Stuff
► I'd like to know what's wrong. Still have that pain in my left temple tonight. Even though I've been up for a few hours I feel groggy and my eyes are dull (the left keeps twitching a bit too).
Maybe I should just stay in bed and watch some movies...
► Talked to Brett tonight. She and Jeremy took the little ones to visit the family farm of ( Read more... )
Maybe I should just stay in bed and watch some movies...
► Talked to Brett tonight. She and Jeremy took the little ones to visit the family farm of ( Read more... )
You asked for general comments regarding your bushy superhero team, so here are some of my random reactions to the group. All questions are rhetorical, unless you feel like answering them. :-)
First of all, I appreciate the focus on pubic hair, and this is a fun idea overall. You could have one of those cross-universe battles with T. Catt's Erotic Earth. :-P
You mention that Red Madder is a composite of several existing characters, and I notice several other expies in the team. Does that mean that each of them is an expy in some way, and I'm just not familiar with every source character?
It's cool to see that a two-dimensional, iconic shape like these small sprites still allows an artist to illustrate individual differences. They may seem like very abstract illustrations, but you've communicated a lot of details regarding their relative muscularity, age, breast-size (and general voluptuousness) through small differences. As I'm sure you're aware, there are even variations in the sizes of their bushes. XD
I notice that, although you clearly embrace the diversity of hair colors present in Caucasians (with a emphasis on redheads), you avoid any hair colors that are not-found-in-nature, like blue or green. Not an anime fan? ;-)
As a fellow Canadian, I must say that it's amusing to see not just one but two Canada-themed characters. I believe that's well above the quota imposed by the New York-based comic companies. :-P Is this team an extension of Pearsonian politics? They're both cool, anyway. I think that I prefer Miss Canada, though I'm a little confused by her mixed visual aesthetic--a cape over "office lady" civilian clothes? I don't have a problem with it, I'm just interested as to what that says about her function.
I have an interest in folklore, and I'm embarrassed to say that I hadn't realized that Thor traditionally had a daughter until I saw Thrud here. I like that you went with red hair, like her father was supposed to have had. I don't know why the woman next to her is named Heracles, though.
Conceptually, I find your juxtaposition of Utopia and Eden very interesting. Each is supposed to be an ideal state of civilization, but which one you seek depends on whether you're regressive or progressive.
And that's all that I have to say ... for now. ;-)
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I did say comments were welcome, and I'm glad you did comment. I'll just dive in right now...
The weird thing about my characters and universe (The Derekverse) is that it's supposed to be more of a straight comic book universe, not sex or porn based. It just happens to have naked heroes, where nudity just isn't as much of an issue. T.Catt's Erotic Earth, from my understanding, is supposed to be a porn world.
A few of my characters are blatantly off of real characters (Ms Amazing and Amazing Girl are based on Power Girl and Supergirl being inseparable bickering sisters). But most are based on universal archtypes, with some minor homages to existing characters. Utopia is my main heroine, created back in high school 18 or so years ago. She's essentially Superman of my world, with Eden the archtypical Supergirl/Robin sidekick.
I struggled with getting diversity out of the sprites when I first started playing with them a few years ago, but I've improved enough that I reshape the bodies myself. I haven't liked a lot of the thicker body templates I've seen online. I've reshaped and created most of the breast templates I use too. I just find it fun and relaxing working with micro heroes.
And yes, I purposely try to get some variety in bush size, although even the smallest are still big by real life standards.
I've wanted to have a characters with odd hair colours. There are plenty in American comics (green haired gals She Hulk, Polaris, and Firecome to mind). I just haven't hit on any idea I like just yet. Although I did have a rosy skinned, purple haired alien named Mary Mars on the team, but removed her recently. I do need a green skinned gal as every comic universe needs at least one.
The team is supposed to be Canadian based, and most of the characters Canadian. When I created Utopia I just naturally had her Canadian because I was. I always wanted an Avengers or Justice League style team in Canada so when I started on the idea of a team around Utopia, it seemed natural that it should be Canadian. I did briefly consider making it American but non-Canadian friends convinced me otherwise.
That said, I do want to put a few international characters on the team, and I need more ethnic diversity, which I've avoided mostly out of fear of falling into stereotypes. The world doesn't need more Japanese martial artists, or tough talking inner city black vigilantes. I'd want them to be more rounded and unique. I'm just not sure if I could do it properly.
Miss Canada's costume is partly a tribute to old style pulp heroes who wore capes and masks over suits. Guys like The Phantom Stranger, The Golden Age Sandman...
I'm a bit ashamed to say that I had a slightly different version of Thrud a couple of years ago named Thora. I hit on the idea of Thor having a daughter who would be on the team but couldn't get her right. Eventually I had Samson's Daughter (daughter of the Biblical Samson and native of a mythical island of heroes of lore and fantasy). A few months ago I discovered Thor DID have a daughter so I reworked her and gave as Thrud.
