Break through: a moment in time must be seized. Holt gazes down upon the face of the warrior women who saved him---who he’s seen fighting for the world in shadows somewhere free of the fallen world. HOLT I guess I understand this as much as I ever will. BLANCLEY: You know...if everyone were ready to perceive one another’s inner lives... HOLT: Yep. That’s exactly why there’s privacy: ‘cause we ain’t there. But it’s true we are what we are. Maybe they’re meant to be cosmically aware, but they just don’t---or refuse to believe they can—they don’t do it on Earth. We just lose the ability to be face to face more each day. The rough going is the anger and anxiety mixed into the sharing...and people miserably just long to leave this planet. BLANCLEY: And if it weren’t for our imaginations--! We could never bear to be trapped in this life together, when our spirits say we should live free. HOLT: Because maybe love is all you need..but we’re stuck with so much more...that makes us so much

The effect of our feelings upon our destinies. : With her psychic sensitivities, Patsy (Hellcat) realizes the key to stopping the Tranz-Rupture effects within the minds of humanity lies with Nighthawk, who has once had the awareness of his brain being separated from his form. NIGHTHAWK: There’s a place in ourselves where we are as truly alone as possible, and sometimes it seems like I’ve lived most of my life at that address! But underneath the heartbreak hotel, fundamentally beneath our brain and its business, down below where we start and live each day, we exist---and no one knows it better! Those twisted Headmen took my brain from my head and suspended it in reserve---but they gave me a gift of being alone with my thoughts! HELLCAT: Right now, Kyle, there will be peace on Earth a moment...if we can just share that detachment with the flow of memes. HULK: Hulk wants Bird Nose to make the minds shut up a minute! VALKYRIE: We all share your sensations, Nighthawk---the freedom fr

[IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/s60upd.jpg[/IMG] Having travelled from the refugee camp with Bali, who he met at the Castles Made of Sand Bar, Hillie shuts off his camera to conserve battery power. They know there is no sanction for them to wander this close....but what does any of that matter? Everyone can see the super beings in the center of our attentions, battling on some comfortless plane, and we look right into the thoughts of those around us and transparently watch each thought arrive and pass, what is fantasy and what is perception changes like the wind, and everything’s up to eleven, pushed out of bounds, and the moments are not measurable. The long drive of existence on Earth; the ball that swirls with the strange super beings in a nebulous void within all who observe, one mind space unites the highly distracted and distressed. He watches the mountain side, as rain begins to descend and relieve the scarring of the wilderness blaze. Spout of water from the Submariner? Wa

“Every Where in Presence” Dedicated to Steve Gerber STRANGE: Now attend we the journey of the warriors true: the Dragon's Line. They were the searchers in a dark age lost to antiquity; yet artifacts and treasures they assembled have carried on to museums of the present age. Those caretakers' last mission involved the deadliest secret of their era. The Box they had guarded together is conjured from outside time and space to reappear here and focus the energies of the Tranz-Rupture. They, its final guardians, the last defenders of humanity, have come to this place and time to prevent it once more from being misused: once, as a coveted weapon of war, and now, as an agent to shape all of human consciousness and the earth itself. Thousands of years of greater understanding of the Box are at play---the present spell of the wolf that holds Transmetamorphosis together, that increasingly makes all in its contagious awareness to feel everywhere in presence. Many, indeed, vani

Day 8 With the souls of Prince Nicola Dragonvayne and the Marc Kane aligned within Dragonfang, Valkyrie surprises the sorcerer with a strike of that sword, flowing with the Flames of Faltine. Cleaving his form, now from it springs Remus Sharptooth, grappling viciously with Valkyrie. A cavern appears; the spirits of Nicola and Marc Kane enter. Inside is the other half of Sharptooth’s form, the essence of the sorcerer is revealed: her lost brother, Ray, taken by the enchantress’ spell between his vanishing at the Break through and Valhalla. Meanwhile, the Hulk leaps into the Fire Dragon, over eighty stories tall; apparently he has some substantial impact, but the damage is hard to discern. Machine Man: (telescoping his limbs to evade the four armed men) I tapped into their program. From what I understand, that is an archetype of one of the elements of Earth itself! Nighthawk: You understand this apocalypse? VALKYRIE wrestles nearby with the blade-riven sorcerer hand to hand; th

