Let me try and give you a bit of friendly advice man
Just write it
I mean can give you all the advice we can, and we can come up with ideas and stuff, but you only really get a feel for something when you actually sit down and write "Page One, Panel One. We see a cityscape..." or whatever. That's the best way to develop your work. Have a plan and all that, and have good ideas, but you have to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) before you can actually improve anything.
I tell you, I am writing a comic now. The Vigilants. It started off as a pretty standard superhero idea and I wrote it and about half way through the first issue I realised that this wasn't working. I needed to change things, to actually provide a real grab. So I went back and I wrote something else and then I realised that was a good idea but I needed this and that to pull it together. So I went back and wrote... you get the idea. And now it's actually going pretty well, after my dissertation is done this month I think I am going to try and bash out some more scripts.
Which will inevitably lead to changes and re-writes and so on. But I can't re-write without writing first.
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Linespider5ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGERRegistered Userregular
At the risk of being all aphorism-y, my best advice is: Honor what you love.
19-year-old Irene "Rally" Vincent operates the titular "Gunsmith Cats" gun shop but also works as a bounty hunter which is the impetus behind many of the stories. She is assisted in both activities by her housemate, former prostitute "Minnie" May Hopkins. Rally is an expert combat shooter and marksman with just about every firearm in existence, as well as a brilliant driver. May is an explosives expert, knowing the inner workings of and many uses of all manner of explosive devices. Teenage ex-burglar and lock-picker Misty Brown later joins the team and there is also Becky Farrah, a top, if expensive, source of information on underworld activity.
Bounty hunting has of course led Rally to making many enemies, most notably Gray, the leader of gangsters whose use of armaments, including bombs, have likened them to terrorists; and Goldie Musou, a leading figure in the Mafia who uses drugs to manipulate people to the point that they can be brainwashed into killing their nearest and dearest. Bean Bandit, a man who specializes in delivering illegal goods, often features as an alternate ally or enemy — depending on the behavior of his clients, most of whom are being hunted by Rally.
Tidus: Old Man Hero's got a similar grounding, so maybe this will help. I started the project five years ago and struggled with it for about 3.5 of those. The thing that has gotten me moving (still not quickly, but laziness is a hard master) is accepting the fact that there needs to be a story to move the action along. So behind all of the "here's my life" stuff is a driving need on the part of the audience to his biography. Their universe is coming apart, and his life is the mystery that holds the key to fixing it. That gives me the structure on which I can hang everything else.
Figure out what your story is, then write it. Biography of a superhero, despite seeming like a complete idea, is not a story. If you don't have a story, allow me to suggest that you should invent one. It will seem hard and forced and you'll hate it, and then at some point either you'll have enough things built around it to take it out and let the rest of the work support itself, or you'll have developed it to the point where it's a story you want to tell.
Just my experience, of course. Take it for what it's worth.
Maybe this is a silly thing, I don't know for sure, I am only buy trades, especially from the Big Two (sorry OMAC), but Remender's Venom using regular guns sort of bores and disappoints me when I see it in the previews. There was this preview a few months ago of Flash trying to kill Eddy or something, and he pulled what looked like a regular pistol on him. Does Flash use super bullets with Pym particles holding crazy shit in stasis until the bullet hits its target?
I can't remember a time he's actually used them, aside from the cover, they are just regular guns.
i may have to do something with notPym Particles and guns shooting huge bombs or something. hmm
it is nice to be inspired again
also, i think i want to do something with a super strong character just throwing his opponents away. Maybe not To The Moon, but at least several city blocks
Let me try and give you a bit of friendly advice man
Just write it
I mean can give you all the advice we can, and we can come up with ideas and stuff, but you only really get a feel for something when you actually sit down and write "Page One, Panel One. We see a cityscape..." or whatever. That's the best way to develop your work. Have a plan and all that, and have good ideas, but you have to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) before you can actually improve anything.
I tell you, I am writing a comic now. The Vigilants. It started off as a pretty standard superhero idea and I wrote it and about half way through the first issue I realised that this wasn't working. I needed to change things, to actually provide a real grab. So I went back and I wrote something else and then I realised that was a good idea but I needed this and that to pull it together. So I went back and wrote... you get the idea. And now it's actually going pretty well, after my dissertation is done this month I think I am going to try and bash out some more scripts.
Which will inevitably lead to changes and re-writes and so on. But I can't re-write without writing first.
Signed up for Comic Book Bootcamp I at Toronto Cartoonists Workshop. Should be interesting to see if it pans out. Ty Templeton just posted a bunch of alumni, and I know most of their books from prior exposure. One, Teuton, I've seen praised pretty highly.
Let me try and give you a bit of friendly advice man
Just write it
I mean can give you all the advice we can, and we can come up with ideas and stuff, but you only really get a feel for something when you actually sit down and write "Page One, Panel One. We see a cityscape..." or whatever. That's the best way to develop your work. Have a plan and all that, and have good ideas, but you have to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) before you can actually improve anything.
I tell you, I am writing a comic now. The Vigilants. It started off as a pretty standard superhero idea and I wrote it and about half way through the first issue I realised that this wasn't working. I needed to change things, to actually provide a real grab. So I went back and I wrote something else and then I realised that was a good idea but I needed this and that to pull it together. So I went back and wrote... you get the idea. And now it's actually going pretty well, after my dissertation is done this month I think I am going to try and bash out some more scripts.
Which will inevitably lead to changes and re-writes and so on. But I can't re-write without writing first.
The Vigilance would also be a bitchin' title.
It would! The team name kind of comes from the role that the play in the starting mega-arc. I at first had this idea for a super-team but it was kind of generic and you can't make that work unless you are already using classic characters, I think. You need to start right off with a big story which pulls everyone together and sets up their aims, their enemies and so on. So "Vigilants" kind of came out of that.
If I can make "The Vigilance" work though then I will. That is is bitchin' title.
Here's a page I just finished up. There's a weird tangent in panel two, between the panel border, and the tone on the vine, that makes it look like the border's inside the vine. Going to have to fix that.
I also wrote two fake pitches for a Marvel series, and a DC series, that I may post tomorrow.
I've been giving some thought to, after finishing Chupacabra and before moving onto my next original thing, doing a few fan-comic things, including the Toad comic TLB and I are planning to do. There was some creator or another recently lamenting the dearth of American "doujins," and it got me thinking about doing some stuff like that.
Here's a page I just finished up. There's a weird tangent in panel two, between the panel border, and the tone on the vine, that makes it look like the border's inside the vine. Going to have to fix that.
I also wrote two fake pitches for a Marvel series, and a DC series, that I may post tomorrow.
I've been giving some thought to, after finishing Chupacabra and before moving onto my next original thing, doing a few fan-comic things, including the Toad comic TLB and I are planning to do. There was some creator or another recently lamenting the dearth of American "doujins," and it got me thinking about doing some stuff like that.
Munch...if you don't mind my asking...
What is this thing you're working on, exactly? This koala ecomancer thing. What is it?
I really need to take a class on Photoshop or find some tutorials or something. All of my art is still done in pencil and ink, and I'm really curious about experimenting with digital effects and finishing. My computer art experience is limited to Microsoft Paint currently.
What is this thing you're working on, exactly? This koala ecomancer thing. What is it?
