The Making of Destiny's Hand:
Sketch Pad #4 - Diego Basteon
Written by DeFilippis & Weir • Art by Buckethead
Diego Basteon is an the ship's boatswain (pronounced bosun). Discipline is his domain on Destiny's Hand. Of Blaine's key lieutennants, he's the one who least fits the 'gentlemanly' motif. He longs for more battle, and is a bit tired of the surrenders and the entertaining of the surrendering crew. To him, this is a dog and pony show. And he'd rather face a good battle. But Diego owes his life to Blaine, and will follow his orders no matter what he thinks of them.
Diego's weapon of choice is a cat-o-nine-tails. He uses it to maintain discipline on the ship and ensure that the crew follows Blaine's orders. Some worry he enjoys flogging disobedient sailors too much, that it's where he finds his battle since so many ships surrender to Destiny's Hand. But the crew is well-disciplined and generally he doesn't need to flog anyone, so if this is his release, Diego must be very frustrated.
Diego's character design is an example of the input Jason DeAngelis has on the creative process. The first design worked well for us, we liked what Buckethead had done. But we sat down with Jason to talk character designs, and he gave notes on many of them. He wanted Diego to be more distinctive. Thus, Diego became bald. His scars became more pronounced. We suggested he lose the coat and go shirtless. The second version, does seem more distinctive, so it looks like Jason knows what he's talking about.
Lastly, Diego's last name was once Fortuna, but Jason worried that this was a pretty happy sounding name for such a grim guy. We decided Basteon would reflect his strength and dour-ness.
