It's time to give away some more comics, so without further ado here's the introduction...
Show & Tell - The Rules
What is your favourite piece of memorabilia? It can be a poster, book, action figure, clothing or even a comic book. Now you need to show it off & tell us all about it!
Show: First off, you need to take a photograph of your favourite piece of comic memorabilia. To prove that you haven't found a random photo on the internet, you must include yourself in the photograph!
Tell: Then you must write about WHY it is your favourite item. This can not be any less than a paragraph (roughly 3 or 4 sentences long) and no more than 2 paragraphs. this way you can't just say "It's cool!".
Only one 'Show & Tell' item per person. Think you've got a lot of stuff to choose from? Well so have I & I still came up with 1 item! ;)
Only one entry per person . Anyone caught submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
The Prize
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear issues 1 to 5 by Frank Miller & John "JRJR" Romita Jr. Each issue has a tough card cover that has been embossed and has a ghostly image of Daredevil stamped in red foil in the background.
Issue 1 is still sealed with a Dynamic Forces holographic sticker. The Certificate of Authenticity confirms that it has "been signed by Artists John Romita, Jr. and Al Williamson". Although the issue has never been read, there is a clear & distinctive crease in the spine, and the corner of the cover at the very bottom of the spine appears slightly dog-eared. The backing board itself is also creased along the very top.
Issue 2 is the worst for wear. I has a variety of creases down the spine.
Issues 3 to 5 appear to be in perfect condition (for comics that are 18 years old).
I bought this mini series roughly a decade ago. I was lucky enough to find the complete set at a comic book mart. Despite the fact that I have owned these for a decade, I have never read these comics. They have since been kept stored in a short-box, all bagged with boards. Therefore any signs of wear occurred before they were purchased.
Example Entry
xerox-kitty's Power Pack: Origin Album I will never let go of my Power Pack: Origin Album trade paperback, because it was the first 'comic' I ever bought from the first time I ever went in to a comic book shop. Many years later, I ended up working in that same comic book shop. So in a way, this is the catalyst to my life long hobby.
I was 11 when I was taken a long on a trip into the city. We were looking for Thundercats & Transformers back issues for my brother, and my mom asked if I wanted anything. The book was out of reach on a shelf in the middle of the store & I had already been transfixed by its bright appearance and quality leather-bound cover; I just had to have it! Although I was disappointed it wan't really a leather-bound volume, I was entranced by the story inside. So much so that during English class, I would purposefully pick the largest book I could find in the library to hide it in... and secretly read Power Pack instead!
Deadline
Post your entry in a comment to this thread. There is a new deadline (because of the downtime we've been experiencing). All entries must be received by Saturday 30 April 2011 by 21:00 (9pm) BST. That's British Summer Time. I'm afraid I don't know what time that is around the world, so make sure you check the internet for Time Zone conversions.
Like any good murder mystery, the Age of X has been laying down plenty of clues for us to follow. Many of which, we've picked up on (like the incarcerated & neutralised telepaths, and nothing appearing on Pryde's camera). However, it wasn't until reading the most recent X-Commincated with Mike Carey that I realised we'd missed something. Something that should have been so screaminginly obvious. I (for one) dismissed this as one of those 'artistic interpretation' type moments.
Who Are They...?
There are two types of residents on Fortress X:
The first are the mutants we know & love from regular continuity.
The others are strange & weird looking folks who never seem to go out on the battlefield (but like to be seen in & around the Fortress).
Here's the specific passage that caught my eye:
Last time, we talked about some of the strange and anomalous beings that were popping up around the Fortress. Here, at the top of the page, we see them again, but this is the first time we've seen them interact with anybody. It's interesting that they're interacting with Legion, a character who, in the main Marvel reality of Earth 616, is known for his mental illness and his vast psionic powers.
