The Incredible Origin of Space Snake

Back in 2014, The League of Extraordinary Bloggers had a topic called 'Look What I Can Do" which encouraged participants to share something they created. I shared my original comic creation, Space Snake.

As I mentioned there, when my step-dad was in the Marines, he had a hard cover sketch book that he took with him in his travels around the world. Everywhere he went, people added stuff to the book. Sometime in the early 80s, I got my hands on it gave Space Snake's origin the full blown comic book (in color!) treatment.

The book had been presumed lost for the last 20 years or so when it recently and mysteriously turned up in his home mailbox. So now I am able to present to you, the Origin of Space Snake!

Click to embiggen!

It should be noted in the history books that my radioactive waste mutated reptile preceded TMNT by a year or two. Just sayin...

I don't know why a 12-ish year old would choose the name Harold for a galaxy-trotting mutated snake but there it is. I was doing a sort of cross-over thing because one of SS's rescuers is another one of my creations, Captain Blaze (his first name is Douglas!). You can read about his origins and evolution here.

I mention at the end that SS became one of the Galactic Federation's top agents. While Blaze was originally conceived as an intergalactic spy, I don't think there a whole lot of undercover work for a mutant snake even one with a V-inspired laser gun and cool jetpack.

There is a continuity conflict between the comic and SS's handbook entry. In the comic, he's alone on the rocket and in the written backstory, his wife was with him but didn't survive. You have to have some kind of loss to be a great hero, don't you?

This is the back of the comic page showing off both heroes. That's supposed to be a shield in Blaze's right hand and a laser sword like Thundarr the Barbarian's Sun Sword. The things hanging from his belt are an array of different weapons, mainly beams of some sort, like freeze, heat, and so on. More Saturday morning influence, this time from Space Ghost.

So there you have it, faithful readers.
You now have the complete stories of Captain Blaze and Space Snake!

League Post - Look What I Can Do!

Ok, so my title isn't exactly on point for this week's League of Extraordinary Bloggers post, but I couldn't resist dropping a reference to one of the best things to come out of Mad TV: Stuart.

Here's what the League is looking for

Look what I made! Do you worship at the altar of MacGyver? Have you ever drawn a stick figure? Given birth to a child? Put together an Ikea product? 
Let’s see it!

While I have put together Ikea furniture (cursing like the Swedish Chef does not help the process), I decided to show off something that is potentially far more embarrassing. Today we're setting the WABAC machine for the early 80s, specifically the '81-'83 time frame.

I was in middle school/junior high at that time and did a lot of doodling then. I hesitate to call it drawing because that would imply I had some kind of talent for it. The same period that birthed the intergalactic adventurer Captain Blaze, also created another space-bound hero...

Spaaaaaaace Snaaaaaaaake!

You read that right, Space Snake! Please don't ask me to explain how a pre-teen boy creates these things. It was the early 80s, I was into comics and there were so many awesome cartoons on the three channels Saturday morning that it was a life decision which channels to watch if you didn't have a VCR.

Here is Space Snake's data file which was heavily inspired by the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

I have no explanation for the names. Harold and Lydia, what was I, 80? Why would the Galactic Federation take in a mutant snake and train it to be a soldier with a jetpack and laser gun? Who knows. Astute readers will notice his pistol bears a striking resemblance to the sidearm carried by the Visitors. And by striking, I mean if you squint really hard, it kinda looks like it. And it also establishes the creation time a little better.

My stepdad served in the USMC for many years (OOO-RAH!) and early in his career he got a sketch book and took it with him wherever he was assigned. He had friends at different bases contribute something to the book. There is some weird shiz in there, let me tell you. Anyway, I got hold of it one day and drew the first and only Space Snake comic strip in it.
Of course, it was an origin story.

Below is the first ever drawing of Space Snake. I keep it in a hard plastic trading card case that screws shut. You know, just in case someday he makes it big and then I can sell it for millions of dollars. Having said that, if any artistic readers want to use ol' Harold, I'm available as a consultant.



Enough of my scribbles, here's what other Leaguers are doing
GI Jigsaw built his own Death Star!
Go quazy for Harley Quinn with Toyriffic's Playmobil custom figures.
Monster Cafe might be into wrestling, I'm not sure...

See what the whole gang is posting about at Cool & Collected.

Friday Funnies - Dexverse #6: Farewell to Heroes

Since the last issue of Dexverse came out in May, let me give new visitors the scoop: It's just me talking about and showing off characters I created for MMOs. I found out last week that the sun had set for its last time over Paragon City in City of Heroes at the end of November.

