Rise of the Dudemen - The Epic Club Show Returns?

Greetings, dear readers.

Optiluiz here with an unexpected post. I won't waste time excusing my tardiness and the lack of new comics, but I can assure you that scripts have been written and new projects are slowly being developed. Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, how have you guys been? It's been quite a year, hasn't it? Personally, I'm excited for 2017, and can only hope that it'll be a much-needed fresh start for all of us.

Anyway, enough about real life. We're here for some Epic Club Adventures, aren't we? Max and I were recently dealing with yet another college strike, so we decided to embark on a top-secret project that we've long dreamed about. We've finally made some progress in producing our very own ECB-inspired web-series, and I hope you enjoyed the teaser trailer above. If all goes according to plan, the finished series will be compiled into a movie of sorts, and I hope you guys enjoy it. We're still a long way off from that, however.

In all honesty, I've been feeling guilty about not posting for so long, but as I've mentioned before, my personal life sometimes just doesn't agree with the *blog schedule*. However, I thought I'd give you guys an early Christmas present, just to show that we haven't actually abandoned our beloved Club. One of the things that's been taking up a lot of time is a top-secret project for Bloody Disgusting, which I'll totally share with you guys when the time is right.

I've been feeling nostalgic lately (which isn't much of a surprise), so I reread some older blog entries during the past few lonely nights. I found myself smiling at the last post of 2012, back when many thought that the world was coming to an end. That was the closest I've ever come to truly saying goodbye to the ECB, and I admit that reading that apocalyptic post nearly brought a tear to my eye. If all goes as plan, there won't be anymore goodbyes in our future for a long time, though as I've always said, an apocalypse would be quite refreshing.

Well, I believe that's all for now, folks. Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a jolly holiday season (I know I will). The blog will still be here next year, and with any luck, it'll be our best season of comics (and videos) yet. I'll leave you guys with a long-delayed compilation of last season's comics, and the promise of a possible giveaway early next season.

 

Chainsaw cheers,

Optiluiz out.

PS: How about a round of applause to the incredibly talented friend-of-the-blog, Reviewbrah (AKA Lecturer), from the ReportOfTheWeek Channel? Thanks for the help, bud!

PPS: I've become addicted to Bojack Horseman in the past few weeks, and by god, that amazing show manages to be more depressing in 25 minutes than spending an entire week with Max

PPPS: I really hope you guys got the American Psycho parody in the teaser, or else it's kind of pointless.

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part VIII (Finale)

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more, after yet another unexpected absence! I won't even bother explaining the reasons behind my disappearance this time, but I hope all is well with my dear readers. Today marks the epic conclusion of Optiluiz's Day Off, and I hope it was as ridiculous as you may have expected. This journey began months ago, and it's a strange feeling to finally see things realized, despite my failings as an artist.

Well, things have been hectic 'round these parts. My animatic project took a turn for the strange, and it will take a while before you guys get to see something from it (but I'm proud of the work I've done on it so far). Also, I'm back in my hometown after a delightful vacation, though the looming threat of college lurks on the horizon.

As far as media is concerned, I've finally finished Fallout 4, which had the traditional Bethesda ending that we know and... tolerate. I've also been reading the Once and Future King, which is pretty rad. I managed to score a lot of free stuff by trading old books at a used book store while I was at my grandfather's place, which is also cool. Judging by my recent haul, I guess I can finally consider myself a comic book collector. Oh, and I saw quite a few movies too, check out Green Room if you're up for a tense thriller starring the late Anton Yelchin. Zootopia is pretty good, too.

In any case, I'm happy that we've finally reached the end of this story. Optiluiz's Day Off was a test, to be honest, as I wanted to try something new whilst practicing my artwork and comedic writing. It may not be high art, but the process of making these comics was therapeutic as f***, so I'm glad I did it. Thank you all for joining me in this bizarre attempt at a web-comic.

That's all I have for now, true believers. Don't fret, however, as Optiluiz and company will return in a new adventure sooner than you may expect! I'll also be posting the full 2-page story somewhere soon, I promise! In any case, thank you once more for being here. It means a lot.

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out.

PS: Did you guys catch Stranger Things? It was basically the best part of my vacation, and I'm so happy that this series exists.

PPS: Speaking of Stranger Things, here's Optiluiz's Jam of the Week. Please don't judge me.

PPPS: "IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT TO DRAG ME AWAY FROM YOUUUUU!"

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part VII

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more, after having been abducted by aliens! I'm kidding, of course (it was actually the Illuminati), but what matters is that I'm finally back. College took my life by storm for a while, as I'm neck-deep in my super-duper-awesome-ish animation project, and I guess my personal life took over the time that was left for the blog. Have no fear, however, as the ECB train has no breaks, only scheduled stops.

So, let's catch up on a few things. I've been playing shitloads of Fallout 4, which is great, but have only seen a few movies since our last post. My girlfriend got a 3DS XL, and we've also been enjoying the hell out of that (SNAKE EATER IN THREE DEE GUYS!!!11!). Also, did I mention that I'm on vacation?

