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Chapter 5 - Page 10
DAJB on Feb. 10, 2008
Go on admit it - you thought I'd forgotten all about the attack on the British Museum, didn't you? Hope you can still remember what was taken!
Note: Ooh, and it sounds like there's a Doug-related flashback coming up! If you want to be ready for the next page, you might want to go back and remind yourself what happened in Part 1 of Doug's story before moving on!
Reminder: And finally - don't forget, over in the BVC Scrap Book we're currently serialisng DajbDevil, the spoof super hero comic I made back when the only computers in existence were the size of monster-trucks and owned by the military. Who used them to play Pong or something … I imagine.
DAJB at 1:48AM, Feb. 14, 2008
JMT: Fur ... or feathers? Actually, [url=http://ocw.mit.edu/NR/rdonlyres/Global/9/9A8E1047-CD6F-4A13-8B32-CD1B09FF8BF7/0/chp_harrier.jpg]this[/url] is more the kind of Harrier I had in mind! And yes, this has been a great discussion on costumes!
jmt at 8:26PM, Feb. 13, 2008
with a name like harrier, he should have more hair I guess... that was lame. I love all this talk about heros and costumes. It is telling. I can't wait to hear the Spitfire orgin! Bring it on!
DAJB at 12:33PM, Feb. 13, 2008
Thip: Heh - I'm a little surprised no-one has picked up on that line before. It's probably not the done thing to admit to liking your own stuff, but that line does still make me smile. Of course, I'm easily pleased! ;-) SciFi: Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger? ;-D Ubernite: Hurry, hurry! We're posting another update tomorrow! Sky: Heh - I have a theory that the best story in every super hero's back-catalogue is his origin story. Of course [i]DKR[/i] kind of blows a hole in that theory but, you know ... every rule needs an exception! Blenheim: Thanks! Sorry I missed you in my last set of responses. (You must have posted just as I was writing the reply to mlai!)
thip at 11:01AM, Feb. 13, 2008
"You don't need a costume to be a hero. That's just in the comics." *COL* (Chuckling Out Loud). Well, Stan should know. I just love the idea about (possibly) the only one of those retired heroes who DOESN'T need a costume being the one that MAKES the costumes for the rest of those crazy heroes - that's good writing, and that's too rare in comics these days, much as I love the eye candy that's so common ;o)
scifiwim at 8:54AM, Feb. 13, 2008
Spitfire, eh? So he's pulling the strings then, is he? That sneaky bastard! ... Spit? No, no, don't hurt meeeaaaaaargh!!!
ubernite at 8:28AM, Feb. 13, 2008
I gots me some catching up to do. Nice work.
skyangel at 2:17AM, Feb. 13, 2008
Damn! a small radiation leak from my utility belt has mutated my voting hand into something like a claw.... If I could just reach the anti-rad serum on the other side before it spreads to my other.... ugh!.. ahh thats better.
skyangel at 2:10AM, Feb. 13, 2008
I always love the origins stuff!! We going to find out how Spitfire became Will it be a nuclear accident by any chance?? lol
DAJB at 11:36PM, Feb. 12, 2008
JNP: They're young! ;-) mlai: True. The issue for me as far as the characters' dialogue is concerned, is that "uniform" is definitely the wrong word, whereas "costume" might be more accurate but isn't a word the heroes would be likely to use. "Costumes" are worn to fancy dress parties or by actors on stage (or, in the US, by kids when trick-or-treating). The word is associated with having fun in a way that seldom applies to work-wear. Businessmen might wear a suit to give them authority, but they don't call it a costume. Even workers at Woolworth's or the local ice-cream parlour don't call their outfits costumes. That's where I was coming from. For someone inside the hero community, their outfits are practical accessories, not play-wear.
blenheimbard at 11:25PM, Feb. 12, 2008
weaving a quite interesting story
JustNoPoint at 12:28PM, Feb. 12, 2008
"Haha, no more talk of SpitFire, Harrier. Those silly kids."
mlai at 6:46AM, Feb. 12, 2008
Wow, this has been a very insightful comments page. I'd have to say that superheroes do wear *costumes.* Costumes are meant to (1)make the wearer look larger than life, (2)eclipse the wearer's mundane identity, and (3)uninhibit some part of the wearer's psyche, or ease him into an alternate persona.
