by Hector2 » December 1st, 2010, 1:09 am
Hi Akonkid
I'm sorry I'm late to the comments to your tale: Vanishing Act is not only a great tale, but I think is a good comic, even could be called "Art".
I give my reasons: In other comic stories (and not only in this site) , we have the stereotypical villains and heroines: the villains are bad because they want to enslave heroines, the heroines are good because they want to save people... but the truth is that everyone acts like that because the plot demands it!
Not in Step and Byron characterization: Step could be seen as a bitch that took advantage of Byron when they were young, but we can see that she is not a bad person. The trick is that you don't show her as a good person neither: Since the first panels we can see Step is a very confused woman trying to do her best to help the world, but also is spoiled and highly egotistical. I think Step is feeling guilty because she dismissed Megan as a spoiled brat, realising (only to late) that was the treatment Step got all her life from her parents, teachers and superiors in her job at superheroing. The only human that didn't treat her like a pampered bitch was Byron, and even when she doesn't love him (but is very impressed by him) at least has the decency of recognize that she acted condescending to him in school and don't want to take MORE advantages of him.
Byron's character is the same: an insecure but highly intelligent guy that is obsessed with the only girl who gave her the time of the day, even when she declared that she was not interested. His obsession with Step reached criminal levels, but is very plausible inside the context of the story.
I think the best part of this tale is that both are deeply flawed human beings: Step abused Byron and knows it, but it's to painful to accept it. Byron has commited the ultimate abuse not only with Step, but with a lot of strangers too (the girls at the academy). Byron doesn't even flinch about destroying Lola's mind, is a dark mirror of Step abuse of her powers by shoplifting expensive shoes.
The part that trascends this tale as an erotic tale and gives it true drama is that Byron and Step shared a connection since the very beginning: Both of them are utterly alone, don't know how to interact with other people without hurting them, both of them will go to any extent to get what they want, and if that hurts someone more it doesn't matter. Thew were egoist and shallow and don't realize that those are the problems they have with other people... and tragically, they were in the best of situations to understand the other. Of all the people whom they interacted, they were the perfect couple.
Thanks for your work
Hector 2