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A question that drives me nuts!

Started by positronic, 15 April, 2017, 03:51:28 PM

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positronic

I was looking for a general thread where you might ask some question that might seem odd. Maybe "stupid questions" or something. Didn't really see anything like that, so I figured I'd start one. Just the kind of things you notice in stories that don't ever seem to be explained, or commented on in any way.

This may be one of them, or not. Maybe it's been explained or mentioned in some story I've just never read.

What's the deal with...
     Johnny Alpha's helmet?


a.  Judge Dredd has one, and Johnny wanted to keep up with the Judges.

b.  It keeps his head from getting bashed in, and/or is bullet and rad-proof.

c.  His brain's electrical activity generates alpha waves (emitted through his eyes). The helmet shields against and contains the excess radiation from dispersing, with might otherwise be detectable to anyone with the the right kind of scanner, so he can't be picked out of crowd or a hiding place.

d.  How the hell should I know? Go ask Carlos Ezquerra.

e.  It's practical for head-butting.

f.   Both  b. and e.

g.  No reason, it just looks cool.

h.  None of the above.

Essay portion:
  What's that odd-shaped nosecone thing on the front of his helmet over the center of his forehead?

  And what about those two oval-shaped raised pieces on either side?


Serious answers and jokes acceptable. Feel free to post your own questions that drive you nuts.

I, Cosh

G

Pt II. The pointy bit holds video recordings to verify contracts.
We never really die.

Andy Lambert

I'm sure I read somewhere long ago that the front cone shape was supposed to resemble a dog's nose. I could be mistaken, but I'm sure I gained that info from somewhere which may not be entirely authentic.

positronic

Quote from: I, Cosh on 15 April, 2017, 03:53:57 PM
G

Pt II. The pointy bit holds video recordings to verify contracts.

That sounds vaguely familiar. I guess I could have asked why it has that keyhole-shaped slot there too.

It's a very oddly-shaped helmet, which is what got me thinking to whether there was some special purpose to it. For years I never even thought about it; I guess I just assumed helmets were the style for 2000 AD heroes (Dredd and Rogue both have them). But while Dredd and Rogue's make sense for protection and as part of a general issue uniform, S/D Agents have no standard uniforms.

But they DO need stinkin' badges! (... that would be the 'spaceghetti western' part ....)

BPP

Classic rule of character design - be able to identify the character from their silhouette... Job done.
If I'd known it was harmless I would have killed it myself.

http://futureshockd.wordpress.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/FutureShockd

Steve Green

b & g

When they were producing the TV bible Carlos retconned the domes either side to contain cameras as well, and there was a holoscreen dropping down in front of his eyes.

The nose camera has been there from the start, to record evidence.





Design wise, I think it just followed an insect-like theme - including the stripey top that he often wears.

The Starlord helmet varied a bit from the one that popped up after the merger with 2000AD, it had another dome in the centre, and a poster from an early concept had some little antennae either side of his eyes.

positronic

Quote from: Andy Lambert on 15 April, 2017, 04:04:48 PM
I'm sure I read somewhere long ago that the front cone shape was supposed to resemble a dog's nose. I could be mistaken, but I'm sure I gained that info from somewhere which may not be entirely authentic.

Maybe Johnny's mutation disabled his olfactory sense so he needs a prosthetic cyber-sniffer?

positronic

Quote from: Steve Green on 15 April, 2017, 04:23:41 PM
b & g

When they were producing the TV bible Carlos retconned the domes either side to contain cameras as well, and there was a holoscreen dropping down in front of his eyes.

The nose camera has been there from the start, to record evidence.





Design wise, I think it just followed an insect-like theme - including the stripey top that he often wears.

The Starlord helmet varied a bit from the one that popped up after the merger with 2000AD, it had another dome in the centre, and a poster from an early concept had some little antennae either side of his eyes.

Ah, now it begins to make more sense. The exotic design wasn't intuitively apprehended. It does seem a lot bulkier than you'd expect for future tech, and I still wonder why the cam lens looks like a slot (or more precisely, like a keyhole) rather than a dot or tiny circle.

But video recording seems like it might make make a lot of sense in terms of documenting legal arrests or making positive I.D.s, because freelance extralegal warrant officers have to maintain certain verification and procedural standards to remain licensed S/D Agents.

It's funny that you see "insect", because I see "turtle".

Thanks for posting the actual graphic, Steve! Very helpful.

positronic

And now that I think of it, does the 'X-ray vision' effect come from something like emitting alpha particles/waves from his eyes and a resultant reflective effect in a spectral range that only Johnny's eyes can perceive? Like radar or sonar, only involving alpha waves?

Steve Green


positronic

Also just wondering if anyone knows a link to some substantial interview with Carlos Ezquerra? I'm extremely curious about what he has to say about his craft, and what his own personal philosophy or viewpoint might be regarding art, and so forth.

Another weird question. I often wonder if Ezquerra was influenced artistically by either Joe Kubert (seems quite possible, as he's popular in Europe) or Robert Crumb? I see little bits and pieces of both those artists in his work, somehow.

positronic

One question leads to another. You see a lot of Judge helmet replicas or custom jobs, anyone seen a Johnny Alpha helmet?

Leigh S

Mainly, it keeps the perm from getting too squished

positronic

Yeah, that Alpha is a real hippie!  :lol:

positronic

I had a short think about why the camera helmet might be so important to Johnny Alpha. It can't be that documentation is an actual requirement in order to collect a bounty on an outstanding warrant, because most S/D Agents don't seem to have them.

It could be that Johnny just recognizes the cam-helmet as a useful tool in getting the job done, and he personally believes in documenting his work. The camera could be useful for secondary purposes like later analysis, gathering visual evidence and clues leading to arrests. Perhaps there are also certain optical wavelengths that the camera can record that are otherwise outside the normal visual spectrum.

Another important reason might be to present recorded evidence of "first rights". If the bounty claim were to be contested by another S/D Agent as rightfully his or hers, video documentation could make the difference, and there may be instances of 'claim-jumping' other S/D Agents bounties after the first agent has done all the hard work. ("Whack him and steal his bounty.") In cases of a joint effort to apprehend by a team of S/D Agents, all the participating Agents would also be documented as a matter of video record.

And of course it allows positive visual ID of suspects by comparison of the warrant against the suspected perp.

Maybe there's even a secondary market for the VR gaming industry, something like a "YOU are a S/D Agent!" game for the home market.