Honor Brigade!

One of the (many) things I picked up on this year's Chicago trip was the trade paperback of Honor Brigade.



Never heard of it you say? Well, let me introduce you....

Plus Co. is one of the largest companies in the country... but things are not as they seem under the surface of Plus Co. and it's CEO, Adrian Conroy, has secrets. Thrust into the midst of all of this is mercenary and sabotuer Toy Boy with an axe to grind against Conroy, the upstanding public hero Lightning Rod, a slain former cop and Plus Co. security guard given a new lease on life as the undead avenger Dead Eye, a young, single father whose prodigious strength and lack of sensation make him the nigh indestructable Slam but also make him afraid to touch his son, Conroy's half-brother tranformed by alien intelligences and bonded to a high tech space exploration suit as The Suit and Mystery Girl a young woman with total amnesia apparently a victim of Plus Co.'s machinations but left with the uncanny ability to copy the superpowers of others.

This disparate group is brought together -- some enemies, some allies -- as the plans of Plus Co. are revealed. Once upon a time Honor Brigade was one of the premiere superteams but now it's time for a new Honor Brigade... if Plus Co. doesn't destroy them before they can get started... and also assuming these heroes don't kill each other first.

Honor Brigade is notable for a number of things. First of all, it wasn't published by DC or Marvel. It wasn't even published by some of the bigger independent publishing firms -- not Dark Horse, or Image or IDW or Ape Entertainment or any of the others you could name.

No, Honor Brigade was published by this guy:



Tom Stillwell.

In this day and age Tom managed to write a complete, six-issue miniseries, get an artist, produce the six issues within a quite reasonable length of time, get them published, and do all of the publicity for them himself.

And if that were not enough, he made enough money on the original run to have the whole thing collected in a trade paperback edition, have it colored where the original was in black and white, AND hire a few writers and artists to add some short stories featuring several of his Honor Brigade characters as well as pin-ups. And these are no slouches with stories written by the likes of Gail Simone and pin-ups by the likes of Coleen Doran among others. It's amazing how well others get Stillwell's characters. Perhaps because they are, in many ways, so relatable.

On top of all of that.... The story is just GOOD! Tom understands something about comics -- you don't have to have nothing but conflict in order to have conflicted heroes. You don't have to make your heroes nothing but walking piles of angst in order to make them "interesting".

He takes a healthy slice from the Silver Age -- when heroes were more outwardly heroic and less inclined to constantly straddle the line between good and evil -- but then tempers it with modern attitudes. These are heroes who have problems and hang-ups but instead of navel-gazing about them they are determined to go out there are DO something about it.... even if what they do might not exactly be the right thing... or the legal thing.... or the sane thing in Toy Boy's case.

Tom has an ear for dialogue and, a few gramatical missteps aside, the whole thing is rollicking fun as it goes from witty banter to touching moments to heroic speeches to villanous proclamations. It all works and it all feels remarkably real... and in many places laugh-out-loud hillarious.

And if that were not enough, Tom has followed up Honor Brigade with a one-shot story featuring his character of Toy Boy called Toy Boy: What Happens in Vegas. Check out the fun little YouTube video advertising the story:



And coming this October, Stillwell is following things up with yet another Toy Boy one-shot: Toy Boy: Strangers With Candy. You can check out a preview of it HERE

While it may seem like Toy Boy is hogging the spotlight right now... well, that's just what he does. Tom has created one of the break-out hit comic book characters that I've read in a long time... and I read a lot of comic books so that tells you something. But seriously, Toy Boy is snarky, anti-authority, insane and utterly charming under Tom's pen and you could almost believe that he's taken on a kind of life of his own. But rest assured, Toy Boy can't keep the spotlight forever... Lightning Rod controls electricity and sooner or later he'll just short it out. : >

But the fun doesn't stop there. If you ever get a chance to talk to Tom (and I highly recommend it as he's one sharp cookie) you'll see that he's got more ideas for stories and characters running around in his head then there probably is room for in the world. He already has plans for more Honor Brigade one-shots featuring some of the other HB characters aside from Toy Boy and he also had ideas for at least two other superhero comic book titles. And populating all of these titles are a wealth of characters. He has a poster showing all of his characters in his Spinner Rack Comics universe and for each one of them if he doesn't have a backstory already in mind he at least has the germ of an idea. Each one of the characters has a superhero name and a power set already fleshed out in his head and some of them are insanely clever and you wonder why no one has tried it before. Take, for example, his team of superheroic cheerleaders -- Team Spirit, or his resident psychic Mind Mime or the currently defunct criminal team of thieves Grand Larceny. Any one of these could probably helm at least a complete comic book mini-series and he's got probably close to a dozen like that lurking around in his imagination.

