Letters to Black Lightning and Static #1

I was not disappointed with this issue. As I always approach read a DC2 story with fresh eyes and no preconceived ideas of the characters or the stories of these pre-established characters. Static is just like I remember him and I remembered why I like watching his cartoons. Thank you Dan for doing him justice. The feel of it remind me of Suoth Central Los Angeles, like from Boyz in Da Hood. I liked the whole recapping of Jefferson's past. Lord knows I never read of his first appearance. This is one of the best stories I've read period. The gang banger mentality is one point. But you were missing the point of a liquor store on every other block corner. I'm definitely on this one to the end. I just hope my pencil and ink did this story justice.

Ramon worked a miracle with the colors over that guy's terrible pencil and ink job. What is your next miracle???

Exalt to both Dan and Ramon.

Mischief

I remember the Milestone comics that Static (and Alva) were a part of, albeit distantly. What you do here feels right.

I went into this series with a clean slate, having never seen the animated series, but a fan of Black Lightning since he told Superman and the rest of the JLA to shove it.

I want to like this issue. There's a lot of social-consciousness here, and the writer obviously put a lot of thought and effort into it. The main characters are likable and interesting (especially Virgil)--- and the later scenes are better than the earlier ones. But some of this stuff needs work. There are confusing scene transitions, inconsistent spelling, non-sequiter dialogue, and profanity (maybe this title needs a MA audience tag?). It certainly needs closer editorial attention...

That being said, I will definately be back for next issue. Virgil is a compelling, principled character, and heroic in his own right. He's as much a crusader as Jefferson is, and it will be interesting to see how the clash as they approach their mission(s).

And as problematic as some of the writing is, there are flashes of real brilliance, as well (Virgil's monologue was very good).

Since when is Star City in California? I always thought of it as a Philadelphia or Chicago analogy (it's been established in the DC2--- and in the DCU, I believe--- as a day trip from Gotham).

That cover is truly amazing. Terrific work, Cheif, really impressive. I hope you do the entire run for this mini.

If you like, I can PM you the examples (but it isn't hard to spot--- just look for the scenes where the focus is on one character, or group of characters, and then next on completely different people in the very next sentence. Seems like there should be a new scene, or at least a paragraph break, for the sake of clarity).



That would be nice, too, but I was referring to Hotstreak/Hot-streak



I think the decsion about the MA rating is Mark's call, but personally, I don't think there's a good reason for it. Virgil is a good role-model and it would be nice for our younger readers to be able to read about him (not to mention there is a smart story developing here that should get the widest exposure).

We've worked hard to use the MA rating sparingly (everyone wants to be the next Brian Burchette ), and it should only be trotted out when absolutely required by the story--- and as this particular story is spun out from a children's animated series, I think we can avoid the profanity without losing what makes it what it is (and/or should). After all, it got the writer interested enough to dedicate his time to writing fan fiction about it...!



I think if you just take out the California references, we should be fine, but let's not be hasty--- I could be wrong here? Does anyone else have some feedback around this? Brian, Chris, Charlie, Ellen?



Not at all! You reacted reasonably and professionally. I would welcome the same feedback from you.

I hope that I can deliver on this bench mark. I hope that I can do all the covers for the entire run too. Maybe throw in some surprises too.

Come on Ramon take a bow please. ;D

Mischief

I finally got to read this and did enjoy a lot of it. I have to admit that my age was trying to get in the way, and I had to reread the gang stuff a couple of time to comprehend it. It was written very well, I'm just slow on the uptake.

Great ending!!! Nice mention of Ollie.

Excellent cover!

I'll be back!

But we really should decide where Star City is. It'd be nice to know before Ollie goes back home to visit.

All of them seperately are minor, but when taken together, add up to significant concern (otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it); I certainly wouldn't characterize this issue as flawed because of them, but I'd hate to see this happen in every subsequent issue.



Cool! That was the biggest, most distracting problem I think.



I have no problem whatsoever with slang (as long as it's used in dialogue, or first person narration). I think it was used effectively here, and I wouldn't change a thing.



Well, an apostrophe makes it grammatically more acceptable...



Thanks for catching it, John! If it's any consolation, it's also a pet peeve of mine when people refer to "The Batman" or "The Flash" (as opposed to "the Batman" or "the Flash")...

No sniggering at my OCD!



Thanks for making the effort. Editors are the great unsung heroes of the DC2 (writer and artist are such flashy jobs), but there's no doubt the job of the editor is equally important!



I don't think this is a minor point at all (though neither is it a big deal to fix), and we should regularize it ASAP, as a major new series will be set there, post-Crisis II (again, this could be my OCD talking ).

Thanks for taking my concerns seriously, John! This series is lucky to have such a responsive editor!

Hey, I got that he was trying to do something, but it didn't work for me. The identity crisis/infinite crisis blared out at me like "Typical..." but didn't impede my overall enjoyment. I'm just glad we get to see Black Lightning again!

I'm just talking personal preference about the 'street' language. Don't get the wrong idea John and Dan, I enjoyed the issue, but I found the repetitiveness a bit pretentious.

I flat out didn't like the Cyborg story, but I really liked this, because I have to admit, I've written repetitive sections like that for The Question Quarterly! I can't wait for the next installement because I want to know what the hell just happened.

Oh, and I loved the Bond villain feel we had going on near the beginning, but I don't think we needed to be TOLD it, you know? But again, that's how I feel.

That was my favorite part! I thought it was clever...!

Almost...?

I finally got around to reading this. Good first issue. I was a bit apprehensive going in, having read David's letter about the issue way back, but the editing since then seems to have sorted things out. Anyway, looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Well, I am a big fan of the Static cartoon, so when I saw this, it piqued my interest. I found it quite enjoyable and interesting.

You know, in the show, most of the Bang Babies went bad, and I never could figure out why until I came up with a theory. I theorized that the Bang Gas had not just affected their bodies to give them powers, but it also affected them mentally. If they had existing psychological issues, the gas exasperated them. For example, Hotstreak already had a lot of insecurities and anger (like all bullies), and when he got hit by the gas, it altered his brain chemistry, making him even MORE insecure and angry.

Maybe you could use that theory.