Every single person who reads something I’ve written, including these essays, has a right to their own opinion of it – good, bad, indifferent. That goes with the territory. Sure, it’s nice to hear that the reader loves what I’ve done but I’m a big boy; I can take a brickbat or two. My rules are generally 1) actually read what I’ve done, 2) know what you’re talking about and 3) put a little effort into the critique.

That’s part of the reason I dislike the fandom use of “Mary Sue” and “Gary Stu;” its faux criticism. Fan critics tick off check boxes, add up a score – when they bother to do even that much – and then slap on a label.

For those not part of the culture, let me explain. As the all knowing, all powerful Wikipedia states: “Mary Sue, sometimes shortened simply to Sue, is a pejorative term used to describe a fictional character who plays a major role in the plot and is particularly characterized by overly idealized and clichéd mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors.” The male version is frequently referred to as Gary Stu. The characters are also sometimes described as an “author’s pet.” Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation is used as a prime example.

There are several “Mary Sue litmus tests” floating around the Internet to help determine the degree of “Mary Sue-ness” in a character. They’re checklists and were originally designed to help those authors writing fan fiction to determine if their character might be a “Mary Sue” or her male doppelganger. You can find the Original Mary Sue litmus test here, the self designated Universal Mary Sue litmus test here, The “Original Fiction Mary Sue Litmus Test” here, and “The Writer’s Mary Sue Test” here.

What emerges time and again from this various litmus tests is that they are intended to be tools for writers and, usually, for younger and more inexperienced writers, and as such I have no problem with them. Each test that I’ve seen has stated it is not infallible and that a character could conceivably score highly on the test without being a Mary Sue or Gary Stu. One test noted that Bono of U2 scored a 72 and he’s not a character; he’s a real person. Well, allegedly. (more…)

The four-week auction to raise $50,000 to fix up the exterior of Jerry Siegel’s boyhood home ended on Monday and raised a total of $110,772.  Additional funds were raised through t-shirt sales and general donations which brought in another $6450.  As a result, a total of $117,222 with more expected.

The most money earned by a single item during week four was $14,100 for a walk-on part during this season of NBC’s Heroes. At $14,101, the largest donation made for any time was the original commission from Jim Lee depicting the winner with the Man of Steel. The same bidder won both items.

Jefferson and Hattie Gray, currently occupying the house, will be the immediate beneficiaries as renovation work has already begun.  This past weekend, some 100 volunteers arrived to clean and paint.  Kimberly Avenue is scheduled to be renamed Jerry Siegel Lane while Amor Avenue, where Joe Shuster grew up, will be renamed Joe Shuster Lane.

The Siegel & Shuster Society will have first rights to purchase the home whenever the Grays are ready to sell.

Brad Meltzer, who used the death of Jerry’s father Mitchell to propel his latest novel, The Book of Lies, spearheaded the campaign.  He made a moving video to make people aware of the situation then called on friends throughout the comic book community to participate,  Not only did his efforts work, but many other creators contacted Meltzer to offer their wares.

And if you’re wondering, naming rights to a character in my 2009 Iron Man went for $512. Not bad.
 

Dracula lives again, this time authorized by Bram Stoker’s family.  His great-grandnephew, 50-year old Dacre Stoker has teamed with author Ian Holt to write Dracula: The Undead which has been sold to Harper UK for August 2009 publication.

The story, set 25 years after the original book, sees the vampire arrive in London, seeking Mina in 1912. Told from the point of view of Quincey Harker, son of Mina and Jonathan Harker, it goes into more detail about the original characters from Bram Stoker’s 1897 book.

Stoker grew up in Canada and now lives in South Carolina and always knew of his literary ancestor, who died in 1912 and the legacy he left behind.  He never thought about continuing the Dracula tale until he received an e-mail from Holt."I got in touch with Dacre and he thought I was this nut job. But after listening to me and discussing my vision of what I had in mind, he got very interested," Holt told the Globe and Mail. The movie pithc evolved into a 568-page novel.

Holt, an actor, may get his original vision fulfilled as Hollywood studios have already begun talking optioning the book.

"I’ve got a fascination with the body, having been a coach and athlete … the role of getting your blood in really good condition to compete. And here I am with this other side of me," Stoker told the paper.

"Yeah, I’ve got a lot to live up to."

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Terminator Salvation director McG spoke to E! Online about the upcoming installment in the franchise. During the interview, he mentioned how James Cameron imparted his blessing upon the new director’s vision for the series. Longtime fans had previously been squeamish about the former Charlie’s Angels helmer bringing his perspective to the beloved science fiction world that Cameron had so carefully crafted. But the combination of high profile casting, solid early footage and this news of Cameron’s approval stole many disheartened sighs from nervous fans and replaced them with hollers of anticipation.

If that was a deal breaker for you, then you might wanna sit down for this one. James Cameron himself is denying that he ever gave McG his seal of approval.

"It could be a big steaming pile or it could be brilliant," Cameron tells the National Post. "Sam Worthington is in the Avatar and the new Terminator and he likes the script, but I never saw it. There was no blessing involved."

Is Cameron’s blessing completely necessary? Maybe not. Plenty of folks get married without parental approval, and they end up being nice and cozy in their new life. Why should Terminator be any different?

The real worry here is that McG fibbed about Cameron’s seal of approval. Perhaps he confused earlier words from Cameron as a blessing. Maybe he felt he needed to lie to win over the skeptics. Either way, devoted Cameron stalwarts are bound to be troubled by this news.

God of War fans have been clamoring for a film adaptation of the hit video game for years now. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to see the God-hunting warmonger Kratos ripping off Medusa’s head on the big screen? If that’s something that might interest you, then get ready, because that movie is on the way.

UGO has the exclusive that Brett Ratner is set to direct God of War. That’s right, the Rush Hour guy. Same dude who drove X-Men: The Last Stand straight into the box office — or straight into the ground, depending on who you talk to.

Though Ratner did confirm his involvement to UGO, no official announcement has been made regarding the project. In their exclusive video, Ratner mentions his upcoming projects in stride.

"[I’m working on] a few movies, waiting for scripts and greenlights to come in," Ratner says. "A few good things… Playboy, Beverly Hills Cop, [and] God of War. Some really cool movies." Ratner’s had his name attached to most genre-related films and some oddities such as Guitar Hero. He’s said to be developing Valiant’s Harbinger as his first super-hero franchise to call his own.  Ratner is also attached as producer on numerous projects including the big screen adaptation of the animated series Hong Kong Phooey.

Fans of the franchise and Ratner’s detractors will likely be up in arms over this announcement. Still, the director knows how to shoot action sequences, which will be a lot more important to a God of War flick than yielding Oscar-worthy performances. Not to say that this film will be any good, but anything that distracts Ratner from working on Beverly Hills Cop is a-OK by us.

God of War focuses on Kratos, a Spartan warrior who pledges servitude to Ares, the God of War. In order to make him a better warrior, Ares deceives Kratos into slaughtering his own wife and child. Kratos is cursed to have the ashes of his wife and child stain his skin, making him look like a ghost warrior. Now, armed with the Blades of Chaos, Kratos vows to avenge his family by killing the God of War.