Subplotting, Alternate Reality, and a Goodbye to the Black Wing November 3, 2009
Posted by Don in "Challenger" Storm, Meanwhile at the MARDL main offices..., Rogues Gallery, The Black Wing, The Cipher, The MARDL-verse.add a comment
I’m to the point now where the book is done, but it’s a bit too short so I’m fleshing areas out. One of the ideas I’m playing with is the seeding and foreshadowing of future plots. There are a few major arch-villains that I’d like to introduce down the road, and I like the idea of this hinting and slow building of their appearances. It won’t be something major, but it will be a hint.
In the time since I conceived Challenger Storm, the basic concept has changed a little. In the beginning, the idea was to keep it as real as possible, and I tried to keep that in mind as I fleshed out the concept. There’s still some elements that I try to keep less than fantastical, but the lure of some of those fun pulpy things is too much to resist. Because of this direction one of the things I’ve been toying with is that Storm’s world (and the world of The Cipher, should I actually get off my ass and do work on that) is one where things have been changed by the existence of these characters. I don’t want to use the term “Dieselpunk” to describe the idea because a) I don’t really like that phrase and b) as soon as people hear it, they get preconceived notions about what to expect, but it will be a pulp-era world where certain things never happen and things that didn’t happen will occur.
Also: The Black Wing. I’m not feeling him. When I originally threw his concept out there, I thought it would grow but it hasn’t. Maybe a web-comic or something like that could happen with an artist-collaborator down the line but alas, I think I’m going to officially remove him from my character listings for the time being. It saddens me, but at the same time I realize that when I started this I had bitten off more than I could chew. If I had done this several years earlier, I would have had plenty of time to work on all my ideas equally but times change and more important things come first. And so, Black Wing, you will have to go. Au revoir for now, mon frere. May your crusade find more fertile skies in the future. And thanks to the MARDL feedback scientists for your thoughts on this character; I’m sorry I wasted your times.
Simon Crowe: The “Anti-Storm” September 17, 2009
Posted by Don in "Challenger" Storm, Rogues Gallery, The MARDL-verse.1 comment so far
Playing the computer game “City of Heroes” has definitely helped me with some ideas for future writing projects. It’s helped me flesh out the appearances of some of Storm’s allies and enemies, and helped with the creation of some new ones… like Captain Simon Crowe, who’s both friend and enemy.
Surveillance photo of Simon Crowe
Crowe is a bit of an “anti-Storm”, a guy who has access to all sorts of planes, assistants, and devices, but who operates on the other side of the fence from Clifton Storm and the MARDL trouble-shooters… or at least, he operates on that fence. He is an opportunistic air-pirate, the leader of a band of like-minded individuals who call themselves “The Black Brigands”. Their motto is “Audentes Fortuna Juvat” (“Fortune Favors The Bold”), and they are indeed bold about searching for, and claiming, their fortunes. Their home base is on Icepick Island, a 10-mile sliver of land somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean. It’s a tiny place, free of laws and restrictions, a place where people go to get lost. Crowe owns and runs the only drinking establishment on Icepick Island: The Jade Lounge… and unbeknownst to a lot of its visitors, he owns most of the island as well. In the north, hidden by dense jungle, is the Black Brigand’s home. It is here that several airplane hangars hold the swift fighter planes piloted by the Brigands, along with their mobile base of operations, the zeppelin “China Doll”.
The Black Brigands are made up of smugglers, pirates, con-men, and thieves from everywhere in the world. A handful of this group are Tito, the Honduran second-story man who is Simon Crowe’s right-hand; Steve, the white-collar embezzler turned gun-for-hire; Mickey Zippo, the arsonist; Karl, the ex-mob enforcer; and Chester, the hulking brute with the simple mind of a child. Another member of the Black Brigands worth mentioning is the German inventor, Professer Heinritz, who furnishes the crew with the occasional gadget or device… whether or not these gadgets work correctly is another thing entirely, as the Prof is a bit of a hair-brained crackpot.
A meeting of Crowe and the Black Brigands. In the foreground is Mickey Zippo (L) and Karl (R)
The Brigands operate under Crowe’s code of honor, a kind of “Robin Hood” mentality: they never take from those who can’t afford it, and if anyone is targeted by the group, it’s because they’ve got it coming. Those who don’t operate under the Brigands’ policies regarding their operations has to answer to Captain Crowe himself.
And what of their leader? Standing just under six-feet, Crowe isn’t necessarily an imposing man, but his body-language and attitude speaks volumes. Rough-shaven and gruff, he’s also surprisingly educated and refined. Beneath his captain’s hat is a weathered face full of character that is quick to either smile around his nearly-constant cigar, or to scowl in thought. Beneath his beaten-up black leather raincoat is a pair of mismatched pistols, each with their own story (hint: each one comes from a dead man). Without a shirt, Crowe’s torso and arms are covered with exotic, beautiful, and/or ribald tattoos, gotten from all over the world. Life for him is a life of opportunity, of swashbuckling derring-do and action, but also one of self-discovery and reflection. Simon Crowe and the Black Brigands walk the line between darkness and the light, balanced by their own moral gyroscope.
