The second MARDL “transmission” was sent today (06/05/07). Below is the relevant portions of that message:

Challenger Storm SECONDARY CHARACTERS

Willy Avis: A former member of “The Harlem Hellfighters” in WWI, Willy is the chief mechanic for Storm and his Associates. Late-50’s, salt and pepper hair. Small in stature, but holds his own in a fight. Sometimes acts as a surrogate father for Clifton, as the younger man looks up to his wisdom and experience.

Manny “Skids” Gerard- Boyish, good-looking Air-racer, womanizer, and society page-fixture. Scared of the dark.

Brock Thurston: Ex-circus strongman and boxer. 6′ 4″ and tattooed, Thurston likes to clown around (excuse the circus pun, it was unintentional), especially when it’s at Skids Gerard’s expense.

Buddy the Boston Terrier: A young, black-and-white dog. Buddy was found by Clifton Storm on the streets of Miami, being chased by a group of stick-wielding kids. After being rescued from his tormentors, Buddy becomes attached to Storm, rarely leaving his side. The dog can frequently be found dozing beside Storm’s desk, snoring loudly.

My attempt with the cast of “Challenger Storm” isn’t to emulate Doc Savage’s crew; I envision them as closer to Buckaroo Banzai’s team- a ragtag crew that comes and goes from time to time. The trick with all this is to keep close to the tradition of pulp-heroes and their helpers/sidekicks/agents and to pay homage to that tradition… but not so close that it’s a blatant rip-off. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope, the rabid pulp addicts like tigers below.
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The Retropolitan was the first on the scene:

1. Manny’s fear of the dark: comic relief or some sort of wartime trauma?

2. I hate dogs in stories. Personal opinion. 90% of the time, if they’re not dumb comic relief, they’re Lassie — overly-anthropomorphized until their intelligence is just this side of human.

3. I am going to name my first child “Brock Thurston.”

His reply touched on the subject of pets in pulp entertainment; I agree with his remark about the subject.

My reply:

1. A bit of (attempted) comic relief. Manny’s kind of too young to have served. But it’s a good idea about the wartime trauma thing (but then, that would make making fun of it cruel… hehehe…)

2. Trust me, the dog will be realistic. He’s not highly trained like the Doc Savage pets. Hell, he’s probably not going on any adventures with them. I just always wanted a Boston Terrier and wanted one in the stories. (He’s named after my grandma’s Boston Terrier, who could cry on command, BTW).

3. That’s a great porn star name, too. Pulp hero or porn star, that kid’s going to have an exciting life.

(I realize now what an influence “Boogie Nights” must have had on me.

Gabriel’s response also touched on “the dog issue”:

For me… I love it. Especially the dog. Reminds me of Tin Tin’s dog Snowy. If done right, Buddy can be perfect. Roll with it!

While on the subject of Buddy the dog in my fiction, why didn’t I think of this? Would have been a great piece of nose-art on one the planes…

Tom Floyd buzzed in with this report:

I don’t mind dogs in stories, after all I grew up watching Rin Tin Tin and
Bullet…..probably why there is a dog, Rocket, in the Captain Spectre
strip. He only appears from time to time and don’t really have plans of
turning him into a Lassie clone. He is mainly just a companion to the good
Captain, someone he could talk at, but wouldn’t judge him, as long as he
gets fed.

One thing about Skids just how scared of the dark is he? would he fly his plane at night?

You hit the nail on the head, Tom: Buddy is just a pet, a companion.

As far as Skids’ fear of the dark: that’s something I haven’t thought about. I was thinking more about enclosed spaces in the dark (closets, caves, etc.). He could fly in the dark and maybe run around in the dark (in the open), but that touch of claustrophobia combined with the fear of the dark causes him to need the lights on inside.

You know, originally this trait was just added to the character as a humorous device: a character who smugly has a lot going for him has a potentially embarrassing problem. But it has given me a bit to consider…

Last but not least, Dave Flora:

I like the cast of characters, including the dog. I know this goes against the typical pulp grain, but are they all white American guys? You could throw in a little ethnic flavor there to add some variety and mystery….just something to think about.

I’d like to hear about how you’d like them to appear in a story. Savage was pretty much surrounded by the crew, while the Shadow’s guys worked almost on their own. I kind of like how the henchmen were in the Spider stories….they’d appear, maybe go off on orders, and then show up with stories of what happened….good and bad. You could always count on them for extra muscle or advice in case things got in deep.

You know, when you were describing them, I almost saw them in a cool, cartoon version…kind of like the Hellboy animated series stuff. Maybe it would be neat if the cover and interior illustrations were in a serious-but-cartoon style? Maybe even if it were rendered in an old Johnny Quest style?

That’s just me thinking about art again.

I’m curious what you have in mind for their first story!

My reply:

Rest assured, all the characters are not white, WASP-y guys. Willy Avis is a black man, and I definitely will have a hispanic character or two. These guys are going to be diverse,and I hope not to be constrained to the same characters too often, should a series develop.

I’m a failed artist (an art-school dropout, in fact), so I understand the visual thinking. I would love to have illustrations in the books (and Jonny Quest leaped to my mind, too!). I may try to do some illustrations eventually, but my skills are uneven and inconsistant, so who knows…

In the meantime, I am starting to think storylines. I’ve got a few plot ideas and devices in the works, but still ironing them out. This will be the longest and most difficult phase for me, I’m sure…