It’s something I’ve complained about very often: I don’t think superhero comics give enough focus to the normal human supporting casts of their heroes and villains. Therefore, it should be no surprise that, even though the Rocket Racer has a large family, there has been little to no focus on the supporting case of this, if we’re being very generous, Z-list Marvel character.

While Bob’s family are one of his primary motivations as a character (he is the oldest of seven children and feels like he needs to help his ill single mother support the family), they have hardly been seen. Only one of them has a name (his mother, Emma), and only half of his siblings have even been depicted (most likely the three youngest). We know that Bob’s father left the family when Bob was a teenager and that Bob thinks he is a loser. Every other detail about Bob’s family is an unknown that can offer potential stories.

But if anyone cared about tapping that potential, I worry they’d ruin it. I dislike so many of the things that are usually done with superhero supporting casts that I fear those would be the first stories told using the Farrells. Naturally I have plenty of story ideas I don’t want to give away, so what I’ll do now is list some things I absolutely don’t want to happen to them:

• First of all, don’t kill them all. One of the first instincts superhero writers have is to take things away from the heroes to create a momentary burst of drama. It’s usually done in a damned lazy way, and if someone were to kill off Bob’s whole family, it’d be such. I may not like it, but I admit you could kill one or two. If Emma dies, it would be sad, but I feel like it’d be a bit of a relief to Bob and he’d hate himself for it, so there’s story potential there. If someone HAD to kill off one of his siblings, at least there would still be more to work with. If Bob’s father died, it could prompt a story about Bob’s relationship with his father, and that is something we need, though this way would cut off potential for ongoing stories on the topic.
• On the topic of Bob’s father, they should absolutely not reveal him to be “important” in some way. Obviously he is important in that he is Bob’s father, but I don’t want a reveal about how he is a super-secret government agent or a secret supervillain or an alien prince or something. The fact that Bob is from inauspicious roots is a core facet of the character and we need more “unimportant” people in our fiction.
• Similarly, I wouldn’t want to reveal that any of his siblings are mutants. Mutants are randomly-powered people who can manifest in the Marvel world, so there is no in-universe reason that one of his siblings couldn’t suddenly gain powers, but I just find it would be too much of a coincidence. If one of them became a hero or a villain as a result of what Bob has been through, that would be a believable consequence of what has come before, but one of them who just happens to have powers strains credibility.
• But of course, I wouldn’t want all of his siblings to become superheroes or villains. Much like the killing, if it happened to one I could accept that because there would be more. But what I want from this family is a look at a normal family with few means trying to get by in the world of superheroes.

I know I’ll never be happy unless I’m the one who gets to reveal the details of this family, but if someone else bothered to do it, I could accept that if they avoid these potential pitfalls.

Once again I’m seeking to speed up the process of working through all the Gurxian animals I’ve drawn by posting a bunch of them that aren’t connected by any single region.

Iakeab

A species of nocturnal predator that hunts in the dense forests of Gurx, the Iakeab are stealthy creatures with excellent lowlight vision and a tendency to grab onto their prey and just hang onto it until it tires itself out. Iakeab like to build nests in the rotting remains of vegetation.

Uuggovoau

Uuggovoau are a grasslands species that has specialized in eating nests of smaller animals, especially small Vootuph that live in tunnels in the dirt. Their claws are perfect for digging open the tunnels and they can insert their long Rel to catch their prey.

Simauginis

Living in the shallow waters near shorelines, Simauginis are soft-tissues filter-feeders that walk along the sands in the day, and burrow into it at night. If they are divided into chunks, each can grow into a full-grown Simauginis over time. This, and their rapid reproductive rate, makes them a plentiful food source for a variety of predators.

Otyanoa

Large, aquatic creatures with eyes on stalks, the Otyanoa are docile and often farmed by Strondovarians in cooler oceanic regions. It is generally assumed that Otyanoa would be extinct if not kept by Strondos, so they’re treated as an example of the Strondos’ mastery over shaping their planet.

Tesses

The flying Vootuph species called Tesses fill the same niche on Gurx that honeybees do on Earth. They fly around collecting the Gurxian equivalent of pollen and turning it into a honeylike substance called Vaumian. And yes, there are Strondovarians who care for Tesses colonies to farm that Vaumian, the Gurxian equivalent of beekeepers.

Imbaukla

Another predatory species from the dense forests, the hindmost limbs of the Imbaukla have curled forward into limbs used to move the detritus that gathers at the forest floor to flush out smaller animals to eat. Imbaukla are tall creatures, standing as high as an adult Strondovarian, with eyes that can move independently to help them spot prey to grasp with their sticky Rel.

Oaushaue

A flightless species related to the Glounaph line, the Oaushaue are nearly endangered and now only exist in captivity. This has made all three-hundred and seven remaining Oaushaue extremely notable and they are prized possessions of famous individuals and organizations. It is good luck for the Oashaue, at least, that their captors want to take care of them, lest they lose their status symbol.

While these Planet Gurx posts have been about the planet, Gurx, Strondovarian culture has expanded far beyond that one world. The majority of the Strondovarian population lives on other worlds or space stations. Gurx is still important to Strondo culture, but few see it as the place to be. Today we’ll look at some individuals who were born on Gurx, but left, for various reasons.

Kisilib

Wounded in an accidental explosion that killed most of their friends and family, Kisilib left Gurx to find new meaning in life. Living for a time on Doaphean, then on a space station near the New Gurx construction, and now works in a relay station on a planet in the Briagrog system. Kisilib has not yet found the new meaning they seek, and still pines for times long passed with lost loved ones. We can only hope things improve for poor Kisilib.

Pegelleb

Pegelleb is a murderer. This has earned them the title “killthinker” (“Agiihit” in Strondovarian language), which is a Strondovarian who resorts to violence to solve problems, which in Strondo culture this is downright shameful and is seen as indicating an inability to think. If a Strondo isn’t clever enough to come up with useful solutions, instead needing to rely on destructive impulses, they are considered too flawed to be of any real import. The only thing that keeps individuals like Pegelleb from being completely removed from Strondo culture is that their crimes make them somewhat Notable and so other Strondos can gain esteem from capturing and imprisoning them. Pegelleb is currently kept in captivity on a prison space station run by a famous team of Strondos who keep as many killthinkers locked up as they can.

Leafhearer

An extremely rare case is the Strondo now known as Leafhearer (if we translate from the language of the Rootfolk). Leafhearer has forsaken Strondovarian culture and left Strondovarian space altogether to worship the Rootfolk. Seeing those enemies of the Strondo species as examples of strength and ruthlessness, Leafhearer has joined a special unit of “aliens” who serve Rootfolk interests (with varying levels of desire to be there), and has show loyalty that has impressed their new masters.