Okay, well you've got some striking 'pulp science fiction-style' thumbnails going on here, which are very evocative of this kind of lurid entertainment:
Indeed, there is something about the idea of a Venusian Sorceress that absolutely plays into this sexed-up, vampish, slightly bondage/S&M subgenre of 'space vixens' and deadly femme fatales. All of this is good, because it means you can keep things nicely retro, and even a bit parodic and tongue-in-cheek. There does seem some confusion in your story as to whether your character is a Sorceress or 'mad scientist', because you've got lab imagery that sort of works against our understanding of her as being with magical powers - and I'm tempted to suggest that you actually make her much simpler really; just turn her into a cruel, magical, imperious sorceress with tremendous power, who likes seducing/torturing hapless spacemen! She so sounds like something from the old pulp science-fiction magazines, that maybe she should just be allowed to have a throne room - complete with burning cauldrons of fire as in your thumbnails (with skeletons hanging above them). I don't think she needs such a complicated back-story, Will - I think you should just let her be 'mad, bad and dangerous to know!'. Her secret lair could be just a little bit sexy, just a little bit 'S&M' and cruel - basically every teenage boy's fantasy - for example, I really like that thumbnail with the 'body capsule' detail - perfect for strapping down all those poor, bare-chested spacemen, who are the mere playthings for the Venusian Sorceress! After all, Venus is the planet of love and sex - and of women - indeed there is genre of sic-fi movies about 'planet of women' - which again, is basically a sex fantasy - one astronaut, 1000s of women:
In terms of her hero prop, I can't help thinking that her staff is, as you say, a bit too generic; in terms of the whole pulp sci-fi angle, maybe she sits on some kind of 'hover throne' or maybe she's got a giant brain in a jar... I just think you could have a lot more fun with this and really embrace the retro element - it's already in your thumbnails!
OGR 08/11/2013
ReplyDeleteEvening Will,
Thanks for being patient :)
Okay, well you've got some striking 'pulp science fiction-style' thumbnails going on here, which are very evocative of this kind of lurid entertainment:
http://longstreet.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83542d51e69e20154342cd264970c-pi
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zLfBw0HtNns/TlAmn2FL47I/AAAAAAAAArI/3-4Bsv-jrUU/s1600/Planet-Stories-Leigh-Brackett.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~RJDiogenes/Pulp_3.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWPNc6XRycY/TlAmZ6tB1jI/AAAAAAAAAqk/T7RuXGu_exI/s1600/cover.jpg
Indeed, there is something about the idea of a Venusian Sorceress that absolutely plays into this sexed-up, vampish, slightly bondage/S&M subgenre of 'space vixens' and deadly femme fatales. All of this is good, because it means you can keep things nicely retro, and even a bit parodic and tongue-in-cheek. There does seem some confusion in your story as to whether your character is a Sorceress or 'mad scientist', because you've got lab imagery that sort of works against our understanding of her as being with magical powers - and I'm tempted to suggest that you actually make her much simpler really; just turn her into a cruel, magical, imperious sorceress with tremendous power, who likes seducing/torturing hapless spacemen! She so sounds like something from the old pulp science-fiction magazines, that maybe she should just be allowed to have a throne room - complete with burning cauldrons of fire as in your thumbnails (with skeletons hanging above them). I don't think she needs such a complicated back-story, Will - I think you should just let her be 'mad, bad and dangerous to know!'. Her secret lair could be just a little bit sexy, just a little bit 'S&M' and cruel - basically every teenage boy's fantasy - for example, I really like that thumbnail with the 'body capsule' detail - perfect for strapping down all those poor, bare-chested spacemen, who are the mere playthings for the Venusian Sorceress! After all, Venus is the planet of love and sex - and of women - indeed there is genre of sic-fi movies about 'planet of women' - which again, is basically a sex fantasy - one astronaut, 1000s of women:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuEefWBdMoQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-kLvqVw1rw
In terms of her hero prop, I can't help thinking that her staff is, as you say, a bit too generic; in terms of the whole pulp sci-fi angle, maybe she sits on some kind of 'hover throne' or maybe she's got a giant brain in a jar... I just think you could have a lot more fun with this and really embrace the retro element - it's already in your thumbnails!