Vito Delsante

Posts Tagged ‘100 characters’

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100 Characters Challenge – #86-101 The 30 Characters Challenge Weeks 2-3

by Vito Delsante on December 2, 2011 at 10:04 pm

RECAP: In November 2010, I participated in the 30 Characters Challenge and created 35 new characters. In December, I gave them all away (for the most part). I decided that one of my projects in 2011 would be to add to that list of 35 and, by December 2011, create 100 new characters total. Every Monday, I will post a new character. This post contains the fifty-second to the sixty-seventh:

Bright Eyes
The Neb
Ram Girl
“The Golden Boy” Ford Knox
“The Heartthrob” Eddie Heart
Major Victory
Mighty Minerva
The Mysterious Stranger
The Widowmaker
Hate Trick
Tom Foolery
The Claw
Gentleman Archer
Ed & Arwyn
Diabolic

So, let’s wind this down. I did it. I created 100 new characters in one year. I didn’t, however, finish the 30 Characters Challenge. That was kind of disappointing, to say the least. Truth be told, I hit a wall and…just fizzled out. Funny enough? After posting my final character, I came up with a new character. That’s the way it goes, I guess.

To create the new characters for the 30 Characters Challenge, I’m using Eduardo Reis’ Hero-O-Matic (aka Fabrica De Herois) to create my characters. It doesn’t have the weird caveat that Hero Machine has, so it’s infinitely superior.

See Also:

#1-35: 30 Characters Challenge
#36: Effigy – aka, Christopher Sinclair
#37: Die Twenty
#38: The Gear(s)
#39: The Scout
#40: Nightmare
#41: Sparta
#42: Primus
#43: Agent Mummy
#44: Eclipse
#45: Samhain (open source)
#46: Balor (open source)
#47: The Phantom Queen (open source)
#48: The Gaffer (open source)
#49: The Bloke (open source)
#50: The Bird (open source)
#51: Black Flag (open source)
#52: Strix (open source)
#53: Felidae (open source)
#54: Epitome (open source)
#55: Atom Master (open source)
#56: Lord Albion (open source)
#57: War Horse (Casino Criminale)
#58: Red Nova (Casino Criminale)
#59: Forsythe (Casino Criminale)
#60: Diana Dawn/Black Orchid (Casino Criminale)
#61: Robert Simon/Bobby Simone/Baffle (Casino Criminale)
#62: Dr. Zhang (Casino Criminale)
#63: Black Jaguar (Casino Criminale)
#64: Captain Freedom (Casino Criminale)
#65: Mike Dexter/Stump (Casino Criminale)
#66: The Puzzler (Casino Criminale)
#67: A Bunch of Bad Guys
#68: The Chillbillies of the Frozark Mountains
#69-72: The Scout Family
#73: T’Bu
#74: The Gryphon
#75: Iconoclast
#76: The Rook
#77: The Contrarian
#78: Argos
#79: Dr. Defenso (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#80: Blackout (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#81: Wickedpedia (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#82: Pulse (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#83: Sparkplug (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#84: Mesmera (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#85: Day Tripper (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#86: Bright Eyes (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#87: The Neb (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#88: Ram Girl (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#89: “The Golden Boy” Ford Knox (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#90: “The Heartthrob” Eddie Heart (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#91: Major Victory (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#92: Mighty Minerva (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#93: The Mysterious Stranger (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#94: The Widowmaker (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#95: Hate Trick (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#96: Tom Foolery (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#97: The Claw (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#98: Gentleman Archer (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#99/100: Ed & Arwyn (30 Characters Challenge 2011)
#101: Diabolic (30 Characters Challenge 2011)

That’s it! I did it! Next time, some news both good and bad (maybe not bad, but unexpected, I’m sure). My annual Open Letter, too. Hope you’ll join me.

