Fiction Foundry 3

Any unbiased observer of Mike's Sunday morning prep would conclude the boy inhabited an alternate plane of existence where everything was suspended in an invisible viscous ether. What I'm saying is: the kid was slow.  He was slower than Christmas. He would be outrun by cold molasses flowing uphill through a coffee stirrer. He was so slow that...well, you get the picture.

By the time Mike finally took his seat in the family station wagon, there were less than two minutes until old Mr. Marcusey would start the opening hymn.

"Sorry, mom." Mike mea culpa-ed.  Turning to his father he remarked, "Well, I guess there's no way you can make it on time now, dad."

O-boy: a review

Synopsis Review

O-boy (short for Omnipotent Boy) is the product of artist Kevin Terry & writer Kevin Lintz (of Team Slug).  One thing that Terry makes quite evident through the comic is his own Evangelical Christian convictions, and his desire to promote that worldview.  Thus, Terry’s work on O-boy is equal parts hobby, and mission.  

The nature of the titular character is--at least to this reviewer--not entirely clear.    Initially, I thought O-boy was some sort of robot or android; but by the end of chapter 2, I had the distinct impression a living being of some sort.

The free O-boy material is published as a weebly page.  Consequently, the story presentation features all the strengths and weaknesses that come along with such a decision.    

Sustainability - 1

My impression is that sustainability is going to be a challenge.  As mentioned above, O-boy is a labor of love.  That usually equates to “it’s something you can only devote time to intermittently, as regular work, family, et. al. obligations allow.”  The fact that there are only two chapters of O-boy up on the website right now, leads me to suspect the story is falling victim to those all too common work-life trade-offs.

Language - 5

Violence - 5

Sexuality - 5

Owing to the artists’ obviously-deeply held Christian convictions, there is really no criticizing O-boy on the areas of language, violence, or sexuality.  If what you’re looking for is clean, kid-friendly prose and artwork...you won’t find anything cleaner.

Political Leanings - 5

Try as one might, there is microscopically-little evidence of the creator’s political leanings in O-boy.  However, this may simply be a function of the relatively small amount of material freely available online (two chapters).  

Morality - 5

Again, owing to his creator’s Evangelical leanings, I find nothing to criticize in the morality of this comic.  

Artwork - 2.5

To be frank, the artwork is one of my least-favorite aspects of this story.  It’s not that the art is bad, per se...simply that it has more of Saturday morning little kids’ cartoon (e.g., Smurfs, Snorks, etc.) feel than I prefer.  I don’t know who Terry’s target audience is, though; so this might be precisely the right look.

Storytelling - 2.5

The low storytelling score requires some explanation.  Basically, I don’t feel like there’s enough material available for me to get a good sense of Terry’s storytelling ability.  I can say that the two chapters didn’t “hook” me--I don’t feel like I have to return to know what happens next; but I can see enough potential to think something better might develop if I knew more of the story.  

Overall Rating: 3.875

Archives 

chapter 1. Introduces the title character.  It jumps right into O-boy’s confrontation with Glooma and her Gloomtroopers.  There’s not enough introduction for my tastes.  I suppose the author’s goal is to leave us wondering and curious to read more.  That’s a legitimate strategy, but it has to be used carefully.  My initial impression is that O’boy is some sort of robot, and that Glooma is some sort of spiritual force of evil.  As far as where the confrontation is taking place...what led up to it...etc., I’m lost.

The most interesting thing to me is that O-boy apparently has a sidekick or assistant somewhere in space referred to as D.O.V.E.  The spelling leaves me to assume this is an acronymn, but the full meaning is not explained in the opening chapter.  I’m not sure why, but D.O.V.E. represents a case where the author’s goal of piquing interest works well.  I find that I do want to know more about who (or what?) D.O.V.E. is.

chapter 2. Picks up immediately where chapter 1 ended: with a hovering O-boy announcing to Glooma that neither she  (yes, chapter two ultimately reveals that Glooma--who I’d been assuming was a male character to this point--is, in fact, female) nor her darkness “belong here.”  Predictably, the villainess announces that if she is going to leave O-boy will have to make her. Whereupon, she summons (I’m guessing that’s the right word?) numerous new Gloomtroopers to continue their assault.  