You could certainly read something into that if you want to. And certainly there are some connections that some readers are drawing. I'd rather not comment on them, though. The obvious point is -- alongside the costumed mutants we know and love -- there's a second population in Fortress X who may or may not be familiar from a different context.
Speaking of mental illness and mental powers, what do we know about the "Age of X" version of Legion? Does he have the same mental problems and powers as his 616 counterpart?
We don't see him having specific mental problems -- or hear them referred to at any point. We've seen Legion as someone who's able to deal with the world on his own terms, is very confident and together, and is not seemingly traumatized or incapacitated by mental illness. That doesn't mean he's 100 percent mentally sound, but certainly if he has problems, they're minor compared to the problems he has in the 616 continuity.
Also, we've only seen him use one power set, which is telekinesis. He uses that to help with the building of the force wall. If there is to more him it has yet to be revealed. If there isn't, well, maybe Legion's additional powers were actually triggered by his personality breakdown. A sane Legion might be a lot less powerful. But having said that, in regular continuity the power of telekinesis was very definitely and explicitly something that belonged to one of Legion's sub-personalities -- Jack Wayne -- not to David Haller himself.
In the middle portion of the page, you highlight Legion's relationship with Moira MacTaggart. Last time we spoke, you mentioned how in the 616 reality Moira was an early mother figure for Legion. I also recall that in a recent storyline, Moira was the name of a doll that allowed one of the many personalities that inhabit Legion's psyche to take control of his physical body.
That's right. It was in Zeb Wells' first "New Mutants" arc. We saw that the Moira doll became a kind of switching mechanism, allowing one of his personalities at a time direct access to Legion's body. It's at least possible that the name of the doll derived from Moira MacTaggert in the first place.
It seems that this isn't the first time we've seen some of these 'people' before.
Who's Back There...?
Go back through the first few issues of Zeb Wells'New Mutants. It's possible to spot most of the Motley Crew who surround the Moonstar Cadre...
Gallery
New Mutants #23 This wouldn't be the first time that the personalities from inside Legion's mind have manifested outside of his body. They managed it the first time he died. Excalibur had to fight the dispossessed spirits. But Legion is still alive, so what happened?
Having gone back & re-read X-Men Legacy #244 Blindfold barged in to Legion's mind while looking for the thing that was 'hiding' from her. It seems that Blindfold didn't have a chance to look around as Professor X was offended by her intrusion. So she left asap, leaving Dr Nemesis & the Cuckoos to operate on Legion's psyche. We know that Dr Nemesis was studying someone's mind when something drastic happened, as that's how Legacy & Gambit found him. Is it therefore possible that something went wrong therefore allowing the residents of Legion's mind to escape & take up residence in 'Fortress X'?
'Morrie' or 'Moira'
Mr Carey also referred to the doll that the personalities used to control Legion's body. Marci called it Morrie by mistake, but the doll's real name was Moira. Has the doll somehow become another personality?
Ultimately, I'm more concerned about the appearance of the gentleman in the top hat, the fat clown & the man stood behind Moonstar in the overcoat. These three in particular were chopped up by Magik.
Gallery
So how did they survive being dissected? Worse yet... the man in the overcoat shares a striking resemblance to that of the dangerous telekinetic Jack Wayne:
It seems that these days we are a lot more aware of our mental health than ever before, but there is still a certain stigma that goes with mental health problems. And it seems that some of our beloved super heroes also suffer mentally as well as physically. So Doctor xerox-kitty has searched through the archives and has broken her hippocratic oath to present three examples of heroes in need of a little help.
