Presenting: The Mediocre Artwork Of Don Gates (or: Things That Make You Go “Meh”) September 26, 2007
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Well, as I always threatened to do, I have taken steps to put some of my artwork online.
A word of warning: I did these at work, on yellow lined paper. At the end of the day we shred our notes, so these were torn from those notes (hence the rough edges). Also, the pics were taken with our digital camera, in a rush… hence the non-scanner quality. And some wouldn’t re-size too well, so you have to click the link to see them. Excuses, excuses…
And now, for your viewing (dis)pleasure:
First, some illustrations of my pulp character projects-
The Black Wing.
An early attempt to illustrate my characters The Cipher and Challenger Storm (note the pre-hood version of The Cipher).
Another early pic of The Cipher (pre-hood again) and Clifton “Challenger” Storm, in action this time.
A “title card” of sorts, illustrating the opening prologue from “Isle of Blood”
Next up, some horror stuff-
Foul Lich Priest (see it here.)
Robert W. Chambers’ “The King In Yellow”
Lovecraft’s Egg- a tattoo design (I’m proud of this one… see it here.)
HPL’s Mythos Babies. They’ll steal your soul… and warm your heart! (See ‘em here.)
And finally, something wistful-
“Dream”
“Dream” (detail)
The Black Wing: What Lies Ahead? July 31, 2007
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While mowing the lawn Sunday, I had a vision: a comic-book cover depicting The Black Wing. He was just at the exact moment of touching down after parachuting from his crashing plane Lillith, which could be seen plummeting to earth in the background. His costume/uniform torn and ripped in spots, The Black Wing clutched a .45 pistol as he gazed upon the strange land he’d just found himself stranded in… a jungle vista with a volcano looming in the distance… and a pteranodon soaring overhead!
The vision assured me of a doubt that had been lingering since the creation of my characters: once started, would The Black Wing continue on after he had rooted out and crushed the saboteurs within Sky Patrol (see character notes here)? I wasn’t sure, but that “lost world” vision… it was too good not to use. So yes, TBW will continue his fight against spies and the enemies of the free world. But in what capacity? I’m envisioning TBW continuing the good fight under employment of the government as a “secret weapon”, a flying commando, who would probably be the first of my heroes to go up against the Nazi menace. Time will tell if this happens, though…
to be continued
The Story So Far… July 24, 2007
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Well, the prologue to “Isle Of Blood” is finished, it’s “in the can” (in Hollywood-speak, not as in “on the toilet”). It only took a week of note-taking and scribbling at lunch and breaks at work, then dictation to my wife who typed it into the computer this weekend (in classic pulp-style double columns, no less). The whole process is a lot of fun, and I find myself not wanting to stop, even for sleep, sometimes. Thankfully, I’m not seeing little balls of sunshine in a bag yet.
In the meantime, I’m still thinking ahead… about The Cipher (the first two stories are shaping up slowly), the next Challenger Storm story, and a long term “what if?”: a team-up of the two characters in a storyline titled “Apocalypse”. (Black Wing, I haven’t forgotten about you! I’m really shooting to make you a comic of some kind.)
In the meantime, keep your coffee strong and your cuban sandwiches pressed right, and your secret decoders set to “B-2″. This is Don, signing off…
Gabriel’s Version Of My Characters June 11, 2007
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These are a great visualization of my characters done by Gabriel, using the character builder in the “City Of Heroes” / “City Of Villains” computer games. They come phenomenally close to my vision of the characters. Good on ‘ya, Gabe!
Clifton “Challenger” Storm
The Cipher
The Black Wing
Tom Floyd’s Initial Report May 30, 2007
Posted by Don in "Challenger" Storm, The Black Wing, The Cipher.1 comment so far
Tom Floyd has reported back with some initial thoughts regarding my ideas. His response is as follows:
My computer at work is toast, and IS is still working on it, but I got the
story ideas and will be able to respond in a few days…..
