Action figures have long been a perfect compliment to comic books, since every kid (or kid at heart) has that natural desire to act out adventures with their favorite heroes off the drawn page. Every so often, a unique style of figure comes along that breaks the mold, so to speak. Each Saturday, Donny B will be showcasing various offerings from Art Asylum’s take on the ‘block figure’, with a weekly spotlight on Minimates.
Geoff Johns has spent the last few years climbing the ranks of DC Comics, and he’s gotten pretty high up. Along the way, he has influenced many different storylines and characters – most notably resurrecting Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, Barry Allen and the Flash, re-establishing the DC Multiverse, and bringing us the monumental ‘Blackest Night’ event. That’s just naming a few of the bigger things he’s had his hand in over the past few years. Well, before he made the big splashes that I listed above, he gave birth to DC Comics’ Stargirl and her robotic-suited “sidekick”, S.T.R.I.P.E. You may recognize Stargirl from her appearance on Smallville, or maybe one of the growing number of comic book storylines she’s been involved in since her creation. Or maybe you’ve seen her in Minimate form 😉
When DC Comics launched their second Minimate line, they decided to move on from the C3 concept, and embraced the idea of integrating the 2.5 inch Minimate design where it was appropriate.
Up until that time, all comic-based Minimates were one standard size: 2 inches. DC felt that certain characters needed to stand above others, and that led to the release of larger characters such as Bane, Brainiac 13, and Clayface, whose heightened stature contrasted the size of normal characters who were still 2 inches.
One of the characters who got the taller body treatment was Stargirl’s protector, S.T.R.I.P.E.
Behind the Image:
This was a really simple photo to take – I simply found an image of an American flag from Google, and then positioned the two Minimates in front of the computer screen.
On Ebay: Geoff Johns
sooooo S.T.R.I.P.E. is a guy in a robotic suit? … or is he actually a robot?
I think it’s worth noting Stars and STRIPE is Johns’ first comic work.
Comment by Doorman — July 10, 2010 @ 2:54 pm
Indeed – it was his first comic work, and the history behind the characters and their development is worth noting as well:
Johns was working for Richard Donner (famous director, most notably renown within comic circles for directing Superman: The Movie) and was on location during the filming of Conspiracy Theory in NYC, where he met up with Chuck Kim and various other people from DC. It was through this that Johns was offered a chance to write comics.
He was working 90 hours a week (as a budding intern for Donner) and managed to get a pitch together a year after the initial offer was given to him.
The character of Courtney Whitmore was inspired by Johns’ sister, as Johns wanted to create a role model for teenaged girls – specifically one who wasn’t a sidekick, and who grew over time.
As for S.T.R.I.P.E. – his name is Pat Dugan, and he was formerly a sidekick named Stripesy. He had been in retirement from super hero work and married Courtney’s mother, making him her step father. He had secretly built a robotic suit (which was designed to be worn, not operated remotely) and ended up christening it to save Courtney. She had helped herself to some of his stuff and found the costume she currently wears (which he had kept from his days as Stripsey), and when she took it for herself, she found that the belt had given her special powers. Of course, she found herself in a mess with a group of super powered villains, and S.T.R.I.P.E. came to the rescue.
so there you have it – the background of Geoff Johns’ break into the comic biz, and the basic history of his first creation; Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E.
Comment by Donny B — July 10, 2010 @ 4:02 pm