As Filler As I Wanna Be
Presenting another aghast from the past:
DIRTY LAUNDRY 2
"Too Derivative"
The problem with being a budding writer is you need original ideas to succeed. Original ideas are not easy to come up with, and the temptation to just outright rip off successful properties is impossible to avoid. And I for one, have failed time and time again in temptation avoidance.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was drowning in mass media and everything I tried to create was feedback from whatever was on TV or whatever I had been reading. Looking back, it was incredibly stupid...but when you are enthused about something, you don't have the inclination to step back and look upon it in a critical manner. Not that anything I was doing could stand to be looked upon in a critical manner anyway.
Superhero #1--Lightning-Bolt: Lightning-Bolt was undeniably derived from both the live-action Shazam! and live-action (and Filmation/Hanna-Barbera animated) Batman. TV serials. L-B (for short) was a middle American whitebread young man who was being watched over by a mysterious and wealthy benefactor, who would reward good deeds of L-B's by adding items to L-B's wardrobe/arsenal. Each item had techno-magical powers on its own, but the sum costume was naturally more powerful than the parts. L-B, despite his detective skills and increasing awareness, never knew who it was who was making these incredible garments and gadgets.
The core of the costume was a blue shirt with a red stroke of electrical lightning across it. (Which I more recently learned was the initial color scheme for Shazam!--BEFORE DC bought him from Fawcett!) It gave the wearer a boost of power to all the muscles of his/her body, and was also bulletproof. Next came gauntlets that threw "power punches", boots that gave super speed, a helmet/cowl with built-in sensors and long-range hearing, and so on and so on.
So unoriginal was my concept for this guy that I never even invented any master criminals for L-B to fight. Looking back at the time from which L-B came, the nemesis should have been a villian named "Blackout". You don't need much imagination to guess what he would have had for powers.
FP
DIRTY LAUNDRY 2
"Too Derivative"
The problem with being a budding writer is you need original ideas to succeed. Original ideas are not easy to come up with, and the temptation to just outright rip off successful properties is impossible to avoid. And I for one, have failed time and time again in temptation avoidance.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was drowning in mass media and everything I tried to create was feedback from whatever was on TV or whatever I had been reading. Looking back, it was incredibly stupid...but when you are enthused about something, you don't have the inclination to step back and look upon it in a critical manner. Not that anything I was doing could stand to be looked upon in a critical manner anyway.
Superhero #1--Lightning-Bolt: Lightning-Bolt was undeniably derived from both the live-action Shazam! and live-action (and Filmation/Hanna-Barbera animated) Batman. TV serials. L-B (for short) was a middle American whitebread young man who was being watched over by a mysterious and wealthy benefactor, who would reward good deeds of L-B's by adding items to L-B's wardrobe/arsenal. Each item had techno-magical powers on its own, but the sum costume was naturally more powerful than the parts. L-B, despite his detective skills and increasing awareness, never knew who it was who was making these incredible garments and gadgets.
The core of the costume was a blue shirt with a red stroke of electrical lightning across it. (Which I more recently learned was the initial color scheme for Shazam!--BEFORE DC bought him from Fawcett!) It gave the wearer a boost of power to all the muscles of his/her body, and was also bulletproof. Next came gauntlets that threw "power punches", boots that gave super speed, a helmet/cowl with built-in sensors and long-range hearing, and so on and so on.
So unoriginal was my concept for this guy that I never even invented any master criminals for L-B to fight. Looking back at the time from which L-B came, the nemesis should have been a villian named "Blackout". You don't need much imagination to guess what he would have had for powers.
FP