#the 40s panel is either from more fun comics with the issue being in the 70s range or its leading comics

[yuriwarrior]

The fact that a comic from 1940s refers to Roy as Ollie's son, whereas a comic from 2023 doesn't (despite connor being referred to as his son on the same page). Wild

#the fact that authors still dance around this wild #the 40s panel is either from more fun comics with the issue being in the 70s range or its leading comics #i cant remember #roy harper #oliver queen #ollie queen #green arrow #red arrow #speedy #dc

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #238

Tues May 05 2020 [02:04 AM] Wack'd: Have some Wolverine publicity

[02:05 AM] maxwellelvis: It BEGINS [02:06 AM] maxwellelvis: THERE's the John Byrne we know and... sigh because the guy who comes up with great covers like these is still the guy who sabotaged Jean Grey's spinoff attempt. [02:06 AM] Wack'd: John Bryne: fun dude but still a friggin dude [02:07 AM] Wack'd: So here we go. The secret story of Frankie Raye [02:08 AM] Wack'd: Turns out this is naturally what she looks like naked, plus a spiffy pair of elbow-length gold gloves

[02:08 AM] Bocaj: He didn't notice the gold gloves at any point? [02:08 AM] Wack'd: All this stuff just...vanishes when she puts clothes on [02:08 AM] Wack'd: Yeah no Johnny is like "I've seen you in a bikini" and she puts her robe back on and the gold clothes vanish [02:09 AM] Bocaj: "My terrible secret is that I'm a never nude" [02:09 AM] Bocaj: "There are dozens of us. Dozens" [02:09 AM] Wack'd: I understood that reference [02:09 AM] Wack'd: So anyway Frankie has been somehow psychologically conditioned to never notice that a superhero outfit appears on her whenever she's naked [02:10 AM] Wack'd: As well as not to think too hard about the fact that she has no memories before age 14 [02:10 AM] Bocaj: Uh. [02:10 AM] Bocaj: Well y'know what fair enough. I try not to think about that stretch of time either [02:11 AM] Wack'd: Her earliest memory is waking up in a dingy warehouse under an old labcoat [02:11 AM] Wack'd: She lived alone in a deserted apartment and got checks for a thousand bucks in the mail every week [02:11 AM] Wack'd: And was psychologically conditioned not to think about how off-spec that was for a teenager as well [02:12 AM] Wack'd: A lot of nonsense here resting on, essentially, a Somebody Else's Problem Field [02:12 AM] Wack'd: Whoever set all this up probably would've had a lot easier of a time if they just...gave her a normal life? [02:12 AM] Bocaj: I feel that however this explains her fear of fire from earlier on, this cannot have been what the original plan was even a little [02:13 AM] Wack'd: Anyway somehow meeting Johnny started to make the conditioning decay [02:13 AM] Wack'd: She freaked out when Johnny flamed on because it made her think too hard about things, but she was attracted to him in part because of that [02:14 AM] Bocaj: uh [02:14 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Johnny pushes her to explore this whole ordeal further, because she feels like the dam is finally about to break [02:14 AM] Bocaj: I have a dumb thought [02:14 AM] Wack'd: And break it does

[02:14 AM] Bocaj: She was completely naked in that- HOLY BEANS [02:15 AM] Bocaj: she was completely naked in that scene where she had the breakdown in that other issue and she didn't get the gold booties there [02:15 AM] Wack'd: She didn't but also because up until that point she was Somebody Else's Probemed into not seeing them, remember? [02:15 AM] Wack'd: And so we the audience didn't either [02:16 AM] maxwellelvis: Like the clown graffiti all over John's house [02:16 AM] Wack'd: Johnny uses his fire absorption powers to keep the building from burning down and gives chase [02:18 AM] Wack'd: He catches up to Frankie and gives her a crash course in steering and pacing herself before she and her new ecstasy for life burns down New York [02:18 AM] Wack'd: And she explains Frankie Backstory 2.0 [02:19 AM] Wack'd: She was raised by a simple repairman, a good man, who suddenly lost his friggin composure when the Fantastic Four arrived [02:19 AM] Wack'd: Ranting about how dare Johnny call himself the Human Torch, he dragged her to an old warehouse and began raving about old experiments [02:20 AM] Wack'd: Frankie humors him for a bit but while carrying an old oil drum it bursts into flames, leaving her miraculously unharmed [02:20 AM] Bocaj: Simple repairman has a point. Kind of rude, Johnny [02:20 AM] Bocaj: Jim was a war hero, ya dink [02:21 AM] Wack'd: And then dear old stepdad hypnotized her and abandoned her [02:21 AM] Bocaj: 😐 [02:22 AM] Wack'd: A year later a package arrived with a tape recorder and a gold costume. The tape recorder hypnotized her into putting on the costume and then erased her memories [02:22 AM] maxwellelvis: What a drip [02:22 AM] Wack'd: Anyway from all this Johnny deduces her stepdad was Phineas Horton [02:22 AM] Wack'd: But you guys already figured that out, I bet [02:23 AM] maxwellelvis: I forgot who he was. [02:23 AM] Wack'd: Jim Hammond's dad [02:23 AM] maxwellelvis: Oh [02:24 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Johnny decides to become her mentor and, after she tries to fly as high as possible and runs into that pesky atmosphere problem, takes her back to the Baxter to have Reed run some tests and figure out what her limits are [02:24 AM] Bocaj: I'm for once not sad that Ultron killed him after forcing him to turn the original human torch into the Vision [02:25 AM] Bocaj: Until Byrne retcons that to not be the case because dude loves him some jim hammond [02:26 AM] Wack'd: Anyway I misremembered what Frankie's deal was. I assumed android [02:26 AM] Wack'd: But Reed thinks that whatever was in that fateful oil drum was some sort of superscience chemical that mutated her [02:26 AM] Wack'd: Not sure what the point of her being a nevernude was [02:27 AM] Wack'd: Or why Phineas Horton brainwashed his fourteen year old daughter into wearing a strapless bathing suit at all times [02:28 AM] maxwellelvis: The guy labeled Jim a renegade when he showed the first signs of not being completely under his command [02:28 AM] Wack'd: It sure is a good thing this teenager with no parental guidance never did anything where that bathing suit might've become a problem! [02:28 AM] maxwellelvis: guy's a drip [02:29 AM] Wack'd: Reed has proven his hypothesis that biological sex determines how flame powers work I guess??!?!?

[02:29 AM] Wack'd: What sort of cis nonsense is this [02:30 AM] maxwellelvis: Johnny speaks for us all [02:30 AM] Wack'd: What all that means is "after a period of suitable training, we may be calling our friends at Marvel Comics and telling them to start publishing the Fantastic Five!" [02:31 AM] Bocaj: This is a thing that marvel does sometimes [02:31 AM] Wack'd: Good news for all those Spider-Girl fans I guess [02:31 AM] Bocaj: They've decided that Laura Kinney's foot claw is what girl wolverines be like [02:31 AM] Wack'd: *sigh* [02:33 AM] Bocaj: I'll say that Spider-Girl did it better by not saying, as far as I recall, that the difference was because man vs woman. [02:34 AM] Wack'd: Okay so we have another story in this issue [02:34 AM] Wack'd: Well, two, kind of [02:35 AM] Wack'd: First a brief interlude in which it is established at some point the Four will be going to the tiny town of Benson, Arizona to investigate cases of people being "frightened to death" [02:36 AM] maxwellelvis: @Wack'd My primary suspect is this man [02:37 AM] Bocaj: Put those tingles away [02:37 AM] Wack'd: Here's a Sue pinup which I'm mostly crossposting to see if I can wrangle a coherent set of interests out of her bookshelf

[02:38 AM] Wack'd: Pogo's on there. Sue has good taste in comics [02:38 AM] Bocaj: I was about to say [02:38 AM] Wack'd: And now on to our second feature [02:38 AM] maxwellelvis: She's got a copy of Shogun in there [02:39 AM] maxwellelvis: Dangerous Visions, a sci-fi anthology [02:39 AM] Wack'd: Meet Crow T. Rob--I mean, HERBIE 2.0

[02:40 AM] maxwellelvis: "You listen to me, 'Mr. Fantastic', you are NOT my real father!" [02:40 AM] Wack'd: "I want to decide who lives and who dies!" "So long as Franklin is in the 'lives' category I'm strangely okay with that" [02:41 AM] maxwellelvis: "Hey, Franklin, the secret word for today is 'booger'! Booger booger booger booger-AAAUGH!" [02:41 AM] Wack'd: Anyway this is not the only surprise Reed has in store today! [02:42 AM] Wack'd: He also has A Cure for Being the Thing Number Fucktillion [02:42 AM] Bocaj: Panel 2 Franklin does not look like a child [02:42 AM] Wack'd: He looks like a 1950s Western bit player [02:43 AM] maxwellelvis: "Oh great, another cure! How does this one work, and where can I hide when it backfires?" [02:43 AM] Wack'd: Ben is skeptical but as Reed points out science is always marching on [02:44 AM] Wack'd: He has more data than he's ever had [02:44 AM] Wack'd: Ben you've never asked her that before because it's literally never come up before. Fuck she's dated you while you were cured! Remember when you were riding around in that robot suit?

