Sketch: George Sellas

Over on his blog, (http://barryreese.net/) Barry Reese posted a rough sketch by artist George Sellas of the image from Bobby Nash’s story, “Where there’s Smoke…” for the upcoming Tales of the Rook anthology from Pro Se Productions Reese Unlimited imprint.
About “Where There’s Smoke…” In Atlanta, GA, a fire bug who is burning down buildings whose owners dared to oppose the arsonist’s employer. The Rook intervenes and finds himself in a fiery deathtrap.

Cover Art: Bob Hall

From Barry’s blog:

Direct link:
http://barryreese.net/2012/01/09/monday-morning-news-more/

Attached you’ll find a rough sketch by George Sellas depicting a scene from Bobby Nash’s Tales of the Rook story. Let this whet your appetite — and keep in mind that it’s only a rough sketch so while it’s awesome as-is, George is really knocking the ball out of the park on the finished stuff. I’m thrilled to have George on the project — his artwork is going to make the incredible stories by Fortier, Hancock, Bullock, Constantine and Nash even better!

6 a.m. Sunday morning.

What the hell is that noise?

Oh, yeah. The alarm on my cell phone.

It’s reeeeeally lowwwwwwd.

Shit. Five more minutes. Just five more minutes. One eye open, I grapple for the phone. Shit. Goddamn it. There it is. Flip it open. Hit the snooze button.

Quiet.

I snuggle under the covers.

And I’m wide awake.

The Giants are playing the Falcons today in the first round of the NFL playoffs. Kickoff at 1 p.m. Probably there are people already at the stadium, setting up their tailgating parties, firing up the grills, sipping hot coffee or tea (and, sadly, guzzling the first beer of the day.)

Glenn (my brother) is probably on the road already, driving up from the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia. Probably almost all of Philadelphia is rooting for the Falcons to kick the Giants’ collective ass. It’s not easy being a Giants fan down there.

Okay, I’m up. It’s cold. Shit, yesterday it was over 60°. Today, not so much. Good football weather thought. I put on my robe. Go into the kitchen. I squint at the bright light as I flip the switch. Turn on the stove for my cuppa tea. Can’t do anything without my cuppa.

Go into the bedroom. Put my robe on. Shit, it’s really cold. Good football weather, though. ‘Specially for the Giants. The Falcons play indoors. The cold and the crazy winds at Giants Stadium – I refuse to call it Metlife Stadium – will hopefully work against them. I turn on my computer.

The teapot is whistling. I pour my nice cuppa tea. Last night I prepared everything; the steaks are marinating, hot dogs are in aluminum foil, the cooler and the grill are pulled out and ready, utensils, paper plates, everything’s set. Glenn’s bringing the Bloody Marys and the charcoal. Food tastes better without that propane smoke.

Got about an hour, hour-and-a-half ‘till Glenn gets here. All I gotta do is sit down and write my column. Then take a shower and get dressed.

I wonder how Eli is feeling? Where is Victor Cruz right now? Is Justin Tuck already in the locker room? Is Mathias Kiwanuka having tea too? Or coffee?

What’s going through the minds of the Giants? And the Falcons, for that matter?

I wonder about superheroes and their evil doppelgangers. What if their battles were scheduled? What if they watched films of last week’s battle? What if they studied playbooks? Would they be replaying that sack, thinking “if only I’d just stepped to the left?” Would they be thinking about that perfectly thrown right hook that somehow missed? What would they do, what would they think about before going up against each other?

7:30 a.m. The doorbell has rung. This column is now interrupted because Glenn is already at my door and we’re going to the Giants game! Go, big blue!

5:55 p.m. I’m back. Giants won! 24 – 2. (Falcons got a safety due to a bullshit call by the end zone ref who threw a flag 25 seconds after the play was called dead. (I really, really, really hate when the refs do that.) Gotta admit the first quarter sucked (for both teams), and the second quarter wasn’t much either, although the Giants did score a TD to make it 7 – 2 at the half. But the second half rocked!

Okay, where was I?

Right. Got it.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to write a story about the hours before an “epic battle” between the hero and the villain? You never actually see the fight scene – well, maybe the first punch, the way Rocky III ends, y’know? You just build up the tension going on inside the hero, inside the villain. It could start like my morning did, with the alarm clock shattering the deep sleep of Peter Parker and Mary Jane – sorry, but I prefer that “timeline.” And Electro was up all night, couldn’t sleep, thinking about his past battles with Spider-Man and letting his inferiority complex eat at him. Captain America wanders the streets of Washington, D.C., past the Capitol building and the monuments, ending up at Arlington cemetery, while the Red Skull visits Auschwitz, remembering the “glory” of the Third Reich. Doctor Strange spends the night in deep meditation, while the Silver Dagger ponders God and the Catholic Church at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.

