The Yo Joe June 2022 update is finally here with the completion of the Original 13 and the entire 1982 figure line-up, some long overdue additions and some new replacement sprites!


Custom Sprites: G.I.JOE
– new scratch-made sprites of Flint, Lady Jaye, Spirit, Sgt. Slaughter, Duke (new v.1 card art pose), Storm Shadow (new issue #21 hand seal pose), Major Bludd, Baroness (new glasses adjust), Breaker, Rock ‘n Roll (v.1), Short-Fuze, Steeler, Cobra Officer, Cobra Trooper (redone guard pose).
– adjustments/alt versions: to Clutch (slightly shorter), Cobra Commander (details, new poses with new head angles, and new v.4 Talking Battle Commanders versions of both poses), Storm Shadow (2017 fight stance sprites recolored to match new sprites)
– edit 2022-07-05: some characters now have their own mini-galleries, their old sprite edits are now in there, making the gallery a bit shorter and less cluttered.

As usual, all these new things have been added to the main Image Generator, where you can make (and right-click save) your own images like the one at the top of this news post! Also:
– Cobra communications room (based on the Epyx computer game) background added to Group Variable 384×224, Group 384×224, Comics 88×136 pixels, Marvel vs. Capcom endings, and Boxes Flyer & Posters 160×192
– GI*JOE 128×192: added style options for series 1 Cobra, series 2 G.I.JOE and Cobra.

I also made a short little video with most of my G.I. JOE pixelart:

A new sprite of April O’Neil in her Shredder’s Revenge fight stance has been added to the TMNT Custom Sprites gallery and the the main Image Generator

Of course this is in honor of the long-awaited release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, bringing the Green Machine (and friends) back to the pixelart-based beat ’em up format for some arcady good times. Just got it as a gift from a friend before I could even buy it myself (thanks, Z!) and I’ll be digging into it this weekend!


There’s a new killer-looking 2.5D platformer on the horizon, and the name of the game is Slave Zero X. Yes, it’s connected to the Dreamcast game, and here’s the first taste of the action:
Slave Zero X – Announcement Trailer
Look at that crisp, beautiful pixel art and animation. No surprise that I wishlisted this as fast as I could. Here’s the Steam page for it if you’re in the mood to do the same:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1903910/Slave_Zero_X/


Reminder: the Ninja Baseball Spirits comic book Kickstarter campaign, officially based on the Ninja Baseball Bat Man beat ’em up, is still going on with 16 days to go! Both physical and digital versions of the comic (as well as the BPM comic) are available in the campaign, so please check it out and pledge if you dig it and can afford to do so!


I’m still working on the Yo Joe June update, stay tuned!

This update has new and updated Capcom sprites, some fixes and additions to earlier updates, and a new video!


Mega Man – Roll (Classic)
Street Fighter – Chun-Li (in her brand-new Street Fighter 6 outfit), Street Fighter 2010’s Kevin Straker
Final Fight – Mike Haggar Final Fight 2
G.I.JOE – updated Cover-Girl, Doc, Quick Kick (made taller). Also added some section links at the top of the gallery so you can get to the sections more quickly.

Mini-Logos:
Capcom: Street Fighter 2010
DC Comics: Wonder Twins

As usual, all these new things have been added to the main Image Generator, where you can make (and right-click save) your own images like the one at the top of this news post!

I also made a video that recaps what I’ve posted and made during the first half of 2022. This includes some things I haven’t shown until now, including animations and video project previews (though I’m still holding back a bit here). This just might turn out to be a yearly thing, so I gave it the name of HalfTime.

BTW: the video uses the SMB regular reconstructed font by TheWolfBunny. It’s mad solid and has a lot of characters other pixel art-based fonts lack. Here’s where you can get it for yourself:
https://fontstruct.com/fontstructors/1258630/thewolfbunny
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10bCAxc4-PxVnD5lqDZFi7POS8YNhQpI1/view


Those G.I. Joe sprite updates and that G.I.JOE HQ clip you saw in the HalfTime video’s “lab” are prep work for the “Yo Joe June” update later this month, which will include a few more G.I. JOE sprites! Currently working on more replacements of the old Capcom sprite edits and more “Original 13” (the original 13 members of the G.I.JOE line-up). Stay tuned!


There’s currently a Kickstarter campaign for a Ninja Baseball Spirits comic book! Yes, the Ninja Baseball Bat Man beat ’em up legend is fighting get it’s due right now, but the campaign still needs help to reach its goal. The comic has an all-star line-up of people who appreciate beat ’em ups, including Drew Maniscalco (the original creator of Ninja Baseball Bat Man), writer Dave Cook (“Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat ‘Em Ups”), and artist Steve Gregson (BPM: Beatdowns Per Minute). The comic will be available in digital and physical forms and there’s a wide array of extras for higher tiers, some including the beat ’em up-based BPM comic as a bonus. There are sample pages and artwork on the Kickstarter page, so check it out and give ’em a pledge if you’re interested (yes, I’ve got my pledge in already)!