The Ninth Fanger: The Fangarian Butterfly Effect

A New Fangarian Era (Part One)

Comparison Monkeys vs. True Inspiration

First off, apologies for the almost two-year hiatus.  Life, the Universe and Everything intervenes as usual, but one of the reasons came from something which occurred concerning my post focusing briefly upon the Sixth Fanger :  FANGARIUS: The DW-RPG Chronology.

One which brought forth something my friend, TVs Kyle from DeviantART, denotes as the infamous Comparison Monkey.  Basically, a Comparison Monkey is a critic, whom prefers comparing/contrasting innovative art and literature with well-established pop culture, rather than provide a genuine critique.  An excellent example is claiming The Flintstones is nothing more than an animated version of The Honeymooners, or Yogi Bear is an ursine version of Art Carney.

Due to the mainstreaming of the Internet, Comparison Monkeys have essentially inaugurated the urban legend concerning illustrators, cartoonists and authors.  Essentially it goes like this:  our inspiration comes solely from us sketching celebrities—actors and actresses—for creating characters.  The real truth is, despite the availability of the Internet, we don’t really do this, otherwise there would be a bear and cavemen resembling Art Carney and  Jackie Gleason.

Or for a more updated reference, if this was true, Brian Lee O’Malley would’ve enigmatically drawn Michael Cera and Brandon Routh’s likenesses for Scott Pilgrim and Todd Ingram respectively. 

The reason this misconception comes from when you start illustrating figures, the Comparison Monkeys will always compare your characters to an actual person, famous or otherwise.  Even if you subconsciously draw them as your basic character design.

Such as the case when I first illustrated Fanger’s Sixth Incarnation.  Even with my DW-RPG Club, the consensus has always presumed its original source directly came from John Ritter.  Except when I began working on the prototypes for the Sixth Fanger, I wasn’t even remotely attempting on sketching Mr. Ritter.

FANGARIAN RETROSPECTIVE: CYFANGER – THE LOST SIXTH Fanger PROTOTYPE

As you recall, during my DW-RPG Club days, I had the problem of what Fanger’s next Incarnate was going to be for the next ‘season.’  Due to the brief Terminator craze of the mid-80s, I initially envisioned the Sixth Fanger as a cyborg.  The Lost Fifth Regeneration episode did not have the Fifth Fanger dealing with the F-Clones.  Instead it was a tale where he ends up getting captured by the Cybermen.  While being converted, his Fifth Regeneration is triggered, and he is saved by The Doctor.

So why the John Ritter Fanger and not CyFanger instead?  Besides considering the concept didn’t fit within the Whoniverse, the DW-RPG members felt I had demoted Fanger back to Companion status, since he’d briefly end up with The Doctor in several episodes.

Instead, the members felt since there were humanised versions of Fanger’s relations and other Wolf-Beings, they wanted a humanised Incarnation for the Paranormal Time Lord as well.  During this complete revision of the character, I first took the elements of the Fourth and Fifth Fanger, and closed my eyes.  Utilising my imagination, I began sketching forth a composite image, until I acquired a basic character design.

Afterwards, a lone Comparison Monkey had observed the preliminary design, claiming it greatly resembled Mr. Ritter.

One thing I should stress here at this point:  attempting to battle against a Comparison Monkey’s like bashing your head against a brick wall.  You might eventually get some leeway, but not before enduring severe brain damage in the process.

Rather than enduring such a pointless battle, I merely accepted it.  As of such, I simply utilised pictures (and during the pre-Internet days, it wasn’t exactly easy) for basic models for the character, ensuring I obtain the correct proportions.

Afterwards, as my art slowly evolved, so did my creative processes.  Notwithstanding the origins of the Seventh and Eighth Fanger, whenever I conjured forth supporting characters and adversaries, I’d usually get inspiration from other people.  Both famous and personal, they would become subjects for my creations.  Therefore, I’d sketch out preliminary versions for those characters.

Contrary what the Comparison Monkeys might inform you, I rarely just automatically select my subjects.  As with Arthur and Excalibur, I’ll first mentally audition the appointed subject before deciding whether they’ll fit the character or not.  Or as with most writers, I’ll first create the character and background, then scan my imagination upon visualizing how the characters will essentially appear.

The Coming of the Ninth Fanger – The Prototypes

Overall, from what you’ve learned, I do want to stress one point:  when I was working on the Ninth Incarnation, I did not simply observe Ashton Kutcher on That 70s Show, and proclaim, ‘You’re the Ninth Fanger!’  Because as with John Ritter and the Sixth Fanger, Mr. Kutcher was the farthest person on my mind as a suitable candidate.

In actuality, the Paranormal Time Lord’s next Incarnation almost came from a galaxy far, far away.  And no, I don’t mean Barf or Lonestar from Spaceballs.

FANGER CHRISTENSEN Ix?

To recap from the Eighth Fanger posts, in Revelations, I privately desired on starting fresh with an entirely new Incarnation.  Nothing wrong with Jerry O’Connell, mind you, but I realised after a prolonged hiatus, it was definitely time for a change.  Just as with the Sixth Fanger, the same difficulty had arisen.  But rather than merely locating an inspirational model for the character, it was more about knowing what direction the Paranormal Time Lord was going to head on from here.

