Now

Letter from EB Dojo
Pixelated Magazine is an underground publication from the online community. What you see here is an unprecedented project that aims to help
everyday artists and writers who just need a chance to show the world what
they can do. Someday, Pixelated Magazine will be filled with the works
of aspiring artists everywhere along with exclusive articles, in-depth story
reviews, and creative writing -- all created by everyday people with extraordinary talent.
We believe that we can change the way the world works - with your help.
If you support this cause, all you have to do is tell a friend about us.
This magazine is in the alpha stages of publication and distribution. EB
Dojo has 12 Liaison-Distributors around the country who are testing the
waters for mass publication. Without these people the project wouldn’t be
able to move forward, so I’d like to take the time and this space to thank
you, Liaisons and Distributors.
Through the Liaison’s hard work on Pixelated Magazine Alpha, there are
already hundreds of people interested in the ‘Beta’ stage, when EB Dojo
partners with the best artists, comics, and writers on the web to publish
works that might otherwise go unnoticed. The Beta release of Pixelated
Magazine will give you access to the works and minds of its contributors,
with much of the content made available long before it appears on the
web.
If you have any questions about us or Pixelated Magazine, we’d be happy
to open a dialogue with you. Visit any one of our websites to get in contact
with the staff:
http://www.ebdojo.com
http://www.edgeofdecember.com
Or you can contact me directly by sending an email to:
kieron@edgeofdecember.com
We’re still growing and still looking for the fans and dedicated creators to
help this project flourish. Thank you for your support. You’re an integral part of something completely new and fantastic.
- Glenn
3
In This Issue...
April 2008
Pixelated Magazine, Alpha - Issue 01
“100% True”
page
Featured Article
5
by Gray Ross
“Edge of December”
by Kitchell, Ross, Cohen
Chapter 05: “All Life’s a Stage”
page
7
Chapter 06: “Rescue Choppah”
page
20
“Character Designs - Before and After”
page
36
Artist Freespeak
by Glenn Kitchell
Parody Channel
page
Share yours online at: http://www.edgeofdecember.com/forums
4
40
EB Dojo © 2008. All Rights Reserved.
“100% True” by Gray Ross
Featured Article
This comic is 100% pure, fresh-squeezed comic genius.
No, seriously. We take great pride in our comic genius product, hand
tailored to fit your unique sense of entertainment. Still skeptical? Well, let
me take you on an exclusive, once in a lifetime, all-expense paid tour of our
wonderful distraction factory, hell-bent on providing you with wonderful
little divertissements for your everyday life.
As you enter, you may notice our state-of-the-art security system. The
device you have just stepped through is not the typical metal detector you
may have thought it to be. The contraption actually scans for two things;
first for your overall amusement level, and second for any low quality “entertainment” sources, such as bulbous red noses, water wielding flowers,
noisemakers, and Jerry Seinfeld. The guards you see are armed with pistols
equipped with “BAM!” signs to scare off any clowns that try to get in and
contaminate the facility. As you all managed to get through without setting
off the device, you must be amused enough to carry on. Let us continue.
To your right, you’ll see the Paper Creation Room. That is correct; we even
make our own paper here. A few years ago, we found that ordinary paper
was far too limiting a medium for the levels of genius we produce. Our
handmade paper is massaged daily by three beautiful virgins for 60 days,
yielding a 17% increase in potential genius per comic, and a 32% increase
in capacity for said genius per page. As you may have guessed, this is also
the break room.
On our left, you may see what appears to be a junkyard crusher. I’ve nicknamed this little joy The Juicer. We stick any science fiction writers, Asians,
and low-pay interns in this device, and out pops unadulterated genius. The
handling of pure genius is a rather delicate and dangerous task, as you
might imagine. One false step could turn the entire batch into insanity, a
useless and frustrating byproduct to deal with that appears in this facility
all too often, unfortunately.
If you’ll be so kind as to put on these black-out goggles, we can continue
5
into the next room: Genius Storage. After creation in The Juicer, we have
to deal with storage of the genius until it is put into the comic. This is where
we accomplish this task. You may be wondering why the room is so bright.
Well, have you ever seen a character create a light bulb above their head
when they have an idea? The notion is actually rooted in reality. Every
bright idea adds up, and the end product is this radiant room.
The final room we will be visiting features the patented Combine-o-matic.
This handy device takes everything that we’ve seen and combines it with
some ink and an ethernet cable to create the comic we all know and love.
You stick the pure genius in this compartment, the ink and paper go here,
and the ethernet cable attaches to this part. Finally, one pulls the lever...
and presto! A fresh comic. Sadly, no one is entirely sure how this device
operates any longer. The inventor was stuck in The Juicer, and the plans
were lost long ago in a tragic clown raid. They thought the whole maneuver
was hilarious. Anyway, this concludes our tour.
