Thoughts on Goria: Character Interaction Through Insanity

WARNING: Content not suitable for a lot of people!

Going against my code of not playing MMORPG's, I started playing DC Universe Online. I made a hero, not intending to use him in anything, named Revanche (French for "revenge"). He wears blue and red combat boots, gloves, goggles, pants (with black trim), armored shirt, trench coat and a cape (he's that badass), carries two pistols, and is insane. A defining moment was when I had him standing in front of Fire, dancing as she looked at him like he was an idiot. Yesterday, I figured out how to make him a villain for Goria.

Revanche is and Infected mercenary, who lost the skin from the bottom half of his face (so it's just skull and muscle) and all of his sanity. With his sanity, Revanche lost any inhibition to not kill his targets, going on torture sprees every time he finds someone who he feels deserves it, all of them bad people by our standards. Always ranting like a mad man, and occasionally faking his death time and time again to elude capture, Revanche is unlike any villain Goria has faced: Insane but not evil. Revanche is an anti-hero, but views himself as a villain due to his murdering and torture sprees.

To make him even worse, he's a reference four characters wrapped into one both personality and visually. Visually, he's Chapel from Spawn (skull), and Spider-Man 2099 (color scheme). Personality, he's Spider-Man 2099 (taunts), Deadpool (the insanity and rants), and the Joker (sense of humor, feigning death, and the entire time he's being interrogated by TORAH agents). He's also a bit of Freakazoid!, too.

The challenge of writing a character like this is keeping him over the top without A: making him too unrealistic and B: not making the character too much like the characters being spoofed. Luckily, Revanche has his own twisted style, as taken from these interactions:

When fighting Goria the first time, Revanche, while shooting at Goria, is taunting him. Goria knocks the guns out of his hands, but Revanche has an ace up his sleeve:

Revanche: Huh.... I really thought I could take you down with my words. I guess I'll have to resort to... MY FIRE BREATHING FISTS! (Closes his fists, unleashing flames from the tops of his gloves).

Yes, I totally went there.

He also has to interact with the minor characters and environment:

After capturing and torturing a pedophile and making a taco, Revanche stands in front of the guy, holding his meal and a glass bottle of hot sauce:

Suspect/victim: I'm innocent, man! I haven't hurt a kid in years, and I sure as hell didn't touch her--

Revanche: (Spins and bashes the guy's head with the hot sauce bottle, shattering it) That doesn't mean ANYTHING! (Goes to the splatter on the wall). Ewwwww! I can't use this now! I don't know if it's hot sauce or blood!

After being captured (the only time), his interactions with the TORAH staff follows.

LTC Norton's:

Revanche: You know... you remind me of someone. Granted, I never saw his face, buuuuuuuuuuuut... you shoot like him.

Norton: How do you mean?

Revanche: You ever work with a guy with a giant, yet epically awesome mustache? I mean, we're talking gloriously holy mutton chops here, my man!

Norton: (Stares blankly) You've got to be taking the piss.

Revanche: Speaking of which, if I don't get the little boy's room soon, seeing how you shoot... I may be fucked!

Dr. Ross's:

Ross: (Disturbed by Revanche's madness) Do you ever get the feeling you're in a comic book?

Revanche: Uh... what?

Ross: You know, a book told in pictures that are in panels.

Revanche: You think we're in a comic book... and I'm the crazy one?!

Vlad's:

Vlad: Why Revanche? It's French for "revenge." Why not use "Revenge."

Revanche: "Revenge" is so boring, dude! Can you see that on TV? "The police are looking for Revenge!" Revanche is sooooo much kewler!

Vlad: I'm curious. How can you say certain words and letters if you have no lips?

Revanche: (Frightened) I... have... no... lips? You mean, someone ripped half of my face of and didn't have the courtesy to tell me? All this time, I've been living a lie, speaking like a normal human being! (Calm, again). Going by the crazy guy in the lab coat, I'm going to go with bad writing!

Zeta's:

Zeta: (Alluding to his insanity) Why are you always happy?

Revanche: I'm not always happy.

Zeta: But you sound happy, and seem like you're always smiling...

Revanche: I'm not always smiling, half of my fucking face is missing! Don't feel bad, though. I'm only just now finding this out.

Mimic's:

Revanche: You should bite your lip.

