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Vanguard: Synthesis by Lou Frank
by Sylvan
Writer
12 years ago
Welcome to my 100th upload!
On August 5th, 1988 (twenty-five years ago) I invented a world. I had recently become enamored of a short-lived comic book series from Marvel called "D.P.7" (part of their experiment, "the New Universe") and wanted to do something similar. I wanted to create a tabletop Role-Playing Game setting in which not only did ordinary people get powers but the players would get to explore what those powers did to themselves and the world around them. Power doesn't corrupt: it only makes you more of who you really are.
That was the theme behind "Vanguard".
That was 25 years ago.
In 2012, I started a year-long campaign to commemorate and combine the 10 campaigns I'd run in this fictional universe. That game recently concluded. This artwork was commissioned from Louis Frank (aka
wom-bat) and shows a handful of the more famous NPCs from that world: both super-heroes and villains. These are the cream of the crop: the elite, both powerful and not-so-powerful. Out of the nearly 500 NPCs I have created for the "Vanguard" universe, these are some of my favorite; the most iconic.
From left-to-right, top-to-bottom, they are:
Myth (shapeshifting cat-burglar; can become any mythological being ... a core member of the villain group, "Labyrinth"),
Minotaur (humanoid bull who can grow, shrink, and conjure energy fields into either a double-bladed battle-axe or a shifting series of halls and tunnels; the founder of the villain group, "Labyrinth"),
StormLord (a Vanguard-supremacist who controls the weather),
Bio-Sphere (always changing, always shifting controller of life ... the accidental creator of the Vanguard compound which gave everyone their powers),
Mech (a genius inventor and fugitive from the law who fights crime with her battle suit and homemade weaponry),
Snark (an evil "toon"; a penguine-shaped, vampiric pooka who drains people of their futures and lives),
Lycon (a werewolf; the more he consumes, the bigger and stronger he gets; runs a bar called "the Darken Hollow" for all powered individuals),
Blazar (a genius scientist with the power of suns in her body, seeking to replace the governments of the world with a meritocracy),
The Antithesis Brothers: Antithesis and Palindrome (the former can conjure demonic, inverse duplicates of anyone he blasts while the latter can bend space and time to travel anywhere),
the Pedestrian (a child when he first got his powers, he can walk on air and create warp gates anywhere he can imagine),
the Weaver (an Irish woman who can conjure and bend magic to her will),
Reverend Light (a pastor with the power to heal body, mind, and spirit by touch),
Moonflower (an assassin whose body produces a white substance which can poison, via nightmare-like hallucinations, unto death),
Gravedigger (an ancient psychic who haunts the dreams of others, sapping their mental strength to feed his own life),
Bookwyrm (a human descended of dragons with a mastery of the occult),
S.T.E.N.C.I.L. (a type of artificial intelligence robot created by Calibre Industries; morphable, skeletal, and ...usually... loyal),
Lattice (whose touch can disintegrate matter, re-shape it through his body, and expel it as spears of intricately-interwoven matter - the brains behind the villain group, Labyrinth),
Cardinal Escher (a young mental patient with the power to, in small areas, re-write reality to suit his surreal visions of the world; usually harmless when he's on his meds, he has been a powerful villain at times),
Reynard: the Fox (literally, the legendary being from French legend and stories: the trickster, Reynard, masquerading as a hero in the modern day),
Starglass (a psychotic, literally "mad" scientist, and one of the most powerful beings in the world),
Solitaire (an immortal, emotional projector who can't turn off his projection of suicidal tendancies; just wants to be left alone),
Wytchcraft (flamboyantly gay, can shape flesh like sculptors shape clay, he's a hero on the run from the law with a semi-devilish look), and
the Exorcist (another who gained his powers as a child, he can unlock controlled minds, expel extra-dimensional entities, and summon things from beyond).
These are the heroes and these are the villains. Each is owned by me and cannot be used without written permission.
On August 5th, 1988 (twenty-five years ago) I invented a world. I had recently become enamored of a short-lived comic book series from Marvel called "D.P.7" (part of their experiment, "the New Universe") and wanted to do something similar. I wanted to create a tabletop Role-Playing Game setting in which not only did ordinary people get powers but the players would get to explore what those powers did to themselves and the world around them. Power doesn't corrupt: it only makes you more of who you really are.
That was the theme behind "Vanguard".
That was 25 years ago.
