#dr. lerna

Today I was reminded of my long defunct Tyrantis ask-blog, which, while ultimately a failed experiment (’cause if I couldn’t keep up with it back then, I sure as fuck can’t now that I’ve got carpal tunnel syndrome), produced some really good pieces that I’m still proud of today despite their shortcomings.  Also it helped flesh out my second novel, which you can buy now BTW.

More A.T.O.M. Volume 1 Trivia!  Are you pestered yet?

Today’s trivia is going to focus on the human cast - an underrated yet critically important part of any kaiju story!

-  The book’s human protagonist, Dr. Lerna, was more of a mad scientist in the first draft they appeared in, creating many of Tyrantis’s monster allies via genetic engineering.  Dr. Lerna was also originally male, as the character originated around the same time that I planned on making this a short movie series, and would have been played by myself.  As I began approaching A.T.O.M. with a more mature story-telling style in later drafts, I decided to distance the character from myself a bit, which eventually resulted in the Dr. Lerna we have now.

- Dr. Lerna’s last name is an artifact from the character’s time as a mad scientist.  Originally Lerna would be the creator of a seven headed snake named Hydra, making it the Hydra of Dr. Lerna, a cheeky nod to the Hydra of Lerna from Greek Mythology.  Her first name, Wilhelmina, is a double reference - both to Wilhelmina Murray, the protagonist of Dracula who I partly modeled Lerna on, and to my own first name (Wilhelmina is one of the ways you can feminize the name William), as a joking reference to the self insert nature of Lerna’s original incarnation.

- Researching 1950′s monster movies proved to be a boon for Lerna’s current incarnation, albeit in a somewhat twisted way.  Male protagonists in these flicks often make a plethora of misogynistic comments to the intelligent women who serve as their love interests, and as a modern viewer I can’t help but cringe and wish that the women could make the men shut up.  To that end, Dr. Lerna is a bit of wish fulfilment - a smart woman in a 1950′s monster movie who actually has the narrative on her side for once.

- In an odd coincidence consider the big kaiju film coming out this week, my ideal casting choice for Dr. Lerna would be Vera Farmiga.

- Henry Robertson, the reporter who joins forces with Dr. Lerna, is named after Henry Fairfeld Osborn, who coined the name Tyrannosaurus rex.  My brain tells me his last name is also a reference to something but I can’t remember what it is if so.

- Henry works for the (fictional) United Nations News Organization, an idea lovingly stolen from King Kong vs. Godzilla.

- My ideal casting for Henry Robertson would be Don Cheadle.

- Gwen Valentine, a famous blond movie star that Dr. Lerna and Henry Robertson rescue, is explicitly based on Marilyn Monroe, with a great deal of her introductory dialogue taking direct inspiration from Monroe’s unfinished 1954 autobiography.

- Gwen Valentine’s last name is an homage to Jill Valentine from Resident Evil (a videogame series that had a great deal of influence on ATOM’s earlier drafts, if not quite as much in its final iteration).  Her first name isn’t a reference to anyone in particular, I just think the name Gwen is pretty.

- So far both of my novels have had one character who was originally intended to play a much smaller part, only to demand more screentime in the writing process.  For No Sympathies it was Alichino, and here it’s Gwen Valentine.

- J.C. Clark, the man in black/government spook who serves as one of the more mysterious characters in the book, was originally a pretty shameless ripoff of Albert Wesker from the Resident Evil series.  While he’s evolved into a very different character, he still shares his inspiration’s penchant for wearing sunglasses indoors.

- Dr. Brick Rockwell, Lerna’s pompous monster hunting rival, takes his last name from my sophomore year college room-mate, who is a really great guy who has nothing in common with this character but sadly also had the perfect last name for a cocky 1950′s b-movie scientist.  I, uh, hope he doesn’t read the book.

More Trivia tomorrow!  Buy the book!

I know we’re all on the Godzilla, King of the Monsters hype train today, but I’m going to shill my book one more time if you don’t mind.  The following isn’t really trivia, but more a few reasons why I think you might like A.T.O.M. Volume 1: Tyrantis Walks Among Us!

- One of my rules for the book was that every monster fight scene had to have at least one moment that was ridiculous and goofy, ala the Showa Gamera/70′s Godzilla movies.  Tyrantis’s first big fight even has an homage to the infamous flight scene from Godzilla vs. Hedorah.  Why?  Because as ridiculous as those moments are, they’re also endearing and fun, which is what I wanted this book to be.

- There are a LOT of monsters in this book.  While I don’t think nonstop monster action is a requirement for a good monster story, I do know it’s what my inner child wants in one, and I tried to appease that inner child as much as possible.

- The heroes of A.T.O.M. are misfits, outcasts, and the disenfranchised.  In the 1950′s, the time period in which the story is set, a lot of people fit into that category.  I tried to handle the various social prejudices in a sincere way without reveling in them like other stories might - The Shape of Water was my big source of inspiration for how to handle this.

- More than anything, A.T.O.M. is a story for people who sympathize with monsters.  In fact, its primary goal is to elicit that sympathy even from people who aren’t naturally inclined to do so.  If you love my analyses of monster movies and horror icons, and if you value the idea of treating monsters as characters, then I think this is the book for you.