You know, although I've got a number of obvious "npc" characters [like Carazzo's goons], I've never been a big fan of comics that make it all too easy to just stick each character into a tightly bordered singular spot that indicates their role in the story.
One -big- part of a lot of my favourite online comics [and in this case, manga] is when the author makes it feel like the world doesn't revolve around the heroes per say, and that there's a lot of other characters that are "alive" and interacting with the world as well.
Obviously these interactions don't have to be shown, nor do they have to directly involve the hero, the important thing is that it feels like you're just following one or two of many stories in a world.
Now although there's obviously "main characters" in my comic [
] and they've got a few obvious teammates who stick by them [
] -
most- of the cast in my comic is not designed to be some sort of foil or aid to the hero, they're designed
specifically to indicate that the world is alive.
Now I can tell in advance,
A LOT of the characters introduced early may seem to be either insignificant, a simple antagonist, comical relief or in posession of any other small role, but don't let this fool you per say.
Obviously some charactes had a fairly big role within the "first chapter" of the comic,
and
were rather noticeable side characters, for example; And judging by the people's reaction to him, characters like
definitely managed to get their place in the spotlight.
The thing is,
-a lot- of these characters may, eventually, turn out to have plot significance in the most surprising way.
Although I won't give spoilers, I can guarantee that not every ally or antagonist introduced in, say,
's story will eventually turn out to be specifically important to her.
A second thing I've always found interesting in comics/shows is the designated villain.
Now I wouldn't specifically say that my comic has no evil characters, small time crook Carazzo being a prime example of a typical villain, but small time crooks are, in my mind, "real", though they may have more depth than presented, it's not a stretch to have a character like him as small-time antagonist.
When it comes to characters with a larger influence in the world, it becomes different for me though.
Why can't one man's greatest nightmare be the other's saviour?
I've got quite a line-up of characters who could easily be seen as evil by one character, yet be a great ally to another.
[
come to mind if I go through the icon list without giving specific spoilers]
But one thing I'd really like to try and get right, is how these more noticeable antagonists may end up looking like good guys in the eyes of others, and most importantly, themselves.
Obviously I'll have to see if I can actually succeed at writing the antagonistic characters in a way that truly makes them as grey as I'd like, but hey, at least it's fun to experiment with.
