RACCIES: Tom Russell's Eligibles for 2006
Tom Russell
milos_parker at yahoo.com
Tue Nov 28 14:08:11 PST 2006
TOM RUSSELL'S 2006 ELIGIBLES
Yes, friends, it's that time of year again: the end of
it. :-)
An excellent time to take stock of what one has
accomplished. I must say that 2006 has been a fairly
productive year for me on all fronts: I have well over
forty videos for your perusal on You Tube, I have a
few articles of some considerable length over on
Monitor Duty-- and then, of course, there's my first
love, RACC.
So, if you have a few minutes, I'll take you through
the stories I've written this year, and tell you what
I think of them.
EIGHTFOLD
The Green Knight # 4-7
The second half of the 2005 RACCie Winner for
Favourite Miniseries. The entire thing is available
in the (to my mind, superior) "Green Knight: Bread and
Lentils" TEB. Because it won last year's award before
it was even finished, I'd like to ask that you refrain
from nominating it a second time.
The Green Knight Annual # 1
The annual, on the other hand... :-)
I really like this story, in which Martin Rock,
accused of the murder of Anders Cradle, adopts the
Green Knight identity and clears his name, rescuing
the very alive (but still very snotty) Anders in the
process. I think it's a cracking good adventure
story-- and, looking back over the years, I'd say it's
the first adventure story I've ever written. Not bad
for a first time.
This would be eligible for favourite single issue,
if it strikes your fancy.
This issue also sees the first appearance of
supporting cast member Roy Riddle, the pastor who is
privy to Martin's secrets and allows him to live in
the secret room beneath his church. Roy's modesty
prevents him from asking for your nomination for
either favourite supporting or favourite new
character.
Jolt City # 1-4
(# 4 coming this December.)
The story of Martin (Green Knight) Rock continues
in this NEW ongoing series. The first issue is pretty
lame, and I don't see why anyone would nominate it for
anything.
But with the second, third, and fourth issues, I
think I've really hit my stride. I think these are
good, perfectly thrilling adventure stories, worthy
sequels to the annual. I'm especially proud of the
somewhat off-beat # 3, which technically has no
"adventure" or "mystery" like the others.
The Nostalgics # 1-3
Back in September, I dismissed this as "RACCie
bait", referring not to some insatiable lust for
nonexistent statuettes, but rather to the fact that I
started this story not as something I absolutely
needed to write or wanted to read, but because I
thought others might like it. I will finish this
story-- the confession of a traitor amidst a team of
superheroes-- and I might even post a fourth issue
soon. But if I was in your position, personally, I
wouldn't nominate it for anything.
Fuchsia Grabbag Surprise # 1-3
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Journey Into... # 2-3
The second issue details the origin of the Human
Zeppelin. Here we introduce such characters as
Docrates the Mighty Supragato, the Cloning Contessa,
and the Seven Wonders. More of a comedy story, which
only goes to show you that Eightfold is more than just
people crying about distant father figures.
The third issue is more serious, though it still
has a Silver Age vibe. It tells the story of
Fleetfeet and his battle to maintain his secret
identity. There are some parts of this story that I
like, and some concepts that I still find intriguing.
But, on a whole, the Human Zeppelin story is stronger
and more unique, with a sharper sense of prose style.
Journey Into... Annual # 1
The 80-page giant, the Santa Claus stories. It's
too soon for me to make any kind of judgment on this,
one way or the other. But I think I did alright by
the challenge I set for myself-- that is, to tell a
good story that's plot-based, child-like, and depends
on flat characters.
LNH
Net.heroes on Parade TEB # 1-5
I did an extensive rewrite of my old series,
Net.heroes on Parade, boiling the text down to its
essence and often reworking huge chunks of purple
prose into a colour that's slightly less offensive to
the eyes. I don't think it's eligible for anything,
as there's no RACCie for Best Rewrite/Redux, but I
didn't do it to win a RACCie. I did it because I felt
the story could be better. And, looking at it now? I
think it's a thousand times better than the old
series.
You should give it a look-- you'd want to be caught
up before next year's eventual relaunch.
Legion of Net.Heroes # 12, 15, 18
Legion of Net.Heroes # 14, 16 (back-ups)
I think # 12-- the Anniversary story-- is the best
of this lot. It's all standard LNH fare: decent prose
in the service of jokes, jokes, and more jokes.
Having reread # 18-- the Catalyst
Lass/Self-Righteous Preacher story-- recently, I can
say that I think more of it now than I did when I
posted it. Nice character based piece. Introduces
Megachurch Man, the second Useless Powers Lad, and the
Imperfect Duplicator machine.
