Thoughts on Goria #5: Seriously? And Character Development 101, a.k.a. Why I Purposely Use The Models I Do

After having to show the last post to people, I finally got some feed back. All I can say is this: Really? I ask and I still get a split answer? I actually had one person tell me that neither of them would be good because they look like their going to jump into bed with someone. I had another person tell me "draw them both, and see which one fits." Seriously, I can't help how someone would read the pictures. The thing is, I have this weird ability to see something else when I look at pictures. I don't see, "Hey, look! She's horny and hot!" I see the facial structures, the proportions, and the basic shapes that make the person who they are, as well as a more human quality that most people don't see in the picture. I really wish I had a dollar for every time I saw a picture of someone who was "smiling," and I asked them why they were upset, and was right.

No, it isn't a superpower, but something I have acquired in my years of drawing, and learning to draw. It's something I acquired in the Army, no less, too. Attention to detail. It's really a basic thing to have for an artist, when it comes to art and photos. Other people have it in computers, engineering, or even math. So, I honestly, while I was upset by that bit of feed back (mainly because I took it as an insult saying basically that I only draw women because "they're hot") I realize that I'm probably asking the wrong type of people (read: over analytical for the wrong reason) when I ask everyone for their opinions.

I did get some very good feedback, as well though, and mostly of Model "A." The first bit was from Alexis, who mentioned that she'd be better because she doesn't look cheerful constantly, and there's more simplicity in her design that makes her more attractive yet more mysterious at once. While that seems a little off, let me rephrase that last bit: she's easier to draw and make into a character that would have a personality a spy would need.

Another, and even better feedback, was that Model "A" looks like she could get to a high class party to sneak into a secret lab by any means. Due to her needing to get a DNA sample from a person to change her fingerprints and retinas to another person, realistically, she'd need to be attractive enough to draw people to her, as well. Model "B" looks like she'd be chased out of the party, being mistaken as a street urchin or a teenager, and therefore would not be able to access high class or high security areas. Mimic needs to be able to get in, but not be sneaky (well, completely sneaky) about, all while having some basic combat knowledge to defend herself if need be.

An interesting bit, though, is that "A" seems to make for a good foil for Goria. Goria, on a first impression level, is very quiet, mild-mannered, and polite. It's only when people get to know him that they realize he's more stable than he really should be. Face it, two people you loved die before your eyes, one of them twice and the other coming back completely changed (the Infection is a bizarre thing), your father sold his soul to save your life, and is now a 4000 pound demon, and your skin is used as a grappling device and weapon. You're not going to be well adjusted without some sort of motivation, Goria's being that he's had a year before this hit the fan to get used to his new life. While the loss is painful to him, the fact that he can fight back motivates him to live a "normal" life. That's why he can be mild mannered and quiet.

Mimic is the opposite. She may have had time to get used to her abilities, but she hasn't had the situations Goria has had. Her father isn't now a demon, she hasn't lost any loved ones by the hands of an eyeless gunman, and she's pretty much relied on herself for years. It's only at her whim that she joins TORAH, because she wants the adventure. Due to her active nature, she does in fact create a good foil, and that may be, in fact, what draws Goria and her together.

See, that's something a lot of people don't understand about "Goria." The comic is scary and morbid, yes, and a little intimidating when you think about the central themes: Religion, Psychology, Genetic Manipulation, etc. But, the biggest draw in "Goria" is the character development. One of the most popular changes that people have heard is Gomorrah's evolution. She goes from being a protector, and an unwitting fighter, to nearly destroying the world due to losing her grip of sanity after Sodom is killed. After she realizes what she was doing, she tries to redeem her actions, all while questioning if Sodom was using her, and how much control she really had in the first place. What begins as an unwitting villain turns into a huge villain, and finally into a story of redemption and soul searching.

The minor characters aren't exempt from this. Personally, one of my favorite story concepts is when Angeldust, the seraphic member of Barnum's Circus, goes to see her mother's grave to apologize for losing her humanity. What we see as a mindless drone, in 32 pages exudes a sympathetic stance on what it feels like to not be human. It's story lines like this that make "Goria" on of the pinnacle works I'm attempting.

