Behind the scenes

Manic The Lad 101

The Manic Meowth Mike Burgess and Chris Childs at the time were working on a fan site devoted to two things: Sonic The Hedgehogand Pokemon. Due to Chris' need for a mascot, they came up with a Meowth wearing a pair of shoes and three blue spikes of hair. Months went by and he grew to 5'4 but was still noseless and naked. After awhile Mike and Chris found inspiration in Earthworm Jim and Anime. Manic was given an older brother, Tranic. However, Tranic too was noseless and naked. During the development of Neo Sonic 3, Mike decided it was time for the debut of Manic the Lad. So, he was given a nose and three more blue spikes. After Neo Sonic 3, Mike wanted Manic to have his own original game. So, Mike and Chris hit the character development board again. Manic was given an stubborn attitude and a pair of pants, finally.

 

The characters made to co-star with Manic in his own game started with Tranic, Manic's older brother. Tranic, being the opposite of his hard-headed brother, was meant to straighten out his bro, was given a pair of knee high shorts, a nose, and the IQ and strength of a Teenage Gohan. Mana, the Lightspeed little sister, in the original sketch was a bit rugged, however, Mike turned her into a healer who practiced earthy magic (hence the name Mana). The family was complete, now other characters were needed. Statik was originally designed as a scantly dressed female evil twin for Manic. However, Statik just became Manic's rival. The secret
behind the attitude of Statik is that she was based on an annoying
redhead that plagued Mike and Chris at their school.		 Manic the fighter

 

Manic today

The characters that didn't appear in Manic The Lad the game were developed later. Akira was developed around the end of the production
of Manic The Lad the game. At first, Akira was supposed to be a serious character. But later, Mike and Chris gave Akira Gene Starwind's outfit
for humor. Zero was designed to be Manic's "shadow" and he was. Nazz, however, was based off of the Pokemon, Vaporean cause it looks like a
gothic creature. Mike drew a Blue Lunar Wolf and while watching the Eds formulating yet another jawbreaker scheme, Mike realized Nazz was a cool name. So there you have it, the complete story of the beginnings of the
Manic the Lad universe.

 
Home