Jibar
2007-05-05, 09:15 AM
My current plans for the future are to be an author. But what I would really love to do is get into comics. While my work has been influenced by a great many writers, none of them have struck me as much as Alan Moore. V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Watchmen, all of them amazing works. He brings such depth to comics and makes the characters people, not just faces to put plots to.
So, the last year or so, I've been working on a setting. Originally, I had wanted to use it for novels, but now, after reading some of Mr. Moore's works, I think it could work as a comic book. Well, a series of them considering my plans.
The only way this stuff works though is if people like it. So, I thought, we've got a huge collection of knowledgable comic people. They could take a look over the setting, suggested story arcs and tell me what they think.
So, here, basic plans so far. Tell me what you think, and if my friend gets off his arse and works on his artistic aspirations, you might get to see this start off as a webcomic.
(Whew, turned out longer than I thought)
Edit: Now added Mages background for your viewing pleasure.
The City
A sprawling metropolis located near the beach of an undisclosed country. The city roughly stretches out as a 50 mile wide circle. Surronding the city is a 50 foot tall, 3 feet thick concrete wall. Only one entrance to the city exists, consisting of an underground motorway that links the city to a town at the beach, Hooversville. Hooversville itself is surronded by a similar concrete wall, so the only entrance to Hooversville lies through the regular ships that come in and out of the port. These walls are not guarded at all, and there is nothing stopping people from climbing them or damaging them. This place is known only as the City, the name having been forgotten years ago, with no documents with any kind of history found.
Inside the City are five distinct areas.
The North: Consumer Hell. This is where almost every shop in the City can be found, with commodities ranging from food and drink to heavy duty firearms and designer clothes.
The East: The Cesspit. This is where the lowlife can be found. Strip Clubs, Bars and gambling dens line these streets, and the area is constantly plagued by gang warfare, with crime boss Big Bad Wolf controlling half the area.
The West: The Industrial sector. This is where factories and basic working man live. The air is itself a poisonous fume, built up over many years of pollution. Walking through the sector for too long has been known to shorten your life expectancy.
The South: The residential district. This is where those average homes can be found, where the schools, parks and other leisure activities thrive.
The Centre: The Work. Touring skyscrapers filled with offices, the police department, fire department and hospitals, this is where the everyday joes slave away to bring home a paycheck.
Main Characters
Each main character recieves their own seperate story arcs and styles, with seperate stories bringing characters together to tell the overall or minor plots.
Detective Eduardo: A private investigator living in the Centre. A God-Fearing man, he has an addictive personality and all too prominent insomnia. His stories focus on mysteries based on pop-culture, and are told with a first person narration and black and white panels.
Lord of Order: A Superhero with powers to utilise raw Order. Though disconnected from people around him, he has formed a rare friendship with Eduardo. He uses his powers to uphold his version of the law, and claims that there he has no secret identity. His stories cover the more traditional comic book style, and his plots relate to classic comic book heroes and stories.
Poltergeist: A Super with the power to turn invisible. Poltergeist is a member of the Vigilantes, a group of Supers paid to take on private jobs. He works as an assassin, and does the job based on a personal distaste for humanity. His stories focus on famous deaths, ranging from JFK to Elvis.
Illusionaire: A powerful mage who does card tricks on street corners to get by. He focuses his magic through a deck of cards and has a strong gambling addiction. Each of his stories are based on the traditional 21 Major Arcana Tarot Cards in order of number, and focus on the paranormal and modern myths.
Redcap: A common criminal who works in the East side. A bit of an egomaniac, he'll take on any job that pays well and is rather lacking in morals. His stories will either focus on famous crimes or on monsters from folk lore.
Two more main characters are as of yet undecided. One, being an angel (hopefully female) whose stories are based around books from the Bible and participates in the war between Heaven and Hell, and an undecided Sci-Fi character, who would focus on famous works of science fiction.
