Sunday, August 30, 2015

FEATURED TF: It's a Gas

It's no secret I've been posting less material than usual (thank heavens for the Reader's Entries, even if there's only two regular authors), nor that the reason for my inactivity is that I've been extremely busy.

Despite that, I've constantly tried to create new forms to attract the attention of the readers, even when most of them seem to have failed.

Here's a new one: a weekly section (it'll be posted all Mondays, unless something happens) where I'll share, review and generally babble about a piece of transformation done elsewhere in media. It can be from comics to TV, or even work by fellow authors.

Most of them, you probably already know, but if not, then you might appreciate the share. I hope these posts encourage discussion. Seriously, it's very easy to drop a comment with your thoughts, and you can even do it anonymously, if that's what worries you.

You might also drop me a message in theplanetoftheap@gmail.com suggesting other pieces we can discuss in future weeks.

So, let's start with our first feature.

On the onset of this blog, I shared my appreciation of the very old pulp comic strip titled It's a Gas. That lead to my very first caption adaptation, so it's ratter fitting that our very first feature is that one too.

Obviously, the review will contain spoilers (if there's such a thing in this kind of material), so if you don't know it, check each individual page before reading my comments. Sorry about the quality. The comic is quite old.


So here's our cover, and the introduction of our soon to be APed character, Jenny. I think she makes for a very appealing main character in this genre. She's cute, innocent, vivacious and though we don't know her exact age, old enough to fully grasp what's about to happen to her.


That Mr. Quint has a certain Spells 'R' Us Wizard vibe, which could only be a good thing. I also like that close up of Jenny, since we can compare it with one that comes a bit later...


Quint promises to change Jenny's life. Things are getting good.

We met another character, her father, who is "too young" for the job he wants, whatever that means for a middle-aged man. Anyway, this ought to be the only credible motivation for him to wish to be older later on.


"An answer to dreams". It's never stated how the gas determines if a person is to be made older of younger, but this seems to be the answer. It depends on what do you wish. In that case, Jenny is dreaming of being a young adult. An appealing character, I told you. I've always preferred willing characters over reluctant ones.

And now it's Jenny's mother turn. She wishes to be young again to regain her looks.


Despite her worries, Jenny's mother seems to have a good figure in this page. Which bodes well for Jenny. Anyway, here the parents are showcased as not very pleasant people, which makes it easier for us to accept their fates. They also ignore Jenny, even though she's holding the instrument of said fates.


This is it. THE PAGE. Luckily, I found this one in a better quality. Open it in a new tab.

Everything about this page is perfect. It starts by telling us Jenny is anxious to try it on. If, as I believe, she knows what the gas will do to her (and despite her surprise here, the theory is supported in the next page), that means she is aware she's about to become a woman. I love when there's a feeling of anticipation before the transformation itself.

And then it happens, and it's great. There's an actual process, in what's probably the very best panel in the history of AP comics. The choice of wear is also very good. The fact that it's torn and also the changing length of the sleeves and hem (from ankles to mid-tight) gives you a very good idea of how much she has grown.

There's also that classic "What's... happening... to me!" line, which is better if you imagine her voice is changing with each word.

Then there's the character design. I think the gritty style of the drawings fits this very well, and this is one of the few relatively realistic-looking APs there are. I love that they weren't afraid to give Jenny a well-developed body (one of the problems with some APs, is that they simply draw the characters as slightly taller versions of their younger selves). But Jenny is not only nearly as tall as her parents now. She's curvy, and perfectly so. Her legs and arms are toned, her cleavage can be seen and it's abundant, and even her buttocks are round. Her face has also matured a bit, which is appreciated and also mostly neglected elsewhere, and that's supported not only by our eyes, but by the fact that her parents can't recognize her at once. Clearly, she has changed a good deal.

Sadly, we don't know her exact adult age either, but she seems to be in her prime. Early or mid-twenties.


