Starbolts #651: The Dead Live

 

 Hail!

    There's a saying in comics circles that the only people who truly stay dead are the Waynes and of course Peter Parker's Uncle Ben. Anyone else is up for grabs when it comes to a resurrection.  One of my favorite comic panels has Hercules visiting the underworld and you see a ton of dead Marvel characters gambling to get their second, third or fourth chance at life. Comics are weird like that and we have our own resurrection in the form of Cal and Nikki.

    Cal's death was in a flashback way back in Starbolts #63. So, you know that was a very deep cut. Cal was Rick Baxter at the time and he was the one responsible for the death of Sirak. He had shot him while Aquita was giving a concert. There was a manhunt and eventually there was a confrontation on the roof of Dastara manor. He tried to kill M'anta but his gun misfired and he fell from the roof and was impaled by the statue of the Aquan god of Justice, Xazes. Xazes, if you recall has a sword that Shrall now uses as a symbol of justice.  At the time, I admitted it was a fitting end for that man. He was a slime bag who got his just desserts. There was just no redeeming him in my eyes. Now he's back and it remains to be seen if he changed his spots.

    Now we come to Sola. She was killed in Starbolts #405 and for a while she was the alter ego of our heroine, Carter aka Sara. The Starbolts didn't trust her one bit. I think being a living bomb kind of puts a damper on their relationship doesn't it? 

    Once Nikki and Cal were brought back to life, the two were married after a very short courtship. They were brought back to life in some hotel suite. You can say a lot of things about the universe. But, at least it has a very sick sense of humor about these things. So, now they are back and it turns out that Nikki was the one who gave Jack the necklace which allowed him to speak with his dead ex, Scarlett. I wonder if that was her way to make amends for all the pain she caused. You can see that back in Starbolts #615. 

    The universe definitely came to collect when it brought those two back. It all started when Chief had M'anta and Crystal save Yeena and Carter from certain death in Starbolts #476. I wonder how those two are going to feel about being the cause for those two being brought back. We'll explore that next week. 

See ya next time as the parents talk to their daughter. What a way to kick off a storyline!

Here are the other comics referenced this week:

Starbolts #19

Starbolts #409

Starbolts #494

Starbolts #650: The Terra Nova Gala

 

 Hail!

    Welcome to the 650th edition of the Starbolts! It has taken quite a long time to get to this point let me tell you.  I can't believe I started this comic way back in 2008 and that I'm still doing it today. You gotta so a passion for your work, right? And I do have a passion for writing and doing these comics every week. It's something I enjoy and I hope everyone reading these adventures enjoys them as well. It takes a lot of work doing these comics. The writing process takes some time and I bounce ideas off of a couple people. Then I have to draw everything. It's fun to do and I can't wait to continue the adventure for a long time to come!

     In this week's comic we see Crystal making the rounds as she prepares her epic speech at the party. Check out who's there! I couldn't possibly fit everyone who was ever hurt by Terra Nova on those two panels. So, I went with a select group. In the first panel we have from left to right:

Front row: Shenra

Middle row: Valentina, Simon, Shelzi, Jarl, Ellie, Sid, Holly, Norad, Aquita, Jenna, M'anta, Yeena and Crimson Justice.

Back row: Granite, Bruce, Mateo and Shrall.

In the second panel we have from left to right:

Front: Selena, Kaori, Stan, Andrea, Jack, Anya, Dendra, Nisson, Gloria and Gregorio.

Back row: The first Lady Liberty, Garazo, Takashi, Angela, Kevin, Pal'idin, Elaine, Richard, Rebecca, Avery and Tanis.

     Wow. That is a lot of people who do not like Terra Nova. There are a ton more people in that room. Trust me. I just didn't have space to put in the rest of the New Starbolts, some Department of Metahuman Affairs agents and others. Pretend they're all there wishing to give Terra Nova the send-off they DON'T deserve. This isn't that kind of funeral.

    As you can see Crystal and Firaxil are still impacted by the evil organization. I suspect that this party may not be enough to undo the damage to their hearts. Still, it has to somewhat help them, right? At least I hope so. At least Marcus is on hand to help Crystal through thick and thin as he always is. Plus Carter and Firaxil both have the shared trauma that brought them together. It's good that they're all doing this. However, there's clearly a surprise at the end of the comic!

    Looks like Sola is back and is sporting a new hairstyle! Could she be the mysterious blonde who was popping up in various comics? Perhaps. We won't have too long of a wait since I'm already working on Starbolts #651. Stay tuned for the startling confrontation with Sola. How is she alive?! That's a very good question. Answers will be coming soon so stay tuned!

See ya next time! 

Starbolts #649: The Worst Possible Conclusion

 

 Hail! 

    We are just one comic away from the epic 650th comic! But, before we get there we have this spotlight on Simon Wheeler and his girlfriend, Valentina Ferrara. Longtime readers know that these two had a history in the comic as they were once members of Terra Nova's anti-Starbolt team, the Legion. These days four members of that team have now taken up residence at Agents Academy and will be on hand to see that terrorist organization off for good.

