there are stories on here that I do enjoy and a few of them were from you before you got to big for your pants.
Guess the peter principle goes for writers/artists too
As they say good day to you sir

[quote="ach202577"]well,if you think I'm the only one that has this thing about stories with frayed story lines and long winded explanations you'd be wrong there are a few more of us .
Look at his stuff on the free sight and you'll see tight story telling not this tattered tapestry of lets throw everything in and see what it looks like all the while trying to tie up loose ends.[/quote]

That may have come across as more overly-critical than intended, as I'm sure Willoughby has worked very hard managing the dozens and dozens of characters in this story and obviously put a lot of forethought into the story and its direction.

That said, I agree with your opinion. I still enjoy the story, but a significant portion of it flies over my head or I fail to see how it ties in to the bigger picture. I keep waiting for it to all tie together seamlessly, but I've rather given up on it. It ends up with me very much enjoying the parts with characters I've grown to know well (such as Snowflake, Shrike, and Stylet), and sort of ignoring or skimming over the parts that don't seem as vital to the main plot and action.

I compared this story to "Final Crisis", and while some love that, I had problems with it. It's like throwing as many characters, twists, and interests at the wall and seeing what sticks. Often, some really good stuff does. But a lot of it doesn't "work", and it ends up cluttered and confusing. I'm a pretty smart guy, but I had issues following the flow, pacing, and narrative of the entire package. I prefer the more focused, smaller segments within the larger picture.

That said, I appreciate and love the experimentation taken on this story. If readers want straight up mind control, bondage, or action, they have alternatives here on this very site. This comic is unique and stands apart as something nobody else is doing. Is it all good? No. It has it's flaws. As most stories do. Few are perfect. I glean the good from the bad and I find it balances out, though.

But that's not to say your opinion is wrong. It can't be. Opinions are personal preferences. A good artist and writer naturally takes every last bit of critique and criticism into account to improve their craft. Nobody is ever at their peak; they can always get better. I'm sure Willoughby and the others appreciate the feedback, both good and bad, because it helps us hone our craft and make better, more concise and focus stories. I wouldn't be half the writer and artist I am today without such feedback.

I would suggest seeing how this story pans out before passing the entire thing off completely. It could surprise you. It could not. But it couldn't hurt to see how it all pans out before passing judgment.

thank you for the reply unlike some you see both sides and address them and do not use veiled put downs like "good luck with that"
I still find quite a bit of interesting stories on both sites started going through the quest artists and am pleasantly surprised by what they have and then there is the archives which I have yet to delve into.
they are still the writers/artists stories but I hope that I am not alone when I say that I do a "what if" ( as in what Marvel did during the 80's with it's titles) and come up with continuing story lines or altering existing ones to fit what I think a story should be ( I have a boring job, so it keeps me from bouncing off the walls.
Whatever happens the heroines that come into the Platinum earth universe are going to be royally screwed up when/if they go back what has happened to them is your garden variety possession their bodies may revert back but their minds have been altered by the virus can wait til he remedies that.


ps tried to leave a reply on your other site but according to messages I am not registered could you check up on that

I'm sorry I don't have time to write more, but I wanted to give a big thumbs up for the Platinum Earth series. The multiple different and creative mind control methods make this my favourite series. I especially love the mindless slave techniques and biological and technological control, but the other methods add variety and interest. Keep up the great work!

- BH

Just chiming in that I like the multiple characters and multiple threads...it is a little confusing because it is epic...as for all the stuff about people changing universes and everything...these are comics...so it does not really matter, I seem to remember major comic lines killing off and bringing back characters, I am just pretending that clones are getting created and spit into these other places and that floats my boat...since I am not spending the time rendering them I can only say that it is up to the artist on where they want the story to go.

I think it is really cool that the artists are sharing characters across story lines...it just adds something to the background whether one thinks it's canon or not.

P

Sir Wil:
Love the story. Especially the Faceplated bots. Very nice. Now that Alphawoman is plated and Valiant Girl is under control where are you going to take them?
I do hope the faceplate bots are not over with even though the evil master went down in flames. I do hope its temporary.
Are the hive girls going to continue adding on to their army?

By the way is there a new istallment today?

I love the art and the mind control twists and turns. Please keep it up.

By the way are you goint to move this series to McComix or are you going to do a dedicated mindcontrol series over there?
Looking forward to much more juicy stuff.

regards,

bluemax

I trust that the people complaining about the overly complicated nature of the story (which actually isn't) also don't watch many of the shows on television over the last few years?

