Our third member of the LMB Academy Alt class (and the seventh of our ten new logos) is the girl who - in honor of her late heroic brother - has chosen to take on the code name...
Reflekto
For this one, I wanted to to use the scientific symbol for "Reflection" but - oddly - there doesn't seem to be a standardized symbol for that. Weird, right? You would totally think that there would be. Oh, well.
What there is, however - he said, seemingly non-sequitorially - is a symbol for the 80's new wave band, Duran Duran, who just happened to have a big hit with their song, "The Reflex". Curious what that single cover looked like? Well...
Thanks for the feedback, guys! The fact that you're still digging these after two years means I'll absolutely make this a yearly thing.
So, as I mentioned at the outset, our final two symbols this year are actually replacements for two existing ones.
As you would have guessed from the "Up Next" teaser our very first "retired" logo is going to be...
Dedman
First, a bit of background for those unfamiliar with deddy's time-spanning tale...
It began in the 20th century when he was known as "Knuckles" - an enforcer on the planet Cairn. After a run-in with the Emerald Eye, he gained the vocally-activated power of forcing others to do his bidding. Making his way to Earth, he used this power to form a top-selling metal band which - in very short order - caused a coalition of other artists (led by Britney Spears) to conspire to kill him.
Blasted with a laser bomb at a concert, Knuckles was apparently killed, but - in actuality - he was sent backward in time to the 31st century BC where he used his power to establish himself as the Pre-Egyptian Pharaoh, "Menkuri Hotep Dic Nasewi" (as seen in the must-read Onevision, "Sands of Time Unfallen") Even in this distant past, however, jealousy reared its head as the priests of the Pharoah's court plotted to kill the interloper. Again murdered, as he lay dying, he whispered the phrase, "I don't want to die".
Apparently, his power was strong enough to even control the very forces of nature, because this dying command started a repeating cycle of almost instantaneous reincarnation that lasted over 6000 years. In the 31st century AD, the being - now know as "dedman" - joined up with the LMB, where he served as a loyal member for over a decade.
All things, however, must come to an end... and so, too, apparently does dedman's tale.
Though - at the time of this writing - the details are still unknown, conversations with the Legion of Instant Messagers of the 41st Century indicate that their (admittedly sketchy) historical records show no activity from the hero dedman beyond the year 3013... his story ending abruptly in the case ominously known as, "The Final Death of Dedman".
In his place - through circumstances still unexplained - a new name suddenly appeared... the strange being called...
Viridis Lament
Little is known about this new resident of Legion World, though his appearance seems similar to those beings described in the fictional works of 20th century author, H.P. Lovecraft.
His symbol (scaled noticeably larger than the average LMB symbol, further suggesting an otherworldly nature) has been seen previously in the designs of the fabled "Lemarchand's box"... specifically the "Lament Configuration" variant, fictionalized again in the works of 20th century film-maker, Clive Barker.
All of this is mere speculation, of course, but, I've got to tell you... I've got a bad feeling about this....
Thanks, brother. That one was actually a bit of fun to do.
I originally thought I could just lift your old avatar and do an overlay on top of it, but it was too small and I couldn't see the detail. I wound up having to search out a larger scale image of the "Lemarchand box", but the only one that was large enough was still in the "square" configuration.
So what I did was slice it into sixteen pieces and then, literally, rotate each into place around the center point of my template. Midway through it occurred to me, "Oh s**t! I'm actually working this puzzle box, aren't I?"
Long story short... you don't happen to know the name of a good Cenobite exterminator, do you?
Thanks, Zoe! Glad you dig it... and good luck with Ang!
For any other thread watchers, I've got one more in the hopper, but it takes a little bit longer to do, because there is a more "layer blending" required to make it look nice. It's on its way, though, likely by the weekend.
The symbols continue to amaze and impress!! You have quite a resume built up now; a testimony to all the time and effort you've placed in this project.
Again, I think I speak for all Legion Worlders in saying thanks and keep the good stuff coming!
For any other thread watchers, I've got one more in the hopper, but it takes a little bit longer to do, because there is a more "layer blending" required to make it look nice. It's on its way, though, likely by the weekend.
For any other thread watchers, I've got one more in the hopper, but it takes a little bit longer to do, because there is a more "layer blending" required to make it look nice. It's on its way, though, likely by the weekend.
Got sidetracked, didja, Ex?
I only said "the weekend"... I didn't specify, however, which weekend I consider to be "the".
Yeah... sorry there, P-Dinny... I did get involved in a bunch of other things and lost the momentum on this... one freaking picture from the end.
Well, no more! To spur myself on, I'll go ahead and commit to say the tenth of the ten will be up by... this weekend!
So, as I say, sorry for the delay, but better late than never. Our final symbol of this year's update - as most thread watchers will have guessed, I imagine - is a replacement for another of our "retirees".
First up, we say goodbye to the existing symbol for:
Lard Lad
What can be said about Lardy that hasn't already?
