Chapter 17 | Page 3b: Hot Stuff

Today’s page takes us back to Ralph’s Diner, where Captain Heroic proves—once again—that nothing rattles him… not even a surprise soup bath.

Hailey is mortified, Captain Heroic is dripping, and somewhere across the diner, Yazmine Velour is livestreaming the whole thing as heart emojis rain from the internet. It’s a small moment, but one that says a lot about who Cap really is—and why people can’t help falling for him.

Transcript

Panel 1
Hailey (distraught that she has dumped hot soup on Captain Heroic): Omigod Omigod Omigod…

Captain Heroic (turning to another person eating at the diner): Excuse me. Would you hand me a napkin, please? (The person hands him a napkin)

Panel 2

Hailey: I’m so sorry Captain Heroic, sir. I didn’t mean to — {sob}

Panel 3

Captain Heroic (handing her the napkin): Here. Please don’t cry.

Panel 4

Captain Heroic (continues): Most of my first impressions involve disintegration rays. And actual impressions. In concrete.

Panel 5

Captain Heroic: This was far more pleasant — not counting the bay leaf in my shirt.Yazmine Velour (as she livestreams the interaction from the other side of the diner, a torrent of heart emojis flow from her phone as the audience reacts): Omigod Omigod Omigod

After Dark

This week's commissioned MicroFic delivers exactly what you’d want from a pairing between Dynasty and Father Christmas.

  • Yes, he lives up to his name.

  • Yes, Dynasty knew exactly what she was doing.

  • No, the North Pole will never be the same.

I also posted the Goblin Girl MicroFic from the Monster Girl poll — and the response was so good, I might need to make these poll-powered MicroFics a recurring thing!

Miller to Adapt the Spirit

Miller to Adapt the Spirit[VARIETY] Comic book artist Frank Miller will adapt and direct The Spirit, based on comic legend Will Eisner’s classic strip.

Miller co-directed Sin City with Robert Rodriguez.

The Spirit, which debuted in 1940, tells the story of a masked detective who is believed to be dead. Using a mausoleum as his home base, Eisner’s character fights crime in the dark shadows of Central City, using cunning and ingenious forms of punishment.

“I intend to be extremely faithful to the heart and soul of the material, but it won’t be nostalgic. It will be much scarier than people expect,” said Miller.


Read the whole story.

I like Miller’s work an awful lot, but I’m a little bit worried about the way he’s parsing his words. He’s going to be extremely faithful to the heart and soul of Eisner’s work. Not to the work itself — but to the heart and soul of the work. And since he’s going to be the one to decide what that heart and soul is…

I guess I’d feel more comfortable is he promised to be faithful to Eisner’s work. And, yes, if it were almost anyone but Eisner, I probably wouldn’t care. But we’re talking one of the heads of the Comics Pantheon.

Tread carefully, ‘k?