Is probably not going to happen the way it sounds. But, I've decided to start listening to the people. I've always known that no matter what I ever created, Nia Black would always be superior to it. I don't know if that speaks volumes for how good the character design is, or how bad a creator I am since I can't seem to outdo an over 10-year-old creation...but the real question I'm starting to ask myself is why would I want to outdo her? If the people like her and there's more I can do with her, and if I myself acknowledge her superior value and worth, then it stands to reason that I have more to lose by trying to do something new than by sticking to what the people adore most about what I create.
So, the re-tooling of Nia Black has begun. One simple (in theory) change that I'm working on right now is editing the story so that it doesn't take place in "River City", but instead takes place in Philadelphia, PA--my home town. Marvel's work generally outshines DC's because New York is more believable than Gotham (even though I prefer Batman to Spider-Man any day of the week). Most writing tips and how-to's I've read suggested that basing the novel in a real location grounds the story in reality, even if all the location names are fictional. So I went through a list of all the major locations in the story and decided just where in the Philadelphia area they would fall. Since "River City" was inspired by Philadelphia anyway (the "River" part is the Schuykill River, which I can clearly see from my workplace) it makes little sense that I didn't do it this way in the first place.
It's funny, but I haven't drawn a really enjoyable pic of Nia Black in a long time. I've done some pics of her this year, but nothing really stunning. It's time I remedy that.
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