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Questions about potential locales for a series of comic stories.

Johnny Crash

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So I'm working on a series of short comic stories, many of which will be set in Toronto.

I love it when comics (such as Scott Pilgrim and Local) depict real settings accurately, and I hope my collaborator and I can do the same in our stories.

This is where you come in. I don't know Toronto very well, so I need people who know the city well to answer a few questions occasionally.

The stories follow a werewolf who is a monster exterminator. Basically, just as you would call a regular exterminator to deal with a termite problem, you call this guy to deal with monsters, giant robots, ghosts, etcetera.

In the first story, our hero must stop a giant robot that is rampaging throughout Toronto. I think the best setting for the rampage would be Front and Bay, as there needs to be a lot of skyscrapers available for demolition, and I want the CN Tower to be seen in the background.

The end of the story takes place outside a fancy private school.

So. Are there any fancy private schools close by?

In the second story, our hero must stop a gelatinous man. He attempts to do so by shooting a cable holding a wrecking ball (which our Jello-Man is standing directly beneath).

Are there any areas a lot of people frequent where cranes with wrecking balls are being used to prepare a construction site?

The only area I can think of is Yonge and Sheppard - there seems to be some construction going on behind the Metro. Any other areas?
 
i don't know of any fancy private schools downtown but a safe (and beautiful) bet would be to set the fight on u of t campus. if you want hogwarts-like structures i'd suggest

emmanuel college: http://www.taisha.org/abroad/pic/photo/2009F03F12814805411.jpg

university college: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2194/2280641614_50f32b96d9.jpg

trinity college:
http://www.blogut.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/trinity-college.jpg

OR
old victoria university:
http://www.vicu.utoronto.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1956

here's an incredibly useful campus map: http://rrs.osm.utoronto.ca/map/f?p=110:1:17756034423596483016
 
Most "fancy private schools" are north of Bloor, not downtown-downtown. Do you need a school on big grounds? I'd suggest setting that part in the suburbs or surrounding cities/towns if you're going to do that (e.g. Trinity College School in Port Hope or Ridley in St. Catherines) Also, if you want to use a REAL Toronto private school and intend to publish/sell your story, I'd speak with the schools first, in case lawsuits arise. John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany takes place partially in Toronto's Bishop Strachan School (aka BSS, my alma mater!), and the head at the time had to ok the manuscript before publication (she's mentioned in the acknowledgements). In his most recent book, the name was changed to something else, but it was really, really, really obvious to us Old Girls.
 
I suppose I'll have to be more sepcific - I was vague before because I didn't want to spoil the story, but here goes:

A young (10 year old) mad scientist builds a giant robot and loses control of it. It goes on a rampage. Panicking, he calls our hero, and hires him to stop it.

That's just backstory. The story actually starts with the robot's (who has reached the Front and Bay area) rampage, and our hero is in a helicopter flying in front of the robot. Therefore, the background will be what's behind the robot. I want the CN Tower to be in the background, so that everyone will be able to identify the setting as Toronto.

After stopping the robot, the hero makes his way to the mad scientist's school to collect payment. Hilarity ensues. The story ends.

Therefore, the robot's place of origin must be a school not too far from Front and Bay (the robot does not get to go far before it is stopped) and is located in such a way that the robot could leave the school, and arrive at an area with a number of skyscrapers and from which one could see the CN Tower behind him.

So he needs to leave the school, pass the CN Tower without destroying it, and end up at Front and Bay or some other suitable area.

I have heard there are a number of condos going up along the Gardiner expressway, maybe that would be another possible setting for the rampage. I have never been south of Front St, so I don't know if any areas down there may be suitable.

Also, if you want to use a REAL Toronto private school and intend to publish/sell your story, I'd speak with the schools first, in case lawsuits arise.

I am currently trying to find out what I can or cannot depict in my story. I am not having much luck though - the most I've been able to find are some posts covering the legalities as they pertain to depicting locations in stock photos.
 
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I suppose I'll have to be more sepcific - I was vague before because I didn't want to spoil the story, but here goes:

A young (10 year old) mad scientist builds a giant robot and loses control of it. It goes on a rampage. Panicking, he calls our hero, and hires him to stop it.