A) Ten pages that have taken me almost a year to finish.
A story about a wandering rogue fighting a koala bear.
C) My attempts to articulate the failings I saw in myself a year ago, through comics.
D) All of the above.
Glibness aside, it draws directly from the Aboriginal myth of Koobor the koala, using it as a jumping-off point.
With Koobor, I wanted to use him to examine a couple different ideas, like what happens when a child ages centuries, eventually becoming the same as the adults that once tormented him. I love thinking about immortal characters, and what the weight of time would eventually do to a person. And I found that idea of the tormented becoming the tormentor, kind of interesting. All supervillains need an ironic tragedy in their life, and that's Koobor's.
Plus, I like the idea of seeing what happens when centuries pass, and people disregard the myths and legends that once protected them, disregarding them as simple stories. Koobor's "powers" also made really good supervillain fodder. He's a dead kid, turned crotchety immortal koala ghost, who can control water and plants. I find that idea absurdly fun.
Then, I used the idea of people disregarding myths and legends, to set up the character of Councilman Dominic, the old guy who initially hires Kookaburra, the vagabond protagonist. Though it's only mentioned only briefly, Dominic is a former pulp adventurer type, who's now too old and too worn out, to do the one thing that he loved; helping and protecting other people. He's a forgotten story, cast aside in favor of abrasive anti-heroes, like Kookaburra, and it crushes him. But, he perseveres and tries to do good in other ways.
At the center of things is Kookaburra himself, who I initially conceived as kind of a swaggering rogue of a superhero. He's flippant, rude, and seems determined to conceal any kind of moral character. Maybe as a defense mechanism, maybe so nobody will expect anything of him (including himself), and maybe because he really is just an asshole. His story, over the ten pages, is one of trying to grow into the hero he needs to become, by bouncing his personality off Koobor and Dominic's.
I mean, that's the long version. I put a silly amount of thought into the themes and ideas I wanted to examine with the story, but while all that stuff is in there, I also want people to just be able to enjoy it as a dumb action story, where a guy and a koala punch each other.
I want to keep doing stuff with the characters, returning periodically for short one-offs. But, I've got a lot of other, more interesting stuff I plan to do first.
What is this thing you're working on, exactly? This koala ecomancer thing. What is it?
A) Ten pages that have taken me almost a year to finish.
A story about a wandering rogue fighting a koala bear.
C) My attempts to articulate the failings I saw in myself a year ago, through comics.
D) All of the above.
Glibness aside, it draws directly from the Aboriginal myth of Koobor the koala, using it as a jumping-off point.
With Koobor, I wanted to use him to examine a couple different ideas, like what happens when a child ages centuries, eventually becoming the same as the adults that once tormented him. I love thinking about immortal characters, and what the weight of time would eventually do to a person. And I found that idea of the tormented becoming the tormentor, kind of interesting. All supervillains need an ironic tragedy in their life, and that's Koobor's.
Plus, I like the idea of seeing what happens when centuries pass, and people disregard the myths and legends that once protected them, disregarding them as simple stories. Koobor's "powers" also made really good supervillain fodder. He's a dead kid, turned crotchety immortal koala ghost, who can control water and plants. I find that idea absurdly fun.
Then, I used the idea of people disregarding myths and legends, to set up the character of Councilman Dominic, the old guy who initially hires Kookaburra, the vagabond protagonist. Though it's only mentioned only briefly, Dominic is a former pulp adventurer type, who's now too old and too worn out, to do the one thing that he loved; helping and protecting other people. He's a forgotten story, cast aside in favor of abrasive anti-heroes, like Kookaburra, and it crushes him. But, he perseveres and tries to do good in other ways.
At the center of things is Kookaburra himself, who I initially conceived as kind of a swaggering rogue of a superhero. He's flippant, rude, and seems determined to conceal any kind of moral character. Maybe as a defense mechanism, maybe so nobody will expect anything of him (including himself), and maybe because he really is just an asshole. His story, over the ten pages, is one of trying to grow into the hero he needs to become, by bouncing his personality off Koobor and Dominic's.
I mean, that's the long version. I put a silly amount of thought into the themes and ideas I wanted to examine with the story, but while all that stuff is in there, I also want people to just be able to enjoy it as a dumb action story, where a guy and a koala punch each other.
I want to keep doing stuff with the characters, returning periodically for short one-offs. But, I've got a lot of other, more interesting stuff I plan to do first.
Nice. I've never heard of this particular myth, and it does make for a pretty great idea for getting to portray some interesting kinds of characters.
I really look forward to seeing it in its completed form.
I was hanging around the writer's block and had posted the draft to a part of the comic script I am writing.
I am new to this. I have never written a script before. I just had this idea that I thought would make a great graphic novel so I have started trying to put it in words.
Here is the thread here. I don't want to litter up this thread with something I already posted elsewhere.
I was hanging around the writer's block and had posted the draft to a part of the comic script I am writing.
I am new to this. I have never written a script before. I just had this idea that I thought would make a great graphic novel so I have started trying to put it in words.
Here is the thread here. I don't want to litter up this thread with something I already posted elsewhere.
So, here's my long, rambling idea for an Adam Strange story, that I won't blame anyone for not reading.
ADAM STRANGE
Transported to the far-away planet of Rannagar, Adam Smith finds himself embroiled in an age-old feud between three cultures. Armed with technology from Earth, Adam must now make his way through this weird, primitive world, not as Adam Smith, but as Adam Strange!
Notable Characters;
Adam Smith; a warehouse worker at STAR Industries, Adam Smith was accidentally struck by the scientific phenomenon known as the Zeta Beam, transporting him to the planet Rannagar. By all measures an exceptionally average individual, his one saving grace is that he was monkeying about with a STAR prototype hard-light generator, at the time he was transported from Earth. Armed with that technology, he finds the inhospitable terrain of Rannagar, slightly less so.
Meek, neurotic, and physically unimpressive, he seems at first an unlikely choice for a hero. But beneath his insecurities and flaws, waits a man who's eager to prove his worth, both to the world, and himself.
Alanna; daughter of the Rannian leader Sardath, and next in the line of succession, Alanna is the polar opposite of Adam. Brave, confident, and extremely capable, she has no problems with leading her people in battle. But, with the health of her father declining, and forced to take on more diplomatic duties, she fears that she may not be able to lead her people in peace.
Sardath; Alanna's father, and leader of the Rannian people, Sardath's brilliant mind has led to many scientific advances, which have mostly shielded the Rannians from the other, war-mongering races of Rannagar. But, with his age rapidly catching up to him, he now looks to achieve his ultimate goal; securing a lasting peace with the Thanagarians, and ensuring the safety of his people.
Hro Talak; chieftain of the Thanagarian people. A pragmatic, ruthless leader, Talak has seen his people fall on hard times in the last few decades. Displaced from their homeland by the marauding Khunds, the Thanagarians were forced to scatter, establishing small, nomadic settlements. Now, Chief Talak seeks to find a resource-rich area, in which his people can flourish, and rebuild their shattered culture. But, with the stubborn Rannians occupying the only other area known to contain precious Nth Metal, war has become inevitable.
Hro Amek; high-priest of the Thanagarians, and Hro Talak's younger brother. A quick-witted, introspective man, Amek has repeatedly cautioned his brother against warring with the Rannians, believing a peaceful solution could be found. But, as extremist views have begun to take hold of his people, the level-headed Amek has found himself the target of many who'd seek to ignite all out war against the Rannians.
