*NEW* Life outside the Box hero, Trike Man – Scene #1.
I asked artist and high school student, Emily Moon, to take some comic slam challenges to show how the Life Outside the Box playing cards and comic slam worksheets can help comic book creators build a likeable superhero with unusual super strengths and ordinary character flaws who is ready to face everyday — and extraordinary — challenges.
“Fly tricycling” one of 20 “quirky super power” cards in the Life Outside the Box deck.
First, Emily chose the “fly tricycling” quirky super power card. Each card is designed to get the comic artist think of odd, funny powers that come with save the world potential but also are likely to lead to funny or awkward social moment. Each quirky super power card also suggests a motto for the hero that reveals a bit about their personality. Emily’s card read:
Superpower: Hero can ride any tricycle at top speed breaking the sound barrier — even fast enough to ride on water but sadly not fast enough to fly — can only move like a rock skipping on water.
Unfortunate side effect: Villains mocking: Hero can’t fly like a “real” hero and can never look “cool” or “tough” riding a tricycle..
Motto: “Flying a tricycle is way cooler than flying wearing a dumb cape, right?”
After choosing this card, Emily used the Life Outside the Box comic slam, “Create a quirky super hero” to further develop her hero, Comic Slam – Create Quirky Hero – Life Outside the Box. This comic slam had these sections:
Comic slam: “Create a quirky super hero.”
A) Big idea: QUIRKY: an odd, unexpected or weird action, behaviour, personality or mannerism.
B) Method: Step 1. Choose a card from the “Quirky Super Power” deck. Step 2. Create a character who has the chosen quirky super power with unfortunate side effect. Your character can be male or female; human, animal, or alien; child or adult, etc. Step 3. Name your hero and sketch out/describe clothing, head and foot wear, etc. Step 4. Choose a place, year, culture, and/or world for your hero. Step 5. Describe the social life of your hero. Are there family members, friends, coworkers, pets, children, etc?
C) Comic: Now that you have created your hero and “back story” (congratulations!), sketch a comic showing a typical day in the life of your hero.
After reading the comic slam, Emily was ready to imagine and created her hero’s origin story in, “TrikeMan – Scene #1.” (Note: She created her comic using Comic Life 3 digital tools.) Enjoy the adventures of TrikeMan! (Click image to read).
Scene #1: This single dad is keen to try out his new flying bike. Unfortunately, a flat tire takes the air out of his superhero-ing practice time.
Follow the continuing adventures of Future Hearing Man in scenes #2-3, and scenes #4-5 …