November 16, 2003

• WARNING: This post is incredibly long and incredibly image-heavy so I apologize in advance to all you dial-up users.

  
  

  Okay, here we go...

  
  

  I've got all my superhero comic concepts ready, and now I need your help in deciding which ones to use. I've drawn two concepts for each character. Some characters' concepts are completely different, and some are only subtly different. Please tell me which ones you like based on the concept idea, NOT on artistic merit (there are several that I messed up on either while drawing them or in Photoshop).

  
  

  First, some background information: The superhero group I'm planning is called The Mighty Janori (when all else fails, make up a word). In a prologue (that I can't copy verbatim because I don't have it with me), I say that the Janori were a race of entities that co-existed with humans in ancient times (what I call the "Era of Darkness," not to be confused with the Dark Ages). When there was a threat to Earth (as in mythical kinds of threats), the Janori could "bind" to a human host and give them special powers to defeat this threat. Each Janori had different abilities associated with it, and each Janori preferred a somewhat specific genetic makeup for its human host, but all Janori would only bind to humans who were of good moral character (It's kind of futile to bind to an evil person in order to destroy an evil threat). Over time, the Era of Darkness passed, and the help of the Janori was no longer needed. They went into hibernation and were forgotten in human history. Now, in the present day, a new, but unknown, force is threatening Earth, and it is time for the Janori to rise again. However, during the centuries of hibernation, most of the Janori lost their sentience, and now act on instinct alone, meaning that they will bind to the first person they encounter who has their preferred genetic pattern, regardless of character. Only five Janori have any sentience left, and it is quickly slipping away. These five search for hosts that will rise to the challenge of defending Earth. They find five suitable hosts at Denison University, and that's where the story begins. One thing I should note: Once these characters have received their powers, they have them all the time, not just when they're "in costume" (think Superman). I just wanted to make that clear.

  
  

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  Tiger

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #1

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #2

  
  

   

  
  

  This is Tiger, aka Claudia Sheni. She's the character based on me (although she doesn't look anything like me; for one, I'm caucasian and she's Japanese-American), so I probably don't need to get into much detail about Claudia's personality. Tiger is the leader of the Janori. She possesses super strength, limited control of the elements (earth, wind, water, and fire), and telekinesis. She is an expert fencer (okay, I exaggerated myself here), and her weapon is a sword (whichever concept I end up using). I know I drew a broadsword in Concept #2, but I'm probably going to change that to a rapier.

  
  

  Tiger used to be in a series called The Warriors that I did with my friends in sixth grade. I found a couple of "episodes" in the basement over the summer, and I realized that the plot of The Warriors sucked, and so did my drawing (and I was considered to be the best artist of the group). For one thing, Tiger didn't have any cleavage, which made the breastplate just look like a horizontal band around her chest. She also used to wear what looked like a striped bike helmet with ears on her head, with three stripes on each side extending out onto her face. Her hair was loose beneath the helmet. For The Mighty Janori, I gave her a semi-Catwoman-style mask, and her hair is in a ponytail. There aren't too many differences in the two concepts. In concept #1, all of her hair is in a high ponytail that sticks out of the mask, and in concept #2, the front bits of her hair go out in front of the ears and behind her shoulders (though they're as long as the rest of her hair), and the ponytail is lower on her head (this is really hard to see because of the angle I drew it at). Also, her boots go higher on #2. Ignore the sword in #2, because she'll have it no matter which concept I use. Once again, please decide based on the concept, not on artistic skill (I know I messed up bits of both drawings).

  
  

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  Lightning

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #1

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #2

  
  

   

  
  

  This is Lightning, aka Kody Maxwell. She's based on Katie, my other roommate from freshman year (and who, like Marisa, doesn't go to Denison anymore-jeez, I'm the only one left). Kody comes the closest of the Janori to being a "social butterfly." She devotes a lot of her weekdays to her sorority and a lot of her weekends to partying, but she's also a nice person and a good student. She's also the only one of the group who has a roommate who doesn't know about her powers, and so she has the added difficulty of keeping it secret from her. Lightning possesses super speed, the ability to fly, and a limited control of electricity. She has no actual weapon. Instead, she can shoot lightning bolts from her fingertips.

