Archive for November, 2010

Willy Pete

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Contributed by Mike McDermott

Willy Pete is a self-described fire elemental, who takes his name from the military slang term for white phosphorus.  His body is constantly flaming and super-heated, and he is stuck in a state of constant horniness.  In order to satisfy these urges, he forces himself on any available victim.  Due to his super-heated state this rape is always fatal for the victim, and Willy Pete sodomizes his victim’s eye sockets, since that is the part of the human body that is able to endure his super-heated manhood long enough for him to satisfy himself.  His super-heated body not only kills his victims, but also cooks them–and he then eats the corpses once he has finished.

Willy Pete doesn’t seem to have any particular preference in terms of the gender of his victims, since it isn’t about love or attraction–its just about satisfying his physical urges.  In fact, Willy Pete has commented “I’m all about th’ diversity when it comes t’ th’ folks I **** to death”.  However he has been known to comment on finding some of his victims sexy or attractive–but given that he is in a constant state of arousal, it is impossible to say for certain what preferences (if any) he truly has.  He does have a preference for superhuman victims though, since their bodies are usually more durable and therefore allow him to satisfy his urges longer before they give out.

The earliest known incident with Willy Pete was a number of years ago involving the Witless Minions, a group that served as the flunkies of various supervillains but would ultimately betray them and steal their high-tech equipment or weapons and sell them.  However Willy Pete caught on to their scam and took his revenge, raping the men to death.  Only the groups leader, Thugboy, managed to escape by temporarily immobilizing Willy Pete with a stolen freeze-ray.  Ever since then Thugboy has been haunted by nightmares of Willy Pete, who in the the dreams vows to hunt him down and finish what he started.  Years later Thugboy became romantically involved with associate Super-Homeys member Empowered, who encouraged her teammates to apprehend the villain.  The Super-Homeys sent a 10 member squad to ambush Willy Pete, but despite Thugboy’s warnings they seriously under-estimated him and the encounter lead to the deaths of 8 superheroes as well as the destruction of their orbital space station.

Little is known about Willy Pete’s origins or the extent of his powers, but he is extremely powerful.  The limit of how much heat he can generate is unknown, but in one attack the heat output of his blasts was recorded in the 6-digit range.  The telepath Mindf*ck sensed that Willy Pete has a “kludge mind” made up of personality fragments, and declared that he is an artifical personality.  It has been speculated that he has the ability to teleport since he seems to just appear without anyone seeing him approach, but that ability is unconfirmed.  It is also possible that he possesses some form of psychic or telepathic ability, since he seemed to have prior knowledge of the Super-Homey’s attempted ambush (possibly a link through Thugboy’s nightmares of him).

Willy Pete first appears in Empowered Vol 1.

© and ® Adam Warren. All rights reserved.

I Luv Oaf!

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

I love Wuvable Oaf!

And I love Ed Luce’s humor and art!

And then there’s Goteblüd!

I knew when I was a young teenager there was something gay about wrestling.

Brightest Day #14

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi
Ivan Reis & Joe Prado
Peter Steigerwald (colorist)
DC
$2.99

