Originally the comic was named ‘Mary vs the Monsters’, and before that ‘My Tiger Heart’ (I cannot remember why), because the protagonist was based on my close chum, Mary.

Mary is a very talented photographer and has a exciting personality so I thought it was good to start created my character around her. Going back to my explanations about using an alternative universe to your own to set the story in, Mary was going to be a photographic journalist who investigates these weird events.

I tried this out for a story called ‘The Organic Terrors’ which was split up into 3 parts.

This story was more of a test on how things would work for the series. While some parts of the story were successful, others needed work. When I come back to rewrite this story I’ll hopefully cut it down from a 3 part story to a 2 part story.

I never finished part 3 because this was the point where I got bored of the story due to poor pacing on my part at the same time I was having trouble drawing Mary. I wanted to be a bit more original and I didn’t want my friend to be weirded out by me drawing a comic series based around her as a character. (Even if she was cool about it to begin with.) I really didn’t want her to be uncomfortable about it.

Around 1 am in the morning I began designing a new main character while at the same time rewriting parts of her personality.

I continue to draw characteristics from Mary while at the same time throwing in a few flaws to make the character imperfect. I didn’t want a perfect godlike person, who everyone loves, and can’t solve a problem with a snap of a finger.

In the end I created Marie Candid. A normal tomboyish college girl who wants to be a great photographer. Kind hearted, courageous but clumsy, Marie is often landed in bizarre situations where she has to try her best to get her and others out of trouble.

I created the main protagonist as someone you can relate, like and cheer for. Kinda like an underdog. Marie isn’t anyone special, she’s a girl who tries her best to get through tough times to achieve her dreams. In the end I want readers to get attached to her as a character to the point where they want her to success despite her flaws.

While designing her clothing I followed the standard rule of having characters wear something trademark. Something that stands out and let’s you know “This is the main character”. Taking another example from Doctor Who, The Doctor often wears the same costume but different variants.

I had Marie always wearing badges on her coats, on top of that she wears rings and different kinds of wristbands. I kept her design unique while simple at the same time. The result:

So why a photographer? During the redesign I could of made her an artist or a writer. Well to be honest I kind of made Marie as a love letter to all those awesome photographers out there. I know and worked with a few of them and I find them to be creative and wonderful chaps. After all I drew inspiration from my best friend, whom I think is a fantastic photographer.

It’s not everyday you see a photographer as a main character of a comic that involves monsters barging in.

P.S Sorry for the long blog post. Also, check out Mary’s stuff here: http://www.mary-alice.co.uk/

Next Time: From movie posters to comic book covers.