The Girl I Can't Forget

Somewhere within 20 ft. of me is a small sketchbook with my first drawing of Spryte/Emmaryn.  It was drawn on top of a plateau in Sedona, Arizona at the end of a trail that almost killed me.  They should install escalators there, it'd make nature easier to appreciate.  Anyway, I'm not going to dig up that sketch now but there was something about it that said, "Hey, I'm a real person."  Curiously, although she's been with me through many incarnations, she's never looked exactly like that sketch.  But she's been a sidekick, a lead, a precocious ten year old, a self conscious teen, a chapter of a novel, a terrible screenplay, a published comic story, an unpublished comic and several pitches for an animated show.

I'll tell you right off that what I should do, what I need to do, is to write a comic story for her, a self contained, done in one, comic story.  Because I've pitched her in many forms but it's only when I put her in a story that she comes alive, enough to say, "Yes, this is how I should be," or "You've made a terrible, terrible mistake and you're taking it out on me."  So over the next few posts I'll share some of the paths I've taken and share some thoughts on them like a commentary track on a movie that was never made.

 Here's what sticks in every incarnation: She's half human and half faerie (on her father's side), something she discovered when she suddenly grew wings.  She is drafted into a sort of Faerie Men in Black organization.  They keep the secrets of what we would term the paranormal world.  She wears an oversized, black leather jacket that belonged to her father.  She rarely takes it off.

She first surfaced as a sidekick to MAGE RAVEN, a full faerie who turned out to be her uncle.  They were aided by a boogeyman named CARBUNKLE who's also gone through lots of changes from comic relief to Machiavellian mastermind trying to keep her safe.  But in that first incarnation he was a gruff guy who gave them their assignments.  I pitched the show at Disney and it was the only piece that I made sure I still had the rights to develop on my own when I left.  

But the pitch was very well received and would have gone into official development had they not just decided to develop AMERICAN DRAGON, a series about a boy who learns he is actually a dragon.  That show had a very bumpy development and was nearly dropped a couple of times but it finally made it to air.

I decided to lose Mage Raven, gave Spryte a cynical attitude and pitched her to Anissa Dorsey, then at Cartoon Network, who really liked the idea of a goth faerie who was the opposite of Disney Princess types that she'd meet in Faerie.  But parts of my pitch seemed thematically close to something they had just optioned.  Even after she left CN, Anissa remembered the character.  She called to tell me to pitch it at Nickelodeon who were looking for strong girl leads with a fantasy connection at the time, a female Harry Potter if you will.  But at the time I was starting what was supposed to be a long line of Hellboy Animated movies so I never showed it to Nick.

The next thing  I did, mostly as a lark, was to write a chapter of it as a book.  I'll have to read that over and decide how embarrassing it is before I post it.   I'll save that and more for next time.  -- Tad

 
 

 

 

Comments

[Angeline]

I love hybrids! So many possibilities, and fun designs. I've always been into the fantasy genre, and my own reoccurring character that I draw, and write stories for, is a demon hybrid (although she is admittedly a Darkwing Duck fan character, so she doesn't count as a full original. I've considered separating her into her own little universe, since her design and personality are completely independent of copyright characters.) Honestly, some creations just seem to come to life, and write themselves.

You mentioned a published comic story for Spryte. Is there somewhere it can be purchased online?

[manoj a menon]

wow tad..

i would really love to see this in reality.
really liked everything about the story line and the whole world and that last sketch is so inviting!!!
pls take this ahead cause i will be tuning in when it comes on air...

i liked the b/w ruff also a lot.. the one with the oversized jacket..
cool one.
i can see my future 'me' when i look at the path you have travelled..
perhaps you may as well ask me what im doing these days if you feel like taking a look at how an alternate past of yours would look like..

amazing energy.

manoj.

[manoj a menon]

btw tad...
i have taken that advice strongly..im currently working on my own series and am putting some of my savings ( just a few nickels..thats all i have made so far) into printing it.
and then i will publish it ..
and then i will bring it to comicon..
and then i will meet you and mike
and then we will all have drink..
hey this is going to happen. im damn sure

keep pouring your advices on my blog..thanks a ton

manoj.