Chapter 41: Publishing House
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
In the room, Colin waited until his physical condition showed signs of relief. Only then did he begin to ponder the fragments of conversation he had just overheard through his Super Hearing.
Just as he had expected, Howard and the others didn't trust him one hundred percent. Colin wasn't surprised by this. After all, Nick Fury had previously hinted in the taxi that they needed to hide their tracks. From this, it was clear that Howard and the others' identities in the Anti-World were not publicly known. They even stood in opposition to the Thunderbolts and Hydra that he had encountered before. Furthermore, from the 'Registered Hero' status of the Thunderbolts members, it was evident that in this opposing battle, the Dark Avengers led by Howard were clearly the weaker side. Therefore, their cautious stance and their investigation into Colin's identity were not surprising.
Just as Colin used his Super Hearing to listen to what Howard and the others were saying.
So, I guess that makes us even.
Silently adding a sentence in his mind, Colin shifted his gaze to the text before his eyes.
[Bronze Mark (11/100)]
[Faith (914/10000)]
Although there were some unexpected factors in his process of joining The Resistants. But just from the perspective of acquiring Time Shards, this result wasn't bad. Especially after realizing that the acquisition of Time Shards was also somewhat connected to the degree of interaction with individuals possessing a Twisted Time Node. This meant that regardless of Colin's personal willingness, if he wanted to obtain more Time Shards, then contact and interaction with Howard and his group would be inevitable.
Unless Colin gave up on acquiring more Time Shards and resigned himself to remaining at the Black Iron Mark level for his entire life.
So, in fact, all of this was destined.
Silently complaining in his mind, Colin accepted his current situation. Feeling the effects of Super Hearing on his body disappear, he closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and entered the Main World.
...
"Mommy, I'm hungry..."
"Just hold on a little longer, darling. You'll be able to eat once the Soup Kitchen opens."
"Mommy, why don't you come with me? You always just drop me off at the door and never come inside with me?"
"..."
"Because Mommy isn't hungry..."
In the Main World, inside the Messenger Newspaper.
Colin rubbed his temples and retracted his Super Hearing. Just as he had guessed, once he returned to the Main World, a sense of suppression followed. His Super Hearing, which originally allowed him to hear anything and any sounds within a ten-kilometer radius, was now compressed to only hearing the sounds from the streets near the Newspaper Office, and it no longer encompassed all sounds as it did in the Anti-World.
So, this could no longer be called Super Hearing; at best, it was merely 'good hearing'.
Of course, this suppression wasn't entirely without benefit. At least, in the Main World, when Colin used his Super Hearing ability, he no longer felt the same pain as he did back at the Base.
After all, with diminished powers, the side effects naturally became negligible.
"Maybe I should try training and adapting in the Main World first after unlocking new powers..."
Inside the Newspaper Office, Colin was silently contemplating. A series of knocks from outside the door interrupted his thoughts and also drew Old John, who was busy at the Typesetting Machine, over.
"Come in."
Composing himself, Colin called out towards the door. Immediately after, the half-open door of the Newspaper Office was pushed open, and a man wearing a dark brown knee-length trench coat and a flat cap, with two distinct nasolabial folds on his cheeks, walked in.
"Good morning, may I ask who you are?" Looking at the figure who had appeared at the Newspaper Office, Colin subtly frowned, then stood up from behind his desk and said.
"Good morning, Mr. Colin Roper. Please forgive my unannounced visit. I am Piero Siegel, an editor from Famous Comics. I'm here today to discuss the Superman comic serialized in The Messenger Newspaper..."
Taking off his flat cap, the man who introduced himself as an editor said to Colin.
"Famous Comics?" Hearing the man's introduction, Colin murmured the name, a look of confusion on his face. To be honest, he had no impression whatsoever of this so-called Famous Comics. He turned to Old John at the Typesetting Machine, casting an inquiring glance, and the latter also gently shook his head, clearly unfamiliar with the name.
"Excuse me, what exactly is Famous Comics?" Seeing this, Colin had no choice but to ask, turning to Piero with an apologetic expression.
"Mr. Colin Roper, there's no need to apologize. In fact, Famous Comics is currently only in its founding stage, and the Publishing House doesn't have any magazines or books for sale yet, so it's perfectly normal that you haven't heard of us..."
So after all that talk, Famous Comics hasn't even been printed yet? After hearing the man's explanation, Colin felt somewhat speechless.
However, before he could even dismiss the guest, Piero continued to state the purpose of his visit.
"Although Famous Comics is currently only in the preparatory stage, just like the name of this magazine suggests, our purpose in founding it is to provide readers with a comic magazine that they can read from beginning to end. It's not like now, where every reader who loves comics has to buy several, or even more than a dozen, newspapers just to read their favorite comic."
Comics in this era were generally serialized in newspaper form. There weren't many specialized comic magazines appearing. Piero, or rather the Publishing House behind him, seemed to have noticed this and intended to collect and compile these comics to republish and sell them as a magazine publication.
These comic works, being able to be serialized in newspapers for a long time, naturally had their audience. Famous Comics' approach was to collect and republish these mature comic works that had already been tested by the market, thereby saving themselves the risk of conceiving and creating new comics, while also relying on the inherent appeal of these comics to attract readers and boost Famous Comics' reputation. It could be said to be a good thing with multiple benefits.
And for those cartoonists, having an additional source of income didn't seem like a bad thing either.
"In fact, the author of Dick Tracy has already agreed with us to serialize the reprinted content of the comic in the first issue of Famous Comics. It's not just the author of Dick Tracy; Famous Comics has approached many comics currently being serialized on the market."
Thanks to Sanzhang Guangyin for 100 Qidian Coins, and Wu de Sikaozhe for 201 Qidian Coins.
(end of chapter)