Crazy Uncle Dip's been kind of busy since he last talked to you folks. I tried a community college in Gainesville, an art school in Dover, New Jersey, but neither of those panned out. Over that time, I've come up with several different concepts for comics or projects, none of which got past the production stages. My latest brainchild is Tropica, and I'm posting it here because I'd to show it to you.
Tropica (which is so named because it sounds pretty, rather than having any relevance to the comic) is, superficially, a standard "Person discovers superpowers, defends people from harm," but it's also about the turmoil of tribal warfare, the consequences of choosing to defend people, trying to be diplomatic in the midst of impending war and perpetuating the radical idea that heroes come in all sizes.
Tropica's world takes place in an alternate universe, on their Earth. As is the usual fare in alternate universe stories, things here are different from things on our earth. Some animals evolved differently or didn't go extinct, Roman mythology is the widely accepted belief system instead of Christianity, some cultures are different from their parallels here and some continents are arranged differently.
It doesn't take place in a city or a developed country. The comic's story begins on a set of islands called "Moa," the parallel to our Hawaii. Tropica stars a young, dark skinned woman named Kei, who discovers a source of superpowers and decides to use them to defend the people on Moa and protect them from harm with the help of her friend, a native Moaiian named Mahi, who has latent fire-conjouring skills that he's not quite at home with. As they discover the wild nature of their island home through their exploits, a whole world unfurls around them, one that is home to fantastic creatures, new people, hidden dangers and the promise of impending war between two tribes who want to have dominion over Moa for their own reasons. Through it all, Kei makes some powerful and amazing allies and finds herself pitted against ruthless villains who become bitter arch nemesis.
The protagonist, Kei, faces off against a giant eel, as the viewer faces off against a weird sensation in his pants.
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU FELT.
Treated in a way like a set of fables and myths translated into a comic and vice versa, I try to readapt mythical concepts as they would appear in a comic series. Elemental forces as superpowers is a common theme (Kei having mastery over water, and one of the villains develops a gang of elemental-powered mutant humans), other sentient species vie for power over the island, and the story's own native doomsday myths eventually unfurl.
So, at the risk of going any further and revealing too much too soon, please enjoy the images.
She got to make that in woodworking class. Jealous? You fucking bet you're jealous.
Kei
Kei is an orphaned child, remembering absolutely nothing from her infancy, only that she was raised on Moa by a foster mother in Ku'ono, a fishing tribe on the bay. Though curiosity of her origins always sit at the back of her mind, Kei prefers to live in the here and now. Since being emancipated, she's spends her days fishing and bringing back fish for Ku'ono to trade to other tribes. When she and her friend Mahi came across the artifact called the Tempest Phial, which gave her the superhuman abilities that make her a legend around Moa, Kei decided to put them to good use and help people who needed it. Having seen signs of it on the day of her rebirth as a hero, she also hopes to use her powers to prevent impending war. However, dark secrets surround this artifact, and Kei soon discovers that she may have gotten into something that water manipulation and super-strength may not be enough to save everyone from. Kei's not as fast as her friend, Mahi, but she's surprisingly limber. Her cumbersome appearance is part of what makes her such a deceptive foe. In addition to her physical strength, Kei relies on her intellect to best her foes. She's very capable of running, but only after she's secured her top.
I'd turn for Mahi.
Mahi
Mahi is Kei's best friend. Slightly younger than Kei, the two have known each other since childhood, but spent time apart since they left Ku'ono, with Kei going off to become a fisher and Mahi training with a local reliquary and sorcerer, Kumu. Mahi's job as Kumu's apprentice is to keep the treehouse they live in tidy, and to locate artifacts with his teacher. Kumu chose Mahi, however, because Mahi possesses the ability to conjure fire, but lacks the ability to control it. In an attempt to impress Kumu and see his old friend Kei again, Mahi decided to take it upon himself to find an artifact called the Tempest Phial. When on their trek to locate it, Kei was impaled by a trap spear, and Mahi had to use the phial to revive her, thus giving her the powers it held within its water. After discovering a plot by another tribe to conquer the island, the two have decided to team up and use their powers, for better or worse, to defend it. Though he's a third her size and not very strong, Mahi is quick on his feet. He also has his fire powers... when he can get them to work.
Part of a rush job test comic I did.
The Ku'ono
After the Old Pact rendered the tribes of Moa cooperative, peace and prosperity have held everyone together. Part of the pact was the development of trades. Tribes in the dormant Mt. Pele would supply minerals, tribes in the thick of the forests provided wood, while tribes along the ocean would supply fish and beach-born supplies. While there are plenty of tribes who supply seafood and oceanic items, Ku'ono has made a tradition out of it. Led by the portly and welcoming Alaka, the Ku'ono people are down-to-earth farmers who lead pretty average lives. The kind of placid, benign folk that would panic if beset by a monster or an elemental on the rampage...
Pardon the proportion issues. Sometimes we must re-learn what we think we already know, yes? This was done before that.
The original idea for the story was that Kei's powers would only activate after she changes into an "elemental form," which was much taller than her. I decided that it essentially renders Kei's human form useless and switches focus from her character to the blue elemental, which I think diminishes her to have her rely on it all the time. It's also impractical to be fourteen feet tall and girthy in a dense jungle. I haven't dropped the concept, but the blue elemental form now remains as a "super sayan mode" that Kei will have to hone her new abilities to activate.