The Inside Observer

Two washed up investigative journalists, Archie Duponte and Evergreen Cowell leave their average lives behind in order to chase a cold case, a string of mysterious disappearances that no one seems to be talking about. After recruiting a mishmash of helping hands, including a level headed editor, an ex-bounty hunter, a sharpshooting field medic, and a neurotic gadgets mechanic, they establish an underground newspaper to unravel the news story of the century. They quickly get in over their heads as clues pile up pointing to an elite occult conspiracy that could very well end the world.

- Murder mystery / Romance / Fantasy

-18+ webcomic in early development

Full line up of the main cast, including the main antagonists.

Ideation

Archie Duponte

He/Him

Archie was born into a successful but humble family but is by no means one of the prodigies. His dream of one day being a detective like his mother was cut short when his disability inhibited him from doing the job. He settled on being an investigative journalist, but continuously works to prove he's anything but "average". He met his best friend Evergreen at university, and the two have been close friends since. He took on a dangerous case, a string of murders and disappearances that seem to result in journalists themselves disappearing as a way to prove to himself he's more than capable of holding his own. He's unreasonably good at reading people but doesn't know when to keep his thoughts to himself.

Archie is a gangly man who walks with his head and talks with his hands. His hair is ginger with stress induced gray hairs along his temple and hairline and his outfits are always eclectic with frills, patterns and useless ornamentation. He has a very distinct face due to his sharp nose, large eyes and small, circular glasses. He has a prosthetic right leg resembling the leg of a table that bends at the knee with movement and is attached at the upper thigh, making it fairly easy to get around.

Evergreen Cowell

She/Her

Evergreen is from a long line of librarians and devoted temple-keepers, a group or family that maintains a place of worship throughout the lineage. She wasn't interested in following the family tradition, and in fact wasn't interested with words at all. Choosing to go to university for photography was a huge disappointment to her family, but Evergreen was too determined to carve her own path to let it get to her. She became a photo journalist, and met Archie in college and quickly became friends and eventual roommates. She will often forget to worry about herself, and can come off as standoffish to strangers because she doesn't hold conversations well.

Evergreen is a taller woman who wears a blend of elegant clothing and more functional attire because it's easier for her to move around in pants. Her face is rounded, but she has a glare that could kill. She takes care of her appearance, so her hair is always smooth and her clothes always pristine. Outwardly she seems methodical, but she’s incredibly scrambled and incredible at losing things.

Roscoe Medina

He/Him

Born in a rural town, Roscoe searched desperately to find a place he felt he belonged. His brother got mixed up in a group of bounty hunters, and Roscoe followed suit in an attempt to keep his brother out of too much trouble. He grew up as a delinquent who would pick fights for fun, drink until dawn, and made poor choices over and over again. After his gang betrayed him and his brother, ending in his death, Roscoe left to start a respectable life for himself. He works to keep his mind busy, and feels as though he needs to earn forgiveness for what he'd done almost 13 years previous. He always lends a helping hand even if he's hardly able to. He swore off drinking, even cursing, and most importantly bounty hunting.

Roscoe is a tall, built man with awkward gray tufts of hair around his ears from an undercut that is slowly growing out as well as an unkempt beard. He always works odd jobs, so he dresses in something he can get his hands dirty in. When he works for the city’s postal service, he wears the most respectable vest he owns and jeans. He talks in a slow drawl, similar to a southern accent.

Hotshot Kinson

She/They

Hotshot grew up on the streets after their mother was arrested as a young age. She was left without a solid home, and instead kept herself alive as a petty thief. When they were thirteen, she stole repeatedly from a doctor's office, which eventually caught her. Instead of turning her over to the authorities, the owner of the office offered her a place to stay, and inspired Hotshot to become a doctor themselves. They don't like talking about their childhood, but they're always careful to look out for those who might need the support like what she received as a kid.

Hotshot is scrappy and short but has strong arms. She has a terrible poker face especially when it comes to anger. They a slight drawl but it’s very faint due to her guardians not having an accent. She likes to have a lot of pockets, and she often times has things in them, whether they're useful or not. She always has medical supplies on hand, and while people tease them that it may be an excessive amount, she'd rather be safe than sorry.

The Styles

The Styles siblings are the heirs to a modern day throne, a booming pharmaceutical company owned by their father who's ripe to die any day now. For now they work together in order to perform an occult ritual that, if everything goes right, could give each of them eternal life. All three of them are ready to backstab the other if the moment is right, but work together towards their shared goal despite their unique ulterior motives.

The Styles look very similar, each close in age. With dark hair and nearly uncanny blue eyes, even their face shape and nose is similar. Gabrielle (far left) and Owen (far right) are twins. They all wear cool tones because their family crest follows the same color pallet, and dress as the upper crust would dress, save for Parker (middle) who intentionally dresses more casually to create a more personable appearance.

Ideation

The beginning of this story started with a mishmash of my some of my favorite visual aesthetics; Victorian and Edwardian clothing, catholic imagery, steampunk gadgets, 1920s culture, fantasy and the "wild west". Throwing these different wildly different vibes together made it really fun to build the world into its own unique place. Expanding off of the core inspirations has been a blast for me, especially with coming up with wacky costume design.

Behind Archie's Design

The story's main protagonist is Archie, the high-strung reporter who is incredibly excitable and wears his heart on his sleeve. He dresses in a lot of frills and patterns, and doesn't shy away from being the best dressed in a room. He hoards nice clothes to deflect from the fact he doesn't have a penny to his name. An important aspect of his character design is his prosthetic, which is actually inspired by the leg of a table. I wanted to add a spin to what a prosthetic leg could look like, both being functional as well as fun and elegant.

Expression sheet

Costume variations

Behind Roscoe's Design

I wanted Roscoe to capture the energy of the average working class man, because that's a large part of his character. Because the story involves themes of a struggling lower-middle class, reflecting that in his character was part of the fundamentals of his design. I designed Roscoe before Archie, and when I drew his silhouette with his nonsense ear-tufts I knew I had to keep them despite how silly they look. He's one of the other core protagonists and Archie's love interest.