Mimic: What?

Revanche: You know, that nervous habit you do when you get disturbed by something. Or when your boyfriend says something you don't want to hear. Or when your stressed out about guarding a crazy guy.

(Mimic bites her lip)

Revanche: Tee-hee! You look like a little hamster! *heart*

Goria's:

Revanche: Did I tell you about how I nearly beat a guy to death with a block of cheese?

Goria: You-- You did what?

Revanche: So there I am, torturing this guy and making a nice omelette (I'm a world class chef, too, as far as you know). After a while, I notice this asshole is staring at me. I ask him to stop, but he just keeps staring and staring and staring and STARING! So, pick up this block of colby and I start smashing and smashingandSMASHINGANDSMASHING! AND I'M GOING SO FAST, I THINK THE CHEESE IS GOING TO MELT! And finally, when I think he's had enough... I put the cheese down. And you want to know what?

Goria: (Disturbed [as most people should be])No. No, I really don't.

Revanche: Too bad! So, he's still sitting there. I drop the cheese. AND THE LITTLE FUCKER'S STILL STARING!

As you can see, Revanche is deranged, disturbing, frightening, and purely psychotic. There's a very sick sense of shock humor here with him (especially since his life is quite like a Happy Tree Friends short with people instead of animals), but at its core, it's quite disgusting and horrifying. This works perfectly with the Goria universe, seeing how most of the Infected are themselves horrifying in appearance, but have human personalities, for better or worse. Revanche is too insane and disfigured to look at things "normally," and uses his backwards logic to realize this. He also uses it to keep his "moral" code, even though its as twisted as him.

Muzzle: Wounded Page 1 Hand Sketch

You have no idea how hard this was for me to do, and I don't mean drawing it. The chapter, and the one after this, both deal with a pretty harsh topic, involving something that happened to a very good friend of mine.

To make it even worse, I'm going to have to go over the art in Illustrator, because the scan is too small. But, I'm hoping, it'll be worth it.

EA: The Company of Hypocrites

For decades, video games have been under fire for being too violent. Arguably, as early as Mario, that shroom eating, fireball tossing, turtle-bird stomping Italian stereotype, to the rampant mindless (and optional) violence of Grand Theft Auto, and Red Dead Redemption. Last year saw the rebirth of the franchise that gave way to a rating system (Splatterhouse and the announced reboot of Mortal Kombat), but with no real reaction (save for MK) about the violence other than what critics had said in reviews.

Yet, two years ago, Dante's Inferno was under fire for several issues: 1: Starting a fake protest under the guise of a Catholic Church Fundamentalist Group. 2: the "Bad Nanny" Achievement. 3: The "Go To Hell" ad on the Super Bowl. 4: the Go To Hell ads in general. Giving EA credit where it' due, though, these ads, and the game, where not aimed towards children. They made it flagrantly obvious that this was an adult game, and stuck to their guns (or... scythes, as it were). As a graphic designer, I have to take their side on that.

At least I did, until Dead Space 2's new ad campaign came out: "Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2." I am fully aware of full grown nerds who live with their parents (in their bat/troll/man/nerd-cave), but let's examine this. Most of those parents don't give a damn what their nerd-spawn is playing. They're either spoiling him/her, enabling him/her, or too busy with there own lives (and, quite possibly, helping their child get their life in order) to worry about what game is being played. So, tell me, who does that leave?

I know one of the things I'm going to hear is, "these are older women." That really doesn't matter. At least one of them appeared in her 40's (at worst), which is still young enough to have a child under 18. In this day and age, it's not unheard of to hear about women having children after 50. Also take into account this: with a slogan like "Your Mom Hates..." who is it going to really attract? As a kid, and, admittedly, as an adult now, I did things that my parents hated all of the time, just for that reason. The only difference between then and now is that I'm living on my own, and the reasons my parents don't like some of the things I do is out of personal preference instead of bringing me up right. Would my Mom hate Dead Space 2? Probably, but not because I'm a kid who shouldn't be exposed to that sort of violence.