[02:45 AM] Wack'd: Anyway [02:45 AM] Wack'd: The machine blows up [02:46 AM] Wack'd: Welp

[02:47 AM] Bocaj: Could be worse [02:47 AM] Bocaj: At least its not pinecone grimm [02:47 AM] maxwellelvis: Oh that's coming [02:47 AM] Wack'd: Could be covered in bees. That'd be pretty bad [02:47 AM] maxwellelvis: Not for Ben it wouldn't. [02:47 AM] maxwellelvis: Unless they flew into his mouth. [02:47 AM] Bocaj: "Hahah sting you fuckers" [02:48 AM] Bocaj: "This time it is permanent!" Reed shut up [02:48 AM] Wack'd: Anyway this sure is weird nostalgia baiting [02:49 AM] Wack'd: Folks have done plenty of Lee/Kirby throwback stuff but was anyone nostalgic for this, like, at all [02:50 AM] Wack'd: Also like. C'mon Bryne, integrate your story developments naturally. You shouldn't need an entire issue where all that happens is status quo changes [02:50 AM] maxwellelvis: @Bocaj You might know, had Byrne ever written a comic book before his FF run? [02:51 AM] Wack'd: I guess Frankie was integrated a little naturally (even if she went from recent love interest to team member in no time flat) but the Ben is fairly hamfisted [02:51 AM] Wack'd: You can just check Marvel Wiki [02:51 AM] Bocaj: He co-plotted with Claremont I know [02:51 AM] Bocaj: And Claremont was big on the idea of co-plotting. [02:51 AM] maxwellelvis: But this would be his first, like, his first time flying solo? [02:52 AM] Wack'd: Dude has a lot of X-Men credits and some Captain Americas [02:52 AM] Bocaj: His first writing credit was on Iron Fist apparently [02:52 AM] Bocaj: at Marvel [02:54 AM] Bocaj: But from a skim of wikipedia fantastic four was his first extended solo writing thing

#1981 #John Bryne #The Main Book

[tzigone]

What do you do about comic characters that live in real locations?

I don’t really mean just real cities, but real neighborhoods. Those are much narrower.  Sometimes used to convey a character’s economic status or personal ideology, such as when rich Ted Kord lived on Lakeshore drive or rich Victor Stone chose to live 11th Avenue and 44th street among “squalor.”   Then there’s Malcolm Duncan on “Hell’s Corner” when introduced.  At least it’s fictional. Hell’s Kitchen is a completely different environment now. Hell, the entire perception of New York is different than the 1970s (I know perception isn’t reality, but some things have definitely changed).  Urban poverty in the US doesn’t generally look like it did back then (this is even more the case with ‘40s characters like Freddy Freeman, and something I’ve brought up before).  Rural poverty, actually, probably looks far more similar.

So for reboots (or in my case headcanon reboots), do you keep the neighborhood and change the background-flavor of the character or relocate  neighborhood to try to match background presented?  I can see advantages of both.

So I am trying to decide where to put Mal and Karen and of what economic background.  They were in the toughest neighborhood of the city.  And I really do like Mal as someone who just has to jump in (as he did) when he sees someone attacking another.  Just love that in my heroes.  We saw a similar, though more kid-friendly, version of that in the cartoon YJ, of course, when he stepped in when it looked like Conner was going to beat up Marvin over his Superman shirt. So that was fun.  My timing has Mal and Karen turning 18 around 2003, so I have to try to look up old data on what the rough neighborhoods were from maybe 1990-2003.  And that’s not today, either, you know?

Also, she’s going to make billions from her solar panel and battery patents, and they’ll give 20 million each to parents and their sisters (I gave her a sister, as I didn’t think there was any canon on her family for the comics), so do they stay in the same neighborhood or do they want to live in the suburbs (particularly parents might be of a generation where that was desirable, but the kids are almost grown, so maybe not) or just to a different neighborhood in the same city?  Mal and Karen end up in California, of course.

Like, Clark Kent originally had farmers for parents - it was an extremely common occupation in the 1910s and 1920s, and that made sense. Then times (and plot demands) changed, and his parents left the farm when he was young and had a general store. Then back to the farm post-COIE, which I rather attribute the movie. I have some issues with the way the farm-background has been used for Clark since then, and so in my headcanon they aren’t farmers (but, due to the passage of time, general stores were also less of thing than they were back then, so different occupation chosen).  I think I’m being true to the spirit of the original Golden Age, at least, in that Jonathan Kent just has a common, ordinary job that doesn’t have a great impact on Clark beyond providing for him in his youth.

I kept Freddy on the poor side, but it’s nothing like in the old stories.  I couldn’t have him on his own at 14.  And Social security survivor’s benefits exist now, plus his grandpa since he’s not dead (because he can’t be on his own legally). It was important to me that he (and Billy) remain in a walkable city, since they did so much on foot in those days. And since the look of Fawcett was sorta based on Milwaukee for a while, I ended up using that as my basis for Fawcett, and it’s much cheaper than some cities.  Though Billy, in particular, ends up in a bad part of town. It feels weird I have Billy poorer than Freddy, but I left Billy on his own, and he can’t work full-time and eschew school like the 1940s version did.

It’s really easier with Marvel characters because they stay in those cities, so I can just say the cities are different in that world.  But in DC, at least the ones I’m most thinking about, these are often part of the character’s pasts, not present.

#Karen Beecher #Mal Duncan #Clark Kent #Freddy Freeman #Ted Kord #DC comics #headcanon reboot #in-my-head-reimagining

[mattelektras]

Hey, Jessie I was wondering if you had any recent comic recs from marvel with lgbt characters? I feel like every time I find one it gets canceled. Thanks 😊

im gonna focus on stuff that’s either solo or small teams with more than one lgbt member so you arent reading 40 issues for a few panels of a single character

runaways

ft an alien lesbian (from the first run onwards), another alien who’s genderfluid (came in later and doesnt stick around but theyre a huge part of the story when they do), and a bisexual girl (in the most recent run)

all runaways books are great. i personally prefer the earlier ones for content but it’s been nice to have a more current book to update the team a bit

young avengers 

ft a gay couple who are honestly the only solid constant throughout the whole series in all runs, and a lesbian who comes in in vol 2 which is weaker than 1 but still enjoyable. vol 2 also introduces an xman as bi!

the earlier the young avengers books, the better. vol 2 had a lot of promise and the characters were great but it focused more on being like. funny and hashtag relatable more than it did on being GOOD sometimes 

angela

ft a warrior lesbian and her trans lesbian girlfriend!

there’s asgard’s assassin and queen of hel. i personally prefer asgard’s assassin. the story in queen of hel is ok but characters gradually just got whiter and thinner 

there’s also 1602′s witch hunter angela

black panther: world of wakanda

focuses on a lesbian couple in wakanda and is written by roxanne gay who is bisexual herself 

darkhold: pages from the book of sins

victoria montessi is a lesbian and was one of the first (if not the first?) lgbt character to headline a comic. ive got a soft spot for her because i love kind of... gothic mysticism in comics. she has some vampirella/satana vibes. shes very cool

some honorable mentions (where the characters might not be much of a focus in the book generally, specific issues, it wasnt that good etc etc)

guardians of the galaxy 2008 - features a lesbian and bi woman in a relationship. they fight dragons for one another

astonishing xmen #50 - northstar & kyle jinadu get married. it was the first gay wedding in comics i think

iceman (2017 run & 2018 run) was really good at times but the quality varied. n i still have... reservations about how bobby came out. BUT his solos were fun

america - such a good character but such a weak book. it started off pretty ok but ended up as just. a chore to read. the story left a lot to be desired and you kind of got the feeling marvel just wanted to have a lesbian of color leading a solo book but didnt want to put the actual effort in to make it good. BUT pretty much ALL of the supporting cast is lgbt and you get to see some familiar faces

xfactor investigations made longterm life partners rictor & shatterstar canon. but its a long run of a book and you dont get a huge amount of content for the two?? start around issue 40 onwards 

shatterstar also had a solo in 2018. its not bad

loki: agent of asgard & his 2019 run - i dont read the current run but i enjoyed agent of asgard a lot. it’s rare that his gender/sexuality is played with but also taken seriously and the supporting cast is very fun

#comic recs #this is marvel when something has more than 5 issues its cancellation time unless youre a white avenger #anonymous #q & a

[x5red]

Sixty fun & fascinating facts about the classic Supergirl (3 / 4)

Welcome to the third part of this series presenting sixty fascinating facts to celebrate the sixty years since the debut of the classic Supergirl in DC Comics. Ahead are another fun-filled fifteen snippets of trivia about the original intrepid Argo City teen who leapt from that crumpled Midvale rocket ship. Covering her original Silver and Bronze Age incarnation, in comics and on screen, each factoid is calculated to intrigue and delight – hopefully even seasoned Kara fans will find a few morsels of trivia that had previously escaped their attention.

Enjoy...

31. You can actually visit, in real life, the building where she once lived.

While Superman has rarely strayed beyond his fictional base of Metropolis, Supergirl’s adventures have seen her relocate far-and-wide many times. Some of her homes have been fictional, like Midvale and Stanhope, while others have been real-life, like San Francisco and Chicago. But shockingly, not only has the Girl of Steel lived in real locations, but she has even inhabited real addresses.

