Comments on: What are some common mistakes of comic book and graphic novel teams?

By: NicKenny

NicKenny — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:48:50 +0000

The problem is that they’ll be seen by the public. They won’t be operating in the shadows like Batman. And the first thing people are going to think when seeing a person with feathery wings is, well….

However using an adjective alongside would work so thanks B.Mac. Am just going to have to give it a lot of thought.

Anyway I’ll be offline for a few weeks though I’d any advice or opinions that any wants to offer.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:01:29 +0000

If his being on the run is critical, what would you think about Fugitive or Outlaw?

For a less criminal feeling of someone on the move or out of place, maybe Transient, the (adjective) Wanderer, Nomad*, Vagabond, Drifter or the (adjective) Drifter, or maybe Stranger or the (adjective) Stranger, etc.

Unless the religious connotation of the word “Angel” is terribly important (because, say, he is actually descended from heaven), I don’t think that would say all that much about him except that he has feathery wings. At the very least, I’d recommend adding some sort of adjective to differentiate him from other characters named Angel.

*Might have to be changed after getting published.

By: NicKenny

NicKenny — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:32:08 +0000

Wings. I don’t really won’t to go that deep into the plot but Angel having wings is REALLY important particularly in the early chapters when he’s on the run. Later on in the series it will have an important impact in the feel and whatnot. I just don’t think I can write the story without it…

By: NicKenny

NicKenny — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:13:45 +0000

Wings “Why is the fact that Adam Lawless/Angel has powers of white-winged flight plot important? Is is important enough to justify the angel parallels?” Unfortunately it is. It’s kind of central to the plot. Although, now that I think about it, James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series were about teenagers with wings and one of the main characters were called Angel. I think I’ll leave it as it is for the time being.

By: Wings

Wings — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:42:25 +0000

You’re welcome.

Why is the fact that Adam Lawless/Angel has powers of white-winged flight plot important? Is is important enough to justify the angel parallels?

Off topic: Oddly enough, I too have a male character with white feathered wings who also was after the name Angel (I ended up using the name Gabriel). I can relate…

- Wings

By: NicKenny

NicKenny — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:01:30 +0000

B. Mac “Pulse sounds redundant with Siren (how many sound-based heroes do you need?).” Pulse is not a sound based heroine. Her ability is similar to iron man in the movies. You know, sticks out hand… charging noise… boom. Sort of like that.

“*Is it REALLY that important that the character has feathery wings and/or looks like an angel?” Unfortunately yes. It’s vital to much of the plot.

Wings thanks for the word “umbrakinetic”. I’ve got a minor villian who is such a person but I’ve been using the term shadowmancer.

By: NicKenny

NicKenny — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:59:50 +0000

I’ll go into their personalities now.

Angel, real name Adam Lawless, is the main protaginist. He’s Irish. His parent’s went missing a undecided amount of time ago. He’s reluctant to be a superhero and just wants a normal live, causing some of the other characters to believe that he’s a coward, particularly AL (real name Eric Justice). However, once he realises that he can’t keep running from the villian he becomes more heroic, taking charge of the team. He does well as the team’s leader and although he does occasionally take reckless chances, the only life at stake is normally his. By the end of the book he’s gained the respect of the whole group, even those who originally doubted him.

Eric Justice (superhero name formerly Arc Lightning. I agree, the name’s not great.) American, egotistical and born into money. Possibly working in the tv industry. Supplies a lot of the comedy within the group and is the butt of the rest. Thinks that he’d do the best job in charge despite all other opinions.

G and S. Black French twins. Quiet but very loyal to Angel due to him saving their lives. Thinking about only mentioning Angel saving their lives in the first book. They’ll only really come onto the scene in the second book.

Peacemaker. Nationality undecided. The backbone of the group. Originally working as Siren’s bodyguard, he keeps the team together and becomes Angel’s right-hand man and his best friend. Tough, unstoppable but believing in using the smallest amount of force neccesary to get the job done.

Siren. Possibly British. An internationally known singer. Uses her ability to gain this reputation. Considers the whole superhero thing as a bit of a laugh, even after the villian almost kills her. Becomes more serious nearer the end of the book.

Pulse. Italian. Older than most of the group apart from Peacemaker being in her early twenties, formerly a teacher, now and working in politics. Intelligent, self-confident and serious she is on the team to keep an eye on them for the Grand Council, the twelve most powerful mutants in the world.