Oh, and for the record, I have to say that I have one of the most awesome Moms in history, too. Any mother who knows their child so well that they know what limits to put on certain things for that child (i.e. violent games/movies), knows what they're doing. I grew up watching violent action movies, sneaking horror movies into the mix since I was five or six, playing Ripper and Gabriel Knight and watching the Evil Dead movies in Middle School, and not once have I gone on a killing spree. It's not because of censoring; it's because of good parenting. Heaven forbid we have that now a days. But, that's a different rant.

Dead Space 2's ad campaign seems not only targeted to spoiled children, but insulting to the parents who actually do a good job of parenting. On top of that, it seems like something I kid would say to convince other kids into buying this game (well, buying at best) behind their parents' backs. It's not clever, it's childish, which makes it seem even more targeted to children. EA/Visceral created the taboo, and they will turn around and claim that it was never targeted to children when the controversy hits the fan. I just hope with have people paying attention this time.

FAQ About My Writing and Comics

For no reasons, a FAQ about my comics and writing I have gotten in general

1: What is (blank) about?

A: "Muzzle" is a parody/dramedy/fictional account of my life. Shade is about a ex-con (wrongfully accused) turned psychologist that becomes a superhero. I Am Nothing is about the "survivors" of the mysterious town of Minxton.

Goria is about Jacob Nathaniel/Nathaniel Andrews, who after a "cure" seemingly fails to kill a virus he's infected, he "dies." After his death, the "cure" rebuilds his body to its needs: making his skin turn into tendrils, leaving behind open wounds deep enough to expose muscle. After his father is killed, Nathaniel assumes an new identity, a starts to, unwittingly, fight the evil that seems to seeping to city of LaFayette, including a demon who thinks Hell isn't cruel enough, a fallen angel wanting to become God, and several others that are Infected.

2: Who is your favorite character to write?

A: This is another one I'm going to separate.

For "Muzzle," most people would think Patty because of her sheer insanity, or Binkie, because I've known her for so long. Actually, it's Jenna, because of her abrasive sense of humor, and trying to hide her old career.

For Shade, hero-wise, obviously Shade/Dr. Sam Garrison is due to his wise-cracking persona outside of the mask, and professionalism inside the mask. Villain-wise, it's a rough choice, but I'm going to have to say Psycho,being, well, psycho.

For Goria: Hero: You would think Nathaniel, being, you know, Goria. It's actually a villain who becomes good (which is hinted the entire time she's around): Ivy de la Rossi/Gomorrah. She can be so cruel and sadistic, but so sweet and caring. It's fun writing a character that seems to develop constantly, and she does it more than anyone else. Villain: Hodge Podge, due to the fact that as insane he is, you never know how insane he really is at that moment. You comes in a close second, because it has so many bizarre, funny, yet, horrific moments.

3: Who is your favorite character to draw?

"Muzzle": Patty by far, due to the piercings, and the pink hair. She's also the hardest to draw.

Shade: I'll get back to you.

Goria: Hero: Again, Gomorrah. The piercings and tattoos (and scars) make her a challenge, but she's well worth it. Villain: Either Azrael, due to the details of bone and muscle on her, or Pandora. Pandora, as physically hideous as she is, is a treat to draw because she's designed to look as insane as she is.

4: Who was the hardest Goria character to design?

A: Mimic was a pain to design, simply because I was tossed up between two different design choices. Gomorrah was a pain because of the tattoos. But, the hardest to design was Samael/Julian Dyson Hayes. Human form: wears a business suit. Demon form... um... big. That was it for a while.

5: Who was the easiest Goria character to design?

A: Mystery came to mind when I was playing Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Goria came naturally. But, the easiest character to design was Jillian Dyer. After seeing her inspiration, she just flowed on to the paper.

6: Why don't you respond?

A: Sorry, I was busy. ...What? Some one may ask? :P

7: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: I don't know. Sometimes, things to mind, and I have to draw them. Other times, I'm working with a concept for years until it falls into place.

8: What other media have you thought of trying to work in?

A: Aside from comics, I've always loved to write. I've written stories, poems, and lyrics. Oddly enough, though, I've always wanted to design characters and write a game. In fact, I Am Nothing was originally a game concept.

9: What is your favorite artist/comic/comic artist/graphic novel?

Artist: Salvadore Dali

Comic: Tossed up between Spider-Man and Legends of the Dark Knight.

Comic artist: As much as I like Brian Haberline's realism, and Ryan Bodemheim's style, I'm going to have say Greg Capullo.

