My World : Macro Warriors

The Macro Warriors are giant robots created by Third World, and are the crowning technological achievement of that subversive organization. Of course, that doesn't mean they aren't a little buggy from time to time.

The most notable appearance of the Macro Warriors was when Third World launched a full-scale attack on Major City with a squadron of the mechanical monoliths. This epic battle led to the formation of the super team the Invincible Alliance, which is another example of Third World's exceedingly bad planning.

At least one Macro Warrior has been captured intact and is in the custody of the authorities. This refurbished robot was called into action to subdue the rampage of the giant ape Gargantua Maximus.


Giant robots are something that I enjoy a lot, so it's only natural that I would find a place for them in the Captain Satellite world. The name "Macro Warrior" is influenced by both the Shogun Warriors and Micronauts toy lines. Ah, toys in the 1970s. We had so much fun with them.

This particular profile picture is a composite of two different drawings. The pilot was drawn and colored as a separate element and then incorporated into the robot at a much smaller size. He's actually so small in the final copy that at least some of the work I put into him doesn't show up, but I know it's there and that is what counts.

Whatever Happened To Return of Jetman?

(EDITOR'S NOTE : OK, I've had at least two versions of this post up already, and had to take them down. Please note that the DNS seems to still be unstable right now, and the site has temporarily disappeared again...in spite of the fact that it automatically updated while no one was looking. So, it's there, even if it's not showing up at the moment. Notice how I allude to plans always seeming to go awry for ROJ a few paragraphs down? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Sigh!)

Remember how I used to discuss the "Return of Jetman" project a lot on this blog in the first half of 2009? That sort of thing subsequently tapered off a lot, and the site didn't receive much attention. Despite my occasional mentions, I'll bet a lot of people assumed I had abandoned it.

I haven't acknowledged it publicly until now, but 2010 is the 15th anniversary of the launch of OWARI. That also makes it the 15th anniversary of the creation of Return of Jetman by Lewis Smith, even if ROJ didn't manage to get to the general population until 1996. In light of these milestones, it felt only right that 2010 be a year of special things for both OWARI and ROJ.

Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that several of the old ROJ links posted on this blog are no longer working, and the site has been removed from the "My Links" section of the sidebar. The good news is that these broken and removed links signal the return of Return of Jetman...with a vengeance.

Please join me in ringing in the ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT RETURN OF JETMAN! Yes, the ROJ site has become a blog. But there's so much more. Improvements are all over the place. If all goes to plan (and we all know how that has gone for ROJ since 2004), the overwhelming majority of the old site will be online by year's end. Maybe if we're all very good, that might include a conclusion for the long-delayed current serial.

There's more details on this news over on the ROJ site. Just click the "Important Announcement" link at the top. Oh, and if you'd like to keep up to date, the site has been moved to the blogroll on the sidebar. Now, updates will be delivered directly to you.

Here's hoping this marks a new era of greatness for Return of Jetman!

The Making of "Shelly's Story"

Today, we're going to discuss the nuts and bolts that went into "Shelly's Story". You can click the link if you need to refresh your memory as to what it was all about.

The "Shelly Ericson" character was created in high school as the partner/assistant/bodyguard/love interest of Captain Satellite. During those days (1986-1990, if you are keeping score at home), I toyed with a lot of story scenarios. One of those was called "Shelly's Story", and it would have gone into some depth on her background. But this tale went unwritten, as did virtually all of the Captain Satellite mythology.

Shelly was intertwined with the origin I finally conceived for Captain Satellite, involving her foiling an assassination attempt on his civilian identity and his subsequent decision to assume a costumed persona to fight the baddies gunning for him. This story also never got written, but there was at least an attempt made. I sat down in college and tried to set it down on paper, but it just never clicked. Displeased with what I had, I abandoned it, and filed Cap, Shelly, and the rest away again. They reappeared sporadically, but never in any kind of narrative.

That began to change in 2007, when I drew portraits of many of my character due to a lot of interest from some people. This seemed like a good opportunity to also flesh out some of the ideas in my head, so I wrote profiles for a few of those characters. However, I didn't take it further, as other projects demanded my attention.

Skip ahead to the beginning of this year, and I began rolling out the Captain Satellite profiles on this blog. It didn't seem right to just leave them as they were, so I modified them as it suited me. I even began to create new ones both for characters that had previously lacked them, and brand-new characters I was launching. You'll be seeing those folks here in the months ahead.