I could go on – and end up writing a story treatment and then some asshole will read it here, and I’ll get all pissed off, so I’ll stop here.

Before my brain starts playing tricks on me and I get all upset that I’m not actually writing these things anymore because, y’know, Mindy Newell is a has-been and Mindy Newell is a bitch and Mindy Newell never really had any talent, just a great set of gams which she used to get work, and…

You know.

Mind games.

P.S.: Giants Vs. Green Bay Next Week!

TUESDAY: Michael Davis

Bless Mindy Newell.

I was suffering from the condition she described so well in a recent column – being blocked – and she supplied the cure as well. She talked about the difficulty in writing fight scenes in superhero comics and then claimed both I and Denny O’Neil know how to do it. I’m not always sure that’s true with me but it did give me this week’s topic. Thanks, Mindy!

On the surface, writing a fight scene might not seem that difficult. You have two steroid queens pounding the poo out of each other, right? What’s the big deal? Actually, there are a number of things to keep in mind.

Let’s start with the pragmatic. As with movies and television, fights in comics are depicted, not simply described. In the credits for both film and TV, you can find the position of “fight choreographer” and, yes, it’s very like a dance choreographer. Think of fight scenes as very violent dance. Rhumbas with a right hook. Cha Chas with a karate chop.

The fight needs to be imagined in steps so as to be clear, effective and – in movies and TV – safe for the participants. The fight also has to build in intensity. There’s a great film by Walter Hill called Hard Times (1975), starring Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Strother Martin about a bare knuckle fighter working pick-up fights around New Orleans during the Depression. There are several fights in the film and not only do they have to build individually but overall the fights have to build with greater physical and emotional intensity throughout the film to the climax.

In comics a fight scene needs one clear, definable move per character per panel. Also, for best impact, the blow is begun in one panel and then completed in the next. When possible, you end the page with one character about to strike and start the next page with the blow connecting or the other character blocking or dodging. Part of the magic that happens in between panels is that the reader “sees” the motion but only if the action in both panels is clear.

You also want to think of variety. Punch, block, counterpunch, block gets old real fast. In boxing, a boxer will go for the head, the ribs, stomach and so on to mix up the blows. In comics, you can include head-butts, kicks, leaps, martial arts moves and so on. You can also imagine a variety of different settings. Where the fight takes place can determine what fight can take place.

Different characters have different fighting styles. Spider-Man is an acrobatic fighter; the Hulk… well, Hulk smashes. Unless your character has made a change in their fighting style as part of the story, have them fight the way they are supposed to fight.

Just as important as the moves is the fact that the fight is a scene in the story you’re telling. All the rules for a scene apply – what does the character want, how badly do they want it, how far are they willing to go to get what they want? What does it tell us about the character, what does it tell them about themselves? What is revealed, what is concealed? How does this scene move the story ahead? The story is not there to justify a fight scene; the fight scene is there to advance the story. If it doesn’t, it wastes space.

There should be an ebb and flow in a fight scene. The outcome should not be a foregone conclusion for either party. Motivation will play a key factor in any fight. Maybe your character keeps getting knocked down but keeps getting back up. Keep in mind that the opponent is not always another person; it can be time, it can be physical obstacles, it can be the weather, it can be something inside of the characters themselves. All these should be factors in a good fight scene.

Finally, leave room for the artist to work their magic. When working plot instead of full script, I often just gives the basics to the artist – what’s at stake, what are the beats in the action, what is the outcome – and let them choreograph it. The artist is not your hands; the artist is your partner.

It boils down to this: you’re telling a story and that involves conflict. Conflict reveals character – who someone is as opposed to who they think they are. A fight scene is that conflict in its most physical, graphic form but it’s still part of the story. When in doubt, tell the story.

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

For those following along with all of the columnists here at ComicMix, no doubt you checked out Michael Davis’ article “Why I Like The New 52”and Michael made some great points. DC’s reboot of their entire line of superhero comic books was, as he so eloquently put it, ballsy. Oh, but the self-proclaimed Master of the Universe sadly is mistaken. To have completely rebooted 60+ years of continuity would take serious juevos. The fact is, DC hasn’t done anything close to that. It’s a point I’ve been jumping up and down on now for months… and who am I to disregard my own nerd rage over the issue. Let me get my soapbox, megaphone, and crazy pants. It’s rant-time, kiddos.

DC didn’t reboot much. In fact, they merely slapped #1’s on all their issues, and placed a gigantic asterisk besides nearly every single one. To call this the “New 52” is akin to calling Gus Van Sant’s Psycho completely original. You see, DC may have changed the numbering, but they haven’t reset their backstories. That is to say, they did – to a point.

