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Post by DocQuantum on Jun 21, 2020 18:47:31 GMT
I'd really like to get the 5 Earths website active again with regular articles being published. In the past, I've taken a few stabs at it haphazardly, and Lee wrote one article, too. But I could never think of what to write. I'm not all that interested in writing just promo pieces featuring older/new stories that could use a second look, though there's definitely room for that, but in something that's both more interesting for a general audience of Pre-Crisis DC fans.
The idea came to me: Our stories (and discussions here) often focus on continuity, especially continuity that isn't well known by the public. We do a great job of researching and bringing to light a lot of lesser-known continuity. So why not start writing articles explaining continuity?
Many of those articles could touch on stories that have already delved into them, such as how Jor-El and Lara survived the destruction of Krypton, which ties in to Superman: The Unkindest Cut.
How about an article that explains how Lana Lang has been said to be an only child, yet in 1950s Superboy stories she is shown to have a brother, each time a different child who appears alone, resulting in three possible brothers: Alvin, Ronald, and Larry? Is this her actual brother or a cousin who lived with the family? And was it just one brother/cousin or three? That's a good article to explore right there. Someone in one of the Facebook groups I'm involved in mentioned that a letters page in a Lois Lane comic (or another Superman family comic) explained that these brothers were actually cousins, but I've yet to track that down, something I'd love to find in order to build an article around.
Another article could try to explain just who Nasthalia Luthor really is -- Lex's niece, or someone else?
John's lists of various legendary/historical figures' appearances and other interesting things could be articles of their own as well.
So many possibilities.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Jun 22, 2020 12:45:43 GMT
I'm so flattered. I might consider posted some of my lists as articles. Should we just write them as threads and post them on this forum, the same as we do with stories? By the way, I know I still have one or two of them to re-read and edit, but some of my finished stories still need to be added to the site. That would also make it more active  |
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Post by starskyhutch76 on Jun 22, 2020 18:56:38 GMT
I was thinking about Nasthalia Luthor. We should have just said she was his second cousin and given their age difference, she didn't feel comfortable just calling him by his first name.
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Post by dans on Jun 23, 2020 0:15:22 GMT
What other kinds of articles might people who visit a fan fiction site be interested in? There are probably 5EP-related topics that some of us might be interested in writing, but I'm drawing a blank on topics right now...
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Post by jonclark on Jun 23, 2020 6:05:57 GMT
What other kinds of articles might people who visit a fan fiction site be interested in? There are probably 5EP-related topics that some of us might be interested in writing, but I'm drawing a blank on topics right now... One idea might be to do articles actually tied to some of the stories. One of my favorite fan fic writers DarkMark used to have a sort of index page at the end of his stories that gave like short blurb about the characters used. Dynamite had a few series that played with old continuity that did the same. Something like: Tabitha Stephens was a character from Bewitched (1964-1972) and Tabitha (1977-1978). She first appeared as the infant daughter of witch Samantha and mortal Darrin Stephens on Bewitched in January 1966 and appeared through the remaining seasons of the show played mostly by Erin Murphy. The character was revived for the 1977 Tabitha as a 20-something adult with powers and problems similar to her mother. or Nasthalia "Nasty" Luthor was the supposed niece of Lex Luthor introduced as a rival to Supergirl in Adventure Comics #397. After an initial appearance leading a motorcycle gang as part of a plan to kill Supergirl, Nasty largely served as a foil to Supergirl's secret identity of Linda Danvers. She vanished from the chronicles after Supergirl left San Francisco in Adventure Comics #424. She returned in Libby's Supergirl: Spellbound It would be a mini-Who's Who meant to give just enough info to explain to a new reader who the "obscure" characters were for the purposes of the story and point them to where they can find more information. It wouldn't need to include major characters like Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom and the like (though it could). It would just be a little file added to a story. It could also add in any notes an author wanted- like explaining that Nasthalia Luthor never having an in-story explanation of just how she is related to Lex or why "our" origin of Gorilla City contradicts the one in DC Superstars #14. |
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Post by johnreiter902 on Jun 23, 2020 13:31:14 GMT
I always though we should add a "Who's Who" to the 5 Earths wiki. In addition to adding to the timelines, I'd love to write up background information for all the characters, something like Marveldirectory.
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Post by jonclark on Jun 23, 2020 19:34:50 GMT
I always though we should add a "Who's Who" to the 5 Earths wiki. In addition to adding to the timelines, I'd love to write up background information for all the characters, something like Marveldirectory. I agree with the need for a Who's Who. Thing is that would be a massive undertaking. That's why I limited my suggestion to something like just adding small blurbs for characters used in a particular story. Writing a Who's Who for Batman or Superman is less research intensive, but not as likely to be needed. Writing a Who's Who for the Purple Piledriver, John Achilles, or Sally Selwyn might require more research and unless we were using the character be wasted effort. If we were going for a group effort, I'd say an index of appearances might be a better start. Something that might help us keep track of whether Val Colby was used and where so writers don't "bring back" an obscure character only to accidentally miss that Libby or Harvey already used them and set up a more current status quo. |
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Post by Dave B on Jun 24, 2020 3:33:42 GMT
I'd be happy to write some for those pre superhero golden age characters that I've included in my stories.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Jun 24, 2020 12:44:42 GMT
I always though we should add a "Who's Who" to the 5 Earths wiki. In addition to adding to the timelines, I'd love to write up background information for all the characters, something like Marveldirectory. I agree with the need for a Who's Who. Thing is that would be a massive undertaking. That's why I limited my suggestion to something like just adding small blurbs for characters used in a particular story. Writing a Who's Who for Batman or Superman is less research intensive, but not as likely to be needed. Writing a Who's Who for the Purple Piledriver, John Achilles, or Sally Selwyn might require more research and unless we were using the character be wasted effort. If we were going for a group effort, I'd say an index of appearances might be a better start. Something that might help us keep track of whether Val Colby was used and where so writers don't "bring back" an obscure character only to accidentally miss that Libby or Harvey already used them and set up a more current status quo. I actually have been compiling an index of appearances for nearly a hundred supervillains, ever since I started reading the 5 Earths stories. |
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