Some time ago a strange thought implanted itself in my subconscious, "Diode Reflex sequel..." it beckoned. This wasn't a daily thing mind you, no, no, that would have been nuts. It was far more sporadic and sometimes a whole year would pass without me considering it, but for some reason it just kept popping up. Typically I'd doodle some Herbie concept drawing and the itch would be scratched, but earlier this year I finally decided to delve deeper.
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| I can't quit you! |
First off, I know what you're thinking, "His subconscious beckons sequel but he clearly titled this post prequel, what gives, yo?" To which I say, "Can't it be both?"
My goal is to keep the events of Diode Reflex the movie as "canon", but move the new story out of that time frame (no more early 2000s). Also, this is not going to be a film, since that's way too expensive, so I'm opting for a comic.
Initially I was just going to do modern day Herbie, blood guts, disgusting Immortal Hulk transformations, but then I watched a whole series of ancient Egypt shows with Will on National Geographic and the wheels started turning. Why not weave two story lines, one of modern day in the same town Chuck Spuliak and Mike Mendelson lived in and one of 1920s Egyptian archeology, together? Sounds ridiculous? Oh yeah!
I don't have a real script just yet, but I have a few bullet point of concepts:
- Herbie is just one of a race of creatures, I'm calling Duattal, that can be linked to a human host. In Diode Reflex the movie this happened through a strange experimental monitor and here it will happen through an Egyptian funerary figurine known as a shabti.
- As noted by "disgusting transformations" above, I want to have a character turn into a Duattal in a very werewolf-y manor. That keeps the story in the realm of monsters and horror which is excellent.
- The modern day story will revolve around a pawn shop called "Sal's Pawn and Curio" whereas the 1920s Egypt story will revolve around an archaeological dig site and the discovery of the shabti (a McGuffin of sorts).
- The story lines will intersect through the use of the Duattal's portals which were on display throughout Diode Reflex the movie.
I also have a few character concepts from both story lines:
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| Great, great grand pappy of Mike Mendelson, archaeologist, professor and hapless victim! |
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| The race of creatures Herbie comes from, Duattal, so named by ancient Egyptians after the realm of the dead (Duat) |
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| Water boy working at Dr. Mendelson's dig site, he has a wise Grandparent with knowledge of Duattal legend which is perfect for exposition! |
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| Owner of Sal's Pawn & Curio, a gruff former police officer looking to make money off whatever crap he can sell |
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| Weirdo millennial working at Sal's who curates the "Curio" part of the shop, helpful for explaining occult or strange phenomena and for arguing generational sterotypes with Sal |
My next step on this is to more fully flesh out the script, I may not write a full script since I'll be doing the drawing duties, but I definately want a page by page list of plot points. Oh, and my intent is to make this a full 22 page comic and eventually submit it to Comixology! Why not?
Since my Soule Designs endeavors are very much a part time hobby these days, I'm going to assume this project will take quite a while. Maybe I can get a few pages done before the year is out? We'll see!