I just love the idea of a big hammer wielding babe. Plus I've kinda worked in a reason for her being on the team dealing with Viking history in Canada.
Heracles is the Greek god, banished from Olympus to the human world in the form of a woman to teach him/her humility. It hasn't curbed Herc's style (mythological Herc being an avid bisexual). My design for her was also inspired by DC Comics' Big Barda.
I had Utopia first, and when I decided that she should have a Supergirl like sidekick I originally was going to go with a more superhero like name. Hit me that I should call her Eden. At one point I was going to add a younger character to the family (Utopia's 18 year old daughter) and she was going to have the name Providence, or something similiar. Utopia got her name because I thought it was a nice play on her as the "perfect" woman, in terms of her god/Superman like abilities, and her representing my perfect woman in the bare flesh.
Hope I answered all your questions. This was fun! :-D
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I know what you mean about the danger of forced diversity resulting in a bunch of stereotypes on the team. Nobody even seems to notice that, in mainstream comics, every superhero who isn't from the US (aka New York) has a regionally-themed identity, but it can also be done well. Kurt Busiek has a lot of fun with regionally-themed characters in Astro City, for example. Depending on where your team comes from and where powers are available, I don't think that you need to worry about international diversity. It could make things more interesting, but there's no need to force it.
It's good to know that I'm not the only one with a passing knowledge of Norse folklore who completely missed any mention of Thor's daughter. ;-) Given the Norse settlement of Newfoundland during their Medieval exploration of the North Atlantic, I'd say that tying her to Canadian history is a great idea.
Am I missing some real-world story about Heracles being bisexual, or are you referring only to the tendencies of the character in the Derekverse? I can't find any reference to his having any sexual escapades with men, though he does seem to have been busy marrying a lot of women. Of course, I only recently learned about Zeus' relationship with Ganymede, and I see no reason not to speculate that Heracles also practiced the, uh, male bonding that was so common in Greek societies. :-P
Once again, nice, fun work, and I'm interested to see if you do any pinups of the characters, or add any more to the team. :-)
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You're right about the similiarities to WorldWatch. Utopia ws my first nude superhero because after reading Watchmen in the mid 90s I thought it would be silly for a character so powerful to need clothing. That's where it all snowballed. I used to come up with reasons why each character was naked, but eventually just decided "because I want them that way". It goes the same for where there are no trimmed or waxed girls on my team. ;-)
Sadly I'm not Kurt Busiek so I'm still worried about ethnic stereotypes. Hell, I'm still uncertain about my Hindi heroine Yogini. Although I think I did ok with my Israeli avenger Satin Shade. I do want a few black heroines though. And a few more Middle Eastern-South Asian ones, as Canada does have a fairly large population of people from the area.
I just can get any ideas brewing.
Growing up I was mostly into Greek mythology so while I do have a passing knowledge of Norse, it's limited. Thrud slipping by me isn't surprising.
No, in the Greek stories Heracles did have pederastic relationships with a lot of young men. Iolus for example. Wikipedia mentions some in brief: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracles#Heracles.27_eromenoi
Thanks again Malcolm. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Its nice getting some feedback and I do love to talk about my characters. A lot. :-D
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Thanks for the Heracles/pederasty link--apparently, I should have attended Derek Zoolander's school. :-P This means that, strictly through your Bush League characters, you have taught me that a) Thor had a daughter, and b) the Hercules TV series MAY not have been entirely faithful to its source material. ;-)
One idea for new nationally-specific-but-not-stereotypical characters might be to start with a concept that could be applied to any Canadian, and then look for ways that another culture might interpret that concept differently and interestingly. So, let's say that you want a character who has some power associated with death--you could give that character a Japanese flavour by dressing them in white instead of black (as per custom), or have a Zoroastrian named Tower of Silence (or one of the non-English terms).
If that fails, you can always continue with the theme of descendants or incarnations of mythic figures. If you do, it might be a good idea to continue to lean towards cultures that have already deconstructed or popularly abandoned their myths, though. You're not Kurt Busiek, and you're probably not South Park either, so I assume that you're not aiming for your own version of the Super Best Friends. :-P
You're quite welcome for the comments--I think it speaks to the richness of your creative process that there's so much to discuss.
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I actually have thought of doing a smaller all mythology team. It might actually be fun. I was a bit apprehensive about having a Hindi yogi heroine on my team, but all the reading up I did on them and the practice and worship of nudity and sexual energy. The female (yogini) practitioners channeling their vaginal and vulva energies just seemed tailor made for inclusion on my team.
I actually don't know anything about Zoroastrian stuff beyond seeing the name occasionally. My little sister is the real religion expect (University grad). I wanted to have some Canadian Indian (First Nation) heroines but again, I've been worried about cultural sensitivity. On the one had I'd like one who would just be a regular modern type heroine, and on the other one with connection to Native mythology would be cool. I just don't know anything.
Maybe a fox based gal.
I think it speaks to the richness of your creative process that there's so much to discuss.
Thanks again Malcolm!
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