To use an example from a few years back, consider "Babylon 5" in the middle of it's storyline, after the break between Babylon 5 and Earth. Any given episode could have a bit about the Centauri-Narn conflict, the interplay between G'Kar and Londo Mollari, Londo's games to gain power, Morden trying to corrupt everyone for the Shadows, the efforts of the crew to raise an Alliance against the Shadows, the conflict between B5 and Earth, references to EarthGov's fighting with rebel colonies, the political infighting among the Minbari, the relationship between Sheridan and Delenn, the political maneuvering between the Minbari/B5 alliance and the League of Non-aligned Worlds, Bester and PsiCorps showing up as opponents or allies or both, Kosh (both of him) doing whatever he was doing, Marcus trying to woo Ivanova...

...and that's before you get to whatever the main plot for that particular episode was.

I think what's happening is that some people are tending to look at these stories like most of the ones on this site (and MCComics) where the action tends to be a straightforward story with one single plotline. What you might consider doing is thinking of it as episodes of a TV show that had continuity and overall arcs: you've got your A plot, which takes up most of the episode, a B plot which gets some screen time, and sometimes a C plot. Eventually the A plot ends, the B plot moves up to primary, the C plot gets bumped up to secondary, and you start getting some setup of the new D plot.

One type of storytelling isn't better than another, but you have to accept each in terms of what it's trying to do. If you start watching the average sitcom for the first time, you can be pretty confident it will be easy to follow along because sitcoms are usually stand-alone episodes. You can't go into watching a soap-opera, which may have storylines that develop over years, and expect the same thing. Similarly, someone looking for arc-storytelling and character growth isn't going to be satisfied with a show like "Seinfeld". If someone does complain, the problem isn't with the show, it's with the viewer and their expectations.

[quote="bluemax2"]By the way is there a new istallment today?[/quote]

bluemax2,

It seems the issue has been moved to May 2nd now.

P

I remember those episodes and from what I remember I didn't have to go back four or five episodes to get up to speed on what was currently happening

[quote="ach202577"]I remember those episodes and from what I remember I didn't have to go back four or five episodes to get up to speed on what was currently happening[/quote]

Let's try season 3, episode 10, "Severed Dreams". Civil War has broken out, a rebel ship arrives at B5 for repairs after a battle in which General Hague has been killed, Mars has been bombed, Narns are handling station security after Nightwatch has been booted out, a Ranger shows up to tell Delenn the Shadows are moving, Delenn faces off with the Grey Council and fulfills a prophecy about it being broken, Sheridan uses Draal to broadcast a message to the station warning them about an upcoming fight, but doesn't use the defensive systems because he wants to save Drall's existence as a surprise, and Delenn utters her famous line "Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else."

To know what's going on, you need to know who the Rangers are (introduced a year earlier), what the Shadows are, why civil war is breaking out (including how Clark became president, in season 1), who General Hague was (last appeared a year earlier in episode 11 of season 2), why the Narns are delighted to make Londo's life miserable, who is Nightwatch and why people are happy to see them go, who the hell Draal is (introduced in Season 1, only seen one or two times later), why there's tension in the Minbari Grey Council between the religious and warrior castes (reason revealed in episode 1 of Season 2), and how come Sheridan is the only human captain to have defeated the Minbari in battle (again, early Season 2), not to mention why EarthForce is utterly terrified of facing the Minbari in battle (Season 1 and pilot movie).

There's more than you think going on, but because people are used to seeing it on TV, it doesn't really register.

Dear Reader,

Act 40 of The Platinum Earth will not come out this week as scheduled but is looking to be May 2nd.
Considering that the last issue was 50 pages long, I think I still make up the Platinum Earth page quota for the month.
However, before the end of the week, I will endeavor to get a few more pages of my story "Crystal" out in the free area. Remember that one? Probably not...

Sincerely,
Sir Willoughby




Yes, she did.



Yes, she is.



You know, going over my notes, there are over 100 Platinum Earth characters of which 86 have been introduced.
There's a lot of story in this universe I have yet to tell. Also, I know how it all ends.
The plan was at this stage to develop some critical mass and bring a large portion of the Platinum Earth cast together.



You'll get another chance.



There's much more to come.



The machine he used in west Africa was too big to lug to London. Besides, it was destroyed when Mesa Moon broke into that base.



It has a use.



Wait and see.



