Titan 2 Characters

After establishing the entire cast of characters in the Titan universe and introducing virtually all of the prime players I am finding now in writing Titan 2 that it is all much simpler. Now I am simply building upon the building block foundation's that I have set from the first book. Just in the first chapter I have had Titan/Michael interact with Carly, Azure, Vicki, and Mr. & Mrs. Edwards, who were all form the first book. I even managed to get in two new villains in the explosive happy twins Shock and Awe.

The Hamlet Effect...Sort of

The first chapter of The Midnight Hour I wanted to be focused on the two true main characters, Michael and Carly. Through them I wanted to introduce this entire world of Titan and Delta City. Many of the book characters get introduced right in the opening chapter before they even appear. the one thing I always kept in mind was the opening scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet. In that scene the two guardsman have a conversation and set up all the characters and the situation we are about to enter. Not that I would even begin to compare the two in quality obviously I did want to use a similar story telling tool to begin this journey. The simple conversation with Michael and Carly sets up the book so we can really get going come chapter 2.

Titan Hard Copy

I finally got my hands on the proof of Titan: The Midnight Hour. There are a few minor changes to be made and then it will be ready for distribution in print. Was very cool to actually get to hold a printed version in my hands. Createspace did a fantastic job with the print and it is ready to be in stores anytime really. I hope to announce the sale date very soon!

The middle of the Beginning

Starting with book two I really want to start each book right in the middle, or more accurately right in the climax, of mini adventure. I want to show that time has gone on since the last book and we simply pop in and have to catch up with Michael and the gang. I sort of want it to be like the Indiana Jones movies that always start at the end of one adventure and the beginning of another. with these there will be a whole sub cast of villains, a tier 2 rogues gallery if you will. Dr. Melodian is the prime villain of 'City Under Seige along with his three henchmen; Sonic, Hawk, and Hammerhead, but the book starts with Titan the evil twin brother and sister shock and Awe. they are a little too into destroying property with explosives. I will use some of these mini battles to even bring back returning villains as well. Some of the other sub cast of villains will be: the Claw, Shockwave, and the Ice Queen. Needless to say Titan will have his hands full.

Titan 2 Progress

I have just finished the first chapter of book 2, City Under Siege. As I stated previously, the part of Michael and Carly's relationship that I wanted to explore was not how they got together but how they stay together. In book 2 we will definitely start to see them go through some major adversity in their relationship. How could two young peopel after all cope with their normal lives as well as being a super hero. Michael will see much more struggle all around in book 2. the villains are bigger and badder, Vince is still causing more trouble, the mayor wants Titan captured, and he and Carly have some serious problems.

The Indy Way

I truly believe that choosing to release Titan independently through Amazon (or any independent digital publisher) was the best move I could have made. All of the tools necessary for publishing are available through the internet such as e-books distribution through any number of devices, and all your print on demand options well. Of course all your marketing tools are there also like facebook, twitter, youtube, and of course blogger. Wit the current state of traditional publishing any new author is unlikely to get much in the way of extra editing, marketing, or exposure. You still have to do all the leg work yourself, but you also lose control over your product. It now belongs to the publisher. For the publishers, their overhead and profit margins are shrinking and they imply have less to offer new authors in this digital age. To me it only made sense to do things this way. You can try to get in on the penthouse of the building that is about to be torn down or you can get in on the ground floor of the new state of the art building. Plus, succeed or fail it is my true intention and vision that is represented in the final product not some hackneyed version the publishers editing team decides it needs. I fully plan to complete the Titan series in this manner. I will of course try to learn form it and adapt as I go along, but I will get through it. I can do it for very little cost. I have many more book ideas I plan to use it for also, stories from YA fiction to adult oriented as well. The future is limitless.

Early Titan Sketch

After I sent my description and an original drawing of Titan to Megan this was the first character sketch she sent back to me. It is still my favorite drawing of Titan so far.

