~LINKS~

SUPERHEROICS ON THE WEB: Superheroes don't dominate on the Web they way they do in American comic stores, but here are some good ones:

EVIL INC.--supervillainy done for fun and (corporate) profit. Mostly fun. Lightning Lady can shock me anytime.

LIGHTBRINGER---the art may not be the best, but the storyline is great---a pacifist raised individual gains light-manipulative powers, and decides to become a superhero with ideals, principles, philosophy.

Mechagical Girl Lisa A.N.T.---a teenage girl obessed with "magical girl" manga gets an alien supersuit, that makes her look like a giant ant. A loving parody of magical girls and their fans, and a good read in its own right.

DASIEN Another super-heroine webcomic, oddly named, but entertainingly written and drawn in a semi-manga style that is engaging and infectious.

BUTTERFLY---a sidekick of a sidekick. Excellent parody of superheroics by Dean Trippe.

Speaking of sidekicks, check out the delightful SIDEKICK GIRL---where a superheroine who is like Farrah Fawcett or Britney Spears at their ditziest---is constantly saved by her clever, tough, super-powered "sidekick". Hilarious lampooning of super-hero cliches.

THE GREEN AVENGER ---want a superheroine who looks and acts heartbreakingly real, who doesn't look like a model or a movie star, a sort of feminine equivelent of Peter Parker/Spider-Man? Meet the Green Avenger.

GRAPHIC SMASH featuring many of my favorite superhero webcomics, l can especially recommend MAGELLAN (for fans of the X-Men, the Legion Academy, the JLA, the JSA---a huge superhero academy in another world) and WONDERELLA---non-adventures done in a hilarious parody of Wonder Woman. There's also JOHNNY SATURN and others...

HERO BY NIGHT--there have been autobiographal journal strips---but this turns it on its head, where a fictional Golden Age hero tells his story--in journal form--interspaced with excellent pictures. Complimenting the print modern-day successor of the hero, it's a very clever way to present it.

SUPER FREAKS---super heroics mixed with spy stuff, done by some of the most talented webcomics people in the business. Just a few pages---yet...but I predict this is going to be good.

SPECIAL SCHOOL--- college students cope with superhuman abilities---engaging and quite funny.

DR. MCNINJA---He's a doctor. He's a ninja. Two flavors that taste great together. Constantly asks himself "What would Batman do?" Absurdist superheroics.

ENERGIZE---Energetic powerhouse with an infectious style.

FEARLESS---Batman crossed with Buffy the Vampire, with true artistic flair.

HELLFIRE---sort of a semi-manga Human Torch.

HEROES UNITE---Energize, Hellfire, and other Drunk Duck heroes uniting.

SERIOUS GRAPHIC STORYTELLING: Not necessarily done in a realistic art style, but not done primarily for the yucks, although there might be laughter within.

CLAN OF THE CATS---a story about Chelsea Chattan, a witch---great art, usually serious storyline, the John Constantine/Dr. Strange of the webcomics world.

ZEBRA GIRL---I can't recommend this enough. I haven't been so charmed by a monster/freak since Benjamin J. Grimm. A normal girl, turned into a demon, and able to spontaneously combust anyone she's mad at. She works at home---in computer tech support. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

FREAK ANGELS---Warren Ellis' webcomic, with beautiful art. The Mudwich Cuckoos grow up and drown London, forming a gang. A little bit AKIRA, a little bit pure British sf, all Ellis. The bar for webcomics has just been SERIOUSLY raised.

INTERSHADOWS---well developed characters interacting. Trying something deeper than the usual webcomic, and it shows.

UNICORN JELLY---the WAR AND PEACE of webcomicdom. Few more exquisitely fashioned worlds have ever lived in fantasy. Even the laws of physics are different---yet consistent.

FALLEN ANGELS USED BOOKS---beautiful penciled artwork with a sure sense of proportion and the human shape, used to tell a story of a waif with wings and a Used Book Store owner. I'm not sure where they're going, but it's going to be a pleasure to get there....

JACK---do not read from work. Extremely violent, often savagely sexual---a tour of Hell. Literally. It's a furry, which means it has to be Hell, right? But do read it. Nothing else like it. Anywhere.

TEN MORTAL GODS---webcomic as illustrated fantasy novel.

REPOSITORY OF DANGEROUS THINGS--remember the end of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC? That place the Arc ended up in? Imagine that place, squared---run by a sexy but cruelly funny lady, a clueless intern, a cautious boss, and oh, yes, the Golem.

COMIC COMIC STRIPS: Funny and worth returning to.

QUESTIONABLE CONTENT---uh. How to describe this one? Faye, Marten, Dora, Pintsize---sarcastic and snarky slackers, all really memorable and well-developed, always a dependable fun stop on the web. Killer dialogue, too. Nevermind. Just read it.

GOATS---I'll be honest here. I don't care about any of these characters, except Diablo, the Satanist chicken. All Diablo, all the time, is my motto.

SINFEST---I'm seriously in love/lust with Monique, but so would be any heterosexual male. Slick is what Calvin of CALVIN OF HOBBES became after puberty. Doesn't it say something about the main characters---that God and the Devil are only supporting characters? Hate the dumb dog and too-cynical-for-its-own good cat, but no strip's perfect.

SOMETHING POSITIVE---easily one of the most offensive and black humorish strips out there, I check it every weekday. Sometimes twice. If the phrase "double dildo of destiny" doesn't make you chuckle, it should.

KEVEN & KELL---a mixed marriage between a herbivore and a predator. Funny animal comics meets a working ecology.

ELF LIFE---perhaps the most famous fantasy webcomic of all. Deservedly so. The life and times of the inhabitants of Alfheim. More funny than serious, but with occasional serious bits.

PVP---another hugely popular and professional-looking webcomic (which has recently branched into print Image comics.) A group of staffers for a gaming magazine, and their lovable dim-witted troll, Skull. (A real troll, not the Internet newsgroup kind.) Very, very habit-forming.

DIESEL SWEETIES---the love affair between an ex-porn star and a robot takes the center stage, with many more fascinating and funny characters.

LEAST I COULD DO---sophomoric sexual comedy at its best. Rayne is eternally and unflaggingly horny and shallow, to the point that there is a childlike innocence to his eternal quest for his next one-night stand. He is what every thirteen-year-old boy (wet) dreams about becoming when he grows up.

CROSSOVERS

EVIL OVERLORDS UNITED---the driving force/opponents for the largest webcomics crossover ever

CAMEOCOMIC---the story of Scale, the connecting link for the largest webcomics crossover ever.

OTHER:

A lot of super-heroes had real-life models. Superman's looks were founded on Douglas Fairbanks Sr....the guy in the silent movie THE MARK OF ZORRO. He was smaller than Superman, but the same laughing, devil-may-care attitude was evident in the early Superman. Captain Marvel was based on the young Fred McMurray in looks. Gil Kane based Hal Jordan's looks on Paul Newman (one of many real-life celebrities he used as models for his characters). Personally--artistically---I looked around for someone to sort of base MM's looks on...I wanted someone pretty and dark-haired, but a little lofty and a touch unapproachable. As a consequence, I go to this LIV TYLER SITE for artistic models for some of MM's poses. She's not the only one who could be MM---Jennifer Connelley comes to mind, among many others...but just thought I'd let you know where I've often looked for poses and faces to draw from for MM for the past few months.

Oh, and here's my Deviantart Account

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Warren Ellis' Blog

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