Star Power VI: Shooting Stars (VORP VORP VORP)

[Vinyadan]

Welcome to the sixth thread discussing Star Power!

Noted Snarker Mewtarthio describes Star Power as follows:

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What is Star Power, you ask? Shut up! I'm the one asking the questions here!

Now, would you like me to tell you about Star Power? Star Power is a collaborative effort between Michael "Mookie" Terracciano and Garth "Delectable Eye-Organ Fruits" Graham. According to the website, it merges the majesty of hard sci-fi with the wonder of the Silver Age. If you have no idea how anyone could reconcile such disparate elements, don't worry: Neither do Garth and Mookie.

There's insane showbiz in the galaxy. Marica Maris has finally developed access to the whole of her insane Star-Granted power, turning into a TV celebrity and media sensation. She has now been invited by her mentor's favourite choirmaster, Mr. Hymn, to a private visit to his evil lair. At the same time, Marica's best friend coerced her into carrying along an ex-serial killer. Fun fact: Marica was his last target of execution!

Previous Threads

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Star Power Thread 1: Snarking Preemptively
Star Power II: The Ion, the Mitch and the Wormhole
Star Power III: Fail to the Void
Star Power IV: Boldly Bolding Where No Man Has Bolded Before!
Star Power V: The Final Yawntier

[Vinyadan]

BTW, the title is up for discussion ;)

[Kantaki]

Nice summary.
Although the criminal might be less of a threat than the conductor.

Because Hymn is seriously dangerous if that's how he reacts to someone's singing voice needing some work.
Seriously, I hope no one in his choir ever gets a cough or a sore throat.
I mean what's next?
„Your shirt is slightly wrinkled.” »pew«
„That guy over there is eating his eggs from the wrong end” »pew«
„This post has a uneven number of examples” »pew«

Also, unless this isn't so much Hymn's estate as Hymn's world there is the question how he gets away with this.
And even then...
I mean there are only so many „accidents” that can happen without someone getting curious.

Oh well, maybe the choir has to live on the estate and Hymn doesn't allow any distractions like contacts outside.

Or there'll be a twist and it's actually a stun gun and the poor guy just gets knocked out and shipped home.
Hymn just has a flair for the dramatic.

[random11]

This is stupid and I don't care.

THIS is what I was talking about!
More self aware silly villains and/or plots.

As long as the singer is really dead, I don't care about the reasons, the previous applicants, or how he keeps the blood stains out of the carpet.
(although, as a minor complaint, I would prefer a trap door to a shark tank, or at least a disintegrating ray gun)

I'll probably still remark on plot holes, but as long as this is the tone for the rest of the story, I'll at least have fun reading it and not just snarking about it.

[Celestia]

Marica Maris has finally developed access to the whole of her insane Star-Granted power, ...

I would be genuinely surprised if there are no more power upgrades.

[Traab]

It sure was nice of him to remove all mystery on his latest potential bad guy. Yep, he is bad.

[Onyavar]

Or there'll be a twist and it's actually a stun gun and the poor guy just gets knocked out and shipped home.
Hymn just has a flair for the dramatic.

That's a good idea. It really looks like a life gun, but if it's not then there are endless possibilities. Like, he can take over or correct the singer's voice with it. Maybe it's a mind controller or hypno-trainer like in those whacky 60ies Sf movies.

After all, there is no 'perfect' unless the singer knows exactly what the conductor is expecting of him. Inflection, pronounciation, nuances, when to breathe, adapting to the acoustics of the room... These are always guesswork unless they actually have trained together. And even perfectionists like Hymn would know that.

[Vinyadan]

Maybe it shoots mints.

[Zaq]

That . . . is a remarkably prosaic and mundane-looking gun. Comically so. It’s like they ran out of prop budget.

[Kato]

This is stupid and I don't care.

THIS is what I was talking about!
More self aware silly villains and/or plots.

I do kind of enjoy it. But my problem is.. I don't think the villain is self aware. Heck, I don't even think the author is aware of it. Of course even then it can still be entertaining but it's a "the room" kind of entertaining.

[Kantaki]

That . . . is a remarkably prosaic and mundane-looking gun. Comically so. It’s like they ran out of prop budget.

