What did we find time to get published recently ? This :

• CONTENT ABOUT THE SITE. All the content about the site has been reorganised – how the entries are done, statting conventions, explanations about the shorthands, copyrights policy, links to other sites, etc. We’re still tinkering with it, but what’s left is decorating with random images, shooting two videos and finding the last few typos and unclear sentences.
  If you like the site (why else would you be reading this ?) you’ll probably enjoy reading the material. It’s much easier to peruse than the old FAQ, there’s new material, it’s better-written, etc.
  All the buttons that used to lead to the FAQ, the Copyrights page, the Links page, etc. now go the new, reorganised content. This is a transitory situation as we evolve toward a streamlined version of the site.
• Obscure Marvel Universe jobber villain Shatterfist was rewritten for style and clarity.
• MASS EFFECT. Two rounds of rework and additions :
  • The second entry for our main version of Commander Shepard – Mandala Shepard – was extended both in terms of text and illustrations. The pictures column is plus-sized as part of ongoing tests.
  • The entry for Tali’Zorah received an additional round of textual polish and now includes the events in Mass Effect Homeworlds #2, taking place just before her entrance in ME1.
• Our very old Blue Eagle notes now mention the mace he’s occasionally been using.
• DC ADVENTURES DUAL-STATTING. This time it’s the Aryan Brigade component of the Cadre that gets DCA-ified, namely :
  • Backlash
  • Blind Faith
  • Golden Eagle
  • Heatmonger
  • Iron Cross
• Minor bits of text polishing to our Tiger Girl entry.
• DC HEROES RULES STUFF.
  • I was certain that I had explained what the notation Always On and Already Factored In that we use a lot had been explained – but that explanation is nowhere to be found. So our New Rules (Limitations) article now has usage notes to expain what it means exactly.
  • Stagger is a new Power we’ve eventually had to hammer out to represent certain attacks that daze and stun without really inflicting damage, mostly in video games. Extensive design notes included.
• ARE YOU A WEB DESIGNER ? Publication on writeups.org continues to slow down as I need to go through a lot of material about image quality, clear page layouts, the most legible web typographies, etc. to avoid repeating my previous design mistakes. If you’re a professional and feel like critiquing mockups, feel free to pop up at our Yahoo! Group.

Current number of entries is 4,918. Remember that the donations are open – http://www.writeups.org/donate.php – to help pay our server costs. All donations count !

Apparently I’m doing these most Thursdays, so here goes – what was done recently. Note that there’s design work going on about possible evolutions of the site, which is slowing down publication.

• MASS EFFECT. One big thing and one small thing :
  • It’s now Kasumi Gōtō‘s turn to get a lovingly-crafted entry.
  • The entry for Kaidan Alenko received some additional pictures from Mass Effect 2 (it’s the same character model but heh, more pictures)
• SEVEN SOLDIERS. I, Spyder‘s entry was rewritten for style and clarity.
• FIGHTING FANTASY. Another tiny entry from these old, old gamebooks – the cyclops from Island of the Lizard King.
• BLACK PANTHER. Gareth now covers two takes on T’Challa that follow Priest’s :
  • The era written by Reginald Hudlin
  • The Doomwar era
• SQUADRON SUPREME. Our old Hyperion and Power Princess entries have had some AVs adjusted.
• DIABLO II. Our notes about the Amazon in this classic video game, just because we can.
• The first entry for KGBeast – the ‘classic’ one – had its text revised since it was very old. The art was fully redone and there are now DC Adventures stats by Pawsplay.
• Robert’s notes about Stephanie Plum are also in, after the worgmeister took upon himself the daunting task of selecting photos of Katherine Heigl.
• Made up an illustration for old homemade character Slamdance to test the Saint’s Row free character designer.
• Camorouge, a useful DC Universe mercenary/spy, has been rewritten and reillustrated for improved quality.
• And finally, Ethan got done a profile of the alien Kanamits (from the famous The Twilight Zone episode How to serve man).

Current number of entries is 4,918. Remember that the donations are open – http://www.writeups.org/donate.php – to help pay our server costs. All donations count !

The queue of DC Adventures stats waiting for publication is getting large, so here are DCA stats for the oh-so convenient villains of the original Cadre and their successors :

• Shatterfist I
• Shatterfist II
• Crowbar
• Fastball
• Nightfall
• Shrike III
• Starshrike
• Black Mass

Much of the workload recently has been in preparing possible evolutions of the site itself rather than publishing content, so here are two random excerpts from the lengthy Mass Effect illustration work.

