5 More Superhero Online Comics to check out

As I attempt to expand the 'Superhero Media' which I consume beyond the expected comics, film and television into new territory, I've taken another look at webcomics and what they can offer. I've cheated a bit with this list, as a couple of the entries are actually comics that have seen print, but are now available to read for free online, but I promise I only cheated so that you can know about some good reads. Some of these comics are ongoing, some are completed, so you can pick your poison, just like last time. I've found even more than what's here, so look out for another one of these down the track.

Dragon Ball Zeroverse 
http://thedaoofdragonball.com/manga/dragon-ball-zeroverse/

(Completed) 

Bit of a strange history to this one. The Dragon Ball Z manga was a huge hit in China and once it finished, the publisher was inundated with demands for more. The publisher hired some artists and writers and got to work making a new series, Dragon Ball Zeroverse, which has gone on to have a huge following in the Dragon Ball fan community, with some fans saying that it's the best follow-on from DBZ, even better than Super or GT. I'm still partway through reading Zeroverse, but I don't actually think it's better than anything else, though fun moments like Majin Uub make it worth a read anyway.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
http://nonadventures.com/

(On Hiatus) 

I highly recommend a close reading of the Wonderella comics if you have the time, I haven't seen satire this cutting and hilarious in years outside of anything Tina Fey is involved in. In fact, if Tina Fey was in charge of a Wonder Woman television series, the result would probably be something like The Non-Adventures of Wonderella. If that's not enough reason to check it out, the parodies of broad superhero tropes and constant sniping at the absurdity of Batman should tide you over. 

 

Atomic Robo
http://www.atomic-robo.com/ 

(Ongoing) 

Yeah, Atomic Robo is available to read online, for free. What more could you want? Are you not reading Atomic Robo yet? You should be, just look at these panels and tell me you're not keen to find out what's going on. Stop reading my tiny blog and go read Atomic Robo for a while.

Strong Female Protagonist
https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/ 

(Ongoing)

This comic is pretty damn amazing, so much so that I actually regret putting Bob and George on the last one of these lists. Alison Green is a retired teenage superhero trying to make the world a better place with more than punching. In the world of Strong Female Protagonist, superhumans are a new occurrence, with none being over 25 years old and a series of new laws and social structures having been rushed into existence. As well as having to live with the struggle of being one of the most famous people on the planet, Alison has a complex relationship with her former villains and the US government. There's a great conspiracy element as well that really marks SFP as different from a lot of superhero fare.

 

JL8
http://jl8comic.tumblr.com/ 

 

(Ongoing)

"What if the Justice League were all eight years old?" sounds like a pitch that would wear out its welcome pretty quick, but there's a charm to JL8 that keeps me coming back. Think Justice League Unlimited by way of Bill Watterson. The jokes land mostly around the style of daily newspaper comic strips, but, again, the charm makes you stick around for more. Be warned, you can easily run through all of JL8 in an afternoon and be wanting more, but waiting for updates for quite a while. Probably the best new take on Batman in the past decade. 

The Pitch: Atomic Robo

The Pitch is a new series of blog entries that will talk about speculative superhero films, a very much "what if" concept. This is not, however, an exercise in whislisting or fanboyism; I have an Undergraduate Degree Major in Film and Television Studies and follow the film making process closely to this day. I have a reasonable understanding of the "Hollywood System" and am not interested in much more than a through thought experiment as to how some comics could make their way to the big screen, as such, we'll be looking mostly at indy comics characters and those not currently in production. That said, I may dabble with the MCU and DCEU at some stage, if the mood hits. 

Atomic Robo 
An indy comics franchise that seems poised for a major film release is Atomic Robo. The series is clever, has iconic characters, dabbles in historical fiction and never takes itself too seriously, in other words, it's perfect for mainstream cinema. As opposed to some comics, the issue with Atomic Robo isn't finding a story suitable to adapt into film, but rather, choosing one of the several excellent examples that already exist. For my money, "Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time" would be a great place to start; the story is self-contained, with no recurring villain, features some awesome guest-stars and showcases the propensity of the character to have adventures in different periods of time. 

