Read The Art of Neo-Man :: When a Fictional Hero Saves a Real Life

Neo-Man's blossoming story was paralleled with my emergence into adolescence - and all the good, bad, and ugly things that come with it. For more reasons than one, I fell into a horrible depression. I hated to eat food. I hated my appearance. I became introverted and slowly but unintentionally pushed myself away from my friend circle. I remember sitting in a corner and staring at a wall for hours just because nothing felt good anymore. Nothing...except one. Because of how long ago this was, the details are hazy. But I do remember that working on my Neo-Man comic was really the only thing I still felt was a good enough of a reason to wake up each morning. Nobody really read it - not even myself - I just had these ideas in my head that were eager to pop out and land on the paper. I still feel that way, now that new ideas are constantly manifesting in my mind. I can't die happy until all of them are brought to life through my art. That has been what's kept me going during this depression, and that's what keeps me going now. So Neo-Man is, in a sense, the hero of my story - not just his own. I can't say I'd be where I am today because of that.

Neo-Man's modern look, Books 1-3.

Neo-Man's Beta Suit. All stuits take inspiration from Tron, Gundam, and medieval armor (European and Asian). This design was going to be his look for the entirety of the story, but after completing Book 1, I realized it was a little too busy and became quite a chore to draw. I decided to modiy it a bit, because new looks are always exciting when a character progresses through a story!

Neo-Man's Ultra suit. This would be his "quintissential" suit, like how Iron Man has many designs, but the red and gold is the main one. Similarly, the Ultra Suit serves as the armor Keith wears for the majority of the story. It's also my favorite.

Neo-Man's Ultra Suit after "Benevolution". AKA Ultra Defense Mode. It was a last-minute decision to upgrade Neo-Man's armor a second time during his second round in the ring with King Crab. Because his armor was so heavily damaged, and the script did call for Lumina to feed Keith the Benevolin to recover, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to slap on some extra cool design features to make for a satisfying end to the King Crab saga.

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