Thanks.
The next pic has to wait until the fellow I've shown it to replies (long story, I'll explain if/when he does), so I thought I'd post something else.
I've been thinking about how a seventeenth issue of NAdM would play out. #16 is a pretty hard issue to continue from...For Capcom's sake, it ended with the arrival of three Grays, who clearly need Roll for...some purpose, and the entire run of the comic was one big continuity headache.
To be honest, I dunno why I like NAdM so much. Maybe it's the fact that it's the longest-running Megaman comic to date (if you're not counting the mangas); maybe it's the fact that, despite the entire thing being a damned trainwreck, the writers seemed to genuinely enjoy working on it. I think that it's because NAdM has such gaping plot holes and other continuity snarls, and it puts my dubious skills as a writer to the test (dubious because you're not supposed to praise yourself on the Internet. :U ).
For example...why Protoman wants to fully restore Roll's traumatic memories of being "cyborgized".
1.) He's not making any progress in fighting Wily. Roll is one of the most powerful robots to exist, or at least has the potential to be so (that's the impression I got). The problem is that Roll and her merry men aren't making much progress either, but for other reasons. Protoman wants her to fight on his terms, so "reminding" her of what Wily did to her (indirectly, but still) would help him tremendously. Unless Roll decided she didn't like remembering why she can't look at giant elongated W's without going into PTSD mode.
2.) Protoman has a vendetta against most humans, and humans did horrible, horrible things to Roll in her childhood. What better way to make Roll see things his way than to reveal this to her? (Whether or not she really does depends)
3.) There was something Roll knew during her days as a human that is crucial to winning the fight against Wily.
4.) Holzenbein still exists, and they're still turning innocent humans into cyborgs and shipping them off to God knows where. While they're no longer affiliated with Wily, they're still a huge threat, and Protoman wants Roll to destroy them. She'd never believe him if he simply TOLD her what she went through in '96, so...
Then again...NAdM Proto did strike me as slightly cracked and fairly sadistic. He and Zero beat the tar out of Bass and X along with everyone else, despite the two supposedly being on the same side. If he had just left them literally hanging, maybe the rest of the group's reaction to their "betrayal" wouldn't have been as strong...but no, he presumably unchains them (would that explain the button press at the end of #12 not doing jack in the next issues?), exposing them as moles. God knows how he treats Zero.
Another thing that bugs me...the Grays. They need Roll for...something, and they don't want anyone to die in the fight they break up--not even Wily, who's an irredeemable fuckpipe in NAdM.
1.) Roll has been stated to be a "biological computer" or at least have the functions of one. The Grays need to perfect biological computers, and Roll is the only one suitable for this task.
2.) The Grays aren't supposed to interfere with the affairs of others, for whatever reason (to prevent intergalactic war, I'm assuming). Since they can't hijack Roll without bothering her siblings, not killing anyone in the fight is the best way to go about it with minimum interference.
3.) They want the bad guys to live until their characters have been gauged; then Megaman can do whatever he wishes with them. Perhaps they feel (or ARE) obligated to do this to everyone they monitor?
Before I forget--Kalinka. It's implied that she may be a cyborg. If so, why doesn't Protoman try to reactivate her memories as well?
1.) Kalinka has no combat capabilities; therefore, "reminding" her would be a moot point. (Even if she could be modified, I doubt she'd master her new abilities in a fast enough amount of time for Proto.)
2.) Kalinka is a self-made cyborg.
And while this isn't the best problem to end on, what with addressing the Grays first...#12. Just #12. It makes no sense when taken into the context of #11 and #13, but while excluding it wouldn't detract much from the story (it would take care of why Bass and X have switched sides), it DOES provide some insight into how Roll feels about this mess: She wants it to stop, she wants her brothers to stop fighting, and she wants things to start being cohesive. Yeah, she cranks the angst up to unbearable levels...but given the context, I wasn't too bugged by it.
#12 is a dream. Yes, Mr. Shin said sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but it's the only way to make it fit. The place Roll is running around in doesn't feel all that real (even she doesn't know where it is), and she claims that she saw Dr. Light die when, in fact, she was shoved into a capsule before that happened. That's actually residue of what Bass told her. Now, that's what I can explain. What I can't:
1.) Roll's facial wound not being present in any future issues. I guess the writers decided that having her naked and gored was disgusting, and magically repaired it (the wound, not her nudity. Arg).
2.) Roll having short hair. This is just an artistic goof, I think.
3.) It may be just me, but #13 doesn't seem to acknowledge what Protoman told Roll. She doesn't know who strung them up, when Protoman was, like, two inches away from her face in #12! And it certainly doesn't do anything with that mysterious button press. Unless it was to release Bass and X, like I theorized earlier.
Getting to #17 itself--I think the best course of action would be for the Grays to explain their motivations for crashing the big fight, but not so much that it kills the tension. Maybe something along the lines of, "We apologize, but we'll have to borrow Roll for a second." Roll wouldn't want anything to do with it, and especially not after they try to explain that she's a biological computer (which she might know if Protoman undid her amnesia). From there on, I'd try to begin to resolve some of the dangling plot threads, and spackle over the holes.
Of course, it wouldn't be the same, what with my being unfamiliar with Brazilian colloquialisms and the language...But least I could do a mock-up of the cover.
Thoughts?