This thread is here to answer “what do these characters look like?”
So I’m going to make my own list, but it is “which of these characters already have designs.” I’m going to put them into four different categories (and characters can be part of more than one category).
: Character design is already finished.
: Character sketches exist but need to be refined.
: Character probably needs a design refresh due to changes in the character’s situation.
: No designs exist for this character yet.
The Marvelous Menagerie
- Mercury
- A10
- Stingray
- Ninjess
- Mirage
Menagerie In Action (MIA)
- Charade
- Jason Quill
- Agent R
- Firebrand
- Comrade X
- SNOWMAN
Menagerie at Midnight
- Ghost Girl
- Maury Jones
- Equity
- Bodark
- Vermillion
Newmenagerie
- Radiance
- Link
- Aria Newman
- Otto Newman
- Mo Newman
- Big Bill Newman
Menagerie Megaverse
- Concord
- Armiger
- Jaycee
- Princess Peri
- La Cordera
Overall, not bad. 16 out of 26 with solid designs is not bad, but 19 out of 26 needing work is probably a lot to deal with later on.
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Click a name to unfold the details for the character.
Mirage
Right now she exists as a hologram, living in Jason Quill’s house, so it’s basically “Alycia where Numina started out”. She’ll be receiving either a Newman-type artificial shell in due course, which will be its own adjustment period, or a cloned flesh-and-blood body, depending on spoilery story details. Like Summer, I expect she’ll make some appearance changes to distinguish herself from original Alycia
Maury Jones
So this is Heroes Are Magic, our intrepid superhero vlogger turned independent journalist. She’ll probably have a camera within reach at all times, maybe some other gear for capturing action in the moment. Probably has long hair tied back or done up, colorful but practical clothing, and a backpack or rucksack for carrying around useful kit.
The boys at the Garage built her the mobility gadget at last. This is a transformable mini-vehicle with four modes: humanoid exoskeleton, centaur configuration (for fast movement over rough terrain), gorilla configuration (for brachiating, climbing, and crushing), and a motorcycle mode (for civilian use). Part of the system can detach to form a motorized wheelchair when she needs to blend in or get into tight spaces. It’s got dockable drone cubbies and its own set of cameras, of course.
Equity
Daph is making the transition to superhero, with a new understanding between her and Palamedes. She still wants out, but she’s willing to make the most of things until then.
Varsity jacket worn over superhero spandex and shitkicker boots. Symbol on chest is an equals sign (=). Lots of pockets and storage, on a bandolier or belt pack if necessary.
Bodark
Think a Russian Logan/Wolverine type. Drifter, heavy-set and muscular. Torn jeans, muddy boots, black leather jacket. Yellow, glow-in-the-dark eyes. Salt-and-pepper hair. Mid-20s despite grizzled appearance. Should give off feral “movie slasher” vibe.
The transformation into werewolf is supernatural and will accommodate clothing without ripping anything, and the hybrid form will tower over everyone. It’s not a biological man-wolf hybrid, but the realization of humanity’s every nightmare about predation.
Vermillion
Smug, self-confident, but it’s all an act that hides a frustrated and disillusioned individual. Pretty boy, long black hair, tall and willowy, like 75% toward being a CLAMP male protagonist. Red eyes with slitted catlike irises. Long red trench coat, knee high black boots, stylish vest, slacks, and necktie. Hands in pockets, always coming out with something new - cards, weapons, or strange magic items.
Mo
Vehicle form is every van, ambulance, or fire truck ever, rolled into one. Capable of reconfiguring himself into all kinds of emergency service vehicles.
Personality and human shell: professional big-rig driver after a 36-hour haul. Baseball cap. Denim, practical jacket, does not look impressed.
Big Bill
Vehicle form is a big fucking Boeing airplane that can transform into a big fucking robot.
Personality and human shell: It’s Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and every Singing Cowboy ever. Gosh, gee-whiz grin. Cowboy hat. Flannel shirt.
