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Wow. You people are all fucking brilliant. This is very cool.
Ok. The name thing. I like the idea that her name is kind of ambiguous, and that she might be called Jenny Everywere, but people call her the Shifter. In fact, I was just thinking that I might do a story where she's trying to convince all her friends that The Shifter is a real cool nickname, but they think it's lame.
Since that's been dealt with (or, ignored because we really don't care), the only other thing is to decide what to name the comic itself, both for the e-zine and the print zine. We can cross that bridge when we come to it.
Mr. Todd and Mr. Evergreen. Interesting points. However, I'm going to have to disagree with you both slightly. The whole idea of this exercise is that we have wildly divergent stories all based around the same character. If you change the character dramatically, you defeat the purpose of the whole exercise. So far as Ms. Everywhere's looks go, Mr. Todd, she doesn't have to look spot on. I really doubt everyone here is going to get close to what I made her look like, and why the fuck should they? I'm betting they improve her look.
However, she has signifiers that make her who she is, visually. First off, the scarf and the goggles on her head. She has short hair. She wears comfortable clothes. She has meat on her bones, and she wears it well. She has confidence and charisma. She appears to be asian (I based her off of a photo I found in a girls' magazine from Japan) or Native American (she looks kind of like my former roommate). She has a ready smile.
Do all of these things need to be represented? Absolutely not. However, the fewer you have the less likely it will be to recognize her as the Shifter. By all means, do your own interpretation, but please at least leave in the goggles, the scarf and the short hair.
Mr. Evergreen, you are right that each dimension is the writer. But the whole point is that the dimensions change, while the Shifter remains relatively the same. Will we all have an exact vision of the Shifter? of course not. Mine won't have a monkey or eat toast, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to seeing some monkey and toast action. If people want to muck with her origin or her personal details, so be it. Zoom and I are going to make it so that there's no way she can have a definitive origin anyway.
However, we should all be on the same page about her powers. She is immensely powerful. She exists in all dimensions at once. Infinite dimensions. She can acquire knowledge from any one of her other selves. She may even acquire objects from her other selves. I was thinking about this earlier tonight, but she may even be able to move through time, or change size, or become one with everything. Strange as it may sound, she shouldn't shoot eyebeams, or use super-strength, or any of the rest of it. Unless you can find some creative, dimension fuelled way to utilize these powers.
When I originally worked on the superhero comic that the Shifter was to be a part of, in one issue, in order to avoid the death of all life, including hers, she turns zero dimensional, ceasing to exist. Then she comes back. Impossible? Who cares! It's all about the silver age, baby. I want adults to cry foul, and children to pretend that they can turn zero dimensional themsleves.
I'm using that in my comic, by the way. Please don't touch.
Here's the clincher with the Shifter. I've said it hordes of times, and I'll say it again. My vision of the Shifter is of a hugely powerful being that always plays fair. She will never use her powers against something that is less powerful than herself, or at least when it may cause her bodily harm. To illustrate, if a bunch of gangsters try to shoot her, she will jump behind some crates, come swinging on a rope, or just punch them in the nose. She thrives on the thrill, even if it brings her close to death. Not every story of the Shifter has to have powers or dimension hopping in it. One person might have some great cosmic battle, someone else can have a slice-of-life story, and someone else might want to go Indiana Jones style.
Her powers are a McGuffin. They aren't the reason for the story. They're the means to get to the story, or explain a twist in the story.
There's going to be exceptions to all of this. Someone might have her use her powers in defense of others. Someone might have her wearing a leather catsuit and a motorcycle helmet. But, again, the less signifiers for the Shifter you put into a story, the more likely you will not be writing a Shifter story.
Which brings me to my last point. Thankfully. The e-zine and print zine. You have all right to make a Shifter story anyway you like, and distribute it as you like. However, if I receive something that does not resemble a Shifter story at all, I may not print it in the zine. I'm very open to many interpretations, believe me. But if I get something that has nothing to do with the character at all aside from name, then I won't see the point in spending money and time to print it and promote it.
Last thing. Colour comics and comics not in the right proportions are cool for the e-zine. They may not be cool for the print zine. You have been warned.
Holy fuck I can talk. |
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