A panel in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #4 (Feb 1983) exposes Linda Danvers’ home address as 1537 West Fargo Ave, Chicago – surprisingly, this turns out to be a genuine address. A later issue, #7 (May 1983), reveals that Linda’s apartment number is 12A. The building that’s currently at that location doesn’t correspond with the one drawn by Carmine Infantino, but if you happen to be passing you might want to check if one of the occupants is listed a “Ms. L. Danvers”.

32. The first theatrically released Supergirl movie was in 1973, not 1984.

As outlined in factoid #2 there was an abundant supply of superheroine movies in non-English speaking markets before Helen Slater’s Supergirl. Indeed so incredibly popular are superpowered females in some corners of the globe that, amazingly, there was even an unofficial Girl or Steel movie over a decade before the authorised Salkind-produced one. The film in question starred Pinky Montilla in the main role and was entitled simply Supergirl. Released on 23rd September 1973 into the Filipino market, the movie featured the Maid of Might’s early 70s costume but changed her origin story. Pinky would also play Bat Girl in 1973′s Fight! Batman, Fight! – and we can assume that the producers probably didn’t ask DC for permission to use the Dominoed Daredoll either.

33. She hated her time in Midvale Orphanage.

The Silver Age always presented Kara’s adventures with a naive sense of wonder and amazement; rarely did it seriously address the pain she must have felt at leaving her parents behind to die in Argo City. But comics changed a lot in the two decades after Kara was introduced, and by the time Supergirl’s origin was retold in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1(Nov 1982) a very different spin was put on things. As Kara travels to begin a new life in Chicago, she reflects back on her tragic beginnings as a superhero, including the painful loss of her parents and her feelings of starting over in Midvale: “I was a real stranger in a very strange land! With nowhere else to go, Superman had no choice but to place me in Midvale Orphanage under the name Linda Lee.”, she recalls, before concluding solemnly, “I hated it!”

34. She was a reluctant hero, often feeling out of place on Earth.

One theme that reoccurred during the Bronze Age adventures of Supergirl is how Kara felt at odds with her career as a superhero, and out-of-place on Earth. A story in Superman Family #168 (Dec 1974) demonstrates this more than most, as it brings together three troubled women with extraordinary powers. Supergirl joins her friend Lena Luthor (who has ESP) in an attempt to help Jan Thurston (who has telepathy) come to terms with her unusual powers.

After rescuing a suicidal Jan, Supergirl wins her trust by recounting her own sad journey from Argo City to Earth, explaining that at first she enjoyed the novelty of her superpowers, but quickly came to see them as a barrier. “I’m the mightiest girl on Earth -- and the loneliest!”, she laments, “There’s not a guy on the planet who can keep up with me... Not a single girl can get close enough to be my friend! Sometimes I think I’d much rather have stayed on Argo City!” But Kara goes on to outline how she overcame those feelings: “People like us aren’t different!”, she explains, “We’re just... special!”

35. She planned to start a family, until Kal-El intervened.

In the Bronze Age, DC writers clearly felt free to explore introspective ideas with Kara that likely weren’t possible with her famous cousin. One short story, tucked in the back of Superman Vol. 1 #282 (Dec 1974), demonstrated this more than any other. Kal-El travels to Florida, Kara’s then home, to confront her about suggestions that she may give up her superhero career. “This life of a super-heroine takes up too much of my time... Sets me apart from everyone else!”, she explains. “I want an ordinary life -- with a husband and children some day... Free to do what I choose!”

Naturally her straight-laced cousin isn’t too keen on this idea. He spins Kara a yarn from ancient Krypton folklore, the moral of the story being that she should be careful what she wishes for. “So you see, Kara”, he explains, “sometimes, when we get the things we think we want most... they turn out to be a curse rather than a blessing!” In light of this, Kara reconsiders her plans.

36. Wonder Woman designed one of her costumes.

As most fans know one of the few weaknesses the Man and Girl or Steel share is a vulnerability to magic; so when Adventure Comics #397 (Sep 1970) saw Kara go up against a powerful black magic cult, it was perhaps no surprised to find her badly beaten and her costume shredded. Luckily Wonder Woman was in her mod Emma Peel phase at the time, posing (in-between bouts of super heroics) as the owner of a fashion boutique. Reaching into the racks of clothes at her shop, Diana produces a completely redesigned Supergirl outfit befitting the fashions of the period, which Kara eagerly adopts. (Readers were left wondering whether Diana had redesigns of other hero costumes at the ready, or was Supergirl a special case?)

37. Her mom(s) designed two of her costumes.

Every Supergirl fan knows that Kara’s original costume was designed by her mother, Alura, so that the teenager would be recognised immediately by the Man of Steel when she arrived on Earth. But few may remember that her mid-80s costume, the headband affair she wore going into Crisis on Infinite Earths, was also designed by her mother -- her other mother. Kara’s 80s costume was design by Edna Danvers, her adopted mother on Earth, who (it seemed) was in the habit of whiling away the long dark evenings in Midvale by sketching possible costume designs for her superhero daughter.

38. She’s a fan of recycling her clothes.

The Maid of Might has had many costumes over the years -- or rather, she’s had one costume that she’s recycled over and over since the early 70s. In Adventure Comics #407 (June 1971) a new invulnerable costume was given to Kara by the folks in the Bottle City of Kandor after her original Argo City outfit had been destroyed some months before. A dedicated follower of fashion, over the coming months Kara went through a succession of wild and wacky outfits, some lasting only one issue, before finally settling on her famous hot pants attire for the majority of the 1970s. One might have assumed that somewhere in the Fortress of Solitude there was a wardrobe packed full of retired red and blue super-duds, but Supergirl Vol. 2 #13 (Nov 1983) revealed Kara’s secret -- when it comes time to upgrade her outfit, Kara unravels her old costume at super-speed and and re-weaves the resulting ball of thread into the new design.

39. Demi Moore was the director’s first choice to play Lucy Lane in the Supergirl movie.

The casting net for the title role in 1984′s Supergirl was spread far-and-wide. Director Jeannot Szwarc asked casting agent Lynn Stalmaster to search the whole globe for candidates who could not only act, but withstand the physically and mentally pressure of training for the demanding stunts and wire work. One candidate, apparently, was Demi Moore, who didn’t get the Girl of Steel role but was considered perfect for Kara’s best friend, Lucy Lane. Director Jeannot Szwarc recalled in a 1999 interview, “I met tons of girls. I remember one of the girls was Demi Moore. She was very young and had a great voice. I wanted to use her for the room mate.” But it seems fate had other plans for Ms Moore, as Szwarc explained, “She would have been [perfect], but she was going to Brazil to do a movie with Michael Caine.“ (Moore played Caine’s daughter in Stanley Donen’s rom-com, Blame It on Rio.)

40. One of her rarest appearances is from 1981, only a couple of pages long, but sells for $75+.

If there was a competition to find the rarest publication with an original Supergirl story, Danger on Parade / Le Danger Guette would surely be hot favourite for top place. This tiny comic, just eighteen panels long, was given away inside packets of breakfast cereals in Canada. It features an abbreviated adventure pitting Supergirl against Winslow Schott, aka the Toyman, in the pair’s only pre-Crisis encounter. Runner-up in the rarity stakes would likely go to the Super A and Super B booklet sets produced by Warner Books in 1977 for use in classrooms. The sets didn’t feature original stories however, but reprints with simplified speech balloons designed to teach reading skills.

41. She first met Kal-El years before she landed on Earth.

Gimmick story lines were the order of the day for Silver Age DC, and what better way to create an attention-grabbing dime-baiting cover than to arrange a bizarre crossover -- such was the case with Action Comics #358 (Jan 1968), which saw a very youthful Kara Zor-El in Argo City meet Superboy. The story is predictable fare: in deep space Superboy is scooped-up by one of Zor-El’s science probes, which brings him back to Argo City. Naturally Kara is the first one to discover the probe’s accidental passenger, and (naturally!) Kal-El has suffered memory loss that blots out his life on Earth. Kal and Kara become firm friends over the coming days, until (naturally!) the plot contrives to wipe her memory of him, and restore his memory of Earth.

42. Lena Luthor was the only friend who knew her secret identity.

In the 2015 Supergirl tv show, famously, everyone seems to know (or have known at some point) Supergirl’s secret identity... except Lena Luthor. Bronze Age DC Comics, however, were very very different: Lena first met Kara in Action Comics #295 (Dec 1962), using the name Lena Thorul to hide her connections to brother Lex. Instantly she became firm friends with both Supergirl and Linda Danvers, requiring Kara to work extra hard to stop Lena from realising they are one in the same. The deception finally ended in Superman Family #211 (Oct 1981) when Lena confessed to Kara that she’d worked out her dual identity. This made Lena the only ever friend of Linda Danvers who shared her secret. Sadly it didn’t last long, as by Superman Family #214 (Jan 1982) Lena had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage which affected her memory.

