My Webcomic Needs a Name...

[Poofiemus]

I feel kinda awkward doing this, but meh, whatever.

Anywho, to get to the point, I'm starting a webcomic this summer and intend to begin posting pages in May. However, I have one MAJOR conundrum--I still don't have a name for the sucker. ^^; It would be great if you could give me some suggestions for one.

Here's the basic premise (at least covering the first exposition chapter or two):

The protagonist is a petite, red-haired drama geek named Natalie Potanski. Natalie is very much into what she does, and absolutely throws herself into the characters she plays. So, one afternoon, while shopping in a thrift store for costuming accessories for her latest role, she stumbles upon a small box full of really random stuff--a hair clip, a headband, maybe a jacket. It's only a quarter for the whole box, though, so she buys it and figures she can find a use for the stuff later.

When she gets home, she puts on the headband, just for fun. But a split second later, the person looking back at her in the mirror seems to be someone else, someone with curly, silvery-white hair and a full suit of sturdy but lightweight armor. She pulls it off, and there is her ordinary self again.

Befuddled, she starts carrying it to school with her, hoping to figure it out between classes or something. Then, after a late rehearsal, she sees her nerdy boyfriend and some random classmate getting mugged. On a whim, she puts on the headband, picks up a pole out of the dumpster, and starts acting like some kind of hero. Her boyfriend doesn't even recognize her and asks her name. She almost tells him who she really is...but then gets an idea. She instead calls herself Regolith, and decides to experiment with this whole hero thing while she also tries to understand the mystery of the magic headband.

Also, I have some concept art on my dA page if you're interested in getting a preview of the protagonist's look.

So...yeah..May I please enlist your aid and advice? Thank you!

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

Your own webcomic!!! Cool!!! I wish I had the time and the drawing skills. I can write, but my drawing skills need a lot of work.

As for a name, well, there's always the obvious: to name it after the main character. Regolith is cool. I like it.

Since Natalie's into acting, you might also consider a form of acting. For instance, Method Act, or perhaps even Epic Act. You could also use specific acting jargon, like Drama Queen. Just some suggestions. If anything totally brilliant pops into my head, I'll pass that along as well.

Good Luck!!!

[madsniper]

How about: Role Call!

I also recommend running a google search for acting terms and the like. There are some good ones that might fit what your going for, like understudy, or scene-stealer! ^^

[Poofiemus]

You know, I put up the exact same summary, word for word on dA, and yet the patterns in titling are completely different between here and there! On DA they focused mainly on the hero concept, but you guys latched immediately onto the theater idea. Even if I go with one of the hero themed titles for the main comic, I think I'll still use theater terms for the chapters.

Oh, and Snipes: I looked up theater terms like you suggested and found a couple that could also be usable, but I think I'd like to wait for a few more suggestions before I leap in with my own prejudices.

[martiansushi]

Before I suggest anything: you should do a google search for your intended title before you settle down on anything... otherwise you might end up with the same name as something else. I had to change the title for my comic, because the original name was taken by another comic! The new one is better, but still, good to check .

I like titles that hint at what's to come... so if you know the origins, etc. of the headband, maybe you could think about that for a title...

Here are some off the wall ideas:

'Inside the Artist'
'Juxtaposed Realities'
'the Magic Headband'
'Mistress of the Headband'
'Surviving Regolith'
'the Continuance of Regolith'

[madsniper]

Heehee, I really like 'Surviving Regolith'.^^
Very good suggestion about searching the title before you decide on it. Ugh. When I named White Noise, I knew there was a book from the 80's with the same title, but the MOVIE White Noise didn't come out till like ONE MONTH after I started putting my White Noise online. XP Of course, I tried to change it to Project White Noise, but it didn't stick. Now everybody asks me if it's a fancomic for WN the movie.>_< Stupid, stupid crappy movie...

[Poofiemus]

We SHOULD start calling it Project White Noise. Then its abbreviation will be PWN! *bricked*

Ah, Sushi, I can see from your suggestions where you THINK the story is going.

"Juxtaposed Realities" is an interesting idea, though I'm concerned about confusion with the Piers Anthony book "Juxtaposition", which has to do with literally juxtaposed realities.

I should narrow it down to like, 4 or 5 and start asking which is best...

[martiansushi]

heh, yeah - course since you actually know where it's going, you can do a better job with the subtle hinting

there were actually two themes in my suggestions: one of them was the idea of possession by the being inside the headband, and the other was the idea of an entity that resides in the headband and is passed to the next generation of protectors... similar in concept, but different in implication, i guess wow.. and looking back at that, it really sounds like something out of andre norton...

thought of more ideas while typing this:

Juxtaposition of Self
Layers of the Dream
Transparent Realities
Dramatic Overlay

(mental note to start calling white noise project white noise...)

[Poofiemus]

Yeah, I thought it was one of those two, and believe me, you're not the only one who is thinking that at this point. I'm wondering whether to milk this wrong idea somehow or if I should try to nip the notion in the bud...

Dramatic Overlay...Ooooh, I like that one.

Yeah, I want to make sure I start calling Project White Noise by its newer name too. In great part because of the abreviation. (I'm such a dork. XD)

PWN!!

[Poofiemus]

Okay, here are the current leading candidates:

"Of Headbands and Heroes"
"25 Cent Hero"
"Role Call!"
"Counter-Cross" (a shifting of 2 or more actors to balance the stage picture)
"Dramatic Overlay"

So, which of these is the best?

[madsniper]

I personally like Role Call ( I'm not biased ^^) though without the "!", and Counter Cross and Dramatic Overlay.

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

My vote is for "Dramatic Overlay". To me, it really conveys the idea of what happens to the main character when she puts the headband on.

[martiansushi]

I like Counter-Cross, mostly because I'm a sucker for esoteric uses of language, especially when they have subtle meanings in things like titles

[Poofiemus]

I'm afraid that the folks at DA outvoted you, and 25 Cent Hero is the winning name.

I'm still struggling with the website, but I did get a ProBoards forum running. XD poofiemuscomics.proboards52.com/index.cgi Snipes, I kind of mimicked your layout, since it works pretty well. I hope you don't mind. *sheepish face*

[madsniper]

*chuckle* Well there is only so many ways one can take a proboards forum. I look forward to seeing how the site turns out, and if you need any assistance, don't hesitate to ask.^^