When I started writing my treatment for Robot Beach back in 2008 it went a little something like this: (SPOILERS for anyone who hasn’t read through Robot Beach yet)
Act 1: A Robot wakes on an island to discover he is alone in the world save for a friendly Seagull and a not so friendly Crab. After a brief adventure, The Robot learns of his origins and that his makers (humans) have all died off due to some world devastating calamity. Despondent upon learning that he has no true purpose in life, the Robot throws himself into the sea. However, before he drowns he discovers an unconscious girl floating on the wreckage of a ship. Instead of committing suicide, he saves her from drowning.
Act 2: The Robot, Crab, and Seagull learn from the Girl that the ship she was on with her parents had been attacked by a band of savage Robot Pirates and they were still out there and searching for the girl to finish her off. The group build a fort on the beach and prepare for the coming Robot Pirate attack.
Act 3: Robot Pirates attack, there is a big battle with the Pirate captain, More Robots emerge from the Island to defend our band of heroes in an epic battle to the death, bla, bla, bla. Fun for all. The End.
That was all well and good, however as I began writing Robot Beach strips, I realized that the whole Robot Pirate angle wasn’t really a good fit and so I dropped it.
But I never forgot about it.
And so, as I now find my inspiration for Robot Beach waining, I find that my excitement for Robot Pirates is growing. I’ve developed a fascinating group of characters and an engaging story that I am excited to explore. This means that yes, Robot Beach is ending. I feel I’ve said everything I really wanted to say with that story in the first 200 strips. Honestly, my heart isn’t in it anymore and I don’t feel that I could properly do the strip justice if I were to carry on with it at this point. I will take the many lessons I’ve learned along the way and apply them to many future projects. The first of which is Robot Pirates.
So what will Robot Pirates be exactly? Well, I’ve got some interesting ideas, but I’m not ready to announce anything yet. However, you can check back here soon for more details!
Finally I want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed Robot Beach over the years. Your comments, emails and support have brought me many hours of joy. I hope all of you will join me as we set sail on a brand new adventure in 2013!
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Alrighty gang, You’ve been waiting long enough! Head on over to RobotPirates.com to check out my new project. The site is pretty sparse right now, but you can expect plenty of concept art, illustrations, and updates concerning the progress of my animated film in the days and weeks to come.
Looking forward to seeing you over there!
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One year ago today, to this very moment, my wife and I was getting settled into a hospital room and waiting nervously for the doctor to arrive and brief us about the plans for the next day’s surgery.
Earlier that day my wife had received the phone call telling her that her new Kidney and Pancreas had arrived and a year of daily dialysis treatments and 15 years of diabetes was going to soon be but a memory.
We knew our lives were going to change in a drastic way, what we didn’t realize was that change wasn’t going to be all positive. Twelve months and over a dozen hospitalizations later we now find ourselves facing yet another surgery and yet another long recovery.
The focus of my life has certainly changed this past year. Hospital bills have forced me into “must-make-as-much-money-as-possible” mode and so most of the more relaxing and pleasurable things in my life have been put on hold. This includes Robot Beach.
So what is the future of Robot Beach exactly? When will it be coming back? I don’t really have a good answer for that. I’ve got big plans for what I want to do and where I want to take this little cartoon world I’ve built for myself, but until I have a better idea of when I’ll be returning I’m going to keep it to myself. 
Thanks again for your patience! I’ll be seeing you all soon enough!
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Kenosha Festival of Cartooning is starting to wind up!
By Matt on September 10th, 2012Posted In: Blog
It’s finally september and the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning is starting to wind up. (I’ll be heading down on Saturday the 29th with Adam Huber of the always hilarious comic: Bug.) They’ve recently released a number of new posters and I am getting excited! Click here to check out all of the posters.
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Looks like Larry the Seagull got caught on tape again:
Thanks to @davidneedham for pointing this hilarious animated Gif out. Also, I feel like I haven’t drawn Larry in months!
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Here is a worthy Kickstarter project for you guys. The Kenosha Festival of Cartooning is currently trying to raise funds to keep their festival free and open to cartoonists and friends of cartooning. It is a three day event full of presentations, workshops, panel discussions and more!
Recently the National Cartoonist Society Foundation contacted the organizers and offered to match up to 10,000 dollars of Kickstarter donations. This means that thanks to their generosity, your donation is worth TWICE as much as before! There are great rewards available for donating, so please consider giving today.
Please take a moment and check out their Kickstarter page here.
(If it helps at all, Adam Huber of the comic Bug and I plan on being there. Perhaps we will see you there as well?)
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