On Stan Lee

Today we lost a legend in the comics industry. His name was Stanley Martin Lieber and he was the co-creator of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and really most of the Marvel Universe. He was an icon who inspired legions of people from all over the world myself included. I remember first reading Stan Lee's works back when I started reading comics in the late 1980s. Immediately I was hooked! I was blown away that this was the guy who created Spider-Man, a character I was watching on Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends at the time. I was hooked and I was never the same since.

Stan Lee inspired me to create the Starbolts. I always wanted to create my own superheroes like he did. Ironically, he and I share some similarities in that regard. He always said that he couldn't draw very well. Neither can I. That was another thing that drove me to him. He never seemed to let his inability to draw get in the way of his imagination and we all know what kind of a wild imagination "The Man" had. That's why he was an inspiration. He inspired legions of fans to create, draw and dream about characters that are larger than life.

Do I regret not meeting him? I do. But, if you've been reading my blog for a long time, you may recall a post of mine from 2012 where I talked about how my friends' Rich and Laura got Stan to do a personalized video message. They had him drop everything and deliver me a message. He wished me good luck with everything I was doing and he seemed very, very sincere. Fans would agree that he is genuine. There's no mean bone in his body and I think that's why people were drawn to him. I guess in a way I did meet Stan Lee. Sure it would have been nice to see him in person, but,  that moment is something I'll always cherish. It was a personalized message given to me by two good friends. I need to find a way to immortalize that video. It probably means more to me than the Stan Lee biography I have.

Stan Lee was a powerhouse who will be remembered for many years to come.

Just one last thing to add before I go. Though he may be gone, his creations will live on on the comic page and on the big screen. I guess one man really can make a difference. 'Nuff said.

Thank you for being an inspiration.

EXCELSIOR!

Starbolts #411: Homecoming

Hail!

It's been a long time coming and now Sara has returned to the Starbolts! Just so you know, the adventure is far from over. We still have Clive to track down and we need to figure out who he called. There are still plenty of mysteries to solve and over time Sam and I will reveal everything. For now Sara Whitefox has returned to the Starbolts. Ten years may have passed in real time. However, it's been about two years in comic time. Gotta love those sliding timescales!

As you can see it took a long time to work on this sixty panel behemoth of a comic. It was well worth it and I think next comic will be about the same length. We're still working on the assorted odds and ends. I tried to include as many characters as I could in the two-panel spread up there. Too bad Tanis is still in sickbay. He'll be fine. He'll meet Sara soon enough.

At least the Starbolts have cause for celebration and it couldn't have come at a better time since this year is the comic's tenth anniversary. Funny how things work out, huh? Now it's time to turn the mic over to my good friend and co-writer, Sam! Sam, take it away!

Sam: 

She's back! After ten long years Sara Whitefox returns to the Starbolts. Firaxil gets his girlfriend, the Whitefox clan get their missing member, and team science gets their third scientist. A little bit of good after all of the hardships Chris has been putting his creations through.

I have to say, when Chris told me Sara was coming back, I was equal parts ecstatic and terrified. On one hand, I had the chance to work with a character I have loved for over a decade, on the other, I knew that the Sara I had once created wasn’t fit for the world as it is now. Too much had changed over those ten years. Chris and I are different people and the Starbolts are a different team. We needed Sara to adapt too.

Chris and I have spent months redeveloping Sara’s character into someone whose return would really have an impact on the whole team. Some changes were easier than others. The original prose, for example, had Sara’s parents as Apollo and Isis. But Apollo was changed for the comics and there’s no Isis so that no longer worked. We toyed with a few ideas but ultimately we knew that Clive Marshall had to be Sara’s father. That alone gave us plenty to work with. Who would her mother be now (aka, who in their right mind would get into a relationship with Clive?), how would her powers initially manifest, how would this information affect her going forward? It’s been exciting to explore and we’re really looking forward to showing off the answers to those questions (and more) in the coming months.

*****

The Starbolts really were a different team ten years ago. When your writing style improves, your characters tend to as well. Some things are the same. And now this Sara is poised to fit right in with her old friends. Welcome home, Sara Whitefox.

Time for me to update a few things around the site. See ya next time!

Starbolts #410: Days of Sara's Past (Part 2)

Hail!

There is a lot to unpack this week! Sam and I decided to move Sara's return up a bit because of a few factors. Something that is going to happen a bit after Sara's return is going to take a little bit longer than expected. That's okay. Sara's coming home and I know Sam couldn't be happier! Expect him to say a few words next week as we're getting a special sixty panel comic! That is going to be fun to do!

This one was fun as well if a little emotionally draining. Let's review shall we?

Crystal and Sara didn't hit it off at first. By the time of her disappearance, the two had started to become closer and started to behave like sisters. This is why Crystal has been behaving like she has been in the last few comics. She's really upset that she never got a chance to fully make it up to her.

Andrea is basically the fixer of broken teenagers. She fixed her son Jack, Firaxil, Crystal and Sara as best she could. One thing to note is that she always felt some guilt in not fixing Richard aka Cobra. You can't save people who don't want to be saved.

Sam and I wanted to show Sara's relationship with all three siblings. Crystal was a wee bit antagonistic to start with. I may go into what Cody did to her in the future. We'll see. Let's just say he was the real reason she was sitting on that rock, crying when Marcus found her.

We see how she was with Jack and more importantly we see her with Dennis aka Firaxil. Sam and I wanted to allude to his true history by saying his parents were travelers. Poor Dennis had no idea at that point. Still, he was going to propose the night Sara supposedly died. That's the reason why he has been so heartbroken during this arc.

Sadly Psyche had to pass away as well. I suspect all this trekking through the memories is what did her in. As powerful as she was, she couldn't control it very well. Still, it's going to turn out for the best. Sara is coming home! See her return next time!