If you remember, the challenging obstacle was the Gallifrey annihilated throwing me for a loop.  Although managing on integrating the Eighth Fanger into this concept—dealing with this loss—it became evident he was currently in-flux upon what to do next.  Observing episodes from the Ninth and Tenth Doctor, I had formulated a theory on how chaotic the Time Lord’s timeline had become.  Whereas Fanger suspects someone (or something) might be manipulating The Doctor’s chronological stream.

Perhaps a possibility there was more to the Last Time War than just an embittered feud between the Time Lords and the Daleks.  As well as Gallifrey’s untimely sacrifice.  As a result, Fanger’s investigations lead him towards the end of his Eighth self.

After establishing the proper circumstances, the only problem now was determining the Ninth Fanger’s appearance.

During this time (about 2005), the hype of Revenge of the Sith had someone suggest I use Hayden Christensen for Fanger’s next Incarnation.  However, every time I’d envision him as the Paranormal Time Lord, all I kept receiving were Anakin and Force jokes.  The other difficulty was Hayden emitting a somber atmosphere for the character.  I felt at this juncture, because the Eighth Fanger was already morose about Gallifrey’s destruction, the Ninth Fanger should invoke a mixture of some humour, while also being serious at times.

Thus, Mr. Christensen fell onto the back-burner while I continued searching my mind upon the Ninth Fanger.

FANGER KUTCHER?

Repeating the similar process with the Sixth Fanger, I swiftly implemented another Composite Fanger.  Beginning with the Fourth Fanger, I subtly extracted various elements from his previous selves.  Concentrating on these elements, I had sketched out several images, until I had produced a suitable prototype.

Being infallible, a male Comparison Monkey noticed the image, registering its likeness to that of Michael Kelso from That 70s Show.  As you know, Ashton Kutcher wasn’t only famous for T7S, but his MTV show, Punk’d.  But as with John Ritter, I had never even given Mr. Kutcher a second thought.

One essential reason was I always had a general rule of avoiding the use of popular icons with my characters.  The components behind this rule are as follows: (1) There’s always a slim chance the icon may or may not like the character, and; (2) People disassociating your character with the icon’s characters from the media.  As you might guess, this makes it extremely difficult for one to develop the character itself.

In short, I ended up temporarily placing the Ninth Fanger Concept into limbo.  Enigmatically, Fate had other plans.  Plans which might have been conceived by Rod Serling himself from The Twilight Zone.

THAT TWILIGHT 70S BUTTERFLY SHOW ZONE EFFECT

(OR DON’T QUESTION THE F-CLANSCREST)

One stormy night, while recovering from a sinus infection, I had been watching That 70s Show on FX.  Strangeness materialised in the form of Michael Kelso wearing a shirt and sweater combo similar to the Fourth Fanger’s.  Inexplicably, I noticed Fanger’s crimson F-Clanscrest faintly materialise upon Kelso’s chest.

I adamantly refused the phantom suggestion, because I wasn’t too keen on a ‘Kelso’ Fanger (besides I sorta had that with the Second Fanger).  Yet, the Clanscrest fiercely illuminated itself until the old television screen (pre-flat HD era) suddenly popped out and went blank.  Fearing lightning had shorted out the set, I immediately went over to the television.

Approaching it, the screen instantly sprang back to life.  Except it was now tuned on Cinemax, revealing The Butterfly Effect.  The scene it demonstrated was Evan discovering himself within an asylum after attempting another time-altering trip (perhaps he should’ve gotten some advice from The Doctor, eh?), and he desperately searches for his journals and films to alter Time again.  Though the scene was short, the television popped again, reverting back to That 70s Show.

After the bizarre occurrence, I ended up chatting with a friend online who worked for Cinemax.  He inquired if I have been experiencing any problems the night before.  Apparently the company’s Texas servers had endured a mysterious power surge.  Scrambling the scheduling program, the result caused some subscribers receiving anomalous films and shows not programmed for the night.  When I had informed him about my Butterfly Effect experience, he considered the event ultimately weird, if not suspicious.

For you see, despite the fact HBO/Cinemax receiving the cable distribution rights, The Butterfly Effect was not scheduled for broadcast until the next month.

Overlooking the Twilight Zonesque nature of the situation, I acquired two important lessons that night.  One happened to be Ashton Kutcher’s portrayal of Evan Treborn.  The other was the realisation I had caught myself performing the worst crime which Comparison Monkeys commonly instigate:  associating actors with their characters.

In short, Barry Williams is NOT Greg Brady; David Cassidy is NOT Keith Partridge and; Ashton Kutcher is NOT Michael Kelso.  Meaning the Clanscrest indicated Ashton Kutcher would be right for the role, and not his character counterpart.

Confirming this, I started watching him in other roles, acknowledging his versatile abilities and his resourcefulness.  Envisioning him in an initial costume, before I grasped the situation, Mr. Kutcher ended up being the basis for the Ninth Fanger.