ABC's of Crimsonstreak: Letter A

I've done it with Writing. I've done it with Star Wars. Most recently, I did it with superheroes. Now, I'm at it again with my debut novel, I, Crimsonstreak.

The ABC's series returns for a hearty round of superhero-y goodness.

I'll commence with the fun in a moment, but first I'd like to tell you a little about the book.

I, Crimsonstreak from Candlemark & Gleam is my first book. I wrote the first draft back in 2007 when I didn't know much about writing. I worked to hone the manuscript and made incremental improvements. When I thought I was finished, I queried several agents, but I was brash and stupid. Everyone passed.

In 2011, I heard about Candlemark & Gleam, a small press spec fic publisher out of Vermont. Turns out, they liked the book enough to acquire it. You can find out more about the process of getting this book from first draft to acceptance here.

The official blurb:

Framed by his father, “reformed” supervillain Colonel Chaos, super-speedster Chris Fairborne, AKA Crimsonstreak, is sent to the Clermont Institute for the Criminally Insane. A hero surrounded by dastardly inmates and heartless guards, Chris struggles to keep his wits about him, until the arrival of some unexpected new “guests” at the facility provides him with a means for escape. Once out, though, he discovers that the world he knew is gone, replaced by a fascist, supposedly utopian state run by none other than Colonel Chaos himself.

With the heroes of the world locked away or fighting in a disorganized resistance, Crimsonstreak teams up with a snarky British butler and a teenage superhero-to-be. Together, the unlikely (and bickering) allies must take down Crimsonstreak’s dad and set the world right. Not easy when your only powers are super-speed and looking good in spandex. But hey, someone’s got to save the world.

I, Crimsonstreak is a first-person superhero novel brimming with parallel universes, stuffy British butlers, crafty supervillains, cloning, gadgets, a fascist police state disguised as a utopian society, and enough geeky pop culture references to stun a Wookie.

For the next five weeks, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about the world of I, Crimsonstreak as I take you on a magical journey through time and space (well, actually, it's not magical and by "time and space" I mean "the alphabet").

Have at thee!

We start, duh, with the letter A.

A is for the Amazing Merrick.

The Amazing Merrick is the letter A by default because there's really no one else out there whose name starts with that letter. He's a minor character in the novel, a member of the Heroic Legion (cough *Justice League* cough) who's imprisoned alongside our hero Crimsonstreak inside the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane.

The Amazing Merrick usually wears a top hat and a jacket with tails. Basically, he dresses like a symphony conductor and uses a variety of incantations to cast spells. A leading member of the Heroic Legion Leadership Council, the Amazing Merrick is a stalwart defender of justice, freedom, and pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

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Five Favorite Superhero Tropes

There are no rules when it comes to telling a story, and there are certainly no rules when it comes to writing about superheroes. At the same time, superhero stories have developed some fantastic "tropes" over the years...and as an enthusiastic fan of comic book- and superhero-inspired stories, I've included a few of them in I, Crimsonstreak.

Secret Identity: Clark Kent/Superman. Bruce Wayne/Batman. Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Any superhero worth his salt has a secret identity separate from his/her superhero name. Chris Fairborne/Crimsonstreak is an exception to this rule; just about everyone knows his "real" identity because his parents are famous superheroes. The Crusading Comet, on the other hand, is a true mystery man with a secret identity. No one knows who the Crusading Comet really is other than a handful of fellow superheroes. The world certainly doesn't know that three separate Warren Kensingtons (Warren Senior, Warren Junior, and Warren III) have donned the Comet uniform, with Warren IV's turn likely coming soon.

Gadgets: Not all superheroes need to employ gadgets. Heroes like the Flash, Superman, and Spider-Man have enough powers to handle any situation that arises without busting out a grapnel, smoke bombs, shark repellant, or anti-toxin. Vigilantes like Batman and Blue Beetle, on the other hand, need a little extra help. Thus, they employ an array of different devices and gadgets in their war on crime. In I, Crimsonstreak, the Crusading Comet is the go-to gadget guy. From disguises to "Comet Spikes," he's got the whole package.

