Identity Crisis: Emperous Revealed

I promised a big announcement and here is it:

Poppin' on the scene with skills to pay the bills, Emperous showed the Freedom Force community he meant business when he started skinning the Frank Quietly costume designs for the X-Men. Drawing inspiration from Quietly's style as well as the style of other artist he skinned and skoped Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Xorn, Wolverine, and Cyclops. Vowing to finish off the team with Beast, Emperous faded into the ether as quickly as he emerged from it. After contacting him several times, he revealed to me not only his plan to finish up Beast and finally releasing his New X-Men skins, but who he really is - Emperous is...____________

Big Reveal Coming Soon

There will be a major reveal on Freedom Force Resource coming this week.

Please stay tuned for details.

- SL

Afghan Ant is Back?

After being retired for the equivalent of a lapdance at Scores, one of Freedom Force's most talented content creators has returned. That's right boys and girls, Afghan Ant is back. A couple of days ago I noticed that he had set up a Wordpress blog and I knew he'd be back skinning again. Despite emailing AA about the situation, he refused to comment on his skinner status.



Like many of you, I've got some questions for the little bug -

• "Are you eatting your retirement statment?"
• "What's up with you and another HFers, man, are y'all ok man?"
• "I see you're jockin' FF bloggers, maybe you could be Previsionary's intern."
• "How do you really feel about Obama being owed by Marvel?"
  

Regardless we are glad you're back skinning, even if your retirement was bogus.

Want to see Afghan Ant's blog? AfghanAnt - Still Dreaming

Once and Future Skinner Supreme

Before Courtnall6 rose to popularity, there existed an Englishman whose skill and style were unmatched by any other. That man was Gryphon. Though there is little known about Gryphon, his love for strong women and the bronze age of comics is apparent in his work. When others were still trying to figure out mapping, Gryphon was skinning, fxing, and writing tutorials for the Freedom Force community.


In the midst of bad Mspaint and comic photoskins, Gryphon's add-ons shone above all. His work was the true beginning of high quality skinning and it forced everyone to recognize the artistic merits of skinning. Heavily influenced by the in-games textures, Gryphon perfectly blended mainstream characters into the Freedom Force universe. No longer did custom characters look out of place battling Timemaster, they were now perfectly integrated and available to all.



With his Heralds of Freedom, Gryphon proved he was not only artistically gifted at skinning but also at character designing. The HoF skins remain some of the most original reimagining of the Freedom Force universe ever. Heavily influenced by his birthplace, they reflect the cultural and social difference between the States and the UK. A perfect example of this is recasting hot-headed Latino superhero, El Diablo, as the Hindu Sorceror, Tejas. In many aspects, his Heralds outshine their American counterparts in design and originality.

With a style that undoubtedly influenced every major skinner, Gryph released his base skins for all to use. This forced FFers across the globe to Limewire illegal copies of image editing software to emulate his bold use of color and lines. Though there were many who tried, none could capture the true essence of Freedom Force like Gryphon.

Despite being inactive for years, his legacy lives on not only through his own work but through every character skinned using his base. Years have past and other top skinners have come and gone, but Gryphon forever remains the one true Skinner Supreme.

Want to see more of his work? Visit Gryphon's Freedom Force.

- The Spectral One

Great Italian (Porn Star) Wars

With the end of Freedom-United and the return of the Freedom Force section on FR, it appears IPS may be preparing yet another attack on Freedom Force Community.

Vertex, formerly Bobby69, had this to say about the situation:

"Talked with IPS about the [separation], it's not going through and now he's sole "owner" of FU since I gave it up. Also I hear from IPS he's launching another attack to Lunar pages trying to shut FR down. So... stand by for heavy seas folks it's not over yet. I ask that none of you go near FU cause it's not a place to be."

So there you have it folks, the mini-Mussolini not only annexed FU but is preparing another attack against our community.

Tantrums aside, IPS is a good skinner but his guileless behavior over the years has outshone his work a thousand times. These attacks were never about content distribution or being banned, it is about jealousy of others. If he put half as much energy into his art as he does attacking people, he might actually receive the attention he thinks he deserves. But like most in the modern age, it is easier for him to infamous than famous. Despite what IPS might think, the internets are not serious businesses.

Want to find out what the community thinks? Visit Freedom Reborn.

- Spectre Lad

Night of The Living Dead

In the Freedom Force community there are many unforgettable names - Courtnall6, Beyonder, and DrMike2000 are some names that conjurer up feelings of joy and delight in FF gamers. However there are names that are better left unspoken and VLADIMPALER is at the top of the list. Known to many for his abrasive persona and shamelessly glorifying himself, VLAD earned himself not only a permanent banning from Freedom Reborn but the notoriety as the Rob Liefeld of FF.

In the midst of the self-complimenting, VLAD actually found time to skin relatively well. While others were becoming shiny "Similar 6s", VLAD crafted his own style that can only be explained as Liefeld meets a Bram Stoker bloodlust. VLAD's skinning was bloody, torn, and raw as if he had Buffalo Bill'ed the comic character and fashioned a skin suit to indulge his violent hero fantasies.

I will give it to VLAD though, he is constantly vilified and banned yet he refuses to stop skinning. As the old saying goes, "whatever doesn't kill me only makes me stronger" but how do you apply that to the living undead?

- Your Friendly Neighborhood Ghost

Afghan Ant's Retirement

After years of creating amazing content for the Freedom Force community, Afghan Ant has officially retired from creating in order to concentrate full-time on his other interests.
The Statement:"With the recent drama at Freedom Reborn, Afghan Ant has decided to retire from Freedom Force skinning" - HeroForce

Clearly the stress from the recent attack on Freedom Reborn forced this long-time skinner to throw in the towel. While I respect his decision, I can't help but feel let down. His recent work has been stellar and I was looking forward to what he'd do next. Afghan Ant is a great guy and I hope he continues to stick around the Freedom Force community. I tried to reach Afghan Ant for a comment but I have not received a reply. I will keep you posted.Want to see more of his work?

Visit HeroForce for Afghan Ant Freedom Force skins

- Spectre Lad