The Tawmis Coloring Book (formerly "Coloring Ka-Zar")

[Tawmis]

Original Mike Manley art.

My coloring of Mike Manley's art.

[Rath Darkblade]

OK, I'll bite.

- What (or who) is this particular character?
- What does he (she?) have on his/her arms?
- Can he/she fly, or glide, with those things?
- What is his/her special power?
- Why does he/she cover his/her face?
and...
- Can I please stop saying he/she and his/her?

[Tawmis]

OK, I'll bite.
- What (or who) is this particular character?
- What does he (she?) have on his/her arms?
- Can he/she fly, or glide, with those things?
- What is his/her special power?
- Why does he/she cover his/her face?
and...
- Can I please stop saying he/she and his/her?

- They're known as Darkhawk. I have a bio for him on my New Warriors website: http://www.newwarriors.com/team_roster/ ... i/darkhawk
- The thing on their arms is like a metallic wing connected from arm to back
- At this time (the costume) they could only really glide
- They have an an assortment of different powers (glide, blast from the center of their chest, enhanced strength, endurance)
- Funny you ask why they cover their face (well, first most super heroes do so villains don't know who they are) - however, Darkhawk has an interesting thing about his face being covered. Ironically (and they never truly explained it) - while wearing the Darkhawk armor, if he removes his helmet - whatever it is he sees in the mirror - horrifies him, but we the reader never got to see it.
- They are a he named Chris Powell.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm, after reading the biography, I have four more questions:

- The picture of him shows his costume as black and orange, but your colouring shows it as sky-blue. Does his costume change?

- Did anybody ever ask Christopher Powell if he wanted to be Darkhawk?

- Where did this glowing object come from? It says "deep space", but how did it get to earth - and specifically, right where Chris needed it? It seems like an Awfully Big Coincidence to me.

- Did anyone ever tell Chris that using his surname as an alias is ... well ... not very smart? I mean, you're basically advertising who you are. (If I had an alias, and it was "The Darkblade", it wouldn't fool anybody).

[Tawmis]

Hmm, after reading the biography, I have four more questions:
- The picture of him shows his costume as black and orange, but your colouring shows it as sky-blue. Does his costume change?
- Did anybody ever ask Christopher Powell if he wanted to be Darkhawk?
- Where did this glowing object come from? It says "deep space", but how did it get to earth - and specifically, right where Chris needed it? It seems like an Awfully Big Coincidence to me.
- Did anyone ever tell Chris that using his surname as an alias is ... well ... not very smart? I mean, you're basically advertising who you are. (If I had an alias, and it was "The Darkblade", it wouldn't fool anybody).

- So the picture I have for his profile is his current version of the armor. His armor has changed three or four times now as he learns more about it. The original piece is from the original Darkhawk series (which had that more clunky look). To get a pro look of the costume I colored - https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marve ... 0330214811

- No one asked Chris. He found the "gem" that gave him his powers and he did what every hero does - and tried to make a difference in the world.

- So the origin of the "gem" is pretty muddied. Several writers have had their hand in writing the series and limited series that followed. Some stories contradict one another. So where it came from I left vague. It is clearly someone who landed near Chris and passed it to him. It's very "generic super hero 101" in that regard - same way, for example, Green Lantern got his powers, same way a teen team called Power Pack got their powers, etc.

- So what do you mean? Chris doesn't use his last name? There are others that refer to him as "The Powell" - but that's not because of him using his name; that his reputation as some kind of legend by others.

[Rath Darkblade]

- Where did this glowing object come from? It says "deep space", but how did it get to earth - and specifically, right where Chris needed it? It seems like an Awfully Big Coincidence to me.

- The origin of the "gem" is pretty muddied. Several writers have had their hand in writing the series and limited series that followed. Some stories contradict one another. So where it came from I left vague. It is clearly someone who landed near Chris and passed it to him. It's very "generic super hero 101" in that regard - same way, for example, Green Lantern got his powers, same way a teen team called Power Pack got their powers, etc.

Oh, OK. It's just ... I'd have preferred some kind of backstory about where this "gem" came from. Take Spiderman, for instance; we know he became Spiderman because he was bitten by a mutated spider, and the mutated spider came along because some scientists were messing about in a lab. (Never mind that if someone was REALLY bitten by a mutated spider, he wouldn't become a half-man, half-spider superhero; we're willing to let it slide, in the interest of the story).

But a gem just lying around... well. Where did it come from? How did it get there? Please, give us something. (I'm directing that at the person who came up with the story, by the way, not at you. As you said, it's very generic ... so it doesn't make Darkhawk special).

- Did anyone ever tell Chris that using his surname as an alias is ... well ... not very smart? I mean, you're basically advertising who you are. (If I had an alias, and it was "The Darkblade", it wouldn't fool anybody).

- What do you mean? Chris doesn't use his last name? There are others that refer to him as "The Powell" - but that's not because of him using his name; that his reputation as some kind of legend by others.

Oh, sorry. I thought Chris himself came up with that alias to hide his identity. But if he went around rescuing people and said "I'm The Powell!", then word would get back to the villains, and they'd put two and two together and figure out that Darkhawk is Chris.

So, why do others refer to him as "The Powell"? Do they know that Darkhawk is really Chris? I mean, doesn't that make things dangerous for him when he's just a normal, every-day kid, and not in his superhero costume?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just curious. If I was (say) Superman, but I was doing some business as Clark Kent, I wouldn't want some villains coming after me,

[Tawmis]

- Where did this glowing object come from? It says "deep space", but how did it get to earth - and specifically, right where Chris needed it? It seems like an Awfully Big Coincidence to me.

