Who doesn't like muscle bears with shiny butts?

Wait, you didn't come here thinking this would be a Video Games Made Me Gay-esque post showcasing the hot, muscular bods of actual human males, did you? Or maybe you expected to encounter a post that's centered on the lascivious lads that populate Dudedle Studio's Sugar Shooter series?

If you did, please accept my apologies.

There is a muscular bear with a shiny butt at the heart of this particular post, though--although he's an actual bear (well, a cartoon one) rather than the figurative sort that make up a good portion of the gay community.

So, how many of you are now thinking to yourselves, I'll never look at Stitches (from the Animal Crossing series) the same way again? I'm guessing a good number of you.

The strip above was produced by the super-talented "Nightmare Bruce" who runs the Ribbon Black blog, by the way. Check out more of his adorable, New Leaf-inspired "This Week in Town" comics here.

'Finding an adventure is easy'

Is it odd to have nostalgic feelings for a game you didn't actually play early in life?

If so, I'm odd, because I have all sorts of nostalgic feelings for Nintendo's EarthBound--a game I didn't experience (for the first time) until a few years after it was released in my neck of the woods.

Even odder: I've never finished the game, despite giving it my best on two occasions (including the above-mentioned one).

Anyway, all of that is brought up to add a little "color" to a post that could otherwise be boiled down to "I really like this EarthBound-inspired comic."

And what a wonderful comic it is, right?

It was produced by artist Zac Gorman, who recently shared on his site, Magical Game Time, that he's been "replaying EarthBound since its rerelease on the Virtual Console, so it’s been on my mind a lot."

Another of Zac's recent EarthBound comics is even more fabulous than this one, I have to say. Check it out here, if you have the interest.

Thing you have to check out today: Ribbon Black's awesome Animal Crossing webcomic

If you can, pull yourself away from your copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf (OK, so that suggestion may be aimed at myself) and take a few seconds to read through the following webcomic, which was created by the same "Nightmare Bruce" (proprietor of the Ribbon Black blog) who has been known to leave comments here.

An idea I could really get behind: Kevin Bolk's Manimal Crossing comic

Sadly, the above-mentioned idea is "just" a one-off, Animal Crossing-inspired comic that was created by cartoonist Kevin Bolk at the moment.

Who knows, though--maybe Bolk will create a whole series of Manimal Crossing strips (pun intended) if this first one really takes off.



To see more of Bolk's work, by the way, visit kevinbolk.com and/or kevinbolk.deviantart.com.

(Via mascotcomic.com)

He likes Animal Crossing: New Leaf and he loves to abuse the screencap function

Those of you who frequent the comments section of this here blog (and to those of you who don't: why not?) may recognize the username Zaphod65.

Well, that same Zaphod65 has been posting silly, and even a bit saucy, Animal Crossing: New Leaf-inspired comics via Twitter for the last week or so, and as of Friday he's publishing them via a tumblog as well.

Here's an example of one that's both silly and saucy (in my humble opinion, of course):



To see more of Zaphod65's "The Dunwich Hoarder" comics (he's published nine as of yesterday), check out dunwichhoarder.tumblr.com at your earliest convenience.

And if your Animal Crossing: New Leaf itch hasn't been scratched after you finish perusing the above-linked tumblog, scroll through this recent blog post--devoted to my own playthrough of this uber-addicting 3DS title.

I like big Pokébutts and I cannot lie

Especially when they're drawn by artist Lindsey Morris (aka Wine Lips), who is hawking a 12-page mini-comic called Pokébutts via her website.

As I'm sure you can tell by the comic's title, Pokébutts features full-color drawings of Pokémon characters sporting ample derrières.

Morris is selling two versions of Pokébutts, by the way. The standard edition can be had for just $5, while the special edition--which is customized with your choice of hand-drawn Pokébutt--costs $8.

I've already decided I'm going for the $8 version, but I haven't yet placed my order because I'm unsure as to which Pokémon character I want Morris to JLO-ize.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

Short comic, long name

Seattle-based artist Maré Odomo--best known around these parts for his Pokémon-inspired "Letters to an Absent Father" comic strips--recently let it be known via flickr that he's working on a new "pokécomic series" called "I Know I Shouldn't Be Alive But I Don't Want To Die."

Here's the first entry in the series, which seemingly will focus on the legendary pocket monster known as Mewtwo:



See also: 'Red, blue, yellow, green,' 'My $5 is in the mail, Maré' and 'Maré Odomo may be done with his 'Letters To An Absent Father' strips ...'

Red, blue, yellow, green

I am deeply envious of Maré Odomo. Although I consider myself a doodler of some endowment, I have nothing on the artiste behind the 'Letters to an Absent Father' strips.

I mean, even his drafts, such as the following, are disgustingly appealing.

This one is pretty awesome, too.

See also: 'Ash Ketchum's (and Maré Odomo's) Letters to an Absent Father'

My $5 is in the mail, Maré

Fans of Maré Odomo's "Letters to an Absent Father" should be happy to hear that the Seattle-based artist is selling pocket-sized (4.25 inches x 4.25 inches) printouts of his Pokémon-themed comic series. (Check out his website for more information.)

Here's the image that appears on the cover:

Send Odomo $3 and he'll ship you a bare-bones edition of the publication, or send him $5 and he'll ship you a special edition that includes a personalized drawing.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy the $5 edition and ask Odomo to draw me a Mudkip enjoying a bubble bath (or something similarly saccharine).

See also: 'Ash Ketchum's (and Maré Odomo's) Letters to an Absent Father'

Maré Odomo may be done with his 'Letters To An Absent Father' strips ...

... but that doesn't mean he's done with Pokémon-inspired art altogether.

Case in point: His latest creation, titled "What is this."

Actually, since posting "What is this" late last week, Odomo has uploaded two more Pokémon-inspired pieces of art to his Flickr photostream. Here's one and here's another.

See also: 'Ash Ketchum's (and Maré Odomo's) Letters to an Absent Father'

Ash Ketchum's (and Maré Odomo's) 'Letters to an Absent Father'

I know I'm a bit late to this particular party, but I'm going to write about it anyway.

"It," as you can probably tell from the headline above, is artist Maré Odomo's Pokémon-themed comic series, "Letters to an Absent Father."

Each of the 10 (so far) comics focuses on the Pokémon protagonist, Ash Ketchum, and the letters he writes to his estranged father. Here's the first:

They're all more than a bit melancholy, but they're touching, too. And, as you can see in the image above, they're easy on the eyes.

Check out the rest of Odomo's "Letters to an Absent Father" comics here, and check out the rest of his portfolio here.

Random aside: Although Odomo hails from San Jose, he currently lives in Seattle. Booyah! Maybe I'll send him an e-mail at some point (after I've had a drink or two)...

Mario: 'Are you Mr. Gay?' Luigi: 'Yes I am. Are you?'

NeoGAFfer "lijik" shared the following in-the-works sketch in the popular gaming forum's main Super Mario Galaxy 2 thread this morning.

OK, so the way Luigi is leering at Mario in the last panel is a bit creepy. Still, I like the artist's style. (I'm especially enamored with Mario's hands and feet, for some strange reason.)

Get a 3DS, (possibly) get some gay lovin'

At least, that's what this rather cute comic strip, created by Nathan Birch and submitted to Cracked.com as part of a recent contest, suggests.

Although Birch didn't win the contest, it's nice to know the Cracked.com crew considered it a contender.

(Via tinycartridge.com)