So if you like your comics a perfectly balanced mix of action, adventure, drama, conflict, and humor all wrapped up in bright colors and eye catching art then check out the Honor Brigade world.

You can buy copies of the color Honor Brigade TPB HERE

And you can buy a copy of Toy Boy: What Happens in Vegas HERE

And if you ever run into Tom Stillwell at a convention, tell him Stressfactor sent you.

Chicago! Day 2

So Saturday was when the rubber hit the road. The exhibit hall was packed with people, there were even more comic book bargains galore and, of course, more costumes...



Like this girl going as the Marvel heroine Domino



And here's Marvel's "Merc with the mouth", the certifiably insane anti-hero Deadpool!



Yet another two from Marvel... a kind-of Black Cat -- jewel thief and sometime Spider-Man girlfriend and Dark Phoenix -- the power maddened version of the heroic mutant Jean Grey.



Again with the Marvel characters -- this time the heroic duo Cloak and Dagger.



And now for something different -- Dr. Horrible from Joss Whedon's Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog as well as Horrible's archenemy Captain Hammer.



Here's a father and son team with the dad as Indiana Jones and the kid as Luke Skywalker circa Empire Strikes Back Dagoba training montage.



Another father and son team -- this one with a theme with the dad as the Green Hornet and the son as faithful valet Kato.



Moving into DC Comics territory (sort-of) we have a Green Lantern vs..... Skeletor?! Eh, just go with it.



Batman's longtime nemesis the Penguin showed up... and yes, that is indeed a REAL rapier hidden in the umbrella shaft.



The one is spot-on but a little more obscure... In an issue of Grant Morrison's All Star Superman Superman gave Lois a very special birthday present -- a serum that allowed her to have all of his powers for one day. He also provided Super Lois with her own costume -- seen here.



Now I'll admit I'm not a big fan of the recent redesign of the Wonder Woman costume BUT the girl who put this together shows that it actually kind of looks better in real life than it does on the page and I have to give her major kudos for putting this costume together in only a short time since the redesign was only released a few months back.

Whew! After all of that we might need a doctor to help us recover. Is there a doctor in the house? Oh yeah, there's one....



Or should I say there's 10 since this is the 10th Doctor and his companion Rose.

And look, there's another one!



The newly minted 11th Doctor. Fish fingers and custard anyone?

Chicago! Day 1

Here we have the entrance to the exhibit hall on Friday.

Greyhound Leader and I spent the day walking the floor, buying comic booky stuff and talking to the artists and writers hanging out in Artist's Alley. But the big part of the day was costume watch. There was also the keeping of eyes peeled for people with awesome (and not so awesome) costumes as we then ran around trying to get pictures of them.

Here are some of Friday's highlights...

A couple of teenagers dressed as the Joker and Harley Quinn -- really awesome costumes.



A different version of Harley Quinn -- this one from the videogame Batman: Arkham Asylum. She's joined by DC's mistress of magic Zatanna.



A classic, Silver Age version of that perennial thorn in Superman's side, the imp from the Fifth Dimention Mister Mxyzptlk.



This fellow was obviously inspired by the character of Rorschach from Alan Moore's seminal comic book maxi-series Watchmen



The Marvel comic book hero Moon Knight... and a really good costume as well.



The Golden Age version of DC's pulp-inspired superhero Sandman.



And here's an odd combination -- Shredder, the villain from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ash (complete with "boom stick") from the Evil Dead movies



And finally, the sometimes villain, sometimes quasi-good guy Knockout

Stay tuned for Saturday's pic fest!

Chicago!

You may have noticed several days of silence on the blog front here. That was due to the fact that I was gone attending the Chicago Comic Con (formerly Wizard World Chicago Comic Convention).

I'm a con veteran of the Chicago show, having been going for the past eight or nine years as is the friend a go with... Codename: Greyhound Leader.

This year I thought I might sort of blog about the trip... with pictures.

As is usual, the trip begins from the southern part of Illinois, where I meet up with Greyhound Leader and he drives. From there it's a straight track north.... for five hours.

Five hours of mostly flat farmland....



Broken up by Springfield Lake... which is quite pretty but you don't get to see much of it as you speed by at 65 MPH...



This year there was an unexpected sight... I looked up to see this:



Once I figured out what I was looking at I gestured to Greyhound Leader and could only say: "Elephant butt!"

