The Uniques news and more from Comfort and Adam's Blog #
Uniques: Team Profile: The Taskforce
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:44:47 GMTAnd now, the long delayed return of an old feature of our blog in anticipation of the release of issue #9. The new issue releases this Wednesday, so be ready everybody! Your minds are guaranteed to be blown!* (*not a guarantee.) Not a lot to say today. Well, except for the fact that we’re mere days from being completely finished with Uniques #9. It officially releases next week, and we genuinely can not wait to hear reactions once it’s out. We’re not the most prideful of people, really-- humility is important to us, and we can certainly recognize our many faults, but we are so immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished with this issue that we’ve never been so anxious to share any single issue since the beginning. First off - a quick update on issue #9: We're going to OhayoCon this weekend in sunny Columbus, Ohio. That's eating up 4 days of our production time, and so we're now planning on releasing Uniques #9 (in digital format) on February 10th. It’s coming along really well - the color is very close to being finished and the proof copies are out to our editors and proofreaders. Soon everybody! Very, very soon! Have a couple of quick panel previews to tide you over. When you go to the number of cons we do in a year, you can get a little worn out. But after the past two and a half months of nothing, we are chomping at the bit to get going again. We believe our sanity and our sorely under-funded bank account will thank us. Another reason we’re so very excited to go to this convention is because the brilliant Del Borovic - artist extraordinaire and drawler for the debut installment of The Uniques Tales - will be there too! So, if you’re in the See ya Monday, -Adam and Comfort Only a little time left before January is gone, and Uniques #9 is steamrolling ahead. As of this writing, we've completed all lettering and are approaching 75% of the final color completed. Things are moving along and this behemoth is getting done. FINALLY! Oy. We’d like to start today with a quick update-- the Comic Creators Alliance charity drive for human trafficking has, as of right now, raised just over $9,000. How’s that for great news' A word of mouth grass-roots fundraiser that is fast approaching $10K. That ain’t bad, if you ask us. There’s still time to make donations, as the drive continues until Sunday night. If you haven’t yet donated and have the ability, it would be pretty amazing. If you have yet to hear, last Monday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To participate and because we're behind the cause, we joined the Comic Creator’s Alliance's efforts to raise money to help fight this terrible and terribly under-recognized blight.
--Better Know a Unique--
Today we're examining the history of the American super-team known as the Taskforce and its current membership. You've seen them briefly in previous issues of the Uniques, but you'll want to know them better as issue 9 begins...
The Taskforce was originally formed during World War II as a covert team of uniques drawn from all the Allied forces. Comprised of Virtue, Countryman, the Guardian Angel, Ghost, Mercury, and Liberty, they used their amazing powers in secret operations across the European theater. Once the Axis powers began using uniques of their own, dressed them in bold costumes and acting as a public group, it became apparent that uniques could be a tremendous tool for propaganda and morale. So it was that the Taskforce came out from the shadows to become the first heroic super-team in history.
After the war ended, the United States government continued the Taskforce program with Countryman at its head. Of the original group, all but Liberty left the team - some outright refusing to work for the government again. Together, Countryman and Liberty, now called Agent 1, built a new Taskforce under the direction of the U.S. government.
Over the years the membership of the Taskforce has changed, but their mission has remained the same: safeguard the homeland, protect American interests abroad, and defend the people of America against threats both nationally and globally. They have also served to improve the image of America, often acting on the front-line of disaster relief operations and other humanitarian efforts worldwide.
Still, rumors and accusations of the Taskforce’s involvement in bush wars and suppression in the third world on behalf of American corporate interests persist. The United States, like most countries, has often found itself allied with leaders and national movements that later proved to be embarrassing at best and catastrophically ill-advised at worst. So, too, has the Taskforce been used in past operations that are today considered mistakes both philosophically and morally.
As a military force under the control of a national superpower, the Taskforce has been loved and hated, respected and feared, and has been both benign and malicious. In many ways it is like any military unit - only as altruistic as its orders allow, and yet at its core dedicated to the defense of its country and its people regardless of the personal cost.
