...oh....

So one of the things in the back of my head, while working on Justice Wing stuff, is "where can I go with this."

I mean, it's fun to write, but the major difference between it and Superguy (besides my being a significantly better writer now than I was back in the day) is it could go somewhere. I could actually publish a novel.

But... writing superhero fiction is dicey, because absent the characters that have already entered the culture, there's pretty steep barrier. You have to introduce everyone, set things, and also be engaging enough to be read.

And if you're going to write a novel about stuff like this... well, I realize, I'm a lit major, but... I'd like to write something with something under the surface a little deeper than "Power Guy smacked Evilite while Spandex Babe arched, her suit straining." I mean, it's not going to be The Great Gatsby but I'd rather it not be Remo Williams has sex and kills a dude too, you know?

And then it smacked me in my brain. Which means not only do I have my novel? But I'm already twelve thousand words into it.

And Christ knows how many I'll need to get out of it.

I guess I know what's going to dominate Banter Latte for the next few weeks.

This is an observation, not a solicitation. For the record.

One of the things I often think about, when I'm writing a story, is what the lead character looks like. And I'm often tempted to commission a portrait from someone over it. This is especially true when I'm writing superheroish stories.

I almost never go on to commission, mind. It's an idle thought at most.

My lead character is a forty-two year old woman with a normal human body who wears normal clothes while she goes around the country interviewing people.

As God is my witness, I have no idea who I would even contact to do that. It's not like most working superhero artists have much experience with that sort of thing.

EDIT: Okay, let me be blunt. Blunt clearly works better.

"Wow. I'm writing a superhero story, but the lead is someone who isn't often represented physically in mainstream superhero comics, in as much as she A) looks her age and B) isn't a physical ideal of any kind. I find it interesting that there are not many examples of this type at Marvel or DC, where a 42 year old is either depicted, generally, as 22 and hot as a supernova or 64 and decrepit. As a side note, she also has normal proportioned limbs and shins, which is not always seen in comics either."

Better?