DAJB at 11:28PM, Feb. 11, 2008
Ark: This is only a part of Doug's story, remember - Don't forget you really need to have [url=http://www.drunkduck.com/Shades/index.php?p=256915]read this first[/url]! jgib: Everyone needs a good flashback from time to time! Trevor/one: Thanks, guys. Tantz: You're so suspicious ... just like me! ;-)
one_am at 7:47PM, Feb. 11, 2008
fantastic of course.
Arkdelta at 6:32PM, Feb. 11, 2008
Ah this should be an interesting story, Doug's past, hm. Anyway, good page, by the end of it I was sympathizing a bit Boo there...a costume to be a hero, huh...where do people get these ideas? :)
jgib99 at 6:09PM, Feb. 11, 2008
Flashback time. Great page as usual.
Tantz_Aerine at 12:23PM, Feb. 11, 2008
Very nice interactions here, both written and drawn. Though somehow something makes me suspect there's more to it than just hero worship. ;)
DAJB at 12:05PM, Feb. 11, 2008
Alana: Hmmm ... I think Stanley's and Jill's issues cut deeper (and both ways!) Stanley's "responsibilities" are obviously a little more extreme than those most of us have but, in my mind, their failure to understand one another is mutual and born of a very common scenario: i.e. parents keeping secrets from children to protect them and children failing to appreciate the sacrifices made by their parents on their behalf. (Until, of course, they experience similar circumstances as adults themselves!) The costume vs uniform thing is interesting, too, and it's reflected in the current confusion over the most appropriate terminology. The word "costume" has a certain frivolity associated with it and is therefore best avoided but "uniform" (as is currently favoured by both DC and Marvel) is simply a misuse of the word. (Do these people not have dictionaries?!) "Uniform" implies a desire to look similar to others in order to show membership of a specific group or organisation. With certain obvious exceptions, however (such as the Superman / Supergirl / Superboy "family") every super hero's outfit is designed specifically to make him or her look [i]different[/i]. Like a Mediaeval crest, it serves to identify the hero as a unique individual. I know I'll still be changing the script wherever this issue crops up, long after the artwork for [i]Shades[/i] is finished!
alanajoli at 11:02AM, Feb. 11, 2008
And note to Freefall (with whom I'll agree on the Capes angle, as I learned my lessons from the Invincibles): I think it's notable that firefighters, police officers, and soldiers all have *uniforms.* It's not a costume, per say, but it is something that sets those folks apart while they're doing the jobs that save lives--risking their own lives for ours. I think it'd be great to see that tied into a superhero story one of these days, thinking of the whole spandex look (or whatever) as just part of the uniform. Too bad that didn't get covered in Civil War! There was an opening for it. :)
alanajoli at 10:58AM, Feb. 11, 2008
Yay, origin story coming up! I like how Stanley takes it all in stride. Now that he's learning how to listen to other people's kids, maybe he'll be able to listen to his daughter... :)
DAJB at 9:04AM, Feb. 11, 2008
Midge: Thanks! It took a bit of getting to, but I hope you'll like it! Freefall: Not even one very little cape? ;-) And you're right about the whole firefighter question, of course. Stan's last lines on this page are a definite echo of his [url=http://www.drunkduck.com/Shades/index.php?p=256913]earlier conversation with Sunil[/url]. Harry: Heh - families, eh?!
TheMidge28 at 8:56AM, Feb. 11, 2008
love the set up for the flashback...great segway!
freefall_drift at 8:27AM, Feb. 11, 2008
Remember the golden rule. No Capes! Sounds like a flashback is coming. Does the costume make the hero? Is a firefighter less of a hero than Batman? Astro City did a story arc about that. Local Heroes.
harryq at 7:42AM, Feb. 11, 2008
That Frank, doesn't hold anything back. Heh.
DAJB at 5:38AM, Feb. 11, 2008
Symon: Don't despair - Stan hasn't said he [i]won't[/i] make them costumes ... just that they don't [i]need[/i] them! ;-) Abt: Interesting point. Since [i]DKR[/i] the accepted wisdom has been that Batman is the [i]true[/i] identity and that the Bruce Wayne persona is the mask, so it certainly seems to be true of some! As for the relationship between costumed and non-costmed heroes, I'm sure I've recommended these before but, if you haven't read them already, give the [i]Gotham Central[/i] books a try. The different attitudes towards Batman held by the various individuals within the GCPD are very well presented. (And, yeah - these scenes are Harsho at his best!) cs3: Thanks!