2. Establishing the Main Character

In order to reboot the idea of The Warrior, and bring him out of my brain and onto the page, I needed to update his look. In the new story, Mike Sloane (aka The Warrior) is a reflection of real people - he tries to always do the right thing, but makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences as best he can. He's not all good and he's not all bad, he's somewhere in between. Beyond that, I wanted the character's overall aesthetic to reflect the world he lives in - or will soon discover.... With that in mind, I gave him a look that balances the classic superhero costume with a mystical, almost nightmarish vibe.

The sketches above are rough concepts to help me establish both the character's look and his power-set. I originally thought of making this story into a sort of RPG-style thing, where the character unlocks and upgrades powers as he goes along his journey. I've decided to abandon that idea for something richer and far more complex, but I'll dive deeper into the story in another post. Ultimately, the costume is a reflection of The Warrior's power, but he won't start out as the full-blown superhero. When he first gets his power, it's wild and uncontrollable (which will play into his origin story).

As the story evolves, the character will grow and his costume will take on a more refined look.

You know what, I'm getting more and more excited just sitting here writing this post - so I'm going to get back to it! I can't wait for you all to see how everything unfolds - it's going to be epic!

-- Matt Nickola