(edit: Please excuse the screentone moiré effect in some of the images)

I'm excited to find out that I've hit over 200 followers on NG! I appreciate all of you who enjoy my work so I wanted to write a brief news post to catch up:

Since around 2021 I've been focused on developing my comic art skills. A lot of this has been from me collaborating with various comic artists and writers and taking feedback.

2024 saw the release of HOTEL STORY, a 120 page graphic novel collaboration between me and Narwhal Books and part 1 of a 2 part story.

While the crowdfund campaign for Part One is now closed, I am currently drawing Part Two and more news will be released about it in the near future.

In-between working on that book, I've also worked on some smaller comic projects as benchmarks tests to see how I can apply what I've learned to my own solo projects:

2022: Key Girl Bug is a 20 page one-shot I made in the span of about a week and a half for a local comic/zine show. It follows a girl with a keytar that has to use her robotics knowledge to keep her grandfather safe.

2023: The Obol is a 48 page haunting horror Americana story, originally made in about a month. This story follows an artifact smuggler involved in a cat-and-mouse chase with a detective aboard a steamboat, all while a deeper mystery unfolds.

Finally, 2024 featured the release of Brutalist Brick [demo tape], an 8-page slice-of-life band story drawn in about 3-4 days (also a re-boot of Key Girl Bug into an idea I could do more with beyond the initial concept.)

I have high hopes for my future work. For one, I have the first chapter completed of a potential long-form comic called Mogao Blues. I have a few preview pages to share here:

While the exact release date for this or what platform I publish has yet to be determined, I look forward to getting more work done on this story as soon as I wrap up HOTEL STORY Part Two. One possibility is that I publish Mogao Blues as a webcomic, which I hope would make it more accessible for others. In edition, I would also like to get more Brutalist Brick stories in the works, but I will need to feel out these other projects.

As for now, art uploads will be slow for a bit, but I am working on stuff, and I hope people will enjoy them I get teh chance to release them.

Thanks for reading!

-Jared

I've recently made my one-shot comic The Obol available for digital purchase!

The Obol follows an artifact smuggler's experience on a riverboat.

As he searches for his anonymous contact, he meets a detective and must do his best not to blow his cover. All the while, strange things start happening as the voyage continues.

You can get my comic here:

Gumroad

itch.io

I hope you all enjoy!

-houzatosis

I've decided to upload some of my recent comics onto itch.io for free download.

Key Girl Bug is a one-shot about a girl with a modded keytar trying to rescue her grandpa from his latest robotic creation.

Salvus Philtrum is an exploration on Western esoteric themes and follows an ascetic encountering his inner self.

In addition to this news, I've been assisting comic artist Narwhal in a couple projects that will be released in the near future. Currently, his latest campaign, NARWHAL SHORTS COMPENDIUM, is open for another 12 days and Key Girl Bug will be printed alongside other works in a bonus B-Sides book. Check out more of his stuff on his Twitter.

It's been a while since I've been active here on Newgrounds, but I have some exciting news!

bit Dungeon III by KintoGames has finally launched and I am excited to announce that I have contributed background music and additional spritework for this game! bit Dungeon is a roguelite game series, and with the third installment comes online multiplayer and a randomly generated overworld.

You can buy the game on Steam here (plus it's currently 15% off until May 10th to celebrate its release):

https://store.steampowered.com/app/856210/bit_Dungeon_III/

So for the last several months I have been involved in development for an Asian cinema-themed comic anthology: Shark Fin Soup!

I will be contributing an 8 page story along with four other artists for upcoming comic anthology being led by Seattle artist Per Darwin Berg. Currently there are 27 days left in the Kickstarter and we are currently about 10% funded! Per has already successfully funded a previous comic anthology called Glitch and I am excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with him on what will be my first foray into published graphic novel territory.

Feel free to support this comic, and to check out more work under the Narwhal Comics moniker here!