American007 is a sprite comic made by Valid-Soul (also known as Nemesis316), that began July 31st, 2005. It originally began as a mere forum comic, which grew to be a full-fledged comic, featured in three different sites and posted on two separate forums.
The Beginning
The place American007 started was at a Resident Evil forum known as the Umbrella Network. I was beginning to dabble with the sprite comics, so I decided to try my hand at a sprite comic series. Before this, I did a mini-series. It was a Star Wars Parody, using Mortal Kombat characters (the images were unable to be located, and they have been deleted since creation). During the creation process, a team was assembled to assist in American007's creation process. Three forum members, known as Ikari (assistant), Toast (co-writer) and Nosferatu (webmaster of proposed website) agreed to help out with Project American007. On July 31st, 2005, American007's first page was published.
American007's First Incarnation
The first incarnation of American007 was somewhat similar to American007's current counterpart. It featured seven video game characters, taking place inside a city called "Pixie City." The characters Amy Rose, Sub-Zero, Bowser, Sakura, Blackheart, Yoshimitsu and Mewtwo all served under the commander 343 Guilty Spark and the lieutenant Cortana. The backstory was very much similar to American007 today. There was an apocalypse, a lot of heroes died. However, the death toll were far less great, and the comic was geared more towards being humorous than being serious, despite having several serious moments. The characters were given different personalities. For example, Yoshimitsu spoke with an Australian accent, and Sub-Zero was an idiot. The comic lasted for about 54 episodes (it should be noted that after several episodes, the team disbanded and I assumed all duties of the comic).
Soon after the comic's first episodes were published, I broke away from the forum to garner more attention to the comic. The next place American007 would be nestled at would be at DeviantART. During this, with the desire to gain more attention for the comic, a mirror (which would ironically become the homepage) was set up at Smack Jeeves. The comic gained a small but loyal fanbase, and for some time it was quite comfortable being where it was. I also began promoting it on various forums, such as Nuklear Power, Comic Demons and the most important one known as Pixel Pagoda. However, on April 17th, 2006, DeviantART removed the comics due to copyright violations. There were numerous tries to re-post the comics, but to no avail. This left Smack Jeeves as the only other place for American007.
The First American007's demise began at Pixel Pagoda. The comic was posted and several days later, it got several posts by two members known as JD and Biospark. They expressed their apparent dislike of the comic. I was shocked at the negative reaction the comic received. Also, it received a lot of flak from other forums. After much thought, the first American007 was decided to be scrapped, wiping out the story as one giant retcon. The first American007 incarnation is now referred as the 'Fantasy Arc.'
American007's Rebirth
After the first American007 incarnation was scrapped, a new plotline was formed. The backstory was kept, but turned in a much darker direction. Also, the cast was replaced with completely original characters. However, some characters were salvaged, the most significant character being Amy Rose, who assumed the role of the lieutenant. Some characters are expected to return in future episodes, but overall the cast are original characters. The second American007 incarnation began as a series of biographies, starting with Elementiss and Chill and ending with Commander Jordan. After all the biographies were completed, American007 began it's new plot.
American007's Second Incarnation
The first pages began, officially starting American007. American007 got a much better response from the community, and it began to pick up fans at Smack Jeeves. The Second American007 was very much different from the First. The cast was, for the most part, original characters (the only exceptions being Cthulhu and Amy Rose). Also, Cthulhu's inclusion makes American007 the only sprite comic to feature Cthulhu (subjected to change, though). Also, the comic is much darker and much more serious, though it starts out somewhat lighthearted in the beginning. Another thing to note, instead of being episodes, every update was now referred to as pages or parts, and series would be referred to as episodes. American007 put out 11 pages, and then went on a hiatus.
American007 went on hiatus around August 2006, due to lack of interest in the comic and time constraints. However, a year later, American007 reappeared with a new page, "Behind A Wall Of Silence", and fans quickly picked back up on the story. Shortly after, I received an e-mail from Final offering American007 a place at Spritechat.com. I agreed to the offer, and American007 had a new mirror at Spritechat. American007 was quickly beginning to pick back up where it left off.
Upon American007's return, many changes were made. A new version of Anime Ace was used for American007. Also, Raphael, who was originally going to have an Australian accent, was scrapped because it would take away from the seriousness of the story. Also, Elementiss (Tiffany Carson) underwent a cosmetic remake, her new version first appeared in "Mine Is The Grandeur...". Next, I decided to get more involved with American007 than ever, so I took some measures. The first was setting up American007 with a donator status at Smack Jeeves. The next step was doing a complete re-work on the site's design, making it look more attractive and organized.
Then, American007 made a breakthrough on Smack Jeeves. The comic was nominated to be featured on the "Comic Spotlight" section of the site, and won the nomination (5 yays and 1 nay). The comic was featured on May 8th, 2007. This was the second Sprite Comic to be featured on the Comic Spotlight (the first being Kilobyte), as well as the sixth comic to be Spotlighted at all. American007 picked up several new fans and a great number of visits.
Afterwards, American007 began to expand itself to another website known as Drunk Duck, in order to increase readership. American007 officially began setup on May 21st, 2007, and gained new readership. This is the third mirror for American007 to date. Also, the comic branched out to notable sites Kill Boredom and the Belfry, and will continue to branch out in the near future.
The Present
American007 is currently at large and updating once-twice a week. Recently, Teron and I have undergone some experimenting process to have the American007 characters drawn. Some of the drawings have been posted and are inside the Multimedia section of the site. American007 also has it's forum, and can also be seen at DrShnaps.
American007 is currently 2 years old and has reached 100 pages. American007 has a long history of restarts, re-dos and lots of thought. We hope you enjoy the comic, and everything the site has to offer.
Recently, American007 has entered the fray at Buzzcomix and broke into the Top 10 July 25th, 2007. The comic has also claimed higher spots at Buzzcomix as well.
Celebratory Filler.
Welcome to the new age of heroes.
Name: Anthony Rouse
Age: 16
Living In: Virginia
Likes: Stuff
Dislikes: Stuff
When i'm not working on sprite comics, i'm a musician. I play the drums primarily, but I also play guitar on the side, and synths as well. My genre of choice is pure metal, there's no better genre in my opinion.
I'm the author of American007, The Chronicles of Noob-Smoke and Hellsing: Redubbed. I'm also co-author of Cenabris and Making The Sprite Comic.
The author likes taking long walks on the beach, laughing at people, eating, sleeping, and generally being an ass. Oh, and he likes metal too.
Credits
Thanks To:
-Blambot
-1001 Free Fonts
-The Charas Generator
-DaFont.com
For Backgrounds, Sprites, Fonts and Text Balloons!
American007 - Welcome To The New Age Of Heroes
