This one spun out of the discussion with HH below about possible updates to the Who's Who. No promises that such updates, inclusions are coming mind you... I was just curious as to which stories people would pick for each of their characters.

As noted in that thread, most stories can be found archived at:
http://www.chillwater.org.uk/HH/archive/others/

Or you can use the search function of the board to find links to your choices.

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Some of these won't be too hard, because I do enjoy writing little "spotlight" stories now and then on supporting castmembers and such.




Visionary:
Heart of Darkness, Chapter 22: The Conclusion

How to best sum up a character like Vizh? How about by dropping new readers at the end of a very long and needlessly complex story? (I figured linking to all 22 chapters (plus epilogues) was probably pushing it.) Still, this chapter has Vizh at what amounts to his best, surrounded by his friends and family and deep in a mess. Plus, it established the current status-quo... the lighthouse, Miiri's pregnancy, Dancer and Kerry becoming his sisters by adoption... the whole bit. That'll do.





Hallie:
A Trick of the Light: Part 1
A Trick of the Light: Part 2
A Trick of the Light: Part 3

Kind of a cheat to use a 3 chapter story, I admit... but the whole thing together is likely under one chapter of "Untold Tales". This was my first Hallie solo story, and as such it was meant to illustrate her abilities and personality. It also gave her a nemesis too, so bonus!





Magweed:
Rules, Fouls and Penalties Chapter One
Rules, Fouls and Penalties Chapter Two
Rules, Fouls and Penalties Chapter Three

Hey look, another three part story... and this time, the character I'm trying to illustrate doesn't even show up in the 2nd chapter! Really, while my favorite adventure story featuring Maggie is the original Tale of Magweed and Griffin it unfortunately does a horrible job of cluing in a new reader as to how the character currently fits into the Parodyverse. This one, however, does a better job of showing how the twins relate to the rest of the cast, although they're mostly passive here.





Griffin:
Flight of the Griffin

Finally! A single link for a single character, as the question originally intended! Admittedly, here I'm counting on the new readers already having some idea about Griffin from Maggie's entry. This short solo focus on him gives some further insight into his character.

Really, the best story to sum up the kids would likely be found in a chapter of Untold Tales, since HH does such a good job of making sure the necessary information about characters shows up in the narrative.





Miiri:
Miiri's Story

Perhaps not a perfect choice, as it's a bit somber and might not show off the playful and cunning sides to the character, but it gives the best idea of where she's coming from, I think.





Fleabot
A BZL Christmas

For Fleabot, I pretty much have to go with the original Parodyverse Christmas story. No, it doesn't cover his size-changing abilities, or his past, but it really does sum up everything you need to know about any interaction he has with Vizh.






Rikka Ulz Hagan and HAGGIE:
Family Code

This one story does a pretty good job of illustrating two members of the rogue's gallery. (Hagan of course already got a good showing in her initial appearance, up in Hallie's story choice.)





Akiko Masamune (and bonus spotlight on Rupert Weissman, Appraiser)
Valued Employee

This is a decent one for showing how Akiko operates, as well as the darker side of her. It also shows of Rupert Weissman, holder of the cosmic office of Appraiser for the Parodyverse. Plus a little of Midori, Akiko's assistant who still needs her own spotlight someday.





Joan Henry:
Driven

One of the few action stories I've penned, this one was entirely a spotlight on bit player Joan Henry. A little bit of origin, a little set-up for the future, and mostly scenes of her in action... which is about the right balance for the character.





Mary Prankstar:
Original Prankstar

As much as I love her therapy sessions with Vizh, this story probably does the best job of showing what the character is about. We even get a little scene of Mary Pfeffercorn there at the end.





Quoth:
Surplus to Destiny, Part 1

See? I don't always link to all parts of a story! Especially when there aren't all parts available. Quoth's role as Vizh's most Meta sidekick is laid out pretty well in this story, which just barely beat out her original appearance in "Chronicler Takes a Holiday"





Brap:
The Moderator Saga: Part... what? 19?

Brap, the biogenetically engineered pig that just can't quite seem to ever make it into main continuity, did finally get to offer a supporting role in a complete tale. This was a good chapter for him, showing his loyalty (perhaps getting the better of his common sense.) His first appearance in the unfinished "Undesirables" is a rare and elusive story, by comparison.





Squibb:
Untold Tales of the Bounty Hunters

Chaotic and morally impaired bounty hunter Squibb has had a few fun go-rounds in stories, but this original appearance probably has all anyone really needs to know about the character already laid out. He was last seen running for his life, a highly-wanted lizard man himself.





