Stories

• "The City of Clocks" - Story
Cap and Shelly in the Unknown Zone! (illustrated)

• "Ninja Chief" - Story
Ninjas, hopping vampires, and...a toy robot? (illustrated)

• "Shelly's Story" - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
The "origin" of Shelly Ericson!

• "The Stone Gods" - Story
The Invincible Alliance vs. rock giants! (illustrated)

• "WrestleMayhem" - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Blue Behemoth wrestles for the heavyweight championship of the world!

Last Updated: June 20, 2019.

Profiles

MAIN CHARACTERS:

• Captain Satellite - (link)
• Shelly Ericson - (link)

ALLIES & ADVERSARIES:

A-B

• The Albino Ant - (link)
• Amazing Girl - (link)
• The Astro-Giants - (link)
• Pat August - (link)
• Karma Bando - (link)
• "Handsome" Jack Barker - (link)
• Hugo Beaumont - (link)
• Black Widow - (link)
• Blue Behemoth - (link)
• The Burger-Meister - (link)

C-D

• Cat-Man & Kitten - (link)
• Kenta Chiba - (link)
• C.H.I.E.F. & Rex Coronado - (link)
• Clankotron - (link)
• The Deacon & Mickey Matthews - (link)
• Whitney DeKalb - (link)
• Devil Dynamite - (link)
• Disco Ball - (link)
• Dr. Macabre - (link)
• Doppelgirl - (link)
• Drone Man - (link)

E-F

• Elektroid - (link)
• Enemy Alien - (link)
• General Lee R. Falgout - (link)
• Albert Fannick - (link)
• Howard Fein - (link)
• Firegirl - (lnk)
• Gabrielle Fitzgerald - (link)

G-L

• Gargantua Maximus - (link)
• Girago - (link)
• Hellbat - (link)
• The Human Owl - (link)
• Invincible Alliance - (link)
• Junior Satellite Patrol (Ray Wood & Dara Green) - (link)
• Killer Invisible - (link)
• Lord Zaur - (link)

M

• Macro Warriors - (link)
• Dick Major - (link)
• The Masked Menace - (link)
• Mr. Metal - (link)
• Muscle Woman - (link)
• Muttnik the Satellite Dog & Boris Petrenko - (link)
• The Mystery Spaceman - (link)

N-S

• The Neptoids - (link)
• The Phantom Rogue - (link)
• Princess Nikatonia - (link)
• Professor Craneo - (link)
• The Psychedelic Man - (link)
• Kimber Rachelle - (link)
• Red Taiyo - (link)
• The Scarys - (link)
• The Science Brigade (aka Kagaku Ryodan) - (link)
• Sultura - (link)
• The Sun Men - (link)

T

• Nicola Tanihara - (link)
• Third World - (link)
• Third World Boys Auxiliary - (link)
• Third World Japan Branch (aka Dai San Sekai) - (link)
• Third World Leader - (link)
• Thunder Man - (link)
• Titan Khan - (link)
• Tregaa the Tree Thing - (link)
• Debbie Truman - (link)
• Joe Truman - (link)
• Tex Truman - (link)

U-Z

• Ultimate American - (link)
• Urban Nightmare - (link)
• Dr. Sandor Varkoff - (link)
• Velvet Verity - (link)
• Viking Star - (link)
• The Volcano Monsters - (link)
• Ivan Walters - (link)
• Basil Whittaker - (link)
• Zoragaza the Mystic - (link)

Last Updated: June 20, 2019.

OWARI FAQ

OWARI FAQ


People never ask questions, but if they did, here's what I imagine they would ask.


Q: Who are you? What is OWARI?

A: I am Christopher Elam if you hadn't guessed from the name of this site. I am aka Chris Elam, C. Elam, and "celamowari" (a common username of mine). I have been writing for public consumption since 1994, and blogging in some fashion since 2003.

OWARI (Japanese for "The End") was founded as a fanzine in 1995. As times have changed, the 'zine has been phased out, but OWARI continues as a vehicle for my interests. This version began in January 2009, and debuted in its current form in January 2019.


Q: Who created your logo/avatar?