While I haven't played it in a long time, I did play for the first couple years it was around. I played with real life friends. I adventured with a supergroup/guild that was mainly European based (the only time I've ever used voice chat in online gaming). I met lots of other people from around the world . It was a good time.

I wanted to give my own send off to the original superhero MMO, so here's some quick shots of a few more of the characters I created to inhabit that world.

That's Nova Force. Go figure, the name Nova was already taken! She's kinda 90s' in her design. Her powers included gravity manipulation which is why her costume has all those funky lines on it. Her origin (finding part of a meteor that gives her powers) was inspired/stolen from the Zombina and the Skeletones song, Meteorite.

Meet Jacko Lantern, the living pumpkin born from a chemical accident in a pumpkin patch! His body is supposed to be made up from dirt and plants and his head is a pumpkin. He's a Bruiser/tank that wields a giant stone hammer and can light himself on fire.

Now on to a couple of bad guys created for City of Villains.

Necrobella is a bit like Poison Ivy.
She can control plants but can also raise the dead to fight for her.

Finally, we have Psychotron. I created him as the archenemy to Captain Blaze. His is a classic comic origin. He used to be one of the good guys working with Blaze but something went wrong on a mission destroying most of his body. His brain was put into a Terminator-like skeleton and now he's out for vengeance! He's got a multi-function laser rifle and an army of robots to back him up.

Here's Psychotron in the DC Universe game...

This will probably be the last issue of Dexverse unless I get roped into another MMO or decide to post more embarrassing superhero art from grade school.

Friday Funnies - Dexverse Issue #5

...and now back to our regularly scheduled Friday Funnies.

A quick return to the Dexverse today before I head out the door. Today's hero is Chillowatt!

Chillowatt was put together by some brainy kids. They wanted to help the heroes but being young and not having any super powers of their own they had to rely on their collective genius. They raided a local junkyard for material, including parts from destroyed evil Clockwork robots and refrigerators.

 

And thus was created: Chillowatt! They used the scavenged parts to give him electrical and ice powers. His powers aren't meant for direct combat but for containing and immobilizing enemies. And thanks to overclocking, he can run at super speeds.

Doin the robot!

Although he's sentient, the geeky kids were somewhat lacking in social skills and this results in some odd conversations with Chillowatt. He tends to take things literally. After a particularly successful challenging mission, his group was celebrating and one of the other heroes started chanting. "The roof is on fire!" Chillowatt sped up to the rooftop and yelled down, "I do not see any combustion occurring up here! All is well!"

Friday Funnies - Dexverse Issue #4

Thanks for picking up issue #4 of the Dexverse where I tell you about various characters I've created for supers themed MMOs. I know the premise sounds lame but hopefully it's entertaining!

This week we'll be talking about a young girl that's not quite right in the head. She talks to stuffed animals, hears voices and carries a huge sword. Her name is Alison Wonder...at least that's what she calls herself.

Ali escaping the mental ward

Doctors aren't quite sure what happened to Ali to cause her psychotic break or how long she has been in this state. The real truth is she's totally sane but from another dimension. She's sort of trapped between worlds. She is present here but still can communicate with her home plane, only no one else can see/hear what she does which is why she was locked up originally.

Ali poses with "Chesh"

One of the content updates for City of Heroes included lots of anime/manga influenced costume items. Originally she was just going to be a generic butt kicking schoolgirl but after putting the costume together, the full character idea made itself apparent to me. She does have a small stuffed Cheshire cat sitting on her shoulder that she regularly talks to, of course no one else can hear it talk back to her because they're not attuned to the same dimensional energies.

Ali is what's called a Tank, a character that engages and holds the enemy's attention. Because of this, she's highly resistant to damage. She also carries her "Vorpal blade" that she swings with reckless abandon while yelling "Snicker Snack!"

Friday Funnies - Dexverse Issue #3

Since things have been warming up a bit in these parts lately, I thought we'd chill out with today's hero from the Dexverse: Iciclea.

Usually when I'm designing these MMO characters I have a general idea of the power sets I want to use and come up with a name. Getting the right name is paramount importance, it lets the audience (or other players) know what you're about right away. There is another character I created who was to be an ice based bruiser. I wanted to call him The Polar Bowler but it was taken so I had to settle on The Arctic Hammer. Not quite as catchy, is it?

Anyway, Doctor Strange is one of my all time favorite comic characters and I borrowed the name of his one time apprentice/lover, Clea, for Iciclea. In City of Heroes she was a controller which is a support type character that controls enemies making it easier for them to be taken out by the heavy hitters.

