Starbolts #662: The 2023 Wrap-up

Hail! 

    A new year is upon us and this week's comic looks back at a few of the major events that transpired in the comic in 2023. The biggest event was when Kyodon came to Earth and stomped around town for a while. That was just the backdrop for a few other things happening this year. For example, Crystal found out Ruby hired Cody Dillinger to be her bodyguard. That didn't turn out well. We also had a major shakeup within the Order of Korun once an evil witch Karen was removed from office. So much more happened. I was not able to put it all into one comic! So, I stuck with some plot points that'll come into play in 2024.

    We will likely check in on Pal'idin's son as he's now stationed on Earth as a member of the New Starbolts. Poor kid lost his parents. He's gonna need all the help he can get. 

 We will also check in on Ruby. For those of you who are wondering what Medea did this week, I'll explain. Medea basically made her feel all the pain Crystal had felt from being kept apart from her real family to being sexually assaulted by Cody. All the pain hit Ruby at once and that's never going away. Just like those hideous scars on her face.

    You have to wonder why Medea is being so kind to Crystal lately. The way I see it. It's because the witch doesn't want Crystal to go through any unhappiness of any kind like she did. Medea sees herself in Crystal in terms of body type and personality. She doesn't want her to go through the pain she went through when she was married to Demonstorm and was forced to do unspeakable things. Santa/Odin called Crystal a "pure soul". We'll be finding out what that means soon enough.

       This now leaves Nikki and Cal. I revealed that they were Sola and Rick reborn in Starbolts #652. They'll be playing a role in the soul sword/cleaver arc coming up. For the moment it looks like they're taking on new staff for their perfectly legitimate enterprise. NO SHADY DEALINGS HERE! Yeah, I'm sure they're on the straight and narrow. Remember, they can't be touched by the Starbolts. But, I don't think they'll be all out evil. Nah. I see them as shades of gray. They'll do good things when it suits them. And Nikki already said she doesn't consider herself a Whitefox despite being Carter's clone.

    All in all 2023 was a pretty full year for our heroes. Next year is bound to be just as eventful. Stick around because we have a LOT going on. And as far as Tom goes....well, he'll be turning up again like a bad penny. Sometimes people don't know when to quit. See ya in 2024!

Starbolts #661: Days of Christmas Future

 

 Hail!

    The best Christmas present Crystal could ever receive is any baby picture of her with her real family. Santa delivered and Marcus got all the rewards. It's just as well. Santa isn't in it for the groupies. No. He's all about helping others much like the Starbolts. Still, I wonder a few things. Where did he get that picture? Well, as it turns out Marcus's hunch is correct.

    Santa took it upon himself to go into an alternate reality where Carter and Crystal were raised by the Whitefoxes. There, he found a photo of the family, made a copy of it and brought it back to his own reality. Now, you might say that the family isn't really "hers" because it came from a different reality. Here's the thing. For all intents and purposes it is her family. There's only a few minor differences and Santa had to find the one reality in the multiverse where the differences are negligible aside from one major difference: Who got to raise Carter and Crystal?  I hope that makes sense. There's a lot of timey-wimey stuff involved here.

    Now, I bet you're wondering about the other names jolly old Saint Nick has under his belt. Well, the Norse have called him Odin. Could he be Odin in disguise? Perhaps. The signs are all here in this comic. He lives in the cold Arctic. He has a long, flowing beard. He called Tommy a "mortal". The only thing is Odin has ONE eye. Eh....I'm sure the elves made one for him in the workshop. Then again Santa could be from another pantheon altogether. You never know. Gods do exist in this universe. Santa being Odin makes sense. Just be thankful he isn't Zeus.

    The Christmas trilogy has come to an end. You can read the other two here:

Starbolts #661: Days of Christmas Past

Starbolts #662: Days of Christmas Present

Tune in next time for the year-end spectacular! I hope everyone has an amazing Holiday! See ya next time!

Starbolts #660: Days of Christmas Present

 

 Hail! 

    Part two of our Christmas comic trilogy is here and it looks like someone is going to be getting a coal mine's worth of coal. I don't think there's any redeeming qualities for Thomas White. Do you? Yeah, unlike the other former members of the Legion he is not willing to turn over a new leaf. The man is obsessed with Crystal and I don't think he's going to stop now that he knows she's with Marcus. In fact, I think it might make him green with envy. Don't worry. I think Marcus and Crystal can handle him.

    Anya and Marcus discussed the plans for Crystal's present. I wonder what that might be. Well, aside from being a former Russian spy Anya Petrov was also a supermodel. Put two and two together and you might see where this is headed. Don't worry. This won't be the ONLY present Crystal is getting this year. I'd tell you. But, there'd be spoilers for the next comic.

    I'm fairly certain Crystal will like whatever Marcus gets her. She's a different woman now and definitely doesn't suffer fools like Tommy over here. Oh, that guy's going to be in for a world of hurt at the North Pole. I hate writing characters like him. But, it's satisfying to see the comeuppance.  I think Ellie's probably gonna want to take a crack at him. The man crashed HER ceremony. Dude has no class and it's easy to see who the better partner is for Crystal this week and every week to be honest.

See ya next week for the final part of the Christmas trilogy!

Starbolts #659: Days of Christmas Past

 

 Hail! 

    I hope it's clear that Tom was not meeting the real Crystal in that daydream. She was wearing a different shirt after all. AND you all know as well as I do that Crystal would never cheat on Marcus. Ever. Tom has had a crush on Crystal ever since they met years ago. It all came to a head way back in Starbolts #308 just after she and Marcus started dating. Look for that crush to come crashing down VERY soon.

    Marcus is finally on the mend after dealing with Demonstorm in his head and now he plans on making his Christmas present for Crystal the best it can be. He feels like he owes her for everything. Whatever it is, it will be a good one for sure. He'll just have to deal with this minor annoyance coming to town. Sufficed it to say Tom will be met with some resistance. He is NOT going to get anywhere with Crystal. Do you think Crystal will let him down gently? No. No, she won't.

    This week's comic is the first of the three holiday comics I have planned for this year. I think over time it'll be even more Christmasy. I mean we already have a mention of Christmas and Garazo showed up in a Santa hat. You can't argue with that! See you next time as we get a party crashed (again) and where a heroine gets a just reward.

See ya them!

Starbolts #658: All Our Yesterdays

Hail!

    This week's comic serves two purposes. The first is to give readers an idea of where the Starbolts all came from and what they are all about. The second is to continue on from Starbolts #657 where Jenna announced that she and her husband, M'anta were having a baby.  I also figured I'd take time this week to show everyone just how their relationship got started in the first place. As you can see it started from very humble beginnings.

    M'anta and Jenna were teenagers when they first met and while they and the other Starbolts were fighting the good fight as teenagers with attitude, they bonded over life experiences and eventually one thing led to another. They became close and after a heart-felt talk with Aquita, Jenna decided to take things to the next level with her boyfriend.

    Aquita made sure Jenna was aware of the consequences. We're not talking "having sex with an alien" kind of consequences here. These are more "You will be telepathically bonded with the person you have sex with" consequences. That's why Aquans take sex so seriously. They view it as a very spiritual thing.

At least now we have the backstory for their romance. Tune in next time as we move the story forward. Jenna and M'anta may have a baby coming. But, more surprises are definitely around the corner. Stay tuned!

See ya next time!