Day 8 With the souls of Prince Nicola Dragonvayne and the Marc Kane aligned within Dragonfang, Valkyrie surprises the sorcerer with a strike of that sword, flowing with the Flames of Faltine. Cleaving his form, now from it springs Remus Sharptooth, grappling viciously with Valkyrie. A cavern appears; the spirits of Nicola and Marc Kane enter. Inside is the other half of Sharptooth’s form, the essence of the sorcerer is revealed: her lost brother, Ray, taken by the enchantress’ spell between his vanishing at the Break through and Valhalla. The Box they had guarded together is conjured from outside time and space to reappear here and focus the energies of the Tranz-Rupture. They, its final guardians, the last defenders of humanity, have come to this place and time to prevent it once more from being misused: then, as a weapon of war, and now, as an agent to shape all of human consciousness and the earth itself. Their misunderstanding is shelved for another time; they three conc

(Day 7): As the Valkyrie, atop her winged steed Aragorn, flies into the jaws of dread, the Flames of Faltine light the presence of two time lost Vikings connected to the great change---and fly they must. Only inside the jaws of utter destruction can they find their way to the mystery of this conjurer...only so may they reach the humanity captured within! Before the eyes of those assembled to fire fight, Nighthawk and the Hulk begin to disappear in the physical sense...yet the darkness into which they reappear is present before everyone! They watch this central event, as thought forms of all the Defenders surround the Sharptooth sorcerer. From the shadowy reaches of the violet arena of space surrounding Sharptooth, three mysterious forms of indigo observe a towering man-form, crackling with power, robed with sharp, probing angles that reach like a castle of doom from his shoulders and head. Before him appears a blond, beautiful enchantress dressed in emerald and black, leer

MACHINE MAN: I think of what these explosions must sound like to regular guys like those soldiers I bumped into in the woods, before finding that weird hutch. I wonder what their world will be like, as the colossal disturbances of these superbeings fill the air with the promise of forces beyond their control? What clue will reflect this mission: the human adventurer Hellcat, and the cybernetic Machine Man, confronting the living conduit of enormous trigger energies: what this supercomputer identifies as Sharptooth, guarded by his partner the she wolf Corpse Flower, beside the extraordinary devices used to focus the M’Krann energies. Extraordinary: the after effects of an event beyond even my ability to see, to the Milky Way’s edge! And what of the origin of this source, tapped by Sharptooth; these machines, I’d estimate, reflect the engineering genius at least 5,000 very optimistic years of human existence. Is that where Sharptooth and company came from? Somehow, it seems the sour

Five Dragons to End the Earth! I try not to get too distracted by the Dog person I’m distracting. I notice this amazing box, but all my attention goes to...Remus Sharptooth. I feel you at the borders of my mind. So let’s be friends, huh? I’m Hellcat! I bet there’s handsome fellow under all that fuzz! REMUS: I DO have a handsome fellow inside!! Snarl!! Why do you taunt me, Woman Cat? What is your purpose here?” HELLCAT: His mixed essential nature becomes an apparent truth. Have I struck a nerve? He’s both flattered and...defensive...what is going ON here? It’s like two minds... or even make that three or four at play; we’re not alone! There’s one I see above, and some other around me---! REMUS: A nerve, a body, a sliver, a cell! You don’t know what it’s like : plucked out of one history, one continuity, one set of stories, and put together in some new, melded form for the sake of unseen players? HELLCAT: You might be surprised what i know about that! Wolfie, I have to be frank,

