Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

No post today, folks - just this Photoshopped clip taken from the recent issue of Spidergirl, in which she wakes up in the body of another woman to a view of the "mountains"! Welcome to my world, girl! LOL I wake up to that view every morning!





















Anyway, you folks have an excellent Thanksgiving tomorrow! Go be with family and friends, and see me back here on Monday!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Short week this week! And other characters from my stories

Hey, gang! Did you like Friday's special post? That's officially the longest entry that I've posted here! Man, were my fingers tired! LOL

Anyway, one blog announcement: I will be posting only today and Wednesday this week, because I will be celebrating Turkey Day like most of the U.S.! "What about Friday"?, you ask? International Shopping Day of course! LOL

And then I will return here a week from today tanned, breasted, and ready! ;-) hehe!

So you got the names of two other characters this past Friday: Dr. Will Von Bach and my cohort, Lucky Shot. Here's a short list of other characters:

DSS staff:
Dr. Maya M. Maldonado:
DSS staff superhuman psychologist. That is, she is an expert in the field of superhuman psychology. She's not herself superhuman, but she is a former child prodigy, so she has some understanding of having and dealing with a special ability.

Fr. Paul Neumann (Catholic): DSS chaplain to the superhumans being detained in the DSS, as well as their advocate. A brilliant man himself, and like Dr. Maldonado, also a former child prodigy. In fact, Dr. Maldonado and Fr. Paul knew each other in childhood. They were called the wonder twins by the press back in the day. Dr. Maldonado lobbied to get Fr. Neumann onto the DSS staff despite Dr. Von Bach's objections.

Megan O'Donnell: electronics engineer who makes the super cool gizmos and gadgets that me and Lucky use in our super battles. She's also Dr. Maldonado's cousin.

Alloy: An Enhanced Human who has the ability to combine two objects that are not normally combinable to create something that has the properties of both the combined objects. For instance, he can fuse a regular cotton t-shirt with a piece of steel to create a shirt that is soft as cotton but durable as steel. He is in the field of costume and fashion design for superhumans, and he charges outrageous prices for his goods.

Villains:
Anomie: An unbalanced harlequined-themed villain who can coat herself with a reflective silvery armor that can extend its fingers into razor sharp claws.

Thunder: Super strength mercenary who aids in the sale and transfer of goods for the right price. He utilizes a "thunderclap" when battling. He's also a brilliant battle strategist, which is why he has avoided capture so far.

Iron Heidi: A super strong woman who is both a bully and a coward. She mainly serves as muscle for hire, but she will cut and run if she thinks the odds are starting to go against her.

Unknown:
Woman code-named "Seamrog" (Gaelic for "shamrock" and pronounced roughly as "shim-roog") who operates in a crime-fighting manner that is a combination of Batman and Spiderman. She's also been able to avoid capture. She wears an Irish-themed costume with a large shamrock on it.

That's all for now, kiddies! See you in two days!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Ta-Daaah! The 100th post!

At last, we've arrived! 100 posts! I'd like to thank everyone who helped me get to this point - especially the boss, who got me started in the first place, and who has been encouraging me along the way! Let's hope that it's a short trip to the 200th post! I've been talking about my upcoming comic on my blog probably since post #1, so today's post will provide a little backdrop about my comic, which hopefully will come out in January (I'll update you on our goings-on here in a future post). So that I don't keep repeating myself about this, everything that follows is in regards to my universe.

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Superhumans (SH) and superhuman theory (ST)
SHs have been known about to the federal gov't since the 1950s after the capture of one who was suspected of being a communist spy. However, ST scientists have theorized that SHs may have existed at least since ancient times, and that they may have been the basis of the gods of ancient myth. Some have even theorized that, since it's known that SHs reproduce very rarely and because many ancient mythological stories tend to have a lot in common, the SHs who might be the basis for these myths might be the same small group of people who wandered from place to place. But so far, there's no proof that this is the case, or that any of these "ancient SHs" may still be alive today.

Despite SH's low reproduction rate of the past, their population in recent decades has been growing at a rate that for them could only be called exponential. The federal department in charge of studying SHs - the Dept. of Superhuman Studies (DSS) (a division of Homeland Security) - has seen enough SHs these past few decades that they are now able to make a few theories about them and their likelihood of reproduction. Below is their categories of SHs:

* Normal human (H) - regular folks (no powers)

Super human:
* Enhanced human (EH) - people with low level special abilities, like bending spoons or predicting future events of the near future. This group, while still with a low reproduction rate, has the highest reproduction rate of all SHs.

* Superhuman (SH) - while this is a definition that identifies all people with special abilities, it also has a definition specific to a category of SHs that are beyond EHs but below Mutations (who are discussed below). SHs in this definition still look like regular humans, but they have special abilities such as flight, super strength, super speed, etc., that are usually identified with the super heroes of comic books. SHs have a very low reproduction rate, below that of EHs.