Grok'theg; a Khund warlord, and leader of her people, who crash-landed on Rannagar decades ago. Initially armed with high-tech weaponry, they were able to easily cleave a path of destruction across Rannagar, driving the Thanagarians away from their ancestral home, and erecting a city around the husk of their giant, immobile warship. But, as the last of their power cells were depleted years ago, they were left without the technology to which they'd grown accustomed. Now forced to live in primitive squalor, their city falling into disrepair, the Khunds have regressed into savagery.
While considered by many to be the fiercest, deadliest army on Rannagar, Grok'theg knows how precipitous her people's position truly is, and is desperate to find a solution. And if that means razing every Rannian and Thanagarian settlement to the ground, then so be it.
Twiik; a Khund mercenary, and former lover of Grok'theg. Tired of being a second-class citizen in the matriarchal Khund society, Twiik has embraced his people's fate on Rannagar, striking out on his own, and earning a reputation as an uncommonly theatrical, talkative adventurer. With his own people having put a price on his head, and the Thanagarians killing any Khund they locate simply as a matter of course, Twiik has made a point of endearing himself to the Rannians, forming a bond of mutual protection.
The Known World;
Rannagar; known as Rann and Thanagar to the respective cultures that inhabit it, Rannagar is much like Earth. There are lush forests, open plains, arid deserts, vast oceans, and snow-topped mountains. Much of the land remains unsettled, with danger around every corner, and various factions all eager to stake their claim.
Nation of Thanagar; currently without a centralized location, following the destruction of their floating capital city, Hakkom's Crown. The Thanagarians have since adopted a nomadic existence, hunting and gathering wherever they can. This is made substantially easier through the existence of their Nth Metal harnesses, which grant them the ability to fly. Though the largest concentration of Thanagarians reside in a forested canyon known as Onimar's Palm, there have been rumors of Thanagarian raiders terrorizing the desert, as well as a group occupying the frigid peaks of Korr Mountain. Given their high degree of mobility, it's difficult to ascertain where else the Thanagarians might have settled.
Additionally, several small, floating islands still exist over Rannagar, though none large enough to support more than a few dozen Thanagarians.
Their level of technology is relatively primitive, with most still utilizing melee weapons, bows, and arrows. But, their Nth Metal harnesses make them wily, dangerous foes.
Nation of Rann; currently occupying a number of settlements in the Burnt Plains, and stretching to the Cyan Coast. The Rannians are predominantly established in the city of Hillhaven, a massive city surrounded by defensive hills and fortifications, which rests atop the largest known cache of Nth Metal.
Though primitive compared to Earth, their technology and culture is nonetheless more advanced than any currently known to exist on Rannagar, with the exception of the non-functional Khund armament. Armed with weapons that utilize the unique resources of Rann, they have been able to defend themselves from the Thanagarian and Khundian war parties, up to this point.
Nation of Khund; currently occupying the former homeland of the Thanagarians, the forested region that once existed beneath Hakkom's Crown. A matriarchal warrior people, the Khunds believe that might is the ultimate expression of right. Despite being separated from their homeworld, and losing much of their technology during their time on Rannagar, they have still made an effort to keep their culture alive, passing it down to through the generations.
Ill-suited for farming or hunting, the Khunds instead rely on the local Lizarkon population, who once lived in symbiosis with the Thanagarians. Now enslaved by the Khunds, the Lizarkons farm, hunt, fight, and die at their new masters' behest.
The Tone and Objective;
Adam Strange would be a classic science-fantasy tale, infused with elements of spaghetti westerns, and suffering from minimal crossover with the rest of the New DCU. Adam would be very much the Man with No Name, the stranger who always seems to be in the wrong place, at the right time. The series would see him interacting with the various cultures inhabiting this strange new world he finds himself in, making friends and enemies, finding love, and discovering his own worth, in a way he never managed to on Earth. And along the way, he just might bring an end to conflicts that have been raging since before he was born.
The story would largely focus on Adam's personal journey to grow up, leaving behind his uncertainty and confusion, to really make something of his life. It would play on the prevalent, modern anxiety that comes with approaching middle age, and the freedom that can come with a fresh start.
It would also serve as an examination of the nature of heroism, with Adam initially earning his heroic reputation, solely by virtue of the technology he possesses. But over time, the audience would see Adam prove that it's not his power that makes him a hero, but his character. In a way, it would be a reversal of the Superman concept; an exceptionally ordinary man, dropped into a fantastic world.
Notable Changes;
Adam Strange of the New DCU, would have several differences from the Adam Strange of the old DCU.
-Adam's no longer a wealthy, blonde, square-jawed kind of guy, but a slim, low-income, twenty-something. Also, his actual last name's no longer 'Strange.' Instead, it's a taunt, attached to him by the Rannian people.
-Adam and Alanna are no longer married, and no longer have a child. I hate to get rid of any super-marriage, but if you're going to do an origin story like this, it's kind of necessary. Plus, it opens up some more storytelling possibilities.
-The Zeta Beam was a one-way trip. While this is one change I hate to make, I feel like it makes for a better sense of drama. While there's an undeniable tragedy that comes with Adam being ping-ponged between worlds, always rushing to get back to Rann, and Alanna, I do feel like it lessens the consequences of his actions on Rannagar. I want to see him immersed in this alien world, forced to deal with the consequences of his actions. I don't really need to see him on Earth, longing to get away from his dreary existence, with Rannagar nothing but the escapist fantasy of a bored twenty-something.
That said, I could see a circumstance arising where he eventually finds a way to travel between the two worlds, as that'd make for a good story. Plus, I really like the idea of seeing Earth rendered in one distinct art style, and Rannagar in another.
Additionally, the Zeta Beam is not a scientific apparatus, but rather a naturally occuring phemonenom, which reaches across time and space, which Sardath believes he can summon through a combination of astrology and math. This opens up all kinds of opportunities to shipwreck strange characters on Rannagar, either from our history, or the DCU's. It's just as likely that Amelia Earhart would wind up there, as it is that a pre-apocalypse Kryptonian would.
-Rannagar, Adam's name for the new, amalgamated Rann and Thanagar. Really, I just like the idea of Rann and Thanagar existing in one place together, and being forced to interact with one another. It's always kind of bothered me to see homogenized fictional worlds, where everyone's part of the same culture, government, etc. Earth doesn't work like that, so why should an alien planet? Additionally, that's just one continent. Who knows what's across the sea?
-Adam's less of a Rannian-allied character, and more of a neutral element. Over the course of the series, we'd see him ingratiate himself to several different factions, and at times fall out of favor with them. Everyone wants Adam on their side, but everyone also kind of wants him dead. Imagine something like Brian Wood's DMZ, except the hero has sci-fi doohickeys.
Plot Points;
-The story would open with Adam being Zeta'd right into a skirmish between the Rannians and Thanagarians, focusing on Hro Amek. The Rannians have captured him, wishing to use him as a bargaining chip, while the rogue, desert-dwelling Thanagarian Vultures have been hired to kill him, and spark a full-blown war. Adam frees him, fighting off both sides, but is captured by the Rannians. This would provide the standard introductory exposition, as he witnesses the world first-hand, en route to the Rannian capital of Hillhaven. Eventually he learns that Hro Amek was to be exchanced for the Rannian princess Alanna. Adam offers to rescue her himself, and then the story of Adam Strange really begins.
