Starbolts #178: Our Blue Overlords

Hail!

Here's the first comic of 2013 and it was a great one to write. Let me tell ya. I had a little too much fun writing the last few panels. I wasn't going to go for them being in bed. I thought it'd be funnier to have them actually have a bottle of wine. It seems that even in this reality, something will set off Robkas. He's a jealous type and won't listed to reason. How will this affect Jenna's plan? Hmm...not going to tell JUST yet.

Why? Well, next week, I think he's going to go on a rampage the likes of which the Hulk has never seen! Or something like that.

As for me, I'll be writing. I may put up a vid schedule. Not sure yet. I've been working on sprites of War's buddies and so far so good. The question is...who will become War in the regular reality? Time will tell friends. Let's just move along with this story. =)

See ya next time! Also, I for one will welcome our blue, aquatic overlords.

Comic Picks: Top 5Best of Marvel Comics 2012

Hail!

With the new year here, I thought I would start a new section here on this site. Every once in a while, I'll post my thoughts on various comics I've read. The series'll be called Comic Picks and with the introduction out of the way, let's get started!

This year, we've seen Marvel produce some ill advised crossover events. One that I may make a video out of in the future. I am of course referring to Avengers vs. X-Men. Or as I'd like to call it: The deconstruction of several superheroes you may have liked at one point! Rest assured, there have been some good comics out there to combat the lameness that was A v X.

5. Spider-Men

This limited series saw Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales) team up with Spidey in a crossover that spanned both the core Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel Universe. We saw Pete react to seeing a teenage Gwen Stacy and a world in which another version of him had died. There were many great character moments and the interplay between two Spideys have been great!

4. Avengers: End Times

I know the title sounds very foreboding and grim,. But, the Avengers storyline DID have something happen in it that proved to be something the fans of Avengers have wanted since Secret Invasion. This was the return of the Wasp. The storyline had the Wasp return in a logical way. It wasn't phoned in. It wasn't tacked on, either. I won't spoil how it happened. But, after she "died" there had been subtle hints to her return. A hint in Avengers Academy here. A line there. And boom. Wasp returns to the fold! Great storyline with everything building up to that!

3. All-New X-Men

Out of all of the Marvel Now books, I'm enjoying this one the most. Why? Well, like I said before, Scott Summers aka Cyclops has been vilified thanks to events leading up to Avengers vs X-Men. In case you haven't heard, the All New X-Men has the original five X-Men go to the future to stop Cyclops from his rampage. They see what the world has become and they are rightfully angry. It'll be interesting to see where this book goes from here. It's fun and it actually may be a good jumping on point if one wants to read the X-Men.

2.  Captain America

This year saw the end of Brubaker's run on the award winning Captain America series. It was action packed and had a lot of moments that explored Steve's psyche as Cap dealt with more than one ghost from his past. The run ended with Cap coming face to face with someone who was the Captain America of the '50s. The battle was great and Cap struggled to find out just who he was. Was he just a symbol or was he a man? Or both?

1 Avengers Academy

Even though the series ended last year, this comic was a wild ride from start to finish. Marvel took several kids who were tainted by Norman Osborn and trained them to be Avengers in order to prevent them from becoming baddies. It was an original concept and the series this year closed many plotlines and resolved many things that lingered from when the series started. All in all it was a good series!


There have been other comics that deserve the nod for "best comic of the year" However, this is my opinion. My thoughts and I would have added more from Marvel to the list if it weren't for these stories actually making me say "Wow. These were pretty good." I have my thoughts on other comics and especially Amazing Spider-Man #700. I think that last one may be better suited for a video. I've yet to see the other Marvel Now books to see what's in store and how good they will be.

I'm still reading several comics from Marvel and they all just started the Marvel Now. I will say this as a quick note: Avengers Arena? Not my style right now. Even if it does have one of my favorite characters in it.

Well, that's about does it for now. See ya next time!

Starbolts 2013 Preview

Hail!

With the new year upon us, I thought I'd take another break from the current storyline and show you all what to expect from the 'Bolts in the coming year. This is just a preview of what's to come. Obviously, I decided to show the Starbolts vs the Legion. Oh, what's this? No sign of Demonstorm, Medea and Dragonfly in that pic? Well, DS and Medea wouldn't join the fray right away. They are too busy being above it all.

As for Dragonfly, why isn't he with his friends? Hmm. That's a good question. I'll reveal why when the story wraps up in the coming year. As you can see, I've included just about everyone associated with the team. Well, all I can fit in in such a small area. There'll be more Starbolts goodness coming. This isn't ALL that is happening!

Of course, I'll have more videos and comics next year as usual. Who knows what else the future may bring. 2012 for me has had its ups and downs. We can only hope that the coming year can bring happiness and less fear. As for the Starbolts? Well, I think they're going to be doing what they do for quite some time!