I hope you all enjoyed the tour of the facility. If you have any questions,
please feel free to email me. We’re here 24-7 to provide you with all your
diversion needs.
- Gray
Edge of December
Profile
6
Genre:
Action / Humor
Creators:
Glenn Kitchell, Gray Ross, Ryan Cohen
Website:
http://www.edgeofdecember.com
Teaser:
Trife runs amok. Baron provides acerbic commentary.
And Kieron tries to hold it all together. This time in Edge
of December, Trife and Kieron are doing everything they
can to start their dojo -- even if it means counting coup
against a dangerous and powerful gang boss. Working
in the pocket and on behalf of the Borgia Group, can the
boys survive long enough to fulfill their dream?
“Character Designs” by Glenn Kitchell
Artist Freespeak
I hope you enjoyed the first two
chapters of the Naccisti Saga from
Edge of December.
Strangely
enough, even though we created an
entire Prologue Saga before it, this
– or at least a version quite similar
to it – was the original beginning
for Edge of December. Way back
in yesteryear, I wrote up a playful
banter between Trife and Kieron
that occurred while they were being
chased from a city by angry mobsters
after Trife hit on the boss’ daughter,
“Because she was hot.” Like the
Prologue Saga, it was designed to be
an introductory, throw-away story
that caught Trife and Kieron near
the beginning of their quest to create their dojo. Well, Ryan got ahold
of it, pounded out the details into a
full-fledged story – created a name
and an amazing backstory for the
“hot” mob-daughter, and landed
the new beginning of Edge of December. However, all that amazing
detail made the one-chapter “run
away from the mob” + “crap they
have a helicopter” + “hey, who just
threw that grenade…” into something not-so-throw-away. Well, in
the spirit of this transformation, I
bring you character designs: before
and after.
This ragged wanderer is the original design for Baron. Before he was
somewhat the child prodigy, Baron
was going to be Kieron and Trife’s
mentor in the stead of Kieron’s late
father, Master Alsmith. Very world36
ly, profound, and well-traveled,
Baron would be the guidance that
the boys needed to land on their
own two feet in the world after their
own Pilgrimage across the country.
Well, we kept most of the description
and changed the age. Now, Baron is
a striking character in that he’s so
young, but is still the balancing act
between Trife’s impulsiveness and
Kieron’s perfectionism.
37
In the next before and after,
we have a complete change
in a character’s personality.
Jennebelle Ellenora Nacci was
originally simply the boss’ hot
daughter that was the catalyst
in a gun-toting, grenadeslinging reaction.
But in
the reworking of the story, she became the hot-headed, ambitious, only
daughter that was denied the next-in-line for leading her family’s deadly
gang, the Naccisti.
So in the ‘before,’ she’s a care-free, overprotected girl. As you can see
both in the comic and here, in the ‘after’ she becomes a little… angrier.
Designing this world with the three creators that we have on the Edge
of December staff makes everything just a bit harder, but we hope when
a chapter hits paper that it has a refinement and quality, both, that reflect
our efforts.
39
Parody Channel
You and your friends can try writing
your own hilarious parodies! The formula we used in “Unholy” was:
observation -> reflection/response -> introspection -> final
words/punchline
Try it out on the next page. And, if
your idea follows a different forumla,
use these blanks to script it like a pro!
Share your favorites at http://www.
edgeofdecember.com/forums/
on
the online Parody Channel -- the best
might end up in the next issue of Pixelated Magazine!
“Unholy” by Gray and Glenn
Trife: I think my laundry was moving
last night. It ended up...
40
41
Postscript
This issue of EB Dojo’s Pixelated Magazine may end, but the story and
ideas go on. Bookmark EB Dojo’s website (www.ebdojo.com) -- it’s there
that you’ll be able to learn about the latest Pixelated Magazine releases and
EB Dojo’s webcomic partnerships. If you loved the comic, check out Edge
of December’s website (www.edgeofdecember.com) to see the latest and
find out if Trife, Kieron, and even Baron can escape the predicaments that
they keep finding themselves in.
The next issue of Pixelated Magazine will include:
- Edge of December, ch 07
- More behind-the-scenes coverage of EB Dojo
...and maybe even some never before seen works by the aspiring authors
and artists that deserve the opportunity to tell their story.
Thank you for reading! This project exists for you and for every new artist
and writer that just needs a chance to show the world what they’re made
of. If you support this cause, tell a friend about us. Give the magazine to
someone you trust with the message. Be a “waypoint” on this magazine’s
journey around the globe. By simply helping this message spread, you
can change the way the world works. We look forward to seeing you in
the next issue of EB Dojo’s Pixelated Magazine.
EB Dojo © 2008. All Rights Reserved.