Comic:Six Seconds

From CGWiki

Six Seconds
Artist:	Faileas
Writer:	Faileas & Deamhan
Characters:	Several
Updates:	M
Began:	November 30, 2005
Ended:	Not yet
Art style:	Modern Fantasy
Rating:	Web-MA
Website	Website

Contents 1 Teaser 2 Summary 3 Setting 3.1 The Others 3.2 Magic 4 Major Characters 4.1 Connor Murphy 4.2 Mike Dazo 4.3 CJ Pierce 4.4 Wolf Jarvis 5 Minor Characters 5.1 Eileen Murphy 5.2 Elizabeth Murphy 5.3 Prince Jormanti 5.4 Thea Rasch 5.5 The Cat 5.6 Mr. Quan 6 Comic Construction

Teaser

What if you had the luck of the Irish, but were desperate to be rid of it?

What if you had a secret, but your 180 pound living granite cat wasn't it?

What if you were the hottest porn star on local cable, but then something touched you the wrong way?

Most of us will never know about the Others. See the world of those who do in "Six Seconds: Deathrites," a dark, modern-fantasy tale that pulls aside the veil of the human mind.

Summary

Private investigator and freelance writer Connor Murphy travels the United States, hunting down the strange things that go bump in the night. The latest mystery set before him, however, takes him back to his hometown of New 'Troit. The one who has called him back was a friend, once, and the one who is missing still is. What Connor finds discovers will lead him and those he meets on a larger adventure than he expected.

Setting

The world of "Six Seconds: Deathrites" is not our own. The story takes place in an alternate reality where magic works and strange beings - The Others - walk the land. Most of the action happens in the city of New 'Troit, an urban jungle built on the ruins of Detroit after The Riots.

In many ways the world is similar to ours. The majority of humans believe that neither magic nor The Others exist. (Those who claim otherwise are considered by most to be eccentric or completely loony.) Technology is at the same level. The world map is unchanged.

And in many ways it is different. Following The Riots, private gun ownership was revoked in the northern portion of the United States. Many people (read "Canadians") feel this was "too little too late," however, and international relations between the U.S. and Canada remain strained. Though U.S. troops have since been removed from the area, Canadian personnel continue to blockade remaining bridge linking their country and New 'Troit.

The Others

The short explanation is that there are two worlds. (Some argue that they are actually different planes, or different dimensions, or different universes... but the truth is that no one knows for certain.) One of them is ours; the other is a place of magic and – in our terms – fantasy. The two overlap to some degree and when all of the conditions are right things can slip from one world to the other. (No one knows what those conditions are, either.)

The strange beings that end up here are referred to in general (by those who know about them) as The Others. Unlike everything in our world, The Others are structurally made of Essence – the building block of their world. While they are alive, their Essence is contained in their form. If they die, however, the Essence is freed and quickly disperses. This means there's no body, which is one of many reasons why few people believe in The Others.

Magic

Magic is the skill of manipulating Essence. Since Essence does not naturally exist in our world, magic started out technically impossible. That said, as more and more Essence has seeped into our world - usually as Others cross over and die – magic has become a possibility. The real trick is often one of gathering up enough Essence in one place to do what you want: more Essence equals more power.

Some Others are skilled in the art of magic, but humans can learn it as well. It is simply more difficult for humans, requiring them to find some way to experience the Essence around them... an ability that tends to come naturally to Others. The second step is to bend the Essence to your will. (This is where most Others who do not use magic fail.)

Humans who are capable of performing magic are known collectively as "'mancers." The kind of 'mancer they are is defined by the method they use to feel and control the Essence.

Major Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When major characters appear in the comic, they will be added here. Information about them will remain fairly basic in order to avoid most spoilers.

Connor Murphy

Traveling is in Connor's blood, and he satisfies that need by crossing the country on the hunt for The Others. He funds his journeys both by writing travel articles for a variety of journals and websites and through unlicensed private investigative work. The former focuses on what the rest of humanity considers normal. The latter, not so much. He's not interested in figuring out if your neighbor is the one sneaking into your yard to steal your magnolias. He is interested in finding out if your neighbor is the one sneaking into your yard, using a pair of silver shears to take trimmings of your magnolias during the night of the new moon, and crushing the flowers up with a few other ingredients to create a philter she'll then sell online.

First Appearances: (Cover) Looking serious, (Actual) Being thrown through a door

Mike Dazo

Mike and Connor grew up the best of friends, a circumstance which gave Mike a unique childhood education with respect to the Others. (The constant exposure from such a young age seems to be the reason he has no difficulty seeing them now.) The pair did most everything together, including getting involved with a local gang and, after a few years, getting out of it. They swore an oath to one another then that they would never return to that life. Soon after that, Connor left town. Mike stayed behind and signed up with the New 'Troit Police Department. The two stayed in touch, helping each other out with assorted projects now and again, until seventeen months ago. That’s when Mike was kicked off the force for slipping drugs and weapons out of the evidence lockers and selling them to interested parties. He was released after only serving one year of his sentence and has been working with the city’s organized crime ever since.

First Appearances: (Cover) Packing heat, (Voice) Over the phone, (Actual) Driving

CJ Pierce

Charmaine Jendayi "CJ" Pierce is following in the family footsteps. Both of her grandfathers were firefighters, her father is a firefighter, and three of her multiple older brothers are firefighters. CJ is just the first female of the Pierce clan to take up the mantle. In the six years since she joined on with NTFD she has acquired a pair of reputations. The first is that she does what needs to be done and does it well. The second is more subtle and rarely spoken of: call it luck, call it superstition, call it what you like, but people who deploy with CJ come back.

First Appearance: Getting a better look.

Wolf Jarvis

Diamond Dick is more man than you can shake a stick at - even a really big stick. The only problem is that he thinks that way even when he's Wolf Jarvis...

First Appearance: (Cover) So, so manly.

Minor Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When minor characters appear in the comic, they will be added here. Information about them will remain fairly basic in order to avoid most spoilers. (Some characters originally listed as "minor" may later be upgraded to "major".)

Eileen Murphy

Connor's mother.

First Appearance: Welcoming Connor home

Elizabeth Murphy

Connor's little sister is at a rough stage in her life. A recent discussion - a.k.a. "The Talk" - with her mother has left her struggling to learn more both about herself and the world around her.

First Appearance: Having a bad day

Prince Jormanti

Half "man," half snake, Prince Jormanti is clearly an Other. He now makes his living, such as it is, trading information for goods and services.

First Appearance: Appearing suddenly

Thea Rasch

A young woman apparently capable of using magic.

First Appearance: Being eviscerated

The Cat

Yes. It's the cat.

First Appearance: On the rooftop

Mr. Quan

Proprietor of Quan's, your local mysterious shoppe.

First Appearance: Hidden away

Comic Construction

This 3D/CGI comic is created using a combination of DAZ|Studio, Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop and Comic Book Creator.

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