Starbolts 2019 Blockbuster Preview

Hail!

Happy new year, everyone! As per tradition we have the annual CJ interviewing a Starbolt segment and recapping the past year in the comic! Lots of stuff happened this year. LOTS of drama, action and all that fun stuff. Next year will be no exception. As usual panels 31-40 are in canon. So, that just leaves us with a question for the new year.

Who is Ellie? We'll find out about her story next year. We may have to wait a bit because Sara will be on trial next time. Then we will be reintroduced to this blonde high school student who writes Starbolts fanfiction. She's got a part to play in the upcoming story. I won''t give it away, yet. Just stay tuned and find out!

Happy New Year!

Starbolts #415: A Whitefox Christmas

Hail!

Happy holidays from the Starbolts! Well, the ones with the Whitefox name anyway. Everyone else had other plans it seems. That's okay. Everyone's got lives and such. Still, a family gettogether is nice this time of year. This holiday comic serves a few purposes.

First off it's the first one with Sara in it. I wanted to get her into the holiday comic this year. Sam agreed with me and here she is. The second purpose was to have it be a sequel to a Christmas comic from a few years ago when I had the ghost of his dead girlfriend, Scarlett, talk to him about letting go of the past and being with Anya Petrov, the Starbolts' resident Russian spy. Check it out here. Wow. That was exactly two hundred comics ago!!! Amazing how time flies!

I also wanted to have a bit with Stan and Andrea as we never really had a moment with them as a couple. There's certainly a lot going on in this Christmas comic as a lot happened this year in the comic. Funny thing is that only a few Christmas comics are actually in canon. That would be this one. And this one.  And maybe parts of #215.

At some point I am going to have to make Jack and Anya's romance canon. They flirt in the canon, sure. But, now that Sara's back she and Crystal can conspire and get Jack and Anya together. They're perfect for each other!!

Well, that's it from me. Happy holidays, everyone! And a happy new year!

Starbolts #414: Red Auras

Hail!

Now we know what red auras are all about. When an Aquan reaches a certain age, he or she is able to read the auras of other living creatures. To understand them, M'anta needed to seek out the guidance of his elders. Since his parents are dead, he turned to Aquita for help since she is his older sister. Well, now we know that Sara is in deep trouble when it comes to Gladstone. It's a good thing the Starbolts are going with her!

You also just know that he is going to try and drag Crystal down with Sara because he's just that kind of person. She was involved with Terra Nova. So, he feels he should bring her down as well. Guilt by association is the name of his game. After the Christmas comic next week, be sure to come back for the next comic entitled "The Terra Nova Girls". The trial will be in full swing. Will something come of the red aura M'anta detected? What did Smith want Kevin to do? Find out more next time!

See you then!

Starbolts #413: The Morning After

 

 Hail!

Wow! What a drama-filled comic this week, huh? I don't think I've ever done a scene that takes place in over thirty panels before. That was pretty epic. Still, there was a reason for that length. Sam and I wanted to show that Crystal and Sara are on their way to being sisters like they should've been in the beginning. Crystal explained why they weren't and it's sad. But, now they've all but made up for the past. Sara is back and Crystal sees it as a chance to start over. It's just too bad Henry Peter Gladstone stuck his abnormally large nose in where it didn't belong!

Something is fishy with him. M'anta can sense it. That's why his telepathic senses have been flashing throughout this week's comic. It's like a spider-sense. Imagine a migraine about ten thousand times worse. That's what M'anta is sensing when he looks at Gladstone. Something is up and he needs his sister's help in figuring out what's wrong. Leave it to big sisters helping out their little brothers. We'll be sure to see that scene next week.

In the mean time, we have Crystal and Sara reuniting. They will be bonding more deeply a lot sooner than you think. *Taps nose* Spoilers. Just keep in mind what Gladstone called them. "The Terra Nova Girls". It's a negative connotation to be sure and in the coming comics we'll see just how entrenched those two were in the machinations of that organization.

See you next time!

Starbolts #412: A Party in the Stars

 Hail!

Here's part two of Sara's reunion with everyone. It looks like things may not be all it seems for our heroine. Her powers are seemingly gone and she has a scarred body. Firaxil doesn't mind of course. After all he recently went through two transformations. Quite a pair, huh? At least Sara's back and there are still a few loose ends. Sara's story is far from over as we still need to deal with Clive Marshall being her father and other issues.

It's just too bad Tanis is missing out on the party. He's the only hero not there. Don't worry. I'm sure we'll see him again. =)

Sam and I had a lot of fun working on this comic and we wanted to make sure everyone had a scene with Sara be it large or small. Crystal will get a scene with Sara next week which will have some more punch to it. Stay tuned for that. Just enjoy the 'Bolts as they welcome home their long lost friend.

See you next time!

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!