Ok, first up… I apologise for the dig at the Avengers… I just got my Captain America Omnibus Hardcover, and was having a ‘Cap’ moment with Mr Perfect, and I thought a battle-cry was in order. Of course, nothing really fits ‘Brat Pack ‘, so I went with a joke. Because honestly, does anyone see Mr Universe or Firestorm taking him seriously?
Ok, one thing I forgot to mention in the last round of notes, the ‘Teen Dream Team’ is a group I just invented off the top of my head as I was writing the interview. All I’ve really got in my head is a group of kids aged 13-17 who operate out of NYC for various reasons… Haven’t even decided on their powers or anything.
The ‘East Coast Boomers’ are certainly worth a mention too… The original Boomers were formed in the 60’s in LA, by The Blackbird, Miss Liberty and Napalm, among others. The team was the first non-Government controlled superhero group in America, named for the ‘Baby Boomers’ which, at the time, all the members were. In the 80’s, former member Talon formed a new team in NYC, the East Coast Boomers, turning the original team into the West Coast Boomers.
The ‘Order of Darkness’ are another team I just made up off the top of my head (much like Arachnophobia in the previous issue, although I have since gone back and at least decided on their origin, names and powers) a standard-fare supervillain group who all have shadow/darkness-based powers.
Also, in the previous issue (my bad… Again), Hyper Girl mentioned ‘Radon’, who is an old hand at the supervillain game, your standard megalomaniac, he has radiation-based powers.
The Human Right Initiative are against any non-human super, claiming that they’re not human, and as such, should be eradicated. Mutants, aliens, super-soldiers, victims of freak accidents (radioactive bites, gamma rays etc). Cyborgs and power-armours are a-ok with them though.
The Sickle Armours are not to be confused with ‘The Sickle’, a former Soviet agent, often paired with ‘The Hammer’, but they’ll come up in another series I’m planning on writing some time, which will basically just be there for me to throw in stories about other heroes from past ages. Expect a lot of Uncle Sam I when that comes around.
For the record, none of the HRI guys were killed (even the two Mr Perfect drove through the roof), the Brat Pack don’t kill. They’re good guys, and more importantly, teenagers. If you want a killer teenager, wait until I start writing Shadows over LA, for the noir adventures of The Shadow, and his sometimes-partner, Pumpkin King, coming to a <3 Comics blog near you! But not for a month or two, when I get into a decent writing pattern.
As always, there’s no questions… I should really start advertising… If you’re reading, I hope you stick around for Issue #004: New York, New York (Part Three): If I Can Make It There, I’ll Make It Anywhere.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

Ok, I don’t need to do individual descriptions for the minor characters I introduced this issue, D13 were pretty well summed up, as far as powers go. I’ll give some more insight into their personalities next issue. Same goes for Hyper Girl.
A couple of guys were mentioned in passing… Liberty Force is the US Government’s super-human team. Led by Uncle Sam (II), they’re the poster-children for super-teams. The current line-up:
Uncle Sam II, the son of Miss Liberty, the grandson of the original Uncle Sam, the perfect human.
American Eagle III, the third in a line of heroes stretching back before the founding of Liberty Force, inherited the power of flight from his father and grandfather, whilst also able to generate balls of energy which act as incendiary bombs.
Patriot, as in ‘Patriot Missile’. When the President of Uhura (a small nation on the edge of Lake Victoria in Africa (which, funnily enough, only exists in the <3 Verse)), Dr Kujenga, invented a fully functional, state-of-the-art battle-armor, and sold it to the US Government, for enough money to continue his nation’s survival for several decades, the powers-that-be gave it to a soldier serving in Desert Storm, and transferred him to Liberty Force.
Cai, the senior member of the team, was discovered in a North-Vietnamese lab by the original Uncle Sam’s taskforce during the Vietnam War. Capable of walking through walls, a martial arts master, and capable of inhuman stealth.
Desert Storm, a mutant brought into the team during, unsurprisingly, Desert Storm. Can turn his body into a yellow-orange stone, and create sand storms spontaneously.

Sherman, Cal and Lee Richards’ grandfather, shares his grandsons’ power to change his body into steel. He was a member of the original Liberty Force, under Uncle Sam, and served in World War II.

‘Persona Laws’ allow superheroes to create a second identity, completely unlinked to their secret identities, allowing them to earn money, own property, and appear in court, without their real names being revealed. Currently California, New York State and the District of Columbia have standing persona laws, due to the high concentrations of superheroes in the areas (Liberty Force is based in Washington DC). The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and Canada also have persona laws.

