This is part three of Kevin Yong's "Character Creation Guide" checklist, from an article originally written for Alpha-Omega #100.

SPIRITUALITY: Defining what your character believes about the deepest issues of life.

What would your character be willing to die for? His family? His country? His reputation? His faith? What would prompt him to take the risk of putting his life on the line? What would he refuse to back down from even if there were a gun to his head?

Who (or what) does your character love most? If forced to "choose sides" between the things that he loved, who would win? Would she choose God over the disapproval of her family? Choose duty to work, country, or starship over commitments to romantic partners? Choose a wife even at the risk of being disowned by parents? Getting rid of her pet for the sake of her allergic fiance? Would they choose to risk losing their other relationships for the sake of their children? Their father? Their mother? Siblings? Friends? Teammate? Sidekick? Spouse? Adulterous lover? For the sake of their faith, their moral code, or even for money? Do they love anyone or anything that much, or are they entirely self-centered?

Religion: Be s vauge or specific as needed. Some people might fall into a broad category like "New Age", or "Agnostic", or "Protestant". Others might be more specific, like "Russian Orthodox", "Southern Baptist", "Sufi Muslim", "Foursquare Pentecostal", "Lutheran Church: Missouri Synod", or even "Cult of Gorto the Cosmic Cow".

Degree of religious practice: Many people count themselves as "Christians" if they were baptized as children, or if they go to church on Easter or Christmas. How does your character's faith (or lack thereof) influence their day to day life? Are they active in a church? Do they start reading the Bible daily as a resolution each year, but can never make it past Leviticus?  Do they hold to their parent's Judaism for the sake of cultural identity, but not enough to pass on an occasional BLT sandwich? Are they indifferent to religion? Openly hostile to it? A "foxhole" believer who only prays during times of crisis? Active in full-time ministry to the poor? A zealot planning bomb attacks against unbelievers?

Worldview: Broader than just a simple religious label. Even those who don't identify with a specific religion still have their own personal views about the big questions of life. What are their thoughts about the nature of reality, about the existence of God, about the basis for morality, about human nature, about life after death, etc.

Motto of life: When asked to define "the good life", is his ideal more in line with classical philosophy, or more in line with a holiday sale at Sears? Are we just meant to "Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die"? Is life all about money, and "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"? Is life simply "vanity of vanity, all is vanity and striving after the wind"? Or better, "the chief end of Man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"?

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ETHICS: How does your character face the hard choices?

Guiding moral principles: Regardless of what he says about his religion or worldview, what standards does he live by in real life? What behavior does he excuse? (Stealing office supplies? Politicians he agrees with being caught lying?) Even if he says he cares about ABC, does his behavior show he really cares more about XYZ? What is most important to your character? What do they actually invest time and money in order to gain, keep, or protect? Is it money? Fame? Love? Honor? Revenge?

Feelings on the use of force or violence? Are they a pacifist who will do nothing even if people are being raped and murdered? Are they a quick-gun vigilante willing to shoot first and ask questions later? Somewhere in-between?

Would he ever kill? Is your hero against all forms of violence? Or like a paragon of Silver Age virtue, are they willing to fight crimes with their fists but have a strict moral code that draws the line at ever killing under any circumstances. If they're opposed to killing, could they still justify it to themselves under certain circumstances? What would those be? In self-defense? In the defense of others? During war? Are there some crimes so heinous that they would be tempted to kill out of anger or revenge? (Child molestation? Nazi war criminals? Corrupt judges? Racist terrorists?)

Would your character ever lie? To save a life? To spare someone's feelings? To avoid getting in trouble? To preserve national security? To not spoil a surprise party? Would they tell half-truths with plausible deniability during a political campaign?

What would he "never be caught dead" doing? These are the sins that the character finds so repulsive to their own way of thinking that it is easy for them to not be "tempted" to do such things. Naturally, these are also the sins that are easiest for them to look down on others for. What are the things that your character holds in such low regard? (Drugs? Sex crimes? Public drunkenness?)

Past actions they are most ashamed of? What has your hero done in the past that they regret the most? It might not be an obvious "sin" like theft or murder. Rather, it could be something more subjective like the breakdown in relationships with an ex-wife or estranged parents. (This can get tangled with the question above if the character already has done the things they "wouldn't be caught dead doing".)

Hopes that others will never find out about ___? This isn't quite the same as the previous question. For example, if he's a famous politician, perhaps what he personally most regrets are the unidealistic compromises he's made while in office, or the emotional cost his career has taken on his family. On the other hand, what he most desperately hopes that the public never discovers is that early in his career he fathered an out-of-wedlock child with a former campaign volunteer.

If he was totally honest, how would your character describe themselves? Perhaps he'll never be totally honest, because he's truly worse than he's willing to admit. Or perhaps he's better than he ever gives himself credit for, thus ruining the excuses he gives for his failures. How would others in the cast describe the character? (How would they describe him to his face, at a tribute in his honor? At a roast? At an intervention? When gossiping behind the character's back? Or if they could describe them anonymously to a biographer?)

Bad habits / vices? These might range from the harmlessly unpleasant (biting fingernails), to the socially or morally unpleasant (cursing, pornography) to the physically unhealthy (overeating, smoking tobacco) to the physically life-threatening (alcoholism, drug addiction). On the other hand, perhaps their vices are spiritually harmful but socially acceptable (such as gossip, greed, impatience, pride, etc.)

End of part three. To be continued

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This is part two of Kevin Yong's "Character Creation Guide" checklist, from an article originally written for Alpha-Omega #100.

PSYCHOLOGY:
What makes your character tick?

General Personality Type: Describe your character's personality using whatever standards best apply, be it clinical psychology or literary archetypes. Type A vs Type B? Introvert or Extrovert? Phlegmatic, Melancholy, etc.? 