-Who are the conspirators that want Hro Amek dead?
-What happens when the Khunds find the materials necessary to repair their rescue beacon, and signal the Khund armada to retrieve them?
-Who is the Green Lantern of Sector 2682?
-Some call him the Dust Devil, some the Tornado Tyrant, but whatever he is, he's come out of the red desert to destroy Adam Strange.
-Who is the God that sleeps under the mountain, tended by the blind, albino Lizarkons? And what happens when he wakes up?
-Rannagar is under attack, by Adam's old bosses at STAR Labs.
-Who is the other Earthling stranded on Rannagar?
TLDR;
-Adam Strange is permanently stranded on the planet he's dubbed Rannagar, along with Thanagarians, Rannians, and Khunds, the latter of whom arrived after crash-landing inside a space-faring warship.
-Rannians are technologically adept, though still far behind Earth in terms of development. However, their technology is based off the resources of Rann, and therefore markedly different from Earth's.
-Thanagarians are a tribal, warrior people, who once lived on a floating, Nth Metal-rich island. After the island was shot down by the Khunds, the Thanagarians were stranded on Rannagar's surface, and forced to deal with challenges previously unknown to them. Consequently, the Thanagarians split into various tribes, scattering across the continent, with several tribes taking on their own identity, and forming their own leadership.
With his Rann-bound people divided, and far from their Gods, former Thanagarian War-Chief Hro Talak is desperate to return his people to the sky, to Thanagar, where they belong. Unfortunately, the only known Nth Metal deposit large enough to house all his people, sits directly underneath the Rannians' capital city.
-Khunds are a technologically advanced, space-faring race, who have become ship-wrecked on Rannagar. Having expended their power sources years ago, after first coming into conflict with the Thanagarians, they now find themselves vulnerable, and unable to adapt to life on the primitive Rannagar, bereft of their technology. A matriarchal people, their females are their fiercest warriors, while the males are smaller, brightly colored, and less aggressive.
The captain of their ship having died years ago, they are now led by War-Chief Grok'theg, who hopes to discover a way to signal her people, and bring her crew home.
-The story would be something of a science-fantasy/western, that's as much about the various cultures of Rannagar, as it is Adam's own journey to become a hero. It'd be a story where no one's really in the wrong, so much as they are pursuing their own ends, trying to find a way to get what they want.
Picture something like DMZ; Adam's a neutral lawman and go-between on for everyone, trying to keep the peace, even as everyone else tries to destroy it. Except, he has a sci-fi doohickey that lets him form hard-light weapons, and fly.
Which naturally makes him very interesting to everyone.
It'd be a radically different take from the old Adam Strange, while still trying to preserve a lot of the elements I find most interesting. And there'd be a way to have it make sense with stuff like Hawkman and Green Lantern too, which I could share. If anyone really cares.
Honestly though, having spent some time thinking about the world, I kind of want to make it into its own thing. But, I'm not sure I have the patience or stamina to write that kind of long, over-arching story.
Or find a writer. As several people have already said to me, the reverse relationship doesn't get a lot of press, but there's plenty of give and take if you can find yourself someone to work with, no matter who comes up with the initial idea.
AntimatterDevo Was RightGates of SteelRegistered Userregular
Munch, if you turned that idea into something real, I'd read it and I'd try to share it with people. I'd honestly prefer to see you turn it into something new, just so you wouldn't be constrained. Framework's good, pre-existing concepts could maybe be limiting?
I definitely think you should rip the Adam Strange out of it and make it its own thing, Munch. If only because it's more viable to actually do.
And I know you see it as a longer story, but is there anyway you could break it up? Instead of one huge thing, do it in a bunch of short comics. 10 page stories that are separate but tie together. Harder to get burnt out that way than on something so massive. Little easier on the time problem, too.
I definitely think you should rip the Adam Strange out of it and make it its own thing, Munch. If only because it's more viable to actually do.
And I know you see it as a longer story, but is there anyway you could break it up? Instead of one huge thing, do it in a bunch of short comics. 10 page stories that are separate but tie together. Harder to get burnt out that way than on something so massive. Little easier on the time problem, too.
Yep, that's the sort of thing. Start with a tiny kernel of a thing. Some vignette type stuff.
Well, Munch does have the chupacabra story with TLB and Koobor.
I agree in principle, but I think this has value. I keep thinking about how much I want to do my own thing vs. other peoples' IPs. Sometimes it's worth doing the latter just for your own amusement, but yeah ... creator-owned is the way to go for anything long-term.
In my mind, it's kind of a waste of effort to really spend long amounts of time on comic ideas for the big two unless you're actively asked to pitch something. I mean, if you've got an idea you love and you really think you can do something with it, then just do it. Otherwise, odds are you're going to be sitting on it forever and that's the worst feeling. And hell, if you do just sit on the ideas waiting to pitch them exactly as they are, you're likely not even going to get that since you need to do things to get that opportunity in the first place.
I suddenly feel like this is coming across far more negative than I mean it, so I apologize. I do think there's a solid story in there that's worth doing, Munch, and I guess I just hate seeing things like that just get lost in the early phases.
@liquiddark - Funny thing is, I inititally taught myself to draw, so I could tell the stories I wanted to write. But, I did broach the idea with TLB, of letting him pick over some of my ideas, to see if there was anything in there he'd like to write for me.
@Antimatter - If I ever do anything with the idea, that'll almost certainly be the way I go. Full disclosure: It's not terribly uncommon for me to use another idea, be it public domain or corporately-owned, as a foundation, and then build my own thing on top of it. It's a way to get my brain working in a creative way, without having to start from scratch. But, my goal is always to come up with a story and characters, that will stand on their own.
@JyrenB and @Linespider5 - Yeah, my goal is to spend the next year or so working on short stories, before trying to tackle a longer story. My problem is that I tend to get bored with an idea pretty quickly, and get over-eager to move onto a new one. Which is a nice way to say I have the discipline and focus of an inebriated five year old.
Also, in regards to plotting out ideas for corporately-owned characters, and the disappointments inherent in doing so; honestly, I have no expectation of working for Marvel or DC, in my lifetime. I don't really even have the desire. The comic industry has changed so much since I was a kid, that I don't think I'd ever be allowed to do the kinds of things I'd like to do, even if I did miraculously break into the mainstream industry. That's not an indictment of Marvel or DC, or anyone doing fine work for them. They're doing their thing, and that's fine. It's just that their thing, most of the time, is not my thing.
I look at stuff like Thunderbolts becoming Dark Avengers, or Exiles becoming X-Treme X-Men, and know that there's no way in Hell I could ever sell an Adam Strange epic, without titling it Adam Strange: Green Lantern, and compromising it in some way. And really, I can make more money doing a bunch of other things that aren't comics, that require less work, if all I want is a paycheck.
Honestly, I just do this kind of stuff because it's fun, and it's a way to develop ideas that I can use, in my own work.