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Other details! None of these merit any new art, but just in case.
Jason Quill recreated the Q-disc. It is now smaller (so it can fit in a regular parking space) and tougher. More significantly, he’s linked it to his nanobot control system, letting him mentally levitate and control it. He can wield it as a huge shield, use it as a ranged weapon, catch falling people, and more. This takes some of the burden off his nanobots.
Lacking the Agate Staff, Ghost Girl now uses her spectacles to connect with the Booklins, her major source of information. She’ll carry small assorted items of occult significance.
Stingray’s suit has “fish” and “frog” configurations, for underwater and amphibious operations respectively. I think both he and his dad have adopted some Atlantean tech, so the suit will probably look weird, more organic than what we might expect.
We have two new locations that will be introduced in the first issues.
The first is Fallen Halcyon, official name New Tomorrow City. This is a city after a year of rule by Tyran Tech. It’s a Brave New World style dystopia. Everything is shiny and high-tech, but surveillance is everywhere, everything is automated, and it’s all under Tyran’s control. The variety and color of Halcyon is being steadily erased. Imagine a city being run by Amazon.
The city is routinely patrolled by Tyran robots. It’s got its advocates and detractors, its heroes and villains, and Rex Tyran is smoothly steering it in accordance with his vision: an open field full of docile prey.
The second is Safe Harbor, a sub-surface city in international waters. It’s made of numerous underwater spheres - similar to Leo’s Leviathans. It’s visibly under construction, with skeletal infrastructure and wiring everywhere. Some Halcyon people have moved here, and many Atlantean humans and even a few Blood are now living here. It’s similar to Tranquility from the other world, but 20 years behind, and built around peaceful coexistence rather than vigilance against an enemy.
The most finished part of the city is the Launch System - the command center and deployment system for the Newmen rescue operation. There’s a lot of complex equipment here, made up of a four-way inventive partnership between Jason Quill, Alycia Chin, Leo Snow, and Peter Mancini.
Partly to getting ramped up for this as well as to consolidate my… (quick math) 17 possible folders where Menagerie art may reside, I made this shared GDrive folder with all of the character designs I’ve done for different Menagerie characters, grouped by past and future group affiliation done through heavily usage of folder shortcuts. For instance, you’ll find Adam/Concord in all of the following:
- The Amari Family
- The Menagerie
- Menagerie Megaverse
- The Universal Concordance
I plan on updating this as I do more designs, so keep an eye out and let me know what characters I should focus on.
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Costigan, Parker, and a few other folks who’d belong in your Division 3 folder will be moving to the private sector. Modern Intelligence Analytics, or MIA, an independent think tank responsible for writing insightful position papers. They certainly have no association with a mysterious team of operators wanted by world governments. Of course they’ll talk to Hong Kong based INTERPOL inspectors on a regular basis
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Hmm, how am I going to segment this Modern Intelligence Analytics group from the Menagerie in Action team. 
Guess I’ll figure something out. 
This also means Lee Yan needs to get added to the backlog at some point.
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It’s a grinning Chinese woman with a spiky pixie haircut, dressed like Columbo.
“O friend and companion of night, thou who rejoicest in the baying of dogs and spilt blood, who wanderest in the midst of shades among the tombs, who longest for blood and bringest terror to mortals, Gorgo, Mormo, thousand-faced moon, look favourably on our sacrifices!”
Atreyu: What is the nothing?!
G’mork: It’s the emptiness that’s left. It’s like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.
“The werewolf is neither man nor wolf, but a satanic creature with the worst qualities of both.”
(source: The Real Nightmare by VanZe -- Fur Affinity [dot] net)
(source: https://twitter.com/lucaspanda361/status/1504859597961629698?s=20&t=dDqjscHP0ZO3jOWXtqor9w)
Bodark’s werewolf form should fill the frame. It should bring its own darkness with it. It’s not a wolf, but the power of fear that wears the mask of a wolf.
