Comic Strip #1

[Lightning]

hey, the new comic's up. check Vinnie's website for it.

[IAD]

www.removeb4flight.com, right?

If so, looks like his page is down...?

~Luke

[Lightning]

oh, hang on

try this: http://www.removeb4flight.com/comic.php

[IAD]

Ah, thanks!

~Luke

[Vinnie]

hey, the new comic's up.  check Vinnie's website for it.

405114[/snapback]

Gah! That one wasn't supposed to go public yet! Oh well. Schroeder's Cat is outta the box now, eh?

Not the best production to date, but I think things are still improving. There may even be an update later tonight when I get some feedback from the writer who is home on leave right now (which is what I was waiting on...)

The other note is the page is just a PHP script I was playing with and works for some handy viewing of files. I'm working on installing Drupal CMS with a webcomic module which should make for a functionally slick site (the asthetics I'll make no promise on.)

Finally, I was just promoted to 1st Lieutenant and closed out the month with 32 flight hours. My Platoon Leader is back, so my workload should decrease as I shift some of the burden off to him. I haven't been avoiding anyone, just been burnt out. Anyway, as things start to slow down again, I'm hoping I can once again resume my lofty goal of weekly updates.

[Nied]

Good to know you're doing well Vinnie. Considering how long it had been since you last posted, and where you are right now, I was starting to worry.

Am I the only one who isn't seeing anything though? I get a broken link when I try to go to your website, and it just says "user posted image" where (I assume) you posted it here.

[Vinnie]

Good to know you're doing well Vinnie.  Considering how long it had been since you last posted, and where you are right now, I was starting to worry.

Am I the only one who isn't seeing anything though?  I get a broken link when I try to go to your website, and it just says "user posted image" where (I assume) you posted it here.

405615[/snapback]

Aw, geez. No need to worry 'bout lil' old me. But thanks!

Hmmm...let me know if that's a persistent condition. I can access it from a couple of networks including the Air Force one (which says a lot.) If there's a problem with my domain hosting service though, I'll have to address it.

[Nied]

It's showing up now, I wasn't seeing it from my work network yesterday. I could see it when I got home though, and it's showing just fine on my work network today. Weird.

[Vinnie]

Comic #8 - Today's Special

Redid the background. I think it's a marked improvement from the original. Not sure it conveys the diner-ness of the place, but it's a start.

Other than that #8 is an exercise in classic webcomic pun usage. Absolute rock bottom humor! Yes! So bad it had to be done.

I'm really happy with the character lineart on this one, though. I think it came together quite well. Nice to draw Toni in something other than a space suit for once.

Also, Remove Before Flight is almost up and running. A few tweaks in color and content are needed, but I think the basic functionality and look is there. I think I'll get rid of the banners on the comics to make it easier on the eyes and put a more subtle one at the top of the page. Anyway, take a look and tell me what you think.

Edited June 12, 2006 by Vinnie

[Nied]

I don't know why but whenever you do something simple it comes out looking amazing. This one and comic #6 are my two favorites right now (with the super-cool comic #5 coming in a close second). Toni's uniform threw me until I remebered you telling me he's UNSMC, nice touch!

[Lightning]

I don't know why but whenever you do something simple it comes out looking amazing.  This one and comic #6 are my two favorites right now (with the super-cool comic #5 coming in a close second).  Toni's uniform threw me until I remebered you telling me he's UNSMC, nice touch!

407272[/snapback]

I wholeheartedly agree here. Having Toni's uniform being different should've been the dead giveaway for me since I also forgot he was UNSMC....oh well, live and learn!

[Vinnie]

I don't know why but whenever you do something simple it comes out looking amazing.  This one and comic #6 are my two favorites right now (with the super-cool comic #5 coming in a close second).  Toni's uniform threw me until I remebered you telling me he's UNSMC, nice touch!

407272[/snapback]

I wholeheartedly agree here. Having Toni's uniform being different should've been the dead giveaway for me since I also forgot he was UNSMC....oh well, live and learn!