Finding My Niche

The challenge with releasing a book independently with something like Amazon is figuring how to create awareness and marketing. When Titan: The Midnight Hour first came out it was so buried that to get it to come up through Google or even an Amazon search was next to impossible. It is quite discouraging when you even have a hard time finding your own book. Yet, slowly through word of mouth and posting on forums and having people that have read it post reviews for it on Amazon and fully utilizing all the social medias at my disposal and including this blog things have slowly been building and becoming unburied altogether. Now when you put Titan into an Amazon search it right in the second page, perviously it wasn;'t on the first 7 pages.  Alos when you enter the book title on Google it comes up as the second item. I look forward to seeing just how far it can all go once I have exhausted all resources and the book and the series has to truly stand on its own merits.

Book 1 Rogues Gallery

When Megan sent this villains character sketch based from my notes my mind was instantly put at ease and I knew that her style was perfect for this project. I only hope she is able to continue woring with on the future volumes of teh series. I really a  rather fond of the villains from book one and I think its not a bad start for Titan's rogue's gallery. After all its the villains that makre the hero I've always thought.

Discovering Invincible

I had been vaguely aware of Image comics Invincible for a little while and after getting into Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead I decided to check it out finally. So far it has been a fantastic read. It does strike me as funny though how Titan seems to parallel and compliment Invincible in some ways. Both look like new takes on some of the old comic book archetypes. Titan represents the human turned  super powered hero archetype while Invincible represents the alien living among us to protect us archetype ( like Superman, making this the oldest archetype of them all). I look forward to reading more Invincible, and I'm just going come out and say it Titan and Invincible would make a great crossover story line so if anyone knows any of the creators of Invincible maybe drop the hint.

Vicki Earnhardt

I wanted to include in the Titan series a character that would let readers look at Titan through an outside perspective. A character that would show how Titan is being viewed by the public of Delta City. Obviously the opinions of Michael and Carly will be somewhat biased and one sided. In the end I ended up with two such characters, Police Chief Thomas Ross and reporter Vicki Earnhardt. My attempt wit these two was to look at Titan, or any superhero really, objectively. Both acknowledge that essentially Titan himself is a criminal, which of course he is by committing vigilante acts, but seem also unsure of his motives as though that is was matters most in deciding if he is ultimately good or bad. I always found that interesting in comics how this subject of vigilantism gets handled. From my experience it has only really been handled by two and they are Batman and even more so Spider-Man. By having two characters to pass outside judgement on Titan we seem to get the complete view. Vicki is interested in a great scoop first and foremost, she just needs to know for herself how she truly feel s about this vigilante, Titan. Chief Ross on the other hand looks to the letter of the law and sees that laws are being broken and how does he feel about that in regards to Titan. Does he divert time and energy to go after Titan or deal with more pressing matters such as a Mr. Midnight. Of course Titan only comes in to direct contact with one of these character, Vicki.

Azure The Spirit Guide

Originally,  Azure, the spirit guide did not exist in the Titan universe. At first I had created a secret order or protectorate that over saw the magical ring and waited for the next Titan to be chosen. For some reason though the whole order was just not working. I scrapped it and out of nowhere came the idea for Azure fully formed. I found the whole notion of a guide that Michael can only hear but never see much more interesting to write into the storyline as well. Azure was able to add a while new fresh dynamic that the order was not. I may at some point try to write the order, or some form of it, into the series, but am not sure yet of how or when that would happen. Are was able to bring a voice to the whole magic and mythology of the ring and bring it to life so much more for readers and for Michael. At some point ( it will be in vol 4: Shadow Games) Michael will get to actually come face to face with Azure. Until then he will be an unseen guide, coach, mentor, and voice in Michael's head.

Re-mapping Young Love

My first instinct in writing the love story between Michael and Carly was of course to have Michael pine for her and try to win her heart. I was going to show their story form star to finish. Then I decided to change things up a bit. that is after all how all of these stories start. Yet I remember being a young boy and reading Spider-man and Superman stories and Mary Jane was already married to Spidey, and Lois was with Clark Kent. I had to go and find out the back stories to all these relationships. So I decided to already have Carly and Michael together from the start. I thought that the really interesting part was more about how these two would stay together (or at least try to) in light of these crazy events going on in theirs lives.  Their back story is aluded to in The Midnight Hour and will be expanded upon in the future, but is far from the most ineresting part about their love. I see the really interesting part is how will Michael make it all work while juggling being plain old Michael Novak and Titan at the same time.

