Letters to All-Stars #4

[Lissilambe]

Tell us what you thought of this issue's tales!

Take care
Don

[Idlewilder]

What a treat this title has become! Don has expertly channelled the tone of the Golden Age stories of the JSA. I really feel like I'm reading a selection from one of my Archive Editions, except these are written much better (with all due respect to Sheldon Mayer, Garnder Fox and all those original writers)! This is a throwback in the best sense of the word.

Nice twist at the end to foil the villains, and some great banter amongst the team--- especially the Atom!

But my favorite scene has to be the interlude with Baron Blitzkrieg! The promise of future mayhem positively drips of the screen!

The back-up feature is heating up, too, with some good character development and some great Grundy action! Interesting work with Shiera, making her a Southern belle. What was the inspiration for that?

Unbelievably beautiful cover, too. The ladies look cute and hot. Plus, I can practically hear Grundy growling over them. Riz is a damn genius!

Five stars! Give me more soon!

[arcalian]

Ah so the villains were working together! Clever.....

As for the girls, yeah I bet they're more than slightly pissed!

[Lissilambe]

Thanks for the kind words all of you. This particular two-parter was a lot of fun to write, just because in the classic Golden Age style, everyone just seemed to be having fun with it, even the bad guys. lol

I'm very honored for the compliments being heaped upon it by David. Those are some high praises indeed. And I'm glad you're looking forward to the Baron's plot, because that's the next three parts of the front story, guest-starring Wonder Woman and Mister America.

As for my inspiration on Shiera's background: first, as will be revealed in time, she's not a southern belle per se, so much as she's from a southern farming family. Very nitpicky semantics, but the fact that she's basically "lower class" is important to the why I did it. I wanted to really sharply define the fact that Carter and Sheira have nothing in common, should never meet, never get together and sit on far ends of the social spectrum: low class country hick farm girl and the slick, upper class city-slicker and social science professor. A real Higgins/Doolittle arrangement in a way, so I can build up the powerful destiny of their reincarnation cycle. If you notice in part one, Shiera herself is kind of unaware what drew her up to New York City to become "room-mates" with a bachelor. I'm glad you like the detailing. Shiera's a fun character, and one that needs more depth and background building, I believe.

And yes, Jay, the ladies are indeed unhappy with Starman sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong. Don't worry though...Grundy's not done with any of them. And for people who are interested, after part three of this back-up story, Starman and Liberty Belle will hang out in the Opal for a two-parter that features the debut of Johnny Quick and the birth of Starman's nemesis!

Thanks for the great words.

Take care
Don

[eric the pilot]

This series just keeps on getting better and better as it gains steam, a great mix of characters and personalities that play off one another well.

The scenes with the two split up groups confirm some of what we'd suspected the last issue, and yet more mysteries are added at the same time. I like how you give the audience traps that has legitimate "how will they get out of this" type intensitiy without making your heroes look weak or foolish, but when they overcame them with help, it didn't make the villains look like amateurs either.

That's a really high hurdle to clear, yet you're doing it in bowling shoes here.

The back up feature, which is a tremendous idea in and of itself, continues to be a lot of fun, Belle and Hawkgirl play off one another well.

Grundy is a surprise here, fairly sympathetic as far as villains go, though the impulse to violence sort of undercuts that, which makes him a bit of a tragic figure. He is who he is, and seems trapped to repeat those patterns. It's a bit of a shame.

The women both come off very capable even as they fight this immovable object, and Starman's appearance doesn't diminish that at all.

I like how the two tie together thematically in that way - both stories center around headstrong heroes that believe they are right and find assitance from others at just the right moment. How that plays out for Liberty Belle and Hawkgirl remains to be seen, but I thought that was a nice touch.

Riz came up with another great cover here, it's very striking and conveys the immensity of the obstacles Belle and Hawkgirl are up against.

Great job!