Supporting Characters
The characters that don't quite warrant their own story arcs. These characters crop up in many stories, whether in bit parts or driving forces.
Big Bad Wolf: A crime lord in the East district, whose power is great enough for the police to leave him alone, he has a fascination with fairy tale.
Cain: A prominent vampire, he rules over the vampire underworld, and is well known for brutal feedings.
Mek: A vampire who works part time as a mercenary. While he shows hatred for vampirism, he puts up with it until he can earn redemption and ascend to Heaven.
Chief Sunderland: The head of Police, an overweight man who prefers his new administrative work to his previous patrols. A happy family man, he dislikes Eduardo yet hires him when the police are stumped on a case.
Earth-Hammer: A Vigilante, his powers allow him to control the element Earth, and he chooses to focus this through his sledgehammer. Well known for his mass destruction and annoying "Hammer Time" catchphrase.
Maximum Pain: A huge superhero, he's so strong he can pick himself up, and is the only one strong enough to hurt him. He is known for being a particularly violent super and throwing his weight around, but means well and tries his hardest.
Maximillion: The head of Maximillion Enterprises, a company that makes everything from washing machines to nuclear warheads. Most of his money is made from governmental contracts, and he's famous for his security systems.
The CEOs: The other powers of Maximillion Enterprises, they are engaged in a never ending struggle to wrest the company away from Maximillion, and are prepared to go to any lengths to get him out of the picture.
Lady Annarchy: Lord of Order's opposite, she has powers of Chaos, and uses them to live life her way. Showing obvious disrespect for the laws of the land, she's a mover and shaker who works tirelessly to aggravate Lord of Order any way possible.
Silver: An apprentice mage recently arrived in the City, he lives playing guitar outside a bar in the East, and while a little naive concerning his powers, he's rapidly proving to be a powerful mage.
Volt: A superhero with powers over electricity, he doesn't hide who he is, and hates the silly costumes. He lives life for the thrill, the adventure, and relishes his superpowers.
The Chaos Gods: Though they have no ties to Lady Annarchy, these dark deities live outside the world, and have begun many cults to summon them to this plane. They claim that, in the end, they will be all that's left.
Overall Plot
While each character has their own individual stories, there is one main plot. I don't want to give all of it, incase I do end up getting published, but I can give you a basic overview.
The City is the battleground between Heaven and Hell. This is the place where Angels and Demons clash and where their servants fight their own wars. Each side knows fully well that the Rapture will arrive soon, the end of the world. The plot itself is the lead up to Armageddon, and then the final battle itself.
Minor Plots
These are the crossover plots which contribute to individual stories, but not to the overall plot. So far, the main crossover plots are the Maximillion Space Station, the arrest of Big Bad Wolf, the disappearence of Maximillion and the assassination of the CEOS.
Mages Background
Many long centuries ago, mages were divided into the four families, Swords, Staves, Pentacles and Cups. These families were natural rivals, each always trying to overthrow the other and steal their secrets of magic. Each family upheld different traditions, and would pass on their beliefs to apprentices.
Swords: These were the warrior mages, those who believed magic should be used as a weapon through which to rule and bring order. Every Sword-Mage carried a blade they forged themselves on completion of their training.
Staves: The Lore-Masters. They chronicalled the history of magic, and kept many ancient secrets. Their passion as magic and magic alone, and the members were constantly experimenting to create new spells. Many spellbooks were written by Lore-Masters. When an apprentice became a Lore-Master, they were sent to craft their own staff by unleashing their magic, every staff unique to the individual.
Pentacles: They were the Warlocks, the mages who called upon demons from Hell to aid them. They sought power, and used magic as this means. To them, conquest was not a goal, it was the goal. Apprentices would summon their first demon when they fashioned their own pentacle, and this demon would bind with them, advising them and lending them strength when in need.