Titan Series Titles

The titles of the 11 Titan volumes are:
The Midnight Hour
City Under Seige
Mezmerized
Shadow Games
The Reign of Diablo
Trinity of Evil
The Beast Within
The Warlok's Grasp
Multiplicity
Midnight's Dawn
The Wrath of Diablo

The plotlines and character arc's are done for all 11. There may of course be some tinkering here and there, but not much. I am currently working on the first draft of City Under Seige.

Balancing Comics and reality

In deciding what the ultimate threat would be for The Midnight Hour I had to come up with something that would be much like the character of Mr. Midnight himself, somewhat cartoony with a good touch of realism. The motion inhibitor become that threat. A machine that is able to emit rays that can freeze people solid for a period of time. imagine what a crime lord like Mr. Midnight could do with a weapon like that. For the book I also came up with two types of the motion inhibitors. One was handheld and more like a ray gun, and able to stun only one person at a time. The other was the massive inhibitor of chapter 18 that is able to freeze a giant section of the population at once. In creating the inhibitor I also had to decide how this weapon would effect Titan. It obviously had to have a negative impact to him but also be different from how it effected everyone else. I really loved how Megan was able to bring the handheld inhibitor t life in her illustration for chapter 9: Sunset Showdown.

Two Identities two Arch Nemesis

If Mr. Midnight is the arch nemesis of Titan than without a doubt Vince is the arch nemesis of Michael. They are brothers, but could be no less alike if they started out total strangers. Vince becomes a true product of his environment. He appears to have fallen victim to all the social pitfalls of living in the  class East end of Delta City. Which just goes to show that no matter what your home life may be like you are just as susceptible to the traps the bad side of life may lay out for you. After all, Vince may have been an orphan, but we can all clearly see that he was raised in a very loving home. Despite being blind Grandpa Dale seems every bit the suitable guardian to the two Novak brothers. Vince is often mean, vengeful, and disrespectful throughout The Midnight Hour. he is in every way the opposite of his younger brother Michael. perhaps it was witnessing his older brother misbehave and cause stress to his loving grandfather that kept Michale on the straight and narrow (well that and Carly of course). Naturally the conflict between the two brothers gradually escalates throughout the book. In the end Michael (with the aid of Titan) is able to claim some small victory over Vince, but that cannot last for too long. There is plenty more to the story of Vince to come in the come in remaining Titan volumes.

Influences

There were many direct influences for Titan and all characters in his world. Some of the influences for Michael were: Peter Parker, Billy Batson, Tim Drake, Bobby Drake, and Matt Murdock. Some of the influences for Titan were: Zorro, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Donatello, Robin, Batman, Shazam, Hercules (old cartoon version), Green Lantern, and the Flash. The influences for Mr. Midnight were: Dr. Doom, Kingpin, Lex Luthor, The Blank (Dick Tracy movie), and Kevin spacey in Usual Suspects. There were of course too many characters, moments and comic lines that helped fertilize the world of Titan in my imagination. Anyone who sticks around and watches over the course of the11 volumes that comprise Titan will that world grow by leaps and bounds through each individual volume.

Not Your Typical Superhero Girlfriend

I wanted Michael's girlfriend in the series to not be your typical damsel in distress that Titan would simply always be having to come and save from some threat or imminent threat. I wanted her to be a strong female character that showed up and was able to help more than just be rescue fodder. The development thread hopefully successfully moves that way throughout The Midnight Hour. By the end of the book she is right there helping save the day as much as she can. You may even say she is even brave than Michael/Titan as she has no special powers of her own. Of course in naming this character I could only turn to my own muse, my wife, Carly. Her parents got dragged in as character namesakes in the book as I was writing it because I simply slapped their names on the names of Carly's parents and never switched them to something else. Carly represents one of the two main cornerstones of Michael's life. Her role will only increase as time goes on. Even when it may feel like it is being reduced at times her shadow will loom large over Michael's decisions.