 

Quirks: The kind of harmless yet odd habits that is either endearing or drives their spouse crazy. Do they alphabetize the contents of their refrigerator? Refuse to stir their tea with anything except a literal teaspoon? Always drum their fingers on their rocking chair? 

Eccentricities: These are a step up from mere "quirks". They're the kind of odd behavior that makes for rumors among your neighbors and possibly interfere with day to day life. It could be odd behavior like mowing the lawn by candlelight at 2 AM, or obsessive-compulsive behavior like endless door locking or hand washing. (Note that a character dressing up in tights and leaping from rooftops in the middle of the night doesn't count as eccentric if you're writing a superhero comic, but would definitely qualify if you are working in a different genre.)

Temperament: Patient? Easily provoked? Stoic? Pessimistic and cynical? Calmly trusts in God? easily offended? Holds a grudge? Quick to anger and quick to apologize?

Method of Handling Anger: Do they yell? Curse? Send poison pen letters? Do they hold it in and give themselves ulcers? Do they simmer in resentment until they explode in response to an unrelated annoyance?

Approach to Money: Spends all their income? Spend more than their income? A balance of some savings and some debt? Is their focus on hard work and long hours? Entrepreneurial wealth creation and careful investment? Risky get-rich-quick schemes? Gambling or other questionable financial habits?  

If they were suddenly made wealthy, what would they do with the money? Invest for the future? Give to idealistic causes? Pursue a dream? Quit his job and retire? Gloat? Lose it all in a short-lived orgy of riotous living? 

What are their stated goals in life? From being President of the United States, or owning their own comic book studio, what are their most often expressed goal in life? What do they think would allow them to "die happy". Is your character wandering aimlessly through life? Or do they have a goal of some sort? (It doesn't have to be good goal or one that ultimately satisfies the soul -- but it sure helps keep the characters motivated in the story!) Is their life focused on a gold medal at the Olympics? To be rich and successful? To write comic books for a living? To get married and have a family? To take revenge upon the six-fingered man who killed their father? 

Fears: What keeps your character up at night, worrying? Makes them nervous? Gives them the heebie-jeebies? It can be specific threats (his secret identity revealed, a family history of cancer, layoffs in their chosen career, their spouse leaving them), or it could be general situations (public speaking, being lost, going to the dentist, etc.) or more philosophical in nature (fear of wasting one's life, fear that there's no purpose to anything, vanity of vanities, all is vanity...)

Phobias: More than causing simple unease, these are psychologically crippling fears. It can be anything from claustrophobia or fear of heights, to something more exotic like a fear of peanut butter or of circus clowns.

Manias: Obsessions beyond mere hobbies or quirks. What inner motivation does the character find to be irresistible? Curiosity such that they literally can't leave a mystery uncovered? A fixation on fighting only for certain narrow causes (such as an activist obsessed with animal rights but apathetic to other human beings) or fighting only certain things (a vigilante who only targets drugs, or political corruption, or sex offenders). Perhaps their "mania" is a weird obsession, such as devoting the majority of their income and spare time on collectible figurines. What separates these from a mere eccentric hobby is a matter of degree. (For example, most of Batman's villains fall into this category, in that their obsession with riddles or coin flipping may in fact jeopardize their criminal schemes.)

Addictions: Any physical or mental crutch that they can't function without. The addiction may be as physically destructive like heroin, or destructive to family relationships like pornography, or destructive to personal time management like video game addiction, to "mostly harmless" caffeine addiction to a morning cup of coffee.

Mental Disturbances: The difference between this and the above categories depends on how technical you want to be in your psychological diagnosis. Personally, I reserve this category for actual problems within the brain rather than just behavioral issues -- that is, mind-altering afflictions like paranoia, hallucinations, bipolar disorder, etc. 

How does your character treat or get along with other people? How do they handle conflicts with a spouse? Their children? Their parents? Siblings? The opposite sex in general? Children in general? Neighbors? Friends? People more successful than them? People less successful than them? Their boss? Their underlings at work? Rivals at work? With the local police? The IRS? With people who owe them something? With people to whom they owe something? 

Sense of humor: Do they even have one, or are they deadly serious at all times? Do they dabble in puns? Prefer to be dry and deadpan? A prankster? Do they prefer wordplay and slapstick? Are they the kind who embarrass others with "dirty" jokes about sex or offensive ethnic humor? Can they laugh at themselves, or only at others? Is their laughter with others the good natured teasing of friends, or the mocking ridicule of a bully?

Distinctive mannerisms, gestures, habits: What is distinctive in their physical movements, posture, etc. If they were being lampooned by comedians, what traits would most likely be imitated? 

Posture: Do they stand rigidly at attention? Straight but not stiff? Graceful and elegant? Slouched, slumped, and depressed? Carelessly informal and relaxed? Does their posture change with their mood, or does it stay consistent.

Vocabulary/Manner of Speech: You can tell that a character who exclaims "Golly gosh gee!" is very different from someone who routinely unleashes a barrage of foul-mouthed obscenities. A trendy teen who uses modern slang is different from a stubborn hippie who refuses to abandon the groovy-speak of the 1960s. A scientist is different from a literary critic, even if both may be elitists who enjoy using fancy big words.

Heroes/Influences: Is the character influenced or inspired by someone else? Their hero may be fictional (a child who finds courage from reading Tarzan), or historical (admiring the leadership of Abraham Lincoln), or "fictionally real" (a character in the DC universe being inspired by Superman). Their influence need not be someone famous like athletes, musicians, actors or politicians. Their role models could be a family member, friend, teacher, or a "local" hero (doctor, policeman, pastor, etc.)