One thing I noticed before my machine died, was that you had told us all
the little details about what these characters use and do….but not much
about what the real stories are about….something I would like to know,
even if it isn’t revealed to the public at large.
example:
Captain Spectre is really about redemption…..even tho it hasn’t been
revealed in the strip yet….that is the idea it all stems from. It is
what makes the character tick.
Just thinking out loud…..
This took my thoughts in a different direction, and I thought about my creations in a new light. My response:
Thanks so much for your reply and your interest.
To answer your inquiries: the original purpose of the stories is to just have fun and write some fun pulpy pastiches… on the surface. Below the surface, there are themes I want to explore, although it wasn’t my intention at the beginning; it just happened.
For example: Challenger Storm is also about redemption, as well. The main character has a constant internal struggle to make up for the horrible person he once was. It’s not going to be a heavy philosophical series per se; the stories will be lighter in tone and be a bit like Doc Savage stories (globe-trotting problem-solvers, high adventure in remote corners of the globe, etc), but with a more human, more fallible lead character.
The Cipher seems to be about the group dynamic; about what happens when a group is devoted to the same goals, but is pushed and pulled in the different directions by the group members.
The Black Wing… hmm… I created this just to have fun with, as a tribute to pulp, serial, and golden age “flying heroes”. If there IS an underlying theme it’s duty.
Tom’s email was very thought provoking, and gave me some things to think about.
This is exactly why I started my feedback group. Discussion can send ideas spinning into new and previously unthought-of directions. It’s a joy, really, and it feels really good.
Feedback Report #1 (preliminary information about all three titles) May 25, 2007
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Well, the official responses are in from everybody (except for Thomas Floyd, who is very busy).
Overall, the responses have been very positive, which I have taken as a very good sign.
______________________________________________________
-Gabriel enthusiatically reports:
“Dude you got everything well in hand! This is perfect. Man, we’re going to crank out some powerfully excellent stuff!”
I’m glad to know I’m doing OK so far in Gabe’s eyes, and to know he shares my exuberance for the ideas!
-Dave Flora’s responses were in-depth, offering variations that could be built upon:
“”Challenger Storm”
“This one is full of the classic pulp mechanisms, but so much so that I keep thinking “hmm..did I read that in Doc Savage or somewhere?” You don’t need to re-create Doc, but you could do something with a character in that style that would be a very interesting twist. Here’s an idea. Instead of a rich american aristocrat, how about making him the Reich’s version of Doc Savage (they had one, Son-Koh) and he’s escaping Germany with a few other ranking officials when his plane is shot down and crashes in the snowy valley. Bereft of everything, he encounters a strange group of montain folk that show him kindness…which he brutally rejects. However, they have a strange martial art that they use to make him utterly useless, and they take him prisoner. While a prisoner in their world, he learns humility and kindness, taking great shame in his morally bereft lifestyle. He becomes something of a priest of the people, and goes out into the world to find and train others with similar backgrounds that he can use to fight criminal and government crimes around the world. Hell, I don’t even know if anyone holds the copyright for Son-Koh…but it would be interesting to use it as a background. Do you see how that makes the character more interesting to read?
“”The Cipher”
“That’s got an interesting premise. I did read a comic series like it once called “The Nevermen” http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=40-369 I’ll tell you something that would make the story interesting…focus on one character who is a “Cipher”, but know’s nothing of any organization…he thinks the mask and inventions are completely his idea. Then, when he’s out fighting crime, he finds…another Cipher! His doppleganger takes great pains to avoid contact with him, but he finds himself being aided by these mysterious people at every turn. Who are the other Ciphers….and what do they want with him?
“”The Black Wing”
“Ok, I love this premise! I’m a sucker for aero-action stories..though I haven’t read many of them. The biggest problem I’ve had with them is that the hero was just out there fighting crime….with an aeroplane. Your hero has a plausible reason why he would have and need an aeroplane! Now me, being the spook-ster I am, I’d have him wearing a skull mask and have his plane all in black…maybe with a nifty, phosphorescent gas he could use to cloud up pursuers or to lay down before an attack.