Case 1: The Hulk
Bursting Out Of Banner
Dr Bruce Banner hasn't had it easy. Not only did he physically transform into a not-so-jolly green giant, but the metamorphosis unlocked something deeper down. Something more primeval. It wasn't long before Dr Banner was fighting for control of his body against a variety of hulking personalities. In other words, the Hulk is one of the most famous comic characters to suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
The majority of the general public are under the delusion that there are just the two personalities vying for control; Banner & the Hulk. One a mild-mannered scientific genius, the other a child-like super-strong monster with anger management issues. However, the Savage Hulk was not the only addition in Banner's mind. As well as the classic green Hulk, there was the Grey Hulk; a more mature-minded, logical & manipulative Hulk who identified himself as Joe Fixit. The grey-skinned Joe Fixit represented Banner's dark side; the years of anger & sexual repression combined with the Hulk's strength & Banner's intelligence.
The Professor
After sessions with my medical colleague, Doctor Leonard Samson, Banner was forced to confront the heavy emotional baggage he'd been carrying around for years; the fact that his mother was killed at the hands of his father. Inside his mind's eye, the image of Banner's mother spoke to the three separate personalities & convinced them to 'merge'. The combination of compassion, strength & cunning created another personality, The Professor. The 'Merged' Hulk appeared to be the ideal Hulk, as he had the Savage Hulk's strength, Mr Fixit's lack of inhibitions & Banner's intelligence. Most men feel profess to feeling comfortable with their sexuality if they wear pink, but the Professor shot down the bad guys while wearing a Bruce Willis vest & pink fluffy bunny slippers.
However, there has never been a happy ending for the Hulk. As such, he went on to suffer from an increasing amount of multiple personalities. The Professor installed a mental fail-safe, that if the Savage Hulk ever tried to take dominance then the body would revert back into the form of Dr Bruce Banner, but with the savage angry mind of the Hulk. And therefore the Savage Banner was created. Previously there was a Mindless Hulk, where the body had been completely abandoned by all personalities after prolonged mental duress inflicted by Nightmare.
When it comes to the Hulk, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is an essential background that most the general public is unaware of. It demonstrates that life has never been easy for either Banner of the variety of Hulks that lie within the deep recesses of his mind. He has gone on to be a world conquering power, yet the Hulk's greatest fight is always with himself. If he didn't have this internal torment, then would the Hulk have enjoyed many years of prolonged popularity?
Case 2: Penance
The originally light-hearted Masked Marvel, Speedball has been forced to endure so many stressed & traumas over the last few years. Previously he'd led an otherwise typical super-teenaged life. Like the Hulk, Robbie Baldwin was exposed to experimental energies when a scientific test raged out of control, but he lived in Springdale (CT) where masked heroes were outlawed & his father was the lead prosecuting District Attorney. None of that compared to the physical & mental anguish that followed on from the events at Stamford (CT) when the New Warriors charged at a group of drug-enhanced super villains as pat of their reality TV show. The events that kick-started the Civil War were broadcast to the nation. As the only apparent survivor, Baldwin was blamed for the deaths of 612 people and labelled 'American's Most Hated Man'.
The Torturous End Of Speedball
His powers were the only thing that saved him during Nitro's explosion, but they had been exhausted. Therefore when he was imprisoned, his powers weren't there to protect him from the assaults in the prison yard. However, it soon became apparent that his powers were changing; instead of protecting him from external kinetic collision Baldwin discovered that he stored energy upon receiving flesh piecing cuts. He abandoned the name & appearance of Speedball in preference of the new Penance persona who wore a metallic armoured iron maiden that would fuel his power.
A Broken Man Looking For Penance
Inducted into the Thunderbolts programme, Baldwin was confused; flitting between coldly-logical & emotionally incoherent. He was able to memories all 612 names of those who died at Stamford, escape the ever-watching eyes of the government's agents, intimidate Doctor Doom into co-operation and exact his revenge upon Nitro. However, by the time his long-time fan-girl Squirrel Girl caught up with him Baldwin had mentally regressed to such a point that when confronted with logical & emotional pleas he could only respond by head-butting the brick wall. This sort of extreme frustration seemed extremely out of character for young Baldwin, yet headbutting has been recorded as a sign of frustration in human beings for many years, particularly among children & more innocent minds.
