#hotice

damn, ninja dude had an Agenda going into this. Either Fireice dude did something to really piss him off, or he's got a complex

Oh it’s definitely a complex. HotIce hasn’t done anything specific besides being. He is almost an accidental white savior. He’s a guy who, while having a lot of training, is not the best of the best, and eventually rested on his laurels, but still got the great power everyone wanted anyway.

While sneaking around, trying to find ways to pull pranks on his masters, he comes across the Fire-Ice orb, the source of knowledge of their organization, the very object that chooses a new ninja each generation to help expand its knowledge. It wouldn’t have been a big deal that Brad touched it because most who do aren’t chosen. But because of  *waves hands*  “mysterious ways”,  the orb chooses him.

A font of so much knowledge and power, and it’s in the hands of this jerk jock with a heart of gold.

So of course studious, wise-beyond-his-years Ben who has been training for most of his life, was greatly humbled to be chosen by the YinYang orb, and treated everything seriously and with respect, is absolutely furious that this clown is technically his equal. 

No comic update, this was some doodles I did a month ago that was sort of a visual story telling of Brad Lites’s development as small bullied child into arrogant superhero and I figured I’d use this opportunity to wax expositional on the character that is Bradley Lites, the League of Heroes member HotIce, who some of you have probably seen in a few of my previous illustrations and comics.

Back when I originally conceived of him as Fire’n’Ice in around, I dunno, 2006-ish, my idea was basically “make a jock character I can like,” because back then the jocks v geeks and nerds thing was still in full effect as opposed to these days where bullying dynamics in the media have changed quite a bit.

Anyhow, the idea I came up with was someone who had all the typical traits of a jerk jock character as well as traits of your typical popular character; sociable, stupid, arrogant, aggressive, hit with the gals, and wealthy. And then I would make him someone that defended others from being bullied rather than be a bully himself because he used to be bullied!

What a concept! A complete twist! And.... Exactly the thought process that Stan Lee had behind making Tony Stark: Make people root for someone they hate.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four  | Part Five | Part Six  | Part Seven  | Part Eight

This is it. I had this sketched for months but got too busy to sit myself down and do it properly and everything else I did was just, you know, took priority in terms of art. I feel as though this could have ended better, I should have done another page or something. But dammit, I have been doing so much with creative panel layouts it’s not like I could’ve, you know, stopped or anything.

But yeah, so this is how it ends. Ben wins, but makes some concessions in his perspective on Brad. Brad has learned nothing from this experience except that he now has to work to be better than this self-serious twerp.

Part One |  Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven  | Part Nine

It took forever due to work and school but I’m here, I’ve gotten to the next page and the last one is coming up.