Designing a hero

With the first Hanged Man story out in High Adventure History and more stories coming soon, I have been asked about the character and how I came up with him.  I figured this would be a good place to share that information.  

Designing the Hanged Man.  What makes a pulp character?  

-     For me, when I think of the great, defining pulp characters that I love, the first thing that occurs to me is the image.  For me, it is always the striking visual silhouette of a character that sticks out in my mind and captures my imagination.  Look at a few of the really big names in the Pulp pantheon.  

For the Shadow, it is the slouch hat pulled down low, the coat and cape billowing out behind him in the cold wind.  All in a black that seems deeper and darker than the night itself.  The red scarf obscuring his face and trailing behind him.  And the twin .45's breathing smoke in the moonlight.  All of these together create an undeniably powerful and evocative figure.  

Dave Steven's character The Rocketeer is another memorable silhouette.  If your only experience with the character comes from the Disney movie, you are missing out on some great pulp comics.  However, the movie did do a great job of capturing that imagery that is so central to the character.  From the brassy gold color of his distinctive, finned helmet to the red leather of his flight jacket.  Instantly recognizable, and both retro and timeless.  And let's of course not forget to mention the rocket-pack.  All very, very cool.  

And there are more.  Indiana Jones with the hat, jacket, and bullwhip.  Solomon Kane with his puritan garb and simple sword.  

So when it came time for me to create my own pulp character, I knew I needed to look at what made these silhouettes so memorable to me and attempt to capture that.  I wanted the Hanged Man to have a distinct imagery that would allow him to stand out from other pulp heroes, but at the same time, clearly be a branch of the same tree.  I also realized that since I would be working with strictly text and little to no illustration, I need to have the imagery of my character down cold, so I could convey it in the story.  

History-

My first consideration in designing the Hanged Man was that this was not just a pulp character, but a character from a very distinct historical period.  I wanted him to feel genuine and grounded in the reality of that time period, especially as I knew I was going to be playing with plots and set pieces that would stray from the realistic and into the supernatural even.  By setting the character in the 13th Century, I could draw upon not only the rich visual tapestry of the medieval world of knights and castles, but also the mixture of religion and superstition that was such a facet of life in the time.  

Impact-

I knew that I wanted the visual impression of the Hanged Man to be powerful, not only in the reader's mind, but in the perception of those he encountered.  I wanted him to be just a bit terrifying, not only to the evil-doers but even to those he encountered.  Central to the idea of the Hanged Man was that he had been brought back from the dead, so a key aspect of his iconography would be his burial shroud.  I pictured this as a tattered and ragged cloak.  This would give him that classic caped avenger look, while still remaining distinct to his origin.  I also knew that I would be encompassing this into the character's  fighting style for those action scenes.

Second, one of the things that stuck with me in reading about the effects of hanging upon a person is that often, the blood vessels in their eyes will burst, causing them to have a blood red color to them.  I thought this would be a powerful effect for my revenant of revenge.  

Weapon of choice

For pulp heroes, this is often a distinctive addition to their iconography.  I wanted something as unique and memorable for my character.  Since he is the Hanged Man after all, I had to have his noose.

 I wanted the noose to remain around his neck, and in the coming tales, it will come to have a greater significance, but from the start, I wanted the rope to be both part of costume and weapon.  The length of the rope is coiled around his right arm, with a round stone at the end.  This stone is his grave marker, and with it tied to the end of the rope, makes a fearsome, distinctive weapon.  

So now, i had my cloaked and hooded figure, blood-red eyes all afire, and the means of his own death now his weapon of justice.  Things seemed to be coming together well. There was just one problem.  He was a bit too imposing and noticeable for anything but terrifying evil-doers.  

What i needed was a secret identity.  There is a reason the Shadow is secretly millionaire Lamont Cranston (among others), or Superman puts on those glasses to become mild-mannered Clark Kent.  It lets them access parts of their world and their narrative that their other persona could not.  So, for the Hanged Man, I needed something for him to travel inconspicuously.  Furthermore, I needed something that could hide those blood colored eyes.  I settled on the idea of a traveling, blind beggar and gambler, where a strip of cloth could obscure his eyes.   The blind man persona was a bit of a homage to the old Daiei Studios Zatoichi movies, featuring the wandering, blind swordsman.  

So there he is.  My pulp hero, the Revenant of Revenge, the Hanged Man.  The first Hanged Man tale, The 13 Coils came out in High Adventure History by Pro Se Productions, and is the origin story for the character.  More are coming soon.  Thanks for reading.