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[Sappho]

Many of you have read my daily journal comic (and I thank you all for that), but I want to start another comic.  Almost all the ones I've done in the past have been based on my real life, and I want to finally do something fictional. 

My current idea for a premise is that the characters are a group of employees at the company "Soulmates, Inc."  It turns out that soulmates *do* exist, but unfortunately they are randomly scattered around the globe so almost no one ever encounters theirs.  This company is like a specialized PI service that finds your soulmate for you (I haven't decided how yet).

Another idea, courtesy of a friend of mine, is about a company of "sanity inspectors" who visit companies to inspect their employees for sanity.

I'm open to other ideas as well.  I don't want to do any fantasy setting stuff or anything like that.  It could just be a group of people who live together, we'll see.  The most important thing, in any case, is not the setting but the characters.  I need interesting, memorable characters.  I can throw them in just about any situation or setting and see what they do.  But I'm having trouble coming up with good ones.

One idea a friend of mine gave me is to think of people I know in real life, and make the characters their polar opposite.  So far I have one, based on another friend: a really uptight, straight-edge guy who is really neat, organized, clean, and always on time, but will happily eat moldy old food that's been sitting around for ages and has an irrational hatred of animals, especially cute and fuzzy ones.

The reason I'm posting all this rambling nonsense is that I'm looking for ideas for more characters.  Especially ones come up with using the "exact opposite of someone you know" technique.  It seems to produce some hilarious results.  Anyone care to toss out some ideas?  If I use anything I get from you guys, I'll give you credit of course.  And if anyone has any new suggestions for a setting or premise, I'm absolutely open to new ideas.

[Neonivek]

I am incredably interested in Soulmates Inc. But how will you make that interesting exactly? What is the theme?

Is it an insightful look on the nature of relationships? Is it a Romantic Drama? Slice of life? Mystery?

Soulmates Inc has the most potential.

Also Soulmates Inc should find your soulmate possibly through a mysterous device. The drama could come from the fact that soulmates arn't instant fits and that the characters who are asking for their soul mates tend to be embittered or troubled people whos relationship issues prevent them from ever accepting their soulmate (or their soul mate from accepting them). That is just one idea.

It can also be entirely not about the people using the service but about the characters involved and how they react with everyone finding their soulmates except them (for whatever reasons, perhaps one person had theirs die or another doesn't really believe in it).

It all really matters on what the theme is

As far as "People who are polar opposites" well that is just basic fanfare. The secret is to actually have them have similarities that arn't obvious.

[Jervous]

I think the sanity inspectors one sounds like a good idea, because it could probably give you quite a few ways to have humor in your comics.

[Neonivek]

I think the sanity inspectors one sounds like a good idea, because it could probably give you quite a few ways to have humor in your comics.

Sort of reminds me of Ubersoft

[Sappho]

I'm not doing any kind of serious comic.  It will be a humorous one.  My sense of humor is most similar to Pictures For Sad Children by John Campbell.  I think the Soulmates thing has a lot of potential for that.

I have been fairly busy today so I haven't given the ideas any more thought really.  I do still need characters though.  And this is the first time I'm trying to make characters who aren't directly based on people I know.  It's trickier than I thought it would be.

[Neonivek]

I'm not doing any kind of serious comic.  It will be a humorous one.

Ohh

Stick to Sanity detectors. Easier, good enough to get a laugh, and easy to place topical issues.

[Sappho]

So I've been looking through my old sketchbook and I found two and a half comics from a surreal series I dreamed up a few years ago.  (Two completed and inked, the third only half drawn.)  It's about the surreal adventures of a girl who lives with her father on the bottom of the world, then gets bored with life and decides to let go.  She falls through space and lands on another planet full of strange and interesting creatures.  The first three comics are full-page ones, but I think from here I can draw two- or three-panel comics.  Two or three a week ought to be enough and I think I could keep up that pace.

I think this premise will give me a lot of freedom to do interesting things and create strange and humorous characters as well (think Scenes From A Multiverse).  What do you all think of this idea?

[Neonivek]

Wow Sappho that is very depressing. Bored to death except with death.

Though I assume it is more that they don't know what is on the other side then it being certain death.

Which is what you are going for there?

Also WOW I am stuck in Jerk mode and can't get out... so please excuse my tone.

Anyhow uhhh so am I expecting the aliens to have more of a figurative traits?

"Welcome to Signland a place you should know"
"What do you do"
"We point, and we go, and we stop, and we go"

It being a planet entirely composed of aliens to sign signs for cars that don't exist showing the pointlessness of their existance and a hero who is troubled by them as they just stall her non-stop.

[Sappho]

It's not about death at all.  She's tired of the same old routine so she's going to explore someplace new.  I haven't planned out all of it, but I have an ending in mind which involves her learning to appreciate the life she had.  It will not be a depressing ending I don't think.

The tone is meant to be surreal (probably obvious at this point) and I think the aliens will give me a chance to try drawing new things (other than people, which I suck at drawing) and be more creative.  It should be a good exercise in originality and all that.

Anyway I finished up that third comic which I had started years ago, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results.  I'll draw a few more (shorter, 2-3 panels) and then start posting them online so I can get better feedback.

Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a better hosting site for me than Comic Fury?  I need someplace that will allow me to do alt-text (so webcomic nation is out).  I'm just not satisfied with the layouts provided by Comic Fury and I lack the skills to design my own (believe me, I've tried).  Or is anyone good at coding this sort of web site who might be willing to help me out?  I'd prefer a look more similar to other comics like Pictures For Sad Children and Dinosaur Comics and all those, where I can post news updates that will appear below the comic no matter what page you're on, but I can't figure out how to do that.

Also, I've decided that if I can get 100+ visitors per day for seven days in a row on either of my comics, I will man up and purchase my own domain and figure out all the hosting and everything rather than continuing to use these free sites.  I'll announce this more officially when I start posting this new comic.