A guest star in a BZPower comic is a user's character appearing in the comic(s) of another. Most comic series have had guest stars and it has become somewhat of a necessity in the current era of Sprite Comics.
History
Guest starring dates back to 2003 with The Editorialist's Barnicles with Comic 8 being the first guest star comic in the series. Comic 10 of Mike's Comics also featured their first guest star ever. These are just notable examples as the trend would continue to Dark709's Comics, Akano's Comics, etc...
The Guest Starring Process
Request
Oftentimes users first requested to become guest stars in a series by posting an application containing information of their character and its Sprites. This got so popular that a rule was put out that you must put the application in PM form.
In VakamaTK's Comics, guest star requests for official Bionicle characters are accepted in addition to BZP members, though only Makuta Teridax has been requested.
Appearance
Guest stars either appear within the series or in their own "GS comic". Their involvement in the comic can range from either a one-shot joke (as in many of Dark709's comics), create a lasting catchphrase (as seen in Toranova's Comics), Creating the appearance of a comic maker (as seen in Philipnova798's Comic Factory 2.0), or create a huge plot so massive that it takes up the rest of the storyline (rarely seen). Other comic makers, such as VakamaTK, do more than one of these, and often refer to incidents involving guest stars in later comics.
Guest Star Abuse
Guest Star Abuse is a recurring theme in some series wherein guest stars are mistreated in all sorts of ways from slapstick cartoon violence to deeply personal insults. The theme is less common today than it was in years past, and most notably appears in Livin' the Sprite Life, Nuparurocks` Comics and Dark709's Comics nowadays, as well as Psycho Dogs and Carbonated Beverages to an extent. One brutal example of guest star abuse was in the comic The Nidhiki and Krekka Chronicles, in which guest star appearances ended with a range of events including deadly gladiator matches as well as gigantic swords falling from the heavens to strike down the guest star.
Plot-driven series
In many series with an ongoing plot, Guest Stars often stay for more than one comic. Examples of this include Randamonium! in which Kortu and Bionicle Dragon appear in two comics.
Trivia
- While guest stars are often tortured, this is not always the case. In some comics, such as VakamaTK's Comics, the guest stars are just as likely to torture the characters as they are to get tortured themselves. Another example is in Mike's Comics in which a guest star is burnt by Pikachu only for Mike to change it so the two characters from his cast are burnt. Eventually, all four of them are electrocuted by Pikachu.
- In some comics, such as Takuma Nuva's MNOLG-style Comics, guest stars appear in later comics. Whether to include these guest stars is determined by how often they post, and possibly other factors.