Of Petals and Thorns

by Preston Squire on November 14, 2020 at 12:46 pm

As we approach the launch of Brute #1 – the proper launch of the series about of a bunch of misfit galaxy bounty hunters, the question that is bound to arise is, ‘Why Rose?’

Issue #1 is the origin story of Rosita Kahn, aka, Rose, best buddy and well, maybe just a little bit more, to our hero Brute. So if it’s Brute’s comic, why wouldn’t we start with his origin story? The simple answer – it just didn’t work.

I wrote and re-wrote that story, so many times, in so many ways, and believe me, it’s a story that must to told, but there were some fundamental limitations to starting there.

First off, Brute may look like a familiar teddy bear, but he’s actually an alien, from the planet Bru. A virtual paradise of peace and fun loving beings like Brute. Uh, wait… what? How do you get a rage-filled miscreant like Brute from such a place? You’ll see…. But the trouble is, it’s alien. Then he meets Captain Jerrreecko, another alien and things just get even more alien from there. It’s dropping our readers into the deep-end of our fantasy-verse and then going deeper without coming up for air. It’s just hard to be too invested in the characters or story when everything is strange and alien. Which leads to the second major issue.

Brute starts off as even a more rage-filled jerk than when Rose meets him. While he’s likable, he’s not endearing enough to carry the reader through the story – at least not until you know how we comes out years later and you can overlook some of his earlier roughness.

While Brute may be the star of the series, Rose is both the heart of the team, and the relatable avatar for the reader. She acts as their eyes into this fantastic strange universe where humans are merely a curiosity and not a player in galactic affairs. Rose’s origin is immediately relatable and she’s an endearing character that you can’t help but root for. You want to see how she survives all the low blows the galaxy keeps throwing at her.

If you’ve read Brute #0 you’ll know she’s become a force to be reckoned with in her own right, now you’ll learn how she became that way. And don’t worry, Brute definitely had a hand in that.