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics, stray

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100 Characters Challenge – #79-85 The 30 Characters Challenge Week 1

by Vito Delsante on November 7, 2011 at 8:49 am

Posted In: Projects

Dr. Defenso
Blackout
Wickedpedia
Pulse
Sparkplug
Mesmera
Day Tripper

So, the first seven are complete. To explain a little bit of the inspiration behind them, the first five are all based on aspects of my personality, so I’ve affectionately called them “The Vitos.” The next five (or, per this post, the last two) are based on my wife, so they are “The Michelles.”

A quick note about the Vitos. Basing characters on you is a lot tougher than it seems. The key (or the tough part, take your pick) is finding things you don’t like about yourself and amplifying that, or to find your bad traits. For example, Blackout is based on, what I feel, is a weakness (my sensitivity to light); Defenso is based on my sensitivity and the fact that I take a lot of things personally. These aren’t my best attributes, but they do make for interesting character traits. Sparkplug and Pulse are the two I’m very happy about since, in traditional Stan Lee-superhero creation, they have weaknesses that define their heroism. Blackout does too, now that I think about it.

That wasn’t a very quick note, was it? Here is one: To create the new characters for the 30 Characters Challenge, I’m using Eduardo Reis’ Hero-O-Matic (aka Fabrica De Herois) to create my characters. It doesn’t have the weird caveat that Hero Machine has, so it’s infinitely superior.

See Also:

Next week, the next 7 characters of the 30 Character Challenge!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics, stray

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100 Characters Challenge – #78 Argos

by Vito Delsante on October 31, 2011 at 5:00 am

Posted In: Projects

This is it. Tomorrow begins the 30 Characters Challenge. Once December 1 rolls around, I will have completed one of the hardest challenges I have ever put myself through.

Argos

As you can see, there is no image or design for Argos. That’s because he can’t be revealed just yet. Argos is a major character in the Stray cast, and since Stray isn’t out (yet), it would spoil some of the surprise. However, I don’t want to gyp anyone that has followed my progress, so while I won’t show you what he looks like, I will tell you who he is. To do that, I have to establish a timeline for you:

World War 2 – The (Golden Age) Doberman debuts and, shortly after, dies. The Doberman was killed rescuing a child from a Nazi experiment. That child was given to the Allies, and grew up in the United States. As an adult, he became the Silver Age Doberman. Doberman 2 would eventually take on a sidekick; his son, Rodney. Rodney was called “Rotty.” Rodney quit after a heated dispute with his father. The Doberman (2) took on another sidekick…

And that sidekick would grow up to be Argos. So, Argos was Rotty 2. As you can see, there is immediately tension between Argos and Stray (the original Rotty).

That’s all you get.

See Also:

Next week, the first 7 characters of the 30 Character Challenge!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics, stray

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100 Characters Challenge – #77 The Contrarian

by Vito Delsante on October 24, 2011 at 5:02 am

Posted In: Projects

Last week, I promised that a character named Argos would be next. I’m going to hold off one week, and give you this one instead…

The Contrarian

This was probably the toughest character to create, in terms of power selection. Let’s start at the name. There was this band I really enjoyed called, World Leader Pretend, and they had/have (they’ve since broken up) a song called, “A Grammarian Stuck In A Medical Drama.” Great song, incredible live, but I always mistakenly call it, “A Contrarian…”. The word “contrarian” just kind of spoke to me for some reason. The problem is, it has a very specific definition. To me, in terms of a superhero comic book, it would be a character who could immediately counteract another’s abilities by performing the opposite action/reaction. How do you possibly beat this guy?

Enter Brandon Jerwa.

