Now- I promise I'm going to TRY and address the comments w/o turning this response into a novel... remember: I said *TRY*.
MacroLass wrote:I actually AGREE with your point. There should be some kind of effort exerted and/or resistance to overcome when controlling someone to make it a more worthwhile achievement. But often the sad truth is that that is a luxury you just can't afford within the confines of a comic.
-- There are definately some very different limitations on the style of storytelling that goes on here. And MacroLass has done a good job of encapsulating one of those challenges. It is a sign of a mature and skilled storyteller to be able to overcome those limitations w/o breaking the paradigm. Obviously I am not among that number- at least not yet.
Tecknophyle wrote: Halloween Havoc 3 shows the end result of a fight, so you have three heroines obviously doing something other than being victims, even if you don't see all of it. There's references to other characters being off to do things, or reports of them doing things that are just background events, often not even seen, but they lend to the verisimilitude that these characters do something other than wait around passively for the next time someone zaps them.
-- Here's the thing about this one- and I do recall the discussion related to this. As well as my own little "Looks like they heard some of the comments there" reaction to the story above. Here's the thing though... McComix is a site that spun off of Hipcomix. Hip was all about heroines in distress (bondage/control) and the MC theme was a natural spin off from that. We just got to big for our britches and started moving so far beyond the "bound heroine" theme that we grew into our own site. ((I'm paraphrasing history here since I was not an artist involved here @ the time but I was an active subscriber so that was my impression of the events))
My point in all that exposition? Artists write for their own audience but they also write what they're interested in... and the major theme here is not "Heroines being Heroines"- its heroines being MC'd. Now- granted- we, as artists may kinda beat a similar theme to death with the heroines being rather slow learners and there as little more than props for the villains schemes. I can totally understand the lack of interest in that plot over time. It tends to devalue the heroines from the Titular Character (pun intended) to more of a prop for the MC.
As an example of the alternative to this there was another story over at Hip that I followed: Platinum Earth. Some of the early chapters of that story had little to no MC in them at all. Instead they focused on character development so that later when we would see those characters under duress and control it would make the fall all the sweeter. Problem was that it took a REALLY LONG TIME to get to the fall and until the story had fleshed out to a much greater degree I kinda lost interest in it. I'll admit that once he had a year or so under the belt I went back and appreciated those earlier chapters a lot more.
Thing is, for me- I just don't know that I have the "fan base" to survive that long of a wait. Granted, neither did Sir Willoughby @ the time. So I hope you'll forgive some of my "early storytelling mistakes" during my adjustment here.
Don't worry though- I do hear the comments and I am slowly assimilating them into (hopefully) making me better @ storytelling in this format.
--- And last, but certainly not least:
Adon wrote:I have to say I was a little disappointed with this chapter. It's not that she was turned -- the title of the story pretty much spells it out -- it's that she put up little to no resistance at all. I would have thought someone who was as pure of heart as her would have struggled fiercely, but she was corrupted so quickly that it was a case of blink and you miss it.
-- First off let me do this <<removes *LURKER* sticker - replaces with "Hi, my name is..." sticker>> Welcome to the club!! I'm honored to have been the final lure to bring you out of the darkness.
Now, to deal with your objection specifically. I do what I do to elicit a response, and it would seem I have done so for you. That makes me happy. Not exactly the response I was hoping for, but let me explain a bit of my motivation here.
I totally get (see above) why you might have been disappointed in DayStar falling so easily. And I appreciate MacroLass coming to my defense. But here's my deal regarding DayStar. Wait for it...
I need her to be a strong willed but a-typical villain for my storyline.
That's it. I have a job for her to do that she couldn't have done as the heroine she was. Granted, I gave you just enough of a taste to draw you in and then ripped the rug out from under you. Yes. Granted, she has a lot of characteristics that made her very similar in nature to other hero's that you might be familiar with. This was also intentional. I intend to have some fun with DayStar once her transformation is complete- although it will likely take me a while to get there. So, for story purposes she needed to fall.
I will grant that perhaps she could have taken a bit longer to do so. But if you'll forgive a bit of a "behind the curtain" look I think I can explain that as well.
****** Warning ****** Spoilers Ahead ******* Warning *******
Characters like DayStar, and their alter ego's in other comic incarnations, are often virtually invincible. This leads to a certain outlook on life that could be called overconfidence in some, genuine competence in others. The point is that that ultimate core sense of self comes in no small part from that invincibility. But what happens when that invincibility is suddenly, and surprisingly removed. I recall a Wonder Woman comic where Superman is turned into little more than a dog on a leash (literally) with just a phrase from Zatana. Unfortunately it doesn't last but a page or two... such a waste.
In this story, DayStar wakes in a strange location with all of her usual boastfulness but finds herself suddenly unable to back it up. She has totally lost her footing. Normally she would be able to fight her way out of anything. Overcome anything. Whatever it was she was drinking wouldn't have effected her and once she got her wits about her she would have been back to kicking ***. But in THAT place the Master's will literally set the rules. She was naked, in more ways than one. She fell victim to a subtle trick, a little white lie, and didn't know what she was agreeing to. In that way she was only mortal, and no more powerful than any of us- perhaps even less so because she had ample reason to doubt herself when you or I might have been more in control of our own self-image (we have no super powers to lose).
This is the cause of DayStar's rather fast demise. If she had some time to prepare she would have done much better- but given the situation she did the best she could. Which as it turns out vs. that type of evil... wasn't much.
******** END POTENTIAL SPOILER *********
And, in her defense, recall that the Master did make a few comments in surprise at the fact that she woke up at all.
Beyond that, I guess I just have to ask that you trust where I intend to take the character, and hope that you enjoy the ride.
Thanks again for the comments! Keep em coming, as long as you don't mind reading my answers.... remember, I did say I'd *TRY* to keep it short.
/wink