Childhood/family life: How did they grow up? In poverty? In middle-class suburbs? In aristocratic wealth? With a loving yet busy hard-working family? With doting parents? Drunk or abusive parents? Was it a literate, book-loving household? Did they spend every spare moment watching TV? Did they play with their siblings, or just torment them? Was their after-school childhood spent playing with friends, participating in sports, catching up on homework, or being sent to bed without supper for the mischief of the day? How do they feel about their past? Does it match what their siblings remember? Are there facts they don't know which would change how they view their past?

Traumas from the past: What is the thing that scared him most as a child? It could be something real (getting lost while camping, bit by a dog, beat up by a bully), or something they saw (by sneaking into an R-rated slasher film when they were 8), or simply an idea that worried them (afraid of parents divorcing, afraid of growing up into a geeky fanboy). Are their childhood pains still something they resent as an adult? It doesn't even need to be an obvious trauma like physical abuse -- it could be a perceived injustice like a sibling getting nicer toys at Christmas.

Most crucial experiences: What events in your character's past shaped who they are as an adult? What shaped their outlook on life? Or on their view of God and religion? Or on morality and the rules they live by? What inspired them most? What hardships "taught them a lesson"? 

What is their earliest memory? A sight, a sound, a smell, a feeling, an event, a place, a person?

Things that make them uncomfortable or embarrassed? Any talk about politics, religion or sex? Discussion of their family or childhood? Touchy-feely stuff about emotions and relationships? Is he embarrassed to discuss his work (because it's not "respectable" enough) or to be praised about it (because they're the best there is at what they do, and they won't want to look like they're gloating about it.)

What are their traits admired by others?  Traits disliked by others? Are they aware of these things? 

Prejudices: These can be social stereotypes they hold for racial/ethnic groups, positive or negative. It can be assumptions made about those who disagree with their politics or religion. It may also be cultural prejudices, such as that all Japanese animation is pornography, or that any Disney movie must be pop culture trash, or than any comic produced by [insert hot artist/writer name here] must be good.

Pet Peeves: What are the minor aggravations that make your character grumble, and are likely to be "the straw that breaks the camel's back" if they've already had a bad day. It could be things like telemarketers, or ATM surcharges, or noisy neighbors, or people who use emoticons in their emails. Whatever gets under your character's skin, it's the small annoyances of life are often the ones we complain the loudest about. 

End of part two, to be continued.

As Ralph Miley noted in our previous blog posting: "It is important for the writer to really know their character. Their history, their passions, political view points, flaws, family, etc. Hopefully the reader will make some kind of emotional connection (negative or positive) with the character. In future blog articles, we hope to explore some of the techniques writers can use when creating characters."

To give our readers a glimpse of what goes into the making of a character, we now present one such "Character Creation Guide", an article originally written for Alpha-Omega #100 by Kevin Yong.


This is a list of questions that I use when brainstorming new characters. The questions were compiled over several years, gleaned from a variety of sources: comic book reference guides, creative writing workbooks, fanzines, etc. I make no claim to having invented all these questions on my own. I rephrased them to suit my purposes, threw them in a blender, and categorized the results.

These questions may touch upon matters of interest to your readers (like the old Marvel Universe or DC Who's Who series), but the questions are meant to primarily serve as aids to you, the writer. Writing down obscure details helps keep them consistent throughout the story. They also serve as idea springboards for future stories.

Not all question here must be answered--in fact, I've never answered every question here for any of my specific characters. Unless you happen to be J.R.R. Tolkien, nobody expects you to invent a character and immediately chart out the character's family genealogy for the past thousand years. However, asking questions about the character's family relationships might get you thinking about possible story ideas.

CHARACTER CHECKLIST: QUICK REFERNCE
Putting a name to a face (and a face to a character).

Name: Superhero name, character's birth name, other titles, pseudonyms, nicknames, etc. Also note of the source of the name has a particular significance for you or an intended symbolism for the story.

Physical description: If you're an artist, you can work out these details yourself, but if you're a writer partnering with an artist, it’s important to provide as many details as possible. This is especially true if you have a large cast and you need the artist to be able to keep the characters' height, faces, body types, etc. consistent. Also note any distinguishing marks like tattoos, birthmarks, scars, etc. It's embarrassing for a birthmark to be a major plot point in issue #3 if you forgot to show it when your hero was swimming in issue #1.

Nationality: What's their citizenship? Where they born there or did they immigrate from elsewhere? If this is a fantasy or sci-fi tale, what planet or otherworldly realm do they come from? Unless your fantasy world has some monolithic one-world government, indicate what group/state/clan/race/religion the fantasy character is a part of. (Don't assume that aliens never have disagreements over religion, or that Elves won't argue over politics?)

Race/Ancestry: Not necessarily the same as national citizenship. By this I mean their sense of their family's ethnic and cultural history, not merely a skin tone.

Age: This doesn't have to be exact, and you may choose never to directly mention it due to the flexibility of time in comic books. However, your character's age will make a difference in defining their experiences and expectations. (For example, if your teen sidekick 14, 16, or 19? All three would be within the "high school" range, but the concerns of a high school freshman adjusting to a new school and trying to find the courage to ask a classmate for their first date will be vastly different from the concerns of a 19-year-old on the threshold of legal adulthood facing college and career choices.)

General Health / Medical Conditions: Is he a burly superman with has never been sick a day in his life? A scrawny nerd with chronic asthma? A generally healthy fellow with a bad knee and weak shoulder? Also note any allergies, diseases, injuries, inherited illnesses, etc. that may be used as plot points later on.

CHARACTER CHECKLIST: SUPERHERO STUFF:
(also known as the fun part for your inner fanboy)

If you're writing a superhero comic (or any sci-fi or fantasy story featuring characters beyond the normal human expectations), this is where you list off the details (if any) of any powers or abilities far beyond those of mortal men. You can be as generic ("he has super strength") or as specific ("he can lift up to 1456 kilograms") as you need. This list is for your own reference and as springboards for story ideas. Do they have physical powers like super strength or invulnerability? Energy powers like shooting lightning bolts or manipulating cosmic quasi-quantum superstrings? Mental powers like super hypnotism or mind reading? Or powers that just defy categorization, like the ability to change the colors of any cloth into plaid?

