Well, of course Washburn would shoot the fusebox. For one thing, it’s made of steel and is probably on a load-bearing wall. (Yes, that rifle would probably shoot clear through the damn building, but allow us a certain amount of ballistic license here.) But of course the real reason, the important reason, was so I could throw some sizzling sparks in there. Because sparks. I was originally going to have him shoot an old TV set, but we realized that any furniture like that would probably be part of the barricade at this point, so fusebox it was.
Besides, when push comes to shove, a Ranger knows who he sides with.
Heroes.
(Although we had many inspired suggestions for the October vote incentive, some of them would have taken longer than the comic itself! So Max just did a succulent succubus based on the popular video game character Morrigan Aensland. Doubt anyone will mind. Full-rez version is on his Gumroad site.)
More below!
Bobservations
A Swirl of Embers
The fusebox hit was, of course, a pinch of powdered zirconium in a tiny burst capsule. Titanium powder works almost as well, but zirconium is the ultimate for bright white sparks – zirconium wool was used in flashbulbs (remember those?) Zirc powder (really more like fine sand) is not easy to come by these days but I managed to obtain a pound of the stuff (which for me is basically a lifetime supply) so I used a few grains for that effect.
The embers, however, have been an ongoing project for a couple of weeks. I already had some ember footage, but I wanted more embers, and we finally had some nights without the usual Santa Ana winds gusting around. So time to shoot some embers.
I may have mentioned that not all charcoal is alike when it comes to pyrotechnic effects. Your standard hardwood charcoal is slow-burning and dense, which makes it ideal for cooking, but it makes for weak black powder and it has dull yellow sparks that vanish almost instantly. Your proper effects pyrotechnician makes his own charcoal, usually cooking up batches in a retort during the winter months when there is a fire in the fireplace anyway. May as well put the flames to work.
Pine charcoal is noted for its sparkiness. Beautiful golden long-lasting sparks – and talk about cheap! You can make it with chopped-up 2×4 scrap. Pine charcoal was used to create the drifting embers (remains of the car fire) seen around Washburn on this and previous pages.
My personal favorite is the local manzanita wood that grows in the hills. It’s protected, but dry broken branches can be found in the trash piles cleared by park workers, and I only need a few to last me years. Once turned into charcoal, the sparks it produces are a glowing orange-red that I find appealing. I’ve been doing some ember bursts with that – I make a small charcoal fire in a grill using manzanita charcoal, and when the coals are all glowing, tongs are used to place a single hot coal atop a black metal C-stand. Then I start the camera, back out of frame, and shoot the hot coal with an air rifle.
But for the final swirl of embers I needed something larger and drifting. So that was actually crushed liquidambar leaves, placed in a wire mesh basket and ignited. Once they had burned to orange flakey coals, a simple shake of the basket gave the effect desired. We’d usually left them orange for Countdown’s previous backports, but in this case (with all the other embers floating around) Max-The-Artist decided to color-correct them to blue.
I think it works.
— Bob out
Like I said, you said “take the shot”, at NO TIME WHATSOEVER did you indicate that I actually had to HIT him……………………..
And Max, she’s a gorgeous gal, but careful what you ask for, the day will come when you just might be leaving a rescue…………………….
With SOPHIE!
Of course someone who uses one of his enemies as a gravatar would say that.
Actually, i think the gravatar images are randomly assigned………………..
My regular gravatar is the black rose of global anarchy
Never had that problem.
Neither have I
You might want to check that the file is still there; if you left it alone too long, it might’ve been deemed abandoned.
hmmm…
Now I understand what my friend who was a sniper in ‘nam wasn’t saying about the signal.
I think she should dress up as Max for October!
That’s actually pretty clever!
How about the whole cast dress up as their favorite heroes for the vote incentive? That’d be even better!
I think we should give Madison a chance to show off. He doesn’t get much screen time otherwise, and you need to keep him happy. 😛
Washburn might be using frangible ammunition. Would be a smart choice in an urban environment.
As for the vote incentive, I’m going to go with the obvious, and suggest “Mad” Max.
Alternate: Ghostbusters! *jazzhands*
We need something appropriately twisted for our favorite Igor’s halloween.
How about Ranma Saotome from Ranma Nibun-no-Ichi (Ranma 1/2)?
Seconded! But Ranma-kun or Ranma-chan?
Both! We have an athletic hero, and an energetic redhead all set for a pair of soakings 🙂
Hmmm, we have a ghost; professional cosplayer; scientist (possibly mad but not so much); Doctor and spy and a business tycoon even without Halloween. Oh yeah smoking hot magic police woman and an FBI jerk. I am thinking Max giving out candy to kids while Sophie watches contentedly.
“Max giving out candy to kids while Sophie watches contentedly.”
Sweet! I second that!
Oooh, Scales is gonna make Washburn PAY for that!
I think Scales will TRY to make Washburn pay. But doing so will call attention to the fact that he gave an illegal order and stepped out of the darkness in order to communicate to someone not part of his group of conspirators. Not much he can do there, and that’s assuming he, or his own superiors, don’t just let it go. No profit in revenge.
Assuming his superiors even knew about his plan – declaring war on an unknown organization with unstoppable teleportation tech seems like an extraordinarily stupid move even if he had been successful and his bosses may not be happy to find out he tried it. It is entirely possible that Scales may be “disappeared” by his superiors before he has any opportunity for revenge.
So, when you say the Halloween vote incentive does not have to be “one of the women”, what you mean, I can only assume, is that it could be “two or three of the women” instead? An excellent suggestion – I like the way you think!
Cute grin on Washburn’s face.
The ending gave me a few seconds of goosebumbs. And a genuine smile.
Thanks, guys!
Even though we had it coming like a stream train (or so), finally seing it, ahem, executed was a relief. You know, writers love plot twists… things can make turns in the last moment.
(Btw., imagining this as a printed comic, without the comments – it would work rather different, but still very well :^) )
Thank you! Glad the moment worked for you!
Nice work as usual! I vote we have the red he’d in some boon centric costume and then get max in an equally revealing costume. Fireman with no shirt and hot pants maybe?
Red head*****
Dang autocorrect……
Boob*******
Fml
damn you, autocorrect!
Making an entrance at a costume party with Max as John Carter of Mars with Marissa and Sophie each as Dejah Thoris, Marissa in a glittery outfit, Sophie in a filmy one.
Oohh, I support that.
Nice angle in panel 1 showcasing the armour damages.
As for Halloween suggestions, go with a Doctor Who theme for the whole cast. Hehe Sophie can go as a weeping angel.