New Writer, looking for artistic partners and Idea Critiques

[RaptureComics]

Hello My Name is Chad W? Wood, I'm new to Penciljack and hoping to gain a network of creative friends so that we can help one another out. I was Born in Lancaster, California....for those of you that don't know where that is I was born fairly close to Los Angeles and spend most of my time there. I am currently unpublished.

I like reading all types of materials, from novels to comic books, I play video games, spend much of my time writing and filming. I am currently attending school as a film Major. My Favorite movies are pretty wide in variety, from Star Wars to V for Vendetta, story and character are more important to me than all the fancy effects and big name actors that money can buy.

My Favorite Comic books Characters are Green Lantern, Deadpool, and Gambit but my favorite stories have been DC's Flashpoint, The Watchmen, Kingdom Come, Kisck-Ass, and Civil War just to name a few. Some of my favorite T.V. show include The Big Bang Theory, Smallville, Avatar The Last Airbender, How I Met Your Mother, M*A*S*H, Family Guy, American Dad and a few more that I am unable to think of at the moment.

Though I really like reading comic books I'm constantly reading novels and so some of my favorites authors are Timothy Zahn, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Michael A. Stackpole, Poe, and Stan Lee. As Far as artists go I admire a lot of the work of Jim Lee, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, as well as Banksy.

I'm here for the chance to find artists as well as get critiques on my ideas, I encourage all of you that want to no more to message me privately or even email me at JokersFate@gmail.com

As a special Note for any artists that May be reading this and are interested in working on a project but don't want to work on something that I've already planned out because they want to be a larger part of the creative process I am very open to collaboration and helping you flesh out your own story and characters.

Finally I'd just like to say thank you for taking the time to read this and feel free to communicate with me as you see fit. I will be posting one of my ideas for a story on here pretty soon for critique so please just bear with me.

[RaptureComics]

Here's The first little idea that I had and am looking to work on.

As one world is coming to an end, the mad scientist that started it's demise seeks a way to escape in to a different life on a different world where he can start over. He builds a "Cerebrum portal" and device that will send his mind into the psyche of another man in a different reality. His plans are foiled by a team of superheroes that follow him through the portal and also begin to take over the innocent bystanders mind without fully knowing what they are doing.

The man is fighting for control of his own body, battling against the psyches of the heroes and villain of from another reality. and to top it all off, even though HE still has no superpowers the heroes get full control of theirs when they take over!

It's kinda of a action-comedy adventure comic that I'd like to do as a web-comic. I'm going to write the adventure in a kind of Four page (or 1 month) chapter format so that each month i can have a different artist work on it.

Would love to hear your critiques or first impressions. More ideas to come a bit later.

[Shaun]

Interesting concept but I had to re-read a few times to understand and I'm still not sure I do. So the heroes are in the same mind as the mad scientist? And if this battle is taking place in the man's mind how will you show it? Won't he just appear like a crazy person hearing voices? I think the idea still might need some sharpening but I'm sure you'll get it there.

[RaptureComics]

They are all in his mind but that battle isn't where the story really takes place...the story takes place on the outside, basically what happens when each of those people (men and women both) take over this mans body and he gains their powers...the part inside his mind a parallel story, but not the main focus right away.

[Fledgling]

I think you'd do better just to have the heroes take over regular people and still end up battling him. Having the power of two minds (his own and the man he's living inside) would be more than enough to out think a bunch of heroes.

[RaptureComics]

but part of the fun is this guy feeling like he's going insane because he keeps having these random blackouts where he loses large chunks of his life and the heroes that have taken him over are forced to try an exist in a world completely alien to them, often taking control and then losing it at inopportune times. not to mention having to stop a villain that is existing inside the same body as you.

[Guilde]

My first impression of this how do you plan on conveying the different "voices" of the characters. By that I mean, how would we the reader understand who (villain/hero/innocent bystandard) said what, would it be word balloon or thought ballon? Also, isn't the whole one man jumps from his reality into a foriegn reality and have to adapt thing the premise of quantum leap? Just some of my impressions, I dont know how many times I've had an idea and then someone turned around and said isnt that like ______(fill in blank) and I just sit there crumple up my paper and start again! Good Luck and look forward to seeing how you write this idea up!

[RaptureComics]

Not entirely, quantum leap jumped from time to time not reality to reality and it was a constant thing not a one time jump deal. The different voices won't come out in what is essentially "The Real World". Only one person controls the body at a time, when not in control the inhabitants are transported to this inner plain that is essentially the mans psyche. When the person is in control of the body their powers and personality takes complete control as well. Also a a physical indicator their eyes will change color, but essentially that will be the only change.

And as far as the whole abandoning an idea once a similarity is pointed out thing goes, its some thing i don't believe in doing. If I was to throw out an idea every time i saw a similarity I don't think anything would get created anymore. I mean if we all started to throw away ideas that were similar to others we wouldn't have very many new forms of entertainment, The initial premise may be similar but the over all story is completely different.

[RaptureComics]

I'd like to apologize if it seams like I'm not taking the criticism well, it's not that I don't appreciate the feedback I just feel like I've failed to portray the idea as well as I possibly could. In this way I think I'm the ones who has failed in their attempt and I've simply got to find a better way to do it.

[Shaun]

In my experience taking critiques is the hardest part of the job. And being passionate about what you wrote isn't a terrible thing. What you write is like your child and it makes sense you feel the need to defend it. Just remember most people are just trying to help you make it better. But I think you already know all this.

For my part I just think your idea sounds a little too complex. I'm sure you could sell the idea with two or three issues of material but is the hook clear enough to sell it to an editor or an artist? Would it be a cleaner story to pitch and more streamlined story to tell if it was one hero instead of several? Keep asking yourself question as you work on your idea and give yourself the honest answer. If you feel you have the best route for telling your story then stay the course.