So I’ve noticed a trend where I post to Twitter some crazy writing idea, and I end up running into someone who turns it around on me and really makes me think about it. I won’t reconstruct the chain of events, but the practical upshot is I am thinking again about public domain characters. Specifically, I’m thinking of ideas around doing a modern update of such characters, instead of new work set in the character’s original time period. This is a similar idea to the Sherlock TV series. In fact, that series is the reason why I’m not thinking about doing this with Holmes – Moffat already pretty much nailed that really well for me. So, I’m looking at other characters that might be interesting to me as a writer, and I’m noticing a few distinct categories of such characters that are attracting my interest.

Occult Detectives: This really revolves around Thomas Carnacki, but he has a couple friends that also appear to be in the public domain, such as Dr. John Silence and Jules de Grandin (although Grandin may still have a question mark on his public domain status). Carnacki in particular has had a number of pastiches, and even a small role in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but he could be fun to do as a modern ghost-chaser.

Pulp Detectives: Not too far removed from the occult detectives, there are a few pulp detectives that look interesting. The Black Bat is a bit too Batman for my liking, but The Phantom Detective could be fun, as could a “spy-but-really-a-detective” character like Secret Agent X. There’s also the female equivalent, like The Domino Lady, although her character is a bit too “my low-cut dress gives me power” for my liking as is.

Comicbook Heroes: Finally, there are a ton of superheroes in the public domain, but a few characters might be interesting in similar veins as the previous two categories. The Scarlet Avenger could be a neat blend of The Shadow and Doc Savage, if done right. Amazing Man is a little more to the pulp adventure side, but could still have some good potential, especially if the religious elements are updated and emphasized. Same with the Green Lama. The Clock is interesting primarily due to his historical placement, but as a character I think he would need a lot of work to make him interesting. There are also a couple of female avengers that I could work with, like The Woman in Red and Miss Masque.

Not sure if I’ll do anything with these ideas just yet. Mostly, I’m just intrigued by the creative challenge of taking an older character and updating them into a modern setting.