Part of the very reason there even is an LMB is as a result of a thread he first began on the old old DC Message Boards thirteen years ago called, "Who Are You?"
Lardy posed that question in an effort to break down the digital walls of anonymity that existed between he and his fellow posters, and really start to get to know these strange people. Well... thirteen years later, I think it's fair to say that the effort was "fairly" successful.
But who, in fact... was Lard Lad?
Well... if you believe the tale that was told, he was just a mild mannered grocery clerk who - through an accident involving an errant lightning bolt and a poorly placed lard display - became the latest wielder of the mysterious "Lard Force" that runs through the universe.
Trained in the use of these powers by his fellow Lard Knights, over the next decade plus, the legend of Lard Lad grew as big as his belly. Founding member of the LMB... their first Leader... and always at the center of the action. Married... betrayed... corrupted... killed... resurrected... powers robbed... robot duplicates created... evil future versions come back in time to challenge him . You name it - it happened to Lard Lad.
But all of it... every adventure that Lardy embarked on... was predicated on a lie.
Recently, Lard Lad learned that there never was a "Lard Force" at all. The truth was that Lardy's powers had been inherited from his evil father... and all other Lard Knights were only allowed to access this power such that the evil influence could spread.
With his father's death, the Lard Knights are no more... but the man formerly known as Lard Lad still honors their legacy by carrying on the values that made them great... fighting to guard all that is good and just in the universe but, now, as a lone...
Paladin
For Paladin's symbol I choose the only one I could... the chess knight.
This works on several levels. Firstly... it pays homage to the "Lard Knight" order from which he came (and has the nice design coincidence of also resembling an upside down "L" in reference to his previous identity.)
But secondly, it is also the famous symbol of the lone gunfighter Paladin from the classic series, "Have Gun Will Travel":
I tried several different chess knight designs, but all of them kept looking horrible. They either had too much detail which made it look sloppy at a small size... or they just looked really strange (seriously... do a google search on "chess knight," most are pretty freaky looking).
In the end, however, the answer was right in front of me. Some of you may know that I used to be in the army. Well... take a wild guess what my branch insignia looked like. The thing that I looked at all the time for five years? It looked a little something... like this:
OK, I've started running the logos under the shrink ray in preparation for the full board display tonight (168 symbols strong now... over 10% of all of Legion World!) but - in the mean time, I figured we'd get one last look at our 2013 inductees.
A big round of applause for your teammates,
Angdar Fel, Conjure Lass, Emerald Empress, Kinetix (Zoe Saugin), Klar Ken T5477,
Reflekto, Paladin, Silver Age Lad, Stuorstew, and Viridis Lament
10. Klar Ken T5477, Korbal, Krypton Kid, The Labradorian, Lad Boy, Lance's Realm, Language Arts Lad (Dave), Lash Lad
11. Leap Year Lord (or Lass), l.e.g.i.o.nJOHN, Legion Reference File Lad (Chaim Mattis Keller), Legion Tracker, Lightning Lad, l'il Rhino, Lonestar Ranger, Lone Wolf Legionnaire
12. Looks That Kill Lad, Loser Lad, Lucien Lad (Bevis), Malvolio, Matlock, Matthew E, Mattropolis, Mechana
13. Mediocre Boy, Minesurfer, Monkey Eater Lad, Mystery Lad, My Whee Fem, Nightcrawler, Nova Girl, Novelty
14. Omega Man, Omni Craig, Outdoor Miner, Owl Lad, Pagan Lass, Paladin, Paris Cub, Polar Boy
15. Portfolio Boy, Poverty Lad, Power Boy, Professor H-0011 (profh0011), Quislet Esq., Raging Bull, Ram Boy, Razsolo
16. Reboot, Red Arrow, The Red Bee, Reflekto, Ricardo, Rickshaw, Rockhopper Lad, Rokk Steady
17. Rouge (Dave Hackett), Sam Pureheart, Sarcasm Kid, Saturn Girl, Seahorse, Semi-Transparent Fellow, Senor Widebottom, Set
18. Shadowplay in Candlelight Lass, Shark Lad, Shining Son, Silver Age Lad, Sir Roy, Sketch Lad, Sonnie Bloke, Space Ranger
19. Space Tart, Spellbinder, Star Boy, Stoopid Cat, STU, Stuorstew, Suddenly Seymour, Superboy MDD Jr.
20. Tamper Lad, Tempest, Thriftshop Debuntante, Timber Wolf, Time Teller Lad, Tromium, 235 Andy S, Ultra-Jorge
21. Varalent (Vee), Virgin Lad (Clive), Viridis Lament, Walks With Crowds, White Raven (Whitelighter), Xben, The Yellow Kid (YK), Zardi - The Eternal Man
If I had to pick a favorite other than my own handsome and debonaire symbol, I REALLY like Bicycle Repairman's and I get a good chuckle out of profh0011's.