This goes to why I choose certain models for this. I usually hate doing the conventional comic character, i.e. the men are ripped and the biggest muscle a woman has are her breasts. Goria, while muscular, isn't exactly buff. He's tough looking, but not so much that he's an action hero. Instead, he relies more on the enhanced strength the Infection gives him, and his skills as a gymnast. On the flip side, when I needed someone for R.E.M., the psychologist whose fascination with nightmares makes him into a dream-manipulating madman, I needed someone who was quietly intelligent, more of a defensive fighter than offensive, and someone who could pull off a manipulative personality. Strangely enough, Michael C. Hall came to mind. Anyone who has seen him play Dexter can see why, too.

As much as I hate using the tried axiom of "bigger breasts is better," two female characters seem to bust that especially (no pun intended. Seriously.) Bonnie Carson was influenced by Playboy model Breann McGregor, not just because of her body, but her intelligence as well. Initially, I wanted Bonnie to be human, but when I decided to use Breann McGregor as a base type for a reference, I decided to give her some sort of "flaw." In this case, her Infection causes her to have a thin layer of skin, but her muscle is impenetrable. Her big scene where this is exposed has her coming out of a freshly exploded building with half of her skin missing, and she doesn't notice it. The other character that breaks my rule, is more out of necessity of design. When I first designed Mystery, I needed someone who looked at least half Asian, and had a, shall we say, artificially sturdy build. I stumble upon a picture of Julri Waters, and was stunned by how well she fit the sarcastic Mystery. Unfortunately, I thought she would be too bust until it was pointed out that Mystery's chest and stomach would actually be thicker due to the armor plating on it.

At the same time, consider this. Jillian Dyer, who is personally one of my favorite characters just for the fact that she's stronger than what she shows, starts her main arc as a porn star. Oh noes! A porn star in a comic! Whatever shall we do?

Well, consider this, her ability is to Infect people that have sex with her. This is a bad thing, for those of you out of the loop. There's also a moral here: There are consequences for using someone for your means. Given what Jillian Dyer starts off as, notice that her proportions are 34B-22-32. That's right, she's smaller than Bonnie (38D-26-36), Mystery (32G-24-36 including armor) and even the modestly built Sodom (34C-22-34). Surely, this must be an error, right?

Well, it's not. I did this for a very specific reason. The same reason Elaine Carver originally had a broad hip measurement (this was changed for realism and because I liked the Goth Elaine design a lot more). The same reason Sin was influenced by Devon Aoki, who isn't conventionally attractive, why Zeta is 6'2", and why Gomorrah has tattoos, scars, and a blind right eye. It's why I have a character who is "fat" but is still seen as beautiful in Goria's eyes. Hell, its the same reason I keep track of all of my female character's measurements! Each character is different, therefore, they should look different. It would be boring, and unrealistic, for every character to look the same. It would also be too typical to make the porn star character busty and vapid, as well. That, or giving some people what they want. No, instead, I'm not a moron, and would apt to give my female characters a brain (hint, hint, Frank Miller).

If this seems like I'm aggravated, it's because I am a little. This isn't the first time (nor will it be the last) that I felt like I was under attack for choosing the models I use. For the record, I do use some of my friends as bases for characters in "Goria" as well as in "Muzzle." But, I don't just go for the models who look like they're going to put out. For me, there is a whole different perspective on it that most people (mainly men) don't understand. As for my other projects, such as the Pin-Up Project, yes I've drawn from "questionable" sources for it (the first one was referenced from a picture of porn star Priya Rai that a friend sent to me), but at the same time, I'm doing it to learn, as well as to show a different vision. I'm not planning on selling the not-original-source-material Pin-Ups (and probably not the purely original ones, either) anyway.

What it comes down to is this: stop making assumptions. I know I've butted heads with a few people mistakenly who did appreciate what I was doing as art. But for those of you who still don't get it, I'm not the first, and I sure am not the last to do it, either. Live with it.