That’s right, it’s time for everyone’s favourite part of the blog… Author’s Notes.
It’s the milestone 20th issue, and the Brat Pack were in their toughest fight yet (yes, tougher than the Order of Darkness). Hopefully, this issue has solidified the teams’ archnemeses. Redemption was created to be Mr Perfect’s superior, and his grudge is not going to be satisfied with anything short of crippling Mr Perfect. Firefly’s family connection to Firestorm, and her hatred of Belle for taking her place in the social pyramid at school, not to mention her slight chemical imbalance. The Basher’s part in the teams’ origins, not to mention Fissure’s time spent as (then) Secretary Carmichael’s prisoner under Basher, Helix, Daytripper and Firefly. Then of course there is Gauss, who hates the Brats with every fibre of his being, due to the roles they played in the only two times he has ever been captured, he does hold a special grudge against Mr Universe, seeing him as a usurper to his throne as master of magnetism.
This is also, of course, the first defeat the Brats have faced. They’ve been fighting stronger and stronger enemies, from Arachnophobia, to Gauss, to the Order of Darkness. Unfortunately, they had to stop rising sooner or later. The aftermath of this loss will be covered in next week’s issue.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

In my Brat Pack folder, there is a text file named ‘Upcoming Issues’, where I have the basics of this story arc written down in summary form. I write what I want to happen, and any special notes, characters, whatever I need. For this issue, I had simply written: “Mosley is off somewhere, being all broody.”
So going into this issue, I knew nothing. I didn’t know if Mosley would be fighting, if the other Brats would be around, or what exactly he would be brooding about.
Considering I made it up as I went along (basically), I thought I did a pretty decent job, don’t you?
Stick around, because in less than a week, we get the showdown between The Brat Pack and Senator Carmichael’s team. Who will win? Stay tuned.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

In it’s current form, this issue was fun to write. Unfortunately, it’s first form was a total pain. Slow, boring and way too short. It was originally just going to be Hyper Girl and Mr Universe vegging out on the couch, talking about current events (Yay! Plot exposition!), but I think I do enough dialogue in my writing, I had to add something.
Michuru suggested (on my Twitter) that I post the first draft in the author’s notes, but I don’t think I should. Their conversation went in a different direction to this issue, and I’d hate to spoil a few plot points.
Watch this space, because the next issue of Brat Pack features everyone’s favourite angry young man, Firestorm.
One last thing before I go, back in June I posted a teaser on <3C Presents for my upcoming epic, launching the LessThanThree Legends title. You can find that here. Here’s the second teaser:

Miss Liberty on Uncle Sam
“Where do I begin? Uncle Sam is the greatest hero we’ve ever had. There might have been stronger heroes, faster heroes, more powerful heroes and even smarter heroes, but Uncle Sam was always the most heroic. Never backed down from a fight. Almost never lost a fight. The symbol of freedom, the bravest, most noble person to ever don a mask.
“Can you imagine having to follow in those footsteps?
“It’s well documented, dad and I didn’t agree on a lot. I was born in 1950, so I was a teenager in the 60’s. I was at Woodstock, I was listening to folk and rock music, and I was out protesting the Vietnam War. My dad was the symbol of the American people. He was everything I was fighting against. We never saw eye-to-eye on the war, or the government’s policies, that’s true, but there were things we did agree on.
“Dad taught me the difference between right and wrong. He taught me that I had a responsibility to the country. He taught me to put the people first, to always follow my heart, to do what was right.
“Dad taught me to be a hero. It’s simple as that. So while he was away, fighting in Vietnam, I protected the people at home. In his name. It was no secret I was his daughter. While he fought for the Government, and the American people overseas, I fought for justice, and for the American people at home.
“There’s no denying my dad is the best there ever was. The first American superhero. We’re all following in his footsteps. Every last one of us. Not just my son and I, but Thunderbolt, The Boomers, UNLEASHED, even the younger kids, Teen Dream Team, the Brat Pack. Whether they know it or not, they’re fighting the same fight, continuing his legacy. Protecting the world, in any way they can.
“I tried my best to fill my father’s shoes when he retired, but there’s no replacing him. My son is taking his turn now, only time will tell if he surpasses the both of us.
“In the meantime, my dad is still the greatest hero who ever lived. One of a kind.
“The First American Superhero, Uncle Sam.”

LessThanThree Legends: Uncle Sam, The First American Superhero. Coming soon.

I’ve got a couple more of these teasers planned, before the eventual posting of the story. Until then, keep coming back for more information
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

Not sure what to say about this issue. It was a bit awkward to write. Funnily enough, I don’t really have any idea about fashion and whatnot, so Katie choosing her outfit was the result of a quick Google search. No idea what jocks talk about at parties, but figured they’d talk about the (sort of) recent NBA Playoffs.
This chapter was mostly to remind everyone about Katie’s passion for drinking, and Anna’s hatred of her.
Mosley’s appearance proves that even though he’s (mostly) capable of working with Kevin, he’s still not a friend, or even close to the same circle (more Mosley in Issue #019, some time next month (most likely)).
Remember the good old days, when y’all used to ask me questions, and I answered them? Bring that back. Any criticism is welcome too, especially from new readers (judging by the huge increase in pageviews (thank you new advertising campaign ), there’s a lot of you. Even if there’s something I neglected to clear up in old issues, I’d love to hear about it. There I go, comment-begging again.
Anyway, stay tuned, within a couple of weeks, I’ll have posted Brat Pack Issue #018: Suspicious Minds. In the meantime, maybe there’ll be a new <3C Presents. We’ll see.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

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

PS. Follow me on Twitter. I had originally intended that as an in-character account, but then didn’t use it, so it is now the Official <3 Comics Twitter.