It seems that Baldwin suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, having been exposed to such a traumatic event at Stamford. He was then subsequently forced to re-experience by being labelled with the guilt of a nation and emotionally distanced himself from the logic & reasoning that Squirrel Girl provided. Even though Norman Osborn had used Penance as a weapon, Trauma was able to sneak some positive therapy into his sessions thus giving Baldwin some comfort during his Pet Therapy sessions (although Baldwin was unaware he was petting his own cat Niels). This helped to spur his rebellion against Osborn & eventually return to the Speedball identity. However he still 'cuts' himself in private, which was revealed as a method to keep his secondary powers as opposed to 'self-harming'. Clearly, Baldwin hasn't slipped back into his old carefree frame of mind and sometimes over-reacts when teaching the Avengers Academy students. However, it seems that he has made progression and is slowly recovering from the accumulated traumatic experiences of the last few years.
Case 3: Legion
The Broken World Of A Fractured Mind
Just as the gammar explosion has done with Dr Banner's mind, David Haller's traumatic experience was the trigger that began to splinter his mind & his powers. It is no great surprise that the son of the powerful telepath Charles Xavier would have even greater powers. Long before he had ever met his father, young David Haller was living in Paris as the son of an ambassador. His mutant powers kicked in on the day they came under attack from Arabian terrorists. The leader of the terrorist group Jemail Karami was killed & his consciousness was accidentally absorbed into David Haller's mind. Jemail Karami was once a living person, but the other two personalities inside Haller's mind were pure constructs from his own mind. Each with individual control over a different aspect of Haller's mutant powers; Jemail was telepathic, the rogue cowboy Jack Wayne was telekinetic while the punk girl Cyndi was 'pyrotic' (pyrokinetic). The only powerless personality was David himself. As the Legion of different personalities fought & grew, it became impossible for Haller to be cared by normal carers. Instead he was taken to Muir Island where Dr Moira MacTaggert became a surrogate mother for him. While there, he came into contact with the New Mutants and later became a pawn of the Shadow King. Left in a coma for many months, Haller's mind was healed when he awoke. In a frenzied desire to help his father's dream of co-existence, David Haller accidentally caused the Age of Apocalypse.
In order to save reality, David Haller was killed in Egypt. However, it was not the last of the different personalities who had been residing inside his mind. They managed to escape the physical restraints of Legion's mind and ran amok in Egypt where Excalibur encountered them. It seems that even though he believed his mind was finally consolidated, they had lay dormant and took the first opportunity to escape.
Drowning In His Own Mind
Having come back from the dead, the situation inside Legion's mind has worsened. Not only did he accidentally absorb the life & consciousness of little Marci Sabol, but the number of residents inside his mind has increased from three to over a thousand. The population inside Legion each managed to take control over his body whenever they took possession of a doll called 'Moira'. While fighting for their lives inside Legion's mind, Magik & Karma used the Soulsword to kill Jack Wayne & other malicious personalties. Since his incarceration on Utopia, Legion has been kept unconscious and has been wheeled out occasionally to fight off villains so powerful that even the combined forces of the X-Men were powerless against.
Unlike Hulk & Speedball, Legion hasn't had any therapy sessions with experts like Doc Samson or Trauma. There hasn't been any attempt to care for David Haller. Instead, as he has forcibly undergone a combined psychic & scientific process tocull the excess of personalities by Stepford Cuckoos & Doctor Nemesis. Professor X has expressed concerns over the severe 'care' for his son. At this point it is unclear how it will happen, but Legion has been lined up in Rogue's future team of X-Men. Whether he'll be in full control of his faculties remains to be seen. However, as he is named after the Biblical man who was possessed by many demons, it seems unlikely that any methods of treatment will be successful any time soon.