Not very eloquent but certainly descriptive. I still have NO idea what was going on here but it was, indeed, a large, fiberglass (I assume) replica of an elephant, on a trailer, being pulled behind a pick-up truck. There was no sign on the elephant, on the trailer or on the truck to give ANY idea what was going on...



It was just an elephant.

After that little curiosity it was more flat road and farmland until we look a break and ate some lunch at a nice little rest area... and Greyhound Leader joked about some kids playing in the brush along the playground area going home with a case of poison ivy...



Our trip having been hassle-free up to that point, of course once we got close to Chicago we got caught up in construction traffic and then an accident and then rush hour traffic in the suburbs. We finally arrived.... about two hours later than anticipated with the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center where we would be attending the con the next morning...

Grab Bag Reviews: "The Edge of Destruction"

Yes, it's another First Doctor story. No, I honestly don't plan these things -- it really is random.

In the early days of the series story titles were a lot more fluid. For example, the story "10,000 BC" was also known as "The Tribe of Gum" and this story, officially put on the DVD as "The Edge of Destruction" is also sometimes known as "Inside the Spaceship".

That clarified, here are a few other things to know about the story before we dive in... Doctor Who was very nearly ended before it began. Officials at the BBC worried about the expense of the show and nearly pulled the plug early. Luckily several people went to bat for the show and managed to convince the powers that be to give it a season run of 13 episodes.

What this meant, however, was that the series didn't have enough scripts at the ready quite to fill the 13 episode quota. It was decided to pen a quick, two-part script and stick it in between "The Daleks" and the lush, costume historical "Marco Polo". At the same time there were fears that the Doctor's rather abrasive and antagonistic personality might be frightening or off-putting to children and the two-parter was seen as the perfect place to start softening the Doctor's personality.

With this story needing to be completed fast and cheaply it was also decided to set the entire thing on the existing TARDIS set -- putting further constraints on the writer. The result of all of these requirements thrown into the story yields something that is... well... more than a little odd to be honest....

The Plot: Leaving Skaro the TARDIS suddenly lurches and there is a bright flash of explosion! Some time later the time travelers slowly regain consciousness but seem to be suffering from partial amnesia. The Doctor is injured but soon begins to recover with the help of Susan and Barbara but there is more going on -- the TARDIS is acting up, strange things keep happening, and the Doctor and Susan seem to be suffering from a great mistrust of Ian and Barbara.

As more and more things start going wrong Ian and Barbara wonder if there isn't something on the ship with them but the Doctor has found a more Earthly source to blame... Ian and Barbara! The Doctor announces he intends to put them off the ship but the crew may not even live that long as they race towards doom. Their only hope for salvation may lie unexpectedly with Barbara!

My Take: Remember when I said that "The Web Planet" was like 1960's experimental theatre? Well this is too. The story is just... it's weird. Plain and simple, it's weird. There are parts of it that come off well and hang together nicely and there are parts that just make no sense no matter how much you think about them. Sadly, the parts that make no sense make up the bulk of things.

There is no clear explanation of why the group had selective memory loss, no explanation for why Susan had a hissy fit with a pair of scissors, and the one thing we do get an explanation for -- the signals the TARDIS is sending -- makes no real sense. It just leaves the viewers quite frankly bewildered.

On the flip side, the introduction of the idea that something could be loose in the TARDIS and might even be possessing one of the group is nice and creepy -- and plausible as well for as long as it lasts. The Doctor's paranoia and suspicion by being unfounded, actually increase the tension as viewers begin to believe that the old man truly is insane.

And then there is the acting. Without a guest cast it falls all on the main cast and, sadly, there is a LOT of overacting done here. No one escapes from it but Ford may be one of the more overblown examples of it. Once upon a time this might have worked for the young audiences of the 1960's but modern audiences are likely to be too busy giggling.

"The Edge of Destruction" is not without some bright moments though. Jacqueline Hill's turn as Barbara has some great moments -- including one where she reads the Doctor the riot act and proves just how formidable a woman she can be.

Hartnell's performance as the Doctor is a bit overblown, yes, but there are also moments where he exudes menace and madness but later Hartnell makes the Doctor's change of attitude believable -- a humbled, contrite figure. One of my favorite moments comes when the Doctor believes he can do nothing to save them and quietly asks Ian if the young man will face death with him. It is nicely played -- quiet but with a sense of weight instead of over the top.

I also have to give credit to writer and production team for deciding to actually give viewers a story which changes the Doctor rather than just abruptly altering his personality without change. It also shows their thoughtfulness in that they do not make things easy on the Doctor -- while Ian lets him off the hook lightly he has to humble himself and apologize profusely to Barbara.

