HISTORICAL FIGURES - John Casimir - king of Poland who has a "guest" role in the first installment of the series

Polish king, John Casimir, is the ruler of Poland during the most of the seriest, or at least, first major installments.

Born in 1609, he was crowned in 1648 and abdicated in 1668, so since our series begin in 1655 and continue all the way to 1668 and further, he will become a prominent figure, tho he won't show up on the pages of novels, comics, or on the screen too frequently, being a rather controversial figure.

Well, he wan't very liked by his polish subjects, even hated, to the point where a lot of Poles - both nobility and soldiers - decided to become loyal to the swedish king, when he invaved the country.

Therefore, John Casimir, had to flee, he found an asylum in the neutral Austrian Empire, where he was hiding for a short period of time, but then returned and took power and the polish throne, once again.

OTHER ARMY EQUIPMENT - Gorget/Bevor - a decorative element of "armor" often worn by polish soldiers

Gorget/bevor is a very distinctive feature among polish soldiers, uncommon in other factions.

Ot's this type of amor that is not really to protect, but is kind of a relict of the past, a symbol of knighthood, that polish nobility likes to wear to show that they are descendants of the medieval knights or that they are knights themselves. 

So it's like men nipples really, kinda we don't need tham for anything, but they are they and we would look stupid without them ;)

And we have them because our fast evolution allowed us not to use them, but our prehistoric ancestors probably did ;)

OTHER ARMY EQUIPMENT - Bracers - form of protection for forearms used by polish soldiers ( among them some heroes ) and other eastern factions.

Bracers are used to protect forearms, and are own by a lot of polish horse soldiers, as well as cavalry units in many other eastern factions - like Russians, Crimean Tatars, Turks/Ottomans, Transylvanians.

In Poland it's almost a mandatory part of the equipment in such formations like Iron Cavalry and Winged Hussars and may be often found among other troops, or at least, those soldiers who can afford them, because armor of any kind costs money. Thus, it will be found among officers of dragoons, but not likely among privates from this unit.

By using bracers, our characters can deflect someone's attack - take a sword on his forearm without being hurt, to counter attack with own weapon.

RANGED WEAPONS - Cavalry Carbines - secondary weapon of the cavalry units in all of the factions, also used by the main hero

Carbines are a phase between long pistols and muskets, and they are used ONLY by the cavalry.

The reason for this is that are easier to be used from the saddle, than muskets, they are shorted and also easier to be reloaded this way.

Another difference is that horseman can hold and fire carbine with only one hand, what is impossible with a musket.

This might be quite usefull during the battle, as riders have to operate their horses or might need to use another weapon at the same time. 

RANGED WEAPONS - Muskets - primary weapon of the infantry, used by all of the factions

Muskets are used by all the factions, but usually seen only among infantry's riflemen formations - musketeers and among the navy crewmembers. 

A lot of times musketeers will also use a special military "fork" to help them position their weapon, it's a sort of a long wooden stick which is impaled in the ground and then serves the same purpose as a tripod for modern photo cameras :)

It's not mandatory to have these forks, but muskets are quite heavy, so it's easier to fire them this way for their users.

It's also easier to target enemies with a fork, than without it.

After shots are fired, if the enemy is close, they might also be used as a blunt weapon, a club of sorts.

RANGED WEAPONS - pistols - used by all of the factions, and so, both heroes and villains

Pistols are used by all the factions and are common ammong officers of all kinds of formations and among many privates in cavalry. 

Of course, they cost, so they are hardly available in the equipment of the poorest among troops - regular infantry - riflemen or pikemen.

A lot of those who own them, will have a pair of them, since a pistol can fire only once and it takes time to reload it. So in the event of battle, instead of reloading, a horseman will just fire one of the pair, and than another. 

After shots are fired, they might also be used as a blunt weapon, thus some of the pistols are constructed to be used this way, and thay will have some kind of a strenghtened handle, so that they would rather crash enemies' skulls, than end up broken on it.

RANGED WEAPONS - asian reflex bows - used by some of the units of the polish cavalry and so by the main hero as well :)

Asian reflex bows might look a little out-of-place in this era doimnated by muskets, cannons, pistols and everything else with a gunpowder in it, they might seem like a relic of old times, but I assure You that they were still a very efficient, deadly weapon, and not a sign of the past.

The reason why bows were not seen that often on the battlefield and among soldiers was simply that it was very hard to train a good bowman, it took years and a lot of dedication to be skilled in this form of fighting, and also these bows were costly, and it took a lot of time to make them.

On the other hand, at the same time, gunpowdered muskets and pistols could be produced very quickly and in large numbers, broken elements could be easily replaced, just as the whole weapon could be easily replaced by another, and of course, it could be possible to train anyone in using them in a short matter of time.

So, musket could be a weapon for masses, for uneducated peasants and total morons, they didn't require much of skill, while bows were mastered by a very few. 

BLADED WEAPONS - Warhammers - secondary weapon of cavalry units, used by all of the faction, tho more often by the Poles, sometimes seen also in the infantry or the navy

Warhammers are not exactly hammers, tho they resemble hammers a little bit. 

