Starbolts #565: The Infinite Palace

 

 

  Hail!

    The Starbolts have arrived in town and are ready to face Demonstorm. One group has already succumbed to one of his tricks. How will Marcus and the others escape from their own fears? Hard to say. But, you can bet Crystal is not happy with having her mind messed with. Marcus certainly isn't. He doesn't take kindly to having his mind messed with, either and is going to fight every step of the way. Demonstorm's illusion is already starting to crack and that's a good thing. On the outside he may be a joker. But, he's actually very smart and is a hero. Demonstorm underestimates him and that may be the key to his own undoing.

    I do like that we have a "Scooby Doo" reference with Crystal's group. Crystal would clearly be Daphne. Marcus is Shaggy. Firaxil is Fred. That just leaves Sara as Velma. There are probably stories out there on the Internet where Shaggy ends up with Daphne and Fred ends up with Velma. You never know and I'm not going to look for them!

   It's probably best to just leave those aside. Next week we'll be seeing more fears and what M'anta's team is up to. As for Demonstorm himself, he is there. He just likes to play tricks on our heroes.

See ya next time!

 

Starbolts #564: Demonstorm Lives!

 

 Hail!

     Well, now. Demonstorm is back and he still has his twisted idea of what a hero should be. If you remember from the Starbolts "tournament" comics which ran from Starbolts #153 to Starbolts #200, Demonstorm had this crazy idea that he should be the hero. The thing is though at heart he is an evil, evil tyrant with none of the morality which makes a person a hero. He goes about it all wrong and now thousands are dead because of his misguided beliefs. Charming, isn't he?

    M'anta expressed some guilt of course when killing Lord Demonstorm. He has a heart. Of course he would feel guilty over taking a life even if it's his enemy. Now that he's back, he feels less guilty. This may be a problem. We'll see what happens when he confronts him once again.

    Crystal is right, though. Evil comes in many forms. Tanis doesn't have the monopoly of sucky "father" figures. The "men" who raised Sara and Crystal were far, far removed from their actual birth father, Stan. The girls wish they were raised by him and their mother. They don't wish what they went through on anyone. I think Tanis understands that now. We're going to see how this all will play out very soon.

    This is also the second time Jack has his grandfather's shield. Is he trying to be the next Iron Eagle? We'll see. First things first. The Starbolts have an interdimensional tyrant to stop! Good luck, team! You're gonna need it!

See ya next time!

Starbolts #563: Next Steps

 Hail!

    A new year has begun for our heroes and it has started with a bang! It certainly didn't take long for the danglers Medea talked about last time to turn up did it? Keep in mind that these are two pretty big danglers. There are others I talked about in the comic and you can be sure they'll be dealt with in the coming year. For now let's take a look at this comic.

    Crystal is ready to hit the ground running in her training. She has never been more focused in her life now that she knows who and what she is. She knows that with her great confidence, comes great responsibility. She just wants to be able to use it the right way. And she will. Her boyfriend, Marcus, of course will support her and help as always. It's just another hurdle for her to face and she will meet it head on!

    Sara is taking a more pragmatic approach as always. She'll be catching up to her sister in no time. She just needs time to carefully analyze the situation. It's funny how both twins are identical in terms of physical appearance (minus the hair and eyes) but they take different approaches to everything. For the longest time, Crystal didn't know who she really was and she wants to explore everything. Sara does, too. But, she is taking the more analytical approach. They are twins. Just sometimes they don't always do the identical thing.

    Now there's Tanis. The book he gave Cece is going to help Angela with her problem. That will get resolved, too. Poor kid, though. He's reacting to the Starbolts craziness and is wondering what is going on. He SHOULD be used to this kind of thing. Problem is he never really embraced things.

    I kind of wish I could have done a comic involving Marcus vs the tracksuit gang. That would have been funny! But, perhaps we'll see them another day. 

    The scene has been set for a new year full of Starbolts adventure. The players are ready. The orchestra is engaged. Now let's see if they can dance.

See ya next time!

Starbolts #562: New Year, New Problems

 Hail! 