Now, Brandon and I are good friends, and I knew that if I approached him with this character, or at least, the name, he’d give me an idea that I could actually use. He gave me four. And believe me, they were all very good ideas…except maybe the anarchist one. So, what we came up with:

The Contrarian has a harmonic field around him (illustrated in the image with Kirby dots) that causes havoc on superpowers. In some cases, it shuts them down; in others, it creates a “contrary” effect. Superspeedsters get slow; super strength becomes superweakness. His teammates in the Cadre (???) have come up with a way to keep his powers at bay. First, they all wear earpieces that nullify the harmonic frequency that his powers inhabit. Second, they keep him blindfolded when he’s not in battle, which encourages him to use Buddhist meditation techniques to calm his power down. How did he get these powers? Where did he come from? All mysteries yet to be solved…

NOTE: Due to weird HM usage rules, I’m not posting the images of the initial designs, so feel free to clicks the link to see them.

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing the Contrarian (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site! Only one person has ever taken me up on that offer (thank you, Johnny Bacardi), and I don’t know why I keep asking, but…it’s there if you want to.

See Also:

Next week, character number 78, Argos! And then…the 30 Character Challenge!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics, stray

1 Comment

100 Characters Challenge – #76 Rook

by Vito Delsante on October 17, 2011 at 5:00 am

Posted In: Projects

You may not even realize it, but for the past two weeks, you’ve all had access to characters 74-76 without even knowing it. I wonder how many of you actually noticed that the links were all live.

The Rook

Who here remembers Pax Mundi? No? How about my version of Dagar, the Desert Hawk? Well, the Rook was a valued member of Pax Mundi who has now gone rogue. A mercenary assassin, he stands in direct opposition of what Pax Mundi stands for. Call him the Delsanteverse version of Deathstroke, the Terminator.

Now, the minor problem is that when you think of a rook, you think of a chess piece. If you’re well versed in comics, you’d naturally jump to DC’s Checkmate. I suppose that kind of comparison is inevitable and unavoidable, but that wasn’t the original character’s history. As I’ve mentioned the past two weeks, I created this guy at the same time as Iconoclast and the Gryphon. The idea behind the three of them was “modern mythology.” And again, like with Iconoclast, mythology has nothing to do with a rook. The idea came from me saying, “The rook is a pawn.” I know that Rook used to be an agent that got tired of being a pawn. I’m not sure who he was before, or what his name was or what his function was (yet), but I know that now, he is no longer a pawn. He’s moving up the hierarchy…perhaps, he’ll be a king?

NOTE: Due to weird HM usage rules, I’m not posting the images of the initial designs, so feel free to clicks the link to see them.

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing the Rook (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site! Only one person has ever taken me up on that offer (thank you, Johnny Bacardi), and I don’t know why I keep asking, but…it’s there if you want to.

See Also:

Next week, character number 77, Argos!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics

1 Comment

100 Characters Challenge – #75 Iconoclast

by Vito Delsante on October 10, 2011 at 5:00 am

Posted In: Projects

Crack a bottle and break it on a boat; this is character number 40 for the year…

Iconoclast

Last week, when I posted Gryphon, I mentioned that I was looking at mythological monsters/characters and looking at ways to rethink them in terms of superhero costumes, powers, etc. for the modern era. Iconoclast isn’t a mythological character, obviously, but the thinking that went into creating Gryphon went into Iconoclast (and next week’s Rook), so I tend to think they’re related (in my head if not on paper).

Iconoclast was an operative of the Grand Inquisition, and took great pride in his work (killing heretics and other offenders of canon law) and was often seen covered in blood. The blood of many innocents started to…change him. He stopped aging and started to going mad, and as a result, he was excommunicated from the church. Soon after, he began to destroy churches…not just Roman Catholic ones, but other religions. He believes he is called by God to a higher mission; to raze the church so that only the strongest believers will be left standing. He has now turned his gaze to superheroes (and supervillians).

What I find interesting about this character is the religious aspect. I see him as more of a villain (one of those deranged types that believes what he’s doing is truly good and for the benefit of mankind), but I’m not trying to villainize religion. I’m trying to show extremism. Make no mistake; Iconoclast, when it’s all said and done, is a terrorist in the modern definition. He’s a character for the modern times, for the modern world because he reflects what we see outside our windows or on TV. I could have easily made him a Muslim and called him “Jihad,” but making him a European and drawing the parallel to the Inquisition gives this “full circle” kind of feeling (I wouldn’t call it closure, per se). We’re very shortsighted when it comes to history, so I hope I’m not the only one who sees this. It’s hubris on my part to take such a serious matter and make a comic book character out of it, but this has to be less offensive than War Heroes, right?