Graphic novel: Surprisingly, not Watchmen, though I do love it. I would say Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth or How Loathsome.

10: Is it hard to design the creatures for I Am Nothing? What's your inspiration for them?

A: Yes, it is hard, but rewarding. My general rule is the harding something is, the more rewarding it is. My inspiration for them is pretty varied. "The Emaciated," a creature that vomits up its intestines to use as a weapon (and represents bulimia), came from a nightmare, as well as the "Missing," which represents child abuse. "The Victim" was the result of seeing the aftermath of when one of friends was raped, and was meant to represent the vast negative effects rape has on the victims. "The Masques" were inspired by an Anatomy Coloring Book used for colleges. "The Unnamed" was inspired by the stretched faces in the original Doom game. Others just happened.

Concept Gallery: The Victim from "I Am Nothing"

All right, so I've been away from here for a while, and I apologize. I've been busy with reviewing, school, drill, and a project I've been debating starting for pretty close to nine months. The project is I Am Nothing, a post-Cthulhu horror that people have tried to describe as the deranged love-child of H.P. Lovecraft and Silent Hill. In I Am Nothing, the city of Minxton has a secret. Several secrets, actually, according to the people who've suffered inside its borders. At times, the fine folks of Minxton shows their true colors; they become creatures that represent what they suffer or how they made others suffer. Each story of the I Am Nothing mythos follows a person that tries to escape, or ends up in the town unwittingly and is struggling with survival.

Unlike Goria, I Am Nothing has a mix of realism with a surreal aesthetic. The citizens aren't the only surreal part of the town, as the town can seemingly become a living being as well. But, more on that. Here, I want to talk about some monster concepts. Since it is extremely rare that I draw monsters, feedback is appreciated. Happily, this the blog where I get positive feedback, too.

Let's start with where I started: "The Victim." Initially, I made her look like a female silhouette from a distance, with her knees touching, arms crossed, and slouching. Upon closer examination, clear veins course her black body, pumping a viscous, white fluid through her body. Her face, marked with the veins, has one eye, wide in perpetual expression of fear, yet seems to glaring as well.

Everything for the initial pose of the Victim suggests what she has suffered: she was raped. The notes on the sketch reveal some secrets, though. When her prey is turned away, her arms unfold in a fluid motion, and her legs separate, though stay bent at the knees. What I don't have in the notes is the blade that comes from her pelvic area. When she attacks, she tackles her prey, and... well... do I have to spell it out?

At first glance, while scary looking, the Victim seems harmless. The character sees her, is scared at first, but puts their guard down when she seems to cower away from them. When she attacks, though, her method can suggest something worse than our first impression. Is the Victim waiting to take revenge on anyone that represents her attacker? Or is the Victim the attacker, suffering a punishment for their crime, yet driven to do it again out of pure rage caused by the punishment?

This may be controversial, but that's part of what makes I Am Nothing scary. Topics that are taboo are put to light (I'm currently working on one with a closeted gay main character, a trio of college students who made an amateur porn site, and a convict who killed his own mother), and the characters beliefs, warped or not, are shown by both the monsters actions and appearances. Keep an eye out for more on this topic, because next time, we're talking eating disorder.

Yet Another Project

Here's a little background on how this one started, and I'm not going to mince words with this post like I usually do on this blog; I've had a pretty shitty but good week, and I was 90% certain that I was going to lose my mind. Here's a list of things that went wrong, but went right almost right after.

1: After Laurel broke up with me (trust me, it was actually for a reason that made perfect sense in the long run), I'm pretty sure that my depression has kick started again, though not as severe.

But... I did find out that there is someone interested in me... buuuut, she's engaged. I am not going to pursue someone who has no idea what a relationship, especially since I'm a little busy with school right now. Good thing most of classes are easier.

2: That would be good if my car didn't decide to be a pain. Tuesday, Binkie, Jenna, Patty, Yuki, and I went to see Devil. Pro-tip: Don't. Anyway, my car stalled every time I started it. Wednesday roles around, and it won't even start. After my parents and apartment manager helped, my parents gave me a ride to school, and Jim picked me up to pick up gas for the car, and hopefully get it running. Luckily, the car was only out of gas, backfired once it started, but now runs beautifully. I mean, better than when I first got it. Also, as a result, I found I had a lot more money in the bank than I thought I did. The car thing did make it so I couldn't get poster board for my class, and because I was concentrating on working on three school projects, and studying for a psychology test, (and because the teacher never reminded us), I didn't know about a Photography quiz today. I did horribly on it, which is funny, because I know what I'm doing... most of it was getting my steps mixed up. Better on a quiz than in practice, but still.

