Monthly Archives: February 2008

Skruntch vs. Scrunchie

As a bald guy, I have never needed a scrunchie, those elastic hair bands girls use to tame their locks. And a good thing it is, too, since I learned from "Battle Tide II" that in super-hero terms, a skruntchie actually means pushing your metal hand-blade through a demon's head:

Skruntch!

I think we need to alert female Earthlings about the danger of those seemingly innocuous ties, because I think we can all agree that a blade to the head is a high price to pay for looking fashionable.

What's old is new

I was going through some old sketch books yesterday, and came across some of the very first ideas I had for HeroMachine. What struck me was how similar they are to some of the knockoffs I've seen since then, and how some of the ideas back then may surface in HeroMachine 3. Since part of what I want to do with this blog is to include you in the process of developing a piece of software, I thought I should share those old drawings; here goes!

Continue reading

The Lip of Disaster

First we had Whoopi Goldberg showing up as one of the cosmic powers, and now apparently Scarlett Johansson's lips have been turned into an android:

Awesome Android

This is actually the Mad Thinker's "Awesome Android", but surely only the sultry Ms. Johanson's pouty mouth has the power to inspire someone to create a super-villain whose entire head is nothing but lips. I'm tempted to say this evil-doer "sucks", but that would be beneath me. I would, however, pay cash money to have him say "Kiss off!" as he pummels his enemy to smithereens.

(Image and character ©1985, Marvel Comics Group, "The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe", Volume 2, Number 7.)

Not that there's anything wrong with that

Somehow I missed it, but in the mid-80's DC cleverly slipped a Gay Pride March into the background of one of their "Who's Who" books, and I think it's great:

Gay Super Hero Pride Flight

I've grayed out the background characters so you can focus in on the brave warriors leading the charge for a comics-wide acceptance of their sexuality. From the very proud "Rainbow Raider" (need I say more about that name?), to the see-through red silk sleeves and striped stockings of "Red Bee", to the flowery jester-like cowl and low-slung floppy boots of "The Ray", and finally to the man-on-man flight of love of "Reactron" and "Reverse Flash", these fabulous men in spandex are finally willing to let it all hang out. It's long past time gay supers had the freedom to come out of the secret closet and fly proud. I salute you, one and all!

The only question I have regards what's going on down in the lower left. That's "Queen" from "The Royal Flush Gang" there in the front position. At first I assumed the character behind her (clearly getting into amorous position) was another female hero, to carry on the gay pride them by including lesbian members. But actually that's "Quicksilver", a male character. Apparently he got the memo that this was a Gay Pride event, and tried to dress like a girl in hopes of getting some time with "The Queen". I give him points for ingenuity, but he's got no chance, as clearly she's staring lustily at "Queen Bee" (not shown) on the other side of the cover. After all, no queen worth her salt would waste time with a commoner, especially considering he's straight and has a reputation for being "extremely speedy", if you know what I mean.

Professional pride prevents me from commenting on the fact that the artist's last name is "Colon". But come on, that's awesome.

(Characters and images ©1986, DC Comics, Inc.)

Share your site here!

If you've used HeroMachine to help your web site, I want to spread the word about it! Either leave a comment here with your URL or send me an email containing a link and a quick description and I'll post it. Whether you wrote a novel and used HeroMachine to help visualize the characters, or you're a role playing gamer who brought villains to life for your players with the application, send it along and share it with the world.

I look forward to seeing what you all have done!

Shraktch!

From the immortal pages of "Battle Tide II", we learn the origins of a common saying:

Shraktch

"You shraktch my back and I'll shraktch yours."

Note that the management of UGO is in no way responsible for inflicting this horrible pun on an unsuspecting nation.

(Images ©1993, Marvel Comics UK Ltd., “Battle Tide II”)