Interesting design note: I had him with a red cross on his chest, the bottom of which looked like a dagger or sword. I took that off only because in coming up with his history, I realized he would not serve Christianity, but his holy crusade.

NOTE: Due to weird HM usage rules, I’m not posting the images of the initial designs, so feel free to clicks the link to see them.

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing the Iconoclast (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site!

See Also:

Next week, character number 76, The Rook!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics

4 Comments

100 Characters Challenge – #74 Gryphon

by Vito Delsante on October 3, 2011 at 5:00 am

Posted In: Projects

The Gryphon

For the longest time, in my notes, this guy was called the Griffin, but for some reason, I changed his name to Gryphon. Not sure how significant that is to anyone who actually cares about these things. I just looked cooler.

I’m going to opt out of giving too much backstory for this guy. He’s a villain, in the vein of, say, the Vulture. The mask, an eagle’s head, is in keeping with the griffin of myth; head and wings of an eagle/body of a lion. In this case, the body of a lion is figurative, but the eagle parts are literal. When I came up with him, I was thinking of mythological monsters and different myth-based characters and how they would translate…I mean, how I would translate them…into superhero characters. Here’s an interesting footnote: I also came up with characters #75, Iconoclast, and #76, The Rook, at the same time, on the same day, and while they aren’t necessarily mythological, the origins behind them started with this line of thinking…modern mythology. I’ll get into that more next week with Iconoclast.

NOTE: Due to weird HM usage rules, I’m not posting the images of the initial designs, so feel free to clicks the link to see them.

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing the Gryphon (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site!

See Also:

Next week, a new character!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics

3 Comments

100 Characters Challenge – #73 T’Bu

by Vito Delsante on September 26, 2011 at 5:00 am

Posted In: Projects

As you can see, what held me up was getting art, but I’m actually getting caught up. I should be ready for the 30 Character Challenge by the time I get to #79.

T’Bu

T’Bu is based largely on the Fletcher Hanks‘ character, Tabu. Basically, a super-powered Tarzan, if you want to put it into simple terms. Quite frankly, Hanks’ version is way too powerful for his own good, so T’Bu has heightened abilities (not superhuman) and the “seventh sense” that enables him to communicate with the “invisible spirits of the jungle.” We are seeing T’Bu later in his life, so his age is reflected in the design. I see him as fighting Nazis during the War, since there were more than a few African campaigns. After years in the jungle, he has finally come to the modern world. But is he friend of foe?

By the way, this isn’t the first time I attempted to update a Fletcher Hanks character. My first one, based on Stardust, was…eh, so so. T’Bu is much better, if you ask me.

NOTE: Due to weird HM usage rules, I’m not posting the images of the initial designs, so feel free to clicks the link to see them.

Since this is essentially a RetroFixed Public Domain character, you are free to use this new open source character with this Creative Commons license:

T’Bu by Vito Delsante is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.vitodelsante.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.vitodelsante.com.

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing T’bu (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site!

See Also:

Next week, a new character!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics, creative commons

2 Comments

100 Characters Challenge – #69-72 The Scout Family

by Vito Delsante on September 22, 2011 at 10:02 am

Posted In: Projects

Wow, two in one week? I must be trying to catch up!

The Scout Family (by Jay Piscopo)

Waaaaay back in January, I introduced you to The Scout (#39), who you can read more about in the link. I promised that he would have a family, much like the Marvel Family, and now, I’m happy to introduce them to you.

