Transyltown

(Also I’ve got a new Twitter account, @BruceSmallArt)

It’s been a long time, but Transyltown Coffins is back with a spotlight on your favorite pre-teen slayer, Alicia!

Model:

Together Alicia and Timmy represent the theme of exploration and adventure. Whereas Timmy has inquisitiveness she is a thrill seeker.

Her personality is very modeled off of gung-ho adventure seeking shonen heroes like Dragonball’s Goku and One Piece’s Luffy. Alicia’s personality really helps move plots along at time. Any time I’m stucking coming up with a reason for an adventure I can always say “because Alicia got everyone mixed up in it.”

When I write Alicia sometimes I think of her as the 90’s X-Men cartoon’s Jubilee if she allowed to go on adventures of her own. Especially as Alicia’s been showing more a bratty side. I always had a love for sidekick characters when I was growing up because they got to go on adventures with the superheroes I admired, so her relationship with her grandfather, the slayer J.J. Timberland, embodies that classic dynamic duo feeling. I’d like to write a one shot story about their adventures together sometime.

In the beginning she serves to help Timmy to get pass his sheltered nature and experience the world, but from there they work off of each other with Alicia’s eagerness to see new monsters setting the course, and Timmy’s desire to know more bringing structure to the adventure.

Design:

I wanted to give her a look that said “she’s a monster slayer”, but I found that a bit difficult after referencing various monster hunters, demon slayers, and the whatnot. The only key thing they had in common was looking cool.

 

I decided to for a  look that was inspired by Capcom’s Dante from Devil May Cry and Marvel’s Blade, but with a cute feeling.

When I was still planning Transyltown to be a one shot story Alicia was going to be a descendant of Van Helsing name Victoria, but once I decided to go for an ongoing series I felt it would do some good to have some diversity in the lead roles. The comic was using heavy tones at the time, so her dark skin helped emphasize Timmy’s paleness. Also there are so very few butt-kicking Black women in comics. Even I have difficulty naming more than five.

Most counts stop here.

Trivia:

– She is named after the musicians Alicia Keys and Timberland.

– The name of her sword is “A Flat”

– She never refers to herself as a “slayer”, but as a “hunter” because she doesn’t slay her foes.

 

Luna’s up next time, Transyltown Monsters! Hopefully it won’t take nearly as long…