Review by Graysonite

When it’s all said and done, I believe that this series is going to be defined by one-word: inconsistent. For the past seven months, reviews everywhere you go, have all had inconsistency as their common theme. Whether the review didn’t like the current issue, in comparison with the previous, or vice versa, each issue seems to bring about a contradictory feeling in regard to the last issue. And Brightest Day #14 doesn’t seem to be break that pattern at all.Backtracking for just a moment, the last installment of this series had us following the Hawkman/Hawkgirl soap opera that was honestly forgettable enough that it’s troublesome to try and recap. However, BD #14 picks up on a completely different plot thread, by bringing the reader back to Gotham, where Deadman’s White Ring has come alive at the sight of the Bat-signal and seemingly found the replacement that it had sent Boston, and companion Dove, on a mission to find. Boston, who’s had enough of being led through time and space by the ring, is more than happy to finally be rid of his obligation, and pass along the ring to its apparent new owner. After interrupting an attempted robbery (is there ever not an robbery in progress in Gotham??), Boston finds Bruce and the two “meet” each other face to face for the first time in their history. This sets in motion a somewhat startling chain of events, in which the reader learns that the ring does not appreciate being thrust upon a new owner so carelessly by Boston. Boston, in a “Christmas Carol” moment, realizes the error of his impatient ways, and determines that life is a gift that he truly must learn to enjoy to the fullest. The final pages has Boston finallyseizing the “rush” of the moment, and the tension that had been brewing in this plot from the beginning, finally reaches the boiling point. Bruce, no longer possessed by the White Lantern ring/entity, immediately goes into action in preparing for the startling news that he discovered as the “White Knight”. Clearly, his return will now play a larger role in the Generation Lost companion series.

This issue is much less about conversation, and much more about letting the pictures do the talking. Depending on your preference, that can be a good thing or a bad thing. But here, it seems to really fit the plot. Gotham is a town of action, not words. Boston is a performer, not a speech giver. So, the dialogue here needed to be light, with the pictures serving as the real storyteller. The artwork certainly did not fail to fulfill that role. The title splash page of Boston somersaulting from the rooftop was tremendous, and did a terrific job of showing that Boston has finally had enough of inaction.But it also showed that he still hasn’t put a high enough value on his own life, a lesson he learns later in the book. Later, the expression on his face, just before he begins his “This Is Your Life” moment, speaks so much more than any words could say. In that one moment, he realizes what he has done, and the cherished thing that he had once again lost. As he sees his life laid out in front of him, the expressions on Deadman’s face continue to show that helplessness, with no way to change the mistakes that he’s already made.

In terms of plot advancement, the issue seems to end with Boston having finally awoke from his slumber, having seen “the light” about how he’s sleepwalked through life. Perhaps now, he can begin living again, and will find the ultimate replacement for the White Lantern entity. The reader continues to get the feeling that he won’t have to look very far. And Batman, having worn the ring for only a few moments, now has some major knowledge that he seems to be unique in possessing. The reader is left to wonder just how much else has he learned from the ring, and how will it effect who he is. Has Batman, like Boston, seen the value of “LIFE”, and what it means to truly live?

And so, this issue, once again is a 180 degree turn from the previous issue. Where #13 was heavy on words, with little plot advancement, issue #14 used much fewer words to take the reader on a much more fulfilling journey. It will be a shame if many people didn’t buy this issue, after being turned off by the last issue. But ultimately, for those waiting to read in trade, I think that when collected, the stories will flow much better, and the reader will be able to overcome the inconsistency from issue to issue. Still, there was a lot to like about this issue, if you haven’t already jumped ship.

Doubt Is Reassuring

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Abi Higgs

B & W mini comic

A number of years ago I had a conversation with a woman about another woman I knew and her history of relationships. The pivotal point made by this woman was “Why does she feel the need to define herself by the men she dates?” Extending her point to apply to sexuality in general, the question becomes “why do we define ourselves by the sex of people to whom were attracted?” Labels in their most convenient use name and group things or people, and With people, they’re used to include or exclude, to validate or to target. Us or them. Sexuality may be hardwired for some people, and it seems this may be the case for me (should it though?). For others there’s no need or desire to be labeled, and Abi Higgs is one of those people.

Higgs explores her attractions and her thoughts about labels in her auto bio mini comic “Doubt Is Reassuring”, a title perhaps more appealing to a Zen master than to the average person, but don’t be offput. Abi writes very candidly from the start with her admission to being confused about her sexuality and finding androgynous people appealing and throughout a very personable conversation follows as the pages unfold. Unlike the woman I mentioned who defined herself by men or someone you may know like this, Abi hasn’t an external locus. Her senses of curiosity and openness which in turn lead her to people are refreshing to me. But then, I’ve had far too many years to dwell in cynicism over romance.