43. She didn’t put the “Kara” into Karaoke.

Over the years Supergirl has exhibited some remarkable super skills, including super ventriloquism, incredible memory, and even the ability to read minds, but one skill that she seemingly lacks is any kind of musical aptitude. Despite the modern day tv Supergirl claiming to put the Kara into Karaoke, her comic strip counterpart didn’t ever appear to sing (not even in the shower!) What’s more, as she confesses in the pages of Adventure Comics #409 (Aug 1971), she doesn’t play any musical instruments either.

44. She’s was no stranger to tragedy even before she left Argo City.

Very few Silver or Bronze Age stories dealt with Kara’s life in Argo City, but one story that gave some idea of how she filled her time appeared in the pages of Action Comics #371 (Jan 1969), when a very young Kara is shown witnessing the cruel death of her best friend, Morina. The pair are innocently playing the game Zoomron, involving the throwing a Frisbee-like disc (the Zoomron) at a target. Chasing an erratic disc Morina tumbles into a crevice filled with Kryptonite, and a tearful Kara can only stand and watch as her friend succumbed to the deadly rays.

45. The Supergirl movie was almost entirely filmed in the UK.

Most fans know that Superman I and II owe a lot to Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, northwest of London, so it is no surprise that 1984′s Supergirl returned to use the same studio complex. But while Superman complimented its studio shots with exteriors filmed in New York (Metropolis) and Alberta, Canada (Smallville), Supergirl’s production stayed firmly within the UK. Locations included the banks of Loch Moidart on the west coast of highland Scotland, the Royal Masonic School for Girls in Hertfordshire, and Black Park Lake near the Pinewood soundstage in Buckinghamshire. Shockingly, even downtown Midvale was actually a huge sprawl of street facades constructed as a backlot set at Pinewood -- the 22 days it took to shoot the tractor rescue sequence was allegedly due to the notoriously fickle British weather.

That’s all for part three. The final part, with even more extra-juicy Kara Zor-El trivia, will be available soon.

#supergirl #superhero #comics #dc #dccomics #superheroine #karazorel #kara zorel #silver age #bronze age #superman #luthor

[comm2800mockumentary-blog]

Blog 7 - Pre-planning (II)

Reflective Entry #1

Pitching and Audience Engagement;

Roscoe and Hight (2001) observe that mockumentaries ‘contain a 'latent reflexivity'...'latent' because it is difficult to predict exactly how audiences will interpret these texts’ (p. 53). Because of this, it was especially important to pitch my idea to those within my stated demographic (18+) and review their feedback. 

After creating my (first) presentation, I pitched it to my peers and members of a older demographic (40-50s) and noted their recognition and criticisms. Please watch this presentation to understand how drastically my ideas have changed! 

Here is what I found: 

:) - appreciate the ‘good’ in the ‘bad’ / humour > my audience seemed to ‘light up’ with this idea. Whether that be due to the mockumentary offering hope for its audience or due to its comic relief, the ‘panel’ seemed excited to see how this would come together and some offered their own stories to make this narrative more dense and relatable.

:) - escapism > offers us a chance to escape the troubles of our current situation 

This was great feedback to hear, especially as they were understanding my aim to draw on and even generate positive energy through the mindset of: ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. However, since my mockumentary would come out after the end of Covid-19, there may be a lack of interest. People may no longer wish to look back on such traumatic times and instead forget about the loss and devastation caused by the virus. 

:/ -  Presenter / protagonist >  In citing mockumentaries which all rely on a presenter to focus their work, there is not much clarity if you will be presenting alone, whether you will be presenting it at all or if some one else will take charge 

In response to this, I think there was a little confusion with the main protagonist of my narrative because initially I didn’t have one (singular) presenter. However, in making this documentary more ‘audience friendly’ and reliable, I decided to opt for one presenter to centre the documentary around. This presenter will / would’ve been someone with quick wit and humour like either of my parents, my sibling or close friends. Practically, this is also ideal as they will be more supportive of my ideas and would be happy to make any adjustments I might have as their director (plus ‘shreditor’!). Additionally, this will keep my budget to a minimum as I will not have to ‘fork out’ for a paid presenter or actor. In documentaries ‘"people" are treated as social actors: they continue to conduct their lives more or less as they would have done without the presence of a camera. They become cultural players...their value resides...in the ways which their everyday behaviour and personality serves the needs of the filmmaker.’ (Nichols 2001, p. 5). 

:( - global tragedy > I think the main issue I found with my audience, regardless or illustrating my desire to make each episode sensitive and relate to an important issue faced by a different demographic / community within society, was the issue of Covid-19 involving mass death. This period has caused utter despair for many and my audience felt as though to produce it in any other way than a standard documentary would result in a major backlash.

My main concern is not to trivialise matters. In reflecting on my script and previous work (including my presentation) I believe that the mock-documentary could be seen as a dismissive attempt to lift moral; neglecting the real issues which Britain, and many other countries, faced since the beginning of Covid-19. To combat this, I decided by loosely following Todorov’s equilibrium, disequilibrium theory, I would be able to showcase both the heartache and nationalism of the crisis. Whilst this is conventionally used in fictional films, I believe this documentary can truly benefit from this pattern of ‘normality, normality falling apart (the crisis), and normality forming again’. Thus divulge into both the negative repercussions of Covid-19 but also expose the benefits which came out of it such as those who survived, regardless of their heath and financial standings.

:( - target market > One of my criticisms involved my target market. An issue - or a positive in this case - with modern technological advancements is arguably that children are more invested into digital media like YouTube than they are the ‘great outdoors’. If this is the case, children make up a very large and reliable market for television and even for non-fiction documentaries/shows. It was suggested to me that I attempt to re-construct this show to make it more accessible to those in the brackets of 4-15 - a more family oriented show. 

I found this very insightful. For instance, during such difficult times, children will have an array of questions regarding the current circumstances. What is going on? Why can’t I go to school? When can I see my friends? Just to name a few! I do believe, thus, that it would be foolish of me to discard them as a big target market. 

The only challenge I’d have here, though, is to make the narrative engaging enough for the children to understand the severity of the issue, whilst not being too graphic or, on the other hand, too censored. To make the documentary informative and educational but also fun and stimulating for a much younger market - who, generally, don’t watch traditional documentaries as we know it in the ‘adult’ world. 

Here are some of my own observations: 

:( - Scripting > the pre-visualisation some-what compromises the ‘truth’ which I wish to explore within my period / historical marker of a mockumentary. Even in providing figments of the 'real’, I lack exposing the general truth in many ways. Perhaps this makes my series no different to the fear-inducing news in the media currently. 

However, the recent  #FactsNotFear campaign has inspired me to educate the audience (using limited humour) with reports and genuine facts of this extraordinary times. Furthermore, Ward (2006) argues that 'not all mock-documentaries are necessarily comedies' (p. 72). I will consider this within my own mockumentary - especially with the concerns of my market. Perhaps ‘making light out of a bad situation’ is a little naive considering the huge devastation the virus has caused.  

[EDIT]

I updated my presentation and it is now available and submitted via the streaming service. 

[danschkade]

PAGE x PAGE MINI-ANALYSIS — “FIRST SIGHTING: SUPERBOY” from THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 (1993)

PUBLISHED: DC Comics, June 1993

SCRIPT: Karl Kesel

PENCILS: Tom Grummett

INKS: Doug Hazelwood

(After this point, I don’t know for sure who did what — this is just one of many stories in this king-sized issue, with only the script, pencils, and inks credited to this story in particular. However, Grummett and Hazelwood also drew the 40+ page story that makes up the bulk of the issue, and so it wouldn’t be the craziest thing to assume they did the duties on this story as well. Acknowledging that this is an assumption, those credits are:

COLORS: Glenn Whitmore

LETTERS: Albert De Guzman

EDITORIAL: Mike Carlin with Jennifer Frank)

Fun autobiographical fact: my mother bought this comic fresh off the stands, way back in the summer of 1993. A direct followup to THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, this five and a half dozen page monster ran her $2.95, plus Texas state sales tax. I was all of three years old and didn’t know Superman from Peter Pan, so I wonder: did she run the numbers and figure, yeah, the son of a behavioral economics professor and an information systems management consultant was probably going to be the kind of serial fiction nerd who’d appreciate this comic? Did she take a gamble on the outside shot of it becoming a collectable? Or, Occam’s Razor: after all the media coverage about how DC Comics had killed the Man of Tomorrow, she saw the “BACK FROM THE DEAD?! THE MAN OF STEEL FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE!” cover blurb and thought it might be worth the three dollars ten to find out how he did.

[Cover by Jerry Ordway]

In today’s mini-analysis, I’ll be looking at just four pages of this issue. I was flipping through it for the first time in years and appreciating it in a new light, owing to my newfound appreciation for the action-packed but emotionally intelligent storytelling of penciller Tom Grummett. The issue ends in four short stories that introduce the four infamous replacement Supermen; Steel, The Eradicator, The Cyborg Superman, and of course, my man Superboy — and it wasn’t until this read-though that I realized the Superboy segment was scripted by Karl Kesel, someone who does the same kind of clean, classical work with the writing that Grummett does with the art. Now, full disclosure: I’ve worked with Karl on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: GODS AND MONSTERS for Dynamite Entertainment, but I’d like to think that instead on biasing me in Karl’s favor, it just gave me a greater understanding of his scripting acumen. I’m sure you agree. 