Anyway, this burst of productivity prompted my friend Kabuki Katze to inquire a couple of times whether this was all leading up to something. Well, in all honesty, no, it wasn't. I have commissioned her a couple of times with regards to this set of characters, but mostly, I was just looking for content for the blog and my art account.

Still, you can blame/credit her for inspiration, because I couldn't get the thought out of my head that maybe I should attempt something beyond the profiles. It all came together on April 12, 2010, when this story essentially wrote itself in my head at work. I ended up taking notes to make sure I hit all the high points. This was one of those times when I couldn't get in front of the computer fast enough.

I serialized the story in chapters on my deviantArt account that day and the next. I think it works better in that fashion, but I elected to just post it here as one big multi-part piece and not draw it out over days. There have been some minor editorial fixes here and there, but nothing that changes the heart of this tale.

I'm quite proud of "Shelly's Story". It took a lot of fine-tuning, and there are portions that could be better, but overall I feel like I got exactly what I wanted from it. It's true to my vision of the characters, and it balances the fantastic with the more realistic aspects. I attempted to write it in Shelly's "voice," and I like to think I did a reasonable job communicating a character that was unlike me in gender, age, and personality.

For those of you who like to analyze these things, I will cop that there are allusions to a lot of different women who have been in my life over the years in this story. None of those ladies are Shelly, though. It has taken a lot of time and thought, but Shelly has finally found a life of her own apart from just being a simulacrum for whomever has caught my fancy at a particular moment.

Some technical stuff, if you are fascinated by the process :

• Shelly was established as being from Texas in 2007, but from where? It's still deliberately vague, but "Boonland" is her hometown. I arrived at this fictional (?) town by mashing together the southeast Texas towns of Buna and Nederland. You can draw your own conclusions.
  
  
  
• "Major City State University" (located in my equally-fictional metropolis "Major City") serves as the college Shelly attended and the location of her first meeting with Paul (Captain Satellite) Mann. This was also an attempt to diversify that burg, since I figured it had to have more institutes of higher learning than the elite MTI established in the profiles.
  
  
  
• The tale of Paul and Shelly's first meeting, and the job offer over dinner, is perhaps one of the oldest bits of story ever concocted for these characters. It has been expanded greatly, if only to make something that is rather far-fetched seem vaguely plausible.
  
  
  
• "Chez Cafe" is an altered version of the name of an actual restaurant in my local area. Truth can be stranger than fiction!
  
  
  
• The background info regarding Roxanne Prize, and the origin of the "Captain Satellite" moniker, are also things that have been bouncing around for some time. Though it is not mentioned in this story, Roxanne Prize would go on to become the super heroine Firegirl.
  
  
  
• The declaration of Cap and Shelly's love was a recent invention, and depends heavily on her recent growth as a character. I don't see myself even attempting something like that back in my teens and twenties.
  

So, anyway, this is all vaguely surreal to me. I had decided a couple of years ago that, if I ever wrote this story, it would be from Shelly's perspective. She is, after all, the anchor to reality for Captain Satellite and thus the reader, too. And now? Now it has come to pass. I've set down the first ever story of Captain Satellite and Shelly Ericson, and related their origins to the world.

I hope everyone likes it.

This Post Is Completely Worksafe

There I was, perusing the 2-disc special edition of DEBBIE DOES DALLAS (for purely scholarly reasons of cinematic interest, I assure you) when I spotted it. The penultimate sequence in the movie occurs in a book/record store that has been seen throughout the picture. And what is on the righthand side in the background of this scene, bigger than life?



Yes, it's a display for Blue Öyster Cult's album Spectres.

As a BOC fan, this fills me with glee. Do you think I should submit it to the official Blue Öyster Cult site?

Chikara Hashimoto

Chikara Hashimoto (橋本 力), a.k.a. "Riki Hashimoto" was born October 20, 1933 in Hokkaido. Though known primarily in the West for his film career, acting was something he fell into due to his original claim to fame - baseball.

