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Description
Arclight downtime prompts me to explore some other worlds. Sometimes you need a break....because I start getting crazy and all kinds of "creatively deprived" (whatever the *insert potty mouth* that means).

I love Milestone. I love Dwayne McDuffie. I love Static. But I hated everything and everyone involved with the New 52 Static Shock. I don't think you can miss the mark any more than that. I don't know if the editor saw an opportunity to somehow warp Virgil Hawkins into Peter Parker, but that's what it came off as. One would think with the success of the WB TV show they'd pull source material from it and expand on that to recapture that audience and newer ones. But nope. I believe monkeys run DC, so we got what we got. A one-armed, Black-faced version of Peter Parker. Blah.

So I said well heck, how could I take direction from the show and refine it? Make it more for a modern teenage audience with their skinny jeans and hipster trends?

Virgil was a bit of a "cool geek" in the show. Not popular, but not lame either. Inbetweener. He was a smart kid just wanting to fit in. What teen in high school isn't? Instant market right there. No further research needed. So I thought it'd be interesting to put him on a journey of self-discovery with a bunch of other teens doing the same. Only some have powers and have been grotesquely mutated. So there's that coupled with the cliques and late homework drama.

Basically, the whole idea was to see this character go from small-time to big-time. He has tremendous potential. McDuffie and Crew knew what they were doing. I believe he has 'Batverse' potential. His rogues gallery is set up to contend with it. And he has a sidekick. Remember Richie? The ultra geeky White kid who could pop but never understood the lock? Bam. Instant dynamic-duo. And much different. I'd love to see them go to an all-White neighborhood where Virgil isn't as welcomed as Richie, and they thank Richie before they do Virgil----because that kind of crap still exists in the world today. I want to see how that would affect their relationship. How do they cope with that? How supportive of each other are they? What if that happened to Richie in an all-Black neighborhood? What's the breaking point of their friendship and how far can we stretch it? Will they grow old in this together? These are the kinds of things I want to see in comics. Not another alien invasion or a 50-page action sequence. Give me real story with real people who emote or go home.

But about the design.

His normal colors come straight from the palette used in the show. The 90s permitted extra big and baggy clothes. Its 2014. We're a lot more tailored, minimalistic, and refined these days. Plus, hipsters are "in". I wanted to start the story coming off from his mother's death. So he's a bit stand-off ish. Trendy, but trendy on a budget. Thrift shop trendy if you will. Then comes the actual costume. A very simple get-up to keep stuffed in his bag. A wifebeater with one of those 'iron-on' paper prints with a pair of jeans, some cheap knee pads, and boots. He throws the jacket on when it's cold out. I just thought the original trenchcoat (while awesome in its day) just didn't "fit" the look I was going for. Plus, it felt like it would get in the way. That's why his hair is tied back, too.

So there's that.

I started designing some of the more memorable villains from the show. The furthest I got was Talon. She's an interesting character. Silly look on the show, but interesting. I'll have to get that scanned into the computer and work on it to show you guys. Dunno. Maybe I'll keep going with it when I have some downtime.

Let me know what you guys think!

Static is roperty of Milestone Media and DC Comics

Description
Arclight downtime prompts me to explore some other worlds. Sometimes you need a break....because I start getting crazy and all kinds of "creatively deprived" (whatever the *insert potty mouth* that means).

I love Milestone. I love Dwayne McDuffie. I love Static. But I hated everything and everyone involved with the New 52 Static Shock. I don't think you can miss the mark any more than that. I don't know if the editor saw an opportunity to somehow warp Virgil Hawkins into Peter Parker, but that's what it came off as. One would think with the success of the WB TV show they'd pull source material from it and expand on that to recapture that audience and newer ones. But nope. I believe monkeys run DC, so we got what we got. A one-armed, Black-faced version of Peter Parker. Blah.

So I said well heck, how could I take direction from the show and refine it? Make it more for a modern teenage audience with their skinny jeans and hipster trends?

Virgil was a bit of a "cool geek" in the show. Not popular, but not lame either. Inbetweener. He was a smart kid just wanting to fit in. What teen in high school isn't? Instant market right there. No further research needed. So I thought it'd be interesting to put him on a journey of self-discovery with a bunch of other teens doing the same. Only some have powers and have been grotesquely mutated. So there's that coupled with the cliques and late homework drama.

Basically, the whole idea was to see this character go from small-time to big-time. He has tremendous potential. McDuffie and Crew knew what they were doing. I believe he has 'Batverse' potential. His rogues gallery is set up to contend with it. And he has a sidekick. Remember Richie? The ultra geeky White kid who could pop but never understood the lock? Bam. Instant dynamic-duo. And much different. I'd love to see them go to an all-White neighborhood where Virgil isn't as welcomed as Richie, and they thank Richie before they do Virgil----because that kind of crap still exists in the world today. I want to see how that would affect their relationship. How do they cope with that? How supportive of each other are they? What if that happened to Richie in an all-Black neighborhood? What's the breaking point of their friendship and how far can we stretch it? Will they grow old in this together? These are the kinds of things I want to see in comics. Not another alien invasion or a 50-page action sequence. Give me real story with real people who emote or go home.

But about the design.

His normal colors come straight from the palette used in the show. The 90s permitted extra big and baggy clothes. Its 2014. We're a lot more tailored, minimalistic, and refined these days. Plus, hipsters are "in". I wanted to start the story coming off from his mother's death. So he's a bit stand-off ish. Trendy, but trendy on a budget. Thrift shop trendy if you will. Then comes the actual costume. A very simple get-up to keep stuffed in his bag. A wifebeater with one of those 'iron-on' paper prints with a pair of jeans, some cheap knee pads, and boots. He throws the jacket on when it's cold out. I just thought the original trenchcoat (while awesome in its day) just didn't "fit" the look I was going for. Plus, it felt like it would get in the way. That's why his hair is tied back, too.

So there's that.

I started designing some of the more memorable villains from the show. The furthest I got was Talon. She's an interesting character. Silly look on the show, but interesting. I'll have to get that scanned into the computer and work on it to show you guys. Dunno. Maybe I'll keep going with it when I have some downtime.

Let me know what you guys think!

Static is roperty of Milestone Media and DC Comics