Oh, what to do with STELLARA ULTRANOVA?

Sunday, November 24,  11:14 am

So, as per usual, I've become obsessed with something and I've been turning it over and over in my head the last few days.
The initial obsession started when I "discovered" a new (for me) glamour model on the internet (she's apparently been around since 2013?). And yes, "glamour model" is a euphemistic way of saying I found some nude pictures of her. Anyway, she's rather amazing looking physically, and she triggered an almost immediate creative response from me (uh..., no seriously) to try and use her as the physical model for a sci-fi character named Stellara [pronounced Stell-LAHR-uh] Ultranova. For quite a while, I've been toying with the idea of creating a sci-fi character, and one that seemed full of possibilities was Anachronia Sands and her TIME COFFIN (the working title for a another comic idea). Hell, that's still an interesting idea.
But, now I have a new obsession.
Except, I can't figure out what kind of character I want Stellara Ultranova to be, besides resing in the broad genre of science-fiction. Part of me is thinking some kind of sci-fi/underground comix vibe, so something more off-beat and reckless than in a more mainstream approach. I had an idea for a one-off movie poster sometime ago parodying/referencing ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., except in this case it would be called ONE MILLION YEARS A.D. and then I thought maybe that basic concept might work as a series or at least a story for Ms. Ultranova. So I started spitballing some plot ideas and I considered Stellara's character being trapped as a soldier in this space war and a close female friend of hers waiting for Stellara back on Earth and that seemed like an interesting situation/character study, although in the version I ultimately came up with it became very downbeat and sentimental and I wasn't sure about that for thew overall tone of the story. I mean, my initial inspiration was very Barbarella and pulpy, and then this other idea with her and her friend, while still employing sci-fi tropes/concepts, etc. was ultimately very moody and character driven, almost a contemplation of loneliness and possibly PTSD for Stellara's soldier character. Genuinely interesting and worthwhile pursuing, but also a completely different and not light-hearted take on this character. Then I wondered if I could combine the two ideas, but... I don't know.
And then, just before I went to bed last night, I wondered about Stellara being an Edgar Rice Burroughs-type of character, but obviously a female-take on it. So, in other words, she'd be some unwitting Earthling sucked into a whole new sci-fi fantasy world and fighting to survive in a hostile, exotic and fantastic and most-likely scientifically implausible environment and culture and ultimately achieving great heights in terms of status, success and romance. That seemed like a promising imaginative journey and challenge to take. But, I don't know.
I don't now, I don't know, I DON'T KNOW!

nuts.

I should... just do some drawings of this character, by god. That would be a productive step and maybe seeing her fleshed out on the page might lead to some other more workable ideas.
Ugh. Okay. Whatever.

12:33 pm

So, curious about other sci-fi heroines out there, and somewhat self-conscious about how derivative my ideas are, I looked back on Travis Charest's SPACEGIRL strip. It seems that Charest's inspirations are less about the character and more about the spacecraft and tech of his fictional world. True, he does only a strip at a time for each "chapter" and by "strip" we're not even talking more than a single panel, let alone a whole page! So, you have to cut him some slack for that. But still, having said that, our first look at the Spacegirl character in the story is Chapter 2 and it's not much of a reveal of her. The next glimpse is pretty much a silhouette in Chapter 5 [UPDATE: Since I first published this post, the links to the SPACEGIRL comic no longer seem to work. Or at least, you can't go to a specific chapter. So, follow the first link (I updated it) to see the whole series and then find the individual "chapters" (actually, panels) from there. Sorry!]. We see her a few more times in the following chapters, but there are no close-ups. Again, Charest is being economical because essentially each chapter is a single rectangular panel, so there's some plot advancement he has to consider for each composition. Still, the first time we glimpse a new character, a very Emperor Ming-type villain, I'd say our first look at this villain reveals more of him than what we've seen of Spacegirl. So, I think that's fascinating. I mean, it's obvious that Charest's interests in what he wants to do with the strip are more focused on the sci-fi trappings, homages to the past, and space gear, which is fine. But, Spacegirl has no name and she seems disposable, a simple fill-in-the-blank to do whatever the story needs.
Meanwhile, another sci-fi fantasy heroine which I think is more successful in terms of her character grabbing your imagination right from the start is Julie/FAKK2 from Heavy Metal. Based on Julie Strain, an imposing physical presence to start with, and dressed up in a revealing "costume" and armed to the teeth and constantly brandishing her weapons with a snarl, you immediately get attitude from this character and a sense of where she's coming from mood-wise, without knowing anything about her or her situation. I'm hoping I can do that with Stellara's character.
Of course, another strong sci-fi character, although in films, is Ripley in the ALIEN film franchise as played by Sigourney Weaver. That's an inspiration.
Unlike Julie Strain, the model I've been looking at has none of Ms. Strain's personality in her photos. In fact, there are some photos where I think she's uncomfortable with the situation or at least distracted. She's very hit or miss. By the way, I've been hesitant to reveal her name for legal reasons, at the very least, but I should call her something, so I'll just give her first name, Emily. Even physically, sometimes she looks simply spectacular, and then sometimes, she looks awkward as to how she poses herself for the camera. Part of it has to do with her physicality. She's not only endowed, but she's also long-legged and broad-shouldered. In some poses it's quite an intoxicating blend; in other shots, it's somewhat amusing seeing how she carries herself. Sure, part of it is because of her specific circumstances, like trying to negotiate walking with high-heeled shoes in a grassy field, so she seems like an awkward fawn. Although some shots I think are part of a whole shooting day, so maybe they were never meant for public use, so I'm cutting her some slack for various goofy candid shots. But in some "keepers" she occasionally has a less engaged look, so again, she's hit or miss in terms of her attitude (or whatever you want to call it) in her pictures and how she regards the camera. Unlike another model named Emily, Emily Ratajkowski, who's also quite fetching. Ms. Ratajkowski, for instance, seems very consistent in her almost distant mood in all her photo shoots. So, with the Emily I've been scrutinizing, she seems less plugged into that blank, detached model stare that some models have (though, not in a bad way) and E. Ratajkowski definitely has (and definitely not in a bad way). But today I stumbled across some gifs of a photo shoot Emily was in and she's rather charming in very brief glimpses, so that's nice to see. Anyway, I digress.
By the way, the Barbarella character I mostly know by the Jane Fonda film. That film is also a possible influence on Stellara because I like the strong, weird fashion vibe of her character.

One of my (numerous) problems is my creative impulses are at odds with each other:
1. Foremost, I want to do something extremely pulpy, derivative and exploitative, like low-budget sci-fi trash cinema from the 80s. The ERB reference resonates here. Also, Fukitor by Jason Karns does, too, except not so disposable and coming across like a tossed off one-joke premise; so, in my case, I'd like to have much stronger character development and working of themes and plot.
2. Which ties into my other creative impulses, wanting to do something worth reading, so I'd like to have some character development, a reasonable plot, and not be completely exploitative. ARGGHH! I just need to try it out for a few pages, do my best and see what turns out.

Alright, I should get my ass motivated to do something constructive.
More to come... hopefully...