Once again, please read the issue. It's a good one to jump aboard with.
Issues 1-15 were Nasty's origin, decompressed. The majority of the writing of those issues was done at work in between and, sometimes, during calls. Issue 16 wasn't. It's longer, mainly from me realizing how short the previous issues were getting. Nasty gets a chance to take some control of her life, despite being an apparent fugitive.
Issue 16 starts with Nasty rummaging through her new stuff. She jumps for the cash from "Mickey's" wallet and "Soccer Mom's" glove compartment which, sadly, does not have gloves. Nasty also shows that she really isn't the thief type; she'd probably get good money for the credit cards and the van through the right people. As for the shoes, Nasty doesn't wear high heels. She just doesn't like admitting that the problem is with her.
So, here we have Nasty wandering through early morning Rochester, New York, a city with a high crime rate in November. There should be snow on the ground, but that was a dry year. At least Nasty has a plan - find a Salvation Army to get clothes and get breakfast. Foiled because Nasty's first instinct is to be a hero. Okay, her first instinct was to take cover. Still, she wasn't thinking ahead when she powered up her fist. The scene also let me show that there are other altered humans in the S13-verse. Costumes are garish; heroes and villains are noticeable and their garb give people a chance to react and leave. There was probably a Supreme Court ruling along the way.
The American Eagle of Rochester makes his first appearance here. His powers outclass Nasty's - she can't stop bullets with her mind. Eagle tends to talk like he's from the Golden Age. Part of his schtick, really. Helps hide his identity. Speaking of, yes, I do know the American Eagle's secret identity. However, since this isn't his title, it remains a secret. There may or may not be a reveal.
The rest of the issue is Nasty reacting to several hard bits of news. She has lost a month. She is obviously in some sort of trouble; young ladies do not walk around Rochester in the middle of November in bare feet. She has trust issues. Considering that she was being brainwashed, can you blame her?
A couple of questions I'll answer now. Why Rochester? When I chose the city, I had cable with access to the affiliates based in Rochester, New York. Shortly after I made my choice, Rogers, the evil cable company, decided to make all of Ontario have the same selection as Toronto. Gone were stations from Montreal, Kingston, and, yes, Rochester, in favour of stations from Toronto and Detroit. Caused a brouhaha when the PBS station was replaced. WNPE/WNPI relied on donations from Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Losing that audience would have caused the station hardship. Rogers backed down on making that change.
Why Jessica? No, Nasty didn't name herself after the famous rabbit. At the time of writing, Jessica was gaining popularity as a baby name, to the point where there would be at least one Jessica or Jennifer in a class. Nasty chose a name that was popular and that she liked.
Friday, Issue 17 and Nasty's decision.
Saturday, over at Fan To Pro, I continue my series on adapting games in Lost in Translation.
Coming later here, more Traveller, more NaNoWriMo prep, and more more!
It is a good issue to jump in on, and I think here is the definite separation between parts. In fact... this might almost work better as a first issue. Thrown into a situation wondering, what the hell, it synchs up reader and narrator. Plus it could be just me, but I find it a little disconcerting when we're placed in a world, and just as we're starting to learn about it, the main character is suddenly pulled out and placed somewhere completely different. I grant it works with the plot, but it's harder (again, for me) to accept new characters when I'm still wondering about the old ones. I'm not sure if flashbacks would work as an alternative.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about costuming and choice of locale. I grant I'm more the type to make up a city, rather than have to mess about with existing geography. ^^ By the way, the link for "Issues 1-15" first comes up with the Commentary for #30 and works backwards from there.
It's a definite new start for Nasty. New location, new supporting cast, new situations. New! The move to Rochester came out of the blue - Nasty new she couldn't go home, and leapt to the conclusion that it was safer elsewhere. I do plan on merging the story back, but it's taking time.
DeleteI prefer to mix the fantastic in with the mundane. Metropolis and Gotham and decent settings, but there's a degree of separation - the cities aren't real. Meanwhile, Marvel uses New York as setting for half their heroes (while creating other places).
I'll fix the link. When I put it in, the page hadn't been created yet so I linked to the Subject 13 tag.