WC Comic Update
- Thread starter Kenshi
- Start date
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
Yeah, Polanski is a bit more obscure -- he had a speaking part, and appears in the novels and whatnot... but he is generally just called "Polanski" in dialogue. His callsign actually appears in the movie artwork, though I'm not sure you ever get a good shot of it on screen -- but you can see his "Bishop" nose art in The Confederation Handbook (along with his bio). (It's similar to Rosie Forbes, who mostly just gets referred to as Rosie... but she also has a callsign, "Sassy".)
As Eder pointed out, Shadow was getting ready to retire in Wing Commander II. The earliest reference, though, is her bio on a set of transfer orders in the Kilrathi Saga manual -- dated April, 2656.
Kenshi
Spaceman
This is why I love you guys (in a platonic Internet sense 
). While all of you raise very valid points, I'd like to make two of my own.
1. Even with Capt. Norwood's reference in the KS handbook, our story line takes place in 2654, two years prior. And the way the storyline is shaping up, we won't see 2656 for quite some time. Also, while I love the Wing Commander Movie (I own both VHS and DVD copies), I personally don't consider it nessassarily canon. Our inspiration is drawn from the games. That's why you'll be seeing Rapiers from WC1 as opposed to the film's version, and so forth.
2. While we'll try to stick to canon as much as humanly possible, I'm sure somewhere down the line, we'll make mistakes. You'll notice that the flight suit that Thomas "Bishop" Halcyon is wearing was seen NOWHERE in WC1. That's because the only uniforms we really saw in WC1 are the Brown-Jacket-Blue-Pants thing and Col. Halcyon's Blue Uniform w/ Cap. Visually, This would get very boring for me to draw over and over again. While I appreciate (and welcome) ALL comments and critiques, I'll make it plain right now that I will be adding my own visual style to the comic book. That's not to say I'll be redesigning how the Raptor looks or anything like that. I'll merely be adding some small changes to make thing more visually exciting.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if you've got a quibble, complaint, suggestion, or just plain beef with what we're doing in the comic, by all means express them here (that's what the forums are for
). If we incorporate your thoughts, GREAT! If not, well, hey...
... you're getting a free comic out of the deal.
). While all of you raise very valid points, I'd like to make two of my own.1. Even with Capt. Norwood's reference in the KS handbook, our story line takes place in 2654, two years prior. And the way the storyline is shaping up, we won't see 2656 for quite some time. Also, while I love the Wing Commander Movie (I own both VHS and DVD copies), I personally don't consider it nessassarily canon. Our inspiration is drawn from the games. That's why you'll be seeing Rapiers from WC1 as opposed to the film's version, and so forth.
2. While we'll try to stick to canon as much as humanly possible, I'm sure somewhere down the line, we'll make mistakes. You'll notice that the flight suit that Thomas "Bishop" Halcyon is wearing was seen NOWHERE in WC1. That's because the only uniforms we really saw in WC1 are the Brown-Jacket-Blue-Pants thing and Col. Halcyon's Blue Uniform w/ Cap. Visually, This would get very boring for me to draw over and over again. While I appreciate (and welcome) ALL comments and critiques, I'll make it plain right now that I will be adding my own visual style to the comic book. That's not to say I'll be redesigning how the Raptor looks or anything like that. I'll merely be adding some small changes to make thing more visually exciting.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if you've got a quibble, complaint, suggestion, or just plain beef with what we're doing in the comic, by all means express them here (that's what the forums are for
). If we incorporate your thoughts, GREAT! If not, well, hey...... you're getting a free comic out of the deal.
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
Well, keep in mind that Capt. Norwood's reference in the KS handbook isn't a case of "here's this pilot who just graduated" - in fact, it says that she's looking forward to retiringKenshi said:
. So, this would mean she was around in 2654.Well, as someone who's worked (and is working) on a few fan projects, I can understand exactly where you're coming from. As I'm sure you'll learn soon enough, it can be very frustrating working on a project like this - there you are, doing your best to make something people will enjoy, and all they seem to ever comment about is how some insignificant little detail doesn't match what's said in some obscure sourceAlso, while I love the Wing Commander Movie (I own both VHS and DVD copies), I personally don't consider it nessassarily canon. [...] If we incorporate your thoughts, GREAT! If not, well, hey...
... you're getting a free comic out of the deal.
.Here's my advice, however - listen to them
. It doesn't matter what you think about the source they're talking about - you may not think it's canon, but somebody obviously does, and that somebody is your audience. The WC franchise is a bit unusual in this regard - for most big franchises, you have the ordinary fans who will enjoy any (good) product as long as it's from that franchise, and the hardcore fans, who would like everything to be consistent with previous products. But in WC, we are all hardcore fans - the franchise has been on ice for half a decade, and so all the ordinary fans have either left or gone hardcore.So you need to take into account that your audience is going to be very demanding in the canon department. It's best to be flexible - for example, in the case of these two callsigns, if people have some objections to their validity, does it really hurt your comic if you listen to them? I mean, unless you have a big callsign-dependent plot point, it won't adversely affect your comic, and it will make things easier for you (because you won't have to waste time arguing about why these callsigns are a good idea after all
).(and don't worry, you'll find that on the things that matter the most for a comic - visuals - the fan community will be very accommodating; for example, there are no less than four visually-different uniform/flight suit designs from 2654, so nobody will be especially offended if you come up with a fifth design)
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
The two Rapiers are different and unrelated. Per the Kilrathi Saga Manual, the F-44 seen in Wing Commander and Wing Commander II is the "Rapier II"... similar to how the P-47 Thunderbolt and A-10 Thunderbolt II aren't at all related. The two Rapiers have different histories, different specifications and (while close together) they don't exist at the same point in the timeline.
