Kevin Rau

The Adventures of Fishman (with Photos)

In keeping with the superhero theme kicked off by my interview with super author Kevin Rau, I’m updating a post I published in January 2005 called The Adventures of Fishman — this time with photos. May it inspire anyone with young children to turn their toys into characters of a story that will help parents have fun too.

Whenever I play with my son, I try to have fun. We play well together; in fact, my wife tells me that he has a great time whenever he plays with dad. Sometimes my mind gets carried away, and I make up epic stories with whatever toys are available at the time.

The other night I happened to stick a toy fish on the head of my son’s Mr. Perfect doll, and presto! the superhero “Fishman” was born. Thus began The Adventures of Fishman, a crazy aquatic superhero. Eat your heart out, The Incredibles!

By day, “Fishman” is Mr. Joe Perfect, a mild-mannered consultant for Discovery Consulting. He’s Mr. Everyman, the kind of guy you can bring home to meet the parents. He’s courteous and thoughtful, everything anyone could ever want in a man. He says sweet things when you press his stomach such as, “The ballgame doesn’t really matter. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care what we watch.” Or “Here, let me make dinner tonight,” or “Let me stop and ask directions.” He wears beige khakis and a snazzy blue dress shirt, the wrinkle-free kind with the indestructible buttons. He sports a short, preppy haircut. He’s masculine but not macho. He’s single but a great catch.

By night, Joe is “Fishman,” a mighty superhero. Endowed with a ruby red iron Fishhead to mask his identity, he carries a candy trident that he uses to fight crime in Discovery Village. After eating a bad filet of soul one night at a local restaurant, Joe found himself suddenly endowed with the superhuman sense of knowing when something fishy is happening. Determined to use his power for good, he uses this ability to sniff out all things rotten and fight evil for the good of mankind and fishdom; well, at least Discovery Village.

Fishman’s greatest nemesis is the One-Eyed Monster (OEM), a villain who escaped from the sinister labs of Monsters, Inc. and terrorizes the good citizens of Discovery Village. Our superhero’s mission is to stop OEM from carrying out his sinister plans to wreak havoc on the village.

Here are some action shots of Fishman thwarting OEM’s plans to derail a commuter train. Fishman pins down OEM and saves the train before it falls off the edge of Discovery Garage.

Fishman saves the day again! Three cheers for Fishman!

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Superhero Author Interviews M.G. Edwards

Reblogged from KevinRau.com:

An Interview with M.G. Edwards

Many thanks to fellow author Kevin Rau for his invitation to interview me with a superhero twist! Although I am mortal, I’m happy to have the opportunity flex my lone superpower — my amazing ability to bend and twist prose. Thanks again, Kevin! I’ll try to keep this interview coherent and on topic. If not, just tell the words to get back in line.

When did you start writing, and was there a significant event that prompted you to do so?

When I was ten years old, my teacher asked our class to write tall tales in small groups and present them in class. Some groups chose to tell the story of Paul Bunyan and other well-known legends. Inspired by the 1981 eruption of Mount St. Helens, I wrote a tale called "How Little Big Chief Calmed the Mountain." Featured in my book Real Dreams, the story tells of how Little Big Chief made the ultimate sacrifice — offering what was most precious to him to appease an angry volcano. The role of Little Big Chief went to a good friend with cerebral palsy. His amazing performance is one of my fondest childhood memories.

Kev’s response: Hmm, I’ve always found that interesting. Personally, I have no memories below the age of 13 or so. None. I joke that I was hatched at that age. It’s fascinating to hear about others with their memories.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? (Assuming said power would be reasonably powerful.)

I would like the ability to clone myself like Michael Keaton did in the movie Multiplicity. Not that I relish dealing with multiple versions of myself and their escapades, but they sure would come in handy to help me multitask. One could focus on brainstorming ideas for novels, another on writing outlines, a third on drafting the manuscript, and a fourth on editing it. My productivity would soar! At least, that’s how it would work in theory.

Kev’s response: Just the ability to brainstorm ideas in a group for storylines would rock.

Do you have a favorite superhero from novels, comics, or movies?

I’m a big comic book fan. My favorite superhero — long before The Avengers movie came along — has always been Thor. I mean, how can you beat a demigod? I know that Ironman seems cooler, the Hulk is a force to be reckoned with, and Captain America is America’s superhero, but it’s hard to beat a Norse god and his mighty hammer.

Kev’s response: Thor is a full-blown deity, you know. Perhaps not in the Marvel Universe, however. He is filled with much awesomeness – and Chris Hemsworth has done an excellent job portraying him in the Thor part. 🙂

Click here to read the rest of my interview on Kevin’s super-fabulous blog!

About Kevin Rau

Kevin Rau is the author of six novels, including the H.E.R.O. series, an Illustrated Guide, and short stories in the SciFi/Superhero genre. He also does character art. He launched the Author Interview pages to promote fellow authors and create some cross-links back to their websites or social networks within the interview. Visit his interview page for more great interviews from other authors. For more information about his work, visit KevinRau.com.

Thor’s Battle Against the Jötnar (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge is public domain.