Demonoclast

Joann Hanlon is employed by the government, but they don’t admit it. Joann Hanlon destroys demons. Her work is necessary, but, the government says, if word got out about the existence of otherworldly evil creatures there would be panic in the streets. Luckily for everyone, Joann Hanlon is extremely good at her job. When any kind of demonic invasion is discovered, the Demonoclast is sent in things are cleared up quickly.

This was one of those cases where I just drew and saw what came out. I got the gloves and the boots and I thought “She looks like she does hard work. What’s hard work in superheroing?” And eventually I decided that cleaning up demon infestations would have to be near the top of that field. I drew that little sigil on her chest, somewhat inspired by the little ghost monster face on Dr. Strange’s costume (though a lot of the time that is just drawn as a generic shape these days).

Also, the name “Demonoclast” which means “Destroyer of Demons” appears nowhere according to Google, so I’m pretty happy about that.

Vanquisher

Vic Decker was a baseball player until he was paralyzed in a car accident that he had caused. While he spiraled into depression for a time, he eventually found a place in the world as a public crusader, trying to improve his hometown with various social causes. But this brought him into contact with a local crimeboss, who didn’t want some gimp celebrity interfering with his business. The crimeboss sent a hitman to take out Decker, but things did not go as planned. During the attack an experimental energy device that Decker had been investing in exploded and bathed him in bizarre energies that not only caused his body to heal its wounds, but raised him to new superhuman levels. Super strong, nearly invulnerable, fast and agile, Vic Decker became the Vanquisher to face off against those who use violence to stand in the way of social progress.

You’ll note that none of that description addresses the way Vanquisher dresses. That is on purpose. Vanquisher dresses in clothes that he finds comfortable and that’s that. As I’ve said in the past, I have no personal belief that society’s conception of what constitutes manly or feminine clothing is an absolute truth, so I’m willing to let Vanquisher dress as he pleases and not depict him as being weak because of it. I can assure you that if I were better at drawing, that outfit would be much lacier.

Here’s the thing: At the rate of only putting out one superhero a week, I’m getting buried under my sketches. In an effort to keep up with myself, I’m going to start doing two a week. Here we go:

Securitaur

When a minotaur finds himself mysteriously transported form his mystical home realm to New York City, what does he do? How does he go about his life in a world so unfamiliar? Like anybody else, if a minotaur wants to fit into society, a minotaur needs to get a job.

Suppose you live in a world where crazy supervillains, colorful crimelords, overt ninjas, and evil aliens all abound. Sure, superheroes do their part to preserve the status quo, but suppose you own a bank or a company or something, and you think you’re likely to be robbed or attacked by superhuman criminals. The regular superheroes will show up when the fighting starts, but if you want to create some preventative measures, you need to hire a security guard. A security guard like Securitaur.

If I got to do a comic about Securitaur, it would be all about crazy absurd fights and set pieces. Also, Securitaur would be the face of his security company, but would have a squad of teammates, and would have to answer to a cranky boss and shareholders. It would be an action-packed sitcom starring a man-bull, and I am honestly surprised that isn’t the dominant genre on television.

Mythologikelly

When nine-year-old Kelly Doukas and her family moved to a new town, she discovered a ball in the basement of the new house. Later, while reading a book about heroes of Greco-Roman myth she’d got from her grandparents, the ball started to glow. When Kelly touched it she found herself transformed into Hercules himself! At least physically she was Hercules, mentally she was still Kelly.

Though Kelly doesn’t know it, she’s discovered the Eidolon Sphere. This magical device allows her to occupy the idea-form of whatever Greek of Roman hero she is focusing on. Kelly can transform to any of the mortal heroes, Odysseus, Achilles, et cetera (even a couple of actual women like Atalanta and Camilla), but none of the gods. The catch is that Kelly can’t just repeatedly be the same hero, and the strength of an idea-form is dependent on the hero’s kleos, or how well they are known in the world. So while Hercules and Odysseus would still be pretty renowned, other heroes, like Iarbus (who doesn’t even seem to have a Wikipedia page), would be less useful.

I was going for a sort of Saturday morning cartoon here, based entirely on Ben-Ten, a show I have heard about, but never seen. I know it’s about a kid who can turn to a variety of (ten?) aliens. Also, there’s a bit of Captain Marvel in here, with the idea of a young person turning into a full-grown hero (especially given the connections to mythology). For the sake of ease, I’d keep the Greek and Roman myths together, because they’re certainly close enough, but at some point, probably, Kelly would have to encounter someone who can transform into the heroes of some other mythologies (Sumerian, Norse, Egyptian, Aztec, anything with enough mortal heroes, really).

Malevolent spirits waft through the cold night. Demonic imps lurk in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. Evil is on the Earth and humanity needs a protector. The Conjuroid is that protector. Fashioned from metals from beyond this world, this robotic champion tracks down demons and captures them, storing them inside its own enchanted chassis. The captured demons are then offered a choice: They can seek redemption by serving the Conjuroid, or they can remain trapped for eternity. As a result, the Conjuroid has a legion of demons and spirits willing to serve it in its quest.

I admit it: I’ve got a weakness for a robot in a cape. There needs to be more robots in capes. Sure, there are a few high profile superheroes who are androids wearing capes, like the Vision or DC’s Red Tornado. But those are practically just humans in appearance. What I want is proper robots in capes. The only one I can think of right now is Bender from Futurama as Super King. That is not enough. Not nearly enough. (See also Ezekiel Purple in Secret Government Robots.)

I didn’t know where I was going when I started drawing this one. I knew I wanted a robot, but this fusion of robotic and the supernatural just took shape as I was going. I guess the basic idea here is that Conjuroid is basically a walking containment unit that will shoot a demon into a bad guy’s face when the situation calls for it. I suspect that the situation would call for it a lot.

(Guest Coloring by my friend @sanityormadness)