Teleporting hero envy.
And congrats to Max-The-Artist for getting the page done on his tablet computer while in airplanes, airports, hotels, and cars. He even uploaded the rough while on the road so I could add some bullet hits and other effects and then send it back to him. Dedication!
Artist’s Notes: As Dad says, the bulk of the artwork for this week was done on the road- or more specifically- on the plane to and from Philadelphia. Had a nice jaunt with the wife to visit her family in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Good times. Used my Cintiq Companion, a kind of portable version of my home office setup. This was my first time attempting this kind of “oh, I’ll just work on the plane” workflow, and it’s a little scary how well it succeeded. I actually finished this page earlier than usual- just now proudly bragged about it to my wife, and of course, she’s already planning our next trip. Yeesh!
-Max
More below!
Bobservations
Heroes For A New World
I always sort of wondered if Smallville got really pissed when big-city Metropolis poached their iconic Übermensch. (Yo, got the umlaut in there and everything!) These days they’d probably sue. I’m sure that deeper geeks than myself will let me know if that particular bit of civic discord was ever covered in the DC universe.
But I’m keeping it short today because by popular demand:
Yes! SECOND EARTH SPITFIRE is now a complete short story! It was never supposed to be more than a teaser, but quite a few people – including important people – people I happen to be married to – insisted that they wanted to read more. And honestly, after I’d read some of the comments (which inspired some story points) and thought about it for a while, it all sort of fell into place. It is deliberately pulp-hero style; nary a trope left unturned, but it was glorious fun to write. I started with a straight shot of Robert E. Howard, but added a big splash of Harry Harrison for the lulz.
Still not canon, of course, but dammit, it should be!
The complete story will be available for Kindle shortly!
— Bob out
That punctured fuel tank is gonna be a problem. o.o
Chekhov’s gas leak.
You had me at “Goosh”… Maybe we can have that added to the official list of Batman fight words.
http://www.66batmania.com/trivia/batfight_words.php
Second Earth Spitfire is awesome. Really good read, can’t wait for the sequel! 😉
And on topic, whatever happened to the bad old days when cars were made of actual metal, and didn’t shatter when you sneazed on them, and .38s bounced off the windows at half a block?
Yeah, you have to listen to the wife. My own’s interest in a story i semi abandoned a long time ago is responsible for its resurgence. (i haven’t the heart to tell her how im killing the character she most likes, sigh. )
Is there a range on how far you can teleport someone? And how does that even work, anyway? Does the team map out the teleportation destination?
In theory, there’s no limit. In practice, power needs and kinetic energy problems increase with distance. As with the moving armored car, the earth’s rotational velocity/direction differences become major factors. The Strike Gate has a Kinetic Boost mechanism but that has limits as well.
As for mapping, Marissa pinpoints the location as tightly as possible in three-dimensional space, at which point Madison’s brain uses an algorithm to convert that into fourth-dimensional Strike Gate coordinates.
“As for mapping, Marissa pinpoints the location as tightly as possible in three-dimensional space…”
What I’m wondering about is if the strike gate technology can be used to generate a map of an area that the team has never seen before. Can they use a 3D printer to build a model of a room on the other side of the planet?
It’s just *amazing* what’s in that NSA database.
Hmm, well played 😉
I knew superheroes were a bad idea. He’s barely just begun and already it appears cops have forgotten how to handle routine crime.
Ha!
routine?
I hate to tell you (and many LEOs will agree). It does not matter how often you handle domestic disputes, they are NEVER routine.
There may be procedures in such a case, but those procedures are generally thrown out the window early in the action.
I think it’s not so much that they’ve forgotten, more that they remember very well how badly this situation can end when they have to handle it. I doubt that many hostage situations end with everyone walking away intact.
According to the ‘cop-in-the-know’, the wife is already ‘not intact’.
This is not a ‘routine’ situation even for a domestic situation (which in themselves aren’t routine)
Max was in Philly? Arrrg!
No. Max is in LA. That’s why that cop wishes he were facing this in LA.
Oh, you meant the artist.
Philly was fun! My first trip there and I wish i had more time there- had to run around a bit. I’ll mention it before hand if I ever make my way back there- would be fun to meet up for drinks with any readers of 3MM. As it was, I started at McGillans at noon and had a beer flight- the rest of the day was a bit of a blur….
I gotta get me Cintiq Companion!
It’s worked out very well for me so far! And now my old cintiq gets to live on my desk instead of getting dragged around in it’s own suitcase from job to job.
Always wondered why they can’t just send a tear gas canister, or equivalent, up into the target area for situations like these.
don’t you think LEOs all around the world consider that so soon as they arrive?
NOT knowing the situation inside often means “no tear gas” due to unknown hazards.
One known hazard is the temperature the canister generates can torch flammable materials.
Bob, I loved the Marissa story. If it became canon, it would open of more potential storylines. I also enjoy your post-comic essays.
Max, I enjoy your artwork, and am glad the new Cintiq is proving to be a good tool.
Question: Can small arms fire really go through two layers of car?
If it did not hit support structure, yes easily.
Domestic have got to be the worst situations to handle and even after their done, no one is happy.