Superheroes are already fantasy, but why stop there?
As a kid, I was, no surprise, the biggest Super Friends fan going. One of the show's hallmarks (like the Justice League comics that inspired it) was the way in which the larger assembly of heroes would divide into smaller groups to tackle simultaneous crises. I loved seeing who went with who each time, and made up my own mental wish-list sub-groupings.
Today, I still love this about the medium—and its inventive derivations.
My first online stop of the day is Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues, a daily dose of fictional meetings of fictional characters (as opposed to the "real" meetings of fictional characters that play out in comics, movies, and TV shows).
A labor of love by Ross Pearsall, it combines characters who (usually) haven't co-starred in an actual published story. Ross doesn't limit himself to superheroes; his covers also tap popular figures from science fiction, action-adventure, comic strips, rock music, and more.
Many of the pairings are inspired (Dr. Mid-Nite and Moon Knight) and sometimes batsplat crazy (Vibe joins the Monkees). The digital mojo on display is seamless, plus Ross has a gift for clever wordplay; the titles of his fake stories are spot-on.
Ross may rue the day I discovered his work because I regularly send him unsolicited suggestions. A guy who teamed up Huntress and Darkman and Godzilla and Boba Fett and Peanuts and Tiny Titans is obviously is not lacking for inspiration.
Still, he humors me, and sometimes even runs with one of my suggestions. (Sometimes it turns out that he beat me to it—either a team-up that was already up but I missed or one already in the works. Geek minds think alike.)
Ideas I proposed:
As a kid, I was, no surprise, the biggest Super Friends fan going. One of the show's hallmarks (like the Justice League comics that inspired it) was the way in which the larger assembly of heroes would divide into smaller groups to tackle simultaneous crises. I loved seeing who went with who each time, and made up my own mental wish-list sub-groupings.
Today, I still love this about the medium—and its inventive derivations.
My first online stop of the day is Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues, a daily dose of fictional meetings of fictional characters (as opposed to the "real" meetings of fictional characters that play out in comics, movies, and TV shows).
A labor of love by Ross Pearsall, it combines characters who (usually) haven't co-starred in an actual published story. Ross doesn't limit himself to superheroes; his covers also tap popular figures from science fiction, action-adventure, comic strips, rock music, and more.
Many of the pairings are inspired (Dr. Mid-Nite and Moon Knight) and sometimes batsplat crazy (Vibe joins the Monkees). The digital mojo on display is seamless, plus Ross has a gift for clever wordplay; the titles of his fake stories are spot-on.
Ross may rue the day I discovered his work because I regularly send him unsolicited suggestions. A guy who teamed up Huntress and Darkman and Godzilla and Boba Fett and Peanuts and Tiny Titans is obviously is not lacking for inspiration.
Still, he humors me, and sometimes even runs with one of my suggestions. (Sometimes it turns out that he beat me to it—either a team-up that was already up but I missed or one already in the works. Geek minds think alike.)
Ideas I proposed:
(though the main co-star is the other Thing)
(both space captains)
(namely Sword of the Atom)
(both archaeologists)
(hers and his hyphenates)
(see also #1788)
(kindred spirit to my suggestion of
Fantastic Four and Inferior Five vs. Secret Six...
but then see two covers down)
(on one-year anniversary of Bill getting official credit)
(I proposed Swamp Thing and Yoda on Dagobah)
(see also #1464)
(I proposed Tarzan and B'wana Beast because of a similar aesthetic—
underpants-only costumes)
(a common request;
see also #2343 below)
(both long-overdue headliners of recent [this posted in April 2018]
highly successful films about royal superheroes who are not white men)
(lightning and thunder)
(I proposed the Justice League of Aliens:
Superman, Spock, Yoda, ET,
Superman, Spock, Yoda, ET,
Mork, ALF, Marvin the Martian)
(see also #2184 above)
(both boldly going where no one
has gone before)
(I first proposed Lois Lane and Little Lulu,
then this)
(I've proposed multiple pairs within this group,
mostly with Frozone or Elsa)
(both members of the Space-Time Five)
(I proposed Mr. Bones/Ghost Rider vs. Atomic Skull/Skeletor)
Batman and Robin and the Fonz (jumping the King Shark)
(I suggested Aquaman and the Fonz—both Arthurs—jumping the King Shark)
(I suggested Aquaman and the Fonz—both Arthurs—jumping the King Shark)
(I proposed only Woody and Groot)
(Captain America, Air Wave, Alvin, Atom Ant,
Amazing Man, Captain Avenger, Atomic Mouse;
I proposed calling them the "All-New A-Team"
and included a wild card—Hester Prynne)
(I proposed Amazing Spider-Man and Amazing Man...and 'Mazing Man)
(I proposed Aquaman and Yellow Submarine)
(I have proposed Clark Kent with
Peter Parker, Dick Tracy, Harry Potter, Hulk;
though this is not one of those pairings,
I am including here because it is the
first time the Clark logo has appeared on the blog)
(I proposed only Swamp Thing and Kermit and,
separately, Swamp Thing and Yoda)
Mister Miracle and Daredevil (with three others)
(I proposed only Mister Miracle and Daredevil)
(I proposed Flash, Gorilla Grodd, and Planet of the Apes)
My executed suggestions, by the numbers (as of 9/28/24):
Most
6x
Spider-Man
Tarzan
5x
Superman
Daredevil
Black Panther
By category
DC
5x
Superman
4x
Deadman
3x
Batman
Flash
Aquaman
2x
Green Lantern
Swamp Thing
Atom
Hawkman
Firestorm
Vixen
Katana
Red Tornado
Mister Miracle
Challengers of the Unknown
Adam Strange
Wildcat
Amazing-Man
Marvel
6x
Spider-Man
5x
Daredevil
Black Panther
3x
Storm
2x
Wolverine
Fantastic Four
Ghost Rider
Winter Soldier
Dazzler
Hanna-Barbera
2x
Scooby-Doo
Dynomutt
Hong Kong Phooey
other animation
2x
He-Man
Samurai Jack
movies
2x
King Kong
Luke Skywalker
Han Solo
Indiana Jones
Captain Avenger
other
6x
Tarzan
2x
Beatles
Flash Gordon
Rocketeer (actually 3, but one team-up is repeated)
Greatest American Hero
All art copyright its respective original creators. All team-up alchemy credit to Ross. Keep it going, Ross!
3 comments:
Still no pairing of Doctor Strange with Adam Strange?
At least once: http://braveandboldlost.blogspot.com/2013/04/adam-strange-and-doctor-strange.html
I just want to say thank you for making all of those wonderful suggestions because I am as thrilled and enamored with Ross's work as you are and I hope he doesn't stop anytime soon.
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