Often, it is the limits we impose on our characters powers that provides the challenges and conflicts needed for an interesting story. Are there specific things that your hero is vulnerable to? (Such as Kryptonite for Superman, or silver for werewolves?) Are there unusual limitations on your heroine's powers? (A time limit on her transformations... her X-ray vision can't see through copper... etc.) Are there practical limits to how their powers work? (If he is super strong but not invulnerable, he may be strong enough to push through a brick wall but perhaps his bones wouldn't be strong enough to support lifting a truck over his head.)

Perhaps there's more to your action hero than just being faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive. What are their other talents, skills, or training? Is she a black belt in Karate? Fluent in Hebrew and Greek? A gourmet cook? An expert sharpshooter? A brilliant heart surgeon? A certified Xerox repair technician?

If your character is a costumed hero, what sort of costume is it? Beyond just the visual design, the details of their costume and gear can make for interesting story springboards. Is their costume normal spandex or is it a fireproof alien cloth? Could their bulletproof chain-mail be held down by giant magnets? If they have their own unique tools like wrist-mounted web lasers, how did they get them and how hard are they to maintain or replace if damaged?

CHARACTER CHECKLIST: BACKGROUND HISTORY:

Group affiliations: This is more than just if they are a member of the Legion of Super-Avengers, or the Justice League of Society. The groups your character is a part of tells us more than just superhero team ups. It can tell us about their...

Hobbies: are they part of the school chess club? A Christian comics APA-zine? A knitting circle? An online gamers' team?

Profession: Are they part of a professional group? Did they just sign up for the free newsletter, or are they active participants? Are they part of a union? Did they join willingly, or is membership mandatory in their state?

Politics: Are they on the mailing list for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? Are they volunteer spokesmen for the National Right to Life? Are they part of the Young Libertarians Club in between their college classes?

Religion: I suppose church membership would count, but I was thinking more along the lines of "para-church" organizations. Promisekeepers, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the Salvation Army, etc.

Legal record: Think back and try to imagine what might be dredged up against your character if they were ever a political nominee appearing before a Senate confirmation hearing. Have they ever been arrested for anything? Convicted or sentenced? Is he squeaky clean? Only a few minor offenses? Skeletons in the closet? Their past record may include anything from hit-and-run drunk driving, to being arrested for civil disobedience at a peaceful political protest.

Employment record: Assuming your character's adventuring is not a full-time paid profession, what do they do for a living? Is this the only career they've had, or have they worked other jobs prior to their current job. Does their manager's file for them have any complaints or commendations? What did your character write for their résumé? What is written up about them during their annual employee performance review?

Financial status: If your character struggling in poverty? Comfortably middle-class? A wealthy billionaire? Living frugally? Living beyond their means? Are they paying their Visa bill with their Mastercard? Is his wealth invested precariously in high-risk stocks? Is her life savings buried as gold ingots in her backyard?

Extent of education: Did your character drop out of high school? Stuck in junior college for years, trying to get their units to add up properly? Zipped through a university graduate program? What was their area of study? What grades did they get while they were there? What degrees did they earn? How do they view their education -- a source of legitimate pride in the hard work it took, a source of arrogance against those from "lesser" schools, a source of disillusionment over how little of what they studied actually applies to life in the real world?

Military experience: For people in peacetime who don't make a career out of it, this might fall in the gray area between an education and a job. Why did they join? A duty to country? A love of adventure? A family legacy? A pragmatic choice to pay for education or as a career stepping-stone? All of the above? None of the above? For those of an age where the draft was in effect, they may not have had a choice.

Transportation: A person's personality (or income) can often be reflected in their mode of transportation. Do they ride a bike? Take a bus? Own an electric car? A pickup truck? An SUV? A luxury sedan? A custom-built drag racer?

Inventory of personal possessions -- items of note? What valuable or unique things does your character own? A mylar-bagged comic book collection? Souvenirs of trips to foreign lands? Cosmic treadmills or Phantom Zone ray projectors? A Babe Ruth signature baseball? Seven spare copies of the Mona Lisa? A stone from the beach where they first met their future spouse? Unless your character has taken a vow of poverty, they probably own something interesting. (Interesting to them, at least, if not to the rest of the world.)

Current address: Be it 221-B Baker Street, or an Antarctic fortress of solitude, be as specific or as vague as you need to be with your character. You can map out his town, or just hint at a general area. Does he rent or own the home? Does he have more than one? Or is he always traveling from one adventure to another, without a fixed abode? If money were not an issue, where would he prefer to live? What kind of home would he prefer?

Brief description of their home: "In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit..." If we were a stranger visiting your character's home for the first time, what would our first impression be?

Decor of their personal space: How does your character keep his home, lab, office, or cubicle? Is everything neatly arranged and orderly? Are the furnishings expensive, cheap, clean, sloppy, comfortable, cluttered? Is the work space meant to be attractive, and if so, to whom? Is it meant to impress visitors, or was it designed only with the character himself in mind?

Other occupants of their home: Does our heroine live at home with an elderly mother? Does our hero have roommates sharing a cramped apartment? Does he live alone, and if so, does he enjoy the solitude or wish for company?

Relatives: Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, spouse, children, in-laws, etc.

Marital status: Single and desperately looking? Single and gleefully promiscuous? Contentedly celibate? Engaged? Married? Unmarried, but "shacking up"? Separated? Divorced? Widowed? Remarried? Did he have his marriage annulled when he discovered that his "wife" was really an alien shapeshifter impersonating the synthetic android impersonating the clone impersonating the woman he had married in a parallel universe?