“Nice premises, Don! I’m curious as to what the others will have to say.”
I liked Dave’s ideas. I wouldn’t want to go with the “Sun Koh version” of Challenger Storm. I want him to have been just unlikable, but being a former Nazi brings unlikability to a whole ‘nother level!
My response to Dave was:
“Thanks for the feedback Dave! I truly appreciate the ideas.
“For “Challenger Storm”, I want my character to be a lot more human than Doc. He’s a bit more Indy Jones that Clark Savage, so he’s more likely to get laid flat by a right hook to the chin. I should have specified that a little more: I want to make him fallible.
“Which also, by the way, is something I’ve been toying with a little. I like your “Sun Koh” idea a lot (that would explain the German pistol!), but I had a few ideas as well. I thought about making his struggle to atone a constant theme, that he constantly wants to make up for being such a crappy guy. I had one idea that explained that it was somehow his fault the plane crashed (kinda like Peter Parker not stopping his uncle’s future murderer). Another idea I was toying with revealed that when in college he got a girl pregnant and he then left her, maybe his rich parents paid her family to leave him alone. At the end of the first issue, he goes to see this girl, to apologize to her, and finds out she killed herself. In grief, he grimly resolves to contiue his struggle to “atone for his sins”. It’s kinda heavy for a pulpy idea, but I think maybe it would work. What do you think of those ideas?
“For “The Cipher”, I love your idea A LOT… but I’m not sure how to write that story!! Of the three ideas, “The Cipher” is the one I have the most trouble with. I may wait a while with this one on the “back burner”…
“”The Black Wing”- I really like this one a lot too. I may have to change his appearance a little… I realize now he was a bit influenced by the guy on this page-http://www.serialsquadron.com/clubhouse/membership/index.htm (I forgot all about him until today!) Rest assured, his plane IS black, and (if it’s OK with your) I think I’ll use your gas idea (it’s a GREAT visual!).
“By the way, do you think he should have an established secret identity (known to the reader), or do you think he should be mysterious to the reader (with a handful of possible seret identities… he’s not the only pilot downed on that day. If he has a secret identity, should he have a helper, like… I dunno… his fiance that stands by him and helps in any way she can?
“Thanks for your input (continued input, I hope), and I’ll keep you posted!”
I’ll add to this: I think it would be cool for Dave’s gas idea in The Black Wing to have multiple functions: He can release the gas on one specific plane, marking the traitor as his target. The plane would trail a greenish-yellow smoke during the day, and this would glow at night. This makes it easier for The Black Wing to keep track of his opponent.
Also, maybe the gas has some kind of radioactive isotope in it, and “Lillith” (The Black Wing’s plane) has special missles that would track to that radioactive gas that the target is marked with.
“Even in the skies, there’s no place to run from The Black Wing.” Hmmm…
Another idea I recently had: after downing his target, he could fly over the crash-site and drop a small object attached to a red parachute, then jet away with his plane’s rocket booster. When the crash-site cleanup crews arrive, the dropped object is revealed to be a skull replica with the word “TRAITOR” written across the forehead. Like it?
Moving on…
-The Retropolitan reports:
“Okay, here goes:
“1. Challenger Storm
“- The ’son of a wealthy family’ bit seems sort of done already; Batman, Doc Savage, Lamont Cranston…basically 90% of fictional crimefighters. On the other hand, it makes more sense in this context that his family’s wealth is the root of their coldness, and it is, of course, pulpy at its core.
“- I think that this character would be an immensely interesting way to explore existentialism. I’ve been thinking a lot about things like this myself, and it seems that if his parents weren’t religious — if he weren’t religious — then it would be one way to use the ‘uncaring’ part of his upbringing. And, after he had his revelation, if he remained an atheist, but still used his abilities to bring compassion and safety to people amidst an infinite, cold universe… well, that’s the part that I’d immediately latch onto. It would make it more intriguing to me to have a character do good things because he realized that the only meaning to life was what he made himself. As Batman says, “The world only makes sense…if you force it to.”