Well, it is a gun.
A weapon.
Prosaic and mundane is exactly what it should be.
Looking fancy is in the best case unnecessary and in the worst interferes with it's function.

Also, prosaic and mundane it may be, but it's still coordinated with Hymn's outfit.

[Welf]

That . . . is a remarkably prosaic and mundane-looking gun. Comically so. It’s like they ran out of prop budget.

It's a golden gun, that's something.

[ZeroiaSD]

Nice summary.
Although the criminal might be less of a threat than the conductor.

Because Hymn is seriously dangerous if that's how he reacts to someone's singing voice needing some work.
Seriously, I hope no one in his choir ever gets a cough or a sore throat.
I mean what's next?
„Your shirt is slightly wrinkled.” »pew«
„That guy over there is eating his eggs from the wrong end” »pew«
„This post has a uneven number of examples” »pew«

Also, unless this isn't so much Hymn's estate as Hymn's world there is the question how he gets away with this.
And even then...
I mean there are only so many „accidents” that can happen without someone getting curious.

Oh well, maybe the choir has to live on the estate and Hymn doesn't allow any distractions like contacts outside.

Or there'll be a twist and it's actually a stun gun and the poor guy just gets knocked out and shipped home.
Hymn just has a flair for the dramatic.

There is a difference between a temporary flaw, like a sickness or outfit, and being a bad singer. Clearly, one is inexcusible!



I imagine the gold gun's styling is based on a flair for the retro-dramatic...

I do kind of enjoy it. But my problem is.. I don't think the villain is self aware. Heck, I don't even think the author is aware of it. Of course even then it can still be entertaining but it's a "the room" kind of entertaining.

Seriously, this is the only place I see people say that kind of thing, and when I ask for examples it tends to come up pretty short. I think some of the people here have just talked themselves into viewing it that way where elsewhere people go, "Oh, yea, that's a pretty good comic!".

[guttering flame]

It's a golden gun, that's something.

Also it's anachronistic for this futuristic world. In other words, it's expensive and classy.

[PraetorDragoon]

Also it's anachronistic for this futuristic world. In other words, it's expensive and classy.

A golden antique, quite fancy and classy.

[Kato]

Seriously, this is the only place I see people say that kind of thing, and when I ask for examples it tends to come up pretty short. I think some of the people here have just talked themselves into viewing it that way where elsewhere people go, "Oh, yea, that's a pretty good comic!".

I am very aware my perception is somewhat influenced by other people pointing out problems with the comic I might have missed on my own (on the other hand I usually don't mind the art when others do) and I might be less forgiving when it comes to some problems I am willing to accept in other works... And I feel I'm one of the people who praise the comic once in a while.
Nonetheless, there are a bunch of valid problems with the comic, considering this is done by two professionals and which maybe do not make it terrible but average at best, at least when it comes to the overall writing.

[Celestia]

It's a golden gun, that's something.

It didn't used to be. It was black until the page was reuploaded.

[random11]

I do kind of enjoy it. But my problem is.. I don't think the villain is self aware. Heck, I don't even think the author is aware of it. Of course even then it can still be entertaining but it's a "the room" kind of entertaining.

I think this is a self aware story.
The villain itself may be completely oblivious to him being evil, maybe he just thinks it's his right as a famous man (we had enough recent examples from our world recently...)
Anyway, that doesn't really matter.
What matters is that this is obvious that Mookie sees him as a campy extreme villain.
This is not Lex Luthor with a dark history of an abusive father, that's Lex Luthor stealing pies and feeling completely justified doing so.

As long as tomorrow's update won't replace it with a stun gun or a similar shtick, I'll be happy.

[Zaq]

It's a golden gun, that's something.

Something something prox mines?

[Vinyadan]

Well, it sure isn't Lex Luthor losing his beautiful, luscious locks. https://static.comicvine.com/uploads...9263-lutho.jpg

More like this?: https://static.comicvine.com/uploads...thor_super.jpg

[ZeroiaSD]

I am very aware my perception is somewhat influenced by other people pointing out problems with the comic I might have missed on my own (on the other hand I usually don't mind the art when others do) and I might be less forgiving when it comes to some problems I am willing to accept in other works... And I feel I'm one of the people who praise the comic once in a while.
Nonetheless, there are a bunch of valid problems with the comic, considering this is done by two professionals and which maybe do not make it terrible but average at best, at least when it comes to the overall writing.