In 2012, I started a year-long campaign to commemorate and combine the 10 campaigns I'd run in this fictional universe. That game recently concluded. This artwork was commissioned from Louis Frank (aka
wom-bat) and shows a handful of the more famous NPCs from that world: both super-heroes and villains. These are the cream of the crop: the elite, both powerful and not-so-powerful. Out of the nearly 500 NPCs I have created for the "Vanguard" universe, these are some of my favorite; the most iconic.From left-to-right, top-to-bottom, they are:
Myth (shapeshifting cat-burglar; can become any mythological being ... a core member of the villain group, "Labyrinth"),
Minotaur (humanoid bull who can grow, shrink, and conjure energy fields into either a double-bladed battle-axe or a shifting series of halls and tunnels; the founder of the villain group, "Labyrinth"),
StormLord (a Vanguard-supremacist who controls the weather),
Bio-Sphere (always changing, always shifting controller of life ... the accidental creator of the Vanguard compound which gave everyone their powers),
Mech (a genius inventor and fugitive from the law who fights crime with her battle suit and homemade weaponry),
Snark (an evil "toon"; a penguine-shaped, vampiric pooka who drains people of their futures and lives),
Lycon (a werewolf; the more he consumes, the bigger and stronger he gets; runs a bar called "the Darken Hollow" for all powered individuals),
Blazar (a genius scientist with the power of suns in her body, seeking to replace the governments of the world with a meritocracy),
The Antithesis Brothers: Antithesis and Palindrome (the former can conjure demonic, inverse duplicates of anyone he blasts while the latter can bend space and time to travel anywhere),
the Pedestrian (a child when he first got his powers, he can walk on air and create warp gates anywhere he can imagine),
the Weaver (an Irish woman who can conjure and bend magic to her will),
Reverend Light (a pastor with the power to heal body, mind, and spirit by touch),
Moonflower (an assassin whose body produces a white substance which can poison, via nightmare-like hallucinations, unto death),
Gravedigger (an ancient psychic who haunts the dreams of others, sapping their mental strength to feed his own life),
Bookwyrm (a human descended of dragons with a mastery of the occult),
S.T.E.N.C.I.L. (a type of artificial intelligence robot created by Calibre Industries; morphable, skeletal, and ...usually... loyal),
Lattice (whose touch can disintegrate matter, re-shape it through his body, and expel it as spears of intricately-interwoven matter - the brains behind the villain group, Labyrinth),
Cardinal Escher (a young mental patient with the power to, in small areas, re-write reality to suit his surreal visions of the world; usually harmless when he's on his meds, he has been a powerful villain at times),
Reynard: the Fox (literally, the legendary being from French legend and stories: the trickster, Reynard, masquerading as a hero in the modern day),
Starglass (a psychotic, literally "mad" scientist, and one of the most powerful beings in the world),
Solitaire (an immortal, emotional projector who can't turn off his projection of suicidal tendancies; just wants to be left alone),
Wytchcraft (flamboyantly gay, can shape flesh like sculptors shape clay, he's a hero on the run from the law with a semi-devilish look), and
the Exorcist (another who gained his powers as a child, he can unlock controlled minds, expel extra-dimensional entities, and summon things from beyond).
These are the heroes and these are the villains. Each is owned by me and cannot be used without written permission.
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When I hired
Now, if only I had the money to have these made as actual comic books.
Not the same thing, I know, but it'd be a start, imo.
The thing is, I don't know of any artist who would want to take the risk without money up-front. Mostly, for a guy with my finances, I'd have to make money off of print sales and other inducements but, to get there, I'd need an artist who would, likewise, take the risk that it wouldn't pay off.
Plus, it would have to be an art style that I liked and thought suited the characters.
Still, your suggestion is a good one!
Well, how about this? Have you ever considered learning to draw for yourself? That way you won't need to commission others so much and you'll be able to make the comic your own way.
I'm personally exploring the idea of making my own webcomic someday, but as I'm dirt poor and don't have any contacts in the art community, I'm electing to do it myself. To me, this is a great way for me to get established and developed my skills. And I've seen a few other users like EggplantMan make engaging comics here on FA, which is largely why I personally considering it. And I can see this working for you as well if you're willing to give it a shot.
I understand that it's probably a tall order as learning the art basics can take a bit of time and patience, and you may be a very busy person to devote the time into this, but I would explore that option in your situation.
Well, if that is what you believe then I understand. I will say don't give up on your pursuits, though.
I do still try. <chuckles>
Perhaps, after a fashion, it is because I know what I'd need it to look like, to feel like, and if I tried to produce it as a beginner, it would only let me down and discourage me.
But you are correct: it is a matter of belief.
It's OK to be harsh on yourself -- it means you are still interested on improving, the real challenge is not getting so worked up on it that you wound up losing interest entirely (which I've experienced first hand). That, IMO, is FAR more detrimental than anything else you can do as a novice.
I can be very critical of my own works as well, but I try not to let myself be discouraged by any screw-ups. Instead I look for feedback on it and use that to do better the next time I work.
I'm some 46 years old and it's never too late. The only question is whether or not I want to take the time to learn that or continue to polish my writing, work on my games, and maintain my career.
It's all, at this stage, a balancing act, y'know? :)
NAAAAOOOOOO!! XD *chirpyrawrs all asites* =^w^= <333
I ADORE this pic! It oozes awesome sauce from every pixel! x9
I just can't draw and don't have the money to commission such an undertaking. :)
That's an impressive feat there.