As well as writing fan-fiction, I've also dabbled in writing completely original stories, with somewhat less success. Most of my original stories have been written as manga, so I've been hobbled by my need for an artist and for a place to publish. My "publishing jinx" is well-known; College is Hell has been accepted by three small-press magazines, all of which have ceased publication before printing the first page.
All of the stories on this page are available if some enterprising publisher would like to pick them up!
Please send me feedback!! mathews1@ix.netcom.com Or use ICQ: 11539925
Vector One is a manga concept designed to blend the best elements of Japanese manga and American super-hero comics. When I first saw the original Gundam, I was fascinated by the complex plot, especially the political intrigue. I wanted to write a story like that, which explored complex characters, where the line between good guy and bad guy was not so clearly drawn. Another unique property of Vector One is that the human characters are not at the center of the story.
The setting is the interstellar Tralkanian Empire, which at the time the story begins has been ruled as a confederation by a military council. The council consists of twelve squabbling generals, but the most powerful man in the Empire is not even on the council. He is Dorcive Corve, Chief of Imperial Police, whose powerful security force terrifies even those who supposedly hold authority over him. Corve has never forgiven the Council for denying him a seat after the Galactic War, and believes it happened because of his race, that of the enemy.
Corve's scientists capture five "humans" from another dimension (ours). When it is demonstrated that these humans can be enhanced with supernatural abilities, Corve sees an opportunity. He orders the humans turned into a costumed terrorist force, which can do Corve's bidding while providing him with complete deniability, as well as an excuse to increase his power. Unfortunately for Corve, the humans escape his control.
This description is only the tip of the tip of the iceberg. I'd be happy to give more details to anyone who asks.
First, here's the original manga scripts. Each part is tiny, since the story was originally written to be published in six-page installments.
I also attempted to write Vector One in prose format. I lost interest after the first two parts were not received very well. Curiously, though, I've been getting compliments on the prose version since the web site opened, so I may just give it another shot. The prologue and part 1 are written by me, but the parts after that are written by Larry Mann, based upon my manga scripts.
Finally, just for the hell of it, here's a tiny unfinished part of yet another prose version of this story. This would have been a completely different take on the story, one which placed more emphasis on the "alien" characters. All you'll see here, however, is a much better written version of the initial lab scene.
The Perseus Chronicles is the brainchild of my frequent collaborator, Larry Mann. It is the story of Michael of Perseus-12, a interstellar trader with some natural psychic talent, and his relationship with the Sorons, a telepathic, bat-like humanoid race that has often been hostile to humanity. Michael helps the Sorons overthrow their emperor and ushers in new era of friendship with the human race.
Only the first story in the series is included here, since it is the only one to be completed. The parts are awfully small, since it was designed to be published in small pieces.
Much farther into the story, Michael will encounter a corps of mercenaries known as CoMET. Larry and I decided these guys were too cool to wait for, so we wrote a complete story for them. I wrote the story, Larry drew it, and it appeared in the manga collection Ikuze!.
Of all my original concepts, College is Hell is my favorite. It's a "romantic occult comedy", somewhere in between Video Girl Ai , Urusei Yatura, and 3X3 Eyes.
The world of College is Hell is divided into three planes, the lower plane of the demons, the upper plane of the Higher Power, and the middle, or mortal plane, where us humans live. The demons and the Higher Power have a strict treaty forbidding interference on the mortal plane, but a rebel demon named Bhardon plans to violate that treaty and establish his own realm. To that end, he places a mystical gem in the hands of a college student he believes to the prophecied "Spellbinder", the human who will control all mystical forces on the mortal plane. Unfortunately for Bhardon, the Spellbinder is not who he thinks it is, but another student named Keith. When Keith accidentally comes into contact with the gem, he conjures forth, not Bhardon's demonic army, but the cute, slightly ditzy, demonic princess Akruna.
Akruna had always fantasized about being conjured to the mortal plane by a handsome sorceror, so when she sees Keith, she falls for him like a ton of bricks. Now Keith has to contend with a cute little demon who calls him "master", Bhardon, who becomes a professor at the college, and all the supernatural craziness the two of them attract.
Future characters include Elysia, a beautiful agent of the Higher Power sent to counter Akruna, and Snapdragon, a cigarette-smoking, foul-mouthed fairy who is furious at the human race for polluting her home.
Currently, all that is actually written is the very first ten page segment. I would desperately love to write more, if people would read it. If you'd like to see more, please click on my email address and let me know!
