Letters to Seven Soldiers #16

What a brutal opening! I'm coming into this with no memory (sorry!) of previous issues, so that opening scene filled me full of dread-- which Soldier was being attacked? Who were these secretive villains about to invade her space? Oh, wait, no, nothing like that, not at all, but the atmosphere was tense, the end brutal, and the dialogue between the culprits so nonchalant, you'd think they hadn't just killed a woman...

Anyway! To the Soldiers themselves! The banter between these characters is superb, a great quality your writing has, Don. I'm a big fan of characters and personalities bouncing off each other, because it shows so much about them than we might otherwise see, so seeing the guys bantering around their plan of attack, while Wing plays the straight man and tries to keep things moving smoothly was great. I liked how everything was balanced, Skyman making suggestions but not orders, and the team agreeing because it was the best idea. This feels less like a team and more like a family, and the scenes with Justin, Brenda and Sally reinforced that. They're friends and family first, then this team second. That might not be the reading you want me to take from it, but it's the one I'm having!

Everything about this story felt old fashioned in the best possible way. Talk of secret doors and elevators, secret underground bases and the like, I loved it.

The first scene gets called back to massively with Doc Merlin (I can't remember if he is an OC or not, but I'd like to know! Love me a mad scientist!) and the West Serum! I had totally forgotten about that, but what a brilliant concept! As a big fan of the Re-Animator films, having this be a part of the DC2's mythology is simply AMAZING, even if it's not exactly the same story. What a sinister application, and what a sinister "baptism" for Rae Morgue. Good work, Don!

The threads that came together in the conclusion were great, everyone having their moment to shine. Never has the word "slut" be used with such venom. I wonder where this is going to go? The ending felt nice and tidy otherwise, a very "everyone look at the camera and laugh!" wrap-up that I have no problem with.

Great issue, here's to the next one!

Always good to hear such effusive praise, thanks very much!

Charlie, I'm glad the opening worked so well. I really wanted to get across the tension, the wrap-up and leaving the reader wondering what this has to do with the overall story. And the follow-up scene to reveal another new villain for the Soldiers was one of my favorites to write. Doc Merlin is an OC but he's a legacy of sorts too. Professor Merlin was an enemy of the golden age Green Arrow, and was one of the Five Fingers that drew the Soldiers together way back in the comics; so he's an updated homage. The Needle is an old SSK and Stripesy villain from the old Five Fingers as well, and so my Needle is definitively the grandson of that Needle. The Dummy was also one of the Five Fingers, hence his inclusion in the story. Rae Morgue is wholly original, and the fifth member...well, just wait and see.

I'm glad you took away the family feeling of the Soldiers, because that is what I'm building, what I'm wanting to get across. Even when there's stickiness cropping up here and there (such as Pat, Dann and Justin are in), it's still family and they all feel that way, making tiffs, tangles and arguments more cutting for them. Plus, for the older members, it's the only family they have. If I had to envision a high-concept pitch, I see this iteration of the Soldiers as a cross between the family-oriented Fantastic Four and the wild-weird non-team adventures of the Defenders.

Sam, I love the bonding with Sally and Brenda, as I wrote their scene out I found a friendship that will come stronger between these two women from two very different walks of life, and next issue they add Maya to the quest, and I think we'll see a friendship that grows into something great. Justin along for the ride? Well, every good knight takes good care of his squires.

Take care
Don