407439[/snapback]

Hey thanks for the love guys!

I used the Digital Mission VF-X uniform as the basis for the UNSM jumpsuit. Nanashi's recommended it and I think the special operators would have more in common with the Marines than the rest of their Spacy brethren. So not entirely canon, but within plausibility.

The next couple strips are hopefully gonna start fleshing out the characters a bit. Probably a bit more on the one-shot side, than this "mini-arc." The VF-4 Battroid is also on the way.

[Lightning]

I don't know why but whenever you do something simple it comes out looking amazing.  This one and comic #6 are my two favorites right now (with the super-cool comic #5 coming in a close second).  Toni's uniform threw me until I remebered you telling me he's UNSMC, nice touch!

407272[/snapback]

I wholeheartedly agree here. Having Toni's uniform being different should've been the dead giveaway for me since I also forgot he was UNSMC....oh well, live and learn!

407439[/snapback]

Hey thanks for the love guys!

I used the Digital Mission VF-X uniform as the basis for the UNSM jumpsuit. Nanashi's recommended it and I think the special operators would have more in common with the Marines than the rest of their Spacy brethren. So not entirely canon, but within plausibility.

The next couple strips are hopefully gonna start fleshing out the characters a bit. Probably a bit more on the one-shot side, than this "mini-arc." The VF-4 Battroid is also on the way.

407510[/snapback]

cant wait to see the Battroid, especially being porportioned to the characters.

[Vinnie]

Comic #9 is up! Clicky the link.

Hopefully have some site updates and Ben's newspost later tonight.

[Lightning]

Wish I had Kristopf's life....looks so nice...

[Nied]

I can't help but think of what my father says about how great it was to be a Naval aviator, because in his words "The whole Navy existed so that I could have a place to land!"

[Vinnie]

I can't help but think of what my father says about how great it was to be a Naval aviator, because in his words "The whole Navy existed so that I could have a place to land!"

411932[/snapback]

Whoa, what did your dad do? If he was with fixed-wing fast-movers, is there any chance I could use him as a technical consultant?

[Nied]

I can't help but think of what my father says about how great it was to be a Naval aviator, because in his words "The whole Navy existed so that I could have a place to land!"

411932[/snapback]

Whoa, what did your dad do? If he was with fixed-wing fast-movers, is there any chance I could use him as a technical consultant?

412312[/snapback]

Fixed wing, yes. Fast mover, well...

My dad ended up as an instructor for the bulk of his career in the Navy. Back in the late '60s someone got the idea to take pilots fresh out of flight school and make them instructors, the idea being that they'd empathize with the new recruits more. My dad jumped at the chance and spent most of his naval career as an advanced flight instructor in Louisiana. Most of his carrier time was spent qualifying or getting people qualified on the USS Lexington.

As for consulting I'll ask him next time I talk to him. Hell if anything some of his stories could be thrown straight into the comic (my favorite is the one about flying to Vegas without enough oxygen).

Edited June 29, 2006 by Nied

[big F]

Hell you should just tell us the stories if they dont fit into the comics storyline

[Nied]

Hell you should just tell us the stories if they dont fit into the comics storyline

412500[/snapback]

I think I'll do that after I get home from work tonight.

Incidentally Vinnie I've picked my Dad's brain clean enough that I might be able to answer a lot of questions for you (and any that I can't I'll pass on to my dad).

::edit:: Just to tide you guys over till then, here's a photo of one of the planes which, according to his logbook, my Dad flew personally:

TAF-9J BuNo. 141121

Edited June 30, 2006 by Nied

[HWR MKII]

Nied if you want any more modern advise feel free to ask. Im a maintainer in the USAF. I work primarily fighters.

[Nied]

Well then you want to talk to Vinnie he's the one who's drawing the comic.

But anyway I promised stories so here's one that probably wouldn't work for the comic since it requires a two seat plane.

