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Post by HoM on Aug 11, 2015 15:06:33 GMT -5
The first issue of our brand new title has hit the site! Please take a moment and share your thoughts on the book!
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Post by HoM on Aug 15, 2015 4:30:25 GMT -5
A first issue that does exactly what it needs to do to establish where we're going to go-- we meet the characters, we learn everything we need to learn about them to follow and understand their decisions, and we meet the freaky Voice who's going to tell the new Secret Six what to do in the coming months.
For those of you not aware, there was a character going by the Voice that ran the Secret Society of Super Villains in the first six issues of that title... he was eventually revealed to be Despero, so there's a cool pedigree to this faceless half-protagonist / half-antagonist. The mystery of who the character will be is something I can see driving the book forward, while the issue-by-issue adventures are sure to be engaging with the cast of characters you've chosen.
The cast is great because they're all low on the c-list, so there's threat there, a fear that they may not make it through the next issue. Obviously we have some 'bigger stars' than others, and UDC is wearing his inspirations on his sleeve-- the Arkham series, for one-- but we'll see what he does with the tools he'd laid out in this first issue.
Keep them coming.
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Post by UltimateDC on Sept 2, 2015 1:48:56 GMT -5
A first issue that does exactly what it needs to do to establish where we're going to go-- we meet the characters, we learn everything we need to learn about them to follow and understand their decisions, and we meet the freaky Voice who's going to tell the new Secret Six what to do in the coming months. Thanks! This series comes from a bunch of different places, including both the old and the new Secret Six. This issue is mostly taken from the introduction in the new version: six misfit superbaddies wake up in a strange new place and have to deal with their abduction and their conflicting personalities and agendas. I thought that was a good place to start the story and to learn about the characters. One of my favorite things about the Six is that they're "loser" villains; second-stringers who don't often get the spotlight, but who extreme enough personalities that they have the potential for new and interesting stories. I love the idea of exploring lesser-known characters (or, indeed, making up my own backstories for them) and the Six are one of the best avenues for that. I'd also like to give big thanks to Charlie for being editor for the series and making some story suggestions to the issues (e.g. using the Voice as the 'benefactor', moving the action to old Arkham, advising on British slang for Toad, etc.). This series wouldn't be near as fun to write without him to bounce ideas off of. -UDC |
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Post by David on Sept 2, 2015 7:03:47 GMT -5
Just finished this last night, and man am I impressed! I'm sorry if this comes out wrong, but UDC I don't remember you being such a good writer. Either you've improved over the last few years, or I just wasn't paying close enough attention (probably the latter). Well done, sir. This was a tale well-told and gripping to the end.
That first scene was some great character building, and some great writing. UDC does a lot without getting too wordy, using dialogue and action to clearly define Cluemaster, Double Down and Mr Toad. Double Down--- uh, ew! Cluemaster is surprisingly sympathetic for a criminal, and Mr Toad is just plain fun.
And then you go and do it again in the next scene! I love that you use Nash; you really make her a scary piece of work. But even scarier is this Sickle fellow. The tension and sense of unease that pervades the entire issue is racketed up to 11 in this scene. I don't know this new Copperhead, but I like the idea of a gender-swapped version of this character. Good call!
The setting of the old asylum is perfect and really fits the atmosphere this issue works so hard to build. The Voice is cold, frightening and manipulative--- as he should be, of course, and again, his leverage against his new team says a lot about him and the villain's characters. Particularly Mr Toad. Who is this guy? I don't recall ever coming across him before? I recognize Professor Pyg's name, but not the Circus of Strange… Is it a New 52 thing? Either way, Mr Toad is turing out to be a favorite!
There is a minor continuity error at the end: the Voice references Nash's "senile father" but the Mist is far from senile in the DC2. Nowadays he's called Zyklon and is a member of the Fourth Reich, enemies of the JSA in my "New Axis of Evil" storline is Justice Society of America.
Overall, I thought this was a smash debut. A little disappointed that there is no cover, but the writing and the story more than make up for it. Great job, UDC!
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Post by UltimateDC on Sept 2, 2015 15:24:36 GMT -5
Just finished this last night, and man am I impressed! I'm sorry if this comes out wrong, but UDC I don't remember you being such a good writer. Either you've improved over the last few years, or I just wasn't paying close enough attention (probably the latter). Well done, sir. This was a tale well-told and gripping to the end. Thanks! And no offense taken; a lot of my DC2 stuff is from a few years back, put together when I was still in or fresh out of high school, and I think my inexperience shows. I've definitely tried to get better since then. Double Down and Toad have turned out to be some of my favorites to write. They both have big, broadly defined personalities and it makes it easier to capture their voices and their actions. That's good to hear. When I was first writing this, I worried that I was repeating myself with the first two scenes having the same basic set-up, but it's good to know that there was enough difference in perspective and telling to have it work. Copperhead, as well as Sickle, are both characters who originated in the Arkham video games, which I have a lot of affection for. I figured it was a safe bet that they hadn't shown up anywhere else before and they fit the criteria for certain archetypes I was looking to have on the team, so they seemed like natural fits. Mr. Toad made his debut with Professor Pyg and the Circus of the Strange during Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin run (i.e. the "Dick and Damian" era). His character also got some screen time in Beware the Batman, a short-lived cartoon that I also have a lot of affection for. The Toad that appears here is sort of a mashup between those two versions with my own little additions to his character and backstory. I remember reading the JSA stories here; you'd think I'd remember something like that. But now I know, and it'll help going further into the series. Thanks, man! That means a lot. Thanks for reading and commenting! -UDC |
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Post by HoM on Sept 5, 2015 13:27:48 GMT -5
Thanks! And no offense taken; a lot of my DC2 stuff is from a few years back, put together when I was still in or fresh out of high school, and I think my inexperience shows. I've definitely tried to get better since then. I was re-reading my first Action Comics run for some Green Lantern-related shenanigans, and it reminded me-- yet again-- how green I was back then. I'm glad I made all the mistakes I made, because it made me a better writer for it moving forward, but Jesus, the tenses, the characterisation, everything was all over the place. Very much a "high concept / poor delivery" situation. It's going to be awful when the current issues of Green Lantern Corps I'm writing refer directly to events in those issues, because if anyone actually follows the editorial boxes back to those issues... yikes. But yeah, I feel like we've all come a long way, and I'm glad we all persevered. We're all the better for it. Mr. Toad made his debut with Professor Pyg and the Circus of the Strange during Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin run (i.e. the "Dick and Damian" era). His character also got some screen time in Beware the Batman, a short-lived cartoon that I also have a lot of affection for. The Toad that appears here is sort of a mashup between those two versions with my own little additions to his character and backstory. I believe that Fantomas wrote the Circus of Strange into his Batman, Incorporated run, and I do believe as well that he had plans that might one day materialise for the faction in Batman & Robin, a book I was very sad to see fall to the wayside because of 'real life'. There was some really golden Jamie Rimmer designs that I know Fant is excited to get out into the world again. There is a minor continuity error at the end: the Voice references Nash's "senile father" but the Mist is far from senile in the DC2. Nowadays he's called Zyklon and is a member of the Fourth Reich, enemies of the JSA in my "New Axis of Evil" storline is Justice Society of America. That error is on me. The net result of finding out that fact is something that UDC and I have briefly discussed following up on, so I'm glad to see continuity brush up against this book so we can address some potential story points moving forward in the present-day-DC2niverse! |
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