* Mutations (MU) - MUs have extraordinary abilities approaching that of the gods of ancient myth. Nearly all of them have super strength and speed healing, and will have certain abilities like energy discharges from their eyes (a la Cyclops of X-Men). MUs are extremely rare, and are distinguished from SHs by the fact that they no longer are able to blend in with regular humanity due to their unnaturally large size or other non-human characteristic. They are all also sterile. MUs usually come from the pairing of two SHs.

ST scientists are still debating whether SHs of all categories are the next step of human evolution or an offshoot of humanity. A small majority of ST scientists favors the offshoot argument, since SHs usually reproduce mostly through a SH/normal human pairing rather than a pairing of two SHs. Knowledge of the origins of SHs is still sketchy, sparse and in the works - which is made more difficult due to their very low numbers.

The ratios of the 4 categories above break down like so:

Normal humans: 99% of total population
EH: 0.6%
SH: 0.3%
MU: 0.1%

Brief recent SH history
Before 2002, the existence of SHs (in this instance, all of the categories listed above) was only rumor and the stuff of weekly news tabloids. However, in 2002, a group of MUs took to coming out publicly, and a few took to causing chaos and destruction - mainly as a reaction to the frustration of having to keep out of sight for so long. Their emergence inspired SHs and EHs to also come out, and some of them likewise caused chaos and destruction for basically the same reasons. However, when some MUs, SHs, and EHs began killing on a large scale, it shocked some among their number, and they took to stopping their own kind.

By then the federal gov't had already had extensive knowledge about SHs thanks mostly to the head of the DDS and ST expert Dr. Wilhelm "Will" Von Bach. Because of his research, the DSS had a means of stopping much of the rest of the destructive MUs, SHs, and EHs that escaped from being stopped by their own kind. In addition, Dr. Von Bach was further motivated to stop the SHs when one of them raped and then killed his wife.

Dr. Von Bach has devised a chemical formula (slangily dubbed the "power outage recipe", or POR) that temporarily suppresses the abilities of both EHs and SHs and some MUs. Most MUs thus far seem to be immune to the "POR" that he's devised, although he is working on a chemical composition that will stop even MUs. In addition, he is also working on a POR that will permanently depower all SHs. The exact chemical composition of the POR is a highly guarded secret.

Currently, most MUs still at large have chosen to go back into hiding, along with most SHs and EHs. Those that have been captured are being detained at a secret federal holding facility that is located underneath a federal mint that is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The location is no accident, as the presence of so much security around the mint can be easily explained without revealing what's under the mint.

This holding facility is also the location of the DSS, in which Dr. Von Bach and his staff do their research on SHs. When the existence of SHs became publicly known, the DSS devised a program to demonstrate that the gov't had things under control mostly through the recruitment of a SH who is code-named Andromeda. Andromeda was not among the SHs that in 2002 and 2003 caused chaos and destruction, but she was among those that tried to stop them. Because the DSS wanted a public face and because Andromeda was already a huge fan of superhero comics, her superhero persona was created.

The goal of the DSS program is to stop destructive SH activity and to apprehend them to be detained in the DSS's Fort Worth facility. When a SH disruption occurs, Andromeda is dispatched to assess the situation, and if necessary, apprehend the SH. Once Andromeda has apprehended the SH, she then brings him or her to the DSS via a secret remote entrance located in a vacant and undeveloped land.

As a means of helping some SHs rehabilitate, an additional program has been set up for those who had been detained, but wish to reform. The first applicant of this program has been assigned to Andromeda for training (and also to keep an eye on her in case she reverts). The woman is code named Lucky Shot, who has what appears to be a radar-type ability akin to Spiderman's "spider sense", but it seems to be more complex than that. In addition to aiding in the capture of SHs, Lucky's powers are also being studied as they're being used in order to understand the nature of how they work.

Currently both programs have been successful, although Andromeda and Lucky Shot have their occasional flare-ups, mainly due to the fact that Andromeda is politically conservative and Lucky Shot is politically liberal. However, both look past their ideologies when it comes to dealing with SHs. It remains to be seen how well these programs work out, as well as how long these two women will be able to tolerate each other.

(note: I know the date above says that this post published Tuesday, which is when I started this post, but I actually posted it to my blog on Friday 11/21)

Friday, November 14, 2008

Q&A: My favorite superhero

Q & A time, and I guess it is also Comics Talk as well. The question is, who is my favorite female superhero?

The questioner figured on it being either Wonder Woman or She-Hulk. Nope on both counts.

Wonder Woman, I think, is too untouchable - too perfect. In a sense, it kind of makes her a boring character. She-Hulk, on the other hand - especially they way she's been written lately - is too much the opposite. TOO real. Right now she's being written as slutting herself to just about any super male that piques her interest. NOT a good example to set, I think.