Married life: If married, what is the nickname by which they address their spouse (and vice versa)? Did they marry for love, convenience, money, obligation? Do they have any children? If so, what are their names and ages? If not, do they plan to? Do they wish they could, but can't?

Type and number of close friends? Is your character the type who cheerfully befriends everyone they sit next to at the bus stop, or an enigmatic loner whom the neighbors worry and spread rumors about? Are their close friends most likely to be old classmates, current co-workers, acquaintances from church, or fellow sci-fi fanboys? Who is their best friend? Who are they people they spend the most time with after work when they're "off duty"?

Allies and aquaintances: These might not be close friends, but are people your character knows well enough to send a Christmas card to during the holidays, or to call for help if they're in trouble. (Our hero might not think Aunt Mabel is his favorite relative, but they're close enough that he could ask to use her guest cottage if his neighborhood burned down. Our heroine might not be a member of the Avenging Justice Legion, but she knows them well enough to have her unlisted cell phone number on speed dial in case of emergencies.)

Enemies: Does our hero have a grudge against someone, or attract grudges from others? Does he have a particular arch-enemy or group of villains who target him from among the other heroes? Does she have a viciously personal rivalry with a classmate or co-worker. Does he have a neighbor with whom he trades police noise complaints, zoning board violations, and loose dogs on the lawn?

Travel record: How far has your hero traveled in his life, and for what purpose? Did his family go on cross-country vacations? Did her family move to another country when she was young? Has he ever had to relocate due to a job? Has he traveled the world in search of adventure, or has he been always stuck in one spot, never able to leave Bedford Falls?

Brief history: This can be as long or as short as you like. These are not meant to be an outline of the events of your story's plot, but rather the background details known only to you regarding the history and motivation of your character. Explore their formative experiences, and list the things that shaped their personality and led them on the path that brings them to the point in your story where you first introduce them to your readers.

End of part one. To be continued!

An interview with Ralph Miley about chapter two of the Ragged Capes webcomic.

Q. Lioness seems like a character with a lot of thought put into the history behind her.  Has she appeared before?

I have mulled over the character for over two decades.  She first appeared in Valiant Efforts #1 and #2, 1989-1990. Though the readers saw this angry woman in those stories, they never got any insight as to the source of her rage.  Ragged Capes gave me to opportunity to explore the reasons for her bitterness.  

Q. What were your inspirations in creating the character?

Lioness is based off a former girlfriend.  I though I did not see her flaws during the time I was dating her, it was as I got older that I was able to look back and realize the extent of her pain. Then I began to explore the immense impact that fathers have on a culture. For some it is a very painful experience. If God allows me to create a character that can expose those pains, then maybe that can be an opportunity for the Lord to touch the core of that person.  Once the person knows where it hurts, the Lord can heal.

Then there was the time in early spiritual journey towards an abiding faith in Jesus Christ, I found myself frequenting many Black Muslim meetings. I read the literature and listened to the leader of the Black Muslims, Minister Louis Farrakhan. There was an anger, mistrust, and sometimes hatred of White America. This appeal towards the tragic history of Blacks in American society was enticing to my racial sensibilities. However, Christ asks me to take a much different road… a road that led to peace and forgiveness. These factors played a prominent role in the creating of the Lioness character.    

Q. Is it difficult as a writer to “get into the head” of a character like Lioness?

If there is a familiarity with the character, it is easier to see how the character thinks. Almost all the characters that I’ve had the privilege to create have been based on someone I’ve known in my life.  For me, as a writer, it is important that I know the character and how they will respond to certain situations.  

For example, Lioness would actually despise the election of President Obama.  One, his turning his back on his former pastor Dr. Jeremiah Wright, who in her eyes was actually speaking the truth about White America. Second, she would think he must have compromised you values somewhere, for so many white people to vote for him.  

It is important for the writer to really know their character.  Their history, their passions, political view points, flaws, family, etc.  Hopefully the reader will make so kind of emotional connection (negative or positive) with the character. In future blog articles, we hope to explore some of the techniques writers can use when creating characters.

Q. Do you ever hesitate when writing characters who have such deep flaws?  Is there a worry that readers may sympathize too much with her negative qualities, or may wrongly assume that you share the attitudes expressed by the character?

As far as worrying about people thinking I may hold to her views, I don’t.  If anyone has seen my un-smiling photo at the CCAS social network site, they would think I’m one unpleasant person. But anyone who has ever met me knows that neither an online photo nor the characters I create in my stories reflect the totality of who I am.  

As for writing flawed characters, we are all flawed and scarred in some way.  It may be pride, selfishness, stubbornness, or any number of sinful personality traits.  Hers just happens to be unresolved anger.  And without Christ, some can go through their entire life and never come to grips with those flaws. When writing a character like Lioness, I want the reader to say, “I recognize her”. It may shine a light on how our past dysfunction shapes our present day character. 

Q. Do you have other stories to tell with this character?  Will we see her again?

There are so many stories I’d love to tell with this character.  I would love to introduce the other heroes that come into her life and cause her to rethink her opinions.  It would be a rethinking that would take years!

However, all that is in the hands of the Lord.  If He wants these stories to be told, He is more than able to open up the doors of opportunity.  So though I’d love to share these stories, it is totally in His hands.  If there is never another Lioness story that see the light of day, God allowed me to share the one He wanted me to share and that is fine with me.  

   I was born and raised in Hollywood, California, and I live there to this day.  My Dad worked as a set painter on such TV shows as STAR TREK and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, among others.  Later, he worked for a small studio that filmed a lot of commercials.  Hanging out there (and part-time working), I was able to meet some fun people like Adam West (BATMAN), Burt Ward (Robin), Don Adams (GET SMART) and others.