Since Kesel and Grummett are currently reuniting to resurrect their sci-fi adventure series SECTION ZERO on Kickstarter — more on that at the end of the analysis — I thought their four-page introduction to the Metropolis Kid might be worth an in-depth look. 

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 and all characters contained therein are property of DC Comics, reproduced here solely for educational purposes.

***

Before we start, this is the page that precedes Kesel and Grummett’s story (this preceding story scripted by Roger Stern with art by Jackson Guice and Denis Rodier):

So, this is what’s in our heads as we head into our next story, yeah? Okay. Onward.

PAGE ONE

The opening of this page has a couple hoops to jump through: it’s the start of this new four-page story, and has to introduce us to our characters and setup like any opening panel has to. But it also has to maintain the loose illusion of being a continuation of the main sixty-five page narrative; it can’t indulge in a splashy title page. And lastly, it has to execute a pretty acute tone shift from the darker than dark “Vengeance of Superman” vignette Stern and Guice just served up.

The path that vaults all hoops at once: Environment As Action. The blaring alarm at four in the morning, the scrambling troops (who in this first panel act more as setting than as characters), and a couple simple caption boxes letting us know what’s up. Background? Man, to hell with a background, we only got four pages for this thing — it’s all action, it’s all information, and it’s coming straight for us, right down to our super heroic focal point character making eye contact and shouting orders at us. This is How You Engage a Reader 101. 

The rest of the page immediately, but smoothly, gets us up to speed. Who’s the Captain America guy? The Guardian. What’s his deal? He’s in charge of the Cadmus soldiers. Who’s the suit? Westfield. A reminder of the early hour — that’s clearly important, and Kesel doesn’t want us to forget it. What’s Westfield’s relationship to the Guardian and the soldiers? The wet blanket superior officer who commands authority but not respect. Who do we like more? The Guardian, because he’s a better leader and we’ve seen his face, so we connect more with him even though his face is now partially masked. Plus he looks like a cool superhero, while Westfield looks like your friend’s lame dad. And it all ends on a classic page-turn cliffhanger: “No telling who — or WHAT — is on the other side!”

Five panels in, and already we’ve forgotten all about “the Vengeance of Superman…”

PAGE TWO

Ballsy use of such a huge panel in such a short story. The muted, mid-tone coloring of the lab not only makes the Guardian stand out, maintaining him as our focal character for this scene, but also draws our attention to the small scrap of bright red Superman cape hanging on the shattered glass tube. Situating that scrap in the bottom right quadrant of the panel guides our eye clockwise towards the next panel. And just in case you didn’t notice the scrap on its own, Grummet uses Westfield’s eyeline and his outreached hand to draw an invisible line to it. Also of note: Guardian, the honest hero just doing his job, notices the big thing, the shattered tube — Westfield, who knows what’s really going on in that lab, is the one who notices the scrap first.

Guardian is super dominant in the rest of this scene. He picks up the scrap, taking physical charge of the evidence of Cadmus’ sketchy Kryptonian secret. He’s looking directly back at Westfield, who’s turned away from him and is making excuses; signs of weakness. Guardian continues to be the largest/strongest presence in panel three and again in four, where he aligns with our POV as we look up at Packard. Speaking of Packard, he’s rocking another very recognizable lame dad look. So far the two grown-ups we’ve seen who aren’t exciting soldiers or cool superheroes are stuffy, grumpy squares. This is what adults are like in this Superboy story. 

Note how the room feels full of soldiers throughout this scene, even though there’s only ever one soldier in each panel. The smoke filling the room goes a long way to achieving this effect, suggesting unseen mass, and Guardian seals it by commanding “McFarlane” to “Have your squad search every inch of this place.” Great way to keep the scene full, but not cluttered.

PAGE THREE

As we change from interior to exterior settings, the page layout changes from the boxy, squarish panels of the previous pages to a series of page-wide horizontal panels. Nearly every panel is a good example of a different way to utilize this type of layout, starting with panel one: it gives us a nice wide establishing shot, clearly showing the geography of the tunnel entrance, the highway, and Metropolis beyond.

In panel two, the powerful left to right movement of Superboy punching the grate off the tunnel entrance is enhanced by how it utilizes all the vertical space, giving the feeling of focused power — like a bullet through a barrel.

In panel three, we see how well a horizontal layout helps us introduce a bunch of characters at once, with lots of non-active space on either side of them for everybody to get in a line of character-establishing dialogue. Kesel even sneaks in a nice little hint at the nature of Superboy’s powers. Notice that the Newsboy in the middle of the pack doesn’t get a line, but that’s fine, because he’s featured heavily in the next panel. No need to cram everyone’s moment into the same panel, which usually feels forced anyhow. 

In panels two through five, the limited vertical space is employed to cut our freshly-minted Superboy into segments. By keeping us from seeing all of him at once, we build his mystique and the anticipation of the reader, not to mention helping us get a feel for the individual elements of his complex new costume.

PAGE FOUR

Ladies and gentlemen: a late but strong entry for best superhero costume of the 20th century. After teasing him for pages, we get this legitimately iconic reveal of our new Superboy — no matter what he says he is. We also benefit from how well Kesel and Grummett established the spatial relationship of Metropolis, the tunnel, and the highway, so that we don’t need to show any of the Newsboys to know we’re sharing their POV here. We’re so familiar with the space at this point, we inherently know that’s where we are. This composition is thematically strong, too — he’s throwing this last defiant declaration before turning back around and heading down into Metropolis, into whatever adventures await him there. It’s like a low-grade cliffhanger. It’s a promise of something exciting to come. This is how you introduce a character.

***

You can buy the full 65-page issue of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 for the surprisingly low price of $1.99 off Comixology! It’s absolutely worth the read, containing one of my favorite Pa Kent stories ever. 

Now, like I said -- SECTION ZERO!

Kesel and Grummett reunite to bring back the high quality old school team-based adventure  comic — one of the few types of fiction that genuinely does work better in the medium of comics than it does anywhere else, and these guys are high in the top list of creators who can pull it off. If the Superboy pages above did anything for you, SECTION ZERO is totally on your frequency. Take a look:

Right?

If you want to read more preview pages and learn more about the project, I highly encourage everybody to check out the SECTION ZERO Kickstarter — it’s entering its last week and I so want to see this book on my shelf. 

***

As always, feel free to check me on any mistakes I might have made, add your own commentary, or share similar examples of good comics done well. I’ll be back next week with a different, longer comic to peruse.

Be well!

PREVIOUS PAGE x PAGE ANALYSES:

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #69 (with Aud Koch)

THE SHADOW STRIKES! #13

PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #13

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #17

#Superboy #Page x Page Analysis #Karl Kesel #Tom Grummett #Section Zero #Superman #DC Comics #Educational Purposes #comics

[comicteaparty]

August 17th-August 23rd, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from August 17th, 2019 to August 23rd, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

How do you handle foreshadowing for future events/reveals in your story?

AntiBunny

In AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ I cheat a little on foreshadowing. Since stories tend to change as I develop them I can't always be sure that things will play out as planned. That's why I'm vague when I foreshadow things, so that they can be interpreted in multiple ways. On the one hand giving some foreshadowing forces me to keep the story from going too far off the rails, and on the other being vague enough gives me flexibility to change my mind. One particular example is between Nailbat (a prequel) and Gritty City Stories (the main story), two characters use the same phrase "you have such a linear view of history," for the big reveal at the end of Nailbat, that these two are actually the same person. I dropped additional foreshadowing mid way through Nailbat stating that the cloak of shadows is a mystical artifact, implying that one character is wearing something that's hiding his true identity.

Bits of foeshadowing that some people can probably piece together already, but hasn't totally paid off yet is the repeated references to 50 years ago. A more vague one that won't pay off for quite a long time is the phrase "my real enemies are still very far away."

When I did that first one I wasn't entirely sure I wanted these two to become the same character, but since I was running both stories side by side at the time, it was an easy reference to throw in. If I decided against it, it's just a nod to their similarities. Since I ran with that idea it paid off big.

50 years ago has been concrete in my plan from page 1 though, so no need to be vague there.

Ultimately I'd say my approach to foreshadowing is to be vague enough to not write yourself into a corner, but be willing to follow through on it. An obvious foreshadowing needs to pay off. By staying loose with it you can make changes and still get some pay off with it. Be specific only when you have a foregone conclusion and you want to make sure you can stick to it.

HiddenElephant

I suspect I don't do it well for The Wide Ocean. http://thewideocean.thecomicseries.com/ It's a bit of a writing problem that I have; I'm scared to give too much away and end up not saying enough. There are panels where I flat-out announce what's coming next. I can recall 1 specific panel about page 40 that flat-out said, there's zombies in the sand in the ocean, but other than that? You're going to need to pay attention. At least 1 person has figured out something major to one of the characters that I've not yet revealed (and don't know how to reveal).

authorloremipsum

http://signsofthreecomic.webcomic.ws/comics/ For Signs of Three, since the stories are mysteries, I have to make sure all the clues (aka the foreshadowing) are placed in plain view of the readers. I want them to figure it out, to make guesses and such before the reveal. A plot twist should surprise but not confuse or betray your reader.

