TroyHickman

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  1. I should mention again, by the way, for those of you who are interested in the comic, Twilight Guardian has her own Facebook page where you can not only find material not available in the comics, but you can ask TG questions personally. You can check it out here.
  2. Quote:
    Originally Posted by SuperOz View Post
    Got to pick up #2 today, Troy....an intriguing read, and I have a couple of theories as to whom the Dusk Devil might be...the one-page inserts again were fun....I did love Oktoberfist and the mention of Planeteam.

    I have a friend who suffers from clinicial schizophrenia and so I find myself relating to TG from a very different perspective than you may've intended, but I am also fascinated by the phenomenon of the Real World Hero movement.

    Did you have an opportunity to meet with a group of them or just individuals? I keep thinking of the practical concerns of such things, and I wonder how the authorities will react when the day comes a very wealthy person with resources decides this is something he wants to do.....


    S.
    As the podcast covered to a small extent, mental illness, how it's defined, and how it's quantified, are one of the themes in TG. Our protagonist was originally only defined by her OCD (which was the theme of her mini-comic beginnings in Tales of the Pathetic Club). In the Top Cow version, though, it MAY be something more. Between my own experiences with OCD, and my experiences with my ex-wife's severe mental illness (eventually diagnosed as a combination of borderline personality and severe depression), the topic is something about which I've learned a great deal as a layman.

    As far as the Real Life Superhero community, I've gotten to know a number of them over the last few years, particularly the Crimson Fist, Superhero, and others. They're a fascinating bunch of folks, and some great people. And they were a great deal of help pushing Twilight Guardian to a win in Pilot Season...much like the heroes of these forums...
  3. Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleestack View Post
    Oh, then let me catch you up on the story.


    Twilight Guardian dies.


    You're welcome.
    Luckily she dies between the panels, and is teleported to the hospital. You have to know how to read BETWEEN the panels...
  4. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lazarillo View Post
    Just read issue 2. Man, this is good, good stuff. #1 was great, but this one was a step up even from that.
    (Does happy little dance)





    (Empties bladder...feels better)
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by SuperOz View Post
    Ack! I don't want my teeth removed or to have cut-rate electric shock therapy! I'll buy the book, I swear!

    I SWEAR!
    Not the Happy Birthday! Not the Happy Birthday!
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dark One View Post
    Just out of curiosity, but do you know how many copies of each issue were printed?
    Uh...six?
  7. I was in a Guardian PD, but I went hungry...
  8. I really hope the folks looking for copies can find 'em. I don't know if there's a chance they'll go back to press or not...
  9. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dark One View Post
    Apparently, you are unaware as to who Troy is.

    He wrote three of the City of Heroes comics, has a guest author arc in the MA, and one of the items from his comic run made it into the game proper (the statue in front of the tram in King's Row). That's in addition to being a forum regular and pantsless wunderkind.

    If you're not interested, you're not interested, but you might learn something about the person you are dismissing.

    (Did I overstep there Troy? My apologies if so.)
    Well, I appreciate the thought. I'm sure Ruff is standing up for a principle, though.

    Of course, I didn't post an ad for anything, any more than that OTHER Hickman guy does if there's a "hey, the Human Torch dies!" thread (hope I didn't spoil anything)

    The difference is that since I'M here anyway, I can contribute info and such that possibly no one else can. Mea culpa is that puts me on double secret probation...
  10. I have to admit a certain feeling of satisfaction when I'm the subject of one of only five posts in as many years...
  11. Just a heads-up, folks. Twilight Guardian #2 is on the stands as of today, and if you want one (and you haven't pre-ordered it), you might want to act fast. I talked to Top Cow today, and Diamond Distributors are entirely out of #1!
  12. Quote:
    Originally Posted by SuperOz View Post
    You must be best friends with Richard Dean Anderson and Bret Hart, then.....


    S.
    I once had to take them both on in a handicap match. Anderson was disqualified for bringing a hockey stick into the ring, and Earl Hebner helped me screw Bret out of the title belt...
  13. Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleestack View Post
    You can speak both English AND Canadian? Wow!
    After eight years of going to Vancouver, I speak Canuck like a hoser, and I speak English like a Hoosier!
  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by TrueGentleman View Post
    Good grief, the "Eldritch Cleaver" gag? And there I was trying to puzzle out whether there was some visual allusion to one of Berni Wrightson's works going on.

    (Of course, one has to pronounce that in a North American accent for it to work properly.)
    Ha! As it happens, I only speak North American...
  15. Quote:
    Originally Posted by TrueGentleman View Post
    If Baron Von Darkeve has an analog for Werewolf by Night, perhaps Baron Thunder crossed with the Darkhold? (There's also Man-Thing, Tomb of Dracula, Zombie, and all the other horror comics of the 70s to go through.)

    (Incidentally, I picked up the last copy of the issue at my local comics shop yesterday.)
    There's actually a much more obvious pun on that page...

    And I hope your LCS had lots to begin with...
  16. Quote:
    Originally Posted by SuperOz View Post
    Heh, of course I did. 'Wormer von Braun'? Heeheeheeheee....I was also waiting for the Wonder Aunt Whole Lotta, but hey....

    I am a long long time tv and comic reader. I was into Star Trek and even 'Ape Pagoda' before I was in my teens. I do of course await your Night Court and Manimal references...



    S.
    Cool beans! I'm still waiting to see if anyone got the one on the "Man-Monster by Dark" page...I'm not sure even the folks editing picked up on it...
  17. Yes, I know it's been five months, but I haven't responded to this thread yet because I'm still using it! I'm checking it out now for ideas for THIS semester's movie review.