   My sister was always a wonderful singer and the music teacher at the school took her under her wing and eventually started taking her to church.  My sister became Born Again, and within a year I had followed her.  When I was 15, a new Christian (though I always believed in God), I started reading the Bible—starting with REVELATION!  I came to feel that the time was short and that I couldn’t afford to waste any time!  I took a test to get out of school early (I was 16 then, and I only attended 3 weeks of 12th grade) and…everything stopped.  I don’t know why (or maybe I do!) but, for the next three years, my parents let me stay home and do nothing.  Nothing but read the Bible.  And draw.

   By the time I was 19, I had read the entire Bible and I had taught myself to really draw—it was during this time that I did my first comic book/paneled/storytelling pages—samples of Green Lantern or whoever and sent them in trying to get comic work.  And received the first of hundreds of rejections.  I entered Los Angeles City College and became the most obvious Christian on campus (you wouldn’t think that merely carrying the Bible with your school books would cause so much friction!) and (it seemed) the best artist at school.  (Not that I was counting—or maybe I was!—but my assignments got placed in the display cases more than any fellow student’s.)

   I also started going to church then.  My sister had taken me a couple of times previously, but it never felt right—those three years it was just my Bible and me (and God!).  Then, she started attending Angelus Temple, the very first Foursquare Church, built in 1923 by a single mother with no money—the controversial Aimee Semple McPherson.  No matter her personal controversies, God soon raised up other godly men and women who helped turn the movement into a denomination with a great emphasis on missionary work and evangelism.  I was very shy—even fearful of people—but good friends in the young adults group helped draw me out and I would eventually end up teaching the group and even leading the members in street-witnessing!  We used tracts from Foursquare Missions Press, but I preferred my own tract that I had compiled which proved from fulfilled Old Testament prophecies that Jesus was the Christ.

   When I was 23, I started attending the school at the church—Angelus Bible Institute or ABI—where I ended up graduating with honors.  At the same time, I worked at the Foursquare Bookstore and I helped run sound and lights at the church, but I had to quit those jobs when another church asked me to be its youth pastor.

To help me out because I had quit my full-time job to work part-time as youth pastor, that church’s Assistant Pastor set me up with a job where he worked—Foursquare Missions Press.  I was to do a little bit of everything, but especially I was to re-draw all the amateurishly illustrated tracts they were then producing.  It was the perfect job for me.  For some reason, after five weeks there, I had a falling out with the man who had hired me.  He decided not to give me any artwork to do and instead I would just help on the printing press.  I quit, but it all felt wrong.

   Over the next few years, I split my time between some college classes, working seasonally at a costume shop on Hollywood Blvd. (do I have stories from there!) and trying to be a freelance artist.  I was invited back to be the substitute/assistant teacher for two of the teachers I knew back at the Bible School, and I also found myself being a regular guest speaker at one particular Foursquare church that “moonlighted” during the week as a martial arts dojo!  But I still wasn’t a comic book artist. I went to the San Diego Comic-Con for the first time and tried my hardest to get a job in comics.  I would end up going there every year, hoping to finally start my comic book career, impressing various editors and publishers, leaving with promises of jobs and work with business cards in my pocket—but none of them came through.

   UNTIL…a small-time publisher hired me to do a book he had created.  I illustrated it and also fixed all the story problems.  It sold well enough and we continued with issues 2 and 3—which didn’t get enough orders to print.  He shut down production.

   Still, with the money I had made, and using the knowledge I had gained from working so closely with him, I self-published my first real comic—FREEDOM FIGHTER #1.  It was in the comics shops and made the rounds and somehow Don Ensign and Ralph Miley found it and saw enough Christian content in it to track me down and ask “Are you a Christian?”  Yep, I said.  And that was my introduction to the independent Christian comic book movement.  But, still, nothing came of the book and I had spent all my money.

   For the next year, I felt that I should get a regular job—give up the ministry AND art.  I tried all over town, but every door was shut.  At the end of the year, I told God that I would do whatever job he wanted me to do, no matter how menial.  It turned out that my sister was looking to change jobs and her friend mentioned that Foursquare Missions Press needed someone.  She looked into it, but they didn’t need an office person, they needed a production person.  We discovered that the person who had hired me there years earlier (and, for whatever reason, turned on me) had left and someone else was in charge now.  I decided to send in my resume and the new boss interviewed me.  He was an artist himself and he loved my work.  He was also impressed by my self-published FREEDOM FIGHTER.  And he said that he would definitely like to publish my Jesus comic.  He hired me to…do a little bit of everything and re-draw the tracts that still were outdated.  But part of my job would be helping out on the printing press (it was a newer one than before, less noisy and less dangerous).

   I took the job.  The first tract I redesigned became extremely popular, but “production assistant” work kept squeezing out “artist” time.  Then, after an hour of scrubbing the press clean, my thumb decided to stop working.  For five months, I couldn’t make my thumb work, and the doctors didn’t know what was causing it.  I could no longer scrub the press, but I also couldn’t draw.  It was the one time in my life when the future truly looked bleak.  At the same time, I caught a large mistake in one of our books and from that moment on everything we did was given to me to proofread.  And during that time, I was able to push through my Jesus comic, which had stalled.  (It had to be computer re-lettered, a cover designed, etc.)  Finally, THE CHRIST OF PROPHECY was published!  My boss and co-workers knew how much it meant to me and they brought in balloons and we had cake!

   Then, my thumb came back to life, but now I had an office where I could write and draw and proofread, and I never had to clean the press again.  Since my thumb came back, I drew another comic and many other comic-like tracts—all of which are very popular.  To date, more than half a million of my comics have been printed there—PARAMAN (300,000), LONELY LADY (just 10,000 so far—it’s brand new), LITTLE THIEF (100,000), and my fulfilled prophecy comic on the life of Christ THE CHRIST OF PROPHECY (100,000).

