The Fem Four universe is set about twenty some years from "now" in the Marvel Universe. I have to admit at first to being a coward and a cheat. If I had real guts, I would have given Sue, Jen, and Crystal wrinkles. Sure it has been established at Marvel that Jen is going to live about 100 years or so into the future, so gamma radiation has slowed down (or stopped) her aging process. Also, it has been established that the Inhumans have a long-life span, too. But I didn't have to keep Sue young. I did. What can I say? I'm a guy, and I'm WEAK!!! But I am getting off the subject.

Anyway, this universe takes place about 20 years or so from the "now" in the Marvel Universe. Valeria, who is now an infant in "Fantastic Four" is 18 when the series starts and is about to graduate from Xavier's Academy for Gifted Children with honors. Why do the Richards send her there instead of a public or private school? Because of the unique quality of her powers, which manifested at an early age. Like her mother, Valeria has the ability to turn things invisible and form force fields. Unlike her mother, however, Val has to concentrate to remain VISIBLE. When she loses concentration or falls unconscious, she disapears. So Reed and Sue felt it would be best if she studied alongside other mutants who are trying to control THEIR powers. Franklin is in his mid 20's and has no powers whatsoever. In fact, he gave up all his powers as part of a bargain to bring Valeria into this world. Obviously, as the only one in his family with no powers, he was the odd man out growing up. In college, he tried studying for engineering to follow in his father's footsteps, but partly in reaction to his father's expectations and also partly because everybody else at college was comparing everything he did to his father's, he aruptly switched majors and turned to creative writing. At the beginning of the Fem Four stories, he is making a modest living as a mystery writer using the pen name "Benjamin Sparks." He is dating Luna, the daughter of Crystal and Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff who has no powers. Oh, that's another thing----when Luna grew up, Crys and Pietro officially got a divorce, but they are still friends.

(This is the one part that some people here will find unbelievable. Never mind a quartet of superheroes living in the middle of Manhattan. They will say there's no such thing as an amicable divorce! Heck, go along with the fantasy...I have no intention of making poor old Pietro the "bad guy.")

I don't know what job Crystal had before the Fem Four formed, but Jennifer was working at Matt Murdock's law firm. She was attending Val's graduation since she was also being honored for her legal work in advocating for mutant rights. Anyway, the boys disappear and Sue rushes to get back to the Baxter Building. Crystal agrees to come along, too and the four end up traveling in Jennifer's car which is a custom made Fantasticar made up to resemble a vintage pink 1957 Cadillac convertible. To make a long story short, they end up realizing that Reed and the others detonated a device in the Negative Zone which disrupted the Distortion Area which converts positive matter to negative matter and vice-versa. They did this to stop an invasion of Blastarr into the Marvel positive universe, but they ended up trapped in the Negative Zone. So Sue has to form a new FF team, and what is known as the Fem Four is born.

You can read my origin story at my web site along with subsequent stories written by my friend Andrew Shields, who is much better than me. There are more stories posted at my Yahoo! group which I have not uploaded to my web site yet.

(For people who do visit either site and wonder what on Earth would make this "Fem Four" wear the provocative uniform known as the "peekaboo" uniform, I frankly admit there is no rational reason. I just wanted to see them wear it. As I said before, I'm a man---AND I'M WEAK!!!)

Anyway, I'll post more about the Fem Four tomorrow. And I should mention more about Franklin. Even though he has no super powers, he is the most interesting character in the stories. I should also mention about the supporting recurring characters that pop up every so often...

One more thing, I should mention. Andew is a far, far, FAR better writer than I am. His work deserves to be read for its own sake, and you can see more of it at his Web of Shadows site. He recently published an original novel this year---a fantasy Western set in a place called the Far Reaches. I reviewed it at Amazon.com, and if you happen to buy Shifting Tides you won't be disappointed. End of plug.

Anyway, I'll let you know more about the Fem Four later!

I have a very amicable divorce - she doesn't talk to me, and I don't talk to her. It is the best we have ever gotten along

I'm sorry that I have not been able to explain more about this series than I hoped, but there's one interesting fact which I haven't mentioned. The Fem Four universe is populated with "first generation" heroes who are known in the present day, and for some special factor are still able to do their stuff 20 years in the future. (It could just be that they've aged, but they're able to fight as older characters. Mostly, these guys and gals have some factor retarding their aging----She-Hulk, Invisible Woman, Crystal, Thor, Namor, Hulk, Hercules, and Vision. Daredevil and Dr. Strange are still active, but they are older.) There are also second-generation heroes who are just kids or haven't been born in the present day---Valeria, Spider-Girl, Franklin, (new) Black Panther, American Dream, Stinger, etc. But there is one character in the Marvel Universe whom I intended to use as a first-generation character, but I switched and used another universe's character with another name to use as a second-generation.

