[ Posted by abraxascomicsgroup on Apr 27th, 2007 12:22 AM ]...

THE RAVEN
created by Bill Woodcock
Writer: Bill Woodcock, Art Director: Greg Giordano.

The Concept;

The RAVEN: The dark hero who took on the mobs–and then took them over. 15 years later he is the Uber-kingpin of crime; With his mysterious Powers of the Mind and tactics, Raven maintains his vast criminal empire against rival crime-lords, secret societies, government cabals, ambitious underlings, and a new generation of heroes determined to destroy him.

The Setting
The Raven is set in an ambiguous near future, with the majority of the action taking place in The
City–a sea-side metropolis loosely based on New Orleans and Miami.
The series will incorporate modern and near future technological and cultural elements, but
filtered through dark heroic elements common to pulp heroic fiction and film noir–dark
enigmatic characters, moral compromise, corruption, and strange and mysterious powers and
abilities.

Key Elements
In The Raven, political corruption and criminal conspiracies are rife, law enforcement is either
compromised or ineffectual, and “Mystery Men” wielding weird technologies, “black” sciences,
and occult and mysterious powers are often the last line of defense.
The tone and foundation of the The Raven is derived from the pulp heroic fiction of the early
twentieth century, both American–The Shadow, The Spider, Doc Savage–and European–
Fantomas and Killing.

The Characters
Simon Petrus–The Raven. Fifteen years after following the trail of criminal corruption into the
City Council and corporate boardrooms of The City–and taking them over–The Raven’s control
is almost absolute. Almost nothing happens without his tacit approval, almost no deal is made in
which he does not claim a percentage.

In his civilian identity he is patriarch of one of the first families of The City, devoted husband
and father. But The Raven’s struggles are beginning to seep into his family life as he
manipulates the vicious lieutenants who comprise his organization, and defends it against rival
mafias and a new generation of Mystery Men who have settled their cross-hairs on him. Only his
mysterious Powers of the Mind allow him to stay one step ahead of his many enemies.

The Dead Men. A secret cabal of heroes who have gathered for one purpose–to the destroy The
Raven and his Organization. Shielded by the anti-surveillance technology of Dr. Whisper, and
funded by the legendary adventuress Saramis, The Dead Men’s first task is to unravel the secret
of The Raven’s origin and his enigmatic abilities.

Was he the quantum scientist who unraveled the secrets of the Schroedinger Field? Mystic
warrior trained in occult mysteries in the Hidden Fortress under the mountains of Wales, the
Great Pyramid in Serbia, and the Underground City of the Cossacks? The psychological genius
who stumbled across the secret of Entering Dreams? Or are these urban legends merely false
leads planted by The Raven himself?

Sabbat. In fourteen days one man has put The City’s criminal organizations on the run–Sabbat,
the Terror of the Underworld. Why is he the only man seemingly immune to the Raven’s
powers?

Saramis. The legendary adventuress of the 1960's, now one of the wealthiest women in the
world, and determined to bring her vast resources to bear against The Raven.
Dr. Whisper. Information Theory genius–can his black technologies thwart The Raven’s Powers
of the Mind?

Detective Leslie Dodd–MK-Ultra. Former Woman of Mystery, now decorated police detective.
She has the ability to control a number of specialized multiple personalities simultaneously–but
is she actually under the Raven’s control? And is “she” the primary personality?

Skeleton Woman. The Raven’s number two lieutenant and his primary enforcer–she’s just about
to learn who was truly responsible for the accident that endowed her with her special
abilities–and her freakish appearance.

The Triskele. Shadowy rumors spill through the corrupt boardrooms and city councils, the mafia
backrooms, the mean streets–of the Hidden Fortress under the Caer Idris mountains in Wales, of
the Great Pyramid in Serbia, and the Underground City of the Cossacks in the Caucausas–is the
infamous society of vengeance operating in The City?

Redrake. Has the legendary French criminal mastermind made his first play for control of The City?