3: In speaking of school, and while waiting for Jim, I sat in the Student Union working on a logo for "Subject 30" when this beautiful young woman caught my eye. I sat there for a minute, thinking, Dear God, if I was anyone else, I could talk to her no problem. As it was, I made myself sit in my chair, thinking I wasn't good enough to talk to her, because of the crappy events going on. After talking to Jenna about this (including the fact that she would stretch and adjust her hair occasionally, while looking at me), Jenna smacks me upside the head and says, "You dumbass! She was trying to get you to talk to her!" You live you learn, I guess. But, that does get better, too. I get to school this morning to find the same young woman talking to Yuki, of all people. And, from what I've gathered from Yuki (damn her coyness) is that I didn't completely blow everything.

Needless to say, it's been a roller coaster, and an idea stemmed from it: The Tease. It's going to be more simple than Muzzle and Goria in the sense that its only one story line. What it's about is one man starting a new stage of his life, and nothing seems to want to go completely right or completely wrong. The bad leads to the good that leads to more bad that leads to more good... to the point where he doesn't know if he's going crazy (not literally) or if the Powers That Be don't know what to do with him.

The trick to it is how I'm presenting it. It's going to be more monochromatic than most of my other comics, and the narrative is going to be more free-verse/prose with a rhythm than a straight narrative. I'll have some samples of it up here (as well as Muzzle) when I get some writing done. Right now, I need to sleep.

Announcements About Muzzle, A New Concept, Goria, and School Updates

I know I've been away for a week, at least, but I've been a little busy. School's going pretty well. My color theory teacher reminds me of a female Walter Bishop. One of the old Kaplan Photo teachers is my Photo 1 teacher, and I think my Psychology teacher thinks I'm too smart for my own good. I'm slowly getting integrated into the school, and I seem to have made fast acquaintances with the "nerds," (I mean that in a good way, I'm a nerd, too) an Arab med student, and a Japanese art student.

I'm changing a bit of "Muzzle." There has been some interest from some unexpected places about the "Wounded/Nobody Took Your Pride Away" two part story line that will affect the characters of the strip in some way. Due to that, I'll probably skip "Who Needs Sleep?" and possibly come back to that at a later time (mainly due to the fact that my new neighbors next door are nearly as bad as the old ones). We're currently working on the script for the two part (both me, and the subject of the story), and I'll say this, right now: It's not going to be an easy read, especially if you've read my old Deviant Art Muzzle strips. It will be a lot more serious (this story), but, it does have humor. It's just that the humor isn't meant to be "funny," more character development than funny (for example, showing that Patty is trying to expunge the situation from her mind by making references to TV shows). After that storyline, Muzzle will go back to its drama/comedy roots.

I'm working on Muzzle Wallpapers, as well as concepts. Below are the ones I'm currently working on:

WP:

Patty

Binkie

Jim

Heather

Kevin

Ben

Laurel

Alexis

Concepts:

Jenna

Joe

Tim

Laurel (casual)

Jim

Binkie (After Attack)

Yuki

On the Goria front, I'm tossing a few ideas around. I am still going to introduce Mimic, but that won't be until later on in the series. She is, in fact, an extremely good foil for Goria, and there is going to be a story based on just that. Where it gets tricky is, once again, Jillian Dyer. SPOILER ALERT! She eventually gets possessed by Succubus, and is the third, and most dangerous, incarnation of the demon. Herein lies the trick: how is Succubus going to be driven out of her? But, I'm sure I'll think of something.

I also started tossing around a new idea. Entitled, Subject 30, the story is about a man in a mental institution who is being experimented on. One day, his "handlers" are attacked by creatures while he's being transported to a lab, and he starts to escape, only to find that the experiments that are being done to him and the other patients aren't meant for humans. He also finds out that he himself is a psychologist.

That's all for now. I'm going to talk about some pretty good game design choices here a little while though. Stay tuned!