    A new year is upon us and with that several new "danglers" that need to be resolved. These are of course dangling plot lines that will have to be solved next year and possibly into the year after depending on how long the stories go on for. We've got plans for stories involving Ruby, Snake, Rudo, the Nanobots and all sorts of things. This year we even find out a bit more about our mysterious couple who were last seen in the 2020 year end comic.  Who are they? What are they planning?

    Relax. All will be revealed in time. For now we know their names. They are Nikki and Calvin and they have some history with the Starbolts. Are they friend or foe? Eh, that remains to be seen. For now we have much to look forward to regarding them and the resolution of the many other plot lines.

    So, what about Medea and Crimson Justice? Well, I think CJ will recover just like he recovered from his ailment in 2020. Medea is doing just fine by herself.  It's probably a good idea to just leave her alone, you know.

    Well, I hope everyone has a great new year! See you in 2022 for more Starbolts action!

Starbolts #561: The Most Wonderful Time of Year

 

 Hail!

    This year's holiday comic takes a different turn as we don't necessarily have a Christmas theme. But, it does present a Christmas message nonetheless. The message is that family is important and that just because things may look bleak, there may be a sign of hope. You never know unless you try. Granted Selena is very lucky in her case that her sister accepts her as a lesbian. Some people aren't as fortunate. It really does depend on the family and everything. Still, family is important and Kaori gave her the best gift of all.

     I also wanted to spotlight Kaori as we don't show her that often. We learned that she is an orphan and was raised by Stan's old friend and teammate, Ganetsu. We also learned she may be a little jealous of Sara and Crystal over the void witch thing. We'll be covering more of that in future comics.

    As far as Selena go, I think their relationship was made a bit stronger. As a Starbolt, Kaori usually helps strangers. This week she helped her girlfriend see that she was worried over nothing. That's bound to score some girlfriend points if you ask me!

See you next time!

Starbolts #560: The Next Great Lesson

 

 Hail!

    This week some valuable lessons have been learned. The first being to never judge outward appearances. Sure Adelphus may have looked and played the eccentric fool. However, he is brilliant. The problem is that the years are catching up to the wizard and sadly it's taken a toll. Stan will happily accept more time on the council as they find a suitable replacement. Who will it be? For all we know it could be Lucas. He learned an important lesson this week. Never spare against a Starbolt. Well, you can. Just make sure they aren't a super-soldier, alien or an android. As long as it's none of those people you SHOULD be okay. Emphasis on should. Results may vary. Poor Lucas. I think the Order of Korun needs to employ a strict regiment on hand-to-hand-combat. That's clearly where Crystal excels.

    Speaking of Crystal, she learned that what she experienced with Marcus is normal, healthy sex. That is a huge deal for her. Yes, they've had sex before. But, that's not the point. The spells were definitely inhibiting the pleasure centers of her brain because of past trauma. She didn't know what good sex was supposed to feel like because of the blocks and because Cody was so abusive. 

    What happens next? Well, Crystal is definitely going to explore this "soul bound" magic Cece was talking about. We'll be sure to cover more of that next time. In the mean time, we have a Christmas comic coming! Stay tuned!

See ya next time!

Starbolts #559: Trial by Magic

 

 Hail!

    It looks like the plot thickens this week as Stan makes the scene as only he can. Stan is a wizard and a very well renowned one. His words have weight and while he isn't on the council that much, he still has a lot to say--especially concerning his two daughters. I liken his actions this week to when Nick Fury told off the "World Security Council" in the first Avengers movie. Will there be consequences to all of this? Probably. As Stan himself said, there always is.

    In my mind, Adelphus was overjoyed when Stan burst through the doors. Not because he was bored or anything. It was more that he relishes in the excitement of seeing Stan do magic. He was happy when Stan freed Crystal. This is probably because Adelphus was the one who vouched for Stan's entrance into the Order. We may get into their history next comic.

   Sara and Crystal will be assessed and there will be some talking going on. You can bet Cassandra is off fuming somewhere. She and Lucien definitely had a history together. While they were together, I don't think it ever went beyond a certain point. I dunno if she holds ill will toward the girls. She definitely does for Cece. Time will tell what happens on that front. Stay tuned! 

See ya next time!