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 It's funny how the creative process works , as all the myriad influences that get stored deep within the recesses of your brain suddenly find a suitable vehicle for output . Ever since that day in 1969 when I first chanced upon an article about Roger Patterson's sensational encounter with a heretofore unknown animal thereafter referred to as " Bigfoot " ; I was fascinated by tales of " The Bizarre and Unknown " . It really didn't matter whether or not these tales were true , they fired the imagination with possibilities of a reality far far different than the everyday . Over the past 36 years I have amassed quite an eclectic collection of books on the strange and unknown and have always had a morbid delight in the genre of horror . Throughout those years I've created a lot of concepts for supernatural storylines , none of which ever fully developed in the manner necessary to result in a continuing series , but served at least , as a cauldron of ideas . . . one that's been percolating for quite some time . Cool Girl Raven , or Jet in the Blue Box Intl. import of that doll for the U.S. market was one of my favorites right from the start . With her Mona Lisa smile and short red hair ( I've got a " thing " for redheads ! ) she was a very special character amidst a line of very special characters . The moment I plopped that black felt fedora on her head , clad in that stygian dark patent leather trenchcoat , my mind immediately started conjuring up character ideas , and the mysterious imagery of Pulp Legend " The Shadow " caused that long simmering cauldron of the paranormal to come to a boil .   Whenever I get an idea for something , I like to start generating conceptual images to help cement that concept , and Barbra Dark was no exception . In addition to character designs I will often start creating fake promo material and advertising mock-ups , images to inspire curiosity and intrigue . I tend to handle most of my work with a bit of humor , regardless of the subject matter , as a way of cueing in the unwashed that " I know what I'm doing is silly , but isn't it FUN ? " Walking to work on Monday morning , still engrossed in the storyline of Dark Babylon and its heroine Barbra Dark , my mind flashed on that tagline from Bruce Willis' " The Sixth Sense " , " I see DEAD people " , it brought a chuckle to me and I thought " Barbra Dark Sees Dead People . . . and KILLS them AGAIN ! As simple and as plaegaristic as that , I had my first teaser line for Dark Babylon . That same day , rolling that line around in my head , I started thinking about HOW Barbra kills DEAD people , the answer came quickly and easily , due mostly to its obviousness - her gun , an " Occult .45 " . Like I said , I wouldn't be ME if my tongue wasn't in my cheek , it's part of the legacy of a misspent youth watching James Bond movies over and over again .  There is a sort of lurid perverse humor in tales of the supernatural . a dark humor that I guess could be attributed to the influence of that guy downstairs with the pointy stick . H. P . Lovecraft was a master at telling scary stories that really were scary , and Dan Curtis was a master at including the humorous aspect ( maybe I should refer to it as the " Human " aspect ) into the genre of horror with Kolchak : The Night Stalker . Both of these creative geniuses have been immeasurable influences on my own creative spirit . Chris Carter is a more recent influence with his " X-Files " and " Millennium " series ; proving that the genre of the supernatural and the paranormal can be both well written and hilarious without sacrificing integrity . Whether or not I will be able to live up to the standards of those who've inspired me is still to be determined but it gives me a great target to aim at . So why the names ? Grabbing a catchy title and names for characters is never an easy task , but it sure is a great deal of fun . I paid homage with the name of the central heroine Barbra Dark , Barbra being the the heroine in George Romero's " Night of the Living Dead " and of course her last name was chosen simply because of its ties to the title , Dark Babylon . The series title Dark Babylon is a simple allusion to Christian symbolism and the harlot , Babylon , the city of vice and luxury , the antithesis of the bride " the holy city " Jerusalem , setting the stage so to speak for tales of arcane evil . The name of Barbra Dark's companion Malicia was again homage , her hair made her look ( to me at any rate ) like an evil Alice in Wonderland ; thus the word Malice popped to mind and since she was packing heat , another M word sprang to mind - Militia . I just morphed the two together into Malicia . The fact that a line of Gothic Fashion Boots shared the same appellation merely firmed in my mind that I had arrived at the perfect name for this character . So there you have it , a small peak into my mind as to the creation of a storyline and how it all starts to come together . 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