The Iron Age evolved from an earlier EPU project, Hopelessly Lost. HL started out as a stress-valve parody piece undertaken by Zoner and me during the writing of the early Undocumented Features Core, but as it went on and we tried to inject a more serious feel into it, and build some longer story arcs on it, we eventually got to a point of seriously diminishing returns because of the story's rather goofy foundation.

In early 2006, while trying to work on HL's fifth episode, I finally snapped and, almost involuntarily, started considering a do-over. I didn't really have time to be doing a full reboot of a series, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. Bubblegum Crisis was one of the first anime series I ever saw; had the order of things been only slightly reversed, it's likely that UF would have been initially based on it rather than Dirty Pair (and what an interesting mental image that is). I couldn't work with HL any more, but I couldn't bear to just leave BGC sitting around either.

Issue #1 of The Iron Age followed within about a week, to Zoner's astonishment and my zombie-like exhaustion.

--G.

StarkWire: News and Views from the Future

The Series:

• Issue #1: "Meet Interesting Singles in Your Area"
• Issue #2: "Weapon"
• Issue #3: "This Year's Model"
• Issue #4: "What Goes Around..."

The Artwork:

• Advance poster for Bubblegum Crisis: The Iron Age by Philip J. Moyer
• Poster for Bubblegum Crisis: The Iron Age issue #2, "Weapon" by Benjamin D. Hutchins (art from Iron Man Vol. 4 #5 by Adi Granov)
• Poster for Bubblegum Crisis: The Iron Age issue #3, "This Year's Model" by Benjamin D. Hutchins; art by John Staton, color and Iron Man Mark II design by Philip J. Moyer (plain art available here)
• Type 717 Battlemover technical analysis diagram from the Stark Industries files (by Philip J. Moyer)
• "This Year's Model" poster #2 by Philip J. Moyer and Benjamin D. Hutchins

Bubblegum Crisis: The Iron Age logo designed by Janice Barlow

NEW

UF NXE TIA WL .45 HL GW

&c.

version 3.3 © 2001
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
Benjamin D. Hutchins
E P U (Colour)