Chiron Academy

(If you like this book...)

Superhero fiction is a very interesting beast, and there are many different ways it can be done. I think it's sometimes viewed as sort of a one trick pony: good guy punch bad guy, problem resolved. While that is the base framework of the genre, there can be some real nuance to it and it's brought us some really great stories. 

Then again, I would say that: I'm thousands of words through a novel about superheroes. And presumably, you at least tolerate the genre if you've read this far into said novel. If you've enjoyed what you've read so far, I want to share some of the superhero stories I've read that have informed the book. (And I guess, if you haven't enjoyed it, ... I'm still gonna do it.)

This isn't necessarily a list of my favorite comics of all time (I might share that later if you're interested). In no particular order, these are some superhero shtuffs that I liked enough to try incorporate elements from (i.e. steal from) to create my book:

Strong Female Protagonist is a webcomic with a strong female protagonist.  She's got superstrength, invulnerability. The comic starts with her in college, having turned her back on superhero-ing. The comic really cruxes on the idea that while you can punch the bad guy, you can't punch the bigger problems in society and so it's her trying to see what she can do in the world.

I think the ting I took from this is the idea having superpowers doesn't solve all of your problems. Also, she isn't always right. I think most protagonists have this thing about them where you're generally sure they're doing the right thing because they're the protagonist. But not so with SFP. I think there are parts where she definitely is wrong. I don't want to spoil anything, but there were some moments in issue two her actions have definite consequences. 

(In fact, I would say if you're going to read it, make sure you finish issue 2. Issue 1 was a bit slow for me, but Issue two was where it got real.)

Full disclosure, I have not read the whole thing, so I can't speak for the whole thing, but the part I have read was pretty dang good.

Check it out.

Watchmen is a pretty famous comic by Alan Moore. If you know much about comics, you've probably heard about it. It's all about a team of superheroes (Justice League/Avengers sort othing) being left unchecked. One of the taglines you hear a lot from is 'who watches the watchman?' these people who have absolute moral authority to stop people doing the wrong thing, who stops them from doing the wrong thing?

Alan Moore can be a little dark and intense for me, but it is a good comic. Not necessarily one of my favorites but it's very striking. I'm not sure that people reading this would say that Chiron Academy reminds them of Watchmen but it was on my mind when I was working through the story. The major thing I wanted to steal from it was the way they use documents like interviews and newspaper clippings in the piece to compliment the story.

The documents you read in the book (the school record excerpts, the president's speech, the disccussions with the psychologist) were directly inspired by Alan Moore doing just that in Watchmen. 

The X-men  are pretty dang prolific at this point. I am like 99.9999% sure you know who they are. The comic has been going on for years and years, tons of people have written for it. I want to pick to bits that I really quite enjoyed particularly. The 70's run with Chris Claremont pretty much set the stage for Xmen being popular and he got a good sense that the comic wasn't just about what baddie mutant of the month they were going to fight this time. It was about how the team mates interact with each other between missions. The Phoenix Saga: that was him. (Cyclops's dad being a space pirate: also him. Professor X dating a space empress: also him. It was quite the run)  

Also, I'm going to throw in the young xmen titles from like 10 years ago. I'm not sure on the authors, but I believe it was in New Xmen and kind of carried over into Wolverine and the Xmen as well. Marvel had a thing going for a while where they had a comic about the actual kids at Xavier school: so it was characters like Rockslide, Elixer, Anole. 

One stand out scene I remember was a bit where this kid Elixer, who has healing powers, during a battle realizes that not only can he heal people but he can also use his powers to kill people. He can heal your destroyed arm, but he can also give you inoperable cancer. In the scene, he's processing this. He's sitting in a dark room, his normally gold skin flashes black as he ponders the power/burden he carries. And then a girl he's been flirting with comes in and asks if he wants to make out. And he's like ".... Yeah!"And they sneak off to go a-smoochin'.

I love this scene because, on the one hand, these kids wield extraordinary power, but on the other hand, they're still just regular people. And its really cool seeing them balance that.

Last one, and its not really a comic, but I have got to mention Freedom Force, a squad based tactical game on the PC. You control a squad of new superheroes through a few different adventures. Every time they add a new character to the team, they have a little video of their origin story, which set up the character's powers and their personality. Since not everyone got that much time in the limelight throughout the game, it was a really cool chance to get to know people. Also, they nail the 60's comic aesthetic! If you've ever read Spider-man's origin, you'll recognize the same melodramatic flair.

These bits of inspired the backstories that I put in the story (I actually have one more that I haven't published yet for story reasons, but I really want to.) Originally, they were going to be much shorter in the style of Freedom Force, but once I got into it, I really liked fleshing them out. 

Going back to the game, I think it is fantastic. The graphics show their age a bit, but I would definitely recommend you check it out. There is a sequel as well, where they go back and fight Nazis in golden age comics. I devoured both of them (the games, not the Nazis). Both games are  on Steam for insanely cheap. 

If any of these things interest you, google it. My wattpad skills are lacking and I don't know how to insert links. :(

Let me know what you think. Do you see any resemblance from Chiron to the stuff I've mentioned? Do any of these strike your fancy? Do you think Professor Xavier dating Empress Lilandra was not awesome, rather, really stupid? 

(If you answer 'yes' to the last one, fight me. Also, you're wrong.)