Starbolts #213: Love and Robots

Bad guys joining superhero teams is nothing new. The Avengers have had members turning over a new leaf for about as long as their fifty year history. And to celebrate their fiftieth year, I have two baddies who MAY become good guys later. I don't know. If I ever decide to make two baddies become good guys, it might be Valentine and Punchline. Only because...let's face it....their hearts just aren't into the whole super-villain thing. They haven't held any countries for ransom or killed anyone. Plus, I think you'd decide on a new career path if your teammate was using your duplicates to create a robot army. Plus, I think Valentine's more suited to being a femme fatale to be honest.

Back to the Avengers since I promised a post talking about them. I love the Avengers. They're one of my favorite teams in the Marvel Universe. Not THE favorite. But, they are still good nonetheless. The Avengers have reached their 50th year and we've seen legends, Gods, heroes and villains join their ranks. They're Marvel's answer to the Justice League and have continued to fight the foes no single hero can withstand.

Next time, I'll talk briefly about Marvel's mighty mutants the X-Men! Who...also turn 50 this year. Heh. What a year for 50s, right? See ya next time!

Starbolts #212: Trouble Underground

Hail!

Heh. What can I say about the last few panels? Hmmm....How about:

"Look out! It's Noradimus Prime!"
"This is no time for daytime soap material!"
"Can I get one of those for Christmas?"

I could do this all day. I'm not entirely sure how Noradimus...er..Nor-Mad changes from that vehicle mode to robot, yet. I'll probably draw the transformation sequence this weekend. If I have time. I am going to be putting the Superman #1 review up on Youtube soon. So, that's going to take a bit. But, holy crap. Nor-Mad got a much needed fresh coat of paint. I wasn't a fan of the old style. It didn't really fit with the rest of Norad's forms.

And trust me, there are quite a few of them. Norad doesn't just come in red and green flavors. (Foreshadowing!)

In other news, this year marks the 50th anniversary of two of my favorite teams from Marvel history. Expect a blog or two about the Avengers and the X-Men in the future. Of course, next Saturday is the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who and I will be watching that. Everything I've seen so far on that program has gotten me kind of hyped. Okay. That's a lie. I am VERY hyped.

It's a great time to be a fan of many things. I only hope they keep the momentum going! Until next time, everyone!

Starbolts #211: RULE, BRITANNIA!

Rule, Britannia indeed. For those not in the know, that's a patriotic song from the United Kingdom. I have to admit, saying that would be a lot cooler than saying "God save the Queen!" or something. Anyway, Britannia is pretty feisty isn't she? She's around Marcus's age so this would make her the oldest of the upcoming New Starbolts, which include a new Centurion and the daughter of Garazo. One wonders who else will be on this team. Well, I do. But, that's beside the point.

As far as Valentine goes? Wow. She's in a dilly of a pickle. I figure she went to compose herself a bit. I mean...when you deal with duplicates, how do you know who the original is? There's gotta be a way to know for sure. I remember a Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode where Marge was with a clone of Homer that had no belly button. Curious. Perhaps the same is true about the duplicates. Perhaps the original was already made a drone. Perhaps...I say "Perhaps" too much? Perhaps. =)

It has been an interesting week. Video uploads are going slowly as I am putting them up one ep a week. I should be done by March barring any complications. You can find the videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/cferra1227 

The first three Comic Showcases are up. I'll be uploading the fourth this weekend. It's the one about The Flash if memory serves and that was the one where I stopped using a program to pan across images and learned how to keyframe. Thank goodness, too. Those files were clogging up my old computer. Anyway, look forward to that and a new intro starting with that video. I'm not fond of that one. So, I am going to put the one Laura made to new music and use that.

Until next time!
 

Starbolts #210: I, Syntax

Hail!

Okay. Show of hands. Who here would actually TRUST Valentine? No, seriously. She's got these metahuman pheromones that would drive guys crazy. I did these panels to add a bit of depth to her because, well, she needed depth. You can't write someone like that and not have her have an ulterior motive for doing the things she does. It just doesn't work. Characters like her are like onions. There are more layers. The question is, everyone, is would you trust her even if she gives you a sob story like in panel 25? My beta-reader, Laura is a bit sketchy about her. And she should be. Speaking of her....

Last night, Laura and her long time boyfriend and friend of mine, Rich aka Daffy finally got engaged! From what Rich told me, he proposed in the most dorky, nerdy way possible. Which is fine. Mainly because nerd and dork culture is chic right now thanks to things like Doctor Who and the Marvel cinematic universe.

I've known both of them going on five years now. I've met them through tgwtg and talked with them a lot over the years. Hell, they even got me a personalized message from Stan Lee! How cool is that? The two are probably my closest friends on the site and the ones I have known the longest. To them, I wish the best of luck! You both deserve it and every ounce of happiness. Take care, guys and may you both continue to love each other for years to come! You're an inspiration to couples everywhere!

And that's all I've got to say about that! Until next time!