Kenny:
Subject
The Memoirs of Kenny

By oddly popular demand, here's really the only choice for Kenny's entry. Who is Kenny? Well, he's the Legion's gardener, who apparently exists right on the edge of continuity, meaning he's occasionally mentioned in passing and yet never shows up in any currently happening storyline. I believe he also showed up in AG's "Crisis" storyline, which really doesn't help the case that he ever actually existed as much as you'd think.





Ivan Yorsi:
Is great fun indeed!

What the hell... I ran across the link.

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Well, that seems fairly thorough. I could easily add Desmond Djinn in there, but he's dead. Roni Y. Avis would obviously go with a "Happiness" chapter, but linking to that'll just lead to heckling from the crowd. I'm not entirely sure what the deal with Wangmundo is any longer, and his chapter links on HH's site don't work anyway. So I think this will probably stand for now.

Mr. Epitome: if I had to pick a single stand alone issue that could encapsulate the more recent version of the Paragon of Power:


Doggerrel

since it shows his powers, his personality, and how he relates to Glory.


Killer Shrike: This was pretty easy, since its a story I've reposted specifically to give a person an idea of what the character is like:


Fifteen Minutes To Morning

Alcheman: I really wanted to post the Alcheman/Hatman Round Robin Jay and I wrote years ago, since its the most fun I've had writing a story in the PVB and it does a good job putting the spotlight on all the Woosters, but this story (despite needed some heavy explaining in terms of continuity) does the same thing and fits the criteria of being a single story:

So This is Christmas

Silver Aegis: Again, "Sic Semper Baroness" is a more fun story, but its 6 parts long whereas this little ditty pretty much explains the character in one shot:

A Chill in the Heir

I guess because I tend to read stuff and then move on to other stuff, for some reason I'll remember stories and events but never attach a title to it in my own memory. I do the same thing with comics - I'll remember an entire run of story, but I'll never remember which issue number or its title.

There are lots of stories I like, but I can't really match any of them by character and title. This is a really tough QotM that I can't really answer...

A very good choice, and one that makes me miss these characters all the more. Epitome's new awareness of the appeal of the kennel club shows still makes me laugh.





It's also quite good at spotlighting Grace, so a nice bonus there, in addition to Shrike's gritty action role.





I'm glad you picked one that had everybody, and I think Michael's efforts to deal with his Joy Corps and his family really outline the character well.

Could have had more Jenni and Trudi, but they were in rare form in their scene. They really need to be reunited with Chachi sometime...





Your straight-laced characters play well off of CrazySugarFreakBoy! I note...

Nice picks!

Excellent choice.







I got a chuckle when I saw you found the story be searching for the Sophia Loren reference.







We've done a couple of tag team stories that have been really fun; Resolution Crisis War was the other one we did that I really, really enjoyed doing.

The single story you've chosen here for Alcheman works well though.







Very nice.

So what about entries for Glory and Kat Allan?

~Hat~

A fine choice for Hallie, if in 3 parts.
















I agree the original Magweed tale wouldn't work to explain how she fits into the PV, so this one works nicely.










Considering Maggie and Griffin would probably share a Who's Who entry anyway that should be no problem.













Good pick.










I have to refresh myself on Joan a bit if we're going to write that team-up story, so this is very helpful.
















Another fine choice.




I don't know if Kerry would count as your character or HH's; she is a part of the Visionary cast, but also the Juniors cast. Something for the Apostate and Kenny the Gardner would be good too.

~Hat~

I'm still trying to figure out the best story for Hatman; I'm trying to find something that demonstrates his powers as well as his character traits, but also references his past (things like the fall-out with Sorceress, etc). Such a story may not exist, so I have to think on what best suits him.

Harvester - Conflicting Hardware
http://www.chillwater.org.uk/HH/archive/others/2006/hatman%20-%20conflicting%20hardware.htm

This is Harvester's second or third appearance, but we learn a lot of his origins and I think you get a good feel for the character.

Gamma Ray Gary - Another Front Chapter 5
http://www.chillwater.org.uk/HH/archive/others/2007/another%20front%205.htm

In this chapter of the Another Front series, Gary finds his sense of worth again as he strives to defeat Lord War, the universal personification of war.

Rabid Wolf - Call of the Wild Chapter 2 (by Dancer)
http://www.chillwater.org.uk/HH/archive/others/2007/call%20of%20the%20wild%202.htm

This story by Dancer really sums up the whole Rabid Wolf/Hatman conundrum and displays the nobility of Zdenka very well; her conflict between duties of state and the wants of her heart is laid out excellently. Dancer knocked it out of the park with this one.

Doorman - Doorman #2 - http://mangacool.com/php/show.php?msg=parodyverse-2008031420473900&search=Doorman&searchcommand=multi

We see that Doorman is a ruthless killer, learn he is an alternate-reality Hatman, and about his situation that means he and Hatman cannot exist forever within the same universe. Sums things up nicely I think.

