I'm planning on writing a graphic novel series similar to the show Heroes. However, I want to focus mainly on one character, who is kind of a cross between Spider-Man and Superman. Are there any cliches or general things to avoid when writing a superhero story? Also, how do I avoid copying the sources I listed too much?

Oooohh... That's a tough one. So many superhero ideas have been done that it's hard to come up with an original one anymore. My solution was to borrow some public domain superheroes (my archvillain is a hypothetical Silver Age Crusader who resembles Watchmen's Ozymandias) -- but that's the lazy way, and it's become something of a fad lately. Another, which I don't use, would be to put some sort of twist on an existing idea or combination of ideas -- but I'm not imaginative enough on that particular point to give anybody any advice there.

But I haven't written any real superhero stories since about '92, when I began my mad passionate love affair with manga. Anybody out there who can give better advice than I can?

NaNoWriMo 2006: Black Science
NaNoWriMo 2007: Bad Company
Script Frenzy 2008: Spanner
Project Blog: Spanner's World