Starbolts #209: Syntax Error

Hail!

I admit it. When I was doing the panels with Norad appearing, the Transformers theme popped in my head. There'll be another reference to them, soon. I also remember a friend of mine once telling me Norad was a badass without realizing he's a badass. Can androids be badasses? That's a question for another time, I guess. Either way, Norad's in London and is about to kick some robot positron relays. Good thing he has an em pulse cannon or two, huh? Rockets would have made things too messy. So many robot parts to clean up. Plus, we don't know for sure if they are true robots. I know how Syntax is using the duplicates and trust me...it's kinda gross. It should explain why Punchline freaked out.

In other news, I am going to put my second ep of Comic Showcase on Youtube soon. It's the Darkhawk one and it's one I really liked. Sure, I was coming off of a cold while filming. But, that's okay. Gonna be a while before we get to the newer ones.

At least I have the comics. Those aren't going anywhere. Oh and it looks like the Avengers and X-Men's 50th anniversaries are coming up. I may make a special article about those. We shall see.

Until next time!

Starbolts #208: There's No Place Like London

Hail!

Ladies, I'd gladly allow any one of you to smack Valentine silly just on principle. I'll sell tickets. Yeah, she's a bit of a umm...what's the word? Whore? Yeah, that sounds about right. She's pretty much the Legion's bicycle. Everyone's had a ride. I don't condone what she and the others are doing to Simon. Hehe. Simon. I picked that name because, well, think of the ultimate Simon Says game he'd be playing with his duplicates.

Now those duplicates have turned into robots and this last couple panels is a homage to the Cybermen invasion scene from the serial "The Invasion". I think Marcus and Britannia are going to be in for a LOT of trouble. Here's hoping they can handle it!

In other news, I am going to work on getting another vid on Youtube soon. Just need to figure some things out. 

I also watched a documentary on PBS called ” Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle” where the history of the Superhero genre was discussed. Every single one of the greats were involved from Stan Lee to Alan Moore. I’m not going to lie. I knew most of the facts and figures. I knew the history. There was just something about it that really captivated me. It made me feel like a kid again.

It also made me feel like writing and examine how I craft my own tales of daring-do. Do I take the Marvel approach and write heroes with heart? Or do I create iconic characters? The simple answer, for me, is to do both. Creating superheroes is what I love to do and I think this program reaffirmed my passion for the art form.

Every once in a while, something comes along and reignites the passion we have for whatever you like be it comics, movies, music, wrestling. You name it. For me, it’s always been the pages of a comic book. I’ve been an avid reader since the early ’90s. I’ve grown attached to characters and I decided to write my own things. I dunno why it was reaffirmed. I just know that I really love what I do.

This show was good in that it brought to light why I love comics and why I love to write. I don’t mean to turn this into a review. I just think that every once in a while, we need something that reaffirms a passion for anything we do in this life.

And as far as superheroes go, Todd McFarlane and others in that documentary put it best. Supers aren’t going away any time soon. They’re here to inspire and to aspire to be like. They’re here to show us how to deal with crises. How to have extraordinary powers and yet be human at the same time. They are our modern mythology.

Everyone who loves comics should check out the documentary. It’s a great watch. As for me,.I’m going to keep doing what I do. I’m going to enjoy the mythology for what it is because every now and then we need heroes in our lives. ‘Nuff said.

Starbolts #207: Across the Pond

 Hail!

I've got some news. By now, you have probably heard that I had been cut from blip. That's fine, to be honest.  I like doing the comics and telling stories. For the foreseeable future, that will be going on as planned. Right now, I am attempting to put some of my animations on my Youtube channel. When they are ready, I'll link them via Twitter and such. Comic Showcase itself may or may not go up. It depends on a few things. If I do get them up, they will probably go up one a week. I may need to change a few things. That's about all I can say on that front. I'm not really upset over Blip. It's fine. Others have unfortunately been cut, too. So, a lot of people are in the same boat.

I'm not going to say it's the end of Comic Showcase. I will review things. They just may just be text-based reviews. We'll see. I do like doing videos. I just need to figure out what I can do to appease the Youtube bots. *Looks up at the comic* Hmm...The possibilities are endless.

Right now, I am going to focus on fixing Starbolts #100. That's the main priority.

In comic news, well...We've got Jack Lantern back in time for Halloween. It's fitting that he'll be the big bad Marcus'll be facing for the next couple weeks. I mean, he's got a pumpkin head. It's October. This is PERFECT! Also, I loved putting in a few references to stuff this week. Namely Doctor Who. Expect another one when I reveal the identity of Britannia.

Also, it looks like the Agents museum has a few new artifacts. There's a ton of goodies in there from the 'Bolts adventures and other heroes' mementos. I grayed out the first Lady Liberty as she passed away and showed her as a ghost. She wasn't killed in action or anything. She died of old age.and lived long enough to see Andrea become the second Lady Liberty. She never met Jenna, though.

Well, that's it from me. Expect more on Britannia and the Legion soon. Take care!