A: The OWARI logo was designed by Rob Perchaluk in 1996. My Captain Satellite avatar was created by Wandering Kotka in 2016.


Q: What is all this Captain Satellite business?

A: Captain Satellite is a project chronicling the characters and happenings of an original superhero world dubbed “the Owariverse.” The Owariverse is highly-fictionalized, and more than a little tongue-in-cheek. Though the majority of the tales of the Owariverse are set in the present-day, it is very much in the vein of a “retro future” worldview.


Q: Why is it called the Owariverse?

A: It needed a name, and “Owariverse” was coined by the readers of this very blog. I just ran with it.


Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: I’ve been creating original characters since I was 5 years old. The first incarnation of Captain Satellite was born in the 6th grade. I’ve been posting material about Cap online since 2004, but this particular iteration of the story began in 2019.


Q: What’s the deal with your art?

A: It’s lousy. I had almost no art instruction in school, and I don’t think I have much inherent ability, either. However, my art is sincere and from the heart, and I use it to express my own ideas as best I can. Some like it; some don’t. I thank my guest artists for helping me bring these characters to life in a way I’m not sure I could.


Q: You contradicted something you previously wrote!

A: Not a question, but I understand what you mean. Part of the impetus for relaunching this project (again!) was so I could have a clearly defined point where I blew up everything that had gone before. I’m in the process of putting the pieces back together in a new and hopefully exciting way. Much of it will be the same, but there will be differences and contradictions from previous versions. Sorry ‘bout that.


Q: What happened to all the old stuff?

A: If you're speaking about blog posts prior to the January 2019 revamp, they are still here. They can be accessed via the blog archives just like in the past. Though all pre-2019 labels have been hidden, they are still active. No entries have been removed from Christopher Elam's OWARI. In fact, many have been reformatted to match the new layout (you're welcome).

Now, if you mean content from the Captain Satellite Tumblr, that's a slightly different story. For one thing, it is being gradually added to OWARI and that will necessarily take time. However, since I am essentially starting over, some things will be relegated to the apocrypha and may not make the cut. If you desperately miss something I've chosen to excise from my mythos, let me know and I'll try to hook you up


Q: Why did you leave Tumblr?

A: I have had a love/hate relationship with Tumblr for a long time. I decided I no longer wanted to be an active participant on the site due to changes enacted there. And in all honesty, the Captain Satellite Tumblr had grown stagnant. It was time to do something new anyway.


Q: What is Satellite Blue?

A: Satellite Blue is a companion blog to Christopher Elam's OWARI. It serves as a showcase for material which is a bit too spicy for an all-ages blog. Updates will be sporadic and announced on the main blog when they happen. Or you can just bookmark or follow Satellite Blue to make sure you don't miss a thing!


Q: Is there a book?/Will there be a book?

A: I self-published Captain Satellite Number Zero in 2011. It was meant to be a definitive guide to the Owariverse, but really, it’s anything but definitive. I won’t discourage you from buying it, as it is very cool to have despite its flaws. However, it should be viewed as an artifact of its time, and not as the last word on the subject.

There are no plans at the moment for additional Captain Satellite books, but anything’s possible - especially if there is a demand.


Q: May I do fan art of your characters?

A: Yes, absolutely! Please make sure to let me know if you do! Thank you if you choose to draw my characters!


Q: Isn't there another Captain Satellite?

A: Yes. Bob March portrayed "Captain Satellite" on a kid's TV show that aired on Oakland, California's KTVU Channel 2 during the 1950s & 1960s (and possibly into the early 1970s). Not being from the Bay Area, I had no idea about this until relatively recently.

I think two Captain Satellites can happily coexist in the world, especially since mine isn't going to make me a bunch of money. I've chosen to recognize Bob March by naming my Captain's home base "March Mansion." There will be an in-story explanation, but the real reason is because my Captain is following in Bob March's footsteps.


Q: You didn't answer my question. What do I do?

A: You could always leave a comment here and I'll try my best.

