VorpalNotes

Writers are lazy. We philosophize more than anything else, and editing is one of our least favorite activities– that’s why we hire people to do it for us. We’d rather pay what little money we have for someone look at our work. 

I am no exception to this rule. I would rather eat a burrito cold than heat it up in the oven– or even the microwave. 

I have also recycled characters– take Odenki, for instance. I needed an outlet for my Viking obsession, so, when I was writing a story called “Celestial Cloud” in college, I made a character called Odenki. He was a muscular, dreadlocked space deity whose name is the combination of “Odin” and “Loki”– two gods from Norse Mythology. 

The character was cool. I dug him. Celestial Cloud, however, stank. I scrapped the story, but I filed Odenki away– knowing that, if the opportunity ever arose, I would use him again. 

After college, I started writing Sons of Yellowstone. There was, however, empty space in the story. I needed a character who would serve as the wise mentor for Cedric– someone to give him advice. Cedric would never heed the advice, however; that would end the story too soon. I made a few characters before recycling Odenki, and they fell into too many cliches. I didn’t like them. 

Then, on a rainy day, I reread Celestial Cloud and decided Odenki would make  a rad Son of Yellowstone. 

This, of course, would mean that I had to reimagine the character in a way that would fit his new universe. Before the eruption, he was a reclusive comic nerd from Holland. The concept for the character was this: What would a comic and anime nerd be like if he suddenly got powers? He’d be self-aggrandizing, and he would try to glorify his newly found physical prowess. Despite Odenki’s wisdom, he’s flawed; people living with him have to call him “Magnaat”– meaning “Lord” in Dutch. 

In addition, he’s paranoid of activity in the west. He wants to find the Gul Vagga before those in Nuevo San Diego do. With the Gul Vagga in his hands, he feels he bring prosperity to Post- Yellowstone Earth. Those in Nuevo San Diego, however, feel the same. He has sent scouts out west, one of whom was Amanda, and she disappeared. He had always coddled Katherine, Amanda’s older sister, and this got worse after Amanda never returned from the west. 

Odenki first appeared at the end of Issue #1, and he will be featured heavily in Issue #2. Stay tuned for updates as we get ready to launch the newest installment of Sons of Yellowstone. 

Cheers,