This story also marks the first point where the TARDIS is portrayed as semi-sentient. It will probably interest fans to see that the Doctor has never considered this possibility before and it is Barbara who surmises that the TARDIS is trying to communicate with them.

In the end, though, the positives about the story just can't overcome the negatives. "The Edge of Destruction" will probably only prove popular with those who are completists, curious, and/or fans of William Hartnell.

Grab Bag Reviews: "The Time Meddler"

"The Time Meddler" was something of a watershed story for Doctor Who and it came at a time when there were many changes and upheavals.

Earlier in the season Carole Ann Ford had departed the show. Now, at the end, William Russell and Jacqueline Hill had opted not to renew their contracts and their last story was "The Chase". The production team decided not to replace Hill so Maureen O'Brien became the sole female character on the show and relative newcomer Peter Purves was hired to replace Russell in the male action lead position. Purves' character of Steven Taylor had been introduced at the end of "The Chase" but "The Time Meddler" marked his first full story. Now only William Hartnell was left of the original cast, it was, more or less, a changing of the guard.

In addition to the cast leaving, Verity Lambert, who had produced the show since it's beginning, had decided to move on as well. "The Time Meddler" would be the last story she produced.

The story was not only about farewells, however, it also marked several firsts. Up to this point Doctor Who had largely been broken into two types of stories -- science fiction and historicals. "The Time Meddler", however, would mark the first of a new genre for the show -- a blending of both the sci-fi and the historical into something which was termed "pseudohistorical". These stories would have most of the trappings of a traditional historical but throw in an element or two of sci-fi. In time this style would prove more popular than the traditional historical and would supplant the historical.

The other first "The Time Meddler" can boast is that it was the first story to introduce another of the Doctor's people. The name "Time Lord" would not be added until much later, but this is the first instance of the audience seeing another time traveler.

And so the second season ended with a new cast member, a new style of story, and new possibilities....

The Plot: After the whirlwind of their last adventure, the Doctor and Vicki take stock of their new situation. Ian and Barbara have returned home safely but they will be missed. Before they can be missed too much, however, the Doctor and Vicki discover a stowaway -- Steven Taylor, the fighter pilot they found stranded on the planet Mechanus! Steven is skeptical of the claims that the TARDIS can travel in time and space but when they land in England in 1066 he slowly becomes convinced.

Of course the TARDIS crew cannot stay out of trouble -- even here in the past -- There is a Viking scouting party in the woods, preparing for Harold Hardrada's invasion,and there is a mysterious monk who has the ability to alter the course of history... an ability he intends to use! 1066 was a turning point in England's history but it may all turn about wrong unless the Doctor and his young friends can stop the meddling monk!

My Take: I love this story, I really do. In addition to being the first pseudohistorical it is also one of those rare things in the early days of the show -- a comedy episode. Although I suppose it's more fair to call it an action-comedy; either way Doctor Who had only recently being playing around with doing stories which were more comedic in nature and this one is one of the best as Hartnell is at the top of his game here. Of course, it helps that he is given a brilliant foil -- comedy actor Peter Butterworth. Not well known here in the United States in the modern era, Butterworth was actually quite well known back in the day and in his native England. Audiences most certainly would have recognized him. Even without the recognition factor, Butterworth has timing, excellent physical comedy touches, and the ability to play off of Hartnell wonderfully in the scenes they have together.

Butterworth's meddling monk also makes for an interesting departure for a villain in the series. The monk isn't really that bad of a bad guy. He may threaten the path of history but he does it in order to make what he sees as 'improvements'... as well as to get money for himself. He's greedy and opportunistic but he isn't out to enslave the world or destroy a planet or an entire population unlike many the Doctor has crossed swords with.

There is a nice little mystery here as well. Viewers see early on that there is something not normal about the monk. He has a gramophone, a toaster, an electric skillet, and knowledge of the future. It is obvious that he is someone who is out of step with this time period but the writers spin out the mystery, keeping the truth a secret until the final episode when Vicki says the five words which would change the show's history: "The monk has a TARDIS!"

The third episode in this story is titled 'A Battle of Wits' and that's another thing you get here that you don't always get in Doctor Who -- a sense that this is a true battle of wits. Unlike with many other villains, the monk is largely alone here. There is no army backing him, no henchmen, lackeys, or toadies -- there is only the monk and the Doctor going mano-a-mano and that makes the story refreshing. The Doctor is pitting his own knowledge and low cunning against the monk's -- each one trying to get the upper hand, even if that means pulling dirty tricks. It really makes the viewer notice just how seldom the Doctor gets a true foil.