  
  

  Lightning is the other carry-over from The Warriors series. In that, she was based on my childhood best friend, Sam (whom I've since lost touch with). In The Warriors series, Lightning's costume was very similar to Tiger's, except her "bike helmet" didn't have ears or stripes extending out onto her face. As you can see in both concepts, the "bike helmet" has been replaced by an eye mask, but the breastplate remains. Other than that, the concepts look very different from each other.

  
  

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  Metamora

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #1

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #2

  
  

   

  
  

  This is Metamora, aka Maria Sonali. She's based on Marisa, so if you want to know what she's like, just go to Marisa's site. Metamora's powers all center around animals. She possesses animal-like senses and the ability to communicate with animals. In addition, she can turn herself into any animal she wishes. She's a very good archer, and her weapon is a bow (I didn't draw the bow and arrows, but she'll have them regardless of which concept is used).

  
  

  Metamora's concepts are probably the most different from each other. In concept #1, I was trying to go for a female Robin Hood look (and I know I messed up on the face-sorry). In concept #2, I was trying to go for a "Queen of the Jungle" look (and I'm not sure why it's displaying itself on the site that way, but I don't know how to fix it).

  
  

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  Asha

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #1

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  Concept #2

  
  

   

  
  

  This is Asha, aka Adrienne Mosley. Adrienne isn't based on anyone. I just wanted twins in my comic (her twin sister is described later). Asha is a freshman (Claudia, Kody, and Maria are all sophomores) at Denison, and she majors in theatre. She's very dramatic, and hopes to be known as a famous romantic lead someday. She's an international student from Scotland, although she'll most often speak with a very well duplicated British RP (standard British) because she feels her natural Scottish accent is not desirable for a romantic figure, and she doesn't like the way it sounds (although she sometimes will revert back to it if she loses her temper, which is fairly often). Despite her "feminine" demeanor, she's also very feisty and intelligent. She holds the highest levels in tae kwon do, judo, and kung fu. Asha possesses mental telepathy, the ability to shield herself and anyone she touches from physical and psychic attack, and the ability to create and control ice. She has no weapon, since Adrienne is proficient in three forms of martial arts, and relies on that instead.

  
  

  These concepts are pretty different. I kind of messed up the head and hands in #1, but you get the idea. I figure it would make sense for the twins to have similar costumes, but that's where my problem begins. In Asha/Adrienne's case, concept #1 suits her personality better (you can probably guess where I'm going with this).

  
  

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  Blaze

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #1

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Concept #2

  
  

   

  
  

  This is Blaze, aka Anita Mosley. Anita is (obviously) Adrienne's twin sister, and like many twins of literature, she has a completely different personality. Anita is the athlete of the group, and she's pretty much a tomboy. She's at Denison on athletic scholarship, and she's quickly becoming the star of the women's soccer team. She's a biology major, and hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon. Like Adrienne, she sometimes has a short temper, although she and her sister tend to get angry at different things (Anita hates losing, while Adrienne hates not being taken seriously). Although they have different personalities, Adrienne and Anita get along really well, and room together. Like Adrienne, Anita excels at martial arts, and is expert in tae kwon do, judo, and karate. Blaze possesses mental telepathy (like her sister), the ability to psychically heal injuries, and the ability to create and control fire (I thought the "fire and ice" concept would be interesting for twins). Like Asha, Blaze relies on her martial arts skills instead of a weapon.

  
  

  As you've probably guessed by now, herein lies the rest of the dilemma with the twins' concepts. As Asha's personality goes well with one concept, Blaze's personality goes well with the other (in her case, concept #2). Of course, they don't have to have matching costumes, but then I think people would have trouble remembering that they're twins. Also, I have an additional contemplation for Anita/Blaze. Unlike Adrienne, Anita has no qualms about speaking with her natural Scottish brouge, and I'm considering writing her speech bubbles in dialect, to illustrate the differences between her and everyone else. Any thoughts?

  
  

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  I'm going to leave this post up for a couple days, so that I can get as much feedback as possible. Again, I'm sorry for the length of the post and the number of pictures (and I'm not sure why some are different sizes, since they're all the same size on my computer).

  
  

   

  
  

   

  • 7:09 pm
  • 4 Comments