Classifieds

VeronicaVenom is hosting
"V-Games" on Victory Server, every Sunday night at 8PM EST. Events include: PvP
tournaments, TF races, and Gladiator FFA. PST to VeronicaVenom.

WANTED creative players with excellent video skills to help form a CoX webTV
station. We need teams of game photographers, editors, writers, and web
designers to help with this project. If you are interested and have the skills
necessary, or if you just have questions, send a PM to
TheFrog

What's small, friendly, and gets the job done? Classifieds in The City Scoop.
Sell, find or buy anything. Send a PM to
LadyK today.

SELLING life-like mechanical Ravens useful for many tasks such as
long distance couriering, location, homing, and rescue. Some units are
flight-capable and others are glider-equipped, land rocket-boosted or
translocatable. Equipped with a Virtue system. Contact @GFM for leasing and
rental information. Also seeking qualified mechaneers, effigiers, and assorted
other helpers in creation, production, and maintenance of the Iron Ravens.
http://www.steelravens.net/phpBB2/index.php

The Kheldian League is a supergroup on Triumph. It is only for Warshades and
Peacebringers. We have a friendly group of players and a nice base. To join,
please email xoxman on the forums, or contact us in-game by emailing Beta Sword
PB, Enis, or Umbrastar.

The PvP Event Committee is looking for more experienced event coordinators and
planners to add to our current team. We are looking for PvPers with a general
knowledge of tournament formats and PvP tactics. We are looking for players
with evening and weekend availability who are dedicated to improving the PvP
community within the whole of CoX. We need dependable, hard-working members who
will put in extra time when needed to teach, promote, or host events game-wide.
If we just described you, please visit our website at
http://pvpec.guildportal.com, click "Join the PvPEC", and fill out our short
membership application to become a part of the driving force in PvP game-wide.

Horoscopes

Sun is in Virgo/Mastermind, Moon is in Capricorn/Stalker

Julian Day 2454365.33

Villainscopes

Brute
(Aries) – With Saturn transiting the Second House you show a
propensity to engage in hard work to obtain financial security.




Assume responsibility for the job, and you’ll do it well. You’ll attract
attention, but you aren’t doing it for that. You’re doing it for the
satisfaction of a job well done.




Mastermind
(Virgo) – Uranus transiting the Seventh House promises to create
exciting times between partners! Romance is highlighted now, and there may be
great desire to try something new or go somewhere previously "unexplored."




Make the commitment you’ve been putting off, even if it doesn’t look like a
good investment. Appearances can be deceiving.




Corrupter
(Sagittarius) – Pluto transiting the Second House marks a time
when you must be judicious in personal decisions about finances.




Wait and get every cent you have coming. Make sure the check is good, and bite
all the gold coins.




Dominator
(Taurus) – Uranus square Saturn limits your abilities to relate to
friends.




It’s hard to tell others how much you appreciate what they’ve done, but you can
if you try, so do that with the people who mean the most.




Stalker
(Capricorn) – Uranus conjunct Mars is a transit of spectacular
power, and the explosive energy may flood into any facet of your life.




Don’t waste these marvelous conditions. Begin that project you’ve been holding
off. These are good vibes in this moment. Use them.

Horoscopes provided by
Lady Athyna

Lord_Infamy

Freedom Server

Where
do you live?

Woodstock, Illinois, about forty-five minutes Northwest of
Chicago.

Do you have any pets?

My fiancé and I have an Imperial Shtu-zu named Chloe...Sure, she's
a girly dog, but her poop is so tiny. It's really easy to pick up.

What is the most interesting place you have visited?

St. Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands...I helped rebuild a school there during a
high school trip.

What are your top three songs of all time?

“California Love” - 2pac “Piano Man” - Billy Joel Right now I really like that
Timberland song, “Way I Are,” but only 'cause I can't think of another classic.

What five TV shows could you not live without?

I don't really watch that much TV, but here goes: Man vs. Wild on Discovery
Channel 24 Family Guy Venture Brothers Scrubs

What was the best book you last read?

It's a tie. The first is “Killing Pablo.” I don't remember the author, but the
book is amazing. It’s about the struggle to track and finally kill Pablo
Escobar. Simply amazing stuff. I once had a Mastermind AT based of off Pablo,
but then I found out I'm not a good Mastermind. Such is life! Right now, I'm
reading “The Hunt for Zero Point” by Nick Cook. It's a look into the secret
Nazi technology that was plundered by the Brits, Ruskies, and Americans after
WWII. Along the lines of Operation Paperclip, but much more black and secret
stuff; specifically anti-gravity technology. My next toon will be an off-shoot
of this idea.