They are a secondary weapon of all of the cavalry units, used by both western-european and eastern-european faction, thus they are seen among Poles, Swedes, Russians and many other, tho Poles might use them more often and be more skilled with them.

BLADED WEAPONS - Broadswords - primary weapon in the western-european cavalry ( therefore used by some of the Villains in the series )

Broadswords look kinda similar to rapiers, but are much heavier, bigger and more deadly, since they are often used in close combat, to strike from the horseman's saddle. 

Riders like swedish Reiters, english Ironsides and austrian Cuirassiers or polish Iron Cavalry and polish Winged Hussairs often use some kind of body protection, armor, therefore rapiers are not that good when it comes to penetrating them. Thus, western cavalry prefers to use these babies, which are far more effective. 

BLADED WEAPONS - Rapier - Basic western-european personal weapon in the infantry and the navy ( therefore used by most of the Villains in the series, like the Swedes )

Rapiers are as common to western-european soldier as sabres as to the Poles.

They are simple swords, famous for being used by THREE MUSKETEERS and in plenty other period movies. 

BLADED WEAPONS - Sabre ( primary weapon among the Poles and polish corsairs )

Sabre is the type of sword with a curved blade and it's very common among armies of the eastern Europe.

So it's the very weapon of choice for the Poles, even more, it's like their national weapon and they are usually very skilled with them.

If You think of american cowboys, You think revolvers, and here, if You think of polish soldiers, nobility and cowboys of the XVII century, You think sabres.

Other weapons - both bladed or ranged - are just an addition ;)

FLAGS - Sweden

So, just like the Poles prefer a single color red&white pattern for most of their flags, Swedes use a lot of blue & yellow for all of their standards and banners etc.

There are 3-4 different kinds of swedish flags and design that will be used by them in the series, for different reasons and on different occasions.

FLAGS - Poland, Corsairs and the City of Gdansk

So just like the Swedish often use blue & yellow color palette for their flags, Poles use mainly red & white, at least, they'll do in this story :)

There 3 main categorories of polish flags:

G.I.JOE COMIC BOOK COVERS - my favorite inspiration from my favorite comic book series :)

So one of the comic book series, and one of the popculture franchises that inspire me the most is G.I.Joe and I'd really like to follow it's great line of covers when it comes to do my own adventures series.

Below are some of the best, in the polish run, that I used to collect when I was a kid, some similar ones from scandinavian markets, and many many others from the original american volume.  

I absolutely love the very first cover that opened the GIJOE series in Poland and most of Scandinavia, the one with a black frame and a line up of kickass soldiers posing on a neutral backgound. 

It really blows your mind, tells you that there's something new and exiting inside.

I think this kind of covers are a must for 1st issues in particular new series, that would work great for all other issues that are somewhat special - anniversary issues and that kind of stuff.

Still, for most of the run, I'd prefer a traditional aproach with heroes, villains and soldiers battling each other, holding at a last stand, crawling behind each backs, and so on :)

CHARACTER PROFILES - additional materials that I would like to use in comic books ( or online, to promote the series )

One of my favorite featurs in comic books that I remember from my childhood years, were those character profiles that would clip two different stories in one issue.

You woulnd'u usually find them in original american series, since both Marvel and DC Comics, used to publish rather short stories, without any additional materials. All of the additional material was usually published in special series, like "Official Marvel Handbook" or "Who's who in DC Comics" etc etc.

CLASSIC COMIC BOOK COVERS #2 - a little bit more of those ;)

I've uploaded so many of them already, but there's never enough of great stuff that could inspire ;)

Thus, I've dedided to create an another post with covers, especially since the first is quite long already ;)

Huppy hunting for great ideas and motives, angles etc that could ( or should ) be copied ;)

CLASSIC COMIC BOOK COVERS - inspirations for comic book covers ( or for covers to book chapters )

So unlike book covers, which are supposed to be a standalone stuff, comic book covers have to portray it's character/characters in many surprising situations, being a series, to keep reader's interested issue after issue after issue...

In this case I prefer all of those covers that have some kind of suspense written all over them :)

Well, I love every good original idea or an extraodrinary point of view, angle, when it comes to comic book covers, and I love all of those "heroes assemble", "heroes crash trough the wall/newspaper", etc type of covers, but my favorite coverse are always those that force a major character or characters to find themself in some kind of serious situation...

CLASSIC PAINTED MOVIE POSTERS - inspirations for book covers

Bellow, in the Gallery, are some great classic movie posters, which I find extremely inspiring when it comes to any kind standalone adventure story, thus, also to my adventure novels.

They usually present a great painted art, but also have the same kind of construction:

* There's the main hero, or a number of maun characters in the center - like with Luke Skywalker in Star Wars

* There are some supporting some close to him  - like R2D2 and C3PO in Star Wars again

* There is a Villain with his henchmen somewhere behind, often hidden in a shadow, since filmakers wanted to keep him a secret... - like Darth Vader and the Emperor in Star Wars... again :)

* and there are some other features shown in the film - like vehicles or locations - like Skystrikers and Tie Fighters in Star Wars... again :)  

SAILING VESSELS - Swedish galleons and ships of the line

This post and gallery is here to let You know a bit of how swedish warships of this time era could have looked liked, what was their "livery", their color scheme, and what kind of flags did they use as well as how were these flags placed.

