Creating Characters - Pt. 1
Creating the world of Margo Intergalactic Trash Collector
The universe is a dirty place, someone has to clean it up.
Currently, I am developing a new Margo Intergalactic Trash Collector series. I have outlined three new issues and several short stories centered around the character of Margo. As I progress with the series, I thought it would be fun to delve into the creation and motivations behind these characters and to introduce the series to new readers.
In addition to my character sketches, I decided to create a handbook that chronicles the characters, the tech, and background of Margo’s universe. I plan to use these in the books and collect them in the future.
Behind the series.
Margo Intergalactic Trash Collector is my tribute to the comics I grew up reading and collecting. I set out to create a series that pays homage to the comics that thrilled me and also puts my own unique spin on it.
The back story.
Margo is my main protagonist. After being thrown out of The Space Rangers, Margo’s mother pulls strings to get her a job running a trash route for Intergalactic Waste Management (IWM). Margo is on the hero’s journey, from the disgruntled, self-absorbed employee to the hero the universe needs.
Margo acquired an aptitude for science from her father’s mentoring during her childhood and advanced skills in mechanics and tech while training with the Space Rangers. Irreverent and often rash, Margo frequently makes choices that get her deeper into trouble. Creating a karmic snowball effect that continues through the first series and onto the new adventures.
Pulling from reality.
I spent time during my childhood working on a rubbish truck, earning money to buy comics. The experience of a hard day's work and being one of the trash guys gave my hero a familiar setting.
It is not uncommon to have a tense, or even combative relationship with one parent or the other. Often it is the father-son relationship that is the engine of fiction storytelling. I decided instead to turn this round, giving Margo an overbearing mother she can never make happy, creating a source of friction for her character while she is busy cleaning up the universe.
The lightning bolt in her red hair was an act of young defiance, created by modifying her genes. The result accepted by her kind father and hated by her controlling mother.
In future posts, I will detail the main and supporting characters, as well as tech, and maps that I am using to create the universe in the series.
Keep Creating.
It's like world building through cover art and behind the scenes comics.
Thanks for sharing. Giving me motivation to work on my own world building!:)