Storming Heaven

[Azrael]

One of the best new comers so far, Frazer Irving is god with a pen and once more Gordon Rennie lives up to his name relieving the indigestion of  other weaker stories such as Killer.

Maybe we'll see some cameos from the chemical brothers?

Az

[nathan]

"One of the best new comers so far, Frazer Irving is god with a pen and once more Gordon Rennie lives up to his name relieving the indigestion of other weaker stories such as Killer."

LOL! Well said Azrael!

N

[paulvonscott]

It's a good jumping off point to American Superhero comics.

The Chemical brothers, are they wicked?  Or Hench?  (can someone explain that one to me, I'm ver very old.  And tired.  So very tired.) Are they like the Balls brothers (Paul, you've gone too far with that one and you know it.  Okay, soz).  

Serious point though, why would a dance music act appear in Storming Heaven (and it's set in the sixties)?  Is there some link with the creators?

[Azrael]

No the chemical brothers thing was a bit of a joke, with the chrectors having psychadellic names etc.

I suppose you could have puff daddy in there, and the dope smugglers, etc. etc.

[paulvonscott]

:) Yeah, it's all lost on me.  

Actually yes, I do get it now, it does make perfect sense.  There were some fun names in Storming Heaven.

[paulvonscott]

What I am interested in is the REALLY straight people.  I mean, not everyone has become a superhero, we are talking about the sixties youth culture set, they were a minority.

Now what about normal people, someone we could relate to?  I can't reality to anyone in the strip, I don't know anything about them, I don't understand what powers they have or why?  

How do normal people feel having their world destroyed by psychedlic superheroes?  How does 65 year old Mrs Grimley and her cat cope in this world?

If the hippies and the anti-hippies have tuned in, why not the governments and other organisations?  America screwed quite a few of it's soldiers up testing this stuff out in the REAL world.  Have they really just relinquished all their power so quickly, to something that the governments of the time really didn't approve of?

The only normal people so far have been the soldiers who, well, got squashed I think.  I think that's a shame really, the strip could have done a lot of interesting stuff people don't usually bother with and instead it's gone for a 'war of the angels' story.  Where we know the names of a few of the combatants on each side, but not enough to really care.  

It looks great, it sounds great but what's in it?

[Dean]

I agree, great artwork & lots of cool references (white album by the Beatles is in there a few times) but I don't feel I know the characters enough to care about them

It's real in your face stuff which is sometimes very good but sometimes doesn't work. No matter how much I want this to work it just doesn't.
Mind you alot of stuff works well when you re read the whole story in one go at the end.
Am I alone in thinking that the characterisation could have been better, or am I just missing the point.

[Azrael^s at home]

Yes you are right that happened in the vamp story that Frazer Irving illustrated - Love like blood, the whole human race was treat like cattle, and we had some very disturbing scenes if I rem rightly, it would be good to see soem human involvement in Storming Heaven, imagine a soldier caught up in the morass and thrown in with our heroes, before all this happened he was the best of the best, now he's not even on a par with a girl - but he has his humanity, and frailties which make him a better person etc. etc. cliche, cliche

[nathan]

"it would be good to see soem human involvement in Storming Heaven"

Don't forget Amy Hei was normal in the first ep before Dr Trips worked his mojo on her and she became Amy Salvation.

Also San Francisco seceded from the US to become a capital for the higher beings, hence not many smart monkeys in the story. Personally I think all the super beings and their groovy names are much more interesting than boring old humes.

N

[Dean]

OK but look at the characterisation in something like Watchmen or Zenith all super beings (with groovy-ish names).

One of my favourite stories ever was in Zenith book one where the Red Dragon is rehabilitated and then wiped out in about two frames. I was gobsmacked as the build up took two episodes and his death two frames

I was gobsmacked by this at the time, with Storming Heaven I kinda feel that there would be no build up we would just go straight to the 'wipe out'.

Uhh does anyone know what I'm getting at here? Anyway pubs open soon!

[Dean]

Umm delete the second 'gobsmacked' bit I got confused with the keyboard

[paulvonscott]

"Don't forget Amy Hei was normal in the first ep before Dr Trips worked his mojo on her and she became Amy Salvation."

Yes, we know her name but at the end of the day we see almost nothing of her character or personality.  Who is she?  Beats me?  A fairly pleasant, nice looking girl with some superpowers.  That's it.  And she is a main character!

"Also San Francisco seceded from the US to become a capital for the higher beings, hence not many smart monkeys in the story."

So they just exiled all the normal people out did they?  Or are they still there and in fear for their way of life?  Why aren't the U.S. government using the same powers to defeat them.  Was it really the quickest and bloodless revolution in history?  All the questions are interesting but there just isn't any answers.

"Personally I think all the super beings and their groovy names are much more interesting than boring old humes."

Really?  They do have fun names, but so Did Frank Zappa's children.  At the end of the day the superheroes are nothing more than names, they have NO personalities.  Why should I care if Clear Light was destroyed?  Who was she?  Why should I care more about her than one of those skulls sitting in a pile like a Pol Pot ornament?

Great names, great visuals, some great ideas but it's all just like a big firework display, it makes you go 'ooh' but you are just watching it all happen, there is no involvement.  

If there would be other series (who knows) then hopefully they would slow down and go through the consequences of this event and the people involved, I'd like that.  I'd like to know something about Amy.  I'd like to know who the Acid Enlightenment league were.  I'd like to see how normal people and the government reacted.

[GordonR]

>>OK but look at the characterisation in something like Watchmen or Zenith all super beings (with groovy-ish names).<<

Uh-huh, and how long were Watchmen and Zenith?

Watchmen clocks in at well over 200 pages, while even Zenith Phase 1 was almost 90 pages.

They had time and space to develop, while 2000AD editorial policy at the time Storming Heaven was commissioned dictated that new series like new series come in at about 45 pages, which is half the length of the first series of Zenith.

End story: you can only work with what you're given.

[Leigh S]

I agree with everything PVS says here - if the first "book" had been about the setting up of the first Altered State of America, with a bit of foreshadowing about Caliban, then the second book about his attack would have been much more involving.  If you actually strip it the 'adult' elememts of the strip (sex, drugs and OTT violence), you have a very, very basic "men in silly costumes hit each other" story.  Where's the subtext, the characterisation, the layers...?

[Thread Zero]

Oh you silly moo. Stop moaning.

Chill out and cease this endless shout.

Calm with the sweaty palm.

Eh?

I dunno what I am saying but please remember PVS shopping channel, casual reader and stealer of 2k from WH Smith's, it's not real!

At least I think it isn't...

Now where is my Supersperm costume?...I am Supersperm amd the world need my love!

scojo writing his own comic superhero