Plus, as I mentioned in an earlier post on this page, the idea of doing a mini-comic with established characters, strictly to distribute over the internet, does kind of tickle my fancy. It's not something I'd ever want to devote serious time to, because I'd rather be working on my own stuff. But, as someone who grew up with a lot of these characters, I think there is a joy to be had in seeing other people do their owntakes on them.
And seriously, thanks again to anyone who read that whole thing. I know it ran a bit long.
@JyrenB and @Linespider5 - Yeah, my goal is to spend the next year or so working on short stories, before trying to tackle a longer story. My problem is that I tend to get bored with an idea pretty quickly, and get over-eager to move onto a new one. Which is a nice way to say I have the discipline and focus of an inebriated five year old.
Half the reason I mentioned is it suffering from a similar problem. I've got about 3 long stories I really want to tell, but I don't consider myself good enough to handle them just yet. So I tend to develop about...4-5 things simultaneously.
The hardest thing for me, right now, is the webcomic I do with my wife is not as much my baby as the other things I desperately want to get to. So I'm trying to find ways to do some short comics of my own in between it all before I dive out into the world with another bigger project. Hopefully will happen soon.
The real reason I mention the established character thing is solely due to really liking that idea of yours. Nothing wrong with dreaming up things like that based on other characters, but it's enough there that you really could run with it on your own if you want, and even if the mainstream doesn't roll with that kind of thing, the indie comics world is growing more and more lately. The web is a beautiful thing.
@JyrenB and @Linespider5 - Yeah, my goal is to spend the next year or so working on short stories, before trying to tackle a longer story. My problem is that I tend to get bored with an idea pretty quickly, and get over-eager to move onto a new one. Which is a nice way to say I have the discipline and focus of an inebriated five year old.
This is tricky, but...it's not really a discipline thing. Discipline follows enthusiasm. Find the one thing at the core of the project you really, really like, that's the Everlasting Gobstopper that just doesn't run out of juice. It's... usually something simple. A character, or a theme, or just one really cool idea.
Grab onto that one thing and let that be your bearing. Everything else can be arranged accordingly around it to suit your whims as they happen.
I would disagree re: discipline. Discipline follows practice just as readily as enthusiasm. Not everything about creating is fun. Learning to sit and work when you're not feeling it is a valuable thing to do, and is a milestone on the road to professional conduct. Also, learning to finish. Finishing is the one thing you have to learn.
There are ways to be productive when you're not feeling it. Quoth has often posted in The Writer's Block about writing in bursts as a way to force productivity. Set a timer somewhere, write for ten minutes, then stop and do something else, even if you're in the middle of something, and set the timer for ten minutes. Do that again and again until you've hit your quota of words. I don't know if that'll work for drawing, but if you're having trouble sustaining it's definitely worth a try; it works often enough for writing to be a useful technique.
One of the great things about working with another person is that they're going to come at it from a radically different perspective. When it works, which is sadly not nearly as often as I'd like, it makes some of this stuff go away.
I find myself in the same position as you, Munch, learning to draw so I can write and draw my own stuff, but the other thing I can say works for me, and again it's based in writing rather than drawing, is critiquing and editing other people's work, and having them crit yours. So many things come to light when you do that, both because your own eye develops and because of that thing where other people see your work completely differently than you do.
I'm not gonna lie. A big part of my problem is simply that, after being on my feet all day at work, I'm just really, really tired. It's kind of tough getting up at 4:30 AM, going to work, and then coming home and drawing for several hours, as well as dealing with all my other various commitments. I know every part-time creative person struggles with that, and I'm used to managing my time, but it's been harder than normal for me, lately.
Like, today I was falling asleep in my desk chair at home, while I was doing tones on Kookaburra. I was doing that whole fall-asleep-and-suddenly-snap-your-head-back-up thing. So, I decided to take a little half-hour nap, and set my alarm clock. I woke up three hours later, apparently having turned the alarm off at some point, and with most of my day gone.
On top of that, and I told TLB this in an e-mail, a roofer kind of fell through the ceiling of my house, coating my workspace in insulation and debris, and destroying the first page I'd done of Chupacabra. They only recently repaired the ceiling, so I can actually work in that room, without breathing in horrible black dust.
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Just write it
I mean can give you all the advice we can, and we can come up with ideas and stuff, but you only really get a feel for something when you actually sit down and write "Page One, Panel One. We see a cityscape..." or whatever. That's the best way to develop your work. Have a plan and all that, and have good ideas, but you have to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) before you can actually improve anything.
I tell you, I am writing a comic now. The Vigilants. It started off as a pretty standard superhero idea and I wrote it and about half way through the first issue I realised that this wasn't working. I needed to change things, to actually provide a real grab. So I went back and I wrote something else and then I realised that was a good idea but I needed this and that to pull it together. So I went back and wrote... you get the idea. And now it's actually going pretty well, after my dissertation is done this month I think I am going to try and bash out some more scripts.
Which will inevitably lead to changes and re-writes and so on. But I can't re-write without writing first.
Well, Tidus, we are all on the internet here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmith_Cats
Not literally cat-based, actually.
19-year-old Irene "Rally" Vincent operates the titular "Gunsmith Cats" gun shop but also works as a bounty hunter which is the impetus behind many of the stories. She is assisted in both activities by her housemate, former prostitute "Minnie" May Hopkins. Rally is an expert combat shooter and marksman with just about every firearm in existence, as well as a brilliant driver. May is an explosives expert, knowing the inner workings of and many uses of all manner of explosive devices. Teenage ex-burglar and lock-picker Misty Brown later joins the team and there is also Becky Farrah, a top, if expensive, source of information on underworld activity.
Bounty hunting has of course led Rally to making many enemies, most notably Gray, the leader of gangsters whose use of armaments, including bombs, have likened them to terrorists; and Goldie Musou, a leading figure in the Mafia who uses drugs to manipulate people to the point that they can be brainwashed into killing their nearest and dearest. Bean Bandit, a man who specializes in delivering illegal goods, often features as an alternate ally or enemy — depending on the behavior of his clients, most of whom are being hunted by Rally.
So what is it you wanna do?
Figure out what your story is, then write it. Biography of a superhero, despite seeming like a complete idea, is not a story. If you don't have a story, allow me to suggest that you should invent one. It will seem hard and forced and you'll hate it, and then at some point either you'll have enough things built around it to take it out and let the rest of the work support itself, or you'll have developed it to the point where it's a story you want to tell.
Just my experience, of course. Take it for what it's worth.
@oldmanhero .programming .web comic .everything
i may have to do something with notPym Particles and guns shooting huge bombs or something. hmm
it is nice to be inspired again
also, i think i want to do something with a super strong character just throwing his opponents away. Maybe not To The Moon, but at least several city blocks
The Vigilance would also be a bitchin' title.
@oldmanhero .programming .web comic .everything
It would! The team name kind of comes from the role that the play in the starting mega-arc. I at first had this idea for a super-team but it was kind of generic and you can't make that work unless you are already using classic characters, I think. You need to start right off with a big story which pulls everyone together and sets up their aims, their enemies and so on. So "Vigilants" kind of came out of that.
If I can make "The Vigilance" work though then I will. That is is bitchin' title.
If it sells well
Here's a page I just finished up. There's a weird tangent in panel two, between the panel border, and the tone on the vine, that makes it look like the border's inside the vine. Going to have to fix that.
I also wrote two fake pitches for a Marvel series, and a DC series, that I may post tomorrow.