On April the 10th, 2009, I wrote the following in this thread:
"In regards to the multiple story lines, all I can say is that it is going to get more complex before the loose ends start getting tied up. I think the best way to approach "The Platinum Earth" at this stage is to consider every new arc or every new set of characters I introduce as their own little self-contained stories. At least, this will mostly be the case until all the main characters have been introduced. After that, the threads of these separate stories will intertwine and some of the separate stories and characters (at this stage) will merge together."

That's probably the best reply to your comment.



That's fine.
Since Act 25, the story has been mostly about Shrike and to a lesser extent, Snowflake. Platina Shrike is the main heroine of The Platinum Earth.
You can't expect to have 40+ characters in a story not have some of them as background dressing.
I'll get to the others and give them a spotlight, given time.



The only good part was seeing Wonder Woman and some of the other heroines brainwashed by the Anti-Life Equation.
I'm cool with you having problems with this story. I'm writing it and this is how I wanted to tell it. Not everyone likes everything and as you said, if you don't like the complexity or multiple plot lines, just about every other story here at HIP is exactly the opposite of that. Either way, the paying customer gets a good story.



Thank you.



Thanks for the comment. While some readers may dislike where the story has gone, I'm sure there are many others that find it interesting. The old stories are all in the archives available any time. If something doesn't make sense in the current issue, go back (if you care) to see if any of the previous plots or facts gel.



Thank you.
To answer your question: for a car ride.



I'm staying at HIP.



I write the Platinum Earth according to what I want. I just hope some of the readership remain interested enough the join me for the ride. Readers are free to voice their opinions but the course the characters have been set on has been planned 18 months ago and they are all going somewhere. There may be some minor alterations here and there, but all their fates have been pre-ordained by me - the crazy, delusional master of this little world. Judging by the responses in this thread, people care enough about my story to deactivate their lurking cloak and make their opinions known, which is nice. It's worth more than the money Jpeger pays me.



I've never, ever followed a TV sci-fi but your observations are detailed enough to make me think my current plot lines are actually too simplistic for you!

Every chapter of this epic is riviting and always exceeds expectation. I also enjoy the faceplate robot technnique. It is very Buck Rogers of the 1930's.
But if the truth be told I find a totaly unexpected piece of delightfull evil in the new Persona of Silver Satin. She has accepted her fate with such glee almost as if the was born into it. Her poor brain has been scrambled so many times I doubt she could offer much resistance to the alien bio technolgy. She has in fact come off as a new age version of Doctor Mindbender from the old GI Joe series. She is devising new mutations of virus for infecting other women and seems to get more joy when her work succeeds. I love a villian who is so free to enjoy her work. Please keep her the way she is...She is such a usless hero but a devine witch.

[quote]Dear Reader,

Act 40 of The Platinum Earth will not come out this week as scheduled but is looking to be May 2nd.
Considering that the last issue was 50 pages long, I think I still make up the Platinum Earth page quota for the month.
However, before the end of the week, I will endeavor to get a few more pages of my story "Crystal" out in the free area. Remember that one? Probably not...

Sincerely,
Sir Willoughby
[/quote]

I know, I know- No artist is beholding to his/her fans... We are here to partake of their creative endeavors but we do so at their whim and ability. I know I've been aggravated to no small degree by others who have pushed and pushed for more of something that I simply could not deliver to them at their voracious whims... Life tends to get in the way- especially for those of us who are not willing to let either (life or art) suffer due to the other.

That being said... *I'm jonez'n for my PE fix here*... There, I've said it. I know you'll post it when its finished. I just had to express my fanboy desire to see "what happens next".

Well, that, and patience has never been a virtue with which I was greatly blessed.

~ Anxiously awaiting the next update ~

FB

PS. - why isn't the quoting thing working?

I am eagerly awaiting the next chapter as well, but look at it this way: Months from now when you are rereading this story, you won't remember that there was a delay for this chapter, but you will be glad that the story wasn't rushed and the scenes are fleshed out to the proper degree, eh?

Sir Wiloughby,

I have quietly enjoyed your Platinum Earth series for a while now, but until recently I had never actually read the entire thing. I would pop in for a chapter or two here or there and enjoy certain scenes, but I guess I found the vastness of the story to be too overwhelming to attempt a full read. And now that I have read it all, I see what I was foolishly missing out on all this time!!