Whom am I talking about? Firebird. In the MU, she's Bonita Juarez, a very pious Catholic mutant with the abilty to manipulate fire. What makes her interesting is all indications are that she is immortal, and as a very religious person, this bothers her. But I could not find much about her on the net and I really did not want to hunt up the comic books to do research. Andrew probably would have used her only as a very minor character if I did not find out more about her. As it was we took an unexpected direction.

I found this great one-shot TPB by Jay Faerber (writer of "Noble Causes") called "Firebirds." It's about a single mother who is also a superhero. Her daughter has been raised at boarding schools and rarely sees her, but one day the adult Firebird (or Rebecca) needs her daughter's blood in an emergency transfusion to save her life after a battle. So her daughter Emily finally knows her secret. It quickly becomes apparent that Emily has inherited her mother's mutant powers and is starting to manifest, so Rebecca begins to train her. I thought the mother/daughter theme was very similar with what we were trying to do with the Fem Four stories, so I sent this to Andrew for pure enjoyment. I had no intention of using this stuff. But he noticed that this character had the same name as the Firebird we mentioned was an Avenger, but barely introduced. Andrew asked if I should make THIS character Firebird.

I decided "yes." Since this was a one-shot, we had all the information currently out about Rebecca and Emily and the rest we could make up. My friend Tom Burgos was slightly disappointed with these change of plans, but I am thinking of writing a brief short-story which explains what happened to the original Firebird. To me as a Catholic, this answer was obvious. She went to the Pope to discuss her unique situation, and she became a nun. She still does occasional super-hero stuff, but not very often. The Vatican moves her around from parish to parish every couple of years with a different name so nobody notices that she isn't getting older. And when you think about it, next to wearing a burqua, a nun's habit is the perfect disguise for a woman who wants to conceal her identity. In my story, Rebecca visits Bonita at her convent and they talk about their lives and the choices they made.

Well, I'd better be going to bed now. Sorry if I bored you!

No Thundra???

Well, for starters, I do not know much about Thundra. Secondly, I didn't want this to be a "fake team." Somebody coined the term "fake team" to describe a bunch of heroes who would have no reason whatsoever to join up as a team were it not for the author forcing them together. The Defenders has been described as a "fake team", but they managed to get around the "fakeness" by emphasizing how much these guys can't stand each other. That is not what I wanted for my team.

Now you could say that the circumstances that strand Reed, Ben, and Johnny in the Negative Zone but leave Sue behind are convoluted. Couldn't Reed manage to have invent some sort of dress for Sue to wear that contains the emergency teleporter link and also transform into her regular uniform? But after the guys get stranded, is it unreasonable to think that Sue would invite these particular women to join her team? No---both Jen and Crystal have been well-established as close friends of the family for years after they left the team. As for Valeria, I can understand why Sue would be reluctant to put her daughter in danger, but she isn't a baby anymore, and Val knows this stuff more than any newcomber. The Wasp would be another logical choice, which is why I had Sue ask Janet first, and then had Jan decline the invitation.

As for Thundra, I believe she has fought the FF, and I don't know if she eventually befriended them. Even if she did, I don't think she is as close friends with the FF as Jennifer and Crystal. I don't want to give away spoilers, but at the end of the novel (nitpickers will call it a novella) that Andrew Shields has just written for me, one of the women leaves and a newcomber takes her place. But we've already established that this new person has become friends with the FF over the past year or so, so even this is not out of the blue.

I hope this answers your question!

I am getting a commission of the NEW Fem Four. There has been a slight roster change and the FF is under new management. I'll explain more when Kylie gets finished...

Anyway, I just got my new commission of the new FF now that events in the stories Andrew is writing for me have changed the status quo. Sue has left the team and Valeria is in charge. Dr. Doom is apparently dead, and he named Valeria his heir and successor. And Val has brought in Spider-Girl as the FF's newest member.

If you want to see this pic, please visit the Deviant page of Kylie Young, who is a very talented young artist:

http://www.deviantart.com/view/23857739/

Just when everyone has forgotten this thread, I've got a new commission. Any questions?

Pencils by T.G. Kinobi "TGK" Sangalang
Colors and background by Lee "Dead Dog" Byram

The last commission was meant to be serious (even though neither Jen nor Crystal wear "peekaboo" uniforms). This is not. Look, these girls have to make a little extra money on the side to pay the bills at the new Baxter Building, and this looks like a good way to do it!

(The color version is coming, but isn't ready yet.)
Pencils and inks by T.G. Kinobi "TGK" Sangalang

I think Valeria is going to be picked on by the manager ALL night long because she has her nametag on the wrong side (I find it interesting to watch what makes the bar manager nitpick and what doesn't).

I love how well the page came out, Edward.

What, is he too scared of Jen to make the same nitpick about her nametag?

I think so, Ted. Although, you would think the daughter of Dr. Doom would create fear as well.

Some people who never read the Fantastic Four when Chris Claremont was a writer are going to wonder what you're talking about, so let me take a little time out to explain who Valeria is in detail.