Name: Shawn Redman
Height: 6’ 1” Weight: 235 lbs.
Born: July 1st, 1969
Chosen as a young boy to enter the Countryman Program, only Shawn Redman out of tens of thousands of possible candidates showed the particular physical, mental, and raw genetic acumen to endure the serum that would turn him from typic boy to unique hero. Redman served first as the Young American, sidekick and apprentice to the silver age Countryman (Paul Heart), and then taking the mantle of Countryman for himself when his mentor died in the New York disaster of 1994. A life of rigorous training and service in the field have tested and tried this Countryman, and he has come out the other side both immensely capable and humble. The weight of the most important legacy in American superheroics rests on his shoulders, and nobody feels this more deeply than he does.
For more on Countryman, read his Better Know a Unique entry here.
Name: One
Height: 6’ 3’ Weight: 175 lbs.
Created: June 8th, 1962
The first Agent 1 was first a member of the French Resistance during WWII. She acted under the codename La Belle Liberte, and though she was a typic with no powers, she was offered a place with the first Taskforce during the war and was re-dubbed Liberty. At the end of the war, she chose to continue serving with the Taskforce in America. She was appointed the leader of the newly formed Strategic Enforcement Corps and given the title Agent 1. Over the years, she shaped the SEC into a keenly honed organization specializing in several branches of intelligence and defense, from urban warfare and police actions to international espionage and counterintelligence.
Agent 1 was chosen as the subject of the first successful cloning experiments, resulting in a perfect replica of her genetic matrix. This matrix was taken and modified before being grown into a new being that was essentially a duplicate of the original, yet was perfected in every way. Taller, stronger, faster, tougher; she was everything they had dreamed of. Agent 1 retired shortly after, for reasons undisclosed, and was replaced by her clone.
The new Agent 1 has no name but ‘One’ and has been entirely raised by government scientists and SEC soldiers to be the ultimate combatant. Taking her place as the leader of the SEC, Agent 1 is in many ways the literal child of her country. Her allegiance and devotion to the betterment of America at any cost makes her a cold but respected member of the Taskforce.
Name: William Richmond
Height: 5’ 9” Weight: 194 lbs.
Born: January 17th, 1957
William Richards was a child prodigy with unmatched mechanical brilliance. He sped through school, graduating at just 15 before going to work for the U.S. military in research and development while completing studies at university. When he left college, he entered the military in an official capacity and went to work full-time in designing new technological wonders for the armed forces. When he discovered a buried file containing the failed Dreadnaught Project, he resurrected the plans for a powerful manned battlesuit. It became his driving passion, and when it was at last completed he became its pilot.
As Dreadnaught, he joined the Taskforce in 1978, just in time for the coming escalation of the Cold War. Over the years he was instrumental not just in the field piloting his behemoth of a mechanized war-suit, but also in the R&D labs refining and enhancing the tech behind the Taskforce. He had a hand in the building and upgrading of Manifest Destiny, in Countryman’s magna-shield gauntlet, and in the arms and armament of the SEC under Agent 1. At heart, though, he is a devoted family man and patriot to whom nothing matters more than his wife and the security of the American people.
ARCHER
Name: Cain Walker
Height: 6’ Weight: 173 lbs.
Born: September 25th, 1961
Cain Walker was a multiple gold medalist in the ’76 Olympic Games archery competition, but when he later learned he was a unique and that his powers included the ability to reflexively calculate ballistic trajectories and hand-eye coordination (what he calls “Finding his Shot”) his medals were stripped from him. He joined the military after high school, his family being too poor to afford college. His gifts made him an exceptional marksman and he eventually became a decorated sniper. When the second Archer (Mark Jackson) fell in the line of duty, the Taskforce offered the position to Walker. At first balking at the idea of taking a bow and arrow into battle against enemies armed with automatic weapons, he was eventually convinced and joined.
A military veteran, Archer often feels too old to be running alongside some of the much younger members of Taskforce, particularly after the current Countryman took over as the leader. He is most comfortable with Dreadnaught and Agent 1 who he sees as contemporaries and fellow “old soldiers.”