I've been giving some thought to, after finishing Chupacabra and before moving onto my next original thing, doing a few fan-comic things, including the Toad comic TLB and I are planning to do. There was some creator or another recently lamenting the dearth of American "doujins," and it got me thinking about doing some stuff like that.
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Actually I did have an idea for killing off Jay and Alan and have Hal and Barry replace them in the JSA, leaving Wally and Kyle able to be on the JLA.
Obviously it wouldn't work now.
Munch...if you don't mind my asking...
What is this thing you're working on, exactly? This koala ecomancer thing. What is it?
A) Ten pages that have taken me almost a year to finish.
C) My attempts to articulate the failings I saw in myself a year ago, through comics.
D) All of the above.
Glibness aside, it draws directly from the Aboriginal myth of Koobor the koala, using it as a jumping-off point.
With Koobor, I wanted to use him to examine a couple different ideas, like what happens when a child ages centuries, eventually becoming the same as the adults that once tormented him. I love thinking about immortal characters, and what the weight of time would eventually do to a person. And I found that idea of the tormented becoming the tormentor, kind of interesting. All supervillains need an ironic tragedy in their life, and that's Koobor's.
Plus, I like the idea of seeing what happens when centuries pass, and people disregard the myths and legends that once protected them, disregarding them as simple stories. Koobor's "powers" also made really good supervillain fodder. He's a dead kid, turned crotchety immortal koala ghost, who can control water and plants. I find that idea absurdly fun.
Then, I used the idea of people disregarding myths and legends, to set up the character of Councilman Dominic, the old guy who initially hires Kookaburra, the vagabond protagonist. Though it's only mentioned only briefly, Dominic is a former pulp adventurer type, who's now too old and too worn out, to do the one thing that he loved; helping and protecting other people. He's a forgotten story, cast aside in favor of abrasive anti-heroes, like Kookaburra, and it crushes him. But, he perseveres and tries to do good in other ways.
At the center of things is Kookaburra himself, who I initially conceived as kind of a swaggering rogue of a superhero. He's flippant, rude, and seems determined to conceal any kind of moral character. Maybe as a defense mechanism, maybe so nobody will expect anything of him (including himself), and maybe because he really is just an asshole. His story, over the ten pages, is one of trying to grow into the hero he needs to become, by bouncing his personality off Koobor and Dominic's.
I mean, that's the long version. I put a silly amount of thought into the themes and ideas I wanted to examine with the story, but while all that stuff is in there, I also want people to just be able to enjoy it as a dumb action story, where a guy and a koala punch each other.
I want to keep doing stuff with the characters, returning periodically for short one-offs. But, I've got a lot of other, more interesting stuff I plan to do first.
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Nice. I've never heard of this particular myth, and it does make for a pretty great idea for getting to portray some interesting kinds of characters.
I really look forward to seeing it in its completed form.
A lot of your ideas look awesome.
I was hanging around the writer's block and had posted the draft to a part of the comic script I am writing.
I am new to this. I have never written a script before. I just had this idea that I thought would make a great graphic novel so I have started trying to put it in words.
Here is the thread here. I don't want to litter up this thread with something I already posted elsewhere.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/156985/historical-steampunk-comic-work-in-progress-critique-and-thoughts-needed#Item_1
I am looking for an artist that may want to help draw up this prologue while I keep trying to polish this and draft the rest.
Well, I won't speak for everyone, but...
It sounds like you have a fairly cool idea.
I think you can find people who will be down if they can have a way to start out small.
Transported to the far-away planet of Rannagar, Adam Smith finds himself embroiled in an age-old feud between three cultures. Armed with technology from Earth, Adam must now make his way through this weird, primitive world, not as Adam Smith, but as Adam Strange!
Notable Characters;
Adam Smith; a warehouse worker at STAR Industries, Adam Smith was accidentally struck by the scientific phenomenon known as the Zeta Beam, transporting him to the planet Rannagar. By all measures an exceptionally average individual, his one saving grace is that he was monkeying about with a STAR prototype hard-light generator, at the time he was transported from Earth. Armed with that technology, he finds the inhospitable terrain of Rannagar, slightly less so.
Meek, neurotic, and physically unimpressive, he seems at first an unlikely choice for a hero. But beneath his insecurities and flaws, waits a man who's eager to prove his worth, both to the world, and himself.
Alanna; daughter of the Rannian leader Sardath, and next in the line of succession, Alanna is the polar opposite of Adam. Brave, confident, and extremely capable, she has no problems with leading her people in battle. But, with the health of her father declining, and forced to take on more diplomatic duties, she fears that she may not be able to lead her people in peace.
Sardath; Alanna's father, and leader of the Rannian people, Sardath's brilliant mind has led to many scientific advances, which have mostly shielded the Rannians from the other, war-mongering races of Rannagar. But, with his age rapidly catching up to him, he now looks to achieve his ultimate goal; securing a lasting peace with the Thanagarians, and ensuring the safety of his people.
Hro Talak; chieftain of the Thanagarian people. A pragmatic, ruthless leader, Talak has seen his people fall on hard times in the last few decades. Displaced from their homeland by the marauding Khunds, the Thanagarians were forced to scatter, establishing small, nomadic settlements. Now, Chief Talak seeks to find a resource-rich area, in which his people can flourish, and rebuild their shattered culture. But, with the stubborn Rannians occupying the only other area known to contain precious Nth Metal, war has become inevitable.
Hro Amek; high-priest of the Thanagarians, and Hro Talak's younger brother. A quick-witted, introspective man, Amek has repeatedly cautioned his brother against warring with the Rannians, believing a peaceful solution could be found. But, as extremist views have begun to take hold of his people, the level-headed Amek has found himself the target of many who'd seek to ignite all out war against the Rannians.
Grok'theg; a Khund warlord, and leader of her people, who crash-landed on Rannagar decades ago. Initially armed with high-tech weaponry, they were able to easily cleave a path of destruction across Rannagar, driving the Thanagarians away from their ancestral home, and erecting a city around the husk of their giant, immobile warship. But, as the last of their power cells were depleted years ago, they were left without the technology to which they'd grown accustomed. Now forced to live in primitive squalor, their city falling into disrepair, the Khunds have regressed into savagery.
While considered by many to be the fiercest, deadliest army on Rannagar, Grok'theg knows how precipitous her people's position truly is, and is desperate to find a solution. And if that means razing every Rannian and Thanagarian settlement to the ground, then so be it.
Twiik; a Khund mercenary, and former lover of Grok'theg. Tired of being a second-class citizen in the matriarchal Khund society, Twiik has embraced his people's fate on Rannagar, striking out on his own, and earning a reputation as an uncommonly theatrical, talkative adventurer. With his own people having put a price on his head, and the Thanagarians killing any Khund they locate simply as a matter of course, Twiik has made a point of endearing himself to the Rannians, forming a bond of mutual protection.
The Known World;
Rannagar; known as Rann and Thanagar to the respective cultures that inhabit it, Rannagar is much like Earth. There are lush forests, open plains, arid deserts, vast oceans, and snow-topped mountains. Much of the land remains unsettled, with danger around every corner, and various factions all eager to stake their claim.