I have had many people ask me wheather they could they needed a Kindle to buy Titan: The Midnight Hour. The answer is no. Even though it listed as the Kindle edition of the book it will download on to any smart phone, tablet, or PC. All you have to do is download  the free Kindle app when prompted at the point of purchase through Amazon.

The proofs for Titan:The Midnight Hour are on their way to me for review. Unless there are any unforeseen issues Midnight Hour should be available for print within the week. I am also very excitedly working on the final framework of the next volume City Under Siege. The main villain of volume 2 is Dr. Melodian, he is the mad scientist of the Titan universe. he is far from the only threat that Titan will be facing however.

In designing the home for Titan I had the choice of either going with a real city or a fictitious one. In the end I thought it would be a lot more fun, and provide more liberties to play around in a fictitious one. So Titan's home became Delta City. Delta City was loosely based on and inspired by Vancouver. that is where I was living while creating the initial plot lines of the 11 Titan books. There will be points in the first book The Midnight Hour where people who are familiar with Vancouver will see the similarities with that city and others where they will see the liberties taken. in the end I want to create a city and landscape that is almost living and becomes another character in the story.

My favourite chapter of The Midnight Hour is chapter 14: Inferno. It's Titan's first real super villain battle and as a blast to write out. I hope the action and danger comes across for all readers as it did for me in the end. I really just tried to make the whole battle just plain big. I wanted to make the character as memorable as possible considering he only appears in the one chapter. The original image concept for him was vastly different than what Megan Furesz came back with, but I was stunned at just how much it worked with the description that I had written. The design she also did was much more functional and real feeling whee as mine was much more silver age cheesy villain looking. His arc is far from over however. Inferno will reappear in vol 5: The Reign of Diablo. When he does come back, true to comic villain form, he will be quite different the second time. 

In The Midnight Hour, Mr. Midnight is  the mastermind of the criminal underworld. He is the brain, power, and influence behind all of the criminal activity we see in Delta City. Kaizen is equally as mysterious in many ways as he is but she is all the of the brawn and might of the operation. She never utters a single word and yet seems to be the only one that can match Titan in sheer strength. By the end of the book even after we find out the little that we do do she remains shrouded in mystery. Will she get her rematch with Titan? Perhaps one day we will find out.

The Secret of the Secret Identity

If a superhero has a secret identity then why wouldn't a super villain? One of the elements I love the most is that his real identity is unknown to Titan or anyone else. The other thing I love about him is that he never even lifts a finger to do anything in The Midnight Hour unless its at someone directing them to do it, until the climax that is. Mr. Midnight is basically the Lex Luthor, Dr. Doom, Savana of the Titan universe. I tried very hard to make him as close to a bad guy that could appear in the real world as possible as well as maintaining the comic book villain element as well. There are already in the The Midnight Hour some hints and teasers as to who Mr. Midnight might be, but readers won't know for some time his identity will not be revealed until volume 5 The Trinity of Evil. At that time the entire Mr. Midnight story will be revealed as well.

Titan's Hook

Every hero has their hook. Batman saw his parents murdered before his eyes. Superman uses his powers to protect his adopted home. Spider-man learned the hard way through the death of Uncle Ben that with great power comes great responsibility. Originally I intended the hook with Titan to be that Michael Novak was actually a small time criminal himself, a criminal with a heart of gold if you would. Then the ring would seek him out because deep down he was still noble and true of heart, and with the help of guide Azure would fight his instinct to do bad and stay good. I just wasn't feeling it the way I wanted in the end. I just felt that the Azure and ring would not choose someone that was a criminal in any way to be Titan. Michael also started out being 18 years old as well. So a fair bit changed over that time in the development cycle with Michael. Michael will however continue to struggle with watching and trying to intervene as others around him succumb to doing bad things from his neighbourhood. So in the end I suppose the hook is that Michael was pure and noble and strong despite his environment and neighbourhood elements and was specifically chosen to be Titan and stand tall above the rest. Michael will still struggle with his own noptions of good and evil as we kind of see in The Midnight Hour, but mostly he is just the one chosen.