Nearly every book they’ve put out has carefully chosen to pick events, mannerisms, and relationships established over the last half a century… and take us into their continuity mid-stream. You know David Copperfield didn’t actually make the Statue of Liberty disappear, he used a sly game of bait and switch. DC did the same thing. Whenever the fans asked the powers-that-be if a major event from continuity occurred in this new DCU or not… they waved their hands, misdirected us, and said “just keep reading.”

As Michael said, that takes serious balls.

Break it down. The New 52 reset a handful of the major players. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman were all spit-shined and given a thorough makeover. And their books are better for it. Superman’s series had been crushed under event after event. From his “death” to the his “electric blue and red” days, to the rise of New Krypton to its eventual fall, casual fans could hardly hit the shelf and feel like they could relate. Wonder Woman’s title was bounced from several amazing writers, who all tried in their own ways to add depth, class, and angst to Diana’s stories. But aside from murdering Maxwell Lord, what kid on the street could tell you what she did since?

And Aquaman? Where do I begin? Water-hand, squid-head, Sub-Diego. I rest my case. Putting a #1 on those books and forgetting the last 10-15 years, isn’t such a bad idea when your parent company starts clamoring for more widespread appeal, is it?

And other books? Still confusingly convoluted beyond reproach. In the Batman corner of the DCnU, there’s Bruce’s bastard son-turned-Boy-Wonder, Nightwing, Tim Drake, a Black Batman, Batman Inc., a Joker with a misplaced face, Batwoman, and Babs “Miracle on 34th Street” Batgirl. You can put all the #1’s you want on those books, but find me a kid who bought them who didn’t immediately take a stroll down Wikipedia lane to make sense of the countless callbacks to continuity which is now unconstructed. In Batgirl alone, all we know for sure is there was an accident, she lost the ability to walk, she got it back. Did the Joker shoot her? Well, all DC says is “keep reading.”

In Green Lantern’s sector, we have no less than four active Earth Men wearing the emerald ring. For those who picked up their shiny #1’s of GL, GL: Corps, and GL: Emerald Knights were treated to the following backstory: At some point there was this thing called Blackest Night… maybe. Hal Jordon killed a Guardian of the Universe, who had a Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet power set… maybe. Kyle Rayner was the last GL… at some point? Sinestro now has a Green Ring. Again, these plot points were all in their respective #1’s. If you had no knowledge of these characters before starting these books, how would you approach getting your bearings on all this backstory? Ask DC, and they’ll gladly tell you “keep reading.”

Now, let me be clear and fair here. I read a ton of DC books. I love many of them. Of the New 52, Action Comics, Batman, Batgirl, Green Lantern, Animal Man, and Justice League Dark barely make it home before they’re read with near rabid fervor. As a fan of all of these characters, I have a great understanding of their mannerisms, backstories, and relationships to fill in the gaps that their respective books have yet to cover. Because modern comics are written more cinematically, their creative teams bank on the fact that their fan base isn’t coming into their books completely cold. In the case of newer characters, or transplants from Wildstorm, these books aren’t fairing so well. With 3 issues in, November’s top sellers were Justice League, Batman, Action, and Green Lantern. Blue Beetle, Omac, and Voodoo? 89. 104. 105. Without the allure of “read and see what continuity we kept, and which we threw out with the bathwater…” fans weren’t as kind.

Before the books all came out, we fans debated hotly how much of our continuity would be thrown into this potluck reset. DC cleverly keeps moving the target on the answers. The truth of the matter is this: The allure of a universal restart in comics is a pipe dream at best. At the end of the day, comic books are a business first. The DCnU was a stunt that paid off in spades.

To end 60+ years of backstory, and start all over simply will never happen. The industry thrives on the soap-opera format; keep what works, and forget the rest. If you pay close enough attention you’ll just go mad. I started this out as a rant on Michael Davis’ kudos to the DC’s testicular fortitude, but in looking at the stack of their books, and my dwindling bank account? It tells me Michael was right all along.

DC, you made me madder than hell, and took more of my money than you ever did before… all so I could make a grand sweeping point. And now, after I’m done shouting from the rafters, I realize that’s all you ever wanted me to do in the first place. Good for you. That took serious balls.

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

New Pulp Author Martin Powell unveiled the cover to Tarzan At The Earth’s Core graphic novel adaptation that he is writing with art by Tim Burgard, and authorized by the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Tarzan At The Earth’s Core graphic novel will be released in 2012 from Sequential Pulp Comics and Dark Horse Comics.

You can learn more about Sequential Pulp Comics at http://www.sequentialpulpcomics.com/
You can learn more about Dark Horse Comics at http://www.darkhorse.com/