The real villainy here is provided by the Viking scouts. Their callous attitude towards taking what they need from the first village they find is chilling enough but the indications that they rape the Saxon villager, Edith, is simply chilling. These are cruel and violent men so their rather violent fate at the hands of the Saxon villagers is fitting. These darker turns, however, feel somewhat strange when compared to the lighter moments with the monk it has to be admitted.

As for the performances, well, I've already talked about Butterworth's fun turn as the monk. Hartnell is very obviously having a ball here and, despite blowing a couple of lines, he delivers some of the First Doctor's most memorably whimsical lines in this story. Such as holding up a Viking helmet to a skeptical Steven and pronouncing: "What do you think this is? A space helmet for a cow?" Or in managing to capture the monk warning him "And no more monkery!" There is also a well scripted sequence in which the Doctor manages to figure out the date by asking Edith a few simple, subtle questions and Hartnell plays the scene perfectly.

Maureen O'Brien takes on the new female lead position with aplomb. She convincingly portrays Vicki as smart, practical, logical, and quite the leader. There are also some nice scenes which help advance Vicki's character as she begins to assert that she has found a home in the TARDIS. O'Brien gives a pitch perfect reading of a line in which Vicki, believing the TARDIS is lost, tells Steven that he doesn't know what the TARDIS meant to her. O'Brien allows the simple line of dialogue to speak volumes about how Vicki feels.

On the opposite side of the scale is Peter Purves' Steven. I have to admit that, when I saw my first stories with Steven I chalked the character up as "Nearly Useless Pretty Boy". You know, one of those good-looking-but-usually-stupid male characters who sometimes show up in TV shows -- usually to make the main male lead look good. The only thing which saves the character from being completely useless is the fact that sometimes they actually do something right and/or are helpful. So yeah, that was my initial impression of Steven. Time, however, has caused me to change my mind and to recognize that Purves did something very interesting with the character of Steven. As many of the early episodes he was in had been written with Ian and Barbara as characters Purves found that his lines of dialogue were often a hastily re-written mish-mash of both characters. What this resulted in was Steven sometimes displaying what was, for the time period, female characteristics -- a heavy dose of compassion and intuition. While these could have emasculated the character, instead they actually lead to a more surprising and nuanced one. When the show began and for several years afterwards there was always one character who represented what I came to think of as "The Heart of the TARDIS" -- the character who embodied the empathy, sympathy, and more tender emotions of the show. Formerly this character had been Barbara; with Hill's departure though, the "Heart of the TARDIS designation did not fall to Vicki as may have been expected but instead fell to Steven. Peter Purves, although he has gone on record as being irritated at the time for getting stuck with Barbara's dialogue, actually decided to play it straight and with honesty instead of irony or sarcasm and it makes the character work and work well!

I will say this, though, Steven's long run of skepticism gets really annoying after the first episode. I understand the writers wanting to play things out but instead it makes the character seem a bit of a dim bulb. It also just feels a bit weird having a new character introduced at the end of a season. This is something that American TV just tends not to do -- if a new character is going to be introduced then it is usually done at the start of the season, not the end as was done here.

The guest cast aside from Butterworth are all solid although their characters are a bit more two-dimensional. They fill plot points in the story rather than being fully realized characters but at the very least they are likable plot points.

In the end viewers were treated to comedy, action, adventure, mystery, drama, and surprises all wrapped up with some cracking good dialogue. There are new characters to know and love, a new villain (who would show up again in "The Daleks Master Plan"), and a new style of story to add to Doctor Who's palette. In short, there's a little something here for everyone all done on some pretty darn good looking sets and with some pretty darn good costumes as well. Overall, this was a top notch story and a fitting close out to the season.

I don't always make mention of the DVD extras but in an odd bit of coincidence "The Time Meddler" was the last story Verity Lambert produced before moving on with her long and celebrated career and the cast and crew commentary track she recorded along with Peter Purves, story editor Donald Tosh and designer Barry Newberry for this DVD would be the last bit of work she did for Doctor Who before she passed away unexpectedly. There are some short but sweet tributes to this trailblazing woman on the DVD as well.

"The Time Meddler" is well worth 'meddling' with -- even for those who may not be fond of William Hartnell's version of the Doctor. There is a healthy dose of humor and a sense of childlike glee which pervades the entire story.

I'm Busy and Feeling Kinda 'Meh'.....

So have some Tiny Toon Adventures mixed with They Might Be Giants until I feel like doing something else...