Bronze Meddling Wave 12: The Brynocki Wave [pg. 19]

[buttheadsmate]

E .

[elhonez]

__ A __ __ E __     A __ __ A __ __ __ __ __

Guessed: A, C, E, M, R

[cylonchaney]

Muddled in my previous ramblings there was a guess of "S".

[buttheadsmate]

D 

[elhonez]

__ A __ __ E D     ASSASS __ __ S

Guessed: A, C, D, E, M, R, S

[buttheadsmate]

I 

[elhonez]

__ A I __ E D     ASSASSI __ S

Guessed: A, C, D, E, I, M, R, S

[buttheadsmate]

Failed Assassins ?

[elhonez]

BOOM.

And... I am not ready with a photo yet. Poor planning means a final part isn't coming until Saturday. But they're all done save for this part (well, pair of parts).

Failed Assassins because, as previously noted, Shang-Chi's dad Fu Manchu was a dick. A typical plot of a typical issue would involve some new hot-headed assassin showing up to kill Shang-Chi, only to be promptly dispatched in an often permanent fashion. This book definitely did not shy away from killing in self-defense, and Shang-Chi was no Batman. 

With that though, there are a couple of sympathetic characters, including the "anchor" for this wave. This anchor was actually the target of the assassination attempt by the "army builders" of this wave.

So you know Death-Dealer is done. Then there is the anchor, a sympathetic character, an army builder, the army builder's boss, and then three more would-be assassins who did not get the job done. 

Edited October 10, 2024 by elhonez

[cylonchaney]

I usually drop a "Nice work" or something. But let me tell you elhonez, you are killing it. From the volume of your customs, to the quality of them, to the photography, and theming. The Hang-mate announcement. It all comes together impressively and I look forward to your new releases.

And all that playing to the limited audience of today's Multiverse. You're obviously not doing it for the praise or you'd pick a more popular line.

I think that's one of the things I like about customs posted these days. People are obviously doing it for their own reasons. It's certainly not for the attention one gets. Great job all around! I wish there were more fans for you to hear that from.

[elhonez]

Hey @cylonchaney, thank you. It means a lot to read that. And very insightful. While I will no doubt continue to barrel ahead regardless, it is always encouraging to see kind words and appreciation for the effort I put into my customs. So my humble thanks to you and the others here who participate for your support.

Sure, it would be great to have more eyes or engagement, but as you rightly point out that's not my primary motivating factor. I do this for the love: love of the characters and their stories, love of MiniMates as a format, and love of the challenge of combining and transforming existing parts to make these characters.

[elhonez]

 

Failed Assassins!

Death-Dealer and Shadow Slasher.

Death-Dealer didn't deal death, and Shadow Slasher didn't even use a slashing weapon IIRC. Nodding to my QC past, I still like to use existing portraits when they make sense. So yes, that's Mirror Spock.

Korain and Tiger Claw.

Korain was a pain in the ass to paint, but worth the effort. Tiger Claw I had shared in an incomplete state before, but here he is with sharper paint and a better shade of yellow.

Sandra Chen and Black Demon Sect.

Sandra was an interesting character -- she was a skilled martial artist who ran a dojo. Her dad was under some threat by Fu Manchu, so Shang-Chi was enlisted to help. He ended up getting dosed on some heavy hallucinogenic and accidentally killing her with a single punch. Not very heroic. It would/should have been an interesting plot point to follow up on, but I'm not sure that it ever was. The Black Demon Sect were nemeses to Black Jack Tarr. 

Black Demon Leader (Anna) and Black Jack Tarr.

Black Jack is the big anchor of this wave, and a good buddy of Shang-Chi. Per ComicVine.com, he appeared in 86 of the 111 issues of MOKF. He was MI-6. Anna was his ex-girlfriend, and hell hath no fury... [etc.], as is evidenced by her running the Black Demon Sect to ambush and attempt to kill BJT. These obviously use Killmonger helmets, and I'm so glad they exist so I could make these.

[Kotter Comics]

OH

MY

GOD

Those are amazing. I don't know who any of those characters are, but I want them all!

I actually checked out a MOKF Epic Collection trade paperback from my library, but got swamped with work and didn't get to it. I may have to go back just based on how amazing these figures are.

Great work as always.

[Kotter Comics]

Korain and Black Demon Leader are giving me "What If the Avengers had formed in Japan" vibes (Goliath and Scarlet Witch respectively).

Edited October 13, 2024 by Kotter Comics

[luke314pi]

Those are stunning! 

[cylonchaney]

I refer back to my previous comment.

Too bad Mr. PL is not around anymore. He would have definitely liked the top right one.

[elhonez]

13 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

Too bad Mr. PL is not around anymore. He would have definitely liked the top right one.

Ha! Tigers rule.

[elhonez]

17 hours ago, Kotter Comics said:

Korain and Black Demon Leader are giving me "What If the Avengers had formed in Japan" vibes (Goliath and Scarlet Witch respectively).

It's funny... earlier today I drove by an Ikea store and had the thought that Korain could be a mascot. Blue and yellow is a pretty arresting color scheme. Who else has it? Blue Diamond, Goliath... ?

The Black Demon Sect make me think someone tried to clone Ronald McDonald but some Hamburglar DNA got mixed in (and maybe some Victor Zsasz).

I will say that having reviewed so much of this series to plan these waves, I think it's pretty under-appreciated. When I was younger I remember being put off a bit by Paul Gulacy's aesthetic, but I now acknowledge his talent and innovation. Lots of stunning and ambitious two-page spreads, a great gritty style that was well aligned with this material, moody and expressive light and shadow. @Kotter Comics definitely worth picking up again!

Thanks as always Cylon, and thanks to you Luke as well, especially since I'm sure many of these parts were purchased from your store.

[elhonez]

Oy, this next batch. Lots of gluing, so some of the pieces feel a bit less stable. I found a solve for some by cutting little recesses into parts with an x-acto before adding glue, but it's all a work-in-progress.

Also a tremendous amount of painting, or it least it feels like it.

I should be done with these before the new year. It will be called Si-Fan Legacy, which I offer only because with such a weird proper name it didn't feel "fair" to HangMate.

It's got some fun stuff. A Big Bad. A Key Ally. More assassins, because Shang-Chi's dad is such an unbelievable asshole. One is maybe more of a bodyguard.

Two characters are currently un-useable by Marvel on account of being part of the Sax Rohmer estate. One arguably has an MCU counterpart. But only arguably. Just two have had modern appearances (past the original run of MOKF). And this includes the one who might have an MCU counterpart.

[buttheadsmate]

S 

[cylonchaney]

i

[elhonez]

HOW DID YOU KNOW?!?!?

[elhonez]

On 11/13/2024 at 12:31 PM, elhonez said:

I should be done with these before the new year month.

 

[Kotter Comics]

Nice! Look forward to seeing them.

[cylonchaney]

37 minutes ago, Kotter Comics said:

Nice! Look forward to seeing them.

Indeed.