Looking back, it would have made sense to post the Annual on the one-year anniversary of Brat Pack #001, or at least before introducing The Basher in Issue #015, so his relevance is obvious. But it’s too late now, I guess.
Part 1 was actually the original Brat Pack story. But I decided it was too wordy, and hated it, before shelfing it, so I could refine it, and post it as a special of some description. (Or a flashback… The details are a little hazy). I went and read it again a few weeks ago, and decided it was actually pretty decent. It told the story I wanted, had the Brats interacting (mostly for the first time), and ripped off the Breakfast Club. Yes, the chapter title was also the song from the Breakfast Club, in case you guys didn’t get it…
Part 2 was my long-promised story focusing on the Dirty Baker’s Dozen… It was probably a low point for the Annual really, because even I don’t care that much about Epic (and he’s honestly supposed to be an Author Avatar of sorts). Epic is what I think I’d be like if I discovered I had super-powers. Complaining all the way, and then failing miserably anyway. But still calling it a win when the pretty girl pays some attention my way.
Part 3 was mostly for characterisation of the TDT. Especially Rose. Yes, that’s both her superhero name, and her real name. I do that a lot. I fleshed out Rose’s character a lot when I created her for a game of Mutants and Masterminds. The game didn’t go anywhere, but I had team-mates for her and my joke character Aperture, courtesy of my younger brother. This part was a bit of a downer, but I felt the characterisation was necessary. Thought I’d get it out of the way here, instead of dedicating an issue of <3C Presents to it.
Part 4 was seriously just a last minute thing. All of the background characters had a chapter, except for the one most featured in Brat Pack, Hyper Girl. So I flicked through my iTunes, and found 'Hyper-Insomnia' and decided to write about what Hyper Girl does when she can't sleep. That's about it. Any guesses as to which of the D13 people Matt was talking to?
Later Days
The Author
<3 Comics

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