of Sharknife Double Z. As you can see, they are both BAD ASSED out a bit. There is a reason behind this. Enta's getup clearly mirrors MORTAL KOMBAT fav KUNG LAO. I'm gonna make it an actual joke in the comic too. We are known Mortal Kombat fans in Coastalvania. 

Ok here's a guy. I knew for a long time that I wanted a COP character to pursue Sharknife as he goes on deliveries throughout Coastalvania. It's just a trope we love, the hero being pursued by a government-employed anti-hero. I WAS gonna base him on ROBOCOP. Then I integrated KNIGHT ARMOR elements into him. He was "KNIGHT COP"... but, uh... I really wasn't feeling it... As u can maybe tell, the above drawing is lacking my usual ZEST. The above drawing was more just a basic blueprint to get the guy into existence, even tho I really wasn't feeling him too much. 

* * * FLASH FORWARD 2 TONIGHT * * * 

Yeah. Watching FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER, and realizing how much I just love CAP as a concept, and how often HE IS IN FACT parodied within marvel, within COMICS ITSELF! There are so many variations on CAP. USAGent, FIGHTING AMERICAN, others. 

So yeah, instead of a clunky robocop, SHARKNIFE will be pursued by this tall drink of righteousness named "COASTAL-V", the government appointed protector of Coastalvania. Now, it is def inspired by F&WS, even insofar that COASTAL-V is even RED like sharknife, he's trying to do SHARKNIFE's job, but can't really coz he doesn't have the same special sauce Sharknife does. 

Still, he looks pretty dang cool if I say so myself 

Here's a close up 

Over the last couple months, I've had some art breakthrus / overcome some SLUMPS. So yeah, compare KNIGHT COP to COASTAL-V to see how much better I'm feeling about this project, currently. 

This went from being just a fan insertion i wanted to put in (robocop) but not really FEELING, to being a new favorite character XD

OH! And he still has ROBOCOP influence, but it's not from the classic 80's RC, it's from ROBOCOP 2014! Which I will always appreciate as an actually pretty good underdog. That's how we rock here at Coastalvania, we push for the culture. 

And yeah, the COASTALVANIA brand synergy is something I'm always a fan of. It's less of a "ha ha this is my company" thing, more of making the company and comics a unified thing, something magical and tangible at the same time. Something dare I say DISNEY-ESQUE. 

but BUFF & BADASS ;D 

Ombra doing ombra thangs. These arent PAGE LAYOUTS, just warmups / poses / action I want in the scenes. Many of these motions will be incorporated into these scenes, but in more masterfully artful ways, of course ;) 

Ombra does play a fun role in FIGHT MACHINE. There are several PLOTS going on within FM. It has taken a while but I think I've brought it all home. 

All five books are in fact planned out, start to finish. Each book's critical beats are planned out (with room to have fun, make jazz) and even the ending is decided and everything. A SHARKNIFE FIRST. 

Book 1 is 90% sketched / laid out. It doesn't look like anything great at the moment. And in fact, last time I started to INK it, I lost some data (ouch) which set me back (emotionally) on FM for a couple months tbh. I'm back in it now tho baby, and it's easily the best version of Sharknife, best comic I've developed yet. 

Here's a bad lookin person from the opening of FIGHT MACHINE book 1 

Some action involving sharknife slaying a DEMON CAR. This fight scene will probably be modified now tho, to include more COASTAL-V, as I am now a big fan of the character... 

And this is the final page of BOOK 1! Just to show you that the book is in fact 90% sketched out. VERY EARLY STAGES but it is almost in a state that can be read. Once it's all laid out, I will begin INKING! Then pages will start appearing HERE ON REYYYTREON!

+ + + + + 

So yeah, that's a pretty huge update regarding the SHARKNIFE COMIC I'm currently working on, which is fitting, because it is a PRETTY HUGE comic. Mostly in scope and bombast, if not actual book thickness :p (we're keepin book size streamlined here at Coastalvania) 

WORD. UMMM YEAH

Going forward SHARKNIFE FIGHT MACHINE updates will upload here on the REYYYTREON concurrently with PINAPL updates (taking turns, likely)

And yeah, we will be getting back on PINAPL. 

* * * * EXTRA SAUCE NEWS * * * * 

AND UH, I owe all SAUCE BOSSES EXTRA SAUCES for all of 2021 so far. I have dropped the ball there. The truth is EXTRA SAUCE ISSUE 9 WAS MY FAVORITE ONE I PUT TOGETHER YET. I was extremely proud of the issue. Then my printer kinda fucked up the printing on it :( THEN my printer informed me they wouldn't be able to do EXTRA SAUCE going forward :( :( So I got some MONKEY WRENCHES thrown in my EXTRA SAUCE machine at the moment. 

I will be doing EXTRA SAUCE ISSUE 10 extremely soon tho, and sending all OWED SAUCES out to EVERYONE who has backed the $10 tier since DEC 2020. 

Then I hope to be back on track with EXTRA SAUCE, while simultaneously delivering SHARKNIFE and PINAPL comics content. 

HELL 

YES

This is what we've been building to, & it's really paying off. Most everyone who has backed EXTRA SAUCE tier has been quite satisfied when the books arrive, and to those still waiting in 2021, YOU WILL GET THEM! And they will be great :) 

I super appreciate you all helping me along this journey. SHARKNIFE FIGHT MACHINE, PINAPL & EXTRA SAUCE are gonna make it all so worth it. 

(Oh yeah, GUNBRAIN is coming soon too! XD)

PEACE MY BROTHAS AND SISTASSS

- Coreyyyy