Superhero comic

[Joebot]

Hey, everyone, I just finished the next chapter in my ongoing, never-ending Lego superhero comic, the Unlikely Society. This chapter wraps up the Heavy Metal story, and sees our heroes going toe-to-toe with the villainous Boombox.

As always, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

I'm excited to get started on the next story arc -- it'll feature time travel, robots, and some kickass new guns that I bought from BrickArms.

[Zepher]

Okay, me minor notes while I'm reading through. Then I'll do a whole response below, once I'm finished. These are just what pop into my head while I go along.

Page 2. I don't like the fire effect. Looks to triangular.

Page 6. Hanz is awesome.

Page 7. I honestly don't understand why you intro characters just to get them killed. I mean, if it's to show that the enemy is a threat... that's kind of lame. 3 pages with that hero, and well, we don't care about him. He said one thing. Let them develop before you kill them, or there's really no point of intro'ing them.

Well, a good conclusion. Glad to see Olaf fired, that could end up cool for everyone. He could join the Unlikely Society, become a new villian, or anything really. Just don't let him die out please!

I also really like Boombox surviving.

My only problem is... again, what i said about Page 7. I don't care about Chainsaw dude. He was in for three pages. One line. If you want something sad to happen, kill an important character. If you don't want to kill them, don't intro a character just to kill him. It's a complete waste of time and energy.

On a final note, I'm very excited for the next eddition.

[Joebot]

Page 2. I don't like the fire effect. Looks to triangular.

I know, I agree. I just couldn't get it the way I wanted. The fire filter that I use (from Alien Skin software) is ... quirky.

Page 6. Hanz is awesome.

Thanks! I like him too.

Page 7. I honestly don't understand why you intro characters just to get them killed. I mean, if it's to show that the enemy is a threat... that's kind of lame. 3 pages with that hero, and well, we don't care about him. He said one thing. Let them develop before you kill them, or there's really no point of intro'ing them.

The whole Unlikely Society comic is intended as a satirical spoof of the superhero genre. Over the years, Marvel and DC have made superheroes deaths into a complete non-event. Characters die all the time, and are usually resurrected within a few short months (ask any X-Men fan how many times that Jean Grey has died and been resurrected). They've done it so many times that whenever a character dies (like Captain America last year, as one example), fans generally shrug with indifference. It's shallow, lazy writing done merely for shock value. Character death has been done ... well ... to death (sorry, bad pun)!

All I was trying to do was make it into a joke, by taking it to a completely absurd extreme, by having a never-ending string of new characters that die within a few panels. It's an exaggeration (although not by much!) of what Marvel / DC do on a regular basis.

So, that's what I was going for.

Well, a good conclusion. Glad to see Olaf fired, that could end up cool for everyone. He could join the Unlikely Society, become a new villian, or anything really. Just don't let him die out please!

Olaf will be back. I'm actually writing that chapter right now!

Thanks very much for the feedback, Zepher!

[Zepher]

The whole Unlikely Society comic is intended as a satirical spoof of the superhero genre. Over the years, Marvel and DC have made superheroes deaths into a complete non-event. Characters die all the time, and are usually resurrected within a few short months (ask any X-Men fan how many times that Jean Grey has died and been resurrected). They've done it so many times that whenever a character dies (like Captain America last year, as one example), fans generally shrug with indifference. It's shallow, lazy writing done merely for shock value. Character death has been done ... well ... to death (sorry, bad pun)!

All I was trying to do was make it into a joke, by taking it to a completely absurd extreme, by having a never-ending string of new characters that die within a few panels. It's an exaggeration (although not by much!) of what Marvel / DC do on a regular basis.

So, that's what I was going for.

Ah. That joke would be lost on me, since my comic, along with yours, Hinck's, and Brick House are the only comics I've ever touched. O, and Watchmen too.

[Joebot]

Ah. That joke would be lost on me, since my comic, along with yours, Hinck's, and Brick House are the only comics I've ever touched. O, and Watchmen too.

Yeah, it's kind of an "inside joke." I guess like most satire, if the reader isn't familiar with what's being mocked, then the jokes don't always work.

I hope you didn't read Watchmen, THEN read the Unlikely Society! I doubt if my stuff holds up well against Alan Moore.

[Bob]

I always like reading these, as I say in all of the Unlikely Society's comic's. Today was no different, Great Job!

[Capt. Redblade]

Moment please. Over the past little while, I've noticed something strange. In the new comics, you say that everybody from the old team died, but as far as I can tell, Apathy Boy never left HQ. He was still under the influence of the virtual reality thingie. If the bomb only destroyed the warehouse where the others were trapped, then A.B. could have survived. I say this because Hanz seems to have the uncanny ability to teleport himself. Was not A.B. able to teleport people? As Harry Hoo from Get Smart would say, this present two (well, five) possibilities... A) Apathy Boy was killed by one smoker and fifty non-smokers B) I have too much time on my hands; C) This is a major plot hole that was somehow overlooked; D) A.B. lives on and is up to something; or E) It's just a huge coincidence.

It is wisely written, Mr. Smart, that life is like box of chocolates. You never know what you going to get.

Amazing.

(Also, if anyone can point out all the Get Smart/Harry Hoo references, please speak up.)

Edited July 7, 2009 by Capt. Redblade

[Joebot]

Moment please. Over the past little while, I've noticed something strange. In the new comics, you say that everybody from the old team died, but as far as I can tell, Apathy Boy never left HQ. He was still under the influence of the virtual reality thingie. If the bomb only destroyed the warehouse where the others were trapped, then A.B. could have survived. I say this because Hanz seems to have the uncanny ability to teleport himself. Was not A.B. able to teleport people? As Harry Hoo from Get Smart would say, this present two (well, five) possibilities... A) Apathy Boy was killed by one smoker and fifty non-smokers B) I have too much time on my hands; C) This is a major plot hole that was somehow overlooked; D) A.B. lives on and is up to something; or E) It's just a huge coincidence.

It is wisely written, Mr. Smart, that life is like box of chocolates. You never know what you going to get.

Amazing.

(Also, if anyone can point out all the Get Smart/Harry Hoo references, please speak up.)

It's a combination of C (plot hole) and E (coincidence).

To be honest ... I actually never thought of that. Apathy Boy was the best writer's crutch ever -- he could instantly get me out of any corner, and resolve any plot problem. "Oh, Apathy Boy just snaps his fingers and fixes everything!!" The problem is, that sort of ending makes for a really lame story.

Thanks for reading!

[Capt. Redblade]

It's a combination of C (plot hole) and E (coincidence).

To be honest ... I actually never thought of that. Apathy Boy was the best writer's crutch ever -- he could instantly get me out of any corner, and resolve any plot problem. "Oh, Apathy Boy just snaps his fingers and fixes everything!!" The problem is, that sort of ending makes for a really lame story.

Thanks for reading!

Well, to be frank, if he is still alive, he doesn't necessarily have to be on the side of good anymore, if you get my meaning. Heh heh heh...

(That could be interesting. )