On the weekends the Navy allowed instructors to take aircraft out for short trips and such, the only requirements were that you couldn't leave the country, and you had to have the plane back by Monday. At the time he was stationed in Texas which put Las Vegas a few hours away. So he and a friend check out a T-2 Buckeye on Friday night to go to fly to Vegas. They hop in, take off and start climbing up to 40,000 ft (the Buckeye is many things but it is not fast, but up high the air is thin which means less drag). They get up to about 30,000 ft when they notice their oxygen levels seem low. It seems their crew chief didn't know that two people were taking the plane out, and being brash young naval aviators they didn't do any kind of pre-flight before leaving ("kick the tires and light the fires, brief on guard" was the saying my Dad used). Getting enough O2 would require landing, getting out of the plane, and then waiting about an hour for the aircraft to cool down so as not to start a fire, all of which would take up enough time to completely scrub their mission to Vegas. So they did what any sensible person would do: they shut off the O2. To prevent total asphyxiation they came up with a plan, one of them would breathe and fly the plane while the other got dopey in the front or back seat, every 15 minutes or so they'd switch off breathing and flying, and so on until they got to Vegas. This actually ended up working rather well, although landing was interesting (but that's another story).

[big F]

LOL Ive been on a couple of comercial flights where I swear they did that in the passenger cabin.

[Vinnie]

Well then you want to talk to Vinnie he's the one who's drawing the comic.

But anyway I promised stories so here's one that probably wouldn't work for the comic since it requires a two seat plane.

On the weekends the Navy allowed instructors to take aircraft out for short trips and such, the only requirements were that you couldn't leave the country, and you had to have the plane back by Monday.  At the time he was stationed in Texas which put Las Vegas a few hours away.    So he and a friend check out a T-2 Buckeye on Friday night to go to fly to Vegas.  They hop in, take off and start climbing up to 40,000 ft (the Buckeye is many things but it is not fast, but up high the air is thin which means less drag).  They get up to about 30,000 ft when they notice their oxygen levels seem low.  It seems their crew chief didn't know that two people were taking the plane out, and being brash young naval aviators they didn't do any kind of pre-flight before leaving ("kick the tires and light the fires, brief on guard" was the saying my Dad used).  Getting enough O2 would require landing, getting out of the plane, and then waiting about an hour for the aircraft to cool down so as not to start a fire, all of which would take up enough time to completely scrub their mission to Vegas.  So they did what any sensible person would do: they shut off the O2.  To prevent total asphyxiation they came up with a plan, one of them would breathe and fly the plane while the other got dopey in the front or back seat, every 15 minutes or so they'd switch off breathing and flying, and so on until they got to Vegas.  This actually ended up working rather well, although landing was interesting (but that's another story).

412621[/snapback]

Whoa! That's a completely awesome story. I wish I had some like that...maybe not though.

It's also proof of the difference between Army rotary-wing aviators and Navy fixed-wing ones. Man, I'd never crank my Hawk without a good preflight. It's sorta been conditioned into us that unless we check EVERYTHING something will go horribly wrong. But that's cuz helicopters by their nature want to fall from the sky.

It's that difference though that I wanted to bug your dad on stuff. Basically at the moment I'm looking for a primer on Air Combat Manuevers and any of the quirky (and colorful) naval aviation traditions. The stuff I don't get in my line of work.

And finally on the subject of work, weekly comic release is gonna be delayed for another day or two. I just need to do the backgrounds. Full page comic as opposed to a strip and introducing the Dogs' dysfunctional bridge bunny: Peaches.

[Vinnie]

Nied if you want any more modern advise feel free to ask. Im a maintainer in the USAF. I work primarily fighters.

412544[/snapback]

As maintainer, did you feel that comic #9 was dead on?

[Nied]

Whoa!  That's a completely awesome story.  I wish I had some like that...maybe not though.

It's also proof of the difference between Army rotary-wing aviators and Navy fixed-wing ones.  Man, I'd never crank my Hawk without a good preflight.  It's sorta been conditioned into us that unless we check EVERYTHING something will go horribly wrong.  But that's cuz helicopters by their nature want to fall from the sky.

