Introductions - Who are you really...

[Stephen Strange]

This is the place where you can tell us who you are in real life so we finally can really say we know each other.
Off course you are free to tell what you like about yourself. Or leave out what you like. As long as you're honest. [img]graemlins/chat.gif[/img]

[Stephen Strange]

My name is Erik Frederik Elzenaar, Erik for friends (and everyone else too, I'm not that formal).

I was born in Delft, in the Netherlands on 27 May 1971. It was there that I studied chemistry, but after a few years I was a long time without a job (so I had an enormous amount of time to work on my Dr. Strange website). During the building of that site I learned a lot about computers, and made that my new job. I bought a house together with my girlfriend, who I met at the Dutch annual Comic Strip Convention, along the coast in Scheveningen The Hague (finally a separate room for my comics).

I began collecting comics when I was about 12 years old. Dutch versions of the comics first. Mainly Spider-man and Fantastic Four. But boys grow up (and my collection too). At one time I began looking at the original comics. First I bought just the comics that weren't publicized in the Netherlands, but after awhile I bought the other series too. When you began working, you've got more money and with more money you buy more comics. My collection is now almost 15.000 issues large and I've got quit a few oldies (like Amazing Spider-man #1 and 2, Avengers #1, Daredevil a complete run). I always had a large interest in the supernatural and that reflected itself in my comic collection. So I began collecting Doctor Strange. The first comics I read about him were Marvel Team Ups and the like. The series was never published in Holland. But when I started buying the series I become hooked. Right now I've got almost all the series with him in it completed.

When I finally got a computer I started almost immediately with a Comics Database (on Access '97). The template is as good as finished and right now I'm putting the data in. I already entered the issues I've got, and now I have to do all the other stuff. This is an awful lot of data, so I don't think that I finish the whole thing in the near future.

When I went on-line through a digital ISDN-line, 64000 BPS (I switched to faster providers in time). I played with the idea of building a website but didn't come up with a good idea for one for a long time. When I noticed how few sites there were about Doctor Strange, I just found two or three good ones, I decided to make one myself. The result can be seen at http://www.drstrange.nl

Never really a gamer I only played a few in my time. When I was a professional soldier I used to play Red Alert a lot.... when I got my own pc it became ****eon Master and War Craft III. You can also say I'm somewhat of a pioneer at the Massive Online games... having been a member of the Ultima Online community when it first started. And I stayed there for more than a year. Then it became quit in game world for me.

I was really tempted to start City of Heroes when it came out. But the missing of capes etc held me down. I was able control myself. I played Black & White 2 after that and nothing else. But then I got a new job and a collegue who playes Alliances a lot.

Remembering the good'ol' days in the World of Ultima I ended up with the idea of City of Heroes again. Bought City of Villains... Almost directly bought City of Heroes.

Elizabeth was really my first character (you can see that at my global account). Only regret on her is that she is far from original. I used a common mis-spelling (Balthory instead of Bathory) because there are already Elizabeth Bathory, Ezrebeth Bathory, E_Bathory, Blood Countess, Bathory etc on the Union server. Let's explain that away that there are a lot of undead who wants to use my name to gain some respect. And that some were even brainwashed by me to believe they were me in order to place my enemies on the wrong trail. [img]wink.gif[/img]

But even so... I go for the complete Witchcraft / Necromancing / Vampire... Having vampiric powers in strength, stealth, hoover, flight, life draining, fear inducing mental powers. In time I will enlarge the mental part I think... and there is a pool that gives intagibility too [img]smile.gif[/img] .

I also created Tarana... (or my girlfriend Ineke did). She designed her and even played the first two levels together with me. Maybe she gets to like the game when she is a bit more handy with it.

When the court became popular the need arose for a heroic counterpart. So I created the Knights of Pendragon. Its Sorcerer Supreme, Selwyn Strange, is me.. as is Yim Wing-Chun, Desert Princess and Spirit Warrior.

That's my story... Can't wait for the ones from you.