Now we arrive to the aftermath of the transformation, and though there are some nice touches, this is where the story lacks, mainly due to the short length of the comic, and because I have to admit I'm awfully partial to a deep post-change exploration.

That vertical panel on the left is great though. We get another stupendous glimpse at how much Jenny's body has changed. They did an awesome job drawing her there. Even her hands and feet look adult now.

Here, Jenny acknowledges that she knows the effects or the gas are turning people younger or older. Clearly Quint explained it, which makes her reaction in the previous page a bit strange. It could be argued that while she knew what the final result of the transformation would be, she was taken aback by whatever sensation she was experiencing as she changed. Then she panics and calls for her mommy because... she's a kid. Even when you know what to expect, you can panic. Did any of you play with metal on the microwave as kids?

So, here's where I would have liked a bit of exploration. A bit of looking at the mirror, or something. She seems too calm and too adjusted in too short a time. The bit when she realizes she has outgrown her bed is cool, though.

"It's permanent, momma!" is another clue that she was perfectly aware of what was going on. Naughty girl. She transformed herself even though she knew there was no going back.

And in the last panel, there's that other close up I was talking about. It's a nice comparison with the previous one, since you can see how much her face has matured, particularly her lips and the shape of her eyes and nose.

Finally, we see exactly what's going on in her mother's mind. I think that framing suggests she's even a bit jealous of Jenny's new look. Which leads to the rather abrupt ending...


Looking shapely even under the sheets, Jenny is already wondering about her success with MEN. Not even boys. That's not something I'm overly fond of, though most authors love to showcase that aspect in AP stories. Seriously, is attracting men the only perk of getting older? I also can't understand why she's thinking about something like that, since there were no mental changes to her aging, and she was too young to be thinking in those terms. Maybe it's simply an outburst of her new hormones? I do like that she acknowledges her own attractiveness, though.

This is also one of those strange sources where they address the theme of missing childhood, which is a kind of tragic element to this genre, and one that I like to avoid in most my stories. I usually convince myself they aren't losing their life because of whatever magic reason/some health improvement.

On a side-note, couldn't her mother give her a proper nightie? Poor Jenny is still in her torn garments while some available adult clothes must be around. I guess the woman is too preoccupied with her own plans to care about her girl's comfort.

Another nice look at Jenny's figure courtesy of that silhouette...

And the final reveal, which is no reveal at all. By the way whatever happened to the mom's clothes?



That's all. This is the kind of story that leaves you (or me, at least) wanting for more, not exactly for missed opportunities, but because what you saw was so good, you need the keep with it.

I was so curious about the aftermath that I even wrote an ill-conceived sequel to my adaptation of the comic. Don't ask. I was starting with the blog and even worse at it that I am now.

But it does leave you with a few questions. For one, there's nobody to take care of Jenny now, and she was already due to a difficult adjustment period. And who will take care of the baby and the old man?

Despite the lack of aftermath, as I've said, this has everything I ask in an AP: the thrill of the anticipation, a visible process, noticeable physical changes in the character and a bit of wonder and surprise at the changes (if not enough of that either). Yet, I think even after all these years, this is a clear contender for the "Best AP Ever" title.

I give it a perfect score of 5 TF STARS out of 5.

It has also influenced my work in many ways, and I suppose I should talk a bit about the adaptation. I'm not overly fond of it (something in common with most of my work from that period), but I suppose it was a landmark in many ways.

Something that didn't convince me is the choice of models. The little girl is a bit too young when compared to her original counterpart. Then there the adult one, towards which I am fairly indifferent right now. Not that worthy of one of my favorite comics.. I distinctly remember this was a very difficult image hunt for me, mainly because I wanted to keep the general appearance of the characters.

In the end, I couldn't find a good picture of a redhead in a nightie, nor a yellow nightie for that matter. So I settled for a blonde in a purple one, and I made my very first major Photoshopping. I think I did a good job with the hair, but the yellow isn't that good. I also tried to replicate a bit of the tearing in the nightie, both in the hem and the cleavage. I also dropped one of her straps (ugh, the original had sleeves!) and I even added a headband. I found the unaltered image again for comparisson.