   Some of my close calls with comic book companies were closer than others (I’ve actually received paychecks from three companies!), and I’ve been able to do a lot of publishing on my own as well.  The books I’ve self-published under my God And Country Graphics imprint are INFILTRATOR, STALKER SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, and A CHRISTMAS TREASURY.  (PARAMAN and THE CHRIST OF PROPHECY are actually GACG co-productions with FMP.)  Recently, I have illustrated and published Kevin Yong’s TALES OF HEMLOCK.

   Some of these books can be viewed at the website http://ericjansentripod.com/godandcountrygraphics/ and I can be contacted through the website.  Our mailing address is God And Country Graphics, 1005 N. Alexandria Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029—write for our catalog.

   I am working on a number of new projects, and, hopefully, they will see print sooner than later.  God has blessed me immensely so far, and I feel there is more to come.  God is good.

Of course this brings up several issues. One, are comic books art? If they are —then does the combination of literary/storytelling elements(dialog, captions) with the purely visual put it into a different category than what Rookmaaker is speaking of?

The third group sees room for both approaches. For instance, when Ralph Miley and I were working on our Valiant Efforts title several years ago we opted for the second approach. Previous to this I had developed a comic called Tales of Antediluvia(reprinted in AOs #14-17) which was strictly evangelistic as is the recent AO Challenge. My point is — it is OK to operate in either one or the other or on different occasions both modes. 

Having said this another separate but related issue comes to the forefront. What makes a better story—the evangelistic or the pre-evangelistic approach? If the main criteria is to avoid “holy propaganda” then the pre-evangelistic is probably the best. Themes of value can turn up in either type of story. In my Antediluvia story, the hero Kenan sheds tears of remorse over the deaths of enemy soldiers he killed in self defense and ministers to the dying. I feel that compassion is a very important theme. “Love Your Enemy,” should set apart Christian comics. This  theme is increasingly alien to the non-Christian comics writer. The worth of a single human life and its eternal destiny as portrayed in the AO Challenge is a extremely valid theme.   

 
From Alpha-Omega #56,  1994

How should the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ be presented in comic books by Christian creators? Should it be openly evangelistic or more subtle it its delivery of the message?

First of all, I don’t believe the item here is—an either or proposition. First, some people who will do comics from a straight evangelistic perspective (complete with a receive Christ as Savior prayer at the end). They see a comic as a tract. Second, some people will develop comics that have a Biblical world view with Christian characters and strong morality that will not necessarily preach salvation.Third, are those Christian comics writers who will produce different comics  that will fit into both of the above categories.

The first group may be motivated by the urgency of the times. Christians of a pre-millennial orientation believe in the soon second coming of Christ which is a real motivator toward seeing primary life goals in terms of evangelism and discipleship. The desire is to see as many souls won for the kingdom before Christ comes back as possible. (Please note those of you who hold post-millennial or a-millennial viewpoints I am not trying to promote a controversial doctrine). While I do not want to downplay this motivation we should realize that another valid motivation for evangelism is the fact that people are dying around us all the time and going into a Christless eternity whether Christ is returning tomorrow or 100 years from now. This, of course, could lead into a discussion of spiritual gifting(are we all mouths, etc. Are we all equality gifted in evangelism?).

The second group may have the same urgency to see souls won into Christ’s Kingdom, but see their job as a watering the soil or seed planting endeavor(pre-evangelism). A Christian or Biblical world view that underlays a story would involve things like moral absolutes, actions do have consequences, God as creator and sustainer, the ideas of evil and righteousness and salvation. These ideas are evident in books like C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Christian philosophers like Franky Schaeffer would say that stories of this nature should be the natural overflow of the heart and imagination of the Christian writer. They should not be an uninspired, calculated, mechanical combining of thematic elements that sets forth a message. A variation of this concept is propounded by the late Christian Art historian Hans Rookmaaker, 

“To fit into the patterns of evangelism, artists have often compromised, and so prostituted their art. But Handel with his Messiah, Bach with his St. Matthew’s Passion, Rembrandt with his Denial of St. Peter, and the architects of those Cistercian churches were not evangelizing nor making tools for evangelism; they worked to the glory of God. They did not compromise their art. They were not devising tools for religious propaganda or holy advertisement. Precisely because of that their works were deep and important. They were not the means to an end, the winning of souls, but they were meaningful and an end in themselves. They were to God’s glory.

Art has too often become insincere and second rate in its very effort to speak to all people and to communicate a message that art was not meant to communicate. In short, art has its own validity and meaning, certainly in the Christian framework.

The Christian’s art must be Christian in a deep sense, showing the fruits of the Spirit in a positive mentality and with excitement for the greatness of the life we were given.

We are Christians whether we sleep, eat or work hard; whatever we do, we do it as God’s children. Our Christianity is not only for the pious moments, our religious acts. Nor is the aim of life evangelism; it is seeking the Kingdom of God.

(Hans Rookmaaker, Art Needs No Justification, Intervaristy Press, 1978, pp. 30-31)

 

From Alpha-Omega #56,  1994

As readers can see in the new chapter of our Ragged Capes webcomics, we are presenting a character named Lioness who is an African American woman with a deep hatred towards white people. As her story is told, we’ll see that her rejection of Christianity is based on her perception that Christianity is “The White Man’s” religion.

With the election of an African American to the office of President of the United States, is race now a moot issue in the U.S.? All we have to do is look at the church of the U.S. and see that there are still challenges to be addressed. Why do so many of our churches remain racially divided? There are many African Americans who ask the question, “Why does the imagery most often on display of Christ depict him not as a Jewish man of the Middle Eastern decent, but a white European?”

In theory, the ethnicity of Jesus Christ should not be an issue. In truth, Jesus was not African or Asian or Latino, but it would also be safe to say that He was not European. He was born in the Middle East, to a Jewish woman who is from the Middle East, which means we can expect that Jesus would at least have had that ethnic complexion from that time period. Yet, we can go the any Christian bookstore in the United States and we see images of a European Jesus. That is an issue for many African Americans.