Nation of Thanagar; currently without a centralized location, following the destruction of their floating capital city, Hakkom's Crown. The Thanagarians have since adopted a nomadic existence, hunting and gathering wherever they can. This is made substantially easier through the existence of their Nth Metal harnesses, which grant them the ability to fly. Though the largest concentration of Thanagarians reside in a forested canyon known as Onimar's Palm, there have been rumors of Thanagarian raiders terrorizing the desert, as well as a group occupying the frigid peaks of Korr Mountain. Given their high degree of mobility, it's difficult to ascertain where else the Thanagarians might have settled.
Additionally, several small, floating islands still exist over Rannagar, though none large enough to support more than a few dozen Thanagarians.
Their level of technology is relatively primitive, with most still utilizing melee weapons, bows, and arrows. But, their Nth Metal harnesses make them wily, dangerous foes.
Nation of Rann; currently occupying a number of settlements in the Burnt Plains, and stretching to the Cyan Coast. The Rannians are predominantly established in the city of Hillhaven, a massive city surrounded by defensive hills and fortifications, which rests atop the largest known cache of Nth Metal.
Though primitive compared to Earth, their technology and culture is nonetheless more advanced than any currently known to exist on Rannagar, with the exception of the non-functional Khund armament. Armed with weapons that utilize the unique resources of Rann, they have been able to defend themselves from the Thanagarian and Khundian war parties, up to this point.
Nation of Khund; currently occupying the former homeland of the Thanagarians, the forested region that once existed beneath Hakkom's Crown. A matriarchal warrior people, the Khunds believe that might is the ultimate expression of right. Despite being separated from their homeworld, and losing much of their technology during their time on Rannagar, they have still made an effort to keep their culture alive, passing it down to through the generations.
Ill-suited for farming or hunting, the Khunds instead rely on the local Lizarkon population, who once lived in symbiosis with the Thanagarians. Now enslaved by the Khunds, the Lizarkons farm, hunt, fight, and die at their new masters' behest.
The Tone and Objective;
Adam Strange would be a classic science-fantasy tale, infused with elements of spaghetti westerns, and suffering from minimal crossover with the rest of the New DCU. Adam would be very much the Man with No Name, the stranger who always seems to be in the wrong place, at the right time. The series would see him interacting with the various cultures inhabiting this strange new world he finds himself in, making friends and enemies, finding love, and discovering his own worth, in a way he never managed to on Earth. And along the way, he just might bring an end to conflicts that have been raging since before he was born.
The story would largely focus on Adam's personal journey to grow up, leaving behind his uncertainty and confusion, to really make something of his life. It would play on the prevalent, modern anxiety that comes with approaching middle age, and the freedom that can come with a fresh start.
It would also serve as an examination of the nature of heroism, with Adam initially earning his heroic reputation, solely by virtue of the technology he possesses. But over time, the audience would see Adam prove that it's not his power that makes him a hero, but his character. In a way, it would be a reversal of the Superman concept; an exceptionally ordinary man, dropped into a fantastic world.
Notable Changes;
Adam Strange of the New DCU, would have several differences from the Adam Strange of the old DCU.
-Adam's no longer a wealthy, blonde, square-jawed kind of guy, but a slim, low-income, twenty-something. Also, his actual last name's no longer 'Strange.' Instead, it's a taunt, attached to him by the Rannian people.
-Adam and Alanna are no longer married, and no longer have a child. I hate to get rid of any super-marriage, but if you're going to do an origin story like this, it's kind of necessary. Plus, it opens up some more storytelling possibilities.
-The Zeta Beam was a one-way trip. While this is one change I hate to make, I feel like it makes for a better sense of drama. While there's an undeniable tragedy that comes with Adam being ping-ponged between worlds, always rushing to get back to Rann, and Alanna, I do feel like it lessens the consequences of his actions on Rannagar. I want to see him immersed in this alien world, forced to deal with the consequences of his actions. I don't really need to see him on Earth, longing to get away from his dreary existence, with Rannagar nothing but the escapist fantasy of a bored twenty-something.
That said, I could see a circumstance arising where he eventually finds a way to travel between the two worlds, as that'd make for a good story. Plus, I really like the idea of seeing Earth rendered in one distinct art style, and Rannagar in another.
Additionally, the Zeta Beam is not a scientific apparatus, but rather a naturally occuring phemonenom, which reaches across time and space, which Sardath believes he can summon through a combination of astrology and math. This opens up all kinds of opportunities to shipwreck strange characters on Rannagar, either from our history, or the DCU's. It's just as likely that Amelia Earhart would wind up there, as it is that a pre-apocalypse Kryptonian would.
-Rannagar, Adam's name for the new, amalgamated Rann and Thanagar. Really, I just like the idea of Rann and Thanagar existing in one place together, and being forced to interact with one another. It's always kind of bothered me to see homogenized fictional worlds, where everyone's part of the same culture, government, etc. Earth doesn't work like that, so why should an alien planet? Additionally, that's just one continent. Who knows what's across the sea?
-Adam's less of a Rannian-allied character, and more of a neutral element. Over the course of the series, we'd see him ingratiate himself to several different factions, and at times fall out of favor with them. Everyone wants Adam on their side, but everyone also kind of wants him dead. Imagine something like Brian Wood's DMZ, except the hero has sci-fi doohickeys.
Plot Points;
-The story would open with Adam being Zeta'd right into a skirmish between the Rannians and Thanagarians, focusing on Hro Amek. The Rannians have captured him, wishing to use him as a bargaining chip, while the rogue, desert-dwelling Thanagarian Vultures have been hired to kill him, and spark a full-blown war. Adam frees him, fighting off both sides, but is captured by the Rannians. This would provide the standard introductory exposition, as he witnesses the world first-hand, en route to the Rannian capital of Hillhaven. Eventually he learns that Hro Amek was to be exchanced for the Rannian princess Alanna. Adam offers to rescue her himself, and then the story of Adam Strange really begins.
-Who are the conspirators that want Hro Amek dead?
-What happens when the Khunds find the materials necessary to repair their rescue beacon, and signal the Khund armada to retrieve them?
-Who is the Green Lantern of Sector 2682?
-Some call him the Dust Devil, some the Tornado Tyrant, but whatever he is, he's come out of the red desert to destroy Adam Strange.
-Who is the God that sleeps under the mountain, tended by the blind, albino Lizarkons? And what happens when he wakes up?
-Rannagar is under attack, by Adam's old bosses at STAR Labs.
-Who is the other Earthling stranded on Rannagar?
TLDR;
-Adam Strange is permanently stranded on the planet he's dubbed Rannagar, along with Thanagarians, Rannians, and Khunds, the latter of whom arrived after crash-landing inside a space-faring warship.
-Rannians are technologically adept, though still far behind Earth in terms of development. However, their technology is based off the resources of Rann, and therefore markedly different from Earth's.
-Thanagarians are a tribal, warrior people, who once lived on a floating, Nth Metal-rich island. After the island was shot down by the Khunds, the Thanagarians were stranded on Rannagar's surface, and forced to deal with challenges previously unknown to them. Consequently, the Thanagarians split into various tribes, scattering across the continent, with several tribes taking on their own identity, and forming their own leadership.
With his Rann-bound people divided, and far from their Gods, former Thanagarian War-Chief Hro Talak is desperate to return his people to the sky, to Thanagar, where they belong. Unfortunately, the only known Nth Metal deposit large enough to house all his people, sits directly underneath the Rannians' capital city.