I don't really have that big of a cast, so I'll take suggestions for anyone else I should supply entries for.

~Hat~

It's not easy when it comes to the main character, is it? Not surprising, I suppose, since they're the ones with the most stories to narrow down.





Rereading this will certainly come in handy. I like his little human touches, whether it's smoking cigarettes or wearing clothes.

If you're looking for more on Joan, btw, I ran across these at HH's site:
Joan's first appearance:
http://www.chillwater.org.uk/HH/archive/others/2007/vizh%20-%20hallie%20&%20the%20clockwork%20movement.htm

Joan's visit from Hatman:
http://www.chillwater.org.uk/HH/archive/others/2008/vizh%20-%20the%20visit.htm





Fun stuff... I really enjoyed that adventure with Gamona and D'ur.





If only it was in bright yellow font...





Short, and too the point. Plus it establishes him as the enemy of all delivery men. Nats should look out.

If I had just added them all together into one repost, then nobody would complain. I suppose I could delete the second two and hope that a new reader would actually care to check out the rest of the story. Might have a hard time finding it, but that's not really my problem...





Yeah, the kids are hard to nail down. They're probably best shown off in an Untold Tales chapter, but I don't know those ones well enough to find an example in short order.





Surely an Untold Tale chapter would best show off Kerry... and since Ian created her (or Dancer?), I'll generously leave it to him to pick one. I suppose I could pick something towards the end of "Mob Rules" for the Apostate, although he's not exactly someone that anybody else will likely ever need to write.

I'm not sure why everyone seemed to want Kenny included, but I tossed him in there now too.

I don't put a lot of care into my titles, but I try to get something that will at least remind me what the story was about when I run across it on my hard-drive.





I do think it's worth the effort if you find the time... your characters are harder for writers to just jump in and start writing, since they're not as broad as others.

I'm not exactly sure which one story I'd direct people to for my characters.

Semi-Transparent Lad: At work recently I explained the basic storyline of the STL to a fellow co-worker. It was brought up that I've written some stories in the past & he wanted an example so I choose STL since I thought he was a good example. He seemed to like it. Most of what I said was the basically the 1st issue (which is Issue 0) of his own series. So, that would be the starting point I'd give people for STL.

Chad & Ronnie: I don't know. Given that I don't think I've ever done "Ultimate" C&R story & there has yet to be an Origin story for the duo. The first Chrismahannqwanza story is pretty good but is slightly tied up in PV continuity. A lot of the C&R stories are tied up in its own continuity & the continuity of the PV so to read one stories you have to read others.

Catherine: Again slightly tied up in C&R continuity but does have a few stories where is not. The story where Catherine meets Alice April Apple is a nice small story but is slightly tied up in PV continuity. The Man with the Glass Breasts story is a good one, it give Catherine her one & only Villain (have to get back to him someday). The stories where Catherine visits The Lair Mansion & The Moon Public Library are two good character pieces. The stories "Family Time" & "Nightshift" are also good.

Lee Bookman: I don't know. Mostly since I think all the really good Bookman stories aren't by me. Lee has only really progressed because of him being part of the Legion & in turn being written by other people. But good stories about Lee written by me are the "File Room" series & the "Just another day at the Moon Public Library" series.

Ham-Boy: Not sure which stories I'd point people to for the Earth's Meatest Hero. There is no Origin story as of yet so that it out. I probably just direct them to a number of his appearances, maybe give the reader some background & leave them to it.

What might be my favorite story I've done is one that is tied up in PV continuity is my Proctology Membership Drive story. Sure, it's a variation on a Great Lakes Avengers story by Dan Slott but I think it works. I can't find a joke in their that I don't think works.

The Hallie Database

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Quote:
I don't know if Kerry would count as your character or HH's; she is a part of the Visionary cast, but also the Juniors cast. Something for the Apostate and Kenny the Gardner would be good too.

My problem is I have way too many titles. Just researching past events involves several content searches to find it.








I'll see what I can do, but because of what I noted above it'll take a REALLY long time.

I think that's a fine choice. Unless the character was created at Image in the 90's, the first story is usually the one that defines a character. (If the character *was* from Image of that era, then they likely remained mysterious throughout most of their first 2 years of publication, assuming the creators didn't get distracted and let the book just sort of trail off.)





With Chad and Ronnie, people will always assume that it must make more sense if they understood the larger context. The joke's on them.




I like the Catherine in the Morgue stories... but then I also like the Catherine in the comic shop stories. Really, you've done a number of good spotlight stories with her.




Ian has done a number of good stories with Lee, but I like how you handle him and the library cast.




He's kind of self-explanatory. Kind of.




With that team name, how could their tales not be comedy gold?