The Sea Monster
The Doom Brigade
Basically a Victorian re-imagining of the Doom Patrol. Huge credit to Benjuhmuhn on Instagram, whose fantastic Doom Patrol art inspired this post. The character designs are mostly his but the backstories are, for the most part, from my own mind. Without further ado, let’s get into some bios:
Tasked with finding a rare Eastern plant rumoured to bestow the gift of eternal life, famed explorer Professor Niles Caulder ended up crippled and hungry for revenge when his employer, a man known only as the Timeless Baron, shot him and left him for dead. Upon returning to England, Caulder set about assembling a team of unique individuals to help in his crusade against the Baron – his now sworn nemesis. In time, they became known as The Doom Brigade!
Colonel Lawrence Trainor of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces was left horrendously disfigured following his campaign during the First Boer War. Ambushed by the enemy and forced to abandon his post, Lawrence found refuge within a cave known to the locals as ‘The Anti Space.’ Just as he thought he was safe, a vengeful Zulu spirit emerged from the depths of the cave and latched itself onto Lawrence, possessing his body and disfiguring him in the process. Trainor was dismissed from the army and returned to England alone and ashamed, struggling to come to terms with what he had become. He soon attracted the attention of Professor Caulder, who helped ease his condition with herb-infused bandages and taught him how to find inner peace with the spirit.
Famed jockey Clifton ‘Stirrups’ Steel saw an abrupt and brutal end to his illustrious career after a tragic incident at the derby. Steel was leading the race when his horse got spooked and threw him violently to the ground. Unable to react quickly enough to what had happened, his fellow riders trampled him where he lay, severely mangling his body beyond repair. The best doctors in the land were called in an attempt to save Steel, but they soon found orthodox methods would not be enough to save him. It was here Professor Caulder was brought in. Caulder was able to salvage Steel’s head and arms and combine them with a state of the art, steam powered mechanical suit that granted him some form of life. Now known only as ‘The Automaton’, Steel, despite being little more than a walking corpse in a metal suit, is fiercely loyal to the man who saved his life and will do anything to help him get his revenge on those who have wronged him.
Talented stage actress Rita Farr was known throughout London for her captivating performances, drawing huge crowds of adoring fans to her shows year-round. One night, as Rita entered centre stage for the closing moments of the play Enemy of the Congo, a freak lightning storm struck the theatre. The electric current travelled through the building and into the limelights above the stage, causing them to explode above Rita as she was delivering her closing speech. Before she even knew what was happening, her body was engulfed by the now charged slaked lime of the lights and caused a complete shift in her physiology. The deadly mix mingled with her body, leaving her a malleable being of stone and flesh. Naturally, the incident caused Rita to lose her mind. Moments away from destroying herself, she was approached by Professor Caulder, who offered to help her get a hold of her condition. She reluctantly went with him and hasn’t looked back since.
Renowned psychic medium Arthur Challis made a fortune hosting séances for London’s richest and most gullible, using his daughter Katie as a sort of ‘spiritual diving rod’ to make contact with the dead. Little did his patrons know, but Arthur was a charlatan, exploiting Katie’s youth and innocence to draw in crowds of the most morbidly curious. One evening, however, as Katie was halfway through her ritual, her body began to convulse and her eyes turned a dark red. No one in the room would have expected the young girl to have drawn the attention of a real, vengeful ghost. The ghost took hold of Katie and had her kill everyone in the room – including her father – before allowing her to regain consciousness and come to terms with what she had done. Katie’s mind was fractured, and she was soon admitted to a mental asylum. It was here her fellow inmates gave her the nickname ‘Insane Jane’. As the years went by something inside Jane drew the attention more ghosts, until doctors believed her body to be host to around sixty four unique spirits, each displaying its own supernatural abilities. Professor Caulder heard of her unique disposition and naturally offered to take her into his care. Jane’s doctors were more than happy to comply.