    A lot of great ideas, by the way, thank you. Unfortunately many of them don't meet the criteria of time and rating. I've found some stuff I'M going to watch, though!

    But so help me, if I have one more student watch a classic film and then write "well, that was just STUPID," I'm going to be tried for a felony...

    On that subject, by the way, here's a link to what they said about Cool Hand Luke.
  18. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chase_Arcanum View Post
    I finally dug through the snow and made my way to the comic shop to pick up my copy, and... well... I have to take issue with... well, this issue.

    More accurately... I have to take issue with how it was promoted. There's been a great deal of mistruth spread about this work-- false advertising so egregious that it should not go unchallenged.


    This comic is not a miracle cure. It is not a suitable alternative to traditional cancer treatments. It isn't even a good alternative for homeopathic remedies. It will not and can not remove warts, clear blemishes, remove wrinkles, or bring back your lost youthful glow. There was one promising study where readers of Twilight Guardian reported substantially less pain than readers of the control group, but this study has since been discredited after it was found that the control group was given issues of "Brand New Day."

    It will not end world hunger. Much to the dismay of starving children worldwide, this comic will not resolve their plight. There is absolutely no veracity in the suggestion that Twilight Guardian will cover the deserts in mana or even bring swarms of edible locusts to be dried, fried, or chomped on live. About the best that can be said is that, when properly prepared and accompanied with toast, juice, and milk, it offers more balanced nutrition than your typical cheeseburger value meal.

    It does not in any way facilitate world peace. Quite the contrary. I have to admit that I was quite duped by this claim... going so far as to offer to lend the comic to a co-worker that I normally don't get along with as a peace offering. He was so enthralled by it that he refused to return it and tried to sneak it home in his laptop case. The HR director was able to mediate before the shouting match escalated to full physical violence, but that deep-set hostility and sense of betrayal lingered well into the evening... in the parking lot... where Mr. Tire Iron proved to be much better at conflict resolution.

    It will not make you wealthier than your wildest dreams... especially after the lawyers get done with the abovementioned "world peace" issues.

    It does not revolutionize comics. No, we've all seen enough promotions over the years to know that comic book revolutions take the form of character deaths, rebirths, redeaths, heroes going bad, villains going good, travels through time, demonic pacts that rectcon decades of content without actually retconning, younger versions of time-tested charcters (with boobs), and foil-embossed covers.

    This comic has none of that. In its place, Twilight Guardian offers so many things that any veteran comic book reader will recognize as irrelevant to a comic book's greatness. Things like: solid narrative; wit; a complex character psyche that isn't just a reflection of two dozen different authors' rewrites; solid coordination of word and art; and an alternative perspective into the superhero genre reminiscent of Troy's other work, Common Grounds. It is a breath of fresh air-- but anyone who's ever been on the floor of a comic convention on the final day knows that there is no such thing as fresh air in this industry.


    ----------

    I know some will say that all this criticism is too much... that this is only one issue... that maybe by the third issue, he'll have a chance at bringing order (and food) to Somalia... That maybe prolonged exposure to new issues will still prove beneficial to those suffering rickets... or maybe that greatness will be grasped when our intrepid Guardian adopts a costume that's more prone to wardrobe malfunctions in combat...

    I know those responses will come, and... I'm sorry... but I know time will prove me right. Twilight Guardian will always be just a smart, insightful, somewhat-irreverant and always-enjoyable aberration in the comic world, much as I've come to expect from Troy. You can believe otherwise, but I'll stand by my guns-- and I'll have the complete Twilight Guardian collection at hand to prove it.
    This is absolutely brilliant. I read it to my girlfriend the other night, and she just laughed and then gave me a big "awwww" (which is much preferable to the punch in the throat she usually gives me.

    If you don't already have the distinction, Chase, you are officially a member of TG's Midnight Squad. Always be prepared to answer the call...

    And thank you, my friend.
  19. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Knight_Marshal View Post
    Just got my copy. Either the only one they got in or the last one they had.

    Kudos Sir!
    Well written.

    Enjoy a taco on me with the money you made off of my copy!
    Thank you!

    As of yet, though, I haven't made any money off it at all, as I literally just sent in my pay voucher for #1.

    I'm a nice guy, but probably not the best businessman...
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by SuperOz View Post
    Great first issue, Troy. I've got it on my pull list and there were additional copies on shelves at my local down here (and they weren't waterlogged, burnt or windswept, even!)...I do have to say though...

    Ape Pagoda. Noone under the age of thirty is gonna even get that gag if it's referencing the tv show I think it is. And if it's not, then I'm making some mad connections in my brain meats. It's my fault if I have....I did skim the issue initially with pants on.

    But I think the subject matter is cool, and the one-page one-offs are just totally cool and reminds me of my childhood. One pants down for me.


    S.
    Y'know, you may be the first, and so far only, person to have mentioned the Ape Pagoda bit. Thank Zod someone caught it...

    Hey, out of curiosity, did you get the other puns on the two other comic insert pages? I'm hoping they weren't too obscure for everyone.
  21. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lycanus View Post
    he's the person people pointed to when I asked if it was okay to promote my novels
    Pointed to and, sadly, laughed...
  22. I don't have a daughter so I asked some of my friends if I could play with theirs.

    My court date is next month...
  23. For those who are interested, here's the first half of an audio interview where I talk about Twilight Guardian, Common Grounds, and probably my "indiscretions." Give it a listen!
  24. TroyHickman

    More Cap Pics

    For me, it's all going to be about the way Cap and his role in the world is portrayed. If they go with the version they talked about earlier on, they could get the costume 100% perfect and I'll still hate the movie. I'll give it a chance, because I always do, but that will be the deal-breaker for me.