- The origin of the "gem" is pretty muddied. Several writers have had their hand in writing the series and limited series that followed. Some stories contradict one another. So where it came from I left vague. It is clearly someone who landed near Chris and passed it to him. It's very "generic super hero 101" in that regard - same way, for example, Green Lantern got his powers, same way a teen team called Power Pack got their powers, etc.

Oh, OK. It's just ... I'd have preferred some kind of backstory about where this "gem" came from. Take Spiderman, for instance; we know he became Spiderman because he was bitten by a mutated spider, and the mutated spider came along because some scientists were messing about in a lab. (Never mind that if someone was REALLY bitten by a mutated spider, he wouldn't become a half-man, half-spider superhero; we're willing to let it slide, in the interest of the story).
But a gem just lying around... well. Where did it come from? How did it get there? Please, give us something. (I'm directing that at the person who came up with the story, by the way, not at you. As you said, it's very generic ... so it doesn't make Darkhawk special).

Got you covered. You can read a synopsis of each of the Darkhawk issues, starting with Darkhawk #1 on my site.

It talks about how it's (at the time) found at an amusement park (Wonderland), and Chris accidentally finds it - and when he picks it up to stab (a bad man attacking) - it transforms him into Darkhawk.

Earlier in the issue it's alluded a mobster is aware of the Darkhawk gem (probably not what it does, but aware of it), and seems to be looking for it.

- Did anyone ever tell Chris that using his surname as an alias is ... well ... not very smart? I mean, you're basically advertising who you are. (If I had an alias, and it was "The Darkblade", it wouldn't fool anybody).

- What do you mean? Chris doesn't use his last name? There are others that refer to him as "The Powell" - but that's not because of him using his name; that his reputation as some kind of legend by others.

Oh, sorry. I thought Chris himself came up with that alias to hide his identity. But if he went around rescuing people and said "I'm The Powell!", then word would get back to the villains, and they'd put two and two together and figure out that Darkhawk is Chris.
So, why do others refer to him as "The Powell"? Do they know that Darkhawk is really Chris? I mean, doesn't that make things dangerous for him when he's just a normal, every-day kid, and not in his superhero costume?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm just curious. If I was (say) Superman, but I was doing some business as Clark Kent, I wouldn't want some villains coming after me,

Well the plus side, the people who refer to him as "The Powell" are not from Earth. They're aliens, so my guess is - there's some legend about Chris becoming Darkhawk and a legacy of some sort, like a prophecy. It's never fully explained. (The series came to an end before it was intended to, as many comics do if they're not X-Men or Avengers, at Marvel).

[Rath Darkblade]

Ah! I read the synopsis of the first issue on your website, and now it makes sense. Thanks.

As for people who call Chris "The Powell" ... ah, yes, prophecies. (One of the "seven basic plots", IIRC?) I've used two or three prophecies as the basis for one of my own novels, but these prophecies never turn out the way you'd expect, or the way they're written. That's the point of a good prophecy, right?

Since my novels always have a Real World setting and no one has magic, half the fun is figuring out a way that my hero can make the prophecy come true without using magic, or a way for my hero/heroine to figure out if the prophecy's really true. Sounds like fun?

[Tawmis]

As for people who call Chris "The Powell" ... ah, yes, prophecies. (One of the "seven basic plots", IIRC?) I've used two or three prophecies as the basis for one of my own novels, but these prophecies never turn out the way you'd expect, or the way they're written. That's the point of a good prophecy, right? Since my novels always have a Real World setting and no one has magic, half the fun is figuring out a way that my hero can make the prophecy come true without using magic, or a way for my hero/heroine to figure out if the prophecy's really true. Sounds like fun?

Yeah, however, "prophecy" stories can also be a let down if not executed correctly. You have all these people speaking of this character's prophecy, and then when the moment comes, if it doesn't live up to the hype, it's going to be a let down.

Because a prophecy is an ongoing (usually early on) element that is continuously building.

[Tawmis]

Someone on the STAR FRONTIERS (old role playing game) who had seen some of the coloring wallpapers I made for Star Frontiers on Discord/Reddit asked me to color an image from one of the modules and make the Drasalite (guy in the middle) have Jabba's colors/vibe...

The B&W image...

And my attempt to color...

[Rath Darkblade]

Yeesh. Nightmare Fuel, Tawm? Yes, that ... thing is half-reminiscent of Jabba the Hutt and half-reminiscent of Sludge Vohaul, circa Space Quest 2 (albeit creepier).

By the way: can you please delete my post that came before yours (i.e. on September 21st)?

[Tawmis]

Yeesh. Nightmare Fuel, Tawm? Yes, that ... thing is half-reminiscent of Jabba the Hutt and half-reminiscent of Sludge Vohaul, circa Space Quest 2 (albeit creepier).

Yeah - pleased with how it came out. Creepy was definitely the correct vibe.

By the way: can you please delete my post that came before yours (i.e. on September 21st)?

Done (but not sure why ye wanted it deleted?)

[Tawmis]

Did another Star Frontiers one. This is a B&W image from the Alpha Dawn rules book.

Clicky to make bigger. :)

[Rath Darkblade]

Nice job indeed. But I'm confused - why are they firing at (and throwing a grenade (???) at) an empty foxhole? It doesn't make sense.

Also, who's the guy with the green glasses - an ally? A friend? An enemy seeking to surrender? I'm confused.

[Tawmis]

Nice job indeed. But I'm confused - why are they firing at (and throwing a grenade (???) at) an empty foxhole? It doesn't make sense.

Also, who's the guy with the green glasses - an ally? A friend? An enemy seeking to surrender? I'm confused.

For the hole - see the pincers?

Are you not familiar with Ant Lions:



Do they not have them in Australia?

As for the simian type person (Yazirian) - I'd assume ally since they're trying to save him.