comic books

Progress squared

Maximum Z comic books, outlines, parenting, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs
Figuring out a story can sometimes feel like this

It took a while, but I was finally able to sit down and work on both LUCY and DREAMSHIP, and I like how both are coming along.

With LUCY, I’d been stuck trying to figure out how to get to the page 75 twist, and after several attempts, I finally made it.  I’m not entirely sure if the sequence leading up to it is the absolute best way to approach it, but I’ll keep it for now.

Now the fun really begins, with the drive to get to the end of Act Two. I haven’t looked at what I came up with for Act Three, but if I can work it out, there may not be a need for many changes.

As for DREAMSHIP, I got through a good sequence and am nearing the page 45 twist.  Lucky for me, the next few scenes are drawing from what I had in a previous draft, so there won’t be much call for change with that either.

I also realized there’s a super-important plot point I’ve yet to introduce or else the ticking-clock aspect is completely shot. But fate and the writing gods have smiled on me, or at least I hope they will, because there’s a scene in Act One that would be a perfect place to put it in.  Time to break out the pen and paper again.

-Materials for my next short project arrived, but I haven’t looked at them yet.  That’ll be part of the weekend stuff.

-V turned 9 over the weekend. K asked me if I thought she’d be able to handle MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. I didn’t think so. K’s argument that she (K) would have enjoyed it when she was 9. But K was a very logical child, whereas V, as much as I love her, isn’t. My argument was that after watching WILLY WONKA, V asked if Oompa-Loompas were real.  I rest my case.

And by fortunate happenstance, JURASSIC PARK was on AMC last night. Again. I casually mentioned to K that I wish V could handle watching it. Then the T-Rex scene came on. Without saying a word, we both knew that wouldn’t happen for quite some time either.

-Movie of the Moment: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011). I loved it.  More proof that a smart comic book movie is possible.  Why oh why didn’t the writers of GREEN LANTERN have the same sensibilities?  But I digress.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Charles and Erik, and the gradual drifting apart of two friends.  Kevin Bacon made for a great villain, but I thought January Jones’ Emma Frost would have had a larger role.  Beast has always been one of my favorite characters, and it was pretty clever how they worked in his change to blue and furry.

I liked how they worked in a lot of stuff from the comics, as well as maintained continuity with the Singer films. (Face it. X3 sucked.)  Just a lot of fun to watch. Very curious if the inevitable sequel will take place in the 70s, which would be the smart way to go.

Adventure covered in feathers

Maximum Z adventure, comic books, Disney, history, reading, Scrooge McDuck, story
Rich on so many levels

Apart from seven longboxes of comics taking up a lot of space in the closet, I have about 2-3 bookshelves of assorted material that could be classified under trade paperbacks and graphic novels.

I’m kind of choosy when it comes to what I read.  First and foremost, it has to be well-written.  If it ain’t, then I’m not interested, no matter how pretty the art is.  Boring material is boring material.

George R. R. Martin, author of GAME OF THRONES, has said that comics contributed heavily to his love of reading. I’m working on passing that love to my daughter as well.

While V has been tearing through the Harry Potter books for school, a few weeks ago she asked if she could read one of my comics.  We pulled out a few she might be interested in:

–POLLY AND THE PIRATES by Ted Naifeh. I got this at APE a few years ago, complete with autograph

–SUPERGIRL: COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8TH GRADE by Landry Walker. A tpb of a miniseries from a few years ago.  Fun take on the character.

But she seemed especially interested in THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK and the supplemental COMPANION, both written and drawn by Don Rosa.

I’m not a huge Disney person; Pixar’s stuff is more to my liking.  But I like adventure stories. And I like historical fiction.  These books have both.  And keeping with the Disney theme, most of the material is G-rated, with a hint of innuendo thrown in here and there.

We follow important chapters in Scrooge’s life, starting with his youth in Scotland and the ensuing adventures around the world.  Each story incorporates real-life history and tidbits from Disney duck-universe creator Carl Barks’ decades of work.  I didn’t have a problem with Rosa utilizing as much as he could of the latter, but knowing where a minor story detail came from didn’t have much of an influence on my enjoyment of the story.

V started off reading them herself, but I think she enjoyed it more when we would read them together, which basically meant me reading all the dialogue aloud, incorporating appropriate accents where necessary.  I suspect K enjoyed it as well.  It was fun, but harder than you think.  Amazingly, all my Scottish lines made me sound like the chief engineer on the Starship Enterprise.

I’m just glad V is warming up to the idea of reading for pleasure, and not seeing it as a homework-related chore.

>Insert monkey pun here<

Maximum Z comic books, Wondercon

Don’t know how I could have forgotten, but earlier tonight I suddenly realized that APE is next weekend.  APE is the Alternative Press Expo; sort of a mini-Comic Con for small and/or self-published comics.  It’s very anti-mainstream, and there’s always some good stuff to be found.  Definitely cheaper to go there than to the big cons.

I’ve gone for a number of years with my pal Neil.  He’s always been more into the darker stuff, despite his sunny exterior.  And after years of not being allowed to go, since some of the stuff is very adult in nature, V got to go with us last year.  She enjoyed it, especially since there was more kid-friendly stuff than I remember.

Some of the artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting include Keith Knight, Raina Telgemeier, Gene Ha and Ted Naifeh.  Each has produced really great material.  Check ’em all out; buy their books.

