Spoiler Information and F.A.Q. for alt.Showcase.94 The supporting stories in this writing project will all feature New Blood Characters. For those of you who don't remember, the New Blood characters were all introduced in the "Bloodlines" mega-event of 1993. Each New Blood character was attacked by a parasite which sucked off his or her spinal fluid…but instead of dying, the person gained new powers. The New Blood characters are a mixed lot, with some being terribly bland and others having unrealized potential. In the time since 1993, only a few have appeared again and only one (Hitman, who is thus off-limits) has been a success. There is one thing we haven't told you about this story. One essential thing. And it's a biggie. So first, some spoiler space for those few individuals who clicked on this page but don't really intend to write anything. (You guys should turn back now) S P O I L E R S P A C E At the end of your New Blood story, the New Blood character gets killed off! After the character's story has ended and the day is through (and the character has been shown in a good light; no lousy send-offs!), the character dies in an innocuous way. We don't mean that (for example) Anima fights Despero and then Despero kills her. No, more like Anima defeats Despero and then gets hit by a bus on the way home. No two deaths can be alike. Also, the death must be in an innocuous manner that does not look intentional. Thus, email Joel Rea will be officiating the deaths. You must tell him what character you'd like to do and how, in the end, that character will die. If there are any problems with your proposal, Joel will work with you to fix that. You can read more about the project via Joel's Formal Introduction Frequently Asked Questions Q. How many characters are we allowed? A. Just one per story. And, for now, just one story per writer, but that's flexible. Unless he's the editor of Fanzing and he's already claimed two, but we can't do anything about the big lunk. Q. What are the rules for killing off the New Blood Character? A. Okay. You need to work in a death for the New Blood that wouldn't contradict the character's known abilities and invulnerabilities (for instance, Sparx isn't going to die by electrocution), and to all appearances is totally coincidental and accidental. You also need to let me know what sort of death you have in mind, so I can determine if it will work with what I have planned. I'll let you know either way. The rest of the story is entirely up to you, though I'd prefer if it showed the character in a good light in this finest, final hour (think of Kara Zor-El's shining hour in Crisis #7). Q. Does the character have to die humorously? I no that it can't seem intentional, but what if my New Blood died saving people or something like that? A. On the contrary, these are very serious stories. You should treat the New Blood with respect and try to portray his final adventure as one of his finest hours. But, his death must not be directly related to his adventure, but just something that happens afterward. Q. If I do write this thing, will it have to be set in the present? And if so will it have any ties to the other character stories being written? A. The stories must be set in DC continuity circa late 1993 to early 1994. For instance, you can't mention Zero Hour, let alone something like Final Night or Cataclysm. It's VERY important that the stories appear to be totally self-contained. In the real world, had this happened, there would've been no indication that these stories had anything to do with each other, let alone with leading up to the Big Summer '94 Crossover That Cannot Be Named. Q. Are there any other rules? A. One other very important aspect is that the story can't suck (even though some real-world Showcase '93 - '94 stories did in fact do so -- we're trying to be better than that!). Just let me know what sort of cause of death you have in mind. Also, don't have him fight anyone really major to DC continuity of the time (say, Eclipso). Q. How long does the death have to be after the fight [if there is one]? A. It should be shortly after whatever last adventure the character has (which need not be a fight), but not directly connected. The character could stop a bank robbery, for instance, and then on the way home, being cocky, sees a mugging and goes to stop it but the mugger simply shoots the hero in the chest or head, killing him/her instantly. Or maybe s/he gets hit by a car, or watches the Perseid Meteor Shower and a meteor which is only the size of a grain of sand by the time it hits him or her does so in the head. Or goes to bed and dies from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty gas space heater or water heater. All seemingly unconnected to each other, or to the last adventure, or to any sort of upcoming crossover event. Q. Who are the characters fighting? I'm assuming that this story takes place after the Bloodlines thing. A. Whoever you want, with some limitations. It is after Bloodlines, so the alien parasites are gone. The stories take place in late 1993 to early 1994, which is also when they would've been published if DC had really done this. So you can't use, for instance, the female Mist from the current STARMAN books, as she would be a young teen at best at this time, and without powers. Don't use anyone really major to the DC continuity of the time, such as Parallax (gag!) or Eclipso. It need not be a fight against a supervillain at all, but could be a rescue mission of some sort, or just some final heroic deed. Q.I didn't follow the Bloodlines Annuals. Can you tell me about the characters or point me to a web site with information on them? A.Not really, beyond the descriptions we already gave you. However, we do give you the 1993 Annual reference for the character. Considering how unpopular Bloodlines was, and how poor the comic market is, you should be able to pick it up for a song (except for Hitman in the Demon annual, which is another reason we aren't including him). Don't know of any sites just off-hand. Bloodlines was REALLY Not Popular among DC fans. We'd be surprised if there were even one such fan site devoted to it. But you could go ahead and hit the search engines. Maybe you can surprise us on this point.