Anyway, I might as well explain why this post is so late. I actually did make this comic on time, and planned to post it exactly one week after the last one, but upon further review, I realized that it simply wasn't well-drawn enough. I may not be a great visual artist, but I know crap when I see it. Thus, I decided to scrap everything and start from scratch. The new one isn't perfect by any means, but it's way better than the original. Trust me.

I guess that's all for now, readers! And don't forget to check out our social media links in the About Us page. After all, it's Friday, you ain't got no job, and you ain't got no shit to do! (This is a movie quote, by the way, before you start saying that Optiluiz sold out to slang culture).

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out...

PS: Today's Jam of the Week is brought to you by Hardcore Henry. It's called "Let Me Down Easy."

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part VI

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more, just barely on time! Hope you've all had a pleasant week, I know I have. We're halfway through our second page of comics now, and I hope you're all ready for Max's glorious debut next week. (Don't worry Max, I'll draw you extra-emo).

Anyway, I'm almost on vacation, and have been busy catching up with recent media. I've finally finished Dark Souls 2, and have proceeded to add that fact to my resumé. I've also finished watching the third season of Hannibal, after having delayed it for over a year, unwilling to say goodbye to the best show on television. Jesus, that was the greatest finale I've ever seen on TV. 10/10.

I attempted to deal with my post-Hannibal depression by hosting my own science-fiction double-feature picture show, watching both Stephen King's Cell adaptation, and Hardcore Henry. Both are films which I've been waiting to see for years now, and I was not disappointed. However, both films are simply not getting the press they deserve. If you can get your hands on either of these, please watch them. Cell is getting an especially undeserved critical panning, which is strange as it's one of the best King adaptations I've seen.

In any case, I must leave you now, dear readers, as Friday night must be enjoyed beyond the realm of the internet. Thank you very much for visiting, and I hope you have a fuck-tastic weekend.

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out.

PS: I had a hard time choosing Optiluiz's Jam of the Week this time, but my mind is still stuck on Hannibal, here's the spoilerific "Love Crime" scene:

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part V.5

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more with yet another silly comic strip starring yours truly. I hope you enjoy it, but I've been doing some script edits and realized that our last comic isn't up to par with our "regular" programming, so we might as well just ignore it. What do you guys think? In any case...

This has been quite a week. Nothing extraordinary happened, but it's been surprisingly pleasant. I'm finally ready to say goodbye to the greatest television series ever made (Hannibal), so I've been finishing up the third season in my free time, and I'll never feel whole again. If you're out there, God, we've only one prayer for you; BRING BACK HANNIBAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other than that, I've almost reached the end of Dark Souls 2, and am certainly going to purchase the third one when it becomes financially feasible to do so. I actually had an awful experience with Bloodborne, but for some reason Dark Souls seems way more enjoyable. I'm not entirely sure why, since Bloodborne is just a reskinned version of its predecessors.

Not much else to write about for now, but I believe next week will have a lot more news. In the mean-time, thank you for visiting, and don't forget to visit the About Us page and get in touch with our social media accounts. Have a great weekend, readers.

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out.

PS: Anyone else enjoyed the living hell out of E3 this year? Sony was killin' it, man.

PPS: I guess I'll include the Death Stranding trailer as Optiluiz's Jam-of-the-Week, since I'm a massive Kojima fan-boy, and his trailers are usually complex music videos anyway.

PPPS: We'll be reaching the end of Optiluiz's Day Off quite soon, folks, so don't lose hope!

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part V

Greetings, clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more with an unusual post. For the first time since our new relaunch, I'm bringing you a late comic. In my defense, I'm dealing with quite a few projects at the moment, so the blog sometimes must be relegated to the background whilst I deal with more pressing matters.

But to hell with that shit, today I bring you this lost comic despite it being a Sunday evening (or Monday morning depending on your perspective). I know it's not my best work, but it'll have to do for now. Think of this as a bridge towards the next page of Optiluiz's Day Off!

Not much to add beyond that, but I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Tune in this Friday for our regularily-scheduled comic. On that note, I still have to find somewhere to post our first page... In any case, thanks for visiting, folks!

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out.

PS: The Conjuring 2 was just as good as the first, get off your asses and go see that. Lucy even has a cameo in it, honest!

PPS: It is so cold that my breathing is fogging up the computer screen. I love it.

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part IV

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more, on time, and with a very special comic! As some of you may have noticed, Part II's technical issues have been solved and the updated comic has already been posted. Also, today marks the Epic Club Blog's first official page of comics! I know it's strange celebrating a single page after a full month of work, but we're a one-man operation, so that's quite the milestone.

We're only half-way through the current story-arc, but I hope you guys are enjoying the ride. It's been tough keeping up the pace, especially having to replace one of the comics after the evil pen incident. However, Storyboarding class has certainly helped me out, not to mention a few outside influences like my friend Pixel. You guys should totally check out his work-in-progress paranormal web-comic at Exit-the-Abyss!

In other news, is any one else watching the Wolf Creek TV series? It's so good and more people should be talking about it. I already loved the movie but this is just too cool. Also, I've been reading Fables comic after purchasing The Wolf Among Us in a Playstation flash sale, and both of these are amazing. Telltale should be writing actual television and movies, though they've perfected the "choose your own adventure" style of storytelling in games.