Hashimoto participated in baseball championship series in high school prior to his turning pro in 1953. He played outfielder, originally with the Kokutetsu Swallows (today's Tokyo Yakult Swallows) and from 1957 onward with the Mainichi Orions (later the Daimai Orions; forerunner of the Chiba Lotte Marines). In 1959, Hashimoto was assigned to a farm team due to injury. This proved to be the beginning of the end of his baseball days, but also led to fame and fortune perhaps far greater than he would have achieved on the diamond.

While on the farm team, Hashimoto landed a gig as an adviser and actor in a baseball movie for Daiei based on the work of famous writer Kosuke Gomi. This film, directed by Keigo Kimura and starring Kenji Sugawara, would be Chikara Hashimoto's acting debut. However, it also marked the end of his professional baseball playing days, as he broke his collarbone making a diving catch during filming. After completion of the shoot, assistant director Daijuro Nakamura suggested to Hashimoto that he should consider becoming a professional actor. This led to a discussion with Daiei president Masaichi Nagata, and an agreement was reached.

Chikara Hashimoto was based primarily out of Daiei's Kyoto studio. This is where he played what may be his most memorable role, the great stone god Daimajin in three separate films. Hashimoto was afforded an almost unique opportunity with Daimajin, as his eyes were visible and he was therefore allowed to emote with them - which he did beautifully. He was instructed to not blink on-camera, as Daimajin was a god and a god obviously wouldn't blink. It's a testament to Hashimoto's professionalism and discipline that he pulled this off, despite the considerable discomfort it caused.

Among his considerable body of credits, Hashimoto appeared in such fantasy films as GAMERA VS. VIRAS and YOKAI DAISENSO ("Spook Warfare"), the former being for Daiei's Tokyo studio. He also appeared in at least two Zatoichi movies - 1964's FIGHT, ZATOICHI, FIGHT and 1971's ZATOICHI MEETS THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN. These Zatoichi movies were possibly more pivotal than they might seem at first glance for Chikara Hashimoto, as he developed a strong friendship with star Shintaro Katsu. When Daiei declared bankruptcy in 1971, Hashimoto moved over to his friend's Katsu Productions.

Chikara Hashimoto is probably most recognizable to audiences outside of Japan (and maybe even in his native land!) for his role as "Suzuki" in Bruce Lee's 1972 Hong Kong classic FIST OF FURY (a.k.a. CHINESE CONNECTION). As you can see from the screenshot below, Hashimoto had lost none of the intensity that characterized his turn as Daimajin.

My World : Enemy Alien

There have been two different Enemy Aliens on planet Earth. Though virtually identical to the casual observer, their circumstances are far different.

The original Enemy Alien was an explorer whose starship crash-landed on the outskirts of Major City only two months after the debut of Captain Satellite. Though suffering from partial amnesia, the extraterrestrial astronaut still remembered enough to know that he needed to repair his vehicle and return home. Spied by witnesses as he gathered the necessary raw materials for this task, he was immediately labeled "Enemy Alien" in sensationalistic reports. Concerned by the UFO sighting and subsequent accounts of its occupant roaming the countryside, Captain Satellite decided to investigate the area.

Unfortunately for both Captain Satellite and Enemy Alien, gangsters found the marooned traveler's ship first. The criminals extorted the hapless Enemy Alien into battling Captain Satellite by threatening to blow his ship up with crates of TNT they had stolen from a local ammunition dump. During the resulting fracas, the gangsters were collared, but not before Enemy Alien's starship was accidentally blown to smithereens. The explorer disappeared into the night, uncertain of whether he could ever return home.

Enemy Alien eventually reappeared, misunderstandings were explained, and he was even able to collaborate with Captain Satellite in finding a method to get back to his world. He has retained the "Enemy Alien" name in his dealings with the select Earthlings that know his true nature, as his proper name is unpronounceable by humans. He is, however, content to never return to Earth.

Years later, Enemy Alien inexplicably showed up stealing rare gems in select locations around the globe. Puzzled by this bizarre behavior, Captain Satellite contacted his old friend by space wave transmission and learned that the Enemy Alien responsible for the crime spree was a new claimant to the name. He was an outlaw who had stolen both a ship and a pressurized spacesuit from the exploration corps that the original Enemy Alien now oversaw. His reasons were simple - he was eluding the authorities on his planet, and he saw Earth as an easy mark.

