Shifter

“Danny Philmore never had much going for him- he’s not very smart, or very talented, and he’s an awful dorky looking guy, to boot. But after drinking a rare potion, Danny was given the ability to transform himself into any person, animal, or object on Earth- opening his life to new adventure.”

Shifter is written and drawn by Brian Daniel, an Ohio based cartoonist. Shifter is drawn in his spare time outside of his “day job.”

Originally Shifter was going to update chapter by chapter instead of page by page, but this schedule just seemed to confuse or irritate readers, so it’s been switched to a traditional Mon, Wed, Fri schedule. For everyone who wants to keep up, the RSS Feed, Facebook, and Twitter links should keep you alerted.

F.A.Q. Answered by Brian Daniel

Q: “How do Danny’s powers work?”

A: Danny can transform into any person, animal, or object on the planet, but only as long as they actually exist. There are creative loopholes to this rule, such as turning into someone dressed like Santa Claus instead of the “real” Santa Claus. Danny’s transformations are a bit like flexing a muscle, in that a sudden surprise, getting hurt, or falling asleep can cause him to return to normal.

Q: “In the blog art, you have Danny turning into characters that certainly don’t really exist. What’s up with that?”

A: Any artwork like that in the blog or elsewhere isn’t considered canon to the story in the comic. It’s just silly for fun art.

Q: “Can I request something for Danny to transform into in the comic?”

A: Sure! Just bear in mind your suggestion may not be used. Danny will have a lot of throw away transformations over the run of the series, but certain transformations will be very relevant to the story.

Q: “This reminds me of Ranma 1/2/Fruits Basket/Dragon Ball/Ect. Did you copy them?”

A: I did read a lot of Ranma 1/2 in college and it was a huge inspiration for Shifter. When I was looking for more manga to read, I discovered a lot of other transformation themed stories, but everyone seemed to be limited to one form, usually a guy turning into a girl(A popular theme in Japan, also used in many Western stories). I wanted to take the concept to it’s greatest extreme, and thought back to the trickster gods from various mythologies, and how they could take multiple forms on a whim. I was also an avid fan of DC Comics’ Plastic Man, and wanted to apply that off-beat sense of humor to the concept. Shifter was the result of that. So many transformation themed stories were my inspiration, and I certainly hope to add something new to the genre.

Do you have a question you would like to see answered on this page? Mail it to: brianwithcheese at gmail dot com

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