Overview
What strikes me most is that mainstream comic books try to use real world problems, but often twist them beyond belief. Speedball's transformation into Penance seemed out of character, but when a human being is forced to endure those kind of stresses then it is understandable how someone light-hearted could suffer depression & post traumatic stress. Meanwhile, both the Hulk & Legion are extreme examples of how a genuine problem (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is used as an excuse to house different powers. The term 'Women In Refrigerators' was coined because of the way that female characters are used & abused to further the development of a male character. Somehow it seems that mental health problems are used as a way to further develop the character who is suffering, yet they rarely receive the kind of specialised treatment necessary for someone in their predicament. Ultimately, I can't help but wonder if anyone feels that they learn or understand mental health problems because of these characters?
Obviously, I'm not a real doctor. But if anyone wants to know more about real mental health issues, then there are places like Rethink who are there to help break down the misconceptions about mental health problems.
After my alarm went off this morning, the 'Sleep Monster' gave me a nice warm embrace. I fell back to sleep & dreamt that I was given a small but exotic bunch of flowers from the sexiest man in comics.
However, at the time I was lying on the floor playing cards with the New X-Men. So he lay the perfectly bound bouquet across my perfectly pert dream bottom (it's the perfectly little bubble-butt, but only in my dreams) which made Rockslide laugh so much while it was his turn in the game, which annoyed Anole. I then had to rescue the flowers before Teon could eat them.
While I'm partly annoyed that one of the Five Lights appeared in my dream, I'm still amused that my unconscious subconscious gave me a dream mutant boyfriend... If only for a few minutes :)
I then went on to dream about a suitcase full of cash that I had to hide in a cave, but the case turned out to be a public thoroughfare... Don't ask. I don't know, either! ;)
Don't forget to add your entries into each character's Fan Art galleries! ;)
I'd really like to know what everyone thought about the contest. What kind of contests would you like in future? Would you prefer anonymous voting? Is there anything you did, or didn't like about this?
Again, thanks to everyone for helping to make this a success. It's been so much fun & I'm already planning on the next Contest!
22 Comments
Thank you everyone for your support with my Comic Give-Away Contest! The response has been overwhelming, and has given me ideas for future Contests. So even if you don't win this time, you might have more success in future. But for now, let's get on with the voting!
Entries In The order They Were Submitted:
Gallery
You can also check out their full glory in this gallery.
How To Vote
You need to vote for your three favourite entries in order of 1st, 2nd & 3rd, like this:
1st: Babs 2nd: sora_thekey 3rd: fesak
When voting, name the artist (as named in the video & in the gallery) not the character.
Do not vote for your favourite character. Do not vote for your favourite artist/Comic Vine member. You should vote for your favourite pictures.
For the artists who have participated; Do not vote for yourself.
Deadline
The voting deadline is Wednesday 16th of March 2011 at 21:00 hours GMT. If you're not sure what time that is, please check out the World Clock Converter. Should there be a tie at the end of the voting deadline, I'll post a quick plea for tie-breaker votes.
Warning
If there is any more cheating, the the relevant entries will automatically be disqualified.
43 Comments
After sitting in a concertina file for nearly 15 years, the last of my old Fan Art is being exposed to the internet. It was possibly the last thing I drew. This is my favourite of all my drawings, even if it is very mangafied & she's developed a strange lump where her bottom should be. I'm just happy with the combination of pose & wardrobe.
Curvy Attitude Yep! Yet again, it's another Boom-Boom drawing! She's been my favourite character for a long time, and here's the proof ;)
The original pose is taken from another issue of X-Force. This time, X-Force #62 which was drawn by Kevin Lau. At that time, I'd never really seen a manga style in an American comic, and I liked the soft rounded style; in the eyes and general curves all-round!
Boom-Boom Shake The Room! The pose itself isn't taken from any defining moment. She's just mouthing off to the villains of the issue, but I liked the pose.
The outfit is one of my favourite classic New Mutants outfits. After the Acts of Vengeance issues of the New Mutants, Boom-Boom went through a phase of changing her 'uniform' every few issues. And why not?! It's more realistic for a girl of her age!