I'm not even revisiting the text. I'm pretty sure I couldn't write anything back then, though I remember that I dropped countless references to the comic. And then there's the sequel, which is simply garbage.

That's all this week. See you with another feature next Monday. And please comment. Everyone knows It's a Gas, I think. Share your thoughts on it.



PS: Other than the final part of BLZBub' story, this month's Reader's Entries are closed. I know TG was a very weird category, so you have a very open one for September: Science-Fiction.

READER'S ENTRY: Release of Stress (Part 3)



Release of Stress (Part 3)
by BLZBub


The next morning, Lily and Robyn woke up and they could already feel that they’ve become more like their new personas. Lily was far more interested in playing and didn’t quite care as much about the things she had to do, so Robyn had to call Evan’s workplace and tell them that Evan was sick. Robyn, on the other hand, was maturing in tastes and interests. Playing childish games seem less interesting to her and she’d rather be engaging in more adult activities. However, both of them realized they had better fix their situation before they lose all interest of returning to normal.


Fortunately for the pair, Robyn really had acquired the ability to drive. It came quite naturally to her and it just took a bit of prompting from Lily to get them to the mall. Robyn in particular had fun with driving, feeling so confident and able to go wherever she wanted. It was almost enough to make her not want to go back to being Robby again, but she had to change back for Lily’s sake. Maybe she’ll be able to talk the wizard for her own medallion.

The store was still there when the duo arrived, but the person behind the counter was not the wizard, but an attractive young woman. “Did you change yourself too?” asked Lily.

“Me? No, I’m the owner’s apprentice. And I’m guessing since you asked that question, you’ve been changed by something in here,” said the woman.

“Yes, this medallion, but it’s broken,” said Lily, holding up the medallion.

The apprentice took and looked it over. “I see. It looks like you’ve worn it past its limits. This has gotten quite a bit of use,” she said.

“Well, I use it and it made me into the older sister,” admitted Robyn, “I don’t suppose you know how to fix it.”

“No, I’m not quite at that level yet. I can enchant items, but fixing already enchanted ones is a bit beyond me. But we don’t need any more medallions. I can fix this on my own,” said the apprentice.

“Great, I need to be grown up again,” said Lily.

“This will only take a moment,” said the apprentice before muttering something under her breath and pointing a finger at Lily. Lily jumped as she felt like she had been giving a static shock. The tingle in her body soon intensified as she felt herself growing bigger. But the immense relief she felt soon faded when she noticed that she was still a girl. She thought she ought to be male again before this point, but instead of getting her old bulge back, a pair of new bulges appeared on her chest. Those bulges quickly became more prominent as her shirt altered to show the growing cleavage between them. The rest of her body was changing to match this new appearance as well as her clothes.


By the time Lily was finished, she was back to her old age, but she was the wrong gender. She had matured into a young woman who looked strongly like Robyn’s sister, her older sister now. She was very attractive now and her mind had expanded back to his former maturity, but the personality was more female than male.

“This isn’t what I meant,” said Lily, “I wasn’t her older sister, I was her older brother.”

“Older brother?” asked the apprentice with some chagrin.

“Yes, in fact we were both brothers,” said Lily, “We’re not supposed to be women at all.”

“Oh…this complicates things,” said the apprentice, “I thought I was reversing your spell, but it looks like I’ve just added another layer on top of it. Oh, my master is not gonna be pleased about this.”

“So fix it already,” snapped Lily.

“I could try, but the spells could get tangled and I don’t think you would like the result,” said the apprentice.

“What about me?” asked Robyn.

“You’re part of the first spell. Any changes I could try on your sister could affect you as well,” said the apprentice.

“Oh for crying out loud, where’s the owner of this place?” snapped Lily.

“He’s away on business but he’ll be back tomorrow,” said the apprentice.

Tomorrow? I have to spend another night as a girl?” asked Lily.

