Issues 1 & 2

So I've got a pretty good storyline and plot set in for Issues 1 & 2 of my comic. It serves well as an introduction to the main characters without going through the boring "this guy's name is this, he acts like this" droning that plague a lot of introductory episodes of things. It does a good job of showing the environment these fighters are in, and setting up the inevitable clash that will be happening in the future.

I've taken to calling each mini-arc "episodes" instead of the traditional "issues", for one main reason. I want to be sure that in 24 pages, I fill each issue with enough story, action, and intrigue to warrant spending one's time reading it. When I use the term "issue", I think of one piece of a puzzle, or one chapter in a book. That's a well enough way of putting it, but when you're reading a book, you're not necessarily thinking each chapter will be as brilliant as the one before it or the one after it, so you're more willing to forgive the simple chapters and continue reading. Because you paid for the whole book, not just the chapter in question.

But with something like a comic book, or even a TV show, each issue/chapter is rightly subjecting itself to more criticism, because they each stand alone as well as work in part of a greater whole. So I want each issue to be seen as an episode of a brilliant TV show like The Sopranos or The Wire, where you feel fulfilled and satisfied after you've finished reading it. When I use the term episode, I think in terms of TV--something I'm much more familiar with than books. And I'm striving to make each issue just as fun and exciting and intriguing and poignant as the last.

So I started a post about my comic script

...and next thing you know I'm mapping out an entire run for the first arc, complete with introductory scene, potential flashback sequence, first conflict, the details of the environment, and I start typing out brainstormed ideas like a madman.

So I decided not to post that publicly (even though nobody reads this) and instead keep all that stuff to myself.

What was going to be a blurb about writing turned out to be a blurb about a blurb about writing that turned into a long creative process.

Needless to say--I'm really happy with the character and his potential so far. It's unlike any character I know of in literature, but is based on a few real-life people. He's a fully three dimensional person, distinctly American, and has his own philosophy on life based on empirical experience.

Next, fleshing out the environment and potential conflicts/antagonists.

On: the lack of updates

I'm actually working on writing in a creative sense for the first time in my life. This is not really the reason I haven't been updating here--that lends more to me having about zero time to myself since my girl and I spend pretty much all of our waking hours together (not a bad thing, mind you).

Nobody reads this blog anyways (which is exactly the point of the blog), so it's not too big a deal letting out some of my secrets here, but I figure I'll still keep it vague just in case.

I'm working on a script for a comic book series/graphic novel/sequential art story, that right now looks like it will be around 72 pages long.

It centers on an MMA fighter with a rebellious streak that has gotten him in trouble. It will deal with issues of male aggression (and modern masculinity in general), capitalism, bucking institutions, and a somewhat unique take on the traditional revenge tale.

Nobody in this comic has super powers or abilities beyond that which you can find in our real world, although the universe it takes place in is slightly different in a few ways.

I've got a very rough idea of the volumes of the book, broken down into 3 different sections with 3 separate mini-arcs.

But before I get to any story details, I'm still in the process of fleshing out the main character and his backstory, motivations, abilities, and such.

My cousin will likely be doing the artwork for it, if I can convince him to work for free. Otherwise, I'm going to have to shop around the internet and try to find someone whose style reflects what I'm going for here.

Anyways, just wanted to drop a quick update about that, and since I don't want to talk about this to too many people, this will likely be the spot where I update about my progress on the writing front.