APE has always been a later-in-the-year alternative companion to Wondercon, but not so this time. Due to renovation work at the convention space, the powers that be are moving it to Anaheim for 2012, with the intent of coming back to San Francisco in 2013.  There’s some skepticism that it will return.  I really hope it does.  It would really suck if it doesn’t.

There’s definitely something about being able to leave the house, drive ten minutes and walk onto the convention floor.  Everybody should be able to do that.

Does whatever a spider can

Maximum Z comic books, Kick-Ass, screenwriting, Spider-Man, Wondercon

I’m trying to figure out a couple of major story details on DREAMSHIP, so the rewrite is on hold.  No way this thing will be done for the Nicholl, which I’ve come to terms with.  But the way things are developing now, this is going to be all kinds of awesome.

So while the creative side of my brain works things out, the analytic side has also been busy.

Like writers are supposed to, I try to read as much as I can. Granted, most of my most recent stuff has been comics-related, partially due to going to WonderCon a few weeks ago.

Since money isn’t exactly free-flowing, I splurged and spent $20 for the hardcover edition of KICK-ASS. I saw the movie when it was in theatres, and enjoyed it. Not a lot, but just enough. I knew it wouldn’t be a huge hit. The target audience was too small, and comic nerds are notoriously picky.

But the book itself is great.  The story for the most part is the same, but a few of the subplots are completely different, which actually works in its favor.  For example, in the movie, Dave hooks up with the girl. Not here.  And most likely to placate Nicolas Cage, Big Daddy’s part in the movie is much bigger, which also works.

Basically, I have no problem reading the book again, but not much desire to see the movie again.

The first issue of the second miniseries, KICK-ASS: BALLS TO THE WALL, was available at WC, but I’m opting to wait until the whole thing’s collected in a book again.

I’m more a DC guy than Marvel, but a few years ago, I picked up the first two volumes of THE ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN, which are basically small phone book-sized tomes reprinting approximately 20-some issues of said title in black and white.  And this one company is always selling them for half price, which is usually about eight bucks a book, which is a bargain.

I’d seen reprints of the first issue, and introductions of some of the classic villains in reprints and on TV, but this was my first chance to really take a look at the original source material.  Only drawback – no color. But still…

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko caught lightning in a bottle.  Once you get past some of the corny dialogue, the stories overall are a thrill to read.  The first issues have a raw quality, both in terms of character and execution.  But everything slowly becomes more refined as the issues progress.  Especially the art, but more on that in a second.

Lee seems to live for hyperbole, but in a weird way it really fits here.  The combination of Peter’s everyday life and Spidey’s adventures mesh really well (but the Peter-lamenting-the-hard-life-of-being-a-superhero routine does get a little repetitive after a while.).  It would be great to know how much planning went into character development before the writing and art were combined.

I’d also add that Spidey’s rogues gallery is definitely one of the best, comparable only to Batman’s. The Green Goblin (always one my faves), Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, Kraven the Hunter. Each one original and unique.

I read somewhere that Steve Ditko said a hero’s costume should have some kind of true uniqueness so you can always recognize who it is, no matter how small a part of the costume you see.  Definitely holds true for Spidey.

I wouldn’t call it a problem, but Ditko’s art in those first issues is almost too hard to take.  It seems almost rough and unrefined, but gets better and more details as it goes along.  It’s a world of difference between those issues from the mid-sixties and the smooth lines of John Romita into the early seventies.

When I was in college, people would often ask why I read comics. My standard answer was pretty simple: it’s good storytelling.

Screenwriting is kind of similar. I’m creating a totally unique and original world, just in a different medium. And having a blast in the process.

First step up the mountain

Maximum Z comic books, Dreamship, Filmsack.com, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, ScriptQuack, Wondercon

I finally read through my DREAMSHIP notes from the fine folks at ScriptQuack.  Very impressive.  They did a great job of letting me know what the script needs to improve.

So with just under a month to go before the Nicholl deadline, I’m taking their suggestions and trying to rebuild this thing from the ground up.  I had a feeling it may be an extensive rewrite, and I was right.  There’s a lot that has to change.

It’s not insurmountable, but I will call it formidable.  This is really going to require a daily effort.  I think I can get through Act One by the end of this week, then really concentrate on Act Two, where most of the rewriting is necessary.  Act Three I’m still figuring out.

-Final comment on Wondercon.  Fun as usual.  I got to see it from both the Dad and Casual Comic Geek perspectives.  For the former, that involved stopping at all the video game booths, looking for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and commenting on anything and everything V saw.  Since we went on Friday, it wasn’t that crowded. Overall, a good time.

I returned Sunday with my pal Neil. We usually spend less time among the vendors and focus more on the self-publishers and independents. They’re always more interesting anyway.  I may not be crazy about some of the subject matter, but there’s a certain charm to them and their work. It’s really great to see somebody doing what they love, and a lot of them have a lot of talent.

Even better, you don’t have to wait for hours on end to get an autograph or tell them you like their stuff, and they seem happy to talk to you.  I’ve always tried to support the little guy.

Movie of the Moment:  We watched THE EXPENDABLES last night. Mega-cheesy throwback to the 80s.  Stallone wrote and directed it.  From a writer’s perspective, it could have used a few more rewrites.

I was expecting it to be more mission-centric, but it just dragged and took forever to get to the interesting parts.  K said this would be a perfect Filmsack movie.  I agree.

Tonight we started RED. SO much better.  But it’s Warren Ellis, so I’d expect nothing less.