What if one guy was two superheroes? ALTER EGO is the story of the smiling champion WHIZ-BANG, the prowling vigilante THE BLACK DOG, and the man behind both of their masks. This weekly newsletter is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Alter Ego, by Nate Cosby, Jacob Edgar, Kike J. Diaz & Rus Wooton.
PART II: The Making Of A Man
What up! Nate here. Last week, I pontificated on how I came up with (and fought against) the idea for Alter Ego. This week, my partner in crime(fighting?) Jacob Edgar tells his side of the superhero story…
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If there’s one thing in the world that I’ve drawn more than any other, it’s Batman.
In fact, I’ve been drawing Batman comics for about 20 years now. The first few years of those being stick figure stories on lined notebook paper, starting when I was age 10. DC has yet to publish them, but I’ll keep waiting…
A lot of my earliest memories are tied to superheroes, and specifically Batman and Superman. Whether it was my dad reading me Batman comics as bedtime stories, or being glued to Batman: the Animated Series on TV or rewatching our VHS of Fleischer Superman shorts over and over. That’s not to mention all the TOYS.
As I got older and started buying comics for myself, I was introduced to entire universes of new superheroes to love. Like Captain America, Daredevil and Wolverine. It’s a genre that’s had me hooked my whole life, and still does.
Nate talked in his initial post about a bit of superhero burnout and having to come around to the idea of his own superhero book. For me, it’s something I always wanted to do. There are other genres I’ve worked in and would like to work in, but I really got into comics to draw superheroes.
Alter Ego is, in a lot of ways, the ideal project for me. I love the retro-fantasy setting, I love the adventurous spirit in the tone of it, I love that we’re getting to play with classic Hollywood as well as some Golden/Silver Age comic tropes.
This is definitely the most bombastic and dynamic book that I’ve had the chance to work on, and I hope that’s what readers think of it too. I hope that the adventures of Whiz-Bang and Black Dog will give you some of those same feelings that I had as a kid, discovering superheroes for the first time.
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COSTUME PARTY!
Nate again!
So the development of our two superheroes and their costumes wasn’t a straight creative line. There was the stuff I’d banged around in my head for years, then there was my attempt to describe what was in my head to Jacob, then there was Jacob bringing his own flavors.
At the same time, we were also playing around with the story’s setting: A heightened, fictionalized version of 1930s/40s Hollywood. Then on top of THAT, we were tossing around the approach to the material...did we want this to be serious, or ironic, or goofy, or noir-tinged...whose perspective is this told from? Our hero’s? Which one? Maybe told by a sidekick? A cop? Do we shift the perspective all the time, like Astro City?
We’ll take you through all of those discussions (some of which we’re still having) in later parts. For now, here’s some of the back-and-forth between me and Jacob about naming and costuming, taken from a few hundred emails...we’ve actually got so much that we’re gonna make it a feature across the next few weeks…
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NC: How about this: WHIZ-BANG. It’s an era-specific term that denotes something successful, startling, incredible. I like it because it gives me Rocketeer vibes. It’s the kind of name you’d want to give to the public, to get them on your side…bright, shiny, ready to help.
JE: It’s growing on me a bit the more I think about it. Apparently it was a term for some kind of bullet or cannon shell in WWI as well.
NC: It’s just a fun name that feels of its time, you know? I realize it feels a little goofy at first blush, but we’d play it happy and hopeful and charming, like Captain Marvel. A childlike energy.
And it’d tie into his power set, because he’ll always be bounding around quickly (Whiz) and punching villains (Bang).
JE: Yeah I think with the period and the tone that it plays. Potentially sets up more contrast with the darker persona too.
NC: I want both outfits to feel very much of their time. And they should feel practical, like they’re clothes made of cloth, nothing that’s spandex-y. But there’s also a gaudy capital-C Costume kinda feel to them. Definitely want them to each have emblems on their chests.
Here’s my idea for the night guy: The Black Dog
The reason: It’s a demonic entity in British folklore. A ghost, with glowing eyes. If you see him, you’re screwed.
JE: I did a quick sketch of a Whiz-Bang costume, feeling it out...
NC:
-Love the heavy gloves.
-Love the mask design, which could be used to great effect for personality (eyes could widen/shrink, like Spider-Man’s eyes do sometimes).
-Love the tunic strips on his chest. Nice touch for something that was around at the time.
-Blue is my favorite color, but I feel like blue on blue, plus white, is too passive for a bold superhero?
-I love the fin headgear, but I would want to use it for another character.
-I’m of two minds about his head…
1) For your daytime hero, it would make sense to show as much of his face and head as possible. You want him to be an open guy, inviting, not creepy.
2) On the other hand, it’d be ridiculous to show any more of his head than he has to. For the types of adventure stuff he’s got to do, it'd make sense for him to wear a helmet, like a fighter pilot, or a motorcyclist.
-I would like to explore a more “streamlined” design, in general. There’s a lot going on here, with the big belt, rolled sleeves, circus strongman type of outfit over his shirt and pants, collar, etc. I don’t hate any of these things, but when added together, it gets busy.
-One of my fave costumes ever is Alan Scott/Green Lantern. The heavy color blocking, with the bold red sweater (LOOSE sweater), the green pants, the two-colored cape. Just neat. Might be worth trying to match that sort of boldness.
Also, just came to me…I’d like to pattern the guy’s body and movements after Gene Kelly. Not an exact copy of him, but his body and movements, and his expressiveness.
Kelly was seen as an “everyman” dancer, in contrast to the smoother Fred Astaire. He’s slim but not wiry, there's a real athleticism to his movement, and a bounding energy…he’s incredibly light and agile on his feet, but looks like he could take a punch. And there’s some musculature there, but he’s not rippling.
And there’s something to the idea of him having dancing in his background that feels right to me…kinda similar to Dick Grayson’s trapeze artist beginnings. Knowing how to move his body, balance himself, and especially: Being able to put thought into the two different ways that the heroes carry themselves. Striding around broad-chested during the day, lumbering ominously at night, etc.
JE: That's an interesting inspiration. I have a bit of a history with Gene Kelly and old Hollywood musicals cause my mom loved them and made me take tap dancing as a kid...but I digress!
So after reading that and the notes, I whipped out this second take. Less strongman, more dashing adventurer. Trying to keep him without a cape, then Black Dog would have one.
Here's another spin on it. Lost the tunic look, ended up ditching the collar too because I wanted the cape to feel light like old Fleischer Superman, the collar seemed to give it too much weight. Not married to the symbol, put that on as a placeholder more than anything.
…aaaaaand that’ll be it for now. Come back next week, where we’ll have a special big-time superhero writer guest star, more back-and-forth design stuff, and a few more bits’n bobs. Happy T-giving!
—Nate