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A 30th Anniversary Celebration... 40 July, 2024
When we revived Fire two years ago, this long-term goal felt far away
and, with Blocktronics fate in the back of my mind, I was occasionally
wondering if wed make it to this point. Priorities in life shift for
various reasons, and real life might pull the most avid textmode artist
away from us at a moments notice. Still, we pulled through despite
moving houses, lasting power outages, health issues, and work and family
responsibilities. Fire released like clockwork, the math worked out just
fine, and here we are... 40, the 30th anniversary pack.
My thanks to everybody who helped us get here, the brave bunch who
joined Fire for the revival in the first place, the ones we picked back
up on the way, and the array of friends who guested with us throughout
these packs. This includes all who celebrate our anniversary with us
this time, some of whom we havent seen in a while:
With Avenger, Enzo, Iodine and Whazzit we have four sorely missed Fire
alumni returning with contributions to this very pack. From the ashes of
Blocktronics, Delicious, H7, Otium and Reset Survivor are guesting, as
well as Zeus II from longtime Fire-adjacent Mistigris who will celebrate
their own 30th anniversary later this year.
We even have guests from the esteemed competition of the 90s:
Magnetic M by way of a long overdue joint finally finished, and Slothy
and Squidgalator2 with actual fresh blocks to celebrate the occasion.
Finally, we have friends from the Commodore 64 scene dropping by:
SanderFocus, who recently tried his hands at ANSI for the very first
time, and some new PETSCII from established C64 artists Snake Petsken
and Shine.
Last but not least, thank you to all the guys who made Fire a force to
be reckoned with way back in the 90s, including but not limited to the
two gentlemen who ran the show throughout most of its original stint.
So lets pass the word on to them...
/nail, 2024-07-07
Halaster, Master of the Flame and Fire President
Sep 1994 - Feb 1997
Much of my time in the art scene is lost to memory, but when I left
ACiD in 1995 to refocus on Fire, I remember being willing to carry the
group through my own art. Much like a small business owner or
restauranteur, if I couldnt do the cooking, there would be months
where we wouldnt deliver a good pack. I recall my leadership of Fire
consisting of relentlessness and trash talk.
Friendly competitions with scene legends and Fire members like Iodine,
Eerie and MagneticM inspired my work along with a pure, naive love of
the comic artwork of Cerebus Dave Sim and Gerhard. Calling the ANSI
team silly things like the Golden Bees - which I stole from Robert
Jordans Wheel of Time books - and rudely, capriciously excluding people
from IRC channels created a certain cache, at least in the head of a
late night, dorm-bound doodler.
But Im not needed now. Fire and ANSI thrive and evolve in 2024, long
beyond the obsolescence of both the display technology and my
leadership. The perfect curves of ASCII have been hybridized with Ice
Color. Lettering styles evoke an imagined, stylized 80s. Compelling
portraits of celebrities stand where comic rips would have dominated,
rendered expertly in the primitive pinks and browns of ANSI skin tone.
Goop and ectoplasm splash alongside new inverted black and white styles.
Hard shade toons still vibrate and water my blissed-out eyes. Artisans
elegantly place detail at scales that should be impossible for ANSI
geometry to support. Some creators magnify the inherently vertical
nature of the medium with their composition and line, creating a
delirious waterfall drop to a pool of color. Others etch every square
like wood block prints. US- collaborations burst with the sweet fruit
of mutual creativity. As always, each artist brings their own flavor and
twist. The work in this pack is as vibrant and compelling as anything
that has come before.
I didnt start Fire. My tenure is a chronological blip in the multi
decade legacy of this group, formed by wave upon wave of artists under
the steady gravity of leaders like Bjrn and Phil. Im honored to
witness your incredible work.
Thank you,
Halaster Fire
God among Lice, Fire president
Feb 1997 - Sep 1998
Ive always enjoyed creating, but Ive also struggled to devote myself
to perfecting a craft. I need to be around artists, but its hard to
be one myself. Running Fire for that short span in the 90s helped me
realize whats most important to me - managing a creative system that
can accomplish more than I can on my own. People may come and go or
find new interests, but if the most passionate of those come together
to build an engine of creativity, the system itself can outlive any
one person.
Donut Hole found the campsite and lit the spark with friends.
Halaster fanned the flames and passed down our stories and traditions.
I collected fuel from the forest to keep the camp growing, until our
resources were depleted. Nail kept watch over the tender flame and
brought it roaring back to life when the time was right.
16colo.rs now tells me that through 40 packs, Fire has had almost 300
artists contribute more than 2000 works, spanning 30 years. I could have
spent more time perfecting a few masterpieces as a teenager, but the
reward for helping build all those connections a long time ago is so
much greater. I may not be involved much now, but what I learned here
has been integrated into everything else I do now in life.
Thanks to everyone reading this for being a part of the Fire engine.
Phil Smith / God among Lice
P.S.: While we have reason to celebrate, wed also like to honor the
memory of Hawk Hubbard, who sadly passed away recently. Hawk was a
cornerstone of the BBS world, running ACiD Underworld and Piranha: Under
the Black Flag, and a huge fan of our art form. Through our admittedly
limited conversations, Ive come to know him as an always friendly and
helpful human being, and sentiments of other scene individuals reflect
my experience. May he rest in peace he sure as hell wont be forgotten.