ASH: Coherent Super Stories #38 - License to Nil

[Andrew Perron]

On 9/11/2015 9:33 PM, Dave Van Domelen wrote:
<snip>
> [Excerpt from "ASH Origins: Coherent Comics' Second Heroic Age" hardcover,
> published 2008, Coherent Comics]

Yay, more fictional history of the comic book industry!

> It was agreed that the result, despite having been
> undertaken seriously, came out looking like a parody anyway, so a name change
> would satisfy the legalities.
>       So, reprinted for the first time since its initial release in 1975, we
> present the sole issue of Henry Stanley Seagull!

Heeheehee. You know, I've never read or seen Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Maybe 
I should - it sounds like a trip.

>       That is my curse.  I see the world for the falsity that it is, and yet I
> cannot stop caring for those who may be no more than part of that Illusion.

Bodhiseagull?

>       "You seek to be free, Henry.  But you do not realize how fully ensnared
> you are.  Your senses are an illusion.  Your body, which wracks you so
> painfully, is an illusion.  Reality itself is an illusion, given power by
> your belief in it.  So long as you stay in the trap of the Illusion, you are
> forever bound by its cruel rules and limits.  But sleep now...you cannot
> escape the trap in one moment, and you will need rest and time before you can
> begin your true training."

Yeah, sounds accurate.

>       "He who would see beyond the veil of Illusion will often be derided as a
> fool.  Of course, fools are also derided as fools, so don't let a little
> potential blind you to your many shortcomings," the finch warned.

Also a good point.

>       "I must.  This isn't ego, I'm not returning home to show them that I was
> right and they were wrong.  I have no intention of trying to convince them
> all about the Illusion...I can see how pointless that would be.  But I sought
> freedom because of an obligation I did not wish to be free of.  The world is
> full of monsters, monsters that my people have no defense against.  What good
> is freedom if I lose my reasons for wanting it?"

Definitely a Bodhisattva.

>       But their war upon each other still threatens the Beach, and the Cliff.
> When they slay one another over land, the carcass strikes the ground with a
> great burst of fire worse than a lightning bolt.  I pick my targets
> carefully, slaying them over open water, where only bad luck might kill a
> fellow gull.
>       I will make them take their war elsewhere.  Their war may be only part
> of the Illusion, but it is a part that I will protect my kin from.  For only
> when I know they are safe from monsters can I let myself be truly Free.

Ahhhhh, how Golden Age.

>       Seriously, 1970s licensed comics could get pretty weird.  Particularly
> the Marvel ones.  The Champions of Los Angeles versus Godzilla, who had
> all-new antagonists because the license didn't include any other kaiju.
> Shogun Warriors teaming up with the Fantastic Four.  The monolith from 2001
> awakening Machine Man.

Jack Kirby 2001 is on my list of Things To Read.

>       This particular story was inspired by taking one of those online
> quizzes, this one being about "Books You Should Not Be Proud To Have Read."

Bah. Reading is something you should always be proud of.

>       I wrote this story based solely on what memories I retained of Jonathan
> Livingston Seagull after an interval of about thirty years, I didn't even
> read the Wikipedia summary (although I did look up the publication date).
> After all, why be more true to source than any other 70s licensed comic?  My
> heavily faded memories felt to me like the story was kind of a superhero
> origin story already, so not a big jump to this piece....

Makes sense. <3

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, spacetime seagull subversion!