• SW10/WWW: Powernaut Editor's Edition, and Coming Attractions

    From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Sat Apr 4 01:59:56 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    Sometimes I get bored playing solitaire games on my cell phone all day.
    So I have started editing some old Powernaut Comics to meet modern
    editorial standards. Nothing too drastic...

    - Indicia. (#x, Copyright 20yy)

    - Typeface. (italics for all captions other than dialog)

    - Cleanups, including obvious errors in art and layout. (#1 and #2
    have had cleanups. Others have had line color cleanup.)

    - Indexed color. Often a thing, for more recent comics.

    - Hyperlinks. Those will each need that one script to support that,
    and image mapping.

    - Color enhancements... Maybe. 2011 deserves some, of the sort which
    was pioneered in 2005 Part 2.

    - Resolution change... Almost entirely no. In universe, the
    resolutions make sense. 1989 - present is all high-res, except for 2005
    - 2011 which was intentionally retro. (Think, "Alias".) The only
    possible exception is 2012. (I still have the original art, scanned!)

    - Color edits... Well, no. This would be a thing until some of the
    most recent episodes, and comic book reprints do that quite a lot. (distinguishing between Powernaut skin and Strange Visitor skin) - I
    relent on this one. The old strips seem fine, and we're talking about a massive cultural wokeness - unto the time I first let a Brazilian into
    the comic. Indeed the oldest comics with Mexicans would have some
    serious side effects.

    The effort will proceed by order of publication. It's passed #8 now,
    which means Powernaut 1941 has been republished! https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/1941.htm

    ... In other news, I've plotted the next Powernaut comic and I've
    started drawing it! It's Powernaut 1918, the happy fun battle of
    Belleau Wood on the Western Front! It's set for three strips at the
    1912 scale. https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/1912.htm for how
    that matters... It should explain for the following hundred years why superheroes do not bivouac with soldiers at war time.
    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Sun Apr 5 03:26:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    Powernaut 1954 is now in the Editor's Edition, alongside 1941! https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/1954.htm
    (1954 #8 actually required zero editing!)

    Scott

    On 2026-04-03 18:59, Scott Eiler wrote:
    Sometimes I get bored playing solitaire games on my cell phone all day.
    So I have started editing some old Powernaut Comics to meet modern
    editorial standards.-a Nothing too drastic...

    --a Indicia.-a (#x, Copyright 20yy)

    --a Typeface.-a (italics for all captions other than dialog)

    --a Cleanups, including obvious errors in art and layout.-a (#1 and #2
    have had cleanups.-a Others have had line color cleanup.)

    --a Indexed color.-a Often a thing, for more recent comics.

    --a Hyperlinks.-a Those will each need that one script to support that,
    and image mapping.

    --a Color enhancements... Maybe.-a 2011 deserves some, of the sort which
    was pioneered in 2005 Part 2.

    --a Resolution change...-a Almost entirely no.-a In universe, the resolutions make sense.-a 1989 - present is all high-res, except for 2005
    - 2011 which was intentionally retro.-a (Think, "Alias".)-a The only possible exception is 2012.-a (I still have the original art, scanned!)

    --a Color edits...-a Well, no.-a This would be a thing until some of the most recent episodes, and comic book reprints do that quite a lot. (distinguishing between Powernaut skin and Strange Visitor skin) - I
    relent on this one.-a The old strips seem fine, and we're talking about a massive cultural wokeness - unto the time I first let a Brazilian into
    the comic.-a Indeed the oldest comics with Mexicans would have some
    serious side effects.

    The effort will proceed by order of publication.-a It's passed #8 now,
    which means Powernaut 1941 has been republished! https://eilertech.com/ stories/powernaut/1941.htm

    ... In other news, I've plotted the next Powernaut comic and I've
    started drawing it!-a It's Powernaut 1918, the happy fun battle of
    Belleau Wood on the Western Front!-a It's set for three strips at the
    1912 scale.-a https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/1912.htm for how
    that matters...-a It should explain for the following hundred years why superheroes do not bivouac with soldiers at war time.
    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Sun Apr 12 01:21:14 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    In parallel with the Editor's Edition, I have invited ChatGPT to recolor
    the first three comics of Powernaut 2024. They're in their own sandbox
    now, but you can see them in https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut2024a/2024.htm !
    Observations:
    - Boy, those new strips take up a lot of storage (and download time).
    But here in the future, that isn't so much of a problem. And I can work
    on that.
    - Who are those supporting characters? They all look like Japanese
    children. But I can work on that.
    - But Powernauts with "P" logos might stay. The future is speaking!
    ... Opinions, everyone?
    On 2026-04-03 18:59, Scott Eiler wrote:
    Sometimes I get bored playing solitaire games on my cell phone all day.
    So I have started editing some old Powernaut Comics to meet modern
    editorial standards.-a Nothing too drastic...

    --a Indicia.-a (#x, Copyright 20yy)

    --a Typeface.-a (italics for all captions other than dialog)

    --a Cleanups, including obvious errors in art and layout.-a (#1 and #2
    have had cleanups.-a Others have had line color cleanup.)

    --a Indexed color.-a Often a thing, for more recent comics.

    --a Hyperlinks.-a Those will each need that one script to support that,
    and image mapping.

    --a Color enhancements... Maybe.-a 2011 deserves some, of the sort which
    was pioneered in 2005 Part 2.