Wikipedia article on Valeria

Her character first appeared when veteran X-Man writer CC was writing Fantastic Four. The FF were on the moon when they saw a vision of the future with Sue walking alongside an adult Franklin and his sister, a teenager named Valeria. What was disturbing was not the young girl, but the revealation that Valeria was not the daughter of Sue and Reed, but rather Sue and the FF's greatest enemy, Dr. Doom.

Later, that same teenager walked into the FF's living room. Her explanation is that she apparently “timedanced” from an alternate timeline. X-Men fans will recognize this Valeria as the FF's version of Rachel Summers. Initially, the FF was torn about what to do with her. Sue in particular was caught between her maternal instincts and her loathing toward the man Valeria believed to be her father. In the end, they decided to accept her. Later, circumstances came about which apparently seemed to fullfill the prophesy of Valeria's birth. Reed became trapped in Doom's armor and was forced to pretend to BE Doom to deceive Doom's generals. To go along with this charade, Sue "married" Reed in the guise of Doom. I spoke to Claremont at the Baltimore Comicon, and he told me it was his intention to reveal that "Valeria Von Doom" was actually the daughter of Reed in Doom's armor. But he had to leave the book earlier than expected, so when Reed was finally freed of his prison, Valeria's parentage was still a mystery.

Still, she became a popular character with FF fans and stuck around for a while. This Valeria had the same abilites of her mother to create force fields, but could not become invisible naturally. (She invented a device to do the trick.) When the FF battled a villain named Abraxas determined to destroy every alternate universe ever created, we discover that Valeria not only really is Reed's daughter, but apparently she is the SAME daughter Sue had that was miscarried during John Byrne's run. Franklin used his "deus ex machina" powers to send her to an alternate dimension where Doom was her father. To make sure there would be no doubt about this, Valeria was put back in her mother's womb. When the same complications arose that led to the earlier miscarriage, none other than Dr. Doom intervened to save her life. The only thing he asked was that she be named "Valeria."

Does your head hurt now? Take some Tylenol and a deep breath.

All you need to know about my Val is that she is supposed to be this same girl (currently a toddler) in the FF grown up to be a 19-year old woman. Valeria has the same powers as her mother. The only twist I gave to her powers was this---Val has to concentrate to remain visible. Whenever she falls unconscious or gets lost in thought, she drops out of sight. Still, that difference still is not enough to make her more than an understudy. When Andrew Shields proposed that Sue leave the group and that Valeria take charge, I realized this was needed to be done to make Valeria grow as a character, unless I wanted to keep her an immature teenager forever. The only thing I had trouble with was that Andrew suggested that Lyja become the fourth member of the team. Somehow, that choice did not grab me, so I suggested Spider-Girl instead. Andrew liked that, which is why Mayday is on the team and in the last two commissions. Lyja is also with the team, but her main role is to protect May's secret identity. When May has to do work with the FF as Spider-Girl, Lyja uses her shapeshifting powers to take May's place in the public eye.

One more thing I should add. In the recent fanfic stories Andrew has been writing for me, Valeria has succeeded Doom as queen of Latveria. But this is NOT reverting her into the "Marvel Girl"/Valeria Von Doom role that she started out as. Valeria Von Doom was groomed from birth to rule Latveria. Furthermore, Latveria is her home and her people already know her well. Valeria Richards on the other hand is a stranger to the people and customs of Latveria. She is going to have a very steep learning curve as she tries to gradually turn Latveria from an absolute dictatorship into a democracy. And although Doom once promised never to harm her while he was alive, now that he's dead all bets are off---and make no mistake, Doom's intentions in making Valeria his successor were not benevolent.

Any more questions?

Pencils by T.G. Kinobi "TGK" Sangalang
Colors by Lee "Dead Dog" Byram

Nice work!

Here's a new pic by a Canadian friend of mine, Cara K. Russell...

I know this is a classic case of bad timing, but Garrett-Blair completed a Spider-Girl commission yesterday. I asked him if it was possible for him to finish by my birthday, and he complied. Who knew that would also be the day that Marvel would announce (yet again) the cancellation of Spider-Girl?

Anyway, I used Photoshop to paste it into a previous Fem Four commission he drew earlier for me. Hope you like it!

Here's another commission I got. The events in the fanfic are a little grim, so the light-hearted artwork is a much-needed relief. Hope you like it!

I received the scans to two more commissions from Garrett-Blair and used Photoshop to combine them and two earlier pics into a group composite. Hope you like it!

This isn't a Fem Four pic, but something I tried to use as a "headshot" for the article on Crystal I helped create at the Marvel Universe section of Marvel's website. (Most of my article was copied verbatim from a Handbook entry---I thought it would increase my chances of getting it approved.) Later, the moderators said they were afraid to use it because they felt Boris Vallejo may own the copyright to this image even though Marvel commissioned it for a series of trading cards. Thought you might want to see it...