...stepping out of character for a moment, I make this page at the risk of looking like a sad, pathetic surburban whiteboy intellectual prat who's hopping on a pop cultural bandwagon without understanding jack about the reality behind it. But hey, so what? If you're seriously looking for realistic sociopolitical representation in a computer game that involves guys in spandex beating up the undead with laser beam eyeballs, then you really need to check yoself before you wreck yoself, or something. D.F.B. is for fun, trying to come up with a different style of supergroup in CoH, not for realistic documentary details.

Hence, a few links to stuff that inspired my roleplay and the supergroup in general...

• One of the more amusing blends of street style and computer game silliness is definitely Jet Set Radio Future, a game where graffiti-artist kids on magnetic rollerblades fight evil corporate lackeys with machine guns by spraypainting them until they fall over. Seriously. But it has some really good graffiti art in it, a DIY interface for making your own, and is the only platformer game I didn't get bored with halfway through and quit. That has to count for something.
  
• Best site out there for information about graffiti -- Art Crimes. Goes into the philosophy of writing on walls and some examples of style. The whole culture gets a rundown, and a calendar of events presents legal presentations of the style you might wanna check out. It's vandalism, technically, but cities are in part defined by the art on their walls; I'd rather scrawl than assault a guy, given the choice between minor felonies.
  
• In that vein, the Gorillaz also combine street art and culture and hiphop into a nifty package. It's a british pop experiment by the lead of Blur and the artist behind Tank Girl, and has some pretty striking visuals to go with a surprisingly good album. You'd think something like this would be overcommercialized bubblegum, but it's managed to keep its own integrity (which does demand a certain degree of silliness) and produce some great music, too.
  
• If you want something more hardcore, it's hard to get any more hardcore than Jedi Mind Tricks, the intense rap group out of Philadelphia. While the lyrics are pretty over the top on the aggressive / religious / homophobic side of the fence, it's paired up with some nice orchestral work and cinematic / dramatic music. They're available on iTunes if you want a peek.

More to come as I think of more. If you have a suggestion for something which has inspired you, send a link and a writeup to Elisa in-game.