But foreshadowing is one reason I see people with No outlines and get worried

snuffysam

So, here’s the thing. I write... weird. I start with the themes of my story, then write a synopsis of each book & any other major events I can think of. I spend my drawing time for each book writing out the script for the next book and making a detailed outline for the book after that. So as a result of that process, I have a lot of room to reference future events without worry that I’m writing myself into a corner. Some things I’d call more “teases” than foreshadowing. Like how there are minor or background characters in books 1 & 2 who become important in books 3-5. Or how the cover pages for book 2 spell out “NOTHING”. But there are other things I’d definitely put under the foreshadowing umbrella. Like all the hints in Book 1 towards the plague not being natural. Or this line from Lord Ro: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/301/ IMO, I think if your comic has any twists in it, you should make a habit of foreshadowing them ahead of time. It encourages re-reading, and helps keep your audience from feeling like you pulled the rug out from under them.

Respheal

In OSP's Trope Talks video on plot twists, they categorize plots twists as being either retroactive (revealing information that changes the story up to that point) and trajectory (moving the story in an unexpected direction). The majority of Galebound's (http://www.galebound.com/) reveals and twists are retroactive. To really make the retroactive twists work, I needed to know where the story is going so I could pepper in clues to future twists nice and early without needing to retcon things. I try to make every page either have something that either gives a little more information about the world or characters, OR something that once you know the truth changes. So basically everything is revealing the truth of the retroactive twists, or setting up for a new reveal that makes the retroactive twist work. It kinda turns into the cyclical beast of foreshadowing. Some early examples--Din and Pascals's mysterious obedience throughout the first three chapters is revealed in chapter four to be magical compulsion, which then changes the tone of the first three chapters a bit when you realize Din wasn't kidding when he said he had no choice. And then you learn Din is a straight up murderer, making his interactions with Conan more...understandable? I've also got stuff scattered in that won't pay off until the literal last page, but despite that last page being hundreds of pages away the seeds have been planted.

ErinPtah (Leif & Thorn | BICP)

In But I'm A Cat Person (http://bicatperson.com/), I either did too much foreshadowing, or the twists weren't bizarre enough...there are a few things I wanted to be a source of tension and mystery, where reader comments just went "oh, of course the answer is X" (and were right).

They didn't guess everything, but there were a few dramatic character-to-character reveals where I had to think "gotta make this look really cool, because the information isn't going to wow readers -- it's all on the presentation."

LadyLazuli

In Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/) I've already dropped a lot of hints as to where this story is going, but they're mixed in with some big, shiny red herrings to throw off my readers. I don't want to (and honestly can't) hide every secret from my audience (I want them to solve SOME things and have fun doing it!), so I'm allowing some details to show more clearly than others. For example, I'm not a fan of twist villains - the character I'm currently working with the most is definitely a villain, and I don't want to hide that. I want the audience to know it, and enjoy her villainy along the way! But the big question becomes WHY and HOW she's a villain. And that's a whole other onion layer to play with.

But amidst all the fun mini-secrets, there is a single secret in the story that I want no one to predict until the last moment. Not a soul. It will probably happen, just because I A) trust that my readers are smart! and B) I don't trust myself to hide it properly ... but I want to try and conceal it as much as possible. If my other secrets fail to be hidden, I want to put all the effort into concealing this one. All in all, my reveals are the driving reason I'm making this story. As soon as I imagine drawing them, my motivation increases tenfold!

The Q

That's the whole thing about stories online, right? You want a readership, you want them engaged, and you want them to try and figure out your twists! At the same time, you want to surprise them and make some amazing surprises for them! I think there's a few different ways of handling readers guessing your twists... LOST and Gravity Falls being good examples of two different approaches.

Desnik

I'm actually having a lot of trouble with http://ask-a-warlock.tumblr.com/ and foreshadowing, I guess because a lot of executive dysfunction in settling on one plot point or another. I usually don't notice until I bring the script in to my writing group. There's all this cool stuff I want to include but I have to admit that I'm prone to overloading with foreshadowing to the point that the plot seems to stop happening

Jonny Aleksey

I've done a lot of hinting at characters in J-Man. Particularly with the Big-Man and Mr. Stone (main villains), Unknown Man (who's helped him0, and Lady M (who'll be the main antagonist of the next issue). I put in some mysteries about J-Man's parents in the prequel comic I did a while back. I see myself more putting in mysteries then foreshadowing because it gives me a bit more freedom to change and mold things when I actually do get to them. Tho I do have solid ideas for how certain important things will play out.(edited)

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

http://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/ already has foreshadowing up the wazoo. Every chapter art is foreshadowing something or contains a secret. I hid secrets in almost every page. :>(edited)

The Q

Oh MAN, I gotta read this!

And for me; foreshadowing is everything. I work really hard to use every element of the story and have as little unused setups as possible. Working on an epic fantasy, as I do right now (and -can't wait- to show), it gets even trickier, and even more important, to try and streamline what you set up, vs what you pay off later in the story.

Jurinova

In my comic (https://tapas.io/series/hiadw) I try my best to foreshadow without making it too obvious. I drop hints or hide them in plain sight, so people can notice them if they pay attention but it's not something that instantly draws attention. For me good foreshadowing is something that makes people go "Oh, of course! That's what that was about!" when they reach the point that was foreshadowed and I think at least a few times I've succeeded so far. I also tend to do a lot of little visual cues that connect certain characters or plot points, for example two characters do the same thing when they get nervous or anxious. They are definitely quite subtle but when viewing the comic as a whole they become more obvious. Since I put a lot foreshadowing into the comic it's natural that some of them go unnoticed but I'm hopeful that if someone re-reads they might pick up on them. I mean I do have hints already in place for the final chapter, so it's gonna take a while for those to be noticed.

authorloremipsum

Coming back again, to comment on two things. 1. Chapter covers or story covers that have foreshadowing in them are my FAVORITE. if the symbolism tells us what will happen in the story before it's even begun, I get so excited. 2. My favorite kind of foreshadowing in normal books is when a specific detail is pointed out in the environment that comes into play later. Excuse the violent example, but one book specifically described a hotel having razors in the bathroom, which later turned out to be a very very bad thing. In a comic, you'd probably do this with a close up on some details in an environment.

The Q

I hadn't even thought about the chapter cover thing, but I LOVE THAT!

#ctparchive #comics #comic chat #comic discussion #webcomics #indie comics #creator interview #comic creator interview #comic tea party #ctp #creator babble

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol. 1 Annual 1979

Thu Sep 12 2019 [09:09 PM] Wack'd: That's right, 1979, even though it's 1980 [09:09 PM] Umbramatic: THE 80S [09:09 PM] Wack'd: Marvel Wiki kinda has to cram these things back into canon whenever there's a break in the action [09:10 PM] maxwellelvis: Which there wasn't really for any of 1979, it seems [09:10 PM] Wack'd: Yeah [09:10 PM] Umbramatic: i would make an 80s joke but that was before my time [09:10 PM] maxwellelvis: Was that the longest arc they've had so far? The space adventure [09:11 PM] Wack'd: I don't know why this couldn't have happened before that but whatever. The alternative is that I create my own timeline and the team is excruciating [09:11 PM] Wack'd: The space adventure was pretty hecking long, yeah [09:12 PM] Wack'd: So we open in media res, with a Sandman fight. Resolved by Sue force-fielding him and Johnny using his fire to freeze him into crystal [09:12 PM] Wack'd: Which I'm pretty sure should kill him but whatever [09:13 PM] Wack'd: He'll be fine [09:13 PM] Umbramatic: sandman: "this is fine" [09:13 PM] maxwellelvis: Really shows the differing level of threat Sandman provokes between Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four [09:14 PM] Wack'd: The president of the bank Sandman was robbing gives the Four a reward: [09:14 PM] Wack'd: A cat calendar [09:14 PM] Umbramatic: cats [09:15 PM] Wack'd: This is canon forever now

[09:15 PM] Umbramatic: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW [09:15 PM] maxwellelvis: It's priceless! Literally worthless! [09:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Oh, Ben likes it. I can't make fun of it anymore. [09:16 PM] Umbramatic: i love ben [09:16 PM] Wack'd: Also: Franklin wants to join the Four! Reed says maybe when he's older, as though that's a real thing that will someday really happens [09:16 PM] maxwellelvis: lmao [09:17 PM] Umbramatic: don't worry it'll happen once ash ketchum turns 11 [09:17 PM] Wack'd: Agatha has come up from Whisper Hill to invite the Four and Franklin to vacation with her to New Salem! I'm sure this can only go well [09:18 PM] maxwellelvis: We're only going on vacation to the haunted town we barely got out of last time with our skins, in a double-length issue. [09:18 PM] maxwellelvis: What could possibly go wrong? [09:19 PM] Wack'd: An interesting device that's been happening over the past four pages is that at the bottom of each page there's been a horizontal-one-panel cutaway to an occult ritual happening. [09:19 PM] Wack'd: I can't really screenshot that but it's really neat [09:20 PM] Umbramatic: oooooh [09:20 PM] Wack'd: Hahahhaahaa

