Above
- Silver Age Marvel Characters by Robert Bradley [Daredevil, Nick Fury, Hawkeye, the
Vision, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Thor, Iron Man, Captain
America, Spider-Man, the Thing, the Human Torch, the Invisible Girl, Mister Fantastic,
Doctor Strange, the Sub-Mariner. The Hulk, Professor Charles Xavier, the Iceman, Marvel
Girl, the Beast, the Angel and Cyclops]
Visit
the Micro-Heroes Archive ·
Visit the Pixelhero Archive
Due to the sheer number of micro-heroes that I've made so far [over 4,000 and counting]
I'll be using The Micro-Hero Archive as the archive for my work. This site will be
used mainly for showing some of my favorites and commenting on them.
This site is always under construction
Last
Updated - 14 Feb 07
FAVORITE MICRO-HERO LINKS
Ballbreaker's Micro-Hero Archive · Barney's Micro-Heroes · The Big Red S - A Superman Site
· Copper Age Comics · Herocreations Group
· Howie's Micro Galaxy · Lilguyz NC-17 Group · Lilith's Dolls · Doctor Strange...
Sorcerer Supreme Mystical Micro-Heroes · Marvel Monsters
Micro-Hero Site · Micro-Hero
Templates · Micromania · Rat's Nest · Rich's Micro-Hero Page
· Ryan's World of Marvel
· Star Spangled Site · TC's Micro and
Pixelheroes · Whirlwind's
Micro-Heroes
Visit the Lilguyz Micro-Heroes
Site
Avengers
Membership · The
Swordsman: The Story of Marvel's Original Swordsman
A Brief History of Micro-heroes
Frequently I'm asked about the history of Micro-heroes since I got in on the ground floor and have been participating in the Micro-hero community since its inception. Let me take a chance to address some of those questions here -
WHEN DID MICRO-HEROES ORIGINATE AND HOW?
Micro-heroes first appeared on Alvaro's Comic Boards during the summer of 2001. The
original version were first made by Donar [Gavan Carstensen] and based on templates from
http://Stortroopers.com [the website of a company marketing an applet which used Java to
make similar graphics]. Donar considered naming them 'Pocket Powers' but instead
settled on 'Micro-heroes.' The Micro-heroes (each of which at that point in time generally
had a small animation) quickly caught on as avatars on the message board with several
creators [including Torch [Rich Bellacera], Whirlwind, OMike [Michael Bradley], AG
[Scott], 1401, Jay Phoenix, Archangel [Chris Lund], Erik!, Ralph Haring, Lightningstrike
[Mike Berry], Michael Kaiser and myself] plying their talents to turn the templates into a
virtual army of comic book characters.
Originally, many of the Micro-hero makers concentrated on making characters which had not
been done by others, but they quickly found themselves adopting the stance that multiple
versions of characters were fine and that the enjoyment of making them was more important
than worrying whether the quality of your work matches up to or exceeds with the quality
of someone else's.
DO PEOPLE MAKE SUBJECTS OTHER THAN COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS?
Over time micro-heroes creators have reached far beyond comic books for inspiration. All
areas of pop culture - including movies, television, toys, professional wrestling, video
games, historical figures, sports and music - are among the many influences, with
innumerable sites popping up all over the Internet, and it's been that way since the
beginning. Some of the very first micros on the Stortroopers templates included the
band Kiss, Star Wars and Star Trek characters, the Micro-hero creators themselves, and a
variety of subjects. A diversity of subjects has always been encouraged by the
Micro-heroes community.
WHY WAS THE TEMPLATE CHANGED FROM THE ORIGINAL ONE? WHO CREATED THE NEW
TEMPLATES?
In November of 2001 the fledgling Micro-hero 'community' ran into some serious trouble
when Stortroopers.com e-mailed a 'cease and desist' message to each of them forcing them
to abandon the original template in order to protect their copyright. Soon after
this, Donar created the Lilguyz Yahoo group, and after a brief discussion among the group
members, Torch [Rich Bellacera] and I created a new template. Donar left the group
shortly after that as the struggles with Stortroopers sapped his interest, but Whirlwind, Rive, Urban, Brad Monge and Namor [Jeff Sequiera]
joined the group. SHortly afterward I began creating templates inspired by the comics art
of some of his favorite artists, beginning with Jack Kirby and including John Byrne,
George Pérez, Neal Adams, John Buscema, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Jim Starlin, Dave Cockrum,
Walt Simonson and Bruce Timm.
WHERE CAN I FIND AN ARCHIVE OR TEMPLATES?
The Micro-heroes archive has had multiple unofficial homes, beginning with Johnny Patches's Micro
Template archive. Another early archive was Ze
Ball Beaker Micro-Heros Site. The first 'official' Lilguyz archive was the Brad Monje's Official
Lilguys Micro-Hero Archive. Eventually, Ben Cooper, a longtime Lilguyz member
stepped up and started the Foxgnaws Micro- and Pixel-Hero archive
which now has over 20,000 micros in its collection.
WHAT ARE PIXELHEROES AND HOW DO THEY RELATE TO
MICRO-HEROES?
Eventually an offshoot of pixel art known as Pixelheroes began after a template was
created by Cooper. Pixelheroes often appear in the Lilguyz Yahoo group, usually as
the work of one of the regular contributors to the group. Additional Pixelhero
templates have been created by Urban and The Collector.
ARE THE ORIGINAL TEMPLATE AVAILABLE FOR USE AGAIN?