No, the one character that I consider my favorite is Power Girl. She's super, attractive, fun, dedicated, and yet vulnerable. She's gone through quite a bit of loss in her life - her home planet Krypton (of Earth 2), her universe, then her cousin, Superman of Earth 2. Now she just found out that somehow Earth 2 has been remade, but she's been replaced by another Power Girl. Such vulnerability, to me, helps humanize a character that is otherwise beyond the experiences of us mere mortals. In other words, even though she can juggle tanks, she's as human as the rest of us.

I might include Storm, Starfire, and Rogue as other favorites, but Power Girl is my fave of the bunch.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Busty Adventurer Chick!

No, I'm not talking about me playing WoW! I'm talking about the ad below!

















Don't worry, it's not a link, it's just a copy of the ad that I posted here. What I found odd is that she has all that armor, except to cover her abundant cleavage! In a real sword battle, that cleavage says, "Insert your sword's blade here!" There's also that gap just under her bra and just above the waist armor. Advertises the same thing. Yep, this art was made by a dude, alright... ;-)

Also, I have to wonder how practical those shoulder flanges would be in battle. Yes, I know it's to prevent a sword swing from decapitating her, but I would think that a sword swing would only glance off of the shoulder flange and towards her head. And while she's knocked senseless, her foe will then insert sword into cleavage! End of battle! If those shoulder flanges need to be there, at least curve the top of them away from her head, so that a sword glancing off of the flange will get stuck in that curve instead of striking her head!

And that gold colored trim stuck to the cups of her bra - specifically, the way they at first follow the contour of her breasts, only to curve back out. It's guaranteed to eventually get stuck in some inconvenient way! But I will admit that it's a good way to prevent someone from hugging too close - because otherwise they'll get stabbed in the chest!

I'll admit that I'm no designer of medieval armor, but surely there's armor better suited for a busty woman? How did I become a critic of medieval armor anyway? ;-)

Friday, November 7, 2008

My favorite comics titles right now

Well, lookyhere! It's already Friday! I'm going to try to make Fridays Comics Talk Day.

Here is a list of my favorite comics titles as of this moment:

Marvel Comics:
* Hulk
* She Hulk
* The Amazing Spider Girl

* The Incredible Hercules
* Guardians of the Galaxy, which is not quite a favorite title yet, but it's getting there.

DC Comics:
* Green Lantern
* Green Lantern Corps
* Justice League of America
* Justice Society of America
* Superman/Batman

I like the above titles not so much because of the artwork, but because of the stories and the characters. However, my current favorite artist (and I'd LOVE her to do artwork of me one day!) is Amanda Conner, who is mainly known for drawing Power Girl. I just love her wonderfully expressive facial expressions!

An example of her work is below, and it's an image she did of Black Canary and Wonder Woman.

Wondie wears my bra size! LOL



















By the way, folks - I'm closing in on 100 posts! I'll see if I can come up with something special to celebrate the occassion!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

We have a winner: Barack Obama

And just like that, the election is over. We will have our first black president ever in January when Barack Obama is sworn in. On the history part, I'm very excited. It's great to see that our country has now advanced to the point that it can elect a black candidate to the Oval Office. Only hardlined racists wouldn't be excited by all this.

As prolifer, though, I also dread what sorts of anti-prolife changes Obama will bring. He's already said that the first thing he'll do in office is sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which will wipe away all the progress that prolifers have made since Roe vs. Wade. He'll also be in the position to appoint prochoice Supreme Court justices when some of the current ones retire. That will entrench the changes he'll make with FOCA. Let's just say that those who are already born or are about to be born are fortunate to have done so before he's sworn in.

So Barack Obama's election is a bittersweet experience for me. I hope he proves me wrong. I dread what will happen to the unborn otherwise.

Monday, November 3, 2008

I'm baaaaack.....!

I'm baaaaack....!

Hey, gang! I'm back, tanned, rested and ready! I really enjoyed my rest, and the boss was correct in my taking a little break!

Later in the week I shall update you on the goings-on in my neck of the woods, including some changes that we agreed upon in regards to the comic. One thing that I'll say now is that I will try to stick to a Monday/Wednesday/Friday format, unless a given topic generates a lot of commentary, or some special issue pops up that I want to deal with here. In the latter instances, we'll play it by ear.

Today, however, I just want to remind all of my American readers to go do their civic duty tomorrow by going to vote! If you CAN vote, GO vote! No excuses!

Oh, and one last thing: I didn't play WoW as much as I thought I was going to during my respite, but do me a favor if you plan to join me there. Send me one of those Azeroth mails so that I know who you are. This allows me to add you to my list of friends. That way I can keep track of you when you log on.

See you all Wednesday!