It's that difference though that I wanted to bug your dad on stuff.  Basically at the moment I'm looking for a primer on Air Combat Manuevers and any of the quirky (and colorful) naval aviation traditions.  The stuff I don't get in my line of work.

413300[/snapback]

To be fair to any current Naval aviators it's also a product of the times. This is back in the days of a conscription based military (IIRC my dad joined in '66 and served stateside through the height of Vietnam) which tended to make the culture a little different from the professional force you're in. If you'd like I can PM some more stories for you and any of the little bits of tradition I might have picked up talking to my dad (and uncle, they served together).

[Vinnie]

#10 is up.

Sorry it's about a week late. The damn backgrounds and our OPTEMPO kinda kicked me in the butt. As always, comments here or at the site are appreciated.

And Nied, great point about the Vietnam era mentality. I didn't even think of that. Although, the former Seahawk and Seasprite drivers in my unit say that things were still quite colorful up until Tailhook. Some of that has been revived in recent years, but never quite the same as the good old days. Still, if you want to pass any of the old school along my way. I'm all ears.

Edited July 8, 2006 by Vinnie

[Skullsixx]

Very nice job dude. Keep it up!

[IAD]

So... Any new material on the horizon?

~Luke

[Vinnie]

So...  Any new material on the horizon? 

~Luke

419431[/snapback]

Slowly but surely. I've got some of the lineart for the next few comics done, and I'm back to work on the 3D VF-4 doing the Battroid.

Not as much progress as before because I moved 90 miles up the road to our team site at the Polish Forward Operating Base (FOB) a few weeks ago. I'm doing section leader duties, regular flights into 10th CSH Baghadad (as seen on Baghdad ER,) and some of the end of tour admin stuff like NCOERs. We also get a rocket or mortar attack here once a night. All in all a good time, but not as much time for art.

Although here's a little something to show that I'm still at work:

Maria's ready to go!

And proof that I'm here

Yours truly in the pilot's seat of an Mi-24D Hind

[IAD]

Wow, you got to sit in a Mi-24! I always liked the Hind... Sort of like the A-10... So ugly it looks great. (Nice 'eyes' on the intake covers!)

Sounds like you're busy. The lineart looks good, though!

'...A rocket/mortar attack... once a night... All in all a good time.'

I guess a bad time would be a mortar attack more than once a night? Stay safe over there!

~Luke

[big F]

Glad to see your still safe and well, You make it sound so safe and traquil over in Bagdad, Im sure its not so keep safe and hope you get enough down time to do some more artwork.

[Vinnie]

Just lettin' ya know I'm still alive and kickin'. More importantly that I'm still working on the comic. I actually don't plan to do any site updates for a while. I'm going to redo/recycle the first strips in the new full page format and build-up a buffer. I've got a pretty good rhythm going now with my schedule, so I should probably be ready for re-launch when I get home from Iraq this fall.

I will however keep posting updates to this forum. Attached is some VF-4 goodness. Looks like the Dogs managed to get two up and flying!

Question though, is the lens flare too cheesy?

[IAD]

Sounds good.

Re: lens flare: No, it looks great, in my opinion. Reminds me of Macross Zero, the well-blended CG+cel work.

~Luke

[Nied]

Just lettin' ya know I'm still alive and kickin'.  More importantly that I'm still working on the comic.  I actually don't plan to do any site updates for a while.  I'm going to redo/recycle the first strips in the new full page format and build-up a buffer.  I've got a pretty good rhythm going now with my schedule, so I should probably be ready for re-launch when I get home from Iraq this fall.

I will however keep posting updates to this forum.  Attached is some VF-4 goodness.  Looks like the Dogs managed to get two up and flying! 

Question though, is the lens flare too cheesy?

423204[/snapback]

I didn't even notice the lense flare until you mentioned it (I got over eager and clicked the picture first). I've got no problem with lense flare if it's nice and subtle, they only look cheesy if you overdo it (which to many people do).