A Call to Arms

If I may have your attention, there is something growing in our midst, something cruel that must be stopped, lest it destroy our way of life. This beast is called lateness my friends, and we have to fight it.

The biggest case of late is Civil War, the Marvel now-non-event that has delayed half it's publishing schedule by at least a month. One issue delays twenty others.

Then there's DC with the works of MG3 (I can't believe I just used that term). This collective of four writers is responsible for the weekly series 52. Since they're so committed to keeping that weekly schedule, they've delayed no less than eight ongoing titles, one of which is from a different company.

That's right, it's time for me to be harsh to Greg Rucka. Queen & Country not only hasn't shipped, it's been cancelled from the shipping lists. Those who regularly read the comic series (I try to, but it hasn't shipped!) would probably agree that one issue of this black and white comic has higher quality content than about say 16 issues of 52 in full color. And let us not forget Atticus Kodiak, whose next novel has been delayed until next year--and to give some context, the first time it was delayed, I hadn't started reading anything Rucka yet.

Just to be fair, I'm going to make another point that I think Mr. Rucka would agree with. DC just officially turned Wonder Woman into a bimonthly book. "We're redefining our DC icons for the next generation," has been the standard line from DC editorial. But I think it's hard to redefine anything if the public can't see it.

Let me say that again: I think it's hard to redefine anything if the public can't see it.

It doesn't matter if it's an Amazonian princess, an intergalactic cop, a poorly contrived arachnid trainwreck you just can't look away from, international espionage, or personal security agents. Lateness kills interest, which means lateness kills sales, or at least it should.

Too often comic book companies rely on comic readers having drug addict-like behavior. They claim all too often that they'll ditch the late books just to turn around and by two copies each of the standard and last minute toss-in variant cover. Marvel and DC don't see readers, they see junkies looking for their fix.

Personally, with both Green Lantern and Wonder Woman being late, the new JLA book just earned a lot of points with me. I can kill two late books and pick up one book (hopefully) timely book and still read about the exact same characters. It's a thought.

Still, I ask any and all of you being affected by lateness to look over the things that are late and do something about it. Write a letter, stop buying the book, wait for the trade, do something that the companies and creators will notice. Do not reward their laziness. Just think about it at the very least.

The Silents

I recently picked up the DVD of Silent Hill. Who'd have guess I'd have done that? Anyway, it's just as cool as I remembered, with all its twisted imagery, methodic pacing, and non-horror movie music. As such, I've put more thought into how I'll be executing my own horror-like project, The Silent Covenant.

First of all, I don't think it's a good idea to screw around with such a story. It's important to develop characters before making the world turn upside down, but I don't think I should do so to the extent of holding off the crazy shit. When things get started, they should continue to move forward. Why should the reader wait for the story to happen?

Before anyone can say or think it, let me say that I am not trying to copy Silent Hill. It provides a way to explore and explain some ideas that I was having problems visualizing. In short, it was this movie that allowed me to figure out exactly what this story should look like, as well as refined some previous ideas I'd had.

When Rival Ideas Attack

In the left corner, weighing in at five years of creeping development, the craziest mecha novel ever--Ashes of War. In the right corner, weighing in at several months of twisted focus wrapped around an old concept, the collapsing mental spiral of The Silent Covenant.

These two ideas will now engage one another in Mortal Kombat! Only the winner will get worked on this week. Crappy prize, huh?

I've come to an impasse. After getting a decent sized scene hammered out last week for Ashes of War, I'd like to continue working on it, mainly because I end up working more on it each time I start working on it again. I've got a lot of ideas for The Silent Covenant, ideas which will definately get stirred up more next week because a certain movie that spurred this line of thought is hitting DVD.

Either way, my main thought from here on is to work, to some degree, on a project at all times. This isn't always the actual craft of writing, although I need to turn up the heat and do that more. Stories need ideas and ideas need forethought and development. It helps me to have an idea of where I'm going, or at least know what I'm aiming for with a particular piece of writing.

How successful will I be? Don't know. I can't really tell until I've done more, and that's not easy with something that's novel-length.

Books! Memes! Run!

I got tagged, so it's my turn to do this. Besides, I think it's topical with what this web log is supposed to be about.

One book that changed your life:

Dune by Frank Herbert. It matured and solidified a lot of my views on science fiction and mythology.

One book that you've read more than once:

Well... there's just one little problem... I've never read a book more than once. I read so many that I just don't fit a book I've read back into the cycle. However, someday, I will reread a book.

One book you would want on a desert island:

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. It was $3 and new when I bought it, it's more than 900 pages, and it kicks ass.

One book that made you laugh:

Smoker by Greg Rucka. Evaluating the security of a rival operation... hilarious.

