Super Zero

 This was my other other other final project this semester - to create a story; design a hero, love interest, sidekick, and villain; and have 2 concept sketches for the environments. It's called

Synopsis:

Nonstopolis is a bustling city of skyscrapers, international trade, and a hotspot for rising talent. Phil Zipperman (or “Zero” to his friends) just spent his last couple of bucks on a plane ticket out of his parents’ home in Stumpville, Iowa to try and make it as a stand-up comedian in the big city. Zero soon gets a day job as a bank clerk and at night he tries out his act at the city clubs. Eventually, he meets a cute photojournalist named Stacey who works for the city newspaper and they start dating.

Life seems good, except that Nonstopolis turns out to be frequented by supernatural disasters and acts of super-villain terrorism, particularly from a group known as the Renegade United Masters of Peril and their leader “Dr. Mandroid”. Defending Nonstopolis from these threats is a costumed hero known as Captain Omega who always manages to triumph over the forces of evil, often at the expense of further destruction to the city, but always to the delight and relief of its citizens.

Zero soon finds himself caught in the constant crossfire between Captain Omega and every occurring disaster in the city. Every catastrophe seems to happen right wherever Zero goes. To make things more aggravating, Zero discovers his girlfriend is the one who shines the “Omega Beacon” in the sky – the token signal that calls Captain Omega whenever there is danger. When Zero finally gets the chance to talk to Omega, he learns that the hero is ignorant of any aspects of normalcy – he has no secret identity, no social skills, and no life outside of being a superhero.

Between juggling his job, his dreams, his girlfriend, their physical safety, and teaching a superhero the facts of life, Zero responds to his new life with a cynical outlook on how the population has managed to survive, how villains always end up losing, and how the existence of a comic book-esque metropolis is so self-contradictory and unrealistic.