So, just like it's been said many times on this blog, I would like to use a lot of national swedish colors ( blue & yellow ) to make those swedish vessels easily recognizable.

As You will see on pics below, models, paintins, etc, they already show this kind og approach, well in many case, cause, even tho it's not historically accurate, their is a need to give some kind of a "uniform" to everything.

SAILING VESSELS - Dutch galleons and ships of the line ( quite similar to those used by the Poles and the Swedes )

I won't be talking much about dutch galleons/ships of the line, I'll just show them here since they represent kinda similar built as those of polish and swedish vessels, so it's important to study them, like their sterns, since we have a lot of more pictures representing the look of dutch vessels, than those owned by the Poles or by the Swedish.

Still, Dutch will appear in the later part of the first installment of the book series, and will play a major role in the fourth installment of the book series, so their ships will pop up here and there from time to time. 

SAILING VESSELS - Galleon "Mars" - one of the main 'heroes' of the Corsair series

So it's time for one the "heroes" of the Corsair series, perhaps the most important of them all, as he is the only one that will appear in ALL of the novel installment, one which ties up the whole story and different plotlines.

MARS is a mystery ship, we don't know much about him from history book, that's why I came up with my own "version" of how he could end up in polish hands and what adventures could he have.

SAILING VESSELS - Various Galleons and Ships of the Line ( and ideas how to tell them apart between factions )

Galleons and ships of the line are main sailing vessels of this period.

Basically all of big vessels of the time are galleons, with "ships of the line" used only for those that serve in the navy and carry a lot of cannons...

They are the main means of war at sea, used by almost EVERY country interested in having a fleet.

ARMY UNITS - Western-European Officers, Commanders, City Officials - their fashion and style

This Gallery will let You see some examples of how did western-european rich and important looked like in this era.

Tho, their might have been some differences between swedish fashion, spanish fashion and english fashion, there people usually prefered the same style of clothing, has same kind of moustaches, wigs etc.
And of course, rich knew no such thing like borders back then, so they would order a lot of stuff from foreign producers, with french fashion houses dictating a proper style to most of Europe.

Thus, lacy collars, wigs, spanish beards, fancy moustache, and many other distinctive features would be seen all around Europe at that time, even in some eastern countries.

ARMY UNITS - Western European Infantry - Pikemen

Pikemen are the secondary infantry units for all of Western Europe.

Unlike the cavalry and riflemen, they don't wear large hats, but choose helmets instead, usually "morions". 

They also usually wear small shoes.

They usually wear a cuirass - a chest plate - as well, sometimes with other elements of protective armor, like tassets - to protects their upper tights. 

Their primary weapon is a very long pike.

Rapiers are secondary and used only to defend themselves if they will have no chance to use a pike or the enemy will be at a close range. 

Their primary objective on the battlefield is to defend the muskeeters ( riflemen ) from a cavalry charge so that riflemen could move behind them to reload their muskets.

Their pikes are also quite usefull during sieges, while repelling enemy attacks from gates, walls and other types of fortifications, as well as counterattacks. 

ARMY UNITS - Standard Western European Infantry - Musketeers aka Riflemen

Musketeers or simply Riflemen are the basic infantry units for all of Western Europe.

Just like the cavalry, they wear large cavalier hats on their heads. 

The main and only difference between them and reiters is that they usually wear small shoes.

Their primary weapon are muskets.

Rapiers are secondary and used only to defend themselves if they will have no chance or no time to fire.

They don't use any means of protective armor whatsoever.

ARMY UNITS - Standard Western European Cavalry - "Reiters"

Reiters are the basic cavalry units for all of Western Europe.

Just like the Musketeers, they wear large cavalier hats on their heads. 

The main and only difference between them and western european infantry is that they also wear hight boots.

Their primary weapon are broadswords and long pistols. 

Sometimes they use short cavalry carbines as well. 

Unlike polish cavalry, they hardly use any means of protective armor, except for a cuirass - a chest plate that covers their torso - but I'd prefer to reserve it for only some of them - that is for the officers and henchmen. 

ARMY UNITS - Various Swedish Soldiers - their fashion, hairstyles, facial hair, etc...

So this is just an insight to let You know have did the Swedes - villains in some of the virst installments of the series - generally look like.

As You will see, their style is completely different from the one favoured by the Poles.

They prefer large hats - "cavalier" style with a wide brim, or taller ones, like those worn by the "puritans".

Also, unlike the Poles, they have a completely different hair style - usually heeping them long, tho some of them - officers or richer people - use wigs. Wigs usually come in a color scheme that refers to their original hair color, thus brown-haired people will use a brown wig, blonde-haired a blonde wig, greying will use grey wigs, etc etc.