[09:21 PM] Umbramatic: rip ben [09:21 PM] Umbramatic: he just wants to go to disney world [09:22 PM] Wack'd: So they land at the airport, rent a car, and drive to New Salem. But Ben has trouble finding it, naturally [09:23 PM] Wack'd: Oh look, I found Waldo

[09:23 PM] Umbramatic: but did you find his girlfriend carmen sandiego [09:25 PM] maxwellelvis: Dear lord, we've stumbled into a Renaissance faire! Everyone run! [09:25 PM] Wack'd: Some real good layouts here. George Pérez: great at his job

[09:25 PM] Wack'd: Also: Johnny nearly gets his soul sucked out [09:26 PM] Bocaj: It Happens [09:26 PM] maxwellelvis: Gordon and Susan from Sesame Street have joined Agatha's coven, apparently. [09:26 PM] Wack'd: Well, they're the baddies [09:26 PM] Wack'd: So that stinks [09:26 PM] maxwellelvis: Never trust people who hang out with puppets. [09:27 PM] maxwellelvis: Who know what all the people in your neighborhood do. [09:27 PM] Wack'd: Also if you notice from the two-page spread, apparently the only black people in town 😬 [09:28 PM] Umbramatic: oh [09:28 PM] Bocaj: Bad show, comic [09:29 PM] Wack'd: So the Ceremony of Renewal happens. And what is supposed to be a remembrance ceremony for people killed in the witch hunts and a way to re-energize all of the townsfolks gets hijacked by those guys from the blue panels, who steal all the magical energies to bring back...this dingus.

[09:30 PM] Wack'd: Of all of the things you could've possibly done with unlimited magic energy, really? This guy? [09:30 PM] Umbramatic: dingus [09:30 PM] Wack'd: Oh right the blue panel guys were his henchmen. His impossibly dumb-looking henchmen

[09:31 PM] Wack'd: Was the one third from the right always so...Marge Simpson? [09:31 PM] maxwellelvis: FEED ME EGGS, HOMER [09:32 PM] Bocaj: oh hey i recognize some of these dinguses from the scarlet witch vision miniseries [09:32 PM] Bocaj: When Vision dryhumped babies into Wanda [09:32 PM] maxwellelvis: Somebody brought them back again?! [09:32 PM] Bocaj: 'pparently [09:33 PM] Wack'd: Fight fight fight [09:34 PM] Wack'd: Marv Wolfman: A Man Who Knows A Lot About Gazelles

[09:37 PM] Wack'd: Reed, shattering or otherwise bypassing force fields is a fucking gimme power for your villains. You say you want to fight the Fantastic Four and you get "ignoring force fields" in your complimentary gift bag

[09:37 PM] Bocaj: Reed is dumb [09:38 PM] Wack'd: So the Four get their asses thoroughly kicked [09:39 PM] Wack'd: Normally this would be the part where we cut away, and they all wake up in a prison cell which they break out of, and the plot proceeds [09:39 PM] Wack'd: But this time is different [09:39 PM] Wack'd: And Marv Wolfman is not going to just ignore the fact that this small child has just seen his entire family get beat unconscious [09:40 PM] Wack'd:

[09:42 PM] Wack'd: Franklin uses the power of inconsolable sadness and fear [09:42 PM] Wack'd: It's...*sniff*...it's super-effective [09:43 PM] Bocaj: huh [09:43 PM] Wack'd: Seriously. I like this scene a lot [09:43 PM] Umbramatic: awwwwww [09:44 PM] Wack'd: I like that we're being forced to reckon with the danger Franklin is regularly in. And the fact that he's just a kid. And that for him to use powers he doesn't know he has--for him to be the deus ex machina we routinely mock--he has to be in a real dark place [09:44 PM] Wack'd: And I like Agatha acknowledging that this is hard for him and comforting him [09:46 PM] Wack'd: So uh. Meanwhile. The Salem Seven are conducting a ritual on the roof of the Baxter Building to destroy the Four and give Nick Scratch corporeal form [09:47 PM] Wack'd: This for some reason involves generating a massive force field, gradually pushing all the people of Manhattan back as it encompasses the city [09:48 PM] Wack'd: Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the Defenders all try to break through, but fail [09:49 PM] Wack'd: Only Agatha and Franklin can break through--after all, Agatha's more powerful than her son. (The comic takes this as a given, despite Franklin's existence. Maybe it's a magic thing) [09:49 PM] maxwellelvis: It's gotta be the combined power of the entire Salem Seven that's locked Dr. Strange and Silver Surfer out of the bubble. [09:50 PM] maxwellelvis: Fewer than that and either of them could have broken through no prob, assuming that's the Defenders line-up we're talking about [09:50 PM] maxwellelvis: the Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Hulk, and Namor team [09:50 PM] Wack'd: It's not. [09:50 PM] maxwellelvis: Oh [09:51 PM] Wack'd: There's whoever the fuck this is

[09:52 PM] maxwellelvis: I know that guy but I can't remember his name. [09:52 PM] maxwellelvis: Oh, it says right there, Nighthawk [09:52 PM] Wack'd: So forgettable I forgot his name moments after reading it [09:53 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, the Salem Seven's spells are easily deflected. So are the ghostly Nick's attempts to stop her with hail, fire, and lightning [09:53 PM] Bocaj: Nighthawk: strong as two strong guys at night. Owns a jetpack. Is Batman but Somehow Worse. [09:54 PM] Wack'd:

Nick: Why won't you die, blast you?! Agatha: Because I am your mother, Nicholas.

[09:54 PM] Bocaj: Hah [09:54 PM] Mousa The 14: Damn [09:55 PM] Mousa The 14: Someone call the cops, I’d like to report a familicide [09:55 PM] Umbramatic: ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh [09:55 PM] Mousa The 14: This woman completely obliterated her son [09:55 PM] maxwellelvis: Oh snap [09:55 PM] Mousa The 14: Yes he deserved it, just figured you’d all wanna know [09:55 PM] Wack'd: Agatha and Franklin make their way into the Baxter Building where a brainwashed Fantastic Four are waiting. [09:56 PM] Wack'd: Franklin 🥺

[09:57 PM] Mousa The 14: This is legitimately genuinely terrifying [09:57 PM] Mousa The 14: Like, jesus christ that's horrifying [09:57 PM] Umbramatic: y i p e [09:57 PM] Mousa The 14: Like this big friendly ol' teddy bear unle Ben Grimm crushing a child to death [09:57 PM] maxwellelvis: "Thank you, Nicholas Scratch, I feel much better now" [09:57 PM] Mousa The 14: has to be one of the most horryfing ideas in my mind right now [09:58 PM] Wack'd: Fortunately, Franklin manages to break their mind control with the power of love. Also being a god [09:58 PM] Umbramatic: Jesus Christ, how horrifying! [09:58 PM] Bocaj: Unleash your annihilation of love [09:59 PM] Wack'd: And Agatha sets right what has once gone wrong

[10:01 PM] Wack'd: And so the story ends with...Ben complaining there's no reward? I guess?

[10:02 PM] Wack'd: Probably should've ended on a more Franklin centered note [10:02 PM] Wack'd: But overall I like this one a lot [10:02 PM] maxwellelvis: Agatha erased the cat poster from his memory, I assume [10:02 PM] Mousa The 14: I can’t believe we let this woman fall into lost history, she should be in every F4 adaptation [10:03 PM] Wack'd: She's great, yeah

#1980 #Marv Wolfman #George Pérez #The Main Book

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #201

Tues Aug 27 2019 [12:08 AM] Wack'd: So this is the last regular issue of 1978 [12:08 AM] Wack'd: There's also an annual. And also last year's annual because there's literally no room in 1977 or 1978 for it to have happened, so Marvel Wiki shoved it here [12:10 AM] Wack'd: We opened with us still being in Latveria! Okay, sure [12:10 AM] Wack'd: Definitely the outfit of a man who's planning on putting together some meaningful democratic elections

[12:11 AM] maxwellelvis: That hat looks familiar... [12:11 AM] Wack'd: But he confirms he is. He's real happy that political parties are forming and that there's "fighting and endless squabbling" because it means progress is happening [12:12 AM] Wack'd: Political parties never result in anything bad happening, ever, especially when they hate each other's guts [12:12 AM] Umbramatic: yes [12:12 AM] maxwellelvis: SupercalifragalisticexpielaWACKY! [12:13 AM] Wack'd: So the team returns to the Baxter Building, mostly because it's the only place in NY they can put the Pogo Plane [12:13 AM] Wack'd: Reed is still kinda iffy on reforming the team, which naturally everyone rolls their eyes at [12:14 AM] Wack'd: Collins is there to greet them! Good old Collins [12:15 AM] Wack'd: Even though the Four are a damn nuisance there's literally no one who wants to rent the Four's old headquarters, for fear of supervillain attacks, so he offers to let them back in..."for, ahem, a raise in the basic rent, of course, to make up for my losses" [12:15 AM] maxwellelvis: Yer a peach, Collins [12:15 AM] Wack'd: Ben is like "actually, fuck you, we want the rent lowered, a promise that the heat will stay on, and a promise of no solicitors" [12:16 AM] Wack'd: Collins...doesn't really have a choice unless he wants to keep losing money on like a sixth of the building [12:17 AM] maxwellelvis: Y'know, I think I'd take Mr. Ditkovich as my landlord over Collins. [12:17 AM] maxwellelvis: How about you guys? [12:17 AM] Wack'd: And so within the day contractors are on the scene to get the Four back in working order [12:17 AM] Wack'd: Just, uh, regular ol' contractors, apparently! Who are a little baffled by Reed's talk of "ion displacer cables" and "Negative Zone locking mechanisms" [12:18 AM] Wack'd: But they're doing their best [12:20 AM] Wack'd: Johnny maybe you're not having any luck on the dating scene lately because you're a misogynist

[12:21 AM] maxwellelvis: Frommage? Sue, I think you've been swindled. [12:21 AM] Wack'd: She means From Mage. It's a magic dress [12:21 AM] Wack'd: It's actually really impressive Johnny managed to set it on fire [12:22 AM] Wack'd: Hey hey! A good ol' fashioned Baxter cutaway. I've missed these.