What is your favorite pop culture quote?

It’s more of a few quotes put together, so here we go (I hope I don't butcher
it): "I swear to god I'm gonna pistol whip the next guy who says shenanigans!"
"Hey Farva, what’s that restaurant you like, you know, the one with the cheese
sticks and all the S*&t up on the walls?" "You mean Shenanigans?" "OOOHHH!"

[Contined next page]

Pants?[/b]

Only sometimes.

What is your home server, and why did you end up picking it as your
home server?[/b]

I am on Virtue because I am a roleplaying addict. I love it there
and got into several amazing groups, from Dawn Patrol to Arachnos Elite to
Vanguard Elite!

How were you drawn to this game?[/b]

Curiosity... and once I started playing, I knew it was the game
for me.

What is your favorite aspect of the game?

Character diversity...two characters can be the same, but you really hafta try
to make them that way...it's soooo diverse!

Who is your namesake character, and what are they?[/b]

Skritchie...She is a 10 year old telepathic girl with Panda DNA
thanks to Crey Industries. She is a Mind/Empathy Controller. She started off a
fun character, but is now my main and part of Dawn Patrol!

Which type of character would you say is your favorite to play and
why?[/b]

Controllers or Masterminds...although, I recently made a
Dominator, and I am enjoying her. I like staying back and avoiding damage.

How do you normally handle new challenges in the game?[/b]
Slowly, but with friends.

Which zone is your favorite?[/b]

Probably Pocket D or the RWZ because of the ability to team up
with anyone.

What is your favorite storyline in the game?[/b]

I love the new Rikti Invasion...it's sooo dynamic and fun. I also
enjoy the Praetorian storyline...several of my friends and I made our own
Praetorian Counterparts. Skritchie's counterpart is Project Arkozan: a
poison-spitting ratgirl with robotic babysitters.

What advice do you have for any new players to the game?[/b]

Be social, entertaining...but don't be a loose cannon. And the
Anti-hero thing is overdone, LOL.

Any closing comments?

I love CoH...and I hope to see you all there...look for Skritchie, Project
Arkozan, Azure Widow, and Ivy Thorne out there!

How many works of art are in your collection? What are a few of your
favorite pieces in your gallery?



Oh goodness. I've lost count! Is that bad? And they're all favorites, really.
Although the ones that stand out are the John Becaro pieces, the Poison piece,
the Graver drawing of Lucretia de Loccia, and the Rocinate photo-manipulations
of Mistress Ohm and Soul Train. I'd mention others, but since my tastes run
towards the more adult end of the spectrum, it might not be a good idea to link
them to the Scoop.





Are
there any artists that you would like a piece from?




I'd LOVE a piece by DarkJedi, Candra, FreyaLS, or Reiq. But they're kind of
pricey at the moment, and very, very busy, so I'm saving up. I'm very anxious
about my MMOArt pieces—I've seen bluelines for one, and the other's buried in
Gill's queue, and every time he posts something new as a Work In Progress, I'm
hoping it's one I ordered.




When you're looking for an artist, do you have a concept in mind for what
you want for the picture?



Sometimes. I tend toward pinup art and comic covers, so I look for artists that
can convey the right kind of dynamic or mood. Also I write scenes or stories
that I base my commissions on, sometimes, and so it helps to have an artist in
mind that can pull a scene out of a few written paragraphs, and not change it
around. For example, I chose Sorah for "Morning Grace" because I'd always seen
this sensuality to her pieces, and I thought she'd understand what I was
imagining in my head when I wrote the story of Persephone and Tigress getting
married. That piece really set the story up, and vice versa. Other times, I
find artists that I just gush over their sense of style, like Ebony-Chan. With
folks like her I don't need to go into details, just toss a screenshot and
character reference and say "make it happen." There's a huge level of trust
when you find an artist like that, because I'm VERY picky about my characters,
especially when it's a paid commission.



Are there any galleries that you browse looking for new artists?



Oh I haunt a whole BUNCH of people. I've got anime artists, manga artists,
photo-manipulators, Poser and Vue artists, traditional pen and ink folks,
people who do magical things with Photoshop and Illustrator and Painter…it's
all across the board. The one thing they all have in common is that they like
drawing female superheroes. -Grins- As far as art galleries are concerned, I
prowl DeviantArt, scoping out other people's favorites, and occasionally I'll
drop a search term in to see what comes up.