This story you've created is absolutely epic, and though it may appear cluttered to some from time to time, I think it's premature to judge loose ends that currently appear to have been forgotten until the entire tale is woven and we can finally see how it all ties together. For my part I am absolutely LOVING the large cast of characters that allows for so many wonderfully creative and different mind control scenes.

You clearly "get" the whole mind control thing, and your interest in it is very clear--you've probably had more different flavors of mind control than any other single story on this site or on MCComix! Some of them appeal to me more than others, but things never get dull, and you manage to work mind control stuff into nearly every single issue, which is greatly appreciated.

Now that I've read the entire story, I wanted to comment on some of the highlights that I really enjoyed:

The Marionettes Prequel: I LOVE that each of the marionettes was brought under Governor Ortega's control in a uniquely creative way, and how they each have their own sexual specialty. So many wonderful flavors of inductions all in a single chapter. Absolutely brilliant. The only downside is that we haven't seen very much of these characters lately, though I am certain they will return.

Issues 10-12: Seeing Nina and Keiko becoming the first two Hive slaves was super-hot, especially how Nina told her friend to never give up, only to be the one to end up enslaving her with the little brain slug that came out of her own pussy.

Issues 14-18: Loved seeing the effects of "the chair" and how Song Jia was for--d to demonstrate her obedience while Wenwei was being enslaved. And of course the blank white eyes are always a plus! And having Wenwei mindlessly recite the virtues of being a slave to General Tong to Fei Min was super hot.

Issues 19-21: Loved the undead zombie slave stuff. I especially liked the way that Lady Paragon was enslaved, but unfortunately it was very short lived! I wouldn't complain if we see that evil undead character return at some point down the road.

Issue 28: Snowflake's little nightmare sequence on the plane flight was a fantastic way to reference what came before...oh, and I have to say that I really like the way you portray the Metrobay heroines' costumes (especially the redesigns you've done). And I am really impressed by the lighting and coloring of Jade Lightning's costume.

Issue 29 (and many others): The whole robot face-plate thing is nice. Normally I like to see the victim's face, but there's something really dehumanizing about the face plate that's pretty damn hot. I like seeing the robot drones in various states of undress as well. Really drives home how mindless they are.

Issue 32-33: I LOVED the way you put Lady Paragon under Ultimo's control, basically forcing her to "volunteer" for it, and then to have him emotionally torture her while she can do nothing but stand there and watch. And the silver bodypaint was a nice touch too!

Issue 34-35: Brown Sugar is one of my favorite characters to see controlled, so the seduction/transformation of her character was awesome.

Issue 36: The enslavement of Silver Satin using that special head-bug was one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. I loved the explanation of how the cybernetics made her more vulnerable to control. (I would have liked to see her in "mindless bug controlled" mode a little longer before her full conversion though.) And I love that the head-bug is still there as a super sexy head decoration, but I would like to see some hint that it still serves some kind of purpose that differentiates her from the other drones, perhaps some suggestion of a deeper or more complete level of control.

Issue 37: Silver Satin enslaving the stripper with her techno-virus had to be another of my absolute favorite scenes. Unfortunately this was all too brief. I would LOVE to see the process a little more in depth, and perhaps see more of the relationship between her and her new mechana slaves. This was one of my absolute favorite elements so I hope that you are able to explore it further.

Issue 39: This issue saw a lot of characters released from their mental bondage, unfortunately, though I understand the need to cycle them in and out, and I expect that we may see some of them back under some form of control eventually. All of the releases were made up for though by Alpha Woman's robotization (and I notice she still appears to be under control even after the destruction of Casseiopeia) and most especially the enslavement of Jade Lightning, who is another one of my favorite characters to see under control. And what a sexy variation on the Hive slave get-up!

I really can't praise this series enough...it's pretty much the only reason I still have a membership on Hipcomix (since MCComix is more my thing). I look forward to each new chapter...here's hoping you don't release too many of these heroines too quickly! :P

I noticed the gallery says the next update was changed to "Early May". I'm wondering if it'll be up shortly, if only so I don't keep coming back to check every fifteen minutes to see if it's up. It's done when it's done, but I know quite a few people are waiting for this one to drop.

Dear Reader,

Act 40 of The Platinum Earth is now available at this link, clocking in at 43 pages:

http://memberslogin.hipcomix.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=128107

I need sleep.

Get some sleep.

Well, excellent job tying up so many loose ends. There was a surprising amount of character development and, surprise, we can all go back to liking Snowflake again. Lol. I enjoyed seeing Alpha Woman in action with some frightening vengeance as well.

