Steampunk Detectives Character Contest

What do they look like?

Mr. Wendell Clangor -
Charming and dapper
Upper-class gentleman
Smooth chestnut hair
Bright hazel eyes
Average height
Athletic build

Captain Brutus Hiss -
Cunning and brave
Swarthy sea captain
Unkepted dark brown hair
Piercing gray eyes
Medium height
Ruggedly strong

What is their history is?

Seemingly opposites in every part of their lives except in one one important way - they are one man known as "The Detective".

The Detective hides true identity but what he never hides which case he has decided to take on. Every case he begins the same way, by publicly publishing a cryptic message in various newspaper advertisements while privately a discreet message is sent to each person, company, or group possibly involved. The announcement read publicly or privately will cause the innocent and uninvolved to be baffled and confused whereas the guilty and those with critical information tend to decipher the message and then will help, hide, or hinder the investigation. The Detective then is able to choose which of his identities will serve him best in the investigation. When the case is solved the cryptic message is revealed to all by the wrongdoers and their deeds being exposed and a simple but clever statement "The Detective" publicly posts.

The Detective spent many years in creating, collecting and establishing several identities with a reputation known within that social circle, area, or position that he must maintain in between each case. Once he takes a case, however, he chooses two to become during the investigation and is careful to not to reveal the identities as one of his even after the case is over.

For the current case, he is the well known wealthy, pompous Mr. Clangor as well as the legendary, handsome man of the sea, Captain Hiss to solve the case of the ????? (Serial story writer to decide)


What are their connections to all things steampunk?

The Detective is basically a Victorian era Mission Impossible agent. He uses many gadgets to spy on, detect, quickly travel between places, and switch his appearance.

Is there story set in an alternate history Victorian England or Americana Wild West?
The comic story creator could decide to or not because it would be easy to fit "The Detective" into an alternate history story or keep to the real history.

My Justification for "The Detective"

I think that by having one character with a hidden backstory living as multiple different characters in order to solve mysteries or expose corruption, etc could provide a vast amount of material for a serial. Each story would not only just be a smart and clever mystery but would have ongoing complications resulting from one person being two. As well as the ultimate mystery, who or what is "The Detective" and the why or how does he do it.

I feel that this could offer the readers that have gotten bored with Steampunk something different. They would possibly get drawn back into stories that took the feel of old 30's pulp novels mixed with a steampunk vibe and had some continuous deeper dramatic secondary storyline elements to keep them guessing at, discussing, and most importantly reading.