At this point, the reader begins to get more of a sense of just how powerful O-boy is.  In a few brief panels he exhibits: energy projection, freeze breath, super speed, super strength, and flight.  In other words, O-boy is clearly depicted as a Superman-level character in terms of his power set.

While the hero is easily dispatching this latest round of Gloomtroopers, the reader is introduced to a group of unidentified characters who look like adult versions of whatever sort of being O-boy is.  They are surreptitiously observing O-boy’s battle from the surrounding heights.  Their internal conversation reveals they are uniformly surprised and impressed by the powers O-boy is exhibiting.  One observer speculates that O-boy might be “the one,” and all agree that they must report what they’ve witnessed to “the others.”

(The conversation among these unnamed watchers is what leads me to believe that O-boy is, in fact, some sort of living being, and not simply a robot as his appearance seems to allow.  I say this because one of the observers refers to O-boy as, “just a kid.”)

After the last of the Gloomtroopers are mopped up, O-boy returns his attention to Glooma.  She affirms that he is powerful, indeed, and cryptically asks whether O-boy might’ve been, “sent by...Him,” though no answer is forthcoming.  Rather, Glooma chooses to flee with the obligatory threat that there will be “another time.”

O-boy is prepared to pursue, when D.O.V.E. notifies him of the more pressing problem: “injured lumens.” Lumens are, apparently, the inhabitant of the land Glooma has been terrorizing.  They appear to be different in nature not only from O-boy, but from each other.

The mystery watchers briefly discuss revealing themselves to O-boy and engaging him, but decide that they must first inform their absent fellows of what they’ve witnessed.

Chapter two ends with the kindly-faced O-boy telling the terrified lumens that, “those monsters...won’t be back. I’ve come to help you.”

Midnight and the Circus Mystery (Smash Comics #24)

As the tale of "The Circus Mystery" (Smash Comics # 24 : July, 1941) begins, Dave Clark tells sidekicks, Gabby the talking monkey and Doc Wackey, that he'll be attending a local circus (with a heretofore unnamed "Miss Taylor") for the purpose of gathering intel on a gang of pickpockets. When Gabby asks to tag along, Dave turns him down with the explanation that anyone seeing them together would realize Clark's secret identity as the man called Midnight.

Wackey, perceiving an excellent opportunity to test his new mind-reading device, suggests that he and Gabby attend the circus anyway to launch their own investigation.

At the circus, Clark and Taylor are mesmerized by the feats of Alonzo Schtunk, "the world's greatest animal trainer." The entertainment comes to a screeching halt, however, when audience members begin announcing their valuables have been stolen. Upon discovering that he, too, has been victimized, Dave tells Miss Taylor he's setting off to "get the mug who bit on [my] wallet..."


Slipping underneath the stands, Clark discovers the thieves are not people at all, but monkeys! "Turning his reversible suit inside out," he sets out to pursue the fur-bound felons as Midnight. I must say that's quite a bold move for Mr. Clark. It's one thing to just have a reversible jacket, but a fully reversible suit implies he's gotta turn his pants inside out as well. How much pursuit time do you suppose he would lose doing this? Plus, wouldn't it make for a pretty awkward moment if anybody else should happen to spot him? "Hiya, buddy...ummm...so...why, exactly do you have your pants off under the bleachers at a public event?"

On a related note: This particular story is a great illustration of the question surrounding the actual color of Clark's Midnight suit addressed in the first post on this blog. Here, Clark definitively pronounces the Midnight-side of his suit "black." Many of the panels in the remainder of this comic look like you could make as good a case for the suit being blue as black.

Meanwhile, Gabby and Doc have independently discovered the identity of the pickpockets, and Gab volunteers to infiltrate the fleeing gaggle. The monkeys regroup inside Schtunk's wagon. As the astute reader will have already guessed, Schtunk is the mastermind behind the pickpocketing ring. Enraged with his minions for having been caught, Schtunk takes out a whip and commences to beat the little creatures.

At this moment Midnight bursts upon the abuse and--in a scene reminiscent of the time Midnight saved an orphan from being beaten by the corrupt Mr. Dobbs--proceeds to turn the tables by delivering a little eye-for-eye justice.

Smash Comics #19

 

Smash Comics #24

Schtunk is saved at the last minute by his gorilla, Tagu, who seizes and ties up Midnight & Doc. Tagu is left to guard the crime-fighters, while Schtunk and company flee.