A few anecdotes recount instances of friends’ reactions to her evolving, varying romantic attachments “Ah, you’ve finally realised” or “We just think you haven’t found the right guy yet”. Who hasn’t received a well-meaning comment like these? They’re examples of how rooted the tendency to make people fit neatly in categories is for many people (twink, bear, leather daddy, lipstick lesbian, butch dyke, ad naseum for gays and lesbians). Essentially Abi makes the point in her private journal style writing (sans the maudlin and saccharine notes, mind) that the “us or them” paradigm shouldn’t matter, no, doesn’t matter for her, and all the others who’ve had similar experiences. The last time I remember reading “love is love regardless” was in Tristan Crane’s frank and beautiful gender queer stories in How Loathsome or more recently when Ianto tried to explain to his sister in Torchwood Children of Earth that he wasn’t gay, he simply loved Jack.

Doubt Is Reassuring is for you if you’re questioning how your sexuality or finding that you don’t — or don’t want to fit in a neatly labeled box. Contact Abi (abi_higgs AT hotmail DOT com) about her story and details on how to obtain the mini comic.

The tags for this entry are intended for search purposes, not for definition.

Sistah Spooky

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Contributed by Mike McDermott

Sistah Spooky is a powerful witch, who serves as one of the senior members of the Super-Homeys team.

As a high school student, Theresa was made made to feel unattractive and worthless as a physically underdeveloped black girl among a class filled with beautiful blonde girls.  She made a deal with a demon, selling her soul in exchange for magically-enhanced beauty (and learned that most of her classmates had already made the same deal).  Her Infernal Service Provider made a mistake when he completed her paperwork though, and accidentally gave her far too much power.  Theresa refused to give back the extra power and used it to become the mystical superhero Sistah Spooky, despite the objections of the demon who begged her not to use it so his superiors wouldn’t discover the mistake.  Sistah Spooky quickly became one of the most feared and respected members of the Super-Homeys.

Spooky’s experiences in school left her with a permanent bias towards blondes, which has impacted her relationships with a few of her teammates.  She ended up developing a secret romance with telepathic teammate Mindf*ck, despite the fact that Mindf*ck is a beautiful blonde, but the relationship was ultimately torn apart by Spooky’s insecurities.  Besides her hatred of blondes, Spooky also has such low self-esteem that she couldn’t believe that anyone could truly love her, so she pushed Mindf*ck away and broke up with her.

Spooky has also taken her blonde-bias out on associate member Empowered (Emp, for short).  Emp is disrespected by most of her collegues for her unreliable powers and tendency to get captured and tied up, but Spooky has gone out of her way to be particularily cruel to her.  She even went so far as to sleep with the man who would ultimately be the love of Emp’s life a month before he meets Emp (thanks to one of her divination spells revealing the upcoming relationship to her) in a petty attempt to sabotage Emp’s happiness.  Spooky’s relationship with Emp has started to improve thanks to Mindf*ck though–she befriended Emp, and told Spooky that Emp is nothing like Spooky’s former schoolmates.  The recent death of Mindf*ck has brought Spooky and Emp a bit closer as well; Emp was the only one Spooky could talk to about her grief since she was the only other Super-Homey that knew she and Mindf*ck had been a couple.

After Mindf*ck’s death Spooky has retreated into herself, not participating in Super-Homey activities, and sitting by herself for hours on end.  She has discovered that Mindf*ck left a telepathic echo of herself programmed into Spooky’s memories, so Spooky spends her days  interacting with the personality fragment of her late lover.

Spooky was recently contacted by her demonic Infernal Service Provider, who tormented her with the claim that Mindf*ck’s soul was now trapped in hell with him.  He indicated that he might be able to release Mindf*ck from hell if Spooky would renegotiate her contract and give up her extra mystic powers.  What Spooky will do about this situation remains to be seen.

Sistah Spooky first appeared in Empowered vol 1 and is outed in vol 4.