Iciclea in CoH

With her ice powers she could slow down, and even freeze, enemies. She could also create an ice slick that would cause them to fall down, essentially creating fish in a barrel for her teammates to shoot. She never got much of a back story like other characters I had. Giving her ice powers, blond hair and height above average, I stereotyped her as being of Swedish descent and when possible, "spoke" with the stereotypical accent (Ya!). But she was no Swedish Chef!

As much as I enjoyed playing her in CoH, she really came together when I created her in the DC Universe game. In this system, every character has a weapon or focus. I found it to be an odd thing when recreating previous characters who just had powers and no signature weapon.

Iciclea the archer in DCUO. Love the lighting!

Having always liked archer heroes (Hawkeye > Green Arrow, just sayin') I went with a bow which  worked great with the ice powers. Even cooler (ugh did I really just do that?) was when she got the ice armor ability.

Extra icy Iciclea

Thanks for picking up Dexverse issue #3!

Friday(ish) Funnies - Dexverse Issue #2

Just like some comic companies, the new issue of the Dexverse had a slight publishing delay. But we're back now to have a look at the supernatural heroine, Halloween Eve. Unfortunately, a lot of the images I had of her were lost so I'm making due with what little I have.

First things first: her name. While playing this character a lot of people would ask something like "Why Halloween Eve when the word Halloween is a contraction of Hallow and Eve? It's like saying Eve twice." Halloween is both an adjective describing her and it has something to do with her birth. She was also inspired by Dan Brereton's Halloween Girl from The Nocturnals. Which, if you love Halloween, noir and gorgeous art, you should really check it out!

First appearance

The rough version of her origin goes like this: Eve's father was a member of a cult of evil magicians (magic-using magicians, not the kind that pull rabbits out of hats) and got her mom pregnant in an attempt to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The prophecy spoke about how a child born in the first moments of Halloween would become a great force of Evil, yadda yadda, enslave the Earth and so on.

Super Jumpin

The good Magi eventually found out about the plot and interrupted the dark ceremony that was begun late on October 30th. They were not in time to prevent Eve's mom from being sacrificed. There was a huge magical battle, during which Eve's dad was also killed. The Magi managed to save Eve at 11:59pm, which is where she got her name of Halloween Eve. The Magi took it upon themselves to raise her, knowing that she could still be a danger if not trained properly. That, and the fact that she has tiny Devil-like horn nubs on her head.

Eve was brought up in a world of magic and began practicing to defend herself because she's still being hunted by supernatural baddies. Although the Magi have done their best, Eve's powers manifested themselves through darkness. She can cast dark bolts of magic, shroud herself in darkness to escape notice and conjure dark tentacles from the ground to hold foes in place. Despite her possible destiny, she is a fairly normal, wise cracking, Hot Topic shopping, teenage girl.

Possible Future Eve

When her life is in serious danger, Eve is possessed by a future version of herself. Decked out in bone armor and sporting full grown horns, this incarnation of Eve is much more powerful and sure of herself than her modern day teenage self. But is this her destiny or can she change it?

Eve's "gypsy" costume

At one point, I did try to start a super team of monster/Halloween themed heroes but I could never find enough people to recruit. The team's name was The Things That Go Bump.

Champions

This is a version of Eve created in the Champions MMO. I really like the cel shading graphics in this game. Makes it feel more comic book-y.

DCUO

And here she is in the DC Universe Online game. That brings issue #2 to a close. I'm not sure who will be popping up in issue #3 yet. It could be Swedish heroine Iciclea, the robot Chillowatt or maybe even Captain Blaze's nemesis, Psychtron...we'll just have to wait and see!

Friday Funnies - Dexverse Issue #1

Hey there, faithful blog reader! I'm starting a new...uh, segment? Do you only call it a segment on a show? Column? Section? Feature? Whatever the heck it is, I'm starting a new one for a couple weeks!

Unlike some of my fellow geeks, I have zero aptitude when it comes to drawing. I dabble in photography and Photoshop so I do consider myself to be somewhat artistically inclined with a decent eye stylistically. I'm also not very good at writing stories but think I'm okay at coming up with ideas for things. What this new series is going to cover are various characters I've created for MMORPGs. If you don't know what that stands for, you probably missed your exit on the information super-highway. There will be some info and images showing the evolution and/or costume variations of the characters over time.

When I started playing City of Heroes way back in 2004 I struggled for an idea for my first hero. Sure you can just pick a couple of power sets and create your costume, but if you know me when I get into "create mode" you know I am crazy about detail! I didn't just want to make any Superhero #1138, he needed to BE a character. The brain started firing and I remembered one of the comic characters I created in middle school when I was 13. His name is Captain Blaze.

Check out that school-issue math paper!

Real name Douglas Shaw? How lame is that for a hero?