    In Starbolts #603, it was revealed that Valentina and Carter (then known as Sola) had a romantic relationship. Whether or not it was mutual is up for debate as the Sola personality was quite ruthless. Still, there may be some truth to what she said in this week's comic. Valentina may have indeed helped to bring Carter's true personality to the surface and thus helped to free her when the time came. You never know.

    Poor Simon, though. He assumed the worst because of all the insecurities he built up at the hands of Terra Nova. They hardly did the guy any favors and Val is attempting to help him through it in the same way he helped her through everything. Don't forget. Her powers involved releasing a hypnotizing pheromone and guys like Tom abused its effects. Sola never did. That drew Val closer to her. When Carter was rescued, Val no longer had that love. That's when Simon came in to save the day.

    I guess it's an understatement to say that Terra Nova screwed up so many lives. Next week we'll see them off for good in our 650th comic and beyond. Many characters will be showing up and it's sure to be a blast.  So, stick around for that. We still need to find out what exactly happened to Carter in those pools.

Stay tuned!

Starbolts #648: Wolf-Boy Meets Girl

 

 Hail!

    In light of last week's kind of depressing tone, Sam and I thought it'd be best to lighten the mood with a comic starring Takashi Shimonoseki aka Garoukingu. Here he is on his first date with a woman he met on one of those dating apps. If you recall a while back, Crystal planned on having her friend join a dating app since his dating pool is kind of low. All of his friends have basically paired off at this point and that's got to make poor TK feel miserable. I know he doesn't have to have a significant other. But, there's no harm in trying things out, right? Right!

    I've actually created an elaborate back-story for Ms. Patel this week as I was working on the comic. Check this out. Rina comes from Mumbai, India and is from a wealthy family. Her parents once arranged a marriage between her and one of her family friend's sons. That's what she was going to tell TK before she spotted the only ginger in the joint.

    Anyway, things didn't work out between her and Raj. So, she left him and went to Cambridge University to study engineering and eventually made her way to America. She is one of six children and most of them are married by this point. Because of that, her parents pressured her to find someone and so she ended up registering on "Matchmaker". 

    Wow. That really is a deep backstory, right? We'll see how this plays out in future comics. She'll eventually meet the Starbolts in time. I'm debating whether or not to turn her into a super. Then again, there's that line from the Incredibles "If everyone's super, then no one will be.". It may be best to let her be a civilian. At the very least she could find work at the academy. Let's not get ahead of ourselves! They just met!!

    I do like the bit with Marcus and Crystal. Everything nearly fell apart and Crystal swooped in to save the day. They were good to help TK on his journey. Rina may have been a bit jumpy when she saw those two. But, I am sure the relationship will improve. These things take time. I liked the reference to Marcus and Crystal's first date. That was when they were on the run back in the early 300s. Things have definitely progressed on that front and I'm sure wedding bells are in their future.

As for Takashi and Rina? Who's to say? At least the wolf-boy found someone!

See ya next time!

Starbolts #647: Cutting Through the Red Tape

 Trigger Warning: This week's comic references sexual abuse. If you or anyone you know is abused in this fashion, please seek help.

 

Hail!

    This week's comic was a little hard to write as I really, really don't like writing creeps. I don't know what it is. But, I just can't do it without having some kind of palette cleanser afterward. I wanted to show that Jeb Arronfeld was every bit a creeper as Cody was. Maybe even more since he lived with Crystal. That guy had some serious problems and as Crystal would probably say, the Leonid who killed him probably did the world a favor.  Yeah. I have no tolerance for guys like that.

    Want to know the sad part? Ruby would justify her actions by saying she kept that monster away from her. I don't think it quite works that way. At least justice came for Jeb Arronfeld and it was likely very swift and painful. That's all I can say on the matter. The leering and lusting after Crystal likely didn't stop here, either. Now Crystal has the body of Jeb Arronfeld. I think she'd be happy to see him cremated. It's the least he deserves for being such a creep! He probably figured it was okay to do what he did because Crystal wasn't his biological daughter. Though, the Arronfelds were supposed to pretend that wasn't the case.

    It should be noted that the flashback took place the same day as the flashback with Cody and Crystal in Starbolts #628. To put things into perspective, that was definitely not Crystal's best day!

    Meanwhile Ruby is likely still suffering from the magical slashing she got back in Starbolts #638. Ruby may have been stitched up. But, her face will forever burn thanks to the inadvertent curse our young witch put on her. How's that for justice?

     As far as Granite goes, I think I've put things in motion for his eventual release. He's basically Ben "The Thing" Grimm at this point. All he needs now is a shove in the right direction and some support. He could be an asset to the Starbolts if he so desired. Perhaps one day he will join their ranks. For now he seems to be on probation and living in a swanky "cell" that has basic cable. It was the best the Starbolts could do for the poor guy. He's living in the DMA headquarters, too. So, there's that. I think he'll be fine.

    We're almost to our landmark 650th comic and with that comes the "funeral" for Terra Nova. Jeb is clearly going to be the "guest of honor". Next time we're going to catch up with Pegasus and see how the mansion repairs are coming along.

See ya next time!