Cups: The Oracles of the Cups family focused on the future. They used their magic to learn secrets of time, and many great inventors were secretly Oracles. The family name comes from the apprentices first divining tools, a pair of cups, which he fills with water and monitors the way it falls. Even the greatest of Oracles still rely on the cups when all else fails.
The privates wars between the families lasted for many, terrible years. These were the times of dragons and monsters, as mages forgot all bonds of fellowship in the name of magic and made life for the peasent folk a living Hell.
Finally, an exceptionally powerful Oracle known as Merlin intervened. He struck a deal with the Swords and crafted the greatest blade, Excalibur, with their Sword-Magic. It was agreed that the families would forget their fueds if one leader could be found. Devising a spell that would allow only a true king to rule them, Merlin made the Sword in the Stone and entrusted Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, a Lore-Master.
Eventually, the youth Arthur pulled the sword from its resting place, and the mage families reconciled. As Arthur grew in strength under the tutiledge of Merlin, so did the families form strong bonds of unity. What rivalry now existed was minor, and only held by the oldest of mages.
When Arthur claimed Excalibur, Merlin told him of its purpose. Arthur met with the leaders of all families, and to stop such dark times from recurring it was agreed mages would remove themselves from the picture. While they still operated, the greater populace were none the wiser, believing Arthur had driven them out.
When Arthur passed away, Merlin claimed the throne, and under his rule the mages became a kingdom all their own. As the years went by, the title of King passed on through the blood lines, and the number of mages gradually lessened.
It was the 1600s that struck them the greatest blow. The Witches, mages of no family, had begun revealing themselves and striking terror into the hearts of men. The mages were hunted down, persecuted and executed for their birthright. The King himself was struck down in Salem and the town is often cursed by the Warlocks, the King's own family. Thousands of mages were lost all around the world, and to stop the families fromd windling further, they gathered in one place, an unnamed city that stretched for miles and seemed free of the witch-hunts.
There they have stayed, increasing steadily, mages around the world meeting in this place. And so it brings them here, to this modern day and age, where the families are flourishing, and the mages intend to finally leave and take their rightful place in the world. Ancient rivalries are being renewed however, as the families bicker and fight over who will become their new King, and lead them in their quest.
So, the last year or so, I've been working on a setting. Originally, I had wanted to use it for novels, but now, after reading some of Mr. Moore's works, I think it could work as a comic book. Well, a series of them considering my plans.
The only way this stuff works though is if people like it. So, I thought, we've got a huge collection of knowledgable comic people. They could take a look over the setting, suggested story arcs and tell me what they think.
So, here, basic plans so far. Tell me what you think, and if my friend gets off his arse and works on his artistic aspirations, you might get to see this start off as a webcomic.
(Whew, turned out longer than I thought)
Edit: Now added Mages background for your viewing pleasure.
The City
A sprawling metropolis located near the beach of an undisclosed country. The city roughly stretches out as a 50 mile wide circle. Surronding the city is a 50 foot tall, 3 feet thick concrete wall. Only one entrance to the city exists, consisting of an underground motorway that links the city to a town at the beach, Hooversville. Hooversville itself is surronded by a similar concrete wall, so the only entrance to Hooversville lies through the regular ships that come in and out of the port. These walls are not guarded at all, and there is nothing stopping people from climbing them or damaging them. This place is known only as the City, the name having been forgotten years ago, with no documents with any kind of history found.
Inside the City are five distinct areas.
The North: Consumer Hell. This is where almost every shop in the City can be found, with commodities ranging from food and drink to heavy duty firearms and designer clothes.
The East: The Cesspit. This is where the lowlife can be found. Strip Clubs, Bars and gambling dens line these streets, and the area is constantly plagued by gang warfare, with crime boss Big Bad Wolf controlling half the area.
The West: The Industrial sector. This is where factories and basic working man live. The air is itself a poisonous fume, built up over many years of pollution. Walking through the sector for too long has been known to shorten your life expectancy.
