Imperial_Samura
Anticrust Smurf
Originally posted by The Prophecy
OK I'm working on a comic book with a main character thats an angel.Therefore I really need some pointers and ideas.However the I reason came here is because I really don't want this character to be so much as religion based(after all he is half angel/half demon) and more interesting to read.Tips on:
Costume
Symbol
Powers
Weaknesses
Origin
Who really are angels and would this really cause a big confrontation(religion wise) if I publish this comic book.
You could always take a gander at some of DC comics and Vertigo's works on subjects like this - Lucifer, Sandman and Hellblazer.
Good comics in themselves, and they offer interesting interpretations of religion and Christianity - angels, demons and gods in this modern age, just living in a mixed up world. American God's by Neil Gaiman was also an interesting story.
As to the rest? - Costume? In this day and age you have comic characters who have their "hero" outfit, but he could also just be dressed normally - though you might want to stay away from the Nihilistic grunge outfit, kind of overdone.
Symbol? - What is its relevance? Does he leave it etched on evil doers (like Zorro or the Phantom do) or is it just something that identifies him as a masked do gooder (like Batman)?
Powers - Usually better in moderation. An overpowered character is a difficult thing to pull of well, since if it is more powerful then everyone else it kind of takes away some of the tension, some of the humanity - think PC Superman. Should also be characturful - not run of the mill super strength. He is angelic and demonic - a blend of light and dark perhaps?
Weaknesses - Do you want it to be like a weakness to a material or type of magic (think Kryptonite or holy magic) or do you want it to be a character flaw? Heavy drinker? Prone to depression? Closet homosexual and insecure about it? I can tell you now that the second category is more popular today - makes a character more realistic if he has human weaknesses.
Origin? - Really up to you.
Who really are angels and would this really cause a big confrontation(religion wise) if I publish this comic book. - My advice? Don't go for anything to cliched - like angels are pure and fighting the one dimensional forces of evil. Go for something different - reverse it, have Satan as an anti-hero freedom fighter going up against an out of touch God. Have your angel loose his powers saving a universe God has decided is ripe for an end of times. Or something else - but an original look is what you are after.
And if you did publish it is good marketing to present something that might get certain people's blood up. Half the sucess of the Da Vinci Code is it is controversial.
Why would you want to publish a comic book about a demon? I contemplated giving you pointers until you said that the character would be a demon.
Oh come on. There is nothing wrong with doing such a thing, and some great characters are drawn from such stock. There is a reason why Dante's Inferno is still the most read section of the Divine Comady. There is a reason why people feel more for Satan in Paradise Lost then the unapproachable paragons of virtue. Lucifer Morningstar in Vertigo's Lucifer was quite interesting, and much more likable then say, Superman.