Monte Williams
04-16-2010, 12:47 AM
Moderators, I realize this might fit more easily into the Creativity section, but since I won't be able to share the results of my creativity for several years, I think the debate belongs here. Please say that you agree. :)
I have spent several months planning an epic dio series. So far, it appears that it will be broken up into four “seasons” of ten episodes each, for a total of forty episodes. The catch, as I have noted before, is that while living in Africa, I lack the equipment I’d require to photograph the stories I want to tell, added to which I also lack the space to build the sets; there’s also the problem of availability of whichever figures, accessories, playsets and vehicles I might impulsively decide I need.
I won’t be living in the States anytime soon. It might be years before I get to tell these stories of mine. Hell, by the time those years have passed, who knows whether I’ll even want to tell these stories anymore?
Still, planning the details of these stories has kept me occupied off and on since August 2009, so I’ll always be grateful, whether I get to tell the stories or not…
Anyhoo, to the point of this post:
My stories will not just concern G.I. Joe characters, but characters from nearly every comic book, TV show, movie and novel I’ve enjoyed since I was nine years old. However, I have nothing much in the way of respect or regard or affection for the established continuity in the various properties I plan to exploit; I will change many characteristics of even the most beloved characters. (Snake Eyes = the secret lovechild of Brainy Smurf and Sunny Gummi. Just kidding.)
Indeed, I plan to change so many things about so many characters, that it has occurred to me that perhaps I shouldn’t even use the character names. Perhaps it would be better to take a Planetary/League of Extraordinary Gentlemen approach, whereby I create new characters who are thinly-veiled tributes to the original characters.
My question, at long last, is this:
Is it foolish to create a cool, semi-original character to represent, say, the Incredible Hulk (now a chain-smoking bisexual in an on-and-off relationship with the Wonder Twins; just kidding), when the toy one must use in the photos for the story in question must by necessity utilize an action figure that doesn’t look sort of like a thinly-veiled version of Hulk, but instead the actual Incredible Hulk? (Keep in mind that I am not much of a customizer, so it’s not like I can paint Hulk purple or something.)
Put more simply:
Should I make whichever changes I desire to decades-old characters, or should I instead create thinly-veiled versions of those characters, even though I can’t make their appearances thinly-veiled?
Thanks,
Monte
I have spent several months planning an epic dio series. So far, it appears that it will be broken up into four “seasons” of ten episodes each, for a total of forty episodes. The catch, as I have noted before, is that while living in Africa, I lack the equipment I’d require to photograph the stories I want to tell, added to which I also lack the space to build the sets; there’s also the problem of availability of whichever figures, accessories, playsets and vehicles I might impulsively decide I need.
I won’t be living in the States anytime soon. It might be years before I get to tell these stories of mine. Hell, by the time those years have passed, who knows whether I’ll even want to tell these stories anymore?
Still, planning the details of these stories has kept me occupied off and on since August 2009, so I’ll always be grateful, whether I get to tell the stories or not…
Anyhoo, to the point of this post:
My stories will not just concern G.I. Joe characters, but characters from nearly every comic book, TV show, movie and novel I’ve enjoyed since I was nine years old. However, I have nothing much in the way of respect or regard or affection for the established continuity in the various properties I plan to exploit; I will change many characteristics of even the most beloved characters. (Snake Eyes = the secret lovechild of Brainy Smurf and Sunny Gummi. Just kidding.)
Indeed, I plan to change so many things about so many characters, that it has occurred to me that perhaps I shouldn’t even use the character names. Perhaps it would be better to take a Planetary/League of Extraordinary Gentlemen approach, whereby I create new characters who are thinly-veiled tributes to the original characters.
My question, at long last, is this:
Is it foolish to create a cool, semi-original character to represent, say, the Incredible Hulk (now a chain-smoking bisexual in an on-and-off relationship with the Wonder Twins; just kidding), when the toy one must use in the photos for the story in question must by necessity utilize an action figure that doesn’t look sort of like a thinly-veiled version of Hulk, but instead the actual Incredible Hulk? (Keep in mind that I am not much of a customizer, so it’s not like I can paint Hulk purple or something.)
Put more simply:
Should I make whichever changes I desire to decades-old characters, or should I instead create thinly-veiled versions of those characters, even though I can’t make their appearances thinly-veiled?
Thanks,
Monte