Ready for more ? ‘k. Roll call :

• MASS EFFECT. Somehow, two entries :
  • Zaeed Massani now is on WORG, and we’re not responsible for any death and maiming that may result.
  • Dr. Mari Park-Shepard is an example for an alternate version of a paragon Shepard.
• The Icicle, a Golden Age Green Lantern baddie. He’s there as a bit of path-clearing toward an eventual revised Tigress entry – but then we walk long paths.
• BLACK PANTHER. Two entries by Gareth:
  • Black Panther (Shuri), the Princess Regent of Wakanda. The title for T’Challa‘s current entry was clarified in consequence.
  • A small entry for Ohyaku, a mercenary with electrified whips.
• Our small ‘Marvel secret age in the DCU’ article had its title expanded to include the author’s name, since many people know the content as “Kansas Jim’s secret age“.
• AVENGERS. Gareth wrote a second entry for Noh-Varr – this one covers his Protector and Captain Marvel identities. Noh-Varr’s entry as Marvel Boy was renamed for clarity’s sake.
• WONDER WOMAN. Two thoroughly annecdotal – but useful – pit fighters :
  • Muck the Unknownable
  • Lira the android
• HELLBLAZER. A companion entry to the John Constantine one – Peter wrote Chas Chandler up.

Current number of entries is 4910. Remember that the donations are open – http://www.writeups.org/donate.php – to help pay our server costs. All donations count !

We’re running late on DC Adventures front, so here’s a quick set of stats. The following entries are now dual-statted :

• Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)
• Our two entries for Jillian Woods — as Shadowoman and as Sepulcre
• Two of our entries for Jimmy Woo — writeup 1, writeup 2
• Taurus (Cornelius van Lunt)
• Alexandra Goncharova (and Renko)

And a happy fourth of July to about half our readership.

Time to take a brisk stroll through recent Marvel sourcebooks to use reprinted versions of the illustrations, use the official background data (height, weight, etc.), etc.

A depressing number of those Marvel articles correspond to very old and not very good writeups.org entries that really should be rewritten. The list of stuff to be rewritten is colossal, though, so waiting for the entries to be redone to include the new data would be a bad idea.

Entries that received changes :

• Aleta (one new official illo, changed height/weight)
• Cauldron (one new official illo, added a few official numbers about his powers and size)
• Baron Blood (redid the illustrations and added the new official one)
• Dr. Spectrum (Alice Nugent) (added official illo, changed height)
• Eel (Leopold Stryke) (reprinted and new illustrations)
• Foolkiller (Greg Salinger) (added new illustration, redid main illustration, clarified title)
• Frank Drake (redid illustration column)
• Interloper (much improved version of the illustration)
• Jerry Morgan (much improved version of the illustration)
• Mad Dog (redid illustration column)
• Manslaughter (improved version of the illustration)
• Nebulon (redid illustration column)
• Nocturne (vampire) (averaged height/weight, new illustration)
• Powerhouse (Rieg Davan) (improved version of the main illustration)
• Varnae (new illustration)
• Ultima (averaged height/weight, added name and names of relatives, mentioned official speculation as to powers, new illustration)
• The Word (newly-revealed real name added to the entry and its title)
• Spitfire (Jacqueline Falsworth) (writeup 5) (new illustration)
• Queen Divine Justice (new illustration, official height/weight, added Toyoshi to the Background block)
• Solarr (new illustration)

Three entries actually got redone because I couldn’t resist :

• Andromeda is now more clearly referenced as Andromeda Attumasen, the texts were rewritten for concision and style, there’s a new illustration and the other illustrations were improved. Her history and characterisation were also updated.
• All illustrations for the Tomazooma robot impostor were redone, and the texts have been expanded and reviewed.
• Shellshock had his illustration column redone, the texts reviewed for style and concision, and background details from the sourcebooks added.

Furthermore, the rest of the Exiles stuff was modernised so we can move on :

• Supreme Soviet (illustrations also redone)
• Cybernoids (new entry)
• Hot Rox (illustrations also redone)

The Teeming Millions of writeups.org readers requested Pink Pearl, an obscure Alpha Flight opponent, on our Atomic Think Tank thread. She’s now in !

And lastly, our world-famous entry for Ivan the gunman – the keystone of all writeups.org entries – received a brand new illustration column. ALSO FEATURING IVAN THE GUNMAN’S REAL NAME. My God. Everything makes sense now.

And thus the 4,900th entry is a very small one about crappy combat robots. Oh, well. Can’t always win. 4,901 entries now. Oh, and don’t forget that you can now donate.