Keep in mind 'professional' webcomic writer means self-employed hobbiest who has to self-edit, and honestly, no, I don't think it's average at best. All the characters feel like, well, characters, and often interesting ones- I care about Danica, Grex, the Countess, etc.. I really dislike Bill *for the reason I'm supposed to dislike Bill*, it's not giving us different impressions than authors intent. The setting is consistent and continued to be gradually fleshed out. It also produces a number of 'heck yea!' moments (Mitch's gamble with the fake Star Powers) and just really cool moments (the Psi-Cop getting into the Countess's head), as well as good jokes (the Psi-cop TV show). Genrewise, I feel it does both superhero and space opera (with a mix of Trek and ME flavor) pretty well, though leaning more to the former.

When I ask questions on the specifics of problems, sometimes I get stuff that's wrong, other times I get stuff that just says the person wants a different genre approach, but in terms of actual plot holes or stuff that's bad as opposed to just-not-that-person's-cup-of-tea? Not so much, and someone not into a genre is not the best for telling how good something is *of* a genre.

Additionally, sometimes people talk about missed opportunities and present their own 'obviously better,' option, but my reaction to their suggestion, 'yea, that'd be cool, but I don't think what they did was better nor yours as obvious as you think, just, y'know, more your style, and the fact that the setting and characters is engaging you enough that you keep thinking of plot possibilities is not a mark against.'

... ok, admittedly, not all do I actually think sound cool compared to what we get, but that's fanwork for you.


I'm kinda left with people telling me, "No, trust me, it's bad/average/etc." Which... doesn't fit with my own experiences or more technical reviewing points or the reviews from webcomic and even general comic reviewers, and the fact that some of these come from people who clearly are more engaged with the setting than they're willing to admit and in a thread created to mock, well, it just looks much more to me like cultural inertia.


Consider the current storyline- Hymn's obviously a supervillain. The style and such says so. We were just waiting for him to show in what manner, and had different theories (some of which still might be true)- it was foreshadowed, and then when it happened, did we buy into it? Judging by the reaction, yes! Even though we knew it was coming for literally weeks- and honestly the webcomic format's slow release lends itself to harsher criticism since stories come in tiny bites.

"This is stupid and I don't care.

THIS is what I was talking about!" as random11

Making that type of reaction requires some skill, and it's clearly exactly what they were going for. And then in the Psi-Cop/Countess interview? Completely different tone, and it also hit exactly what it was going for. Black Hole Bill killing his ship? Ditto. Danica geeking out over astronomy? Same-o. There's so many scenes that they're hitting dead on, in fair variety, and you simply don't get that from crappy, or even average, writers.

I've seen big-named writers who don't suck manage to fail to give Dr. Doom the kind of flamboyant gravitas Hymn has here, and Doom's made of flamboyant gravitas.

[Celestia]

...So that's the work of the galaxy's greatest composer? I'm pretty sure even I could do better.

[Kato]

...So that's the work of the galaxy's greatest composer? I'm pretty sure even I could do better.

Well... Yeah. But I guess the music is the more important bit compared to the text. I think...


@Zeldoia: first off : you are very welcome to think the comic is better than I do. I always feel it's better to enjoy things than dislike them, as long as they are not harmful.
And I certainly won't claim starpower has no good bits. But it also has bad bits. And depending on the balance between those and how you weigh each, it can be good, bad, or average.
Things I consider lacking :
Just from last week or two, I already mentioned : Hymn apparently casually killing failing auditionees and nobody noticing/caring. Also, unless my social skills are even worse than I thought, the super contrived way of getting Burke to meet Danica.
Also, I'm not a huge fan of the real psi cop, or of Bill, and not because we're supposed to hate him.

Again, you're free to like it, love it or however you feel about it, but if I couldn't snark about it with other people here I would not bother to read it. It's not interesting enough for me in that regard.