Vixen (probably would be a good idea to change her name, shouldn’t be too difficult.)
On the team because she believes that Adam will discover a cure to lycanthropy as his parents both did a lot of work in that area. Constantly worried about the future as she will eventually succumb to it. Vicious at times and sometimes loses control in battle to the lycantrope in her dna.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:03:57 +0000

Yeah, you’d probably have to change some of the names after getting published, but the copyright issues by themselves would not scare away a publisher that was otherwise interested in the story. I would worry more about the effectiveness of the names than about legal issues at this point. (In particular, Angel is rather forgettable*). If you need to change them later, your editor and/or the legal department will let you know.

*Is it REALLY that important that the character has feathery wings and/or looks like an angel?

By: Wings

Wings — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:56:59 +0000

If I remember correctly, B.Mac said that four or five is a managable number, with six and over being harder to utilize.

I’m also pretty sure that most of your superhero names (Angel, Ghost, and Shadow are all definitely taken by at least character, Vixen’s DC, and there was a Siryn in Marvel) are unusable to due to copyright laws. I also find it a little difficult to take Arc Lightning seriously as a superhero name (maybe just make him Arc instead?). When I saw the names Shadow and Ghost, my first thought was an umbrakinetic (shadow manipulator) and a necromancer. I can see why the names would make sense for characters with superspeed, but superspeed is not a power that comes to mind when I hear those names.

I hope this helps.

- Wings

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:51:52 +0000

For a first time author, I’d recommend no more than 4-5 action teammates. (If there are characters that only work behind the scenes or in a logistical capacity, I think they probably wouldn’t gunk up the works during fight scenes or steal too much screen-time).

“Angel (worried about that but it’s the only name that’ll fit the character.)” If the ONLY thing that can be said about the character is that he’s an angel or looks like one, I’d recommend developing him a bit more. Depending on his personality or origin story, the easiest fix would probably be something like “[UNEXPECTED ADJECTIVE] Angel.” Or something else entirely. For a lofty feeling, maybe something like Victory or “[UNEXPECTED ADJECTIVE] Glory” or Triumph or whatever.

It sounds like Ghost and Shadow are redundant, so you could probably merge them into a single character. Pulse sounds redundant with Siren (how many sound-based heroes do you need?).

What are their personalities like? In terms of having enough powers and strong fight scenes, you can get by with 1-3 heroes. The only reason I’d recommend any more is if you have something interesting in mind for the additional relationships/conflicts or if you are a major conglomerate trying to create more opportunities for toy sales*.

*See Transformers, GI Joe, the Smurfs, Thundercats, etc. In particular, Hasbro series are notorious for this.

By: NicKenny

NicKenny — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:05:13 +0000

How many is too many characters in a team for a first novel.
I have eight heroes:

Angel (worried about that but it’s the only name that’ll fit the character. Or Archangel but guess what? That’s taken too!) He has wings and can absorb other people’s superpowers by touch.

Arc Lightning. He generates and controls electricity

Ghost and Shadow. Male and Female twins. Superspeed.

Peacemaker. He can remove people’s abilities and/or knock them unconcious by touch.

Siren. Controls minds through her voice.

Vixen. A Werebeast. She can turn into animals. Preferred form is a fox. Loses control of her body during the full moon to a sinister alter ego. Will become permanant when she’s an adult.

Pulse. She can omit auric pulses which overload the aura of living things causing unconciousness, death or, in some extreme cases, explosion.

Am starting to think that may be too many for one book. I think I might give Ghost and Shadow a small role until one of the group dies and the inevitable happens to Vixen. Any thoughts?

By: Wings

Wings — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:53:25 +0000

I think I’ll be okay on the costume front – there are none in book 1, and in book two the active heroes (excluding Jazz, as a shapeshifter) only wear masks.

- Wings

By: Wings

Wings — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:51:46 +0000

I’d like to ask the same for mine – Sparks, Gabriel, Mindwave, Titan, Nimbus, and Nightshade. I can afford to replace Nimbus, Mindwave, and maybe Gabriel.

- Wings

By: David

David — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:57:53 +0000

well how about thse for names Everest,Deathrose, Genrel bloodclaw, Heartsnap,
Coldbite, Darksho, Lightstreak, Teawig, thats all i can think of currently

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:20:01 +0000

Tom, if the publisher (or TV station in your case) is interested in the book or series, it will probably pick it up even if it thinks the names need to be changed later. Changing a name is simple. In contrast, if I submitted a novel script that pretty much ripped the plot off from Harry Potter, publishers would reject me because the necessary changes would be enormous.

Also, it’s entirely plausible that the editors and publisher’s assistants involved in the acquisitions process might not have heard of someone like Deadeye. Particularly if you’re writing a novel or a TV script, the people making the final decision will generally not have a strong background in comic books and comic book characters. So… just make sure that you stay away obvious ripoffs (“and then Goku slapped Harry Potter!”) and you should be fine.