Thanks to having infiltrated the monkey-thieves, after Schtunk leaves, Gabby is able to release his partners and converse with Tagu in "monkey language," convincing him to allow Midnight to pursue Shtunk.


There's so much here to chuckle at: "monkey language?" Oh Golden Age of comics, you fabulous, ridiculous, gloriously-wide open time!

Since they're at a circus, naturally, the bad guys decide to flee on an elephant. The circus' environs are said to be surrounded by miles of swamp which "no posse [could] follow us through!" No word on exactly how the elephant--a creature of the savannah-- is supposed to have a sudden miraculous adaptation to swampland flight.


What most modern readers will notice is the patronizing racial caricature of a young black boy responsible for the elephants. When Schtunk flees, he shoves the boy aside referring to him as "Sambo." Similarly, when the nameless boy informs the circus owner--one Mr. Dingle--that Schtunk has fled with the stolen payroll, he is dismissed until Midnight confirms the story.

While it's admirable that Midnight treats the boy with a respect not paid him by Mr. Dingle, it is a bit odd that the crimefighter hurls the juvenile bystander onto the remaining elephant (presumably to drive the creature in pursuit?) without bothering to ask either him or his employer for permission. During the Golden Age, it was common to insert young characters into superhero stories, in the effort to appeal to younger readers. Typically, this played out with the superhero taking on a kid sidekick (e.g., Batman & Robin, Captain America & Bucky, The Human Torch & Toro, Aquaman & Aqualad, etc.). Jack Cole, however, seems to have avoided the kid sidekick motif (both with Midnight and with his more famous creation, Plastic Man). That makes his use of this boy in this particular story all the more curious to me.


In any event, during the swamp pursuit we witness another instance of Midnight's near super-human agility, as he effortlessly leaps from one moving elephant to another in the face of point-blank gunfire, and swiftly disarms three assailants without suffering so much as a powder-burn.


Upon returning to the circus w/the would-be thieves and their loot, Gabby whispers into Schtunk's ear to the effect that the monkeys are on to him, and they will be seeking revenge. For some reason, this singular event not only convinced Schtunk that he's going insane (an understandable reaction) but also prompts him to confess to the crimes of which he is accused. Personally, I'm a bit baffled as to why fear of encroaching mental illness would prompt a hardened criminal to confess. Unless this partakes of some kind of subconscious theological themes (e.g., "Confession is good for the soul," or the notion that Gabby represents a recapitulation of Balaam's ass, etc.)


The story ends as Dave and the lovely Miss Taylor are "hit up" by Doc Wackey for change for his performing monkey. Naturally, Wackey does this in a highly-affected broken English meant to imply Italian background. Dave declines with the explanation that he "never helps tramps" eliciting a mild scolding from the stereotypically gentler Taylor (as well as eternal opprobrium from contemporary self-appointed social justice warriors).

Fiction Foundry 2

"Michael!  C'mon, we're going to be late for church!"

Jeanine Carson fluttered about 1175 Anderson Circle like a moth on methamphetamines.

"For once in 13 years, I'd like to make it on time!" she yelled back up the narrow stairway.

"Mom, it's gonna be fine.  Jeez!  We've still got 10 minutes."

Fiction Foundry: an experiment in creative writing.

Hello reader.  In this post I'd like to explain my vision for a writing experiment I want to try.  I've long been interested in writing fiction.  Specifically, I want to try some superhero fiction.

However, I suffer from the same fear common to many fiction writers--I worry that no one else will want to read what I create.  In order to help overcome that fear--and hopefully to provide some additional motivation to stay after the project--I'd like to start a weekly post I'm call the "Fiction Foundry."

Essentially, the idea is that I will work a little on the story each week and will commit to posting something each week to advance the story.  Where you come in, is that I would like your input.  I will add in the poll gadget and change out the question to give you the chance to weigh-in on decisions big and small for the story.  It essentially a Choose Your Own Adventure for the blogging world.

I will post the first poll question today.  And will post the first section of the story by next Monday.  If I fail to receive any feedback, I'll just go with whatever seems best to me personally.  However, I do hope you'll participate.  It's always nice to know there are other people out there interacting with your work and valuing it.