That's something else you should be wary about with a story set in 2654 -- the Rapier II didn't start showing up until mid-September of that year (when the Tiger's Claw recieved the first active squadron of production Rapiers).
BenoitBrunet2
Captain
I would caution against multiple instances of the same name for a different reason. While it might be feasible for a regular fleet pilot to share a nickname with a reservist who hardly ever saw the cockpit, in having similar names, you run the risk of triggering set associations. A hardcore fan is going to read "Shadow" and think about the unfortunate reservist and WHY THE HELL COULDN'T THEY FIX A SINGLE LAUNCH BAY IN TIME TO HAVE MORE THAN 2 FERRETS DEFENDING THE CONCORDIA I MEAN WHERE WAS THE CAP HUH!?!?! Regardless of how little your character has in common with Norwood, there will be an association, which adds effort to the read. The Bishop reference, not so much, I think you're pretty much in the clear, especially considering he's primarily a movie character, and those don't matter nearly as much.
What I think a larger issue might be here is the whole Bishop/Suicide; Blair/Maniac; Casey/Maestro similarity. It could work, but you're going to have to be really careful to explore different aspects of both men's personalities and not spin the reader into another "Straight-laced hero and his wildman best friend" situation.
What I think a larger issue might be here is the whole Bishop/Suicide; Blair/Maniac; Casey/Maestro similarity. It could work, but you're going to have to be really careful to explore different aspects of both men's personalities and not spin the reader into another "Straight-laced hero and his wildman best friend" situation.
Kenshi
Spaceman
By no means will we ignore anything anybody has to say about what we are or are not doing. You guys and gals are our core audience. And, as a whole, you have a combined knowledge of the series I could never achieve. Quarto hit it right on the head. When doing something like this, with such a detailed history and such a hardcore following, we'd just be wasting our time if we didn't get it right.
Callsigns are a staple in Wing Commander lore. They're important to how we identify with the characters. We aren't just trying to say, "We like these callsigns and to hell with anyone who disagrees with their use."
With that said, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that, for the sake of the storyline, we won't change Shadow's callsign. Trust us...
The good news is we're turning Halcyon's callsign over to YOU...
http://www.crius.net/zone/showthread.php?p=246478#post246478
Callsigns are a staple in Wing Commander lore. They're important to how we identify with the characters. We aren't just trying to say, "We like these callsigns and to hell with anyone who disagrees with their use."
With that said, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that, for the sake of the storyline, we won't change Shadow's callsign. Trust us...
The good news is we're turning Halcyon's callsign over to YOU...
http://www.crius.net/zone/showthread.php?p=246478#post246478
BenoitBrunet2
Captain
For the record, and maybe it's assumed and I'm wasting my breath, I think you've got an excellent project going (judging strictly from what little I've seen) so please do not take anything I've said as more than constructive criticism.
TC
SubCrid
Kenshi said:
To be fair, the Academy TV show, the Movie and WC1 have elements that take place within a number of hours or days of each other. The uniforms in all three sources have to co-exist in some way, then. This has absolutely no bearing on how you do it, I just wanted to point out that we actually have more uniforms from the era.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
TC said:
Don't forget those cool FM Towns box artwork flight suits and the Soviet uniforms from Super Wing Commander.
Kenshi
Spaceman
(here's a couple more...)
Captain Sarah Molynieux - For the past 5 years Sarah has carried the callsign, "Widowmaker." This was a title she has earned rather than necessarily claimed. Aggressive to the point of stubborness, Sarah has never backed down from any fight. Always ready for action, adventure and often the life of any party (including the illegal ones) Sarah is a poster child of optimism and courage. She would have been promoted further had it not been for her repeated instances of disobeying direct orders and disciplinary lapses. Despite these frequent marks on her record, her knack for resolving matters quickly and effectively have kept her on the flight roster.
Captain Sarah Molynieux - For the past 5 years Sarah has carried the callsign, "Widowmaker." This was a title she has earned rather than necessarily claimed. Aggressive to the point of stubborness, Sarah has never backed down from any fight. Always ready for action, adventure and often the life of any party (including the illegal ones) Sarah is a poster child of optimism and courage. She would have been promoted further had it not been for her repeated instances of disobeying direct orders and disciplinary lapses. Despite these frequent marks on her record, her knack for resolving matters quickly and effectively have kept her on the flight roster.
Attachments
Kenshi
Spaceman
Major Jack Bradley - His wingmen have called him "Stoneman" since his first sortie, Jack inspires respect and awe with his cold, efficient and deadly pilotting skills. Orphaned at a young age and filled with a desire for revenge, Jack applied for the Academy when he was still a full two years below their required age. They rejected his application and so he joined with the marines (it was later determined that he "incorrectly" submitted his age on the Marine application). After his two years with the Marines were finished, Jack requested transfer to the Academy to become a pilot. His request was granted and finally, Jack was admitted to the Academy to train. Jack sailed through the Academy with high marks and glowing recommendations, he was assigned to the TCS Tiger Claw upon his graduation in 2644. Jack served during the Claw's participation at Custer's Carnival and flew with distinction that earned him a Silver Star. He continued to serve aboard the Claw until 2651 when he reassigned to the TCS Falcon.