[random11]

EVERYTHING sounds better when you sing it in Latin (or whatever)

[Kantaki]

EVERYTHING sounds better when you sing it in Latin (or whatever)

Well, duh.
You could sing (almost) complete gibberish and it would sound awesome.
Dead languages are awesome like that.

And Hymn's... hymn?
I could almost buy that the text is a translation.
Unfortunately no one told the translator that transcibing songs and poetry literally doesn't work.

Besides, even though that's not the case, it beats Star Trek. Those guys don't even have composers anymore.
Everyone only ever listens to stuff made in ancient times.
Or by aliens. Ancient aliens.

[Gez]

Hilariously, Star Power is used as an incentive to pay more for this PDF bundle.

Okay, they also have better incentives, too, I just hope for them SP doesn't work as a disincentive.

[Celestia]

Hilariously, Star Power is used as an incentive to pay more for this PDF bundle.

Okay, they also have better incentives, too, I just hope for them SP doesn't work as a disincentive.

Don't worry. They've got Wienersmith on there. Even if all the others suck, it's still worth it just for him. *sage nod&

[Neoriceisgood]

lmao these lyrics ...

I've never been a big fan of stories just throwing lyrics in there for songs, always skipped over those bits in LoTR; can't say that having Mookie write them helps me deal with it.


As for the Hymn villain reveal; I kinda feel like the fakeout "oh he's not really killing her" stuff so far kinda detracted from the moment he actually shot the guy on the last proper page?
With all the fake outs you'd think he was either not a villain, or the legit villain reveal would be something a lot more striking.

[Vinyadan]

EVERYTHING sounds better when you sing it in Latin (or whatever)

Let's try it out...

O PERFECTIO BENEDICTA

O perfectio benedicta
status suavis
quam nemo consequit
se ipsum amans

O perfectio benedicta
Arma deum
divarumque forma
infinitas elegans

O perfectio benedicta
mihi portus et perfugium
Carmen Musae meae
A mundo inauditum

O perfection benedicta
gloriam nuntia imminentem
diem novum proclama ardentem
Me destrue et gaude.


DESIDERARE ETERNUM

canat lux coris mei
animae tenebris eternibus
canat lux amoris mei
infinito desiderio nostro

desiderare eternum

sit lux coris mei
stella mundum illuminans
sit lux amoris mei
ignis in frigore solitudinis

desiderare eternum

lux et amor
desiderare eternum
lux et amor
domus infinita

desiderare eternum

Now, who wants to do some improv karaoke?

[Kantaki]

lmao these lyrics ...

I've never been a big fan of stories just throwing lyrics in there for songs, always skipped over those bits in LoTR; can't say that having Mookie write them helps me deal with it.


As for the Hymn villain reveal; I kinda feel like the fakeout "oh he's not really killing her" stuff so far kinda detracted from the moment he actually shot the guy on the last proper page?
With all the fake outs you'd think he was either not a villain, or the legit villain reveal would be something a lot more striking.

Come on, the songs in LotR are great. Without them there would really be missing something.

Agreed on Hymn though. That might've been more impressive if the story so far had been presented differently.
Offscreen(-ish) violence, breaking fancy toasters and Splatoon-larps gone wrong aren't a very good base for this sort of thing.

Let's try it out...

O PERFECTIO BENEDICTA

O perfectio benedicta
status suavis
quam nemo consequit
se ipsum amans

O perfectio benedicta
Arma deum
divarumque forma
infinitas elegans

O perfectio benedicta
mihi portus et perfugium
Carmen Musae meae
A mundo inauditum

O perfection benedicta
gloriam nuntia imminentem
diem novum proclama ardentem
Me destrue et gaude.


DESIDERARE ETERNUM

canat lux coris mei
animae tenebris eternibus
canat lux amoris mei
infinito desiderio nostro

desiderare eternum

sit lux coris mei
stella mundum illuminans
sit lux amoris mei
ignis in frigore solitudinis

desiderare eternum

lux et amor
desiderare eternum
lux et amor
domus infinita

desiderare eternum

Now, who wants to do some improv karaoke?

That. was. beautiful.
Way better than the original.
So myth confirmed I guess?