Enjoy the comic and I will see you all next year!

Starbolts #177.5: The Christmas Concert

 

Happy holidays, everyone!

The holidays are here and today I bring you a special holiday edition of the Starbolts! This year, I decided to go a different route by having Aquita sing the holiday classic "Jingle Bell Rock" and have some action to go along with it. When I was working on it, I realized it was like the singing scene in the decidedly non Christmassy movie, "The Fifth Element". I made sure to have Bluestreak make a note of that in the comic. Because...why not? Hahaha.

It took me a while to find a snow texture I could use. I think it came out okay. You might be wondering why there's no snow in the ground in the other scenes. Well, that's because Dastara City, where the action takes place, is located near DC. DC doesn't get that much snow.

This was a fun comic to make. However, now I have Jingle Bell rock in my head. That's probably my own fault there. Hahaha. Everyone have a safe and happy holiday! I'll be back next time with something good! What will it be? Tune in and find out!

Starbolts #177: The Aquan Invasion of Earth

There's a rule I have in my stories. In every reality,  Robkas must be denied. Doesn't matter how, why, when or whatever. Robkas must never get Aquita. EVER! Only because he's a jerk in every reality. In this one, he turns into a hulking brute reminiscent of Hulk villain Abomination. It took me a while to get the sprites for the transformation sequence right.  It works. But, I could tweak them.

Let's talk about that for a bit. Remember, this reality and the regular reality have the same people in them. M'anta, Aquita and Shrall never became avatars of the Gods, though. So, dark gods created three new avatars for war, death and the underworld. The question you have to ask yourself is...will these three show up in the prime reality? We shall see. You'll have to keep guessing.

Curious. Robkas already has powers in the regular reality. Who is going to be "War" if I decide to bring that trio of avatars to the regular universe?  Also, what powers will Death and Underworld have? Time will tell friends as I spend the next few comics focusing on Jenna and co.

I wonder if Dark Mateo will get anywhere with Dark Aquita. We shall see. Funny how he changed his tune from a few issues ago, huh? I guess this Mateo doesn't think with his head.

See ya next time!

Starbolts #176: Dragonfly's Turn

Hail!

This week, I've introduced a couple new baddies for the Legion team. Their names are: Syntax and Jack Lantern. I think Jack Lantern'll be a bit of a fourth wall breaker like Marcus is. In fact, he may even be the perfect opponent for him. We'll see. I also introduced alternate M'anta or...is that Shrall? Wait and see. Looks like the Starbolts in the alternate reality are going to have their hands full in the coming issues.

Also, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Robkas's first question when he snaps out of it is "Is Aquita alive?" The guy's a horny toad. Also, I don't think he's the one to ask about honorable Aquans.

Speaking of Aquita, my friend Freyamau drew this picture of Aquita:
 http://cferra1.deviantart.com/#/d5mvqwv

I colored it in and I think it came out VERY well. Freya is a good artist and you should check out her work here:  http://waitingforcoffee.deviantart.com/


In other news, I'll be scripting the Ultimate Spider-Man #1 review this week. I'm not a fan of the Ultimate universe. So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. In the mean time, enjoy this week's comic! 

Starbolts #175: The Artifacts of the Gods

Hail!

We're now at Starbolts #175 and the countdown to Starbolts #200 will begin! What will happen to our heroes between now and then? You can bet there'll be a lot of action as we've seen in this comic that the tides have been turned. The battlefield has been leveled! At first, I was a bit hesitant to use the macguffins to help save the day. Then I realized, how many times have items been used as deus ex machinas in comics? The Ultimate Nullifier stopped Galactus. Several items can do something super special awesome in anime. It's really up to the writer to show how they are used.

Here we have the amulet I introduced back in the early 100s of this comic. By itself the sword, armor and amulet are harmless. Well...aside from the sword being a pointy thing Shrall can use. The other two won't be used much. I was thinking that once the three combine, they change M'anta's suit into some kind of armor of the Gods. But, meh, I'll have to think on that one.

The Aquan trio also saw their parents this week. I wanted a scene where they talked to the "force ghosts" of their parents. I tried to add little things after like Aquita going to Mateo's side when they come back. It was an emotional scene. Speaking of Aquita, later I will establish that she went back to Aquarius to discipline her mind. She also picked up a mind trick as you can see here. It's nothing fancy. If the amulet didn't go off, Mateo would have said "Nothing beats the real thing."

In other news, it's December and I've entered ColortheGrayScale's Secret Santa project. Check out the details here:  http://www.colorthegrayscale.com/secretsantaproject  

Last year, I got a neat mask from a fan. We'll see what happens this year as the holiday season continues. Until next time, everyone!