Creative Process 02: ATOMIK AGE

The working title of Atomika, I never intended to keep it. I know there have been some other comic books that use similar titles. I just didn’t realize there had been so many. So my first task was to come up with a title. The story is pretty set now. Well, in my own brain anyway. I’m not going to delve into it too much in this installment. We have lots to cover already. In future updates I will break down the basic story beats as I work on completing sequential pages. What I will state is it’s a story about generational heroes and the legacy that creates. So how many different versions of names did I run through. Well, here’s a short list of the better ones…

Atomic Generation, Atom Generation, The Atom Age, Age of Atom, Atomic Age, Atomic Return, Atomic Fusion, Fused Atom, Atom Fusion, Atomic Hero, Atomic Heroes,, Return of the Atomic Heroes,, Atomic Dawn, Dawn of the Atomics, Atomics Dawn, Atomic Rising, Rise of the Atomics, The Atomics, Atomic Two, Atomic 2.0, #Atomic2, Atomiks,The Atomiks, Age of Atomiks… anyhow you get the idea. So how do you weed out what won’t work from a long list of potential titles. It starts with a trademark search.

Simply put a trademark is the title/ logo that is registered with the federal government. When you see ™ it usually means someone has filed paperwork to secure legal protection to use that title / logo. When you see an R in a circle it means they have received confirmation they now own that trademark. I selected the better options from my long list and searched through the TESS trademark search engine to determine which ones I might be able to work with. Never seen the TESS engine before? Here you go:

Click here for the TESS Trademark Search Engine.

The process doesn’t stop there. After figuring out what titles you might be able to work with the next step is to see what web addresses might be available. If you can’t get the URL you need for your comic title that’s sorta one step forward one step back. After much searching and contemplation the winner was:

I now own AtomikAge.com and will be slowly working on the website in the coming weeks. For a book about Public Domain Superheroes this process will work. But please keep in mind I’m not a lawyer and you should consult with a trademark attorney if you are looking to develop your own comic book series. Also this may not be the final logo. But it’s a decent placeholder for now. Then it was time to get back to designing characters. You know, the fun stuff.

After seeing the feedback online via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and some text messaging with Industry professional friends the design for Atomika is set. I am going to use that for her name. Since it won’t be used as the title for the series it shouldn’t be a problem. However, I might still change it down the road. Her civilian name is going to be Erika Dale. She will not be as powerful as her legendary grandfather, Atoman, but she will be very formidable. She will also be a former Marine and will know more about weapons and hand to hand combat than the golden age hero every cared too.

I like my new costume design for Atoman but it’s apparent that to strip him of his classic costume will not be too well received with those fans who remember the golden age hero. So into his classic costume he will go. With a few modern tweeks. He is instantly recognizable and this design is pretty much set. You can learn more about Barry Dale a.k.a Atoman on the public domain heroes page here:

Click here to learn more about Atoman.

I do plan to use some more public domain superheroes in the story. Mostly in a limited capacity. The big two will be a descendent of the original Black Terror. He will be simply be called the Terror. I have a working costume design for him. It’s pretty different but there will be flashbacks to the original Black Terror and he will be in his classic costume. I like this design and the story will reveal why he uses guns and is more of a brutal vigilante. Stardust the Super Wizard will also be in the story. Classic Golden age hero with very few updates. But more about him next week. In the meantime here are lots of development sketches. I’ve pretty much settled on the style and approach for the art but you can see from these sketches I was still figuring out how it was going to look. Come back next week for Stardust the Super Wizard and take a trip down the road of fantastical craziness.

Atomik Age ©2018 by Dave Beaty, all rights reserved.

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