That's all for now, but I hope you guys have an amazing weekend. It's been a fun first month so far, and I think the comics are a hell of a lot better now than when I first started. Don't forget to comment and share with your friends, I'll be uploading the compiled first page soon enough.

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out.

PS: Holy shit did you guys check out this season of Supernatural? I was *this* close to giving up on the series and it suddenly became good again. I still think it's time to end it with dignity, though.

PPS: No Optiluiz's Jam of the Week this week, but I'll keep you guys posted if I find a cool song.

PPPS: There's no particular reason for this week's Venom promo-art, but why not, right?

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part III

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more with another timely update (I can hardly believe it either). I hope you're all having a pleasant week, as I have. We've solved last week's technical difficulties, so we're back on track, reaching the end of our first monthly page of comics!

So, I did end up watching X-Men: Apocalypse yesterday, and it was awesome! Not exactly as great as First Class (AKA The Best One) or Days of Future Past, but certainly an enjoyable movie. Quicksilver stole the show again, which explains this week's promo art, suggested by friend of the blog and general beautiful person Ana, who also contributed to this post with a new inking pen! Thanks Ana!

In other news, my animated short film project is still ongoing, and our MtG mockumentary seems to have an expiration date on it, as one of our main actors might travel soon, so we must finish that soon. I've also finished playing Wolfenstein: The New Order, which was pretty rad as well. I felt like playing a nazi-shooting game after watching Frankenstein's Army, so this was a belated dream come true.

I guess that's all for now, but I hope you've enjoyed this week's post. Don't forget to share/comment/like or whatever it is that you kids find cool these days. Have a great weekend, Clubbers!

-Optiluiz out.

PS: Hope the art is satisfactory this week, folks!

PPS: Here comes Optiluiz's Jam of the Week! Nico Vega is already one of my favourite bands, but when you add Lou Reed to the mix, things only get better.

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part II

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here once more with the next chapter panel in the thrilling saga of 'Optiluiz's Day Off'. Sadly, we've had some technical difficulties regarding final art, so forgive any inconsistencies for now, I'll probably have to redraw this one at a later date. In any case, how have you guys been?

I've had a pretty good week, as I've finally got the hand of Dark Souls 2 (yeah, I know I'm late to this party) and there some cool new projects on the horizon. This latest season of Supernatural has also been watchable, which is a pleasant surprise, though I'm more excited for Penny Dreadful than for anything else. Hannibal left a cannibal-shaped hole in my heart that only Penny Dreadful comes close to filling.

I guess there's not much else to say this week. As always, leave any suggestions, criticism and/or compliments in the comments below, I always love reading your stuff, Epic Clubbers! Max says hi, also.

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out!

PS: No notable songs or videos this week, but I'll keep y'all updated.

PPS: I'm off to see X-Men on Saturday, hence the Magneto promo drawing. Anyone care to tell me if it's any good?

Optiluiz's Day Off - Part I

Greetings, Epic Clubbers!

Optiluiz here with some good news, for once! The blog is back, baby, and it feels to good to post here again, despite the hectic schedule and broken promises. How have you guys been? Our last real post was in November of 2015, so I bet you've had some interesting adventures in the mean-time. I sure have, but I think I covered most of that in our recent video update (yeah, we do that now!).

First of all, I think I should introduce our new comic format, where every three-panel comic is a part of a larger story, which will eventually be combined into 3x4 pages for your reading pleasure! Max is busy for now, sadly, but will be helping us out eventually. I'm in charge of the art for now, but that's alright since I'm taking a story-boarding course at college, which is certainly improving my drawing skills (I hope).

In other news, our Magic: The Gathering inspired film is finally taking shape, as I've finished most of what we consider our 'script', and have obtained exclusive rights to shoot at our local game store. All that's left is to secure props and some more equipment, and production will commence! For now, I'm just playing with a new Shadows Over Innistrad deck, which is one of my favourite sets so far due to the numerous horror references present in a lot of the cards.

That's all for now, folks, but I hope to get back to you soon. If I do manage to maintain a regular schedule this time, we'll be dealing with one comic a week, forming a full page every month, with over-arching stories that can last anywhere from a few months to a full year. I'm happy to be back, Epic Clubbers, and I hope you'll stay with us on this new journey into the internet beyond.

Chainsaw cheers,

-Optiluiz out.

PS: Check out my jam of the week below! Radiohead is back in this charming new video with a pinch of 70s horror!

ECB Presents: THE EPIC CLUB VLOG - EPISODE I: A NEW POST

Greetings, dear readers.

Optiluiz here after yet another extended leave of absence. Before you stone me to death, however, I'd recommend watching our first Epic Club Vlog! In it, Max and I try to explain why we've disappeared, and talk about future projects that you guys might be interested in.

We promise that great things are coming for our humble blog, and you'll be a part of that! Thank you so much for reading/watching,

We'll keep you guys updated, and if you'd like to see more vlogs like this one, or any other kind of content, feel free to leave a comment, or email us at the usual address.

Chainsaw cheers,

- Optiluiz.