Introduction: Captain Satellite

Imagine a world where a skinny nerd is the world's greatest hero (sorta) and his girlfriend is his bodyguard (seriously). Imagine a world filled with giant monsters, alien invaders, rampaging robots, and dastardly villains of every stripe. With us so far?

Captain Satellite by Christopher Elam is your guide to just such a world and the colorful characters that inhabit it. So grab your ticket and fasten your seatbelt! It's time to take a trip to the Owariverse!

REGARDING MY ART: Yes, I know.

(Image originally posted October 6, 2014)

Reinventing Your Self

I had no intention of ever returning to this blog.

I am proud of what I did on this blog over the years, but I had moved on from what it was. There was no reason to continue. When I signed off, it really was meant to be for good.

That was before Tumblr decided to change their policies and did so in the most ham-fisted way possible. I no longer have any confidence in Tumblr's long-term survival. I don't want to be an active part of their platform regardless.

So, I am back.

This isn't going to be a return to the old style of blogging. Mostly, this is to find a home for my content that will hopefully not be disrupted by capricious changes or incompetent management. Maybe that will inspire me in ways I cannot imagine at present.

The look of this blog will probably be revamped in the coming weeks. I plan to deprecate the old content, but none of it will be removed. This is about a new beginning, not erasing the past.

2019 will be the 10th anniversary of this particular blog. It was originally created as a back-up for my LiveJournal. Now, I am returning to it after a long detour onto Tumblr.

Funny how that worked out.

This is "OWARI"

...And this is "the end."

I know, I know - I said I was probably done for 2017. That was my intent. But I've been thinking about it, and really, all I would be doing is delaying the inevitable.

This blog is broken. It has been for some time. I won't say there hasn't been good content over the last few years, because there absolutely has. But my commitment has declined, and that has led to the frustrations I have voiced here in the recent past. Looking over my pattern of posting since 2014, it's pretty clear I made this decision a long time ago.

This is an imperfect and inelegant conclusion to what, quite unexpectedly, turned out to be one of my better projects. It began as a simple emergency back-up to my LiveJournal and grew to become a place where I was able to hone my writing craft in ways I never had before. I will always have fond memories of this blog, and I will keep it online with no regrets. It's just that it's time to move on.

I haven't quite given up on blogging just yet. I've got some blogs I intend to continue, and I'll be getting to them before I sign off here. I've also got something in mind that I am considering exploring which might involve a blog. For practical and aesthetic reasons, however, that blog won't be this one.

My current whereabouts:

• Captain Satellite will continue telling tales of the Owariverse. It's been on an extended hiatus until relatively recently, but rest assured, it's not going anywhere. I'll also be putting up more content on OWARI 2.0 if you absolutely need the "OWARI" brand in your life. Since it's my main account on Tumblr, I should use it on occasion.

• My Twitter @celamowari shows no signs of going away, unless Twitter itself finally does.

• You can also feel free to look me up on any of the other links in the sidebar. No promises about those though.

If you are reading this, or if you ever read this blog, or have just supported me in some fashion, thank you. I have been doing this for almost nine years here, and it has been a rewarding experience. I think I've been putting this off because of how much I used to love it. But I'm ready now to let this one go.

おわり

So Anyway...

I've closed this blog at least once, and waffled on the idea several other times. I'm loath to do so yet again. It just feels wishy-washy. Probably a good way to describe my approach to blogging anymore.

Problem is, I have no motivation and no inspiration for this right now. After 14 years (!) of blogging dating back to LiveJournal, I feel like I've hit a wall. The daily grind for minimal reward has caught up with me. I can still put together a good piece when called upon (I have a review of THE MANSTER submitted for the upcoming issue of XENORAMA), but that doesn't extend to OWARI of late.

If it makes followers of this blog feel any better (it probably won't), this malaise has happened pretty much across the board on all my projects. My Tumblrs have been on hiatus since January, and let's not even talk about DeviantArt. I'm still doing things and reading things and watching things - I just don't feel like writing about them.

Unless something changes, this will probably be it for 2017. I'll re-evaluate later. For what it's worth, I'm sorry this blog has mostly degenerated into navel-gazing over whether I should continue doing it.

If anyone is interested, I do still post semi-regularly on Twitter.