The South: The residential district. This is where those average homes can be found, where the schools, parks and other leisure activities thrive.
The Centre: The Work. Touring skyscrapers filled with offices, the police department, fire department and hospitals, this is where the everyday joes slave away to bring home a paycheck.
Main Characters
Each main character recieves their own seperate story arcs and styles, with seperate stories bringing characters together to tell the overall or minor plots.
Detective Eduardo: A private investigator living in the Centre. A God-Fearing man, he has an addictive personality and all too prominent insomnia. His stories focus on mysteries based on pop-culture, and are told with a first person narration and black and white panels.
Lord of Order: A Superhero with powers to utilise raw Order. Though disconnected from people around him, he has formed a rare friendship with Eduardo. He uses his powers to uphold his version of the law, and claims that there he has no secret identity. His stories cover the more traditional comic book style, and his plots relate to classic comic book heroes and stories.
Poltergeist: A Super with the power to turn invisible. Poltergeist is a member of the Vigilantes, a group of Supers paid to take on private jobs. He works as an assassin, and does the job based on a personal distaste for humanity. His stories focus on famous deaths, ranging from JFK to Elvis.
Illusionaire: A powerful mage who does card tricks on street corners to get by. He focuses his magic through a deck of cards and has a strong gambling addiction. Each of his stories are based on the traditional 21 Major Arcana Tarot Cards in order of number, and focus on the paranormal and modern myths.
Redcap: A common criminal who works in the East side. A bit of an egomaniac, he'll take on any job that pays well and is rather lacking in morals. His stories will either focus on famous crimes or on monsters from folk lore.
Two more main characters are as of yet undecided. One, being an angel (hopefully female) whose stories are based around books from the Bible and participates in the war between Heaven and Hell, and an undecided Sci-Fi character, who would focus on famous works of science fiction.
Supporting Characters
The characters that don't quite warrant their own story arcs. These characters crop up in many stories, whether in bit parts or driving forces.
Big Bad Wolf: A crime lord in the East district, whose power is great enough for the police to leave him alone, he has a fascination with fairy tale.
Cain: A prominent vampire, he rules over the vampire underworld, and is well known for brutal feedings.
Mek: A vampire who works part time as a mercenary. While he shows hatred for vampirism, he puts up with it until he can earn redemption and ascend to Heaven.
Chief Sunderland: The head of Police, an overweight man who prefers his new administrative work to his previous patrols. A happy family man, he dislikes Eduardo yet hires him when the police are stumped on a case.
Earth-Hammer: A Vigilante, his powers allow him to control the element Earth, and he chooses to focus this through his sledgehammer. Well known for his mass destruction and annoying "Hammer Time" catchphrase.
Maximum Pain: A huge superhero, he's so strong he can pick himself up, and is the only one strong enough to hurt him. He is known for being a particularly violent super and throwing his weight around, but means well and tries his hardest.
Maximillion: The head of Maximillion Enterprises, a company that makes everything from washing machines to nuclear warheads. Most of his money is made from governmental contracts, and he's famous for his security systems.
The CEOs: The other powers of Maximillion Enterprises, they are engaged in a never ending struggle to wrest the company away from Maximillion, and are prepared to go to any lengths to get him out of the picture.
Lady Annarchy: Lord of Order's opposite, she has powers of Chaos, and uses them to live life her way. Showing obvious disrespect for the laws of the land, she's a mover and shaker who works tirelessly to aggravate Lord of Order any way possible.
Silver: An apprentice mage recently arrived in the City, he lives playing guitar outside a bar in the East, and while a little naive concerning his powers, he's rapidly proving to be a powerful mage.
Volt: A superhero with powers over electricity, he doesn't hide who he is, and hates the silly costumes. He lives life for the thrill, the adventure, and relishes his superpowers.
The Chaos Gods: Though they have no ties to Lady Annarchy, these dark deities live outside the world, and have begun many cults to summon them to this plane. They claim that, in the end, they will be all that's left.