Captain Awesome has super-speed, super-strength, flight and is invincible. One of the major players in the superhero world, the star employee of Hire-A-Hero.

Ok, no questions again, but any new questions (assuming anyone reads anything I’ve posted) can be put in the comments of this post, and I’ll answer them. But I doubt it’ll happen.

Oh, a note on my issue titles. Yes, they’re song titles. In a multi-part issue, I’ll name each part after a line in the song (NB, that’s multi-part issues, not story arcs).

Anyway, that’s about it.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

Well, that was the first issue of Brat Pack. What did all you non-existent readers think? Pretty good, huh? It’s a little slow, I’ll admit, but I had characters to introduce, and I’m a little sketchy on action scenes, but it’ll get better, I’ve got a couple of story arcs in my head, but we’ll deal with the introductions first, and let you guys get to know the people that live in the <3-Verse (assuming you guys ever show up… I’ll work on advertising once I’ve got some spare cash).

Ok, first up we have the Brat Pack, the newest super-hero team on the map, and the hottest thing to come out of California this year. A group of five Orange County teens with mutant powers, who decide to do the right thing and fight evil.
First up, we have the leader, Kevin Woodman, better known to the public (except to those that follow high school basketball) as Mr Perfect. He’s the captain of the basketball team, and odds-on favourite to be named prom king this year. He’s the perfect specimen of human being, with invulnerability, supersonic flight, and when he exerts himself, he can bench press a car.
Next is Matt Appleby, or, as his adoring fans know him, Mr Universe. A nerd at heart, he’s well versed in all aspects of pop culture, TV, music, movies, comics, you name it. Blessed with the power to control one of the universe’s primal forces, magnetism.
Katie Reynolds, aka Belle, is the most popular girl in school, but has managed to stay completely grounded at the same time. Head cheerleader, chair of the Social Committee, straight A student, and also quite attractive. Has telepathic and telekinetic powers.
Ally Sawyer, aka Pixel, is… unquantifiable. She’s known amongst the majority of cliques as ‘that weird girl’, but her laugh and happy-go-lucky personality are infectious, and no-one harbours any ill-will towards her. Her abilities include: short-range teleportation, illusions and luck control. Why ‘Pixel’? She thinks it sounds cool. We like to agree.
Rounding out the team, we have Ben Mosley… Firestorm. The outsider, the rebel, the tough kid. Every school has one, barely gets by in class, spends most of his time ditching, is known to have a criminal record, and has rumours going around about him that usually start with ‘Remember that guy that got murdered last year, and they never found the killer?’. Firestorm is capable of creating flames and exerting some control over them, as well as a resistance to fire.

A couple more people that were mentioned in the story:
Miss Liberty: The daughter of the original Uncle Sam, and mother of Uncle Sam II, Miss Liberty is a superhero from the 70’s. The perfect woman, just as her father and son are the perfect man, the genetic modifications performed on Uncle Sam in World War II breed true in his family. Led the Liberty Force in the US, whilst her father served in Vietnam, and shared duties when her father returned.
Napalm: Another hero from the 70’s, served under the first Uncle Sam in Vietnam, and under Miss Liberty on the home front. Disappeared from the public eye in the late 80’s. Best known for his solution to everything… Kill it with fire.
Ren Kou: A current member of the United Nations Law-Enforcement Against Super-Humans and Enhanced Defence team (UNLEASHED, commonly called ‘The Defenders’, but that’s copyrighted), a Chinese woman with the ability to create dozens of duplicates.
The Shadow: Fights crime on the streets of Los Angeles, usually limiting himself to drug dealers, pimps and gang-bangers. Not much is known about him, and The Shadow is just the name given to him by the media.
Pumpkin King: Fights crime on the streets of Los Angeles, sometimes alongside The Shadow. His style is less style and more flash, he even came up with his own name. Known for his flaming head and fists, as well as his loud motorcycle.

And here’s where I’d be answering questions… Except there are none.

So that’s all for now, stay tuned for Issue #002: New York, New York (Part One), and the debut of D13 and Hyper Girl!

Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

Welcome to <3 Comics's Brat Pack, this is the flagship comic, if you will. The first few issues are up now, and more will be added every few weeks (as writer’s block permits ). For more information about LessThanThree, head over to the main page, where I will post notification of new comics in all sections, news pertaining to all comics, and maybe the occasional rant… It may pay to just bookmark that page, and not the rest.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Brat Pack…

Later Days,
The Author