“– And, yes, dirigibles are always awesome.
“– I like the name.
“2. The Cipher
“–I love everything about this pitch. It is awesome, and it’s EXACTLY the kind if pulp that I would read. It’s sort of like the Shadow, except the rest of the agents are also the Shadow. I can imagine the sound of his voice.
“– The ONLY criticism of this that I have is that I would make it three rather than four people playing the role. Three is a more interesting number to me, and it’s one less main character to write. I’d have the fourth member be more like a communications/Burbank type character, that kept them all in touch — but could still don the suit if the need arised.
“– If any, THIS is the one I would strongly suggest you go for.
“–I love the name.
“3. The Black Wing
“– This is the one that interested me the least. I was never much into the aviation thing, despite everything Sky Captain did for me. It could turn out great, but the world of pilots is sort of beyond me, except for the occasional dirigible disaster which any ol’ pulp hero can tackle.
“–Otherwise, it sounds like a perfectly plausible and acceptable pulp idea. It just wouldn’t be the one that I, myself, picked off the stacks.
“DO THE CIPHER”
My response:
“Thanks for your reply and your feedback.
“1.Challenger Storm:
“- I agree with the wealthy family thing, but you’re right: the wealthy
family is (as I conceived it), the source of the coldness (not that all
wealthy families are cold and cruel… cliches again). By the way, I’m
reading “The Steranko History Of Comics” right now… I think that,
including the forgotten golden age heroes, that percentage of wealthy
families is closer to 95%, LOL.
“- You hit this right on the head: the “existential” angle is in essence
what this character has been about for me since the beginning. I’ll
post further details and ideas on the blog, but he’s basically always
trying to atone for his sins. It’s a constant struggle; he has good
days and bad days.
“- Dirigibles DO rock.
“- I’m glad you like the name. I was conflicted about it in the
beginning, but it grows on you, I guess.
“2.The Cipher:
“-I’m glad you like this one: it’s the oldest of the three ideas,
stemming from a thought I had one day. “What if there were no
‘Shadow’, just agents using that identity (like they did in the 80’s
comics when he was dead for a while)?” My biggest problem is going to
be writing the group dynamic: how they coordinate, how they function
and plan. I can’t even “see” the team in my head yet… it’s just a
concept now, but I’ll definitely be expanding it, now that I know it’s
worth something.
“- The number: I’ve always seen four as the number for this thing,
however, I LOVE your idea of the fourth character being a Burbank-like
fellow. I’ll probably use that, if it’s OK.
“I’ve also had this thought for a while: a recurring character like Joe
Cardona, a cop who’s been assigned to “The Cipher case”. He almost
becomes obsessed with it, and comes very close to finding real dirt on
the team. Then, tragedy strikes, one of the team is killed, and the
remaining members reveal themselves to him and bring him into the
circle. Suddenly, there’s a new team member who has the inside track
on the cops and can obfuscate and confuse their efforts from the
inside. Whadda you tink?
“- I like the name, too. To me, it calls to mind all sorts of code and
symbol imagery.
“3. The Black Wing
“- I’ve always liked vintage aviation, myself, probably caused by that
flying wing in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Plus, there’s a whole chapter
on flying heroes in the “Steranko History…” books that’s really
fascinating me right now. This guy is definitely an outgrowth of that.
“- I’m hoping, unrealisticly probably, that I can juggle all three’s
development at once, so that I can do ‘em all and make everybody happy.
I personally don’t have favorites, I just bounce around between them.
“- Ideally, this would be a web-comic… with a limited shelf-life, too.
I can’t see him fighting crime after he’s destroyed the foreign spies
in Sky Patrol. Then again, maybe he can be a government agent
afterward. Hmmm…
“- What, you didn’t like the name? ;)”
_______________________________________________________
So there we have it: the initial reaction to my ideas. Hopefully we’ll hear from Tom Floyd soon. Now, it’s brainstorming time. I’ll update soon.
Don
