Back in 2021, I posted the third and fourth Superhero Sprite Showcases in a single video, mostly because I couldn’t make new video clips the usual way as Anime Studio stopped working (long story) and I had to cobble together a bunch of new ways to make clips in Blender and Magix Vegas. Batman got his solo Showcase a while back and now it’s time for Iron Man to get his. And to make up for it, I’ve added a lot of new and updated clips. That video hit the YouTube Channel last Friday, and here’s the site update with some of the new stuff made for the video:
Custom Sprites: Marvel
– Iron Man: all-new War of the Gems idle stance, improved Data East Avengers 1 idle
– War Machine: improved taunt sprite and added the early version without the uni-beam port. Remember: this armor is from before the movie, it’s not an arc reactor.
– Black Widow: new variants of her debut panel pose
– villains: all new sprites of the Crimson Dynamo v.1, Madame Masque, and the Melter (in his Iron Man & X-O Manowar idle stance)
Sprites:
– Captain America and the Avengers: animated flying sprites for the heroes, some enemy drones, partial Giant Robot (Sentinel), and a few more pickup items added.
ToyBoss: I just got the Billy Lee from Syndicate Collectible’s Double Dragon line of 7-inch action figures and took some photos, including some size comparison pics. Updated my Jada Toys Street Fighter roster pic, now that I have Dhalsim and Guile. Now I only need Dee Jay to be 100% caught up on regular figures.
Dreamhost (where my sites’ accounts are hosted) has been doing maintenance all day (and possibly before), so things may be running slowly or not at all. But I uploaded the update a few hours ago just so I could say that I updated on Wednesday like the old days. Maintenance is still going on after midnight and previews for WordPress posts won’t work, so I’m posting what I have now and fix it when everything’s running at full speed again.
Last year I teased a logo for a solo version of a Superhero Sprite Showcase that I planned to just update a little bit, but a rough last half of 2024 kept that (and a lot of other plans) from happening. To make up for being so late with it, I’ve added much more than I’d have done last year and you’ll see that video on the ScrollBoss YouTube Channel next week. A few of those sprites, including some new villains, will be added to the Custom Sprite gallery and image generator. Here’s a preview:
If you need an extra clue, this hero had a sprite added in this week’s update.
Shake a hand, shake a hand, it’s Christmas time again and that means it’s time for the Toyhaul! The 2024 Toyhaul site update has new pixel art to celebrate two franchises celebrating their 40th anniversaries and one celebrating its 50th! The first, obvious one was planned, but the other two just happened to work out that way!
Transformers: a new Optimus Prime sprite to celebrate the 40th anniversary. I think I’ve finally got a style together that I like for making Transformers sprites, so keep an eye out for more next year.
Princess of Power: The line gets its own gallery for the 40th anniversary! a new and more powerful She-Ra sprite takes the sword from the sprite I made of her years ago, and she’s joined by friend Frosta!
Microman/Micronauts: Takara’s Microman toyline, known in the United States as Micronauts, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year! Microman M121 Mason (and the 3 other variants of his subset of figures) gets a sprite in the same pose he strikes in his portrait in Takara’s DreamMix TV World Fighters for the PS2, the Hudson/Konami/Takara crossover fighting game that also stars Convoy/Optimus Prime. Believe it or not, I was supposed to have this done for last year’s toy haul but ran out of time, but I did finish (and didn’t post) the Microman mini-logo then. Speaking of which…
Mini-logos: … I added that Takara Microman logo and the Mego Micronauts toy logo
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The new sprites and logos were added to the GFX Generators where you can make fake screenshots like the one at the top of this page. Just warning you ahead of time that Optimus is too tall for the MvC ending screen.
ToyBoss: A batch of new photos were added, including group shots of some 1:12 scale game heroes and villains, TMNT heroes and villains roster pics, Marvel Legends Avengers figures I have now, and a G.I. JOE classified Cobra “blue uniforms” group shot. But my favorite is a comic/toy team-up pre-fight pic that I experimented with earlier this year with plans of a 3rd obvious character joining that fight.
The “Trick or Beat ‘Em Up” project has been heating up with a lot of new info lately, including news that Megan McDuffee will sing for the horror brawler if the Ko-Fi campaign is successful! More info about that here and the game’s Ko-Fi page is here.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to those of you who won’t be back until next year. If you’re still sticking around the internet, get ready, because next week is… THE WRAP-UP!
A bigger update is coming, but I just wanted to give an earlier heads-up about what’s happening. Here’s what’s in today’s update:
Sprites: Fixes and improvements to all the Final Fight galleries. ToyBoss: A new Marvel Legends group pic of the playable Captain America and the Avengers line-up with the recent do-over of Iron Man’s “Neo-classic” armor (but with the later John Romita Jr. space boots). The retro carded figure from a few years ago is that exact version, but that mold was from when MLs were a bit smaller, making him look odd if he stands next later figures.