One book that made you cry:

The Green Mile by Stephen King. The ending of the book is there just to break your heart.

One book you wish you had written:

Hmmm, that's a tough one. The only thing I can think of is cheating and going into comic books. The book I wish I'd written, Infinite Crisis (or at least issues 2-7), because I would have done it right.

One book you wish had never been written:

I've got to give an answer so I think I'll go with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglass Adams. It is without a doubt the one book that has been so overhyped, I'll probably be in my forties before I could seriously think about reading it--and only if it isn't mentioned to me again before then. Way too many people read it and started going on and on about, "42! 42!" That's part of why I answered the first question the way I did.

One book you are currently reading:

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book I) by Philip Pullman.

One book you have been meaning to read:

Anything that's part of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

Tag five people:

Oscar, Chris, Dan, Jonathan, Jack--you're it!

Miami Vice

I am a child of the Eighties, so, like many people, on Friday nights at 9 PM (that's 10 PM according to the National Listings--I'm going off Central time) I got to see Miami Vice. Cool synth music. Intrigue. Pastel clothes. Pre-Battlestar Edward James Olmos. All those things were on the show. And it was cool. It's not something I can easily describe. It's sort of like watching a Michael Mann movie for the first time, thinking it's awesome, and not really being able to say why.

In the past few months when the new movie, Miami Vice would come up, I'd hear things like, "Oh shit, another crappy remake of a TV show from the Eighties." To which I would respond, "But this is being made by Michael Mann, who made the original TV show, so it could be good."

For clarity, yes, I like Michael Mann movies. In a lot of ways I prefer Manhunter to as far as Hannibal Lektor movies goes. Red Dragon. Heat is one fo the most engaging crime movies I've ever seen. Collateral--that's one of my favorite movies. Biased opinion? You bet.

I've seen Miami Vice now. There were no pastel clothes, no former cast cameos, no Jan Hammer music. There was just one all-consuming view into a world of undercover police full of drug lord politics and the most realistic violence I've ever seen.

Final advice: Either go to a movie theater or turn to TV Land and watch Miami Vice.

Emerging from silence

I've said little here as of late. Most of that is due to disdain over my thesis and the total lack of progress concerning it. I need to hear from only one person now and he doesn't reply to my e-mails. It sucks.

Part of my silence is that I've had little I've felt I had to say here. Nothing to say = nothing to post.

Finally, we come to the other factor--PS2. It's nice having one (yes, I actually have a console; my Mom bought it for me), but it can be time consuming if one let's it. At current, I have four games for it: Final Fantasy X, Soul Calibur II, Rygar, and Zone of the Enders. There is some hypocrasy in what I'll say next-->Video games and TV could quicken the downfall of our civilization.

Still, the fire of creativity burns on. As evidence, here are some updates on my projects:

The Silent Covenant. I've gotten some interesting "character research" done on the female lead, Corrine, thanks to Katie's willingness to answer questions. Also, I've figured out tha main character's name as well, Alex. I've been asking myself several questions to figure out the character arc these two will be going through, making up the emotional drive of the story. From a certain point of view, this is going to be just as much about the torrents of their relationship, as much as it's about freaky monsters, holes in reality, or insane Brill'Que.

Ashes of War. Yes, I've been thinking about it again for the first real extent since the very beginning of the year. A lot of my thoughts have been about the current Kinpatsu of the Irujiru family. Wha? Kinpatsu--literally the only blonde person, at least in the current generation; this girl is always the arranged bride of the ruler of one of the supernations. The Irujiru family is the most powerful family in the country, being the only ones capable of practicing blood magic.

My thoughts on this girl. Basically, she's going to be educated, have tons of servants, be fairly haughty, and drawn to Hokairu Itobe so they can "be greater together." It's going to be a crime punishable by death to cut her hair, so there will be lots of it. As such, she's going to have to have a staff to keep her hair in proper condition--it's the key physical feature that shapes the political climate of their nation. As with any national treasure, her hair will have to be essentially decorated before she can be seen in public.

"Dwindling Time." I wrote this short story in about half an hour. It deals with chain letter e-mails and the sinister threats they make. It also deals with urban legends and superstitious nature just as much. Just a fun, quick story. I'll edit it in a few days.

Naming conventions. I think that I'm going to use subtle similarities in naming series of stories. Everything in Blood Tithe is going to include the word "blood" in the title. Stories involving the Brill'Que may start using the word "covenant." Since Ashes of War is actually the third part in a long history of a single world I've built, I think there might be a word or two transitioning from one part to the next. The second part might include the word "war," but the first might also have the word "ashes" in its title; the opposite is also possible.

Any and all thoughts are welcome, especially since I haven't said much for the better part of a month.