What I didn't realise at the time was that this outfit was designed by Rob Liefeld & debuted in New Mutants #90. It was sadly short-lived in favour of something slightly more practical (but not as cute). However, because this was the outfit she wore during the zany New Mutants Summer Special drawn by Bret Blevins it stuck in my mind. It's really cute & so that's the outfit I wanted to put her in, instead!
10 Comments
With just 24 hours left to go in the X-Men Evolutions Contest, I thought it would be fun to post the last of my old Fan Art. As expected, many (many) years ago I used to spend time drawing my favourite explosive blonde. Before she was Meltdown, and before Boomer, there was a little mutant called Boom-Boom!
Stomach In, Chest Out! Long before X-Force, even before joining the New Mutants, she was an X-Terminator! Although this drawing seems to be a combination of all three.
The pose is stolen from Tony Daniel's art in X-Force #39. The issue featured the birth of 'Prosh', the evolution of Ship who accidentally took over a Phalanx body during the Phalanx Covenant. After telling the tale of how he acquired his shiny new body, Boomer had to have a closer look. And that's the pose I've stolen.
As fun as Tony Daniel's art is, that's one infeasibly tiny tiny waist, and standing on tippy toes is very reminiscent of Rob Liefeld. However, about 14 year ago, I absolutely loved the feisty pose.
Baby Of The 80's Therefore I stole the pose & redressed her in the outfit she first used during the X-Terminators mini series during Inferno. It's the outfit she wore when she was accepted into the New Mutants and for the duration of her adventure in Asgard. It was drawn by Bret Blevins & Jon Bogdanove, and therefore it had always stuck in my mind & been one of my favourite outfits.
Once again, the head seems disproportionately small, and for some reason I've tilted it upwards. It never really looked like it was connected to the rest of her body. And instead of pointing, she's launching a few casual time-bombs. Seeing the two images together it looks odd, but I still quite like this. Maybe just because it was so much fun, which I hope everyone has when drawing their Contest entries!
3 Comments
This is a strange Fan Art. Mainly because it's a Fan Art of a Fan Fic. Way back when, I used to role play with a friend. In the stories that we spun, Polaris was somehow possessed for a second time by Malice I've forgotten all the finer details of the plot). However, instead of the hideous permed mullet & armour shoulder pads from the 80's I decided to give her something a little more... scandalous.
Inferno: A Mutant Domestic Altercation Without any colour, it's hard to tell that it's meant to be Polaris.
Anyway, the pose is taken directly from a trading card of Cyclops with his soon-to-be deceased wife Madelyne Pryor in the background. The Goblin Queen was an obvious influence for this saucy little outfit. However, I never liked the gravity defying cleavage, so I borrowed the top half of another villainess' dress.
In the New Mutants Annual #2Cypher & Warlock performed their Gestaldt merge to become Douglock. This allowed them to interface with the Mojoverse technology that was infused with Psylocke, and thereby enter into her mind. In there, they encountered Spiral disguised as Psylocke. She posed as Psylocke wearing a dress that most girls would consider risqué, except for Ms Pryor, Ms Frost, Selene & M...
Original Pose Continuing my trawl through the archives, here's another piece of Fan Art that I made about 14 years ago. It's not one that I like, but I drew it for a friend.
It's based on an old Tony Daniel drawing from X-Force #35. Originally it was Domino bouncing around and shooting. I took the pose, but swapped Dom for Bishop's holographic sister Shard.
So you can see, she retained the same ridiculous pose but somehow she's been to see a voodoo doctor who shrank her head a bit :p There are a few things I like about this, like the fat outline and her trailing braid. However, this is one of my least favourite drawings. I just wanted to show support to everyone who wishes to enter my Fan Art contest by demonstrating my own artistic inabilities ;)
14 Comments
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