The Script, first half of the scene: Day 4: Hellcat :. Part of the 12 Days of Defenders As we sneak into the mountain together, I’m suddenly feeling very lucky. Imagine, we follow some kind of gnomlin creature through the woods* (See “Calinferno”) and meet the ultimate computer whiz who’s made of machine head to toe. Steel skinned brother gives me the thumbs up, and just cuts gravity to float into the device somewhere three or more stories off the ground, built right here in the cave floor! While the Living Robot gets digital with Super Computer from the Future, you have your work cut out for you, Patsy Walker! Disturbances in the passages of the timeline prevent Doctor Strange and Clea from returning to the present, yet through the Crystal of Agamotto they aid and observe Valkyrie and her ghostly partners. For now, I’ve got to let all this slip my mind. If this sorcerer reads minds, why open the whole playbook? One thing is no secret, though: I’m headed straight to the corporeal

Day 3 of 12: Prince Namor, the Submariner A whale watching boat full of passengers passes a submarine, surprisingly close to the surface in San Diego Bay. We over hear them randomly: The news feed just mentioned a wilderness fire, but it’s somewhere north of here. The whole loo shook, pitched right off the bowl! Expected as much: I come on deck, the weather’s become very violent. I would separate your attraction from people from your decision to talk to anyone, especially when you have designs on what that person should be to you... It did happen unexpectedly, but they expect to dock in time We’re only some three miles out on the pennisula. Tell me the one in the pink windbreaker’s not underaged! I mean, separate your attraction from your reaction. Also, you don’t want to make the mistake of just talking to a girl because she’s pretty. At least we got to see loads of whales! That was Taft. That volunteer? Nah, she’s an undergrad, from what I--- Bad news for the whales, though---

(Ain't that cool?) Here, I've left my original draft. I created a new piece for here, though. It's very cool! http://integr8dfix.blogspot.com/2011/02/alternative-re-write-of-day-2-free-of.html Perhaps it’s intuition---or some side effect of the increasing ripple effect of the Transmetamorphosis changing the Earth---but the soldier’s aware of another presence suddenly arrived upon the seen. He has never heard of the blessing of the Vishanti, but across time and space, he is aware that heroes gather---perhaps to stop this change rocking the Earth with change, or perhaps, to make sense of it as chaos has its sway. Holt looks at Blancley, and now both see in their midst a dark stage, figures stabbing the darkness with the lights of their essences, though their bodies assemble from various places across time and space. To stand before such a door way is to immerse one’s self in facing the direction of all one’s fears, and sense, moving forward, your survival’s path, its method

Just as I promised: part two of the joker's utility belt, a classic Batman story Power Records style! Here's a good little tribute (yes, you are, yes you are!) to Power Records. Remember: they're ACTION as you READ! http://www.newsarama.com/comics/friday-flashback-power-records-100813.html

No way, that's pretty cool! I love this idea, it's been on my mind a lot: essentially, this is the prototype of the motion comic. I am thinking of audio as an indispensable part of our operation and am very ready to begin incorporating audio. I think this year's going to end with a lot of sound from Integr8d Soul Productions. As for this, who doesn't enjoy a really good old fashioned Joker match-up with the Batman? (Personally, I've watched three of these this morning upon their discovery. The Power Record I had as a kid was the Captain America one. Captivated much of my playtime!) Tune in for part two tomorrow!

Defenders/ TRANZ original story, "Free of the Fallen World" Our saga originally began in http://integr8dfix.blogspot.com/2009/11/calinferno.html and http://integr8dfix.blogspot.com/2009/12/remus-sharptooth-regrets-pt1-of-2-weird.html even http://integr8dfix.blogspot.com/2009/09/vanishing-wave-part-one.html ----and there's a sequel, too: http://integr8dfix.blogspot.com/2010/05/iron-man-avengers.html DEFENDERS here copyright Marvel Comics Group, inspired by the David Anthony Kraft (1978) Era. Part One: "Mama I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" PVT. HOLT: Any other time, I’d love to be in Southern California. Even coming to this mountain on National Guard fire-training maneuvers with the Canadian Mounties isn’t the worst day I’ve had. But now I’m sitting in the midst of a blazing ruin, beside a tank I drove over a ...troll or something, cradling a woman who saved my life, wondering if I am in love with her and why won’t she wake up. I can’t say I’m losing my