-Khunds are a technologically advanced, space-faring race, who have become ship-wrecked on Rannagar. Having expended their power sources years ago, after first coming into conflict with the Thanagarians, they now find themselves vulnerable, and unable to adapt to life on the primitive Rannagar, bereft of their technology. A matriarchal people, their females are their fiercest warriors, while the males are smaller, brightly colored, and less aggressive.
The captain of their ship having died years ago, they are now led by War-Chief Grok'theg, who hopes to discover a way to signal her people, and bring her crew home.
-The story would be something of a science-fantasy/western, that's as much about the various cultures of Rannagar, as it is Adam's own journey to become a hero. It'd be a story where no one's really in the wrong, so much as they are pursuing their own ends, trying to find a way to get what they want.
Picture something like DMZ; Adam's a neutral lawman and go-between on for everyone, trying to keep the peace, even as everyone else tries to destroy it. Except, he has a sci-fi doohickey that lets him form hard-light weapons, and fly.
Which naturally makes him very interesting to everyone.
It'd be a radically different take from the old Adam Strange, while still trying to preserve a lot of the elements I find most interesting. And there'd be a way to have it make sense with stuff like Hawkman and Green Lantern too, which I could share. If anyone really cares.
Honestly though, having spent some time thinking about the world, I kind of want to make it into its own thing. But, I'm not sure I have the patience or stamina to write that kind of long, over-arching story.
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By which I mean, just think about it a lot and write it very slowly, so you're always like three steps ahead of yourself.
@oldmanhero .programming .web comic .everything
And I know you see it as a longer story, but is there anyway you could break it up? Instead of one huge thing, do it in a bunch of short comics. 10 page stories that are separate but tie together. Harder to get burnt out that way than on something so massive. Little easier on the time problem, too.
XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
Yep, that's the sort of thing. Start with a tiny kernel of a thing. Some vignette type stuff.
I agree in principle, but I think this has value. I keep thinking about how much I want to do my own thing vs. other peoples' IPs. Sometimes it's worth doing the latter just for your own amusement, but yeah ... creator-owned is the way to go for anything long-term.
I suddenly feel like this is coming across far more negative than I mean it, so I apologize. I do think there's a solid story in there that's worth doing, Munch, and I guess I just hate seeing things like that just get lost in the early phases.
XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
@liquiddark - Funny thing is, I inititally taught myself to draw, so I could tell the stories I wanted to write. But, I did broach the idea with TLB, of letting him pick over some of my ideas, to see if there was anything in there he'd like to write for me.
@Antimatter - If I ever do anything with the idea, that'll almost certainly be the way I go. Full disclosure: It's not terribly uncommon for me to use another idea, be it public domain or corporately-owned, as a foundation, and then build my own thing on top of it. It's a way to get my brain working in a creative way, without having to start from scratch. But, my goal is always to come up with a story and characters, that will stand on their own.
@JyrenB and @Linespider5 - Yeah, my goal is to spend the next year or so working on short stories, before trying to tackle a longer story. My problem is that I tend to get bored with an idea pretty quickly, and get over-eager to move onto a new one. Which is a nice way to say I have the discipline and focus of an inebriated five year old.
Also, in regards to plotting out ideas for corporately-owned characters, and the disappointments inherent in doing so; honestly, I have no expectation of working for Marvel or DC, in my lifetime. I don't really even have the desire. The comic industry has changed so much since I was a kid, that I don't think I'd ever be allowed to do the kinds of things I'd like to do, even if I did miraculously break into the mainstream industry. That's not an indictment of Marvel or DC, or anyone doing fine work for them. They're doing their thing, and that's fine. It's just that their thing, most of the time, is not my thing.
I look at stuff like Thunderbolts becoming Dark Avengers, or Exiles becoming X-Treme X-Men, and know that there's no way in Hell I could ever sell an Adam Strange epic, without titling it Adam Strange: Green Lantern, and compromising it in some way. And really, I can make more money doing a bunch of other things that aren't comics, that require less work, if all I want is a paycheck.
Honestly, I just do this kind of stuff because it's fun, and it's a way to develop ideas that I can use, in my own work.
Plus, as I mentioned in an earlier post on this page, the idea of doing a mini-comic with established characters, strictly to distribute over the internet, does kind of tickle my fancy. It's not something I'd ever want to devote serious time to, because I'd rather be working on my own stuff. But, as someone who grew up with a lot of these characters, I think there is a joy to be had in seeing other people do their own takes on them.
And seriously, thanks again to anyone who read that whole thing. I know it ran a bit long.
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Half the reason I mentioned is it suffering from a similar problem. I've got about 3 long stories I really want to tell, but I don't consider myself good enough to handle them just yet. So I tend to develop about...4-5 things simultaneously.
The hardest thing for me, right now, is the webcomic I do with my wife is not as much my baby as the other things I desperately want to get to. So I'm trying to find ways to do some short comics of my own in between it all before I dive out into the world with another bigger project. Hopefully will happen soon.
The real reason I mention the established character thing is solely due to really liking that idea of yours. Nothing wrong with dreaming up things like that based on other characters, but it's enough there that you really could run with it on your own if you want, and even if the mainstream doesn't roll with that kind of thing, the indie comics world is growing more and more lately. The web is a beautiful thing.
XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
This is tricky, but...it's not really a discipline thing. Discipline follows enthusiasm. Find the one thing at the core of the project you really, really like, that's the Everlasting Gobstopper that just doesn't run out of juice. It's... usually something simple. A character, or a theme, or just one really cool idea.
Grab onto that one thing and let that be your bearing. Everything else can be arranged accordingly around it to suit your whims as they happen.
There are ways to be productive when you're not feeling it. Quoth has often posted in The Writer's Block about writing in bursts as a way to force productivity. Set a timer somewhere, write for ten minutes, then stop and do something else, even if you're in the middle of something, and set the timer for ten minutes. Do that again and again until you've hit your quota of words. I don't know if that'll work for drawing, but if you're having trouble sustaining it's definitely worth a try; it works often enough for writing to be a useful technique.
One of the great things about working with another person is that they're going to come at it from a radically different perspective. When it works, which is sadly not nearly as often as I'd like, it makes some of this stuff go away.
I find myself in the same position as you, Munch, learning to draw so I can write and draw my own stuff, but the other thing I can say works for me, and again it's based in writing rather than drawing, is critiquing and editing other people's work, and having them crit yours. So many things come to light when you do that, both because your own eye develops and because of that thing where other people see your work completely differently than you do.
@oldmanhero .programming .web comic .everything
finish it already
Like, today I was falling asleep in my desk chair at home, while I was doing tones on Kookaburra. I was doing that whole fall-asleep-and-suddenly-snap-your-head-back-up thing. So, I decided to take a little half-hour nap, and set my alarm clock. I woke up three hours later, apparently having turned the alarm off at some point, and with most of my day gone.
On top of that, and I told TLB this in an e-mail, a roofer kind of fell through the ceiling of my house, coating my workspace in insulation and debris, and destroying the first page I'd done of Chupacabra. They only recently repaired the ceiling, so I can actually work in that room, without breathing in horrible black dust.
Just sayin', I got problems.
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