Due to a lot of offline things that have been going on for months, the main December update (not this one) will not be that big this year, or at least as big as I planned. In fact, I can say that about a lot of the past year. Even though I need a break to give my drawing hand some rest, I was able to finish some of the static sprites I planned for the site and some animations you’ll see on video before 2025 starts. Here’s a preview of what’s on the way:
There will be a small toy-themed update next week, and then the Wrap-Up will happen a few days before the new year starts.
Reminder: Rob “Dire51” Strangman’s books about video games (and more) are available again on Lulu.com!
Marvel’s Avengers comic book celebrated its 60th anniversary at some time this month and I’ve got some new pixel art to honor the series and a group that is one of the secret main reasons why I got hooked on comic books (thanks to the Grantray-Lawrence Marvel cartoons that were still in syndication)) before I was even in school.
Custom Sprites – Marvel:
– Captain America: scratch-made sprites of a calmly standing Cap and the Avengers #16 cover pose.
– Thor: Mjolnir raise pose in a slightly different drawing style from the earlier sprites.
– Scarlet Witch: new poses in a style similar to my 2022 SW sprite
– Vision: Captain America and the Avengers fight stance and classic Vision in the John Buscema folded arms pose
– Black Knight: 1 pose, classic outfit and jacket outfit (like Data East’s “Avengers in Galactic Storm”)
– Kang the Conqueror: 1 pose
– Baron Zemo: 1 pose, 2 variations
– Mandarin: 1 sprite
As usual, all new custom sprites and mini-logos are in the image generators, where you can make your own graphics like the one at the top of this post. I also uploaded what should be a fix to an issue with the sprite palette feature, something that slipped through the huge site code fix session to get the entire site (and some of my other sites) ready for the PHP 8 upgrade.
Here’s a video showing the heroes’ new sprites, including some early animation work, and a preview of the 2024 Avengers Sprite Showcase video:
The coding work to get this site (along with Illmosis and Beans vs. Cornbread) for the Dreamhost server update is FINALLY done, but I promised to have an update to the a ToyBoss section before that happens and here’s that update!
new:
– Jada Toys’ excellent Street Fighter Ryu and Fei Long figures.
– Golden Axe: added shot of Storm Collectibles Tyris and Gilius.
– X-Men (LJN) – playable heroes.
– Spider-Man and the X-Men get their own revenge of Arcade.
– an Articulated Icons/Fwoosh parts-swapped custom made to look like Ryu Hayabusa. They have pre-orders up for a reissued (and from what I’ve read, slightly retooled) Crimson Fury, the dark red ninja.
– The Marvel Super Heroes (Capcom) heroes team, with a work-in-progress custom figure of Psylocke!
updated group shots:
– Captain America and the Avengers (Data East) – heroes – added new Sky-cycle Hawkeye and a recently re-acquired Neo-classic Iron Man (retro card version).
– X-Men (Konami) – villains – includes a customized VHS Mystique and more added characters.
BTW: Articulated Icons/Fwoosh is still having a sale on “Sakit (Martial Artist)” and the “Arms/Hands/Wraps Pack (Red)” pack ($3.99!) and also put up have pre-orders up for a reissued Crimson Fury, the dark red ninja.
The big coding update will hit this site within the first few days of September, so if you really need something from the site I suggest you get it before then, because I really won’t know if everything works until it’s uploaded and tested. The site may be temporarily closed until it’s all complete, but it shouldn’t take longer than a day.
Oddly enough, I made a new header for the Toy section, but the coding is connected with the updated version of the site, so you won’t see it until then.
It’s time to wrap-up this year of updates in the usual way: content based on toys from the eighties and some unfinished business!
Custom Sprites:
– G.I.JOE: Wild Bill, B.A.T.s
– Thundercats: Mumm-Ra
– Toys and Cartoons:B.P. Vess (C.O.P.S., all-new sprites), Miles Mayhem (M.A.S.K.)
– Double Dragon: the alley cat from arcade version of Mission 1, NES design Billy and Jimmy Lee
– DC Comics: Stargirl (yes, I’m going to miss that show)
Mini-Logos: Venom (from Kenner’s M.A.S.K.) added to Toys and Stargirl added to DC Comics
All new custom sprites and mini-logos have been added to the image generators. The main “Fighter-size” generator now an 80s action figure toy aisle in the Group, Vs. and MvC ending screenstyles. It’s still a work in progress, because I spent more time searching for image and scale reference than I did working on it so far. This version’s toys are mainly centered around 1985, the last year the first wave of Transformers were still being made. I’ll continue to update this in the future, and possibly add more versions and years (like a late-eighties version with a big TMNT section) if enough people want to see that. BTW: some of the most helpful reference pics were from this post on 20th Century Toy Collector, because I was able to see how some boxes from different lines of the era scaled next to each other.
ToyBoss: My custom New X-Men/classic Cyclops Marvel Legends figure is done enough to show, so I finally… FINALLY… have a full Konami X-Men playable character roster in 1:12 scale. I’d have had this roster (and others) finished earlier if I didn’t have to practically restart my Marvel Legends collection in 2020. I also added an updated shot of the Red Skull’s crew in Data East’s Captain America and the Avengers to show I’ve got the Controller in there.