Might I say, Frank Miller and Terry Austin knocked it out of the park on Machine Man's last cover. For a change, the creative team knows it's the end and try their best to wrap things up. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but this issue marked a turning point for Machine Man's disguised civilian life at DelMar Insurance. There's a super-embassy, designed to withstand a terrorist attack by sealing the occupants within and relying on high technology security. A huge Halloween party is the chosen way to showcase the embassy for interested parties. Masks have reached a crisis point for Machine Man; his face has been ruined during his battle with Alpha Flight, but his facade of humanity both seems to be leading him into confusion with Pamela Quinn and repudiation in the form of violent blackouts, as began when fighting Madame Menace and the revolutionaries in #17. Machine Man has to get to the bottom of his behaviors while dealing with the debut of the Jac

http://ceaseill.blogspot.com/2010/12/alpha-flights-target-machine-man.html has my quick take on Machine Man 18. Here, I'm going to conduct a thought experiment: if I were working with Jack Kirby, starting with issue ten, could I help him as a writer? Well, we'll just put aside personal conflicts a minute, imagine he's made it over that with the help of a little friendship and the advice not to take crap personally, and, having won his trust, he's listening, as I put down the first story arc: So, our MM starts off teamed next with Captain America, two generations of Super Soldier. They face a machine man named X-Tinction that was the grand daddy prototype of the X models before the military built them. X-Tinction became sentient, went insane, and arises like some kind of Sixth Sleeper. Next: MM needs to face some kind of Dinosaur Man. I am trying to think of a name for something that sounds like it could eat a puny Machine Man like a drum of thanksgiving turkey. Car

“Arms and the Robot !” Machine Man’s search is interrupted by the remnants of Brimstone’s Satan Squad; the first of many fights ensues. At the end, he’s no closer to the arm...which is in the hands of a skeevy sort who’s taken it to minions of Madame Menace. The robot arm impresses them, so they send the signal to coy Sunset Bain, who flirts and suggests to a senator her real story would shock him. She leaves the party in his hands, and comes to examine her blindfolded visitor. She offers a thousand for the arm, and he wants twenty. The flesh-eating roach they’re working on is his cue to take what he can get. Like the Corporation, someone else sees a super=weapon to mass produce on the market, perhaps in components. Like Kublai Khan, someone else wants his body for profit. Gears and Spalding banter, while MM decides there’s no choice but to find his irreplaceable arm. He disregards advice to “listen to Billy Joel...or plug into the Carson Show!” He decides to take a cue from T

Then the hand culminates in a finger pointing to the credits. Genius. This is probably my favorite Ditko splash page of his run; the arm is the border against pitch blackness, representing the lost limb that carries the plot ---straight to Madame Menace. There’s a terrific metaphor---the hero sacrifices his arm for one person he finds worthy and inspirational---then his arm becomes subject the attentions of greedy manipulators who want to sell the value of his arm to the highest bidder. Whoever thought up the plot could’ve been talking about Kirby, or many others besides, and if it was Ditko, it has a nice Randian subtext while maintaining the crackle of a superhero adventure. Machine Man searches the area of his battle (near the cathedral last issue) but gets no signal from his detached arm. He checks in on Pamela Quinn, who finds him cold and unemotive but senses something mysterious beneath that...as well as a touch of déjà vu, like she knows him. The next-to-last piece of MM’s

It is arguable that everything in the Marvel Age of Comics is a type of homage to the intense period of activity and creative excellence of Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby. With these late issues of Machine Man, we have the pure Kirby character creation, drawn by Steve Ditko, and then scripted, edited, and presented in a style reflective of Stan Lee, with Tom DeFalco and Denny O'Neil as writer and editor. Some might call it a version of a microcosm of the actual creative breakdown: one character creator, separated from the final product sometimes by an additional artist, and then an editor/ scripter, packaging and presenting rather than demonstrating raw creative ideas, but instead, ideas about communicating them. That is one fundamental assessment of Marvel's creative history, and not the only one. The precise elements of the synthesis are a puzzle attended by many longtime fans. By 1980 comics were a little different than they'd been in 1964-1966, though establi