That's just backstory. The story actually starts with the robot's (who has reached the Front and Bay area) rampage, and our hero is in a helicopter flying in front of the robot. Therefore, the background will be what's behind the robot. I want the CN Tower to be in the background, so that everyone will be able to identify the setting as Toronto.

After stopping the robot, the hero makes his way to the mad scientist's school to collect payment. Hilarity ensues. The story ends.

Therefore, the robot's place of origin must be a school not too far from Front and Bay (the robot does not get to go far before it is stopped) and is located in such a way that the robot could leave the school, and arrive at an area with a number of skyscrapers and from which one could see the CN Tower behind him.

So he needs to leave the school, pass the CN Tower without destroying it, and end up at Front and Bay or some other suitable area.

I have heard there are a number of condos going up along the Gardiner expressway, maybe that would be another possible setting for the rampage. I have never been south of Front St, so I don't know if any areas down there may be suitable.



I am currently trying to find out what I can or cannot depict in my story. I am not having much luck though - the most I've been able to find are some posts covering the legalities as they pertain to depicting locations in stock photos.

I'd personally contact the location itself. You could also make a school up. Not sure how realistic it'll be, since "fancy" schools are mostly in the midtown area. The old line schools are in the Forest Hill (UCC and BSS), Rosedale (Branksome Hall) or north Toronto (Havergal, Crescent and St. Clement's). Royal St. George's is in the Annex, but its founding year is in the 1960s.
 
Like Prosperegal said, all the fancy schools are north of Bloor, so the CN tower could be in the background, it would just be smaller looking.

I wonder, does it need to be a private school? The Esplanade is very close to Bay and Front, and there are some more down to earth schools in that neighbourhood. Downtown Alternative School (DAS) for example. The Esplanade is very Toronto, just south of the St Lawrence market. Just to clarify, DAS is sorta the opposite of UCC or Branksome.
 
My old high school, UTS (the University of Toronto Schools) is private (well, basically private at least) and located at Bloor and Spadina. I'm not sure that it's the kind of fancy private school you're looking for, but it's around the right location.
 
Well, I just wanted the end of the story to take place at a nearby school where students could conceivably have access to the materials needed to build a giant robot.

You know, in a world where ten year old geniuses are perfectly capable of assembling them.
 
Well UTS is full of the type of nerds that would be likely to build giant robots, but the yongest grade there is grade 7, so you'd have to be happy with 12-year-old geniuses.
 
Is UTS far south enough? A walk from the Annex area to Front Street would probably take an hour.
 
For a human, yes. A giant robot probably wouldn't take as long.

Another option I'm considering is having the mad scientist attend U of T (his incredible intellectual prowess would allow him to attend University at an earlier age than most) then the robot could cut a swath of destruction across College and University before ending up at Front and Bay.
 
For a human, yes. A giant robot probably wouldn't take as long.

Another option I'm considering is having the mad scientist attend U of T (his incredible intellectual prowess would allow him to attend University at an earlier age than most) then the robot could cut a swath of destruction across College and University before ending up at Front and Bay.

Ryerson is even further south, in the Yonge/Dundas area. It isn't an old-line university though....would that work, or are you looking for old-line, collegiate gothic/ivy type buildings?
 
Ryerson is even further south, in the Yonge/Dundas area. It isn't an old-line university though....would that work, or are you looking for old-line, collegiate gothic/ivy type buildings?

I would prefer to use a building of the latter type.

Another problem with Ryerson is that Bay is west of Yonge, meaning the Robot would be facing the CN Tower as he approached Front and Bay, which means it couldn't be in the background.

If he goes from College and University, he could either cut across right to the intersection or just go down University and across Front. Either way, it enables me to have him facing east, which would put the CN Tower in the background like I want.
 
I would prefer to use a building of the latter type.

Another problem with Ryerson is that Bay is west of Yonge, meaning the Robot would be facing the CN Tower as he approached Front and Bay, which means it couldn't be in the background.

If he goes from College and University, he could either cut across right to the intersection or just go down University and across Front. Either way, it enables me to have him facing east, which would put the CN Tower in the background like I want.

UTS is west of Yonge as well, on Bloor and Spadina.
 

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