Ever-Loyal Assistant: Jimmy Olsen. Alfred Pennyworth. Edwin Jarvis (or, later, JARVIS). Pepper Potts. One thing superheroes need to realize is that they can't do everything by themselves, even if they want to. A certain amount of assistance is vital, but it takes a special type of person to do it. The best "ever-loyal assistant" is someone who has the ability to stay under the radar while keeping at the forefront of danger. In the book, Mortimer "Morty" P. Willoughby is our ever-loyal assistant. As aide-de-camp to the Comet, he is much, much more than he appears. Plus, his wit is unmatched.

Secret Lair: Fortress of Solitude. Batcave. Sanctum Sanctorum. Hall of Armor. Xavier's Mansion. Heroes need a place to kick back, run tests, mull over their investigations, and perform Google searches. The Crusading Comet has the Sanctum Cometus, a swingin' superhero pad with a research lab, gigantic computer, workout facilities, guest quarters, and much more. Colonel Chaos has an isolated lab where he performs experiments of questionable public good. I'd tell you more...but Chaos' spies would come after us.

Super Team: Sometimes a threat is so overwhelming that not even Superman can defeat it. Sometimes the Skrulls invade and the Fantastic Four don't feel so fantastic. In these cases, it's time to call in the Avengers! Or the Justice League of America! In I, Crimsonstreak, superheroes have their own little club called the Heroic Legion. Unfortunately, they let themselves get bogged down in bureaucratic BS on occasion, and there was that one time they kind of let Colonel Chaos take over the world. Still, when threats go beyond purse snatchers and grand theft auto, you can be sure the Heroic Legion will band together to stop them, even if they argue a bit first.

I, Crimsonstreak: Comics and the Media

Something that's unique about I, Crimsonstreak is the amount of supplemental material appearing in the back of the book. The appendices contain newspaper articles, magazine features, journal entries, and dossiers. This post focuses on the newspaper stories and magazine articles, which are a tribute to the long tradition of journalism in comics.

This is not intended to be an all-inclusive look at the role of the Fourth Estate, but it's safe to say that even some of the earliest comics connect heroes to journalism. Here's a look at a few that come to mind.

Superman: Thanks to Superman/Clark Kent, a "secret identity" as a reporter is a widely accepted comic trope. Superman's secret identity gives him access to information not available to the general public, a perfect front for the champion of Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Lois Lane is the intrepid reporter always looking for that big scoop. The Daily Planet is eponymous with Superman mythology; you can't have one without the other.

Spider-Man: When Peter Parker isn't web-slinging around New York City, he's trying to earn pithy paychecks as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle and its hard-charging editor, J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson demonstrates (in deliciously over-the-top fashion) how the whims of a newspaper editor can influence coverage of a story. While most see Spider-Man as a hero, Jameson sees him as a villain...and that's how the Bugle often paints him. It's helped sell a lot of newspapers.

Daredevil: "The Man Without Fear" has an ally in investigative reporter Ben Urich, a journalist who works for the Daily Bugle (in the 2003 movie, Urich worked for the NY Post). Urich watched the development of Daredevil with intense fascination, and eventually deduced his secret identity as Matt Murdock. Instead of making that information public, he held it back, and both Urich and Daredevil supply each other with information from time to time.

Batman: In early Batman comics, Vicki Vale was a reporter convinced that Bruce Wayne/Batman were the same person. A storyline would find a way to dispel that perception, but she wouldn't let it go. My introduction to the character came in the 1989 Batman film, where Vale was a photojournalist who came to Gotham City to do a story on Batman. She fell in love with Bruce Wayne and Batman, while the Joker had a fascination with her. The movie also features a supporting character named Knox who's trying to track down the Bat, even though police tell him there's no such thing as Batman.

Watchmen: The series has a lot of background material that's not necessarily critical to the plot, including the Under the Hood autobiography. A reporter from a right-wing newspaper called The New Frontiersman plays a small role in the comic. The newspaper itself, however, is a major influence on the character of Rorschach (whose views are identical to the paper's). Dr. Manhattan's public outburst also comes on national television, and the role of media is an underlying theme in the story.

The Tick: In the Fox cartoon series, news anchors Sally Vacuum and Brian Pinhead bring us the latest developments from The City. The writers use them to comment on the absurdity of the Tick's adventures. Sally Vacuum talked in pedantic newswoman speak, but sort of disappeared after the first season of the cartoon. Her presumptive replacement, Brian Pinhead (pin-AID) wasn't much better.

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