[Continued on next page]

Artist Interview

Jeremy Farlow

daggerpoint.deviantart.com

By
Dirtwolf

Hello Mr. Farlow! I am really excited to interview you. You've
become one of the pivotal artists for art-collecters on CoH and CoV. You have a
really neat style! How did you develop it?

First off, I'd like to say I am honored and humbled that you even
thought of interviewing me. And as for being a pivotal artist, I don't think I
am from what I've seen. Like the works of MMOArt and GuildHelper's. Those guys
are the pivotal artists.

I guess like so many other artists and fans of comic books and
cartoons, I created the style that I have right now by understanding, and
taking from, the artists and the respective genres that I've admired for so
many years.

Not only do I study someone's style, but I try to learn whose
style they studied from as well. For example, I've loved Jim Lee's skill and
drawing style since X-Men #1. I studied his style, and became a clone of his
for a few years of college. I learned that he, during his youth, studied the
styles of Arthur Adams and Frank Miller, so that's what I did myself. I went
back and studied them.

When did you figure out you had a talent for art?

Oh, very early on in life. Ask my parents about it, and they'll
tell you this story; When I was about three or four, I would always sit quietly
in a corner of the room, paper and pencil in hand, and I'll be drawing Superman
(that's what they say, I don't personally remember it). The odd thing about my
drawing was, I would always start with his right foot, and draw upwards.

Even as a kid, the only thing that would satisfy my hyperactive
mind is sitting down with paper and pencil and draw. That, and reading comic
books and watching cartoons and anime. But unlike other kids, I don't just
watch or read, I kind of absorb every line, every color.

What are some of your other hobbies? Do you have any collections or
interests that would surprise people?

I am a very stereotypical comic book geek. Other than my humble
collection of comic books, graphic novels and action figures, there's not much
that interests me in my field.

One of my hobbies that I've known to surprise people is that I'm a
very technologically-adept person. I love tinkering with computers. Every PC
that I've own (except for the Mac and my Powerbook), I built myself from
scratch. I also love collecting gadgets like iPods, digital cameras, etc.

I guess I'm a geek whatever side of the coin I pick.

[Continued on next page]

What's your least favorite part of being an artist?

Definitely the procrastination stage. I believe every artist
suffers this more frequently than others. Sometimes I have to slap my self
silly to get out of that state of mind.

Do you ever get artist's block? How do you alleviate it?

Oh, hell, yes! Do I ever. And I hate it when that happens. It's
like knowing a song in your head but can't seem to remember what the title is
or who sang it. And it'll eat at you until you resolve it. It's not even funny.
It takes me days to even weeks to get myself out of that hole.

I never really found one thing that will get me out of that funk,
but the ones I do are to just get out of my studio and not see my computer or
drawing table for awhile. I might be out with some friends hanging at Starbucks
or a bar talking about everything from philosophy to a Heroes/Lost episode.
Just not anything to do with drawing.

What are your favourite materials for drawing/painting/etc? Do you
prefer digital over traditional?

-- I've always said I'm a penciller, so that's my main tools. The
ones I use are Faber Castell lead pencils ranging from a 6H, 3H, H, HB, B and a
2B. I also have 2 clutch pencils, a Rotring and a Staedler with varying lead
softness. As for paper, I usually doodle and sketch on regular A4 copy paper,
and I do my final pencil work on a 120gsm 12" x 18" sketchbook. I used to paint
on canvas with acrylics, and I used to airbrush paint using opaques.

I don't really have a preference between digital and traditional
because I'd like to think that I'm always going to be a little of both. I've
honed my skill through traditional means (as opposed to the younger generation
that have been in front of the computer ever since), and I've used those skills
to transfer my work to the digital realm. The only thing I see different
between the two is that I don't have to clean up after myself every time I
finish a piece as opposed to all the paint brushes and the nozzles of the
airbrush I had to clean, not to mention all the drops of paint I made on the
floor. LOL

What has been the most inspirational moment in your career as an
artist? Who are some artists you admire?

I don't think there has been a truly inspirational moment yet.
There are little things, but not one BIG yet. My career as a pinup artist and
illustrator is actually pretty young; just a few months shy of four years.

