DW PROJECT concept selection discussion

[sevans]

100% whatever for me. I'll twist things to my taste anyway.

[12013]

so it seems people are mostly leaning towards the Public Domain characters.

but what should the THEME be?

Alien invasion? for a sci-fi vibe?

paranormal threat? for a ghost and horror type vibe?

super villain threat? for traditional superhero fun?

[SSTiger]

The thing with public domain characters is that a lot of them are from a lot of different settings that may not necessarily gel with each other. Putting Sherlock Holmes deducing things and and Mowgli talking to animals in the same story is unlikely to work well.

My suggestion would be that we stick to FANTASY public domain characters, and use a single kingdom/land as a domain, which comes under attack by an external force (the INVASION idea) and then each creative team picks their characters and tells the story of how that particular character deals with the threat in their part of the land.

For example; The Kingdom of <#We'llpickanamelater> is under attack by some sort of energy creatures (can be something else). The Kingdom is home to characters like Beauty and The Beast, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Nemo (DIBS), The Big Bad Wolf, The Seven Dwarfs, etc. who all live in different places of the same country. The whole place is under attack, like Chitauri from the Avengers movie type attack.

If that is set up as the opening framing device, from there, everybody picks up the narrative for their own character(s). You can bring your own twist to the character you pick as well. Maybe Little Riding Hood herself was the wolf, and the animal was a Split Personality of her own mind? Something like that, entirely up to you.

After each character deals with the threat individually, maybe they come together to deal with the main "Flying Fortress" or whatever? Sort like a "Fables" meets "Fairy Tale Avengers" type deal for the conclusion.

What do you guys think?

[12013]

Originally Posted by SSTiger

The thing with public domain characters is that a lot of them are from a lot of different settings that may not necessarily gel with each other. Putting Sherlock Holmes deducing things and and Mowgli talking to animals in the same story is unlikely to work well.

My suggestion would be that we stick to FANTASY public domain characters, and use a single kingdom/land as a domain, which comes under attack by an external force (the INVASION idea) and then each creative team picks their characters and tells the story of how that particular character deals with the threat in their part of the land.

For example; The Kingdom of <#We'llpickanamelater> is under attack by some sort of energy creatures (can be something else). The Kingdom is home to characters like Beauty and The Beast, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Nemo (DIBS), The Big Bad Wolf, The Seven Dwarfs, etc. who all live in different places of the same country. The whole place is under attack, like Chitauri from the Avengers movie type attack.

If that is set up as the opening framing device, from there, everybody picks up the narrative for their own character(s). You can bring your own twist to the character you pick as well. Maybe Little Riding Hood herself was the wolf, and the animal was a Split Personality of her own mind? Something like that, entirely up to you.

After each character deals with the threat individually, maybe they come together to deal with the main "Flying Fortress" or whatever? Sort like a "Fables" meets "Fairy Tale Avengers" type deal for the conclusion.

What do you guys think?

I can see that as an idea. tho I wonder if people might be more interested in a classic superhero concept. all the PD characters I looked up and are interested in are in the superhero/crime type stuff genre...

[SSTiger]

I wonder if people might be more interested in a classic superhero concept.

That's possible and I have no problem going in that direction. Are there enough superheroes in the public domain for everyone if we go with that?

[12013]

Originally Posted by SSTiger

That's possible and I have no problem going in that direction. Are there enough superheroes in the public domain for everyone if we go with that?

well...from all the characters I looked up...not all of them are exactly "superheros" but they can all work in that genre together... like I was saying.. crime related characters, mystery guys, heroic guys in tights, I don't see why they cant all work together. they don't all have to exist in the time frame they were created in...they can and should be moved into a modern world, remade a bit/altered by the creators that use them to be a new version that will do what we need them to do.

at least...that's what I think could/should happen.

[sevans]

Agreed, if we are to use Public Domain characters, they should be used and updated.

[Scribbly]

This is what I think. First, we should make a list of these PD characters for everybody to know what are the characters available to work with.
Maybe just a link to the site where these characters are already listed.

Each participant should pick one or two or more heroes/ superheroes and work out his own self contained story.
Working on team or individually.
Making his own free version of the characters he/her may choose. As long the basic characteristics and MO of each character are respected.
As we did with Hellboy. The character's foe, enemy, villain should be also a free choice.

If two or more authors are picking up the same character/s it should be OK.
The nature of the danger or catastrophe these characters are facing and their story resolution, all this should be up to each author.
The possibilities could be unlimited.

This could be very fun.
Superhero Mash!
Domain Mash!