“Baron Brimstone and his Sinister Satan Squad!” A Journey into Far Out Fantasy by Tom DeFacto and Steve Ditko w/Bob Sharen, D. Albers, Denny O’Neil, Jim Shooter Stack and idiot co-worker Eddie Harris tour Chem-Solar Corporation as investigators for Delmar Insurance. Aaron notes to himself Eddie takes nothing serious outside of baseball scores. “A highly-amplified microwave transmitter” demonstration melts through a block of titanium. They believe it will lead to a break-through in powerful data transmissions across the stars. With a burst from his finger tips and a smile on his face, from the green smoke suddenly appears Baron Brimstone. Eddie mistakes a mock-evacuation for show for them, but Machine Man feels the fear and panic. His clothes are hidden quickly in his legs, and he’s racing up the side of the wall using gravity negation to pinpoint the uproar. Proclaiming himself a master of the mystic arts, Baron B evokes a bullet-deflecting shield, and then “a spell of slumber”

Basically a hard-working lady scientist devoted to alternative fuel. She can produce an "electro-magnetically charged gas---but I can neither confine nor contain it!" One power overload later, Dr. Violetta Todd transforms herself accidentally into a gaseous creature dubbed Ion. Machine Man's sent, as Aaron Stack, to investigate. His fight with her leads to his compassionate take and also, damage to his legs. (His repairs are an ongoing shtick in this series.) He's found by Gears Garvin, who enacts repairs and then mounts him atop a wheel, like a unicycle. Meanwhile Ion goes to the Fantastic Four for help. Only Ben and Johnny are home. The battle and wisecracks ensue. Machine Man finally uses his refrigeration unit to cool down the gaseous Ion and solidify her once more as a person. His battle with her has left him thoughtful. Everything from the splash onwards deliberately plays up the Silver Age of Marvel, which has a sensible aesthetic as a mode for DeFalco

I always read the letters column first, each time I get an old comic. I always loved trying to recreate what the issue must've been like when I'd read the comments; sometimes a writer makes suggestions that are fun to imagine, too. Names like Ed Via and T.M. Maple and "Uncle Elvis" Orton used to pop up from time to time in many of the l.c.s, always sharing honest opinions and insights. You sometimes find Marvel luminaries such as Ralph Macchio or J.M. DeMatteis. One of these fans-turned-pros is Kurt Busiek. If you haven't heard of him, you haven't been reading any super hero comics in the past couple of years; I particularly recommend his "Astro City" and its various series. Here, Kurt wrote to praise the return of Kirby's very last red-headed step child for Marvel, and I can't complete my Machine Man series without mentioning his letter. He pointed out that Marv and Steve Ditko had addressed what he perceived to be the biggest problem

West Coast Corporation boss Jackson’s pleased to hear the Hulk seems likely to dismantle Machine Man, and with a pair of “hyper-binoculars” he can watch, from the top of his 80 story skyscraper. As Roger Stern describes ala caption Trish Starr—“free thinker, former model, and hostage---“ musters courage to continue challenging Jackson’s bloodthirsty pleasure. He warps murder into “business efficiency---and advancement!” He recalls Machine Man’s resistance to analysis and replication, chronicled in #8,9 of his series, so his revenge is business. He counters Trish’s question---“do I get ‘recalled’ as well?” ---by complimenting her profiled skills, but now sees the Hulk at a distance, pondering his use in “other...endeavors!” Aaron Stack, a.k.a. Machine Man “cancels the gravity equation!” He soars out of Hulk’s reach, hovering. One thousand pounds of raging fury springs towards him, but MM sends him earthward with a kick! The crash shakes Central City; at “nearby Camp DeSprague” (p