PAUL REVERE
Name: Tomas Hall
Height: 5’ 10” Weight: 165 lbs.
Born: September 12th, 1969
The first Paul Revere was a member of the first iteration of the Taskforce formed after WWII, and the Revere legacy is one of the oldest on the team (next to Countryman and Agent 1). The third and current Revere is Thomas Hall, a young man who trained with the golden age hero Mercury and his daughter and son-in-law Celerity and Speed. Mercury had been on the first Taskforce during the great war and his stories inspired young Hall such that when the offer came to join the current Taskforce he leapt at the opportunity.
Paul Revere is a witty and irreverent young man, but his time with the Taskforce has hardened him somewhat. Though he kept his sense of humor, he also carries the weight of the things they have had to do in the name of his country.
FAITH
Name: Joy Adams
Height: 5’ 7” Weight: 130 lbs.
Born: March 30th, 1972
Joy Adams is the descendant of Agnes Adams and her sister Judith, both of whom were burned as witches in the late 1600’s. This past has shaped her life. Her mother died giving birth to Joy and her fraternal twin sister, Felicity. They grew up in a very wealthy lifestyle, but on the day their powers manifested they lost everything. The girls suddenly burst forth with waves of powerful energy that set fire to the house and ultimately killed everyone within it. Only Joy survived.
Taken in by her aunt, her father’s friend Hollis Richards was a well-connected politician who prevented the truth of the occurrence from reaching authorities, lest she be taken away as a danger to the public and perhaps even executed. Richards continued to act as her benefactor as she grew, eventually getting her acceptance onto the Taskforce as Faith.
Adams became a devout evangelical after her father and sister’s deaths. She believes God saved her from that fire for a reason, and that ‘Uncle’ Hollis has given her the means to discover her true purpose as a member of Taskforce, using her new role as Faith to spread the gospel far and wide.
MONUMENT
Name: Rand Campbell
Height/Weight: Variable
Born: November 16th, 1971
A troubled youth, Randy Campbell was sent to military school as a way of curbing his delinquent tendencies. There he discovered his powers and was fast-tracked into actual military service. He served as a commando for two years before the unique known as Monument was injured in the line of duty. Sidelined at a crucial moment in the escalation of the Cold War, the U.S. government chose not to wait for Monument to heal and return to service, but instead chose Campbell to replace him.
Campbell has been Monument ever since, and while he perhaps enjoys flexing his strength and using his powers against others a little too much, he is a loyal and dependable member of Taskforce.
MANIFEST DESTINY
Name: None
Height: 6’ 2” Weight: Variable
Created: April 8th, 1982 (MD v.VII created March 26th, 1990)
Developed in the early 1980’s during a period of rapid arms growth in the ongoing Cold War, Manifest Destiny represented the culmination of decades of work with bleeding edge science and technology. A fully automated and aware cybernetic organism, Manifest Destiny was a scientific miracle. Having been designed for inclusion in the Taskforce, the android served as both a powerful combatant and as a symbol to the rest of the world of our superiority to the hated Soviets.
Over the years Manifest Destiny has undergone several upgrades and new versions. Occasionally he gets a complete overhaul and his cybernetic consciousness is transplanted into a new chassis, but usually these upgrades are internal. Currently on his 7th version, the android is at his greatest level of power yet, including the ability to shift his mass from below zero (intangibility) to several tons. His designers have built him for maximum military efficiency, but what is disconcerting for some is the one thing they have yet to be able to manufacture in computer code - the capacity for emotion and sympathy. For all of his amazing abilities, Manifest Destiny remains a cold, inhuman machine deep in his synthetic heart.
CommentsUniques: Issue 9 Nearly Complete!
Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:58:17 GMT
Really, think about this: how many self-publishing couples have put out a 53-page full-color comic made entirely by two people working in collaboration the way we do' We would never discount the Herculean efforts of our Flatsmen in aiding our path to finishing any and all of our books, so you can’t forget their contributions, but this is still not something that happens very often at all. And we got these 53 pages out faster than some big-league guys can do 22! Like we said, we don’t often toot our own horn, but we feel like this is something truly special.