“At least you’re a woman now,” said Robyn, who wasn’t that disappointed by the news.

Lily can her an annoyed look before saying to the apprentice, “I guess we’ll be back tomorrow then.” She and Robyn walked out of the shop and headed back to the parking lot. “I’m driving this time,” said Lily, causing Robyn to pout a bit.


Back at the apartment, Robyn was becoming more and more impressed with adulthood. For instance, she had once only thought that cellphones were only for calling people and playing a few games on. She was discovering all sorts of new apps on Evan’s phone, particularly its internet service. She has been scrolling through various news and was more appreciative that she was able to understand what they were supposed to mean.

The more time Robyn spent in her current form, the less willing she was to turn back into Robby. Adulthood had countless advantages, allowing her to do so many more things than she could as a kid. She wasn’t even really rejecting being a woman. Robby had been too young to really understand the major differences between male and female asides from ‘cooties’ and Robyn’s personality had been adapted to being a grown woman, with the obligatory change of tastes to go with it.

The only thing keeping her from wanting to stay like this is the fact that Robyn technically didn’t exist. She had no driver’s license or social security number to show anyone, no certificates to get her employed, and there would the matter of Robby disappearing that would worry a lot of people, not the least of which being her mom. Even so, Robyn wasn’t looking forward to having to grow up the long way.


Lily had to admit she was curious about her new form. She had only been a little girl beforehand and had often wondered what she’d look like as a woman. As soon as they got back to the apartment, she went into her room and looked at herself in the mirror. She was just as beautiful as Robyn was and removing her shirt confirmed she was just as sexy.

Her breasts looked lovely in her bra, but Lily wasn’t turned on by them like Evan would have been. Lily’s biggest concern was that after being put under the effects of two different spells with first one than another personality being laid on top, that there wasn’t much left of the original Evan. As comfortable as she was with his new body, she was worried that Evan was all but completely subsumed. If that wasn’t the case now, it was almost certainly likely to happen while she slept.

But she needed to become Evan again. Evan was the rightful owner of this apartment, the college degrees, the car, everything. Evan had a job that he could lose if he didn’t return to work soon. Evan had a mother who would freak out about losing both her sons. There was simply no place in this world for Lily and Robyn.


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Previous stories: Part 1, Part 2

Follow ups: Part 4

Saturday, August 29, 2015

READER'S ENTRY: Foreign Territory (Epilogue)



Foreign Territory (Epilogue)
by Ageiss



Two years had passed since the cousins Ben and Felicia had arrived to London, switched genders and settled on swapping identities, but they were so comfortable in their new skins that it could have been two decades.

Indeed, they had gone on with their new lives, and they were now very well-adjusted as woman and man respectively.

Felicia was a fast-rising designer on her own right now. In fact, she hadn’t been in London for over 9 months now. Her talents were very much in demand and she had traveled most of Europe by now.


She had loved her trips, but she was very excited to be flying back to the city she now considered home. After all, this was a really joyful event: her cousin Ben and best friend Annika were about to get married.

As soon as she took a taxi from the airport to the flat, Felicia was received by her other best friend, and Annika’s sister, Carina. They complimented each other on how look they looked in their maid of honor dresses and quickly joined Annika to help her with her hair and dress.


She was looking like royalty in her long and white bridal gown, and she got even better once Felicia worked her hairdressing magic.

But she also wanted to visit Ben before the ceremony, so she left the Austrian sisters together and parted to his cousin’s place.

Ben was also doing quite well professionally, and he and Annika had bought a nice apartment where they would live after the wedding. Its décor was still not finished, and Felicia saw it for the first time that day.

Ben was looking very handsome in her groom suit, and he hugged Felicia so strongly he picked her up from the floor.

They almost didn’t speak at all. They were simply happy to be with each other. Their bond was closer than even siblings. They had, after all, shared something extremely intimate. They hadn’t exactly asked for it, but it had happened.

And they wouldn’t change that for anything in the world.



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