As for the artists that I admire, there are a lot. Jim Lee is
DEFINITELY on top, as you may have already noticed if you look closely at my
style. I also admire, like I said, Arthur Adams, Frank Miller, plus John Byrne,
Masamune Shirow, Simon Bisley, Moebius, Paulo Serpieri, Altuna, Jack Kirby,
Tsukasa Hojo (the list just goes on and on).

[Continued on next page]

This week we visit Esoteric Singularity, a Hero SG on Triumph, and
their base architect, Korith.

Supergroup Name: Esoteric Singularity

Founded: October 14, 2007

Membership: 25 (Backed by 5 real-life people)

Base Cost: We currently clock in at 3,823,610
prestige spent on the base.

Favorite Base Item: Telepads!

Least Favorite Base Item: ...I have no idea.

What would you like to have changed about the base system, and
what do you most like:




Some "limited editing" permissions would be fantastic! We just added a seventh
telepad, which I've designated to have a floating beacon—meaning it can change
to whatever is needed at the moment. Coalitions still (I hope) depend on a few
of the beacons I've agreed to set, but it's nice to have a beacon I can change
on the fly without confusing anybody.

Anything else you'd like to add about your SG, Base, or the
Base system?



We're still growing! This is the fifth major incarnation of our particular
base, and I'm excited about the shape that it continues to grow into.

Rowr and Valkarye by Freyals

Hi
everyone, it's me again! Isn't this exciting? The Scoop wants me to write more
articles about the City's geography and history, yay!

As a Taxibot, one of the requests that I see most often is heroes
asking in Steel Canyon, "Can someone please teleport me to Icon?" The Canyon
certainly can be a dangerous place, with all of the gang activity and those
spooky Tsoo ghosts and sorcerers. I usually don't mind ghosts so much, and I'm
really good friends with some of the sorceresses in the Cabal. Have you met my
friend Katie in Croatoa? She's so sweet, and her Aunt Amy has helped me out of
some pretty nasty binds!

Wait, what were we talking about? Oh yes, getting to Icon! Heroes
often find themselves in a little over their heads, and way too many of them
end up in the Steel Canyon Medical Center trying to traverse what I call
"Serge's Gauntlet."

There
is a much easier way to get to Icon's costume design services, though. Serge is
probably going to be mad at me for telling everyone this, but the easiest Icon
store to reach for lower-level heroes is actually not his store in Steel
Canyon, but Lauren's store in Independence Port. A lot of heroes forget it's
even there! To get there, take the Yellow Line monorail to Kings Row and head
west. The villains you'll see there are typically only threat levels 5 to 8.

Go through the tunnel in the western wall into Independence Port,
and the Icon store is directly in front of you, only 230 yards or so away! You
should still be very careful, though. Organized crime is on the rise in Indy
Port, and the Family and Freaks there are generally threat level 22 and 23, so
keep a sharp eye out for trouble. Even so, there are only one or two groups to
avoid instead of dozens of Outcasts and Tsoo in Steel Canyon. When heading
back, be especially careful walking past the corner of the store, as the Family
has been mugging a lot of people on the sidewalk there.

While I'm talking about Independence Port, I know what else I'll
talk about this week! A lot of you are probably familiar with Paragon City's
longest bridge, the Valor Bridge, in the western part of Independence Port.
It's over half as long as the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco,
California, and was built around the same time. The Valor Bridge is named in
recognition of the valor of Atlas, who gave his life defending the bridge—and
all of Paragon City!—from an invasion of the Fifth Column during World War II.

Also
in Atlas's honor, there is a small marker on top of the bridge's southern
tower. Heroes that can't fly or jump super high can see it, too! Just go to the
southern base of the bridge, the end that is close to Terra Volta. You'll see a
walkway that goes up beside each main cable. Take either of the walkways, and
be careful, because it takes you over 500 feet into the air with just a small
handrail to keep you from falling! I've asked the Paragon City Safety
Commission several times to put an elevator in or something, but so far they
still just have that tiny little handrail.

Anyway, the marker is on top of the tower, usually along with a
couple of members of the Family or Freakshow making trouble, so you should also
be ready to make a few arrests if you go. When you get there, though, the city
will give you a really neat exploration badge for visiting!

That's it for this column. This is fun, I hope they ask me to do
it again. If you have any special places or geographical tips that you'd like
to tell everyone about, please send me a private message at
Taxibot_Belle and let me know, and be sure to tell me how you want to
be credited if I use it in a future article! And as always, if you're ever
around Infinity, please drop me a message to say hello, because I love hearing
from heroes! Until next time, byeee!