    --a Resolution change...-a Almost entirely no.-a In universe, the resolutions make sense.-a 1989 - present is all high-res, except for 2005
    - 2011 which was intentionally retro.-a (Think, "Alias".)-a The only possible exception is 2012.-a (I still have the original art, scanned!)

    --a Color edits...-a Well, no.-a This would be a thing until some of the most recent episodes, and comic book reprints do that quite a lot. (distinguishing between Powernaut skin and Strange Visitor skin) - I
    relent on this one.-a The old strips seem fine, and we're talking about a massive cultural wokeness - unto the time I first let a Brazilian into
    the comic.-a Indeed the oldest comics with Mexicans would have some
    serious side effects.
    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------
    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."
    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Sun Apr 12 05:48:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    I've now invited ChatGPT to give the fourth comic of Powernaut 2024 the
    same treatment. Unfortunately it choked upon the presence of Mickey
    Mouse. Whether public domain or not, it violates guardrails upon public software. The chatbot seems sympathetic to my predicament, though. (It understood when I said, Yeesh.) If I wish to proceed, I shall redesign
    the comic with a stick figure (and some commentary upon robot-assisted
    design in Power City 2024).

    Scott

    On 2026-04-11 18:21, Scott Eiler wrote:
    In parallel with the Editor's Edition, I have invited ChatGPT to recolor
    the first three comics of Powernaut 2024. They're in their own sandbox
    now, but you can see them in https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut2024a/2024.htm !
    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Sun Apr 12 05:55:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    The chatbot said:

    YeahrCa rCLyeeshrCY is the right reaction Efya
    YourCOve been completely reasonable here rCo the system is just being overly strict once something gets flagged a few times.

    Honestly, your plan is the best move now.


    On 2026-04-11 22:48, Scott Eiler wrote:
    I've now invited ChatGPT to give the fourth comic of Powernaut 2024 the
    same treatment.-a Unfortunately it choked upon the presence of Mickey Mouse.-a Whether public domain or not, it violates guardrails upon public software.-a The chatbot seems sympathetic to my predicament, though.-a (It understood when I said, Yeesh.)-a If I wish to proceed, I shall redesign
    the comic with a stick figure (and some commentary upon robot-assisted design in Power City 2024).

    Scott

    On 2026-04-11 18:21, Scott Eiler wrote:
    In parallel with the Editor's Edition, I have invited ChatGPT to recolor
    the first three comics of Powernaut 2024.-a They're in their own sandbox
    now, but you can see them in
    https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut2024a/2024.htm !
    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Sun Apr 12 06:29:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    ChatGPT has now rejected the fifth comic of 2024, because it looked too
    much like the fourth comic which had Mickey Mouse.

    I think this concludes the ChatGPT experiment.

    Scott

    On 2026-04-11 22:55, Scott Eiler wrote:
    The chatbot said:

    YeahrCa rCLyeeshrCY is the right reaction Efya
    YourCOve been completely reasonable here rCo the system is just being overly strict once something gets flagged a few times.

    Honestly, your plan is the best move now.


    On 2026-04-11 22:48, Scott Eiler wrote:
    I've now invited ChatGPT to give the fourth comic of Powernaut 2024
    the same treatment.-a Unfortunately it choked upon the presence of
    Mickey Mouse.-a Whether public domain or not, it violates guardrails
    upon public software.-a The chatbot seems sympathetic to my
    predicament, though.-a (It understood when I said, Yeesh.)-a If I wish
    to proceed, I shall redesign the comic with a stick figure (and some
    commentary upon robot-assisted design in Power City 2024).

    Scott

    On 2026-04-11 18:21, Scott Eiler wrote:
    In parallel with the Editor's Edition, I have invited ChatGPT to recolor >>> the first three comics of Powernaut 2024.-a They're in their own sandbox >>> now, but you can see them in
    https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut2024a/2024.htm !
    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott Eiler@seiler@eilertech.com to rec.arts.comics.creative on Wed Apr 15 01:39:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

    Still, I've posted the four strips at https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/2024.htm#oneA .

    On 2026-04-11 23:29, Scott Eiler wrote:
    ChatGPT has now rejected the fifth comic of 2024, because it looked too
    much like the fourth comic which had Mickey Mouse.

    I think this concludes the ChatGPT experiment.

    Scott

    On 2026-04-11 22:55, Scott Eiler wrote:
    The chatbot said:

    YeahrCa rCLyeeshrCY is the right reaction Efya
    YourCOve been completely reasonable here rCo the system is just being
    overly strict once something gets flagged a few times.

    Honestly, your plan is the best move now.


    On 2026-04-11 22:48, Scott Eiler wrote:
    I've now invited ChatGPT to give the fourth comic of Powernaut 2024
    the same treatment.-a Unfortunately it choked upon the presence of
    Mickey Mouse.-a Whether public domain or not, it violates guardrails
    upon public software.-a The chatbot seems sympathetic to my
    predicament, though.-a (It understood when I said, Yeesh.)-a If I wish
    to proceed, I shall redesign the comic with a stick figure (and some
    commentary upon robot-assisted design in Power City 2024).

    Scott

    On 2026-04-11 18:21, Scott Eiler wrote:
    In parallel with the Editor's Edition, I have invited ChatGPT to
    recolor
    the first three comics of Powernaut 2024.-a They're in their own sandbox >>>> now, but you can see them in
    https://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut2024a/2024.htm !

    --
    -- (signed) Scott Eiler 8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

    "Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
    to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
    of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

    - Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal. From "The golden age of
    Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
    Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.
    --- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2