In 2006 the original template became available for use again when Stortroopers.com placed
them under a Creative Commons License, allowing their use for non-commercial purposes.
With this news, members of the Micro-heroes Yahoo Group
resumed making and posting them to their own group.
WHAT IS "FRANKENSTEINING"?
"Frankensteining" is a term used to describe Micro-heroes, dollz, or other
similar graphics, that have been created by using multiple parts of previously created
graphics. It is much like the old fashioned "paper doll", where bits and
pieces of clothing are layered over the top of a picture. Many Micro-hero creators
begin by using this method. Everyone is encouraged to move beyond this stage and
create their own unique styles. Many people do enjoy this method, though, and the
goal is to enjoy what you are doing. Generally, it is acceptable to use what others
have created within limits. You should remember to credit those whose work you have
used, and Micro-heroes which incorporate a large portion of their appearance from other
Micro-heroes with only minor coloring changes and/or editing are usually looked upon as
derivative. Some creators do not mind how parts they have made are used, but other
creators are quite adamant about being given credit.
WHAT MAKES ME THE AUTHORITY ON MICRO-HEROES ANYWAY?
I've
been making micro-heroes since late 2001, shortly after they first appeared on the
original Stortrooper template. After making them en mass early on I've honed my
craft a bit and improved my technique to the point where I can now make passable
"artist-inspired" templates [usually as an homage to my favorite
creators]. As a charter member [and moderator] of the Lilguyz Yahoo group, I was
involved in the creation of the 'Lilguyz template' which [in one version or another] is
generally the one in use for the majority of Micro-heroes being made today.
SOURCES: The Micro-heroes Yahoo Group, Alvaro's Comicboards.com, Stortroopers.com
Above - Original version micro-heroes by Robert Bradley [the Black Knight, the Black
Widow, Hercules, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Goliath, the Wasp, Captain America, Iron
Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Vision, the Black Panther, the Beast and Wonder Man]
Above - Pixelheroes created by Ben Cooper [Thor, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Captain
America, the Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and the Vision] and Robert Bradley [Hulk, Rick Jones,
Quicksilver, Edwin Jarvis, the Swordsman, Hercules, the Black Panther, the Black Knight,
the Black Widow, Mantis, Moondragon, the Beast, Hellcat, Wonder Man, Vance Astro,
Charlie-27, Martinex, Yondu, Starhawk, Aleta, Nikki, the Whizzer, the Two-Gun Kid, Ms.
Marvel, the Falcon, Jocasta, Tigra, She-Hulk, Captain Mar-Vell, Pulsar, Starfox,
Mockingbird, War Machine, the Sub-Mariner, the Thing, Doctor Druid, Moonknight, Marrina,
D-Man, Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, USAgent, Quasar, Human Torch I, Sersi,
Sandman, Spider-Man, Living Lightning, Crystal, Thunderstrike, Machine Man, Justice,
Firestar, Triathlon, Jack of Hearts, Ant-Man, Kang and Ultron], and Ryan [Yellowjacket II,
Gilgamesh, Firebird, Stingray, Rage, Spider-Woman II, Swordsman II, Darkhawk, Magdalene,
Deathcry, Moira Brandon, Iron Man (Teen Tony), Masque and Silverclaw]
Above - Marvel characters by Robert Bradley [first row - Howard the Duck and Professor
Charles Xavier; second row - Doctor Doom, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Sub-Mariner, the Silver
Surfer, Doctor Strange, the Thing, Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch,
the Beast, Marvel Girl, Angel, Cyclops, Iceman; third row - Shang Chi, Magneto, Captain
Mar-Vell, Killraven, Luke Cage, Adam Warlock, the Punisher, Deathlok, Wolverine,
Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, the Two-Gun Kid; fourth row - Nick Fury, the Rawhide Kid,
Werewolf by Night, Spiderwoman, Nova, Moonknight, Dracula, Ghost Rider, Kid Colt, Son of
Satan, the Man-Thing, Iron Fist, Black Bolt and Ka-Zar]
Above - DC characters by Robert Bradley [first row - Catwoman, the Atom, Hawkman,
Nightwing, the Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green
Lantern, Captain Marvel, Aquaman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Zatanna Zatara and Supergirl;
second row - Commissioner James Gordon, Firestorm, Doctor Fate, Blue Beetle, the Elongated
Man, Sgt. Frank Rock, Lois Lane, Metamorpho, Powergirl, the Joker, Adam Strange, Batgirl,
Jonah Hex, Harlequin, Lex Luthor, Hawkgirl, Jimmy Olsen, Plastic Man and Deadman]
About Me
I'm
Robert Bradley and I live in Phoenix, AZ. Besides making Micro-heroes I also
spend a good deal of my time doing basketball historical research, and am the founder and
President of the Association for Professional Basketball Research [http://www.APBR.org],
authored the book THE COMPENDIUM OF PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL RESEARCH and
co-wrote/researched the chapter on pre-World War II basketball leagues in TOTAL
BASKETBALL: THE ULTIMATE BASKETBALL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
My comic book interests should be obvious if you looked around my site. Mainly Marvel Comics from the Silver Age and Bronze Age, but also DC comics from the same era. I'm a huge AVENGERS fan, collecting the title since 1974 [I started with AVENGERS #129 and GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #2, both of which I bought at the corner convenience store and still have in my collection]. I'm also a fan of THE FANTASTIC FOUR, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, IRON MAN, THUNDERBOLTS, YOUNG AVENGERS and THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA.
