Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The National Periodicals Table of Story Elements

elements pic

A collaboration between Jon Carey and me.

11 x 17 posters of this chart are for sale at Big Monkey Comics DC!

32 comments:

  1. Scipio. You are as brilliant as DC is sucky. (I'm still mad about Aquaman.) Once again you amaze me. As a long-time fan of the periodic table, I love the way you have preserved the periodicity of the elements: animals in Groups I and II, humanoids in the Noble Gas Group, etc.

    "National Periodical Table." Ah, Scipio, you kill me!

    Finally, I get Pi, X, and Av (ha ha) but why Cy for "The Fictionopolis"?

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  2. Gorillas are element number 3, only behind robots and origins. Sounds like the Silver Age I love.

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  3. Brilliant! (clinks her Guinness)

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  4. "Cy" the Fictionopolis is for Grimjack's Cynosure?

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  5. "Cy" is for City.

    My favorite is the symbol for the Element Pirates.

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  6. Any chance this will ever be available by mail order? I'm nowhere near DC and this is awesome :)

    EvilLuke

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  7. Great suns! It's the plotter's version of Wally Wood's "22 Panels That Always Work"!

    Really, really nice job.

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  8. Luke,

    If you contact Devon at the store, we can try to work something out.

    devon@bigmonkeycomics.com

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  9. Maybe, when the Didio Regime collapses (as it inevitably must) DC will come to its senses and cede control to you, Scip. Kind of a "bloodless coup" sort of thing. And your title would be "Editor-for-Life."

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  10. "Ar" I can't believe I missed it.

    Here is another comic book Periodic Table:
    http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/

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  11. I hope it's not printed, because Mocker and Criminals both share the Story Element of 89, and there's no Story Element of 103. Your entire Actinides (Action-times?) line needs to be advanced by one.

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  12. That's actually intentional, Jake; I was about to point it out.

    The version you see here is done that way so no one STEALS it. The ACTUAL version we have for sale is correct.

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  13. Not to be a pedant, but (well, who am I kidding, of course to be a pedant...anyhow) it's either Octopuses or Octopodes. The word is either English or Greek; it was never Latin enough to deserve a latinate plural.

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  14. Sigh.

    Believe it or not, I am somewhat familiar with Latin and Greek, and etymology therefrom.

    "Octopi" is used as an irregular plural of the English word "octopus" by analogy to similar looking words that are Latinate in origin, not because "octopus" is.

    Now, that may simply be fancy linguisticky talk for "a mistake we decide to adopt", but there it is nonetheless.

    And, really, Jeff; I compose a parody of the table of elements based on DC comics history for everyone to enjoy and the only thing you can focus on is "octopi"? And people wonder why they don't enjoy their comics...!

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  15. I look forward to your analysis of upcoming comics as chemical formulas.

    Oh, come on, it's the obvious extension.

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  16. Steve, I've been trying NOT to do that since I started this project two weeks ago!

    "Isotopes" keep coming to me:
    Lookalike-2 is the Evil Twin Sister
    Lookalike-13 is the miniature Kandorian dupicate.
    Etc.

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  17. Consider that as the only flaw seen in an otherwise perfect chart, then.

    Although I wish I understood the rule separating the Group I and Group II animals. And the Italic/'Radiocative'/Futuristic elements distinction breaks down when you look at it too closely.

    But all in all an excellent chart.

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  18. Any chance of putting this on a shirt? There is so much awesomeness in this table that it needs to be seen by more than the denizens of my basement...

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  19. I, too, would like such as shirt but I'm fearful that the "National Periodicals" in the title might cause legal repercussions...

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  20. "Although I wish I understood the rule separating the Group I and Group II animals."

    Me, too. I think the Group IIs have more protons or something.

    " And the Italic/'Radiocative'/Futuristic elements distinction breaks down when you look at it too closely."

    Those are the "hypothetical" elements, as cleverly suggested by Jon Carey.

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  21. Fab. Maybe you could just call it The Periodical (National) Table of Story Elements and then move on to the obvious t-shirt mogul-ing phase.

    In other words, sort of bury it in the text while maintaining a certain archness.

    Excellent work. Do I smell a hint of Nobel Prize in the air...? Contributions to Applied Comicology...?

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  22. Brilliant.

    At the risk of gilding the lily, there are a few unstable elements with Z < 92.

    Z = 43 (Technetium, Tc), which seems to be in the "props" group, might be better mapped to "Vast Cities" (Vc) than Awnings.

    Z = 61 (Promethium, Pr), umm... pity that one can't be left "as is". Well, I think it'd be funny.

    Z > 83 should all be "radioactive".

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  23. Now THAT ... is ooomphy. Bravo.

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  24. Chemistry PhD wholeheartedly approves. (I could suggest that Dynastic centerpiece would more appropriately be element 6, as Carbon is the central element to life etc, but the clear visual of the current placement is understandable.) Beautiful work!

    Perhaps i should get one for the lab.

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  25. We are setting up a PayPal account so you can order the Chart.

    I'll post again about it when all is ready!

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  26. Okay. The PayPal thing seems to be working, so here's how to order.

    Send $12 to Big Monkey Comics via PayPal (devon@bigmonkeycomics.com is the 'send to' address); that price includes shipping.

    Please remember to specify that you are buying the Table of Story Elements and the name and address to which we should send it.

    Thanks for your interest in this project!

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  27. I fixed the screwy numbers at the bottom, so now any charts you order will be double-89-less. I swear.

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  28. Someone needs to do this for Silver Age Marvel.

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  29. To all who order these:

    They'll be shipping out next week.

    Thanks for your interest!

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  30. Gods below, I love this....

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  31. They all went out today!

    Thanks again!

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  32. It has arrived, and is as great as expected!

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