© and ® Adam Warren. All rights reserved.

Mindf*ck

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Contributed by Mike McDermott

Mindf*ck was a very powerful telepath who was a member of the Super-Homeys superhero team.  Due to the discomfort caused to her by the “background noise” of too many minds in close proximity, Mindf*ck lived on Joint Superteam Space Station #3, known as the “D10″, supervising access to the teleportation portal network.

When she was younger, Mindf*ck was victimized by her psychotic older brother, who was also a telepath.  He mind-controlled her into gouging out her own eyes and cutting out her own tongue, so that she would be forced to rely more heavily on her telepathic abilities.  In his own twisted way, her brother was doing this out of “love” for her, to make her a stronger telepath.  She was saved and her brother was stopped before she was forced to mutilate herself any further.  Mindf*ck was given a special visor that allows her to see, and in the event that it is damaged, she could “piggyback” on other people’s senses in order to see–this is also how she experienced tastes, since she no longer has a tongue.

Terrified of becoming like her brother, Mindf*ck used her powers on herself, editing her own personality in order to make herself more noble and selfless, and deleting any personality traits that could lead to her turning into a sociopath.Mindf*ck developed a romantic relationship with fellow Super-Homey, Sistah Spooky, which they kept hidden from their teammates.  In fact many of their trysts took place in telepathic mindscapes, as opposed to real physical encounters, to help maintain their secrecy.  The relationship eventually ended due to Spooky’s insecurities, as well as her irrational hatred of beautiful blondes due to childhood traumas.  Despite the break-up the two women still cared about each other very much, and maintained a friendship which Mindf*ck hoped would eventually turn back into a romance.

Mindf*ck was one of the few Super-Homeys to befriend the often-abused associate member Emp, and treated her with respect unlike most of their teammates.  Emp was the only person she confided in about her relationship with Spooky–which did not go over well with Spooky, since she was one of Emp’s main detractors (another victim of Spooky’s anti-blonde issues).

Mindf*ck met her tragic end when the evil fire elemental Willy Pete destroyed the D10 space station during a failed Super-Homey attempt to capture the villain.  Mindf*ck and Emp were stuck aboard the D10 when Willy Pete caused catostrophic damage, destroying communications and the primary teleportation system, and knocking the station out of orbit so that it was starting to burn up in the atmosphere.  The emergency back-up teleportation escape portal only had enough power for one person, so Mindf*ck sacrificed herself to save Emp; she telepathically took control over Emp’s motor functions and forced her to use the portal.  Once Emp was back on Earth she alerted Spooky of Mindf*ck’s peril, but Spooky arrived 3 seconds too late to save her.  Mindf*ck died while in telepathic contact with Spooky, telling Spooky that she loved her, and not to blame herself for Mindf*ck’s death.

Even beyond the grave Mindf*ck’s impact continues to be felt; an inspirational “posthumumessage” she pre-recorded for her monument in the Super-Homey cemetary gave Emp an idea on how to defeat a supervillain.  A part of her also lives on in the form of a telepathic echo of herself that she wove into Spooky’s memories months before she died.  This memory-fragment recreation of herself can interact with Spooky, but is unaware of anything that happened after Mindf*ck programmed her…including her own death.

Mindf*ck first appeared in Empowered vol 4. Please note the character’s name is censored by Warren, so the style is followed here.

© and ® Adam Warren. All rights reserved.

Maurice In Love For the iPad

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Maurice In Love is the story of a British single guy who dates almost everyone in his town in search of love and finding bizarre infatuations and everything in between. The idea of Argentinian artist Patricio Oliver, Maurice is illustrated in a contemporary European flair. Maurice is printed in English with Spanish translations for each drawing. It’s the smartest way of making a story bilingual that I’ve seen. Maurice was originally printed in a fun to hold 6 by 6 inch format and is now available for download from iTunes.

I enjoyed my print copy but I think the book may not have been widely available outside of Argentina. Give it a go!