The Idea Behind Wendell

WARNING: I'm going to do all I can to get you to fall in love with this kid.

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Receiving questions, especially fan mail about WANTED HERO comic books, has always been a joy to me…particularly when I get them from children.

What seems to stump them is why I write a story about a guy who can’t really do anything?  

Why a character like Wendell P. Dipmier?

Short answer is, there’s a great deal more to Wendell than meets the eye.  

The longer answer is…well, longer. 

The Comic Book Isn’t The Novel

The comic book version of Wendell isn’t the same as the novel version. You need to understand this right up front. In fact, the novel version of Wendell isn’t the novel version of Wendell either.

Did I lose you?

I intended the comic version of my hero for kids. Young kids. I was trying to avoid anything I could think of that would offend parents, give kids nightmares, or worse, need therapy. So I pulled back on the reins and focused far more on the comedy side of the storyline and gutted what I had in my notes.

Wendell in this version was a 33-year-old nerd who still lived in the basement of his mother’s house. He had little to no direction in his life, but he started figuring it out quickly once they carted him away to another world. He had many of the same qualities, but I had to alter the powers and abilities he would receive. Wendell would not face many of the problems crafted to throw at him in my original notes.

The Novel Isn’t The Novel

When I started writing the novels, due to damage to my hands after a car accident, I held back. This is 100% my fault, and I have no one to blame but myself for this. It scared me that people wouldn’t like the novels after seeing the success of the comic book. What would happen if I’d wrote the complete story?

So I compromised.

If you haven’t read my foundation explanation of who I am and how I get here, to this point right now in life, read How to Succeed at Fiction By Failing: Part One. It’s in three parts, but you’ll get a clear picture of why I’ve done what I’ve done.

Chronicles of a Hero had progressed to eight books, and I loved writing them, but they weren’t what I should have written. My fear sent me on a path, seeking to spew out what I believed readers wanted. To this day, I wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed the course and written the entire story the first time around.

The results were nowhere close to my intended goals.

Point is, Wendell wasn’t what he was supposed to be in the novels, and that was the fundamental problem. He was closer, yes, but I made him 18, just out of high school, and again, the challenges he faced weren’t the original conflicts.

So here we are, in August 2023, ready to rewrite the books all over again. The plan is for them to be published faster, here on Substack, for members to enjoy each chapter first, and hopefully give me feedback. Best of all, I will do my best to make sure the stories are complete, as they should have been.

So Who Is Wendell, Really?

Wendell is a 17-year-old kid, who just wants to find his place in the world. I mean, what teen doesn’t, right? But he’s still in high school. He’s trying to figure his stuff out. Having to deal with the ‘law of the jungle’, where popularity rules and violence are normal when the teachers aren’t looking.

Wendell’s growth experiences will be a bit…uncomfortable.

He’s the kid no one really pays much attention to during the school year, but always seems to have the most signatures in his yearbook in the end. That’s because of all the challenges he faces and the problems he experiences in school, he actually likes other people. There’s a rare quality in this young man, and that is seeing and appreciating others and who they are.

He doesn’t have a ‘click’. He wouldn’t fit, anyway. Wendell admires others from a distance, always wanting to connect, but never sure how to do so.

Every girl that has liked Wendell finds themselves stepping back. He’s cute enough, with his wavy brown hair and dark eyes. His genuine smile is actually infectious, but his awkward lack of social skills causes doors to shut in his face. The gawky clumsiness of his coordination translates perfectly over to his use of words. It always sounds better when it’s just in his head.

All Wendell Wants Is To Be A Hero

I don’t know about you, but I always wanted to do something important. It wasn’t about being the hero, but doing something heroic and helping others when they truly needed it. Wendell wants both.

Wendell wants to be the hero, more than anything else in the world. To have purpose and to win the affections of others, in a current life that isn’t noticed by anyone. He simply wants to matter to other people.

The situations Wendell finds himself in shadow similar situations I had to solve as a youth. I became paranoid about sharing my vulnerabilities, which caused the process to derail and compromises had to be made.

Not that I had talking diamonds impaling themselves into my chest or that they transported me to distant planets in the far reaches of the known universe.  

That would have been cool, to be honest.

As a youth, I was the target of jokes and brutality, as many children are in school. I was one of those rare few that the so-called ‘bullies’ of the day would practice on ‘just because I was there’. That was what I was told on many Friday afternoons when the recess guard would walk out of sight. When I would walk home and was out of view of the school, or even when the teacher left to talk with another student, I became a target.  

My personal experiences ranged from being hit and kicked to being beaten. They used books, bags, pipes, sticks, tree branches, bottles, chains, rocks and even the concrete they threw it at me.  

A group of opponents chased and caught me almost every time, which happened at least once a week.  

My point here is that I have had an inordinate amount of experience with bullies, and so does Wendell. That was always the point, dealing with bullies, but I held back in previous publications.  

I hate bullies. So does Wendell.  

I also stand up to bullies. So does Wendell.

Don’t worry,…he get better at this. A LOT better.

Wendell reflects the development I went through as I grew up and how I dealt with people who sought to harm others for the sheer pleasure in doing so. While struggling with mental limitations and violent individuals, I developed a teen character that I love. It’s time I let him shine.

Wendell Is A Hidden Hope For Surprises

Because this is just you and me, I want to share something I’ve never mentioned before. What made Wendell ‘perfect’ to me, even though he isn’t literally perfect, is his ability for growth.

So many beliefs in this world, things burned into our minds by society, will be confronted. If anything could be said about Wendell, it’s that he has a habit of saying what we want to say, but are rarely brave enough to say it. I just made sure he didn’t come with that particular filter.

Yeah, that gets him into a lot of trouble, and he’s complained about it to me…but you and I get to reap the benefits of it.

What many don’t realize, especially when they face having to defend themselves, is they don’t have to be ‘best’ to do it. You don’t always have to say the best thing, to change someone’s mind. You don’t have to be some master of martial arts to defend yourself physically, either. Even bees and hornets can scare off a 300lb muscular assailant.

You just have to be good ENOUGH...and that is something we can all do.  

There will always be someone faster, stronger, bigger and more experienced than yourself—but you can always do something. That’s one aspect of Wendell that will shine over the comic books. These new novels will be crafted to make us laugh, make us pause, …and if I’m very lucky, make all of us consider new options that we’ve ignored up to now.

Wendell is a regular guy with an exceptional heart, and one I believe many will choose to emulate. Because being a hero isn’t always about doing the impossible….but it is always about doing for another what they cannot do for themselves.

That is Wendell P. Dipmier in a nutshell.  

I hope you’ll join me as Chronicles of a Hero is told in its entirety.

Until then.

- Jaime

Do you have a favorite fantasy character? I’d love to know who it is, and why you love them so much.

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Paid subscribers can comment, access the archive of this site, along with other stories, art, and any article I’ve ever written. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can access the archive for free with a 7-day trial OR earn a paid membership by joining the referral program!