That's not to say everything is tied up. I am absolutely glued to Silver Satin's progression and how she genuinely LIKED the power and control she had over others... regardless of her brainwashing. It's a lingering "flaw" I've noticed in other recent stories she's appeared in and it's succeeding in warming me back up to her.

I'll also say the teaser with Knyght Fighter... is just outright mean. Mainly because she is insanely sexy, and secondly because I have to wait some more to see where that goes. It reminds me of the cliffhanger I left poor Officer Maya in during my "Unity" run... which I admittedly need to get some closure on. Also the lingering effects on Lady Paragon are evident as well. Interesting.

The only downside is with so many characters and threads to tie up, a lot of it felt understandably rushed, with big events happening in a few panels, or off-panel, but I figure that's a necessary evil with so much other content crammed into it.

It certainly has a "battle is over, but war is just begun" feel to it, and I can only imagine things are going to get crazy again soon. Meanwhile, take a well-deserved rest with the knowledge this story arc was great and truly original. Meanwhile, I feel like going clubbing for some reason... I blame Stylet.

Dear Reader,

This arc is finally over and I'm glad to leave it behind.
Towards the end there, 40 to 50 pages an installment is not something I want to make a regular habit of. I was falling asleep putting in the text for the last few issues. From now on, it's back to a more manageable <20 pages per Act.

This issue does power to a conclusion but not much is tied off. The only group that gets a resolution is the Metrobay heroines, the rest of them have springboarded into new scenario set ups. That's the way it was meant to go. Things aren't over yet, though. As Shuraaga said, too many pebbles have been thrown into the pond.

Lots of character moments in this one. Normally I wouldn't have done so much but after 16 issues of this arc, there needed to be some detailed closure for the main characters that were affected by the action. I'm not a fan of the "reset switch" and I don't think the conclusion of this arc went there completely although I understand some may be disappointed that some of the converted heroines didn't stay that way. Well, as I mentioned before, some of them weren't mine to do that with. But there are still more stories to come where things will turn in a different way. Life isn't always a happy ending.

One thing about this arc I am keenly aware of is that the enslavement scenes were many but short or didn't follow through with much more. For those looking for that kind of fix (and honestly, that's what you're paying to see, right?) this would be very frustrating. Future issues will go back to a more laid back pace with plenty of time devoted to the peril and the follow through.

Sincerely,
Sir Willoughby



I'm sorry to disappoint you but the fact is I don't own Silver Satin. Please direct your pleas to Doc Robo. If she were mine, though, I think I would have accommodated your request. But you know what? I like the bookish redhead as portrayed in Metrobay. Maybe I should be happy I don't own her? I think it was only fun to see her turn because of the way Doc Robo has written her. That's actually a testament to the fact we actually care about how these characters meet their perils.



Apologies for the wait. I do strive to get my installments out on time but the fact is for the past few months, the only time I've been able to devote to The Platinum Earth has been the dead of night.
I hope that the fact that the latest issue is about twice as big as a usual Platinum Earth helps make up for the three day delay.



Again, apologies.
"Fun fact" - the three day delay added 13 pages to the story.



That makes two of us. I've never read the entire thing, either!



I'm a fan of clutter. Life's not clean. For those that want the peril and MC, I try to make that work in every installment so that readers can just come in, look at a few saucy pictures and then move away. For those that have the spare time to read a story, I try to make something with a few twists, pockets of missing information and a wide cast of characters and locations.



The only thing that I regret about the cast is that some of them will never get the spotlight. I just don't have enough time in the years to come to focus on all of them.



So I am the lifeline that is keeping you putting money into HIP? Now that is a compliment!
Thanks for saying that! And thank you for the detailed feedback on what you liked. If so inclined, you're also free to add some constructive criticism.



I wanted to show her kicking some ass. She's more than capable of doing that.



Where ever she goes is up to Doc Robo.



She's been slated to appear in MCcomix soon in a story that takes place after the arc I just finished.



You can say that again.

Another great installment! I especially loved Silver Satin's new enslavement method. It is a shame that we won't see her use it again. One question: as the victim's skin turns blue, Silver Satin explains that her blood flow stopped. I thought that was especially hot! Does the transformation kill the victim? Does she stop breathing too? Does she become a type of undead zombie as it were? Or is it something else? Again, I loved it!

I'm dying to see what you've got cooked up for the Mars station! Bwahahaha!

- BH