[12013]

Originally Posted by Scribbly

This is what I think. First, we should make a list of these PD characters for everybody to know what are the characters available to work with.
Maybe just a link to the site where these characters are already listed.

Each participant should pick one or two or more heroes/ superheroes and work out his own self contained story.
Working on team or individually.
Making his own free version of the characters he/her may choose. As long the basic characteristics and MO of each character are respected.
As we did with Hellboy. The character's foe, enemy, villain should be also a free choice.

If two or more authors are picking up the same character/s it should be OK.
The nature of the danger or catastrophe these characters are facing and their story resolution, all this should be up to each author.
The possibilities could be unlimited.

This could be very fun.
Superhero Mash!
Domain Mash!

this is basically what I was thinking would work. the only think I was hoping we could figure out was SOME kind of thru line that connected everything..like the portal for Hellboy. its not needed ...as this idea by SCRIBBLY would totally work on its own.
but if there was some kind of "connective tissue"..i keep going back to the Heavy Metal movie, where that glowy whatever thing showed up in every story. something that connected them all. if anyone has a good idea, I think it would be fun to see if we can fit that into the project.

but beyond that, I think this idea that SCRIBBLY just described is the way to go.

rob

[NatMatt]

Originally Posted by 12013

this is basically what I was thinking would work. the only think I was hoping we could figure out was SOME kind of thru line that connected everything..like the portal for Hellboy. its not needed ...as this idea by SCRIBBLY would totally work on its own.
but if there was some kind of "connective tissue"..i keep going back to the Heavy Metal movie, where that glowy whatever thing showed up in every story. something that connected them all. if anyone has a good idea, I think it would be fun to see if we can fit that into the project.

but beyond that, I think this idea that SCRIBBLY just described is the way to go.

rob

Personally, I think we should definitely consider going with Scribbly’s idea. I’d be on board if we’re working like that. As for connecting these stories, my two cents on the matter is to maybe treat this mash-up of the public domain characters as one continuing scenerio. Think one big giant battle with many different viewpoints going on at once. For example, one character can be in the center of it all while another will be on the sidelines. So one team or individual can be working on one part while another will tell the other. They could even begin to connect to one another. The only real problem I could see with this would be that there will have to be a lot of careful planning and collaboration involved so it’s just an idea for now.

[SSTiger]

^What would be the specifics of that, is what Rob is putting to the poll.

I got nothing in that particular context. Although... aren't there some beings from the Wildstorm universe that supposedly traverse the Bleed, invading and conquering other realities? I don't remember what they're called (it's like six in the morning and I'm too lazy to look it up) - maybe they could be our villains?

[sevans]

How about the Marauding Trumposaurus?

[Morganza]

Here's my idea of a global catastrophe that would include virtually every character.

The Earth is in chaos as time contracts and expands randomly, people and creatures from the past and future appear, the confusion flares up into battles among the population, a select few discover the anomaly and how to stop it.

[12013]

Originally Posted by Morganza

Here's my idea of a global catastrophe that would include virtually every character.

The Earth is in chaos as time contracts and expands randomly, people and creatures from the past and future appear, the confusion flares up into battles among the population, a select few discover the anomaly and how to stop it.

see I think this is starting to come together. this idea can work. still need to work out specifics, like WHAT the anomaly is and where it originates? I have this idea of some big burst of energy in space just outside earth orbit that ...I don't know..ruptures space/time... this can make different characters all interact together from different eras or places if needed. OR it can make it so a common enemy is attacking the characters in different places/times.

what could/would that threat be? rather than characters fighting each other? or...what? lots of possibilities.

keep throwing out ideas guys...

rob

[Scribbly]

I think the big anomaly, treat or catastrophe should be up to each author to decide.
WE already have characters to pick up and each character has its own powers and MO.

The premise should be: The superhero XXX saved the day from such XXX catastrophe.
To have all the stories connected by the same catastrophe or event would imply the making of each episode as part of
a general common plot for the whole book, walking away from the SELF CONCLUSIVE stories concept and this would slow down the ultimate resolution.

I think the goal is to play and bring back to life these FORGOTTEN Public Domain characters or the combination of some of then.

Example,

Mowgli and Sherlock Holmes against the Blue Zombies in Bangkok.
Or Captain Spark and The Black Spectra fighting against the invasion of Alien robots, or
Sheena and Mantra against the Ring of drug and sex traffickers, or
The Thunder and Magic boy against the Cybernetic Computer Hackers from Vilsvania.

Then get all these individual stories together in the same MASH book and BAAING !!!