Master Blaster Special # 1-3, 5-7
Quite possibly the most offensive LNH stories ever
written. If you like that kind of thing, give it a
nom. And I just want to thank Martin Phipps for
letting me cross the line with his character. I think
Master Blaster would be an excellent candidate for
Favourite Protagonist (or Antagonist, for that
matter), because of the varied work that Martin,
myself, and Jamas Enright has done with him.
Pigs in Time # 1-2 (co-wrote)
"The Greatest Series in LNH History!" :-)
Truth be told, Martin kinda took this series over.
I wrote part of # 1, and most of # 2. He has probably
a half-dozen issues already done, and he's just
waiting for me to write # 3. Just can't seem to bring
myself to do it.
Still, I think it's a decent enough
sequel/companion to Gary St. Lawrence's
immortal/immoral PIGS IN SPACE.
Adventures Beyond Comprehension # 4 (co-wrote)
This is really Jesse Willey's story. I just did
some editing, shifted some text around, and tried to
minimize the Mary Sue like infallibility of Dalton
Asters.
Haiku Gorilla # 1-296
The epic, the man, the monkey-- well, gorilla.
Haiku Gorilla is an extremely frustrating and
extremely rewarding series. I think it holds up very
well, and it seems to be the most popular and
accessible thing I've ever written.
Feel free to nominate it for favourite series,
favourite new series, or favourite new character
(Haiku Gorilla, natch). I think Briefcase-Eater Lad
makes a fine Antagonist, and I'm just glad Jamie Rosen
let me borrow him.
There have been three storylines-- Unjaned Melody
(the origin story), The Death of Pants Rabbit Lad (how
H.G. joined the LNH) and Support Your Local Gorilla
(H.G. runs for Net.ropolis State Senator).
I'm very proud of all three. TEBs coming in
January (Apes Month!).
Speaking of Pants Rabbit Lad...
The Coming of Pants Rabbit Lad
Pants Rabbit Lad: Author's Day
Pants Rabbit Lad: Easily-Discovered Ham
Pants Rabbit Lad: Whatever Happened to Suicide
Werewolf?
Pants Rabbit Lad & Master Blaster: The Vagina That Ate
Net.ropolis
I actually killed Pants Rabbit Lad off _before_ he
made his first on-screen appearance. While he's been
mentioned sporadically since 1997, he never actually
appeared. And I've been wondering all this time why
he never took off!
And so, I've been presenting in these specials and
in LNH back-up stories, retroactive adventures of
Pants Rabbit Lad. I'm still not really sure what I'm
doing with the character, if he in fact has a
personality at all. But I think Coming of Pants
Rabbit Lad is good for a few chuckles, and the last
two stories-- both answers to my own Vocab-Challenge--
show some promise.
Though he made his first actual appearance in Haiku
Gorilla this year, I don't think he's eligible for
Favourite New Character. Someone'll have to consult
the rules. :-)
Web of Mainstream Man # 1-6
Miniseries about the LNHer who only reads
mainstream comics, and what happens when he has to
fend for himself, bereft of his support network.
Mildly amusing and amiable. Good for a quick,
disposable read now and then. Favourite miniseries?
Well, there haven't been too many minis this year that
I can recall, other than Killfile Wars. So if it
wins, it'd be less because it's great and more because
no one else showed up. :-)
MISC
Just Imagine... 2 # 2
Or, the First Appearance of Haiku Gorilla
(collectors, take note!). :-)
RACCCAFE
RACCQUEST # 2, 3.1
I honestly don't remember anything about these. :-)
UNFINISHED SENTENCE-VERSE
Unfinished Sentence-Verse # 3, 5, 7, 9
I think I may have killed this series with my
enthusiasm for it, the same way Willey and I basically
killed RACCCAFE back in the day with our infantilism.
Sorry on both counts.
As for Tom Russell...
I've already disqualified myself from the Rabbit
Breeder's Cup, apropos Haiku Gorilla. Please, no
votes or nominations in that category.
And I'm not going to say "don't nominate me for
favourite author"-- but, y'know, I _did_ win it last
year. (And I'm very thankful for that, still
teary-eyed to this day.) Why not nominate another
author instead, give them the chance?
==Tom
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\ RUSSELL /
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- turtleneckfilms.blogspot.com ------
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-------fun sites to visit------------
----- www.wilsego.com/racc ----------
----- www.monitorduty.com -----------
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_LNH -------
youtube.com/profile?user=therussells
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see the zombie sitcom, NED & SUNSHINE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fen83bl8jSw
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