Let me know what you think!
The Doom Brigade
Basically a Victorian re-imagining of the Doom Patrol. Huge credit to Benjuhmuhn on Instagram, whose fantastic Doom Patrol art inspired this post. The character designs are mostly his but the backstories are, for the most part, from my own mind. Without further ado, let’s get into some bios:
Tasked with finding a rare Eastern plant rumoured to bestow the gift of eternal life, famed explorer Professor Niles Caulder ended up crippled and hungry for revenge when his employer, a man known only as the Timeless Baron, shot him and left him for dead. Upon returning to England, Caulder set about assembling a team of unique individuals to help in his crusade against the Baron – his now sworn nemesis. In time, they became known as The Doom Brigade!
Colonel Lawrence Trainor of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces was left horrendously disfigured following his campaign during the First Boer War. Ambushed by the enemy and forced to abandon his post, Lawrence found refuge within a cave known to the locals as ‘The Anti Space.’ Just as he thought he was safe, a vengeful Zulu spirit emerged from the depths of the cave and latched itself onto Lawrence, possessing his body and disfiguring him in the process. Trainor was dismissed from the army and returned to England alone and ashamed, struggling to come to terms with what he had become. He soon attracted the attention of Professor Caulder, who helped ease his condition with herb-infused bandages and taught him how to find inner peace with the spirit.
Famed jockey Clifton ‘Stirrups’ Steel saw an abrupt and brutal end to his illustrious career after a tragic incident at the derby. Steel was leading the race when his horse got spooked and threw him violently to the ground. Unable to react quickly enough to what had happened, his fellow riders trampled him where he lay, severely mangling his body beyond repair. The best doctors in the land were called in an attempt to save Steel, but they soon found orthodox methods would not be enough to save him. It was here Professor Caulder was brought in. Caulder was able to salvage Steel’s head and arms and combine them with a state of the art, steam powered mechanical suit that granted him some form of life. Now known only as ‘The Automaton’, Steel, despite being little more than a walking corpse in a metal suit, is fiercely loyal to the man who saved his life and will do anything to help him get his revenge on those who have wronged him.
Talented stage actress Rita Farr was known throughout London for her captivating performances, drawing huge crowds of adoring fans to her shows year-round. One night, as Rita entered centre stage for the closing moments of the play Enemy of the Congo, a freak lightning storm struck the theatre. The electric current travelled through the building and into the limelights above the stage, causing them to explode above Rita as she was delivering her closing speech. Before she even knew what was happening, her body was engulfed by the now charged slaked lime of the lights and caused a complete shift in her physiology. The deadly mix mingled with her body, leaving her a malleable being of stone and flesh. Naturally, the incident caused Rita to lose her mind. Moments away from destroying herself, she was approached by Professor Caulder, who offered to help her get a hold of her condition. She reluctantly went with him and hasn’t looked back since.
Renowned psychic medium Arthur Challis made a fortune hosting séances for London’s richest and most gullible, using his daughter Katie as a sort of ‘spiritual diving rod’ to make contact with the dead. Little did his patrons know, but Arthur was a charlatan, exploiting Katie’s youth and innocence to draw in crowds of the most morbidly curious. One evening, however, as Katie was halfway through her ritual, her body began to convulse and her eyes turned a dark red. No one in the room would have expected the young girl to have drawn the attention of a real, vengeful ghost. The ghost took hold of Katie and had her kill everyone in the room – including her father – before allowing her to regain consciousness and come to terms with what she had done. Katie’s mind was fractured, and she was soon admitted to a mental asylum. It was here her fellow inmates gave her the nickname ‘Insane Jane’. As the years went by something inside Jane drew the attention more ghosts, until doctors believed her body to be host to around sixty four unique spirits, each displaying its own supernatural abilities. Professor Caulder heard of her unique disposition and naturally offered to take her into his care. Jane’s doctors were more than happy to comply.
Let me know what you think!