The church is making progress, and integrated congregations do exist -- but for now these are the sadly the exceptions and not the norms. And pastors of these churches have had to confront the prejudices of their own congregations when people of different races begin to join and become active in their churches.

These are some of the questions that the character, Lioness, struggles with. But as we continue to read the story, we will that there are deeper issues that come into play for her as well. In Ragged Capes, we are trying to tackle topics like race, judgment, hatred, anger, grace, and forgiveness (as much as we can, using the language of superheroes).

These are uncomfortable issues that still deserve to be talked about and discussed, if the body of Christ is to come together as one. Because until we have such open discussion about topics like race, our churches will continue to be catorgorized as White churches, Black churches, Latino churches, Korean churches, Native American churches… and the list goes on.

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” -- Galatians 3:27-29

 

Mark Melton has been drawing since he can remember. His love for comic books is just as great. In 1996, his senior year of high school, he created the script to "The Island of Conformity" as an English project. He felt it would make a great comic book and then spent the next three years painting the comic book in water color.  By 1999 he had started his own independent comic company called "Vision Land Comics". Funding was low and he could not afford to print "The Island of Conformity" in full color but was determined to see it go to print. He ran a print run of 1000 copies in black and white through Small Press Co-op.  The Christian community was not too interested in "Christian comic books" and only one church purchased some of the comics.  Mark quickly found that he was not going to cover his costs as no one was buying his book.  Not wanting to let the disappointment of 800 copies still remaining, he continued to draw and came across another independent comic company: Quest Comics.

Mark did pencils for two stories in Quest Comics "Chronicles" series as well as color work for many pin ups and covers for their line. Quest Comics hit some bumps and went under but Mark kept creating. On the side he continued to work on his pet project "Angeldreams" and actually had two issues done but wasn't happy with the story or art and scrapped it all to begin again. In the mean time he joined up with Megazeen and has contributed pencils and inks on "The 6th Seal of Revelation" with writer John Finlay which appeared in Megazeen #3-5. Mark also created the sci-fi "Azalea" for the pages of Megazeen (appeared in Megaunity: Red and Megazeen #7-9) but sadly that project fizzeled out after 4 installments. With Megazeen, Mark continued to color pages for them and help with colors on many other projects including the Original Teen Enforcemnet agency by Henry Chmielefski.

Working on so many side projects made Mark miss his "Angeldreams" project and in 2005 began to focus 100% on it. By the spring of 2006 issue #1 was ready to see print and the first print run sold out. It took another year for issue #2 to come out and #3 is currently at the printers. Mark was able to find some amazing talent to help out on his Angeldreams comics with some gorgeous art by: Jeff Slemons, Darrin Haggard and Caleb Sutter. Besides continuing on Angeldreams, Mark is currently working on a story with Megazeen founder Joey Endres called "Rosemary", did the color work for "Lioness" from the Ragged Capes story, the color work for Collosians #1 by Joey Endres, and is coloring the pages of "316" by Pat Boone and Eric Mereced.  Besides doing comic work Mark also does commissioned paintings that range from acrylic to water color.  Here is a list of spots where you can see Mark's work and purchase his comics and other art.

http://www.visionlandcomics.com
http://www.markmelton.blogspot.com
http://www.christiancomics.net

For quite some time I have been thinking about why the super-hero idea has been such a popular and enduring one. I believe one reason is that the super-hero concept is a glimpse of the Christian believers’ eternal weight of glory (II Cor 4:17).

Basic Biblical theology teaches the concept of justification, sanctification and glorification.

Justification has to do with our right standing before God. Sanctification has to do with the present process we are going through in this life (as born again Christians) to conform us to Christ’s image. Glorification has to do with the resurrection body that we will have in the future.

What will our glorified body be like?

Our glorified body will be like Christ’s resurrection body (Phil 3:20, 21; I John 3:2). This body will be one of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39) not flesh and blood (I Cor. 15:50, 51). This glorified body is incorruptible-does not decay (1 Cor 15:42) and is immortal (I Cor 15:52-54). It is a glorious body (I Cor 15:43a). It is powerful and does not get tired (I Cor 15:43b). The resurrection body will be heavenly (I Cor 15:47-49). The resurrection body will be luminous, shining, dazzling, bright like the sun (Matt 13:43, Dan, 12:3; Luke 9:29). The believers in their resurrection bodies will reign with Christ during the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6).

Our resurrection bodies will be like the angels who do not marry nor do they die (Matt, 22:30; Luke 20:35, 36). Since these bodies are like the angel they possess great strength. An angel rolled away the great stone that blocked the entrance to Jesus’ tomb (Matt 28:2). Angels are so startling that powerful soldier faint from fright at the sight of them (Matt 28: 4). Angels slayed the mightiest of human warriors (2 Kings 19:35, II Chron 32:21). Angels are the executioners of God’s wrath (Matt. 13:39-42, 47-50), but the believer in his resurrection body will judge angels (I Cor. 6:3).

Since these bodies are like Christ’s resurrection body they will be able to do the same things he does. Jesus could materialize behind locked doors (John 20:12, 26, Luke 24:36). Jesus ascended into heaven in Hi own body (Mark 16:19, Acts 1:9-11). Jesus could vanish from the sight of man (Luke 24:31), as did the angel of the Lord (Judges 6:21).

In summary it would seem that our own resurrection bodies will have “power” of flight, de and dematerialization, great strength, limitless endurance, awesome and frightening brightness, authoritative judgment, ageless immortality, absolute sinless perfection (I Cor 1:8);

Could it be that the super-hero notion in some imperfect and earthly way reflects the glorious image of Christ’s own resurrected body and the believer’s future estate?

(Reprinted from Alpha-Omega #110, 2003)