Sorry about not updating, but I've been busy with so many things over the last few days. Square-Headed will continue to update, though, even with the absence of a news post. I'll try to get the next history lesson up soon.

Ok, so I'm not entirely used to this whole "gotta make a news post every update" thing, yet. Don't judge me.

Getting back to my story, I didn't want Square-Headed to have any discernable continuity. I did this because I believed that doing so would inevitably lead to comic's demise. Not only that, but I also believed Square-Headed to be above every other sprite comic at the time. I thought that because I was basing my comic off a game nobody seemed to care about I was different, and therefore better. There was also the fact that every other sprite comic had a continuing storyline, and none of them seemed to be very entertaining. And so because of this, I got the notion that if I left all continuity out, if I just made it like a regular newspaper strip, I would be better than everyone else making sprite comics. This was before I found "8-bit Theater." But that's besides the point. The point is that, once again, I was a dick. A very egotistical one at that. It didn't help that my brother's kind of helped feed it.

Pressing on, I made several comics and posted them on the forums at ZeldaUniverse.net. If you clicked the link, then you'll notice that I updated for a while with seemingly no readers. Regardless, I pressed on and continued to make them on the grounds that it was a fun little diversion for me. Actually, that's kind of all it is today, too. But I enjoy it.

Just a note, but there are some comics on that forum that remain ONLY on that forum for very good reasons.

After my debut on those forums, I gained a small but loyal following, and I began to worry for the first time about how my comics were recieved. The fact that people were reading Square-Headed was enough to make me really want to improve my comics. That and by August of that year, I had found "8-Bit Theater," and hope began to build. Up to this point, I had believed that all sprite comics were simply reviled by everyone except for a few. I couldn't comprehend the idea that someone might actually make a living off of it, or that they hadn't been shut down by the company who owned the original sprites. That was probably when I first thought about getting a site for Square-Headed. But I didn't go through with it because I couldn't find anyplace that would host it for free... That is until my younger brother found Smackjeeves. But once again, that will have to wait.

Dark-NESS AKA Jeff Hackmann.

I just remembered that another influence on the creation of Square-Headed was my younger brother. He had actually started making his own webcomics before I did. I guess it was a combination of baseless hatred and "me too" that brought Square-Headed to life.

Four years ago, Square-Headed came into existence as an animated signature image for the forums on ZeldaUniverse.net. It was made in paint, it was a pain in the ass to make, oh, and I hadn't even played Final Fantasy VII yet. But I was proud of it. And I was proud of my completely baseless hatred towards FFVII, too.

So, I decided to make more.

Square-Headed originated from the idea that I could make something that would enrage fanboys and fangirls of Final Fantasy VII. I've always prefered Final Fantasy VI to any of the others in the series, and couldn't stand the fact that Final Fantasy VII had so many more fans, stealing the spotlight that I felt rightfully belonged to VI. It didn't help that most of the hype surrounding the game seemed to stem from the initial wow factor it had on players. So much was my biased anger that I wanted to make something to piss all of those people off, maybe even attract a wave of hate mail after me. to accomplish this, I decided that I would make Cloud a complete and utter moron, and place the characters of FFVI on a much higher plane of intelligence. It was a simple premise, one that had been done to death with countless other things, but still a worthy vessel for my rage. But then I thought of something else. What if Cloud was not just a mere moron, but a misunderstood moron who simply wanted to be like the other characters? What if he really liked the way FFVI was made and wanted to become a 16x24x sprite? What if he wanted to abandon his own game and remain in FFVI forever? This was the main storyline of Square-Headed. Something that I never got around to actually using. Oh, I tried to, several times in fact, but it never seemed to work out. Mostly because of the one comic a week format, and my complete and utter refusal to add continuity. Why didn't I want continuity? Next week, people. Next week.

Getting back to the hate mail, it never happened. Big surprise there... Oh, wait, no, I got exactly ONE reaction. It was a single post on a forum I don't even go to anymore, and I don't remember what it said. I do remember being happy about it, though. Looking back on this, I realize something that I probably should've noticed sooner.

I was a dick. A stupid one at that. Oh well, I'll make up for it later in life. Probably.

Dark-NESS AKA Jeff Hackmann.

Day two of updates and things are going smoothly... Mostly... Let's hope they stay that way.

Because saying "first" would've been inaccurate. Anyway, Square-Headed returns today with a brand new... story arc. That's right. Beginning today, Square-Headed's format has changed from the standard strip(Pearls Before Swine, Dilbert, Penny Arcade, etc.) to more of a continuing story-line thing(Naruto, How I Killed Your Master, Judge Parker). This will allow me to introduce more story(and backstory) than I could previously, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time.

With this new format is a new update schedule as well, with three new comics being posted each week. How is this going to work out? I don't know. I'm pretty dependant on reader feedback now, so I'm going to once again ask that everyone try to leave comments so that I can get an idea on what I should improve on.

I would like to welcome everyone, new and old, to Square-Headed's new home. I hope that my comic remains entertaining so that people can continue to read and enjoy what it has to offer. But should it fail to be entertaining, please tell me. I really, really need to know. Thank you for reading my work, and have a nice day.

Dark-NESS, AKA Jeff Hackmann.

P.S. Coming Tuesday: The History of Square-Headed Part 1.

P.P.S. I'm not used to writing news posts. I hope I get better at that, too.

Oh, that's right, Post, you just got JACKED! *Ahem* With that out of the way, welcome back to Square-Headed. It's been many, many months and moons since we last saw thee, and now thou hast returned. And it is beautiful. For those wondering, comics will resume next week. NEXT WEEK! WHOOO! I've been preparing this for a long time now, and my only hope is that it pays off... If it doesn't, then Square-Headed is doomed to suffer in the abyss of forgotten things forever... Or maybe not. I'm pretty psyched with this whole webcomic thing. Once the comics start coming, I'll also begin telling the history of Square-Headed. Why? Because maybe some people want to know. Just a little note: Some things on the site may or may not work properly. I haven't gotten around to testing it all, so please bear in mind that it's still sort of under construction. Otherwise, see you next week!

Dark-NESS, AKA, Jeff Hackmann.