Both Captain Satellite and the Invincible Alliance have shown the second Enemy Alien the error in judgment he made in targeting Earth for larceny. Still, he is persistent, and an expert at rocketing away before he can be captured. He knows that it isn't jail that awaits him, but a one way ticket back into space.


Enemy Alien was born during the same period of time as Elektroid, and was part of a cast of characters who bridged my old ensemble of heroes and the new Captain Satellite crew which has been evolving since high school. So he has some history behind him. Trouble was, it was sometimes contradictory.

Enemy Alien was a misunderstood hero who had gained his name purely through news coverage. Or was he a villain after all? It changed depending on my mood on a particular day. Remember - that particular period was long on mayhem, but short of consistency.

In the end, I decided to take a page from the evolution of Captain Satellite and split the difference by establishing two separate Enemy Alien characters - one good, one evil. Confusing? Maybe. It's nothing compared to the convoluted continuity I used to create for myself, just for my own amusement.

Enemy Alien's name is a play on the comic book feature "Enemy Ace", with perhaps some influence drawn from the film version of the story ENEMY MINE. I had never drawn Enemy Alien in color prior to this picture, so I solicited my friend Sara's input on colors for him. I am pretty happy with her choices.

Don Simpson's Bizarre Heroes

If I could name just one comic book series from 1990 to now that I wish would make a thrilling comeback, it would be Don Simpson's Bizarre Heroes. I realize that's not a typical answer to such a hypothetical situation. Then again, Bizarre Heroes was not a typical comic book.

Don Simpson had a hit with his first-ever comic, Megaton Man. There was even (apparently quite serious) talk of MM becoming a movie. But then, Simpson's comic book fortunes morphed from a yellow brick road to a long and winding road. It turned out to be the Image Comics revolution that altered it into the pathway that led to Bizarre Heroes.

Don Simpson wound up doing Image's self-produced parody book, Splitting Image, and also teamed Megaton Man with Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon. The royalties from these books generated a comparative windfall for Simpson, and when that much money falls into your lap, the thought turns to what you should do with it. There was something in the air at that point in time about self-publishing, so Simpson chose that route and launched his Fiasco Comics imprint with Bizarre Heroes.

Simpson had been working on Bizarre Heroes for some time, with an eye toward trying to sell it as a graphic novel to someone. I think it worked better as an ongoing comic though. The high concept of the series was that ALL of Simpson's characters - the parody ones, the less zany ones, and the "serious" ones - all occupied the same universe. After all, "uni" means "one", right? So there's just the one!

It was novel and it was fresh. The comedic trials of Megaton Man were in the same book as a dark and sinister conspiracy storyline, and the plotlines actually intertwined. It was all propelled forward by Simpson's semmingly-boundless capacity for character creation, his appealing cartooning, and his distinctive and slightly askew storytelling sensibility. If you doubt my word that a B&W book can be colorful, peep out these covers and try to tell me you wouldn't buy these comics.

Unfortunately, the self-publishing initiative preceded the bottom dropping out of the comic book industry. Simpson tried his best to weather the storm, altering the numbering system for the book to increase #1 issues for skittish buyers and lowering the grade of the paper stock. The book itself was still doing wonderful things, and was even making inroads into incorporating Simpson's SF series Border Worlds and his "adult" comics characters into the mix. But alas, it was just too much, and Don Simpson eventually had to throw in the towel.

Since then, there have been scattered shots of Don Simpson's work here, there, and for a little while, everywhere. This particular piece isn't the place for me to catalog all of them - maybe we'll go into more detail another day. What you need to know is that Simpson tied up a lot of his outstanding plotlines as best he could in some books from Image that collected older material with new stuff - Megaton Man : Bombshell #1 & the 2 issue Megaton Man : Hardcopy. And that, as they say, was that. There was a false start or two since then, but it looks like Megaton Man and friends are on a permanent vacation.

Don Simpson isn't in the comic book industry anymore, but I have heard he is enjoying his life away from it. That's good news to me. While I often had my differences of opinion with his public statements, he was always unfailingly gracious to me in our correspondence when I subscribed to his book. I loved what he was doing then, and I tend to think it has influenced some of what I've done with my own works since that time. Plus, I always knew I'd be entertained when I saw the latest issue of Bizarre Heroes on the racks or in my mailbox.

Thank you, Don Simpson. I miss your comics a lot, but I'll treasure the ones you did create.