Overall Plot
While each character has their own individual stories, there is one main plot. I don't want to give all of it, incase I do end up getting published, but I can give you a basic overview.
The City is the battleground between Heaven and Hell. This is the place where Angels and Demons clash and where their servants fight their own wars. Each side knows fully well that the Rapture will arrive soon, the end of the world. The plot itself is the lead up to Armageddon, and then the final battle itself.
Minor Plots
These are the crossover plots which contribute to individual stories, but not to the overall plot. So far, the main crossover plots are the Maximillion Space Station, the arrest of Big Bad Wolf, the disappearence of Maximillion and the assassination of the CEOS.
Mages Background
Many long centuries ago, mages were divided into the four families, Swords, Staves, Pentacles and Cups. These families were natural rivals, each always trying to overthrow the other and steal their secrets of magic. Each family upheld different traditions, and would pass on their beliefs to apprentices.
Swords: These were the warrior mages, those who believed magic should be used as a weapon through which to rule and bring order. Every Sword-Mage carried a blade they forged themselves on completion of their training.
Staves: The Lore-Masters. They chronicalled the history of magic, and kept many ancient secrets. Their passion as magic and magic alone, and the members were constantly experimenting to create new spells. Many spellbooks were written by Lore-Masters. When an apprentice became a Lore-Master, they were sent to craft their own staff by unleashing their magic, every staff unique to the individual.
Pentacles: They were the Warlocks, the mages who called upon demons from Hell to aid them. They sought power, and used magic as this means. To them, conquest was not a goal, it was the goal. Apprentices would summon their first demon when they fashioned their own pentacle, and this demon would bind with them, advising them and lending them strength when in need.
Cups: The Oracles of the Cups family focused on the future. They used their magic to learn secrets of time, and many great inventors were secretly Oracles. The family name comes from the apprentices first divining tools, a pair of cups, which he fills with water and monitors the way it falls. Even the greatest of Oracles still rely on the cups when all else fails.
The privates wars between the families lasted for many, terrible years. These were the times of dragons and monsters, as mages forgot all bonds of fellowship in the name of magic and made life for the peasent folk a living Hell.
Finally, an exceptionally powerful Oracle known as Merlin intervened. He struck a deal with the Swords and crafted the greatest blade, Excalibur, with their Sword-Magic. It was agreed that the families would forget their fueds if one leader could be found. Devising a spell that would allow only a true king to rule them, Merlin made the Sword in the Stone and entrusted Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, a Lore-Master.
Eventually, the youth Arthur pulled the sword from its resting place, and the mage families reconciled. As Arthur grew in strength under the tutiledge of Merlin, so did the families form strong bonds of unity. What rivalry now existed was minor, and only held by the oldest of mages.
When Arthur claimed Excalibur, Merlin told him of its purpose. Arthur met with the leaders of all families, and to stop such dark times from recurring it was agreed mages would remove themselves from the picture. While they still operated, the greater populace were none the wiser, believing Arthur had driven them out.
When Arthur passed away, Merlin claimed the throne, and under his rule the mages became a kingdom all their own. As the years went by, the title of King passed on through the blood lines, and the number of mages gradually lessened.
It was the 1600s that struck them the greatest blow. The Witches, mages of no family, had begun revealing themselves and striking terror into the hearts of men. The mages were hunted down, persecuted and executed for their birthright. The King himself was struck down in Salem and the town is often cursed by the Warlocks, the King's own family. Thousands of mages were lost all around the world, and to stop the families fromd windling further, they gathered in one place, an unnamed city that stretched for miles and seemed free of the witch-hunts.
There they have stayed, increasing steadily, mages around the world meeting in this place. And so it brings them here, to this modern day and age, where the families are flourishing, and the mages intend to finally leave and take their rightful place in the world. Ancient rivalries are being renewed however, as the families bicker and fight over who will become their new King, and lead them in their quest.