I can’t even begin to write how much fun I had thinking this one up. Fissure as the stoic badass, paired up with the bubbly Ally. It’s like… Every superhero duo ever. But more awesome, because it’s Ally.
The last scenes felt a little flat as I wrote them, and when I went through for the re-write, didn’t find myself changing much, and it felt just as flat. I had intended to run a second storyline through the issue, but thought that might be better left to another issue.
Character interactions are so much easier to write than action scenes. I hate action scenes…
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

This issue wasn’t supposed to be epic, or ground-breaking. Just kind of building up, and tying off loose ends.
One thing I wanted to bring up though, is Southern Cross. The top hero in Australia, and surrounding countries. He’s the product of me sitting at home questioning stereotypical American ultra-patriotism. Then I thought to myself, ‘You know what, if we had a super hero as awesome as Captain America, I’d probably be a flag-waving nutjob too.’ And I started thinking up a super hero for Australia.
And yeah, a little foreshadowing towards a future battle. Should be fun.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

This issue I liked a lot better than the last. Better action, a bit of Mac/Tom comedy. Still way, way too many characters in each scene.
I think I might have to give the TDT an issue of <3C Presents soon, I enjoy writing for Cobalt and Rose. A few members of D13 need to be fleshed out too, so I might give them an issue too.
The Brats took another big step in their career, I think the next issue will take care of the aftermath. Yay! More character development!
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

I really, really hate writing fight scenes. And this fight had like, 30 people in it, so it was chaotic and all over the place. I didn’t notice until the end that I’d forgotten to put Ossuary in the fight at all. I think I need to start giving D13 their own stories over at <3C Presents, because it’s hard fitting them in here, and I’m a big fan of some of the characters.
Epic was a hurried addition to the D13 team. He’s supposed to be the Average Joe, who discovered he had superpowers, and wants to be a hero. He’s got a long way to go.
Was kind of a long one too. I thought I’d get it all out in one, but here I am, splitting it into two issues.
Not much else to say here, I hope y’all stick around for the next issue, Into the Darkness. I promise it will be better.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

That was a pretty long issue. I have no idea what took me so long though. I kind of got stuck on what to do next, after Firestorm tried to set Napalm on fire. Originally, the meetup with Napalm and the fight with Gauss was supposed to be a two-parter, followed up with a third issue showing everyone’s preparations for the big boss fight. But I guess I bit off more than I could chew, and compressed it all into one issue. With any luck, the next issue will be posted on the date given… April 10. A day that will either live on in infamy, or be celebrated for years after… Depending on our heroes’ actions.
But enough about next issue. Gauss is a big deal in the <3-Verse. I’m hoping I got that across. He’s on countless Most Wanted lists, he almost killed the East Coast Boomers. All the power of Magneto, in the hands of a mental case. I tried to get the creepiness/insanity in there too, but I’m still working on my villain skills. You’d think years of dungeonmastering would help out…
Firestorm’s daddy issues were something I wanted to hint at more, and build up to the Napalm reveal, but I also have big plans for Napalm as a member of Hire-A-Hero, and beyond. He had to be a member of HAH, and he had to team up with the Brat Pack, before becoming their replacement in the company. I just fast-forwarded the team’s leaving the company, and had to bring the reveal forward.
I will be adding ‘The Poet’ to my ‘To Read’ list, but it’s a long list, and I’m back at uni now, so I’ll be a while reading it. Fortunately, Gauss will be locked in Alcatraz for a while, so there’s time.
The plan mentioned didn’t materialize. It was just more to emphasize Mr Perfect’s leadership skills, and Mr Universe’s strategy skills. Those two wouldn’t go in without a plan, simple as that. The way everything just fell together… Well, Pixel came to while Gauss was dealing with Firestorm, Pixel stunned Gauss, who dropped his magnetic control. Mr Perfect escaped, and more importantly, Gauss dropped the ball bearings that were heading for the school. Mr Universe was free to return to the fray. It was really just dumb luck. Because, to be fair, Gauss is a top villain. The Brat Pack have been working for a year.
Pixel doesn’t like infighting, and her friends are her family. She dealt with the threat to her family, but she’s still a nice girl, so she just removed him, rather than hurt him.
Firestorm’s escape wasn’t just for the team, it was to prove to his father that he was better. Looking back, it could also be symbolic, as he was burning blood (blood often represents family). This of course, helps prove my theory that most writers don’t actually insert symbolism, academics just make it up half the time. Many a book has been ruined in high school English this way.
On a related note, there’s a new issue of Shadows Over LA up at <3 Comics Presents. Co-starring everyone’s favourite bad boy, Firestorm/Pumpkin King/Mosley.
I’ll catch y’all at Issue #013 on April 10 (hopefully…). Or just in the SOLA #002 Author’s Notes, which should be up first, but y’all know me…
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics