Really no update on patronage this week. The project is now 109% funded, and any patronage the project attracts now will go to commissioning more art for the game. If you're interested in being a $10 Silver Age patron or a $20 Golden Age patron, by all means click the link to the right and check it out.
Patriotic heroes are the focus of today's post. Mystery Men! uses golden age (and public domain) heroes, and it is just about impossible to separate the Golden Age of comic books from World War II. Dozens of costumed heroes and heroines donned the red, white and blue to fight America's enemies overseas and at home. The patriotic hero that Joel Carroll will illustrate for Mystery Men! will be chosen by Golden Age patrons from the five below.
Chase Yale (as opposed to Flee Princeton) was a war correspondent who decided to get into the action by donning the costume of Commando Yank and slapping around Nazis. Commando Yank had no super powers, relying on his fists, knives and guns. I like the low-tech and olive drab vibe of this guy.
Daniel Lyons was another lucky guy who almost died near a reclusive scientist's laboratory. Nursed back to health by the scientist, Daniel discovers he now has super powers, and decides to use them to fight the Axis. You have to have chutzpah to show up on a battlefield dressed like this guy.
Joan Wayne (she gets points just for the name) is a stenographer in Washington DC who grows disgusted by the political corruption. She decides to fight corrupt politicians as costumed hero in league with the FBI. I know the idea of political corruption in our nation's capitol sounds crazy, but hey - it was comic books!
Reed suffers from infantile paralysis, and though possessing Herculean strength in his upper body is confined to a wheelchair. Humiliation in front of a woman eventually drives him to build up his legs and become a champion athlete. A rich playboy, he decides to put his new found skills to good use and kick some Nazi butt. Who says sexual frustration never leads to anything positive?
Yankee Doodle Jones is an artifical human created by an unnamed scientist from the body parts of three crippled war heroes (yes, WTF). When Nazi agents kill the scientist in an attempt to steal the formula, Jones and the scientist's son, dubbed Dandy, go after the agents and then stick around to fight the Axis. Patriotic frankenstein, folks. 'Nuff said.
It has to be Yankee Doodle Jones - that's one wonderfully messed-up origin story with enormous story potential. For instance, what if the widows of various 'body parts' want to reclaim their loved ones???
ReplyDeleteIt is a good thing War Eagle built up his legs because his costume makes his arms completely useless.
ReplyDeleteAcro-Flea: Completely agree on Y.D. Jones - his bizarre origin is the reason I included him in the vote.
ReplyDeleteRog-GS: It's all about the face-kicking with War Eagle. Nazi face kicking!