Lady Scout – She’s super fast with electricity/static based powers. Note the amount of skin she’s showing. She and Scout Lass are, I’m hoping, two very healthy female role models. I mean, I consciously wanted to distance Lady Scout from this nonsense.
Scout Lass – She was a challenging one, for a few reasons. Since this is an all-ages concept, I really wanted to push the idea of girls having healthy body images. Lass is a bit pudgy; the goal being that she doesn’t fit that stereotypical role of cutesy thin unrealistic body type. I know that it’s possible that folks will assume she ate too many cookies, but again, the idea is that she doesn’t fit a mold. She can affect the mass of objects and is slightly invulnerable (the invulnerability comes when she accepts herself for who she is).
Scout Lad – I didn’t want to create a kid that had to say, “The Scout,” to become who he is (that always bothered me about Captain Marvel Jr.). So, instead, I went the Legionnaire route. He’s an alien teen from the future, hence all the tech-based abilities (flight belt, force field generator wristbands that can shoot out concussive force blast).
Cubby – Well, duh. Every Marvel Family needs a Tawky Tawny, and every Scout Family needs it’s Cubby. Cubby is an evolved bear cub who can talk and loves to invent things. He and Scout Lad are best buds.

All are transformed when they utter the phrase, “Exsisto paratus!” Scout, Lady Scout and Scout Lass are the only true blood relations (father, mother, daughter), but the family adopted Scout Lad (and Cubby). Again, the goal here was to challenge the ideas of families in a modern setting…with over-the-top, saccharine old fashioned characters. I think we achieved this.

Hats off to Jay Piscopo for drawing the Family for me. He is, without any hyperbole at all, one of the best artists in the world, and it’s a real shame that many don’t know of him. I suggest you remedy that and pick up either his Cap’n Eli series or the Sea Ghost one shot. You will not be disappointed!

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing any member of the Scout Family (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site!

See Also:

Next week, a new character!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics

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100 Characters Challenge – #68 The Chillbillies of the Frozark Mountains

by Vito Delsante on September 22, 2011 at 9:58 am

Posted In: Projects

The Chillbillies of the Frozark Mountains (art by Dave Ryan)

I don’t recall exactly what led me to creating the Chillbillies. I know I was on the train, going home after work (this actually isn’t important to the story, but…). I think what I was going for was location as an identifier. Something like how Asgard gives you an indication of what the Asgardians are…maybe. And the Ozark Mountains came to me. I remember chuckling to myself and saying, “The Frozarks.” I don’t even know if hillbillies live in the Ozarks, but I thought they did, so I then just giggled and said, “The Chillbillies!”

You should know right now; I’m not a fan of puns. Ask Rachel Freire.

So, what they are…in keeping with the idea of Asgard, they are Frost Giants…from the Frozarks. I would imagine they are bad guys, but they aren’t villains in the Dr. Doom sense. They’re probably very funny…I don’t know.

Art is done by Dave Ryan, whom you may know from the War of the Independents. Dave’s got a twisted sense of humor, so when I posted this on Facebook, he jumped on it. And yes, I’m involved with WotI, so you should check it out! Find Dave on Facebook and add him!

ARTISTS – If you’d like to take a swing at drawing any of these villains (daily sketch, etc), let me know so I can post your art here on the site!

See Also:

Next week, a new character!

└ Tags: 100 characters, 2011 projects, 30 characters, characters, comics

1 Comment

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Posts Tagged ‘100 characters’

100 Characters Challenge – #86-101 The 30 Characters Challenge Weeks 2-3

100 Characters Challenge – #79-85 The 30 Characters Challenge Week 1

100 Characters Challenge – #78 Argos

100 Characters Challenge – #77 The Contrarian

100 Characters Challenge – #76 Rook

100 Characters Challenge – #75 Iconoclast

100 Characters Challenge – #74 Gryphon

100 Characters Challenge – #73 T’Bu

100 Characters Challenge – #69-72 The Scout Family

100 Characters Challenge – #68 The Chillbillies of the Frozark Mountains

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