We’ll let the quality of the work speak for itself. Next week, you’ll be able to download this double-sized issue at no additional cost - 99 cents for the digital copy (and $5 for the print edition when it’s released), and we challenge you to find a better value in independent comics. Heck, even in mainstream comics! Maybe we come off as overzealous, here, but we hope our excitement is contagious and that everyone can feel as happy as we do after the book comes out.
One more blog post before the release and it’s gonna be a doozy, so we’ll see you here next week for more!
Working Feverishly-
Adam & Comfort
CommentsUniques: Off to OhayoCon!
Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:27:44 GMT
Okay, now that that’s done with, let us announce that after a looooong convention-free winter, the two of us are finally off to OhayoCon for the first time! Saints be praised, we really needed this cash influx!
A preview image of Del's drawing and David Delanty's color on The Uniques Tales 1920's story set to release in March.
One of Del's finished images. Just look at that level of awesome - how can you not be impressed'!
CommentsUniques: More Issue 9 Snippets
Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:57:26 GMT
So here; have some more preview panels to whet your appetite. We've got work to do.
-Adam & Comfort
CommentsUniques: Big Issue 9 Update
Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:08:46 GMT
Now, onward to UNIQUES MADNESS!!!
We’ve been basically locked up in our study for weeks now while focusing entirely on finishing Uniques #9. And progress is… good. All pencils have been finished for a while now, and all but one page of primary color is done. That means it’s a background bonanza at the Hobbit Hole 2.0.
In the “More Good News” column, this thing is looking awesome. We seriously can not wait to hear back from people once it’s out, because we’ve managed to really impress ourselves and we’re hoping that translates into really impressing other people.
We’re cruising toward a February release for this issue, and will definitely have hard-copies available at the Emerald City Comic Con and the Comic Geek Speak Super Show (two great cons, two REALLY long names). And want to know something awesome' This double-sized, 53-page awestravaganza will be available for no additional dollars! That’s right, Uniques #9 will be available for $5 in print and $0.99 in digital. How’s that for Bang for your Buck'
Now enjoy the final cover for the issue and some random panels. Some of these you’ve seen before, now see them (mostly) finished!
-Adam & Comfort
CommentsUniques: CCA Update and Uniques Tales stuff
Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:25:52 GMT
Like we said last week, we’re asking all of you to give a little something. It doesn’t have to be a lot - seriously! Not like sometimes when people say "you don't have to give much" and then look at you funny when you give them a dollar-- we would actually LOVE that dollar! Heck, if everybody who reads this blog gave a dollar, we'd be responsible for raising, what' Twelve bucks' Fifteen' It's something! The leftover money you may have from not buying crappy comics on New Comic Wednesday, the change from in your couch, that fin you lifted from grams because you wanted that jazzy new magagazine... whatever you can spare - it all helps.
Just go to the Comic Creator Alliance website and click on the donate button. And as an added bonus you can get one of these nifty desktop images (greyscale or color) in full-resolution ultra-shininess that we and 87 other creators made images for. You can spot Telepath in there around the far-right/center area.
In all seriousness, this cause represents a major, major issue that a lot of people don't even realize exists. Even just educating yourself as an arming against ignorance is a step in the right direction. /end preachyness
--Uniques Tales: Update!--
As we continue to get closer and closer to finishing issue #9 of The Uniques, we are simultaneously working on our newest venture 'The Uniques Tales' along with 30 other creators including Jenny Frison, Lora Innes (founder of the Creator’s Comic Alliance) and Min Rho.
Not only will you get 9 spectacular stories bringing you from the 20’s to the 90’s in The Uniques timeline, shining light on historical events and personages that helped shape our comic universe, but you’ll also be seeing several other characters of importance for the first time. Characters like The Ambassador - an on-and-off member for the League of Seven; an Iranian heroine considered by some to be a living goddess.
The Ambassador rough sketch by Min Rho
With these pinups, we intend to create more entries for our old 'Better Know a Unique' series, adding more information to the world and characters of The Uniques. To say the least, we are very excited about this project, and can’t wait to show you more.
Until next time,
Adam and Comfort
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