Speaking of toys, a lot of my 2023 figure hype is aimed at Jada Toys’ Street Fighter and Mega Man action figure lines. Three figure in each wave and all at a price point that won’t K.O. your wallet, and they’ll fit in with 6-inch/1:12 scale figures, so they’ll be part of my Marvel vs. Capcom set-ups. All the little details, like the Hadoken having hands molded in like the old sprites and one of the two optional heads being based on the Super Street Fighter II Vs. portraits (still some of the best art of those characters), I’m definitely hype for these. Check out this Fwooshcast episode that drops info on these and the other figure lines Jada is working on right now:
Storm Collectables is still putting out Street Fighters, though their figures seem to be in a slightly larger scale than Marvel Legends and closer to Mattel’s Masterverse and McFarlane Toys. It’s great to have options with these and I hope both companies get into more classic video game lines.
It’s time for me to thank everyone who has visited the site this year, and I’m giving a really big thank you to those who commented here, by e-mail (yes, some people do!), and on social media. There are times when my day job has worn me out and I don’t have a lot of energy to do anything when I get home, but things like your feedback, seeing pics you made in the image generators, being surprised when the pixel minilogos pop up in fan projects, and things like that refill my energy again. Take care and see you in 2023!
More like crap-tastic, amirite? This update pays respect to the release of the new Captain America: First Avenger movie by hitting you with content based on characters from Cap’s comic along with Data East’s “Captain America and the Avengers” arcade game. Non-comic book fans won’t be left out thanks to a classic beat-em-up bad guy crashing the party since this is also the 11th Anniversary week of ScrollBoss. Gotta have some gaming stuff in there somewhere!
GFX Generators
New Characters
Marvel – Batroc the Leaper, the Falcon, Namor, the Red Skull, Ultron, the Wasp, Other Heroes (Ant-Man and Diamondback) and “Other Villains” (Absorbing Man, the Controller, Crossbones, the Grim Reaper, Klaw, the Living Laser and Whirlwind).
Toys & ‘Toons – Jem
Updated Characters: Abobo (new Capcom SFA/Vs. style edits) from Technos, Iron Man (new taunt sprite edit), the Vision (new sprites and palettes)
Custom Sprites: Marvel – Diamondback (scratch-made), the Falcon, the Grim Reaper, Namor, the Red Skull, the Vision, the Wasp (scratch-made) and Whirlwind. An Iron Man taunt has been edited into the armor he wore in CAatA. Technos – Abobo (two versions), Juggernaut (a new edit based his odd look in the Avengers game) Toys & Cartoons – Jem
Sprites:
Captain America and the Avengers gallery rebuilt in the current style and has new sprites.
Mini Logos: Sakura added to Capcom. Batroc, the Red Skull added to Marvel. Jem added to Toys and Cartoons.
The Announcement: ScrollBoss is on hiatus until further notice. There won’t be another update for a while and updates won’t be regular when they start up again. I have some important projects that require a lot of time so I’ll have to put this site on pause for a while. The main thing is that it’s time for me to hit the drawing page again. One of the main reasons that I kept working to make sure that the GFX Generators were loaded with options was because I wanted you to keep having fun as the site was inactive.
ScrollBoss will NOT be neglected. I have some coding improvements in mind and it’s nearly impossible to do them while also trying to get enough content for a site update. I can work on those things on the side until the time comes to un-pause ScrollBoss again. I also have some bigger things pixel-related things that I could never do because I had to keep doing smaller things to make sure I had an update. There will be previews of these things on the weblog and main menu. I’m still taking sprite and pixel art commissions (because it costs money to have this site hosted), posting ridiculous screenshots on the Tumblr and you may see some new scratch-made sprites appear on Illmosis.
ScrollBoss will be active again before the end of the year and it’s going to hit hard. Until then, please leave any feedback in the comment section of this topic. Thank you for reading and thanks for stopping in.
GFX Generators – Slight improvements were made to the engine but the only one you’ll notice is that the transparent shadows no longer overlap and make darker areas.
New characters: Adon, Birdie, Dee Jay, Fei Long, Gen, Karin, R. Mika, Rose, Sakura, Shadaloo Dolls and T.Hawk from Capcom’s Street Fighter. Marian, Abobo & Burnov from Technos’ Double Dragon games (Neo Geo fighter sprites).
Updated chars: Double Dragons (Neo Geo sprites added), Jubilee (mini-logo & X-Men:COTA name graphic), Zangief (new sprites)
GroupShot scene updates: Golden Axe vs. 01 – improved shadow transparency
VS. Mode “Custom Scene” backgrounds: Italy from Street Fighter Alpha 2, Code Red and On The Hilltop from X-Men vs. Street Fighter.
The next update update will be in about two weeks from now. That puts it close to the 11th Anniversary. It won’t be anywhere near as big as the 10th Anniversary but there will be medium-large announcement about why it will be the last ScrollBoss update for a while.
Another reminder: the ScrollBoss Tumblr, Scroll like a Boss, exists, is active and has more than update post links. I’ve been posting screenshots that make me smile for all sorts of right and wrong reasons along with videos and reposts of cool game-related stuff I like there.