Plot 
Atomic Robo and the Fighting Scientists of Tesladyne repeatedly battle a horror from beyond our reality over decades, culminating with four versions of Robo from different times battling the creature in a place outside of space and time! 

Tone 
Think Ant-Man; action comedy with superheroes. Personally, I think it's the only way to film this and get the kind of audience that will appreciate it. The story is goofy, Robo cracks jokes but there's still plenty of action, so keeping it light is essential. Atomic Robo borrows a lot from pulps, so that's the "vibe" we're looking for. Keep in mind that Robo's nemesis is an insane Raptor genius before complaining that it doesn't sound "serious". 

Cast







Atomic Robo: I'm honestly not trying to go into fan-wankery here, but I think Robo needs to be played by a talented voice actor and a sophisticated puppet. Robo needs to do some crazy stunts, but also has no mouth and only limited facial expressions, so a Weta Workshop or Jim Henson Creature Workshop creation would fit perfectly and have the added bonus of being easy to recast for future films if acting contracts fall through. My suggestions are Billy West or Maurice LaMarche becuase of their adaptability; Robo needs to affect accents, slang and verbal tics from 1926, 1957, 1971 and 2009 and both of these actors have demonstrated the kind of talent to pull that off. Also, hiring one of these guys would be far cheaper than an a-list actor to mope about in a weird suit for two hours. 

Charles Fort: Where I think that Atomic Robo can get some mass-appeal as a film is with some big comedy names in supporting roles. Most of these roles are only going to have, at most, a half-hour of screen time, so even some more expensive actors could be brought in for not a huge amount of money. What am I getting at? I want Nick Frost to play Charles Fort, giving someone for Robo and Lovecraft to bounce off in a couple of fun scenes.

H.P. Lovecraft: He's only in the story briefly, but Lovecraft has some of the best lines and needs to be played by someone who can pull off "entertainingly nuts"; my pick would be Andy Samberg. If you don't get it, go watch the Lonely Island film or some Brooklyn 99. 

Carl Sagan: One of the larger roles in the film, with easily the best line in "When you return to your unobservable but empirically determined dimension of origin... tell them Carl Sagan sent you". I believe that Jason Schwartzman has the chops for this role and could fill out Sagan with ease. 

 

Crew 
Director is a little tricky, but I can see Edgar Wright making a good go of it; he has a good grip on the kind of tone that is necessary and has shown that he can shoot action in the past. At this stage, I don't trust Warner Brothers with any comic property, but Village Roadshow have done their fair share of high-concept comedies and this is the kind of property that could get them cashing in on the superhero boom. 

Well that's the first one in the can, what do we think? Worth reading or am I just another fanboy pissing in the wind?  
 

Ultimate Alliance: Civil War - Part II

Did the second Little Wars play test last night at club. The table is looking good, I may actually have to get rid of even more scatter terrain, which (after years of playing Necromunda) just feels weird. The game played well, but there are a few tweaks to be done yet. 

Pro-Registration: Iron Man, She-Hulk, Atomic Robo, Leonardo, Nightwing and Blue Beetle 
Anti-Registration: Captain America, Luke Cage, The Question, Green Arrow, Invincible, Rafael 

Cap and his team had to rescue and escape from team Tony. Apologies for the quality of the pictures, my camera doesn't handle low-light too well.

The game seemed reasonably balanced. I'll be swapping out Invincible for someone else, so that the Anti-Reg heroes are a bit more at a power disadvantage, as their objective is far easier. Two more assignments and then I can jump back onto the project.

Miniatures Finished: Neighbors and Science!

Steady progress has resumed and, with Little Wars Melbourne 2016 on the way, plans are in motion, but more on that later. 

 Totoro, X-Ray (another U-Foe), Atomic Robo and Jack o' Lantern. 

 Lantern and X-Ray are both Clix from one of the better eras of sculpting, as such, I've only had to do a little inking work and touch-ups. 

 Atomic Robo is a 3D print, very expensive and of reasonable quality as a wargames miniature. I'm not sold on the printing process as of yet, I still prefer polystyrene and whitemetal. Totoro is a toy and another "celebrity civilian", he'll be standing at the bus stop or monorail station during display games.