[12:23 AM] Wack'd: And, for the first time, an acknowledgment that the building has two other walls on which rooms can be constructed [12:23 AM] maxwellelvis: Interesting that Ben's quarters are marked "when he's staying at the building" [12:23 AM] maxwellelvis: and also "Room X" [12:24 AM] maxwellelvis: Bet we're going in there soon. [12:24 AM] Wack'd: Ben and Alicia are living together, presumably. [12:24 AM] Wack'd: In siiiiiiin [12:24 AM] maxwellelvis: If it's good enough for Sweet Aunt Petunia, it's good enough for them, I guess. [12:24 AM] Wack'd: So, uh [12:24 AM] Wack'd: Franklin is now ten years old, assuming time is still moving [12:25 AM] maxwellelvis: You'd think that it is, and yet... [12:25 AM] Wack'd: He still has a crib. And a door that opens directly into his parents room [12:25 AM] Bocaj: Room X FROM OUTER SPACE [12:25 AM] Wack'd: But I think my favorite detail is--and I'll admit there's maybe no way to avoid this problem--there's a rocket launch pad right next to Franklin's room [12:26 AM] Bocaj: Amazing [12:26 AM] Wack'd: That kid is gonna have some sleepless nights [12:26 AM] maxwellelvis: Maybe that's how Comic Book Time gets you. It creeps in, in small doses at first, until you have something like that staring you in the face. [12:26 AM] Wack'd: I mean probably that makes a fuckton of noise wherever you put it but Franklin needs ten hours a night! He's a growing boy! [12:26 AM] Wack'd: Right next to his room is by far the worst option! [12:27 AM] Wack'd: Also, hey. No place for Agatha. So I guess we're done with her being a live-in nanny [12:27 AM] Wack'd: In fairness Franklin is back to having the regular presence of two parents. In theory [12:28 AM] Wack'd: So back to the story [12:29 AM] maxwellelvis: She might be living down the way at Avengers Mansion. [12:29 AM] Wack'd: Reed, the police exist to oppress minorities. And other superheroes...are probably fine, relatively, that's a good point. NYC is fucking packed

[12:30 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Reed is attacked by "Microbe 201-B" and now I want to see them try and shoehorn the issue number into every story somehow [12:31 AM] Wack'd: 201-B has grown a lot and escaped its test tube, baffling Reed [12:31 AM] Wack'd: This is probably why you don't hire normal contractors to set up a superscience lab [12:32 AM] Wack'd: Anyway 201-B eats Reed. Bye Reed [12:32 AM] maxwellelvis: Oh no, it's the Intruder! Everyone run! [12:33 AM] Wack'd: Ben and Sue are also attacked [12:33 AM] Wack'd: Ben by his own superscience exercise equipment and Sue by lasers and then a water main break [12:35 AM] Wack'd: Sue, honey, you spent 20 issues divorced and another ten with the team splitting up and got basically no character development. Being away from the team does not guarantee you an interesting arc

[12:36 AM] Wack'd: Johnny is also attacked. But also these are his thoughts so something big is coming, maybe, possibly.

[12:36 AM] Wack'd: Johnny is attacked by fire extinguisher foam because of course he is [12:37 AM] Wack'd: But he manages to escape by flying outside the building and manages to rescue Ben and Sue [12:37 AM] Wack'd: Sue who, I'll remind you, was attacked by a burst pipe [12:37 AM] Wack'd: And is unconscious in a pool of water when they find her [12:38 AM] Wack'd: Reed has escaped from being ate off-panel and is now instructing Johnny to go shut down the main power core [12:39 AM] Wack'd: Johnny is immediately taken out by some gas traps because obviously the main power core is booby-trapped, c'mon [12:40 AM] Wack'd: So Sue goes in after him and manages to stop all the traps with her force field. There's a sequence code to turn off the main power core that if you get it wrong it explodes, because sure [12:40 AM] Wack'd: The obvious solution is to put in the wrong code on purpose and then contain the explosion with a force field so she does that [12:40 AM] Bocaj: This is why you more carefully choose contractors [12:41 AM] Wack'd: If that's the moral of the issue I will be mildly shocked [12:41 AM] Wack'd: I totally believe any given Marvel writer would have a bad experience getting their home fixed and then write a mean-spirited story about it [12:42 AM] Wack'd: So Reed goes over the computer and finds no problems but is gonna call Tony Stark to look them over [12:42 AM] Bocaj: I like the guy but Tony Stark is the last person you should call about a computer malfunction [12:42 AM] Wack'd: Tony Stark: the best at knowing when machines have turned evil [12:42 AM] Bocaj: His whole life is a computer malfunction [12:43 AM] Bocaj: You'd think it would give him expertise but consider also that it keeps happening and never stops from happening [12:43 AM] Wack'd:

[12:43 AM] Wack'd: A few things to note here: [12:44 AM] Wack'd: 1. Yes, those were Ben's exact words. Which means Ben was making fun of "with great power comes great responsibility" like half a year before it was a thing. [12:44 AM] Wack'd: Anyone who doesn't like when Marvel gets self-deprecating or too meta can shove it [12:45 AM] Wack'd: 2. This is still a hilariously simple rationale for getting the team back together, especially since it has nothing to do with why the team split up and only addresses concerns that were first raised this very issue [12:46 AM] Wack'd: 3. Steve Martin was presumably real big in 1978 [12:46 AM] maxwellelvis: He was, actually [12:47 AM] Wack'd: 4. "The Osmond family" is still a metanym for wholesome togetherness. I don't think I need to tell any of you that's not gonna last very long, which is fine, because the Four aren't a very "wholesome togetherness" kinda group anyway [12:47 AM] Bocaj: They get more wholesomeishesque as time goes on [12:48 AM] Bocaj: At least they have a very dangerous edge in the early stuff [12:48 AM] maxwellelvis: The late 1970's is exactly when Steve Martin was at his peak, at least strictly as a comedian [12:48 AM] Wack'd: It's weird when rosy memories of a thing retroactively whitewash their sharper edges. Happened with Jiminy Cricket and Kermit the Frog something fierce [12:49 AM] maxwellelvis: Oh yeah, I remember Jiminy Cricket being surprisingly horny. [12:49 AM] Bocaj: wut [12:49 AM] Wack'd: He's also kind of a snarky asshole, too [12:49 AM] maxwellelvis: Especially to that rotten Lampwick kid. [12:49 AM] Wack'd: Most of his moralizing at Pinocchio takes the form of yelling or lectures or just making fun of him [12:50 AM] maxwellelvis: He HATED that boy. Not Pinocchio, Lampwick. [12:50 AM] Wack'd: Anyway I think the Four are mostly wholesome by comparison? Like Bart Simpson. They're never gonna be flawless role models but as time goes on and you can depict more bad stuff they slowly slide towards the acceptable end of edginess [12:51 AM] Wack'd: Like, they're closer to Mickey Mouse than Deadpool but mostly because Deadpool is waaaaay out in the deep end [12:51 AM] KarkatTheDalek: Bart isn't that wholesome [12:51 AM] Wack'd: Yeah but compared to. I dunno. Stewie Griffin. Which is a real comparison Family Guy spent like an hour making that one time. Also Cartman which is something South Park also got into [12:51 AM] maxwellelvis: He isn't the iconoclast he was in 1989 anymore either, Karkat [12:52 AM] Wack'd: Edgy cartoons love making fun of how mundane Bart's troublemaking is [12:52 AM] KarkatTheDalek: That is true [12:52 AM] Bocaj: It has the same energy as Spawn declaring that "Only SISSIES change their costumes in a phone booth" [12:53 AM] Bocaj: It immediately fills me with disdain towards the property trying to be so edgy in comparison [12:53 AM] KarkatTheDalek: But I do recall an episode where they were at the dentist, and Bart saw Skinner loopy on the laughing gas, so he went in, pretended to be the dentist, then practically beat the shit out of him before pointing the x-ray machine directly at his balls [12:53 AM] Wack'd: We're getting off track [12:53 AM] KarkatTheDalek: Probably, yes

#1978 #Marv Wolfman #Keith Pollard #The Main Book