Been awhile hasn't it? I'd ask if you had missed me, but then I'm almost certain no one noticed the absence.
Busy last couple of weeks, but while my body has been endurign the hardships of day to day life, my mind has been active and off in its own creative orgy. I've always wanted to be a writer, its a passion I strive for, I yearn for it. But thus far my efforts have yielded no gains. So I took it to a different medium. Instead of just simply writing STORIES I want to do something I've always secretly dreamed of. I want to write comics. Since I have no idea how to break into the industry I decided I'd make my own industry. Contacting a friend of mine that I know is an artist I set the idea before him, "I write, you draw. Why the FUCK aren't we making comics?" He was in full agreement. Over the last week or so he and I have met after work to brainstorm and flesh out an idea that got its start from me acting like a complete ass at work. I pulled a long shoelace like string out of the leg of my shorts and tied it around my head, headband style. Terms such as "Daniel-san" escaped my co-workers' lips. Then my friend, and co-worker John looks at me, fatefully, and declares: "You look very Wizardly." In that instant the omic came to life in my mind, five friends brought together by fate to protect their homes and their world. My first inclination was to place it in Vegas, an area I grew up in and know very well. However again John proved to be an oracle for creativity: "Nah, big city super heroes have been done to death. Put them around here, have them work in a factory at day." Thus it was born, my setting came to life then along with some characters. And I stumbled onto a name for the book.
Small Town Heroes.
I had a team of heroes: Warrior, Berserker, Thrasher, Arcanus, and Gigabyte. My artist and I hammered out more details each night, establishing the characters and their powers, putting them in homes, giving them lives. And then we started working on the first issue. The first few pages are done, the story seems solid, I dig the artwork, and I can't wait to see it come together. This is a project I got serious about, I spent a load of cash on art and writing tools over the weekend, looked into self publication, and dropped a ton of scripts and story boards on my artist. I'll let ya know what happens with Small Town Heroes. Because it could be huge.
After the initial idea started flowing out I began looking at every story idea I'd ever had and thought about translating them to comic form, I want to focus on the one for right now, but those others I'd love to get to eventually. Hell I even started dreaming about things I might do for major publishers and characters. But one step at a time right?
Switching gears a bit, I had a fun filled weekend with friends, managed to catch Pirates 3. I immensly enjoyed it, and Barbosa completely rocked. Best. Character. EVER! And then the next day (which really was today since Pirates was on Sunday) we hit the bargin cinema to catch 28 Weeks Later (loved it, it got down right genuinely creepy at one point, and the ending was pretty mind fuck worthy) and 300 (good seeing it one last time on the big screen where it was meant to be, now I await the DVD). Had a blast!
I also picked up a copy of Watchmen this weekend. I heard the name tossed around in reference to Heroes, and then started hearing things about a movie version. Heard it was by Alan Moore, one of my favorite comic writers, so I searched it out and found it at my comic shop. I read it in an afternoon. Then read it again the next day. I loved it! I can see why its such a talked about and beloved story. I was utterly blown away by it, and I'm slightly curious to see how a film version of it does. Rorschach has now become one of my all time favorite characters, ever. If you've read it you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't, then go read it. Now!
I had this crazy dream, it felt almost as if I was there it was quite vivid in parts. I was in the Navy, and currently stationed in Hawaii. Pearl Harbor to be specific. And it was 1941. I was apparently off duty the morning of December 7th, just messing around further inland with a buddy who also happened to be off duty. Then the attack started, we both heard it and took off like a bat out of hell. See turns out I had a girl, worked in a small resturant type establishment right on the water practically. I was worried about her, I can still remember that, still bring up that fear, that worry, like it was my own. Turns out she was safe, and boy, pretty little thing too. Pale skin, freckles, curly red hair, and just barely over five feet tall. It was after the attack, I was getting ready to ship out soon, she and I spent one last night together, I remember how much I loved her, how much I didn't want to leave her. We were planning on getting married that coming spring it turned out, but that would have to wait for me to get back. She fell asleep in my arms, and I held her close, listening to her breathing before I too fell asleep. That was about the point I woke up this morning. It was all so real, so vivid. I could taste the salt spray in the air. Could hear the explosions. Could smell the smoke, the burning oil. I heard the screams. I stood and watched a ship full of my friends sink. Its still got me a little out of sorts if I think about it hard enough. What did it all mean I wonder.
And to think I had the dream on Memorial Day. Coincidence?
-JC
Busy last couple of weeks, but while my body has been endurign the hardships of day to day life, my mind has been active and off in its own creative orgy. I've always wanted to be a writer, its a passion I strive for, I yearn for it. But thus far my efforts have yielded no gains. So I took it to a different medium. Instead of just simply writing STORIES I want to do something I've always secretly dreamed of. I want to write comics. Since I have no idea how to break into the industry I decided I'd make my own industry. Contacting a friend of mine that I know is an artist I set the idea before him, "I write, you draw. Why the FUCK aren't we making comics?" He was in full agreement. Over the last week or so he and I have met after work to brainstorm and flesh out an idea that got its start from me acting like a complete ass at work. I pulled a long shoelace like string out of the leg of my shorts and tied it around my head, headband style. Terms such as "Daniel-san" escaped my co-workers' lips. Then my friend, and co-worker John looks at me, fatefully, and declares: "You look very Wizardly." In that instant the omic came to life in my mind, five friends brought together by fate to protect their homes and their world. My first inclination was to place it in Vegas, an area I grew up in and know very well. However again John proved to be an oracle for creativity: "Nah, big city super heroes have been done to death. Put them around here, have them work in a factory at day." Thus it was born, my setting came to life then along with some characters. And I stumbled onto a name for the book.
Small Town Heroes.
I had a team of heroes: Warrior, Berserker, Thrasher, Arcanus, and Gigabyte. My artist and I hammered out more details each night, establishing the characters and their powers, putting them in homes, giving them lives. And then we started working on the first issue. The first few pages are done, the story seems solid, I dig the artwork, and I can't wait to see it come together. This is a project I got serious about, I spent a load of cash on art and writing tools over the weekend, looked into self publication, and dropped a ton of scripts and story boards on my artist. I'll let ya know what happens with Small Town Heroes. Because it could be huge.
After the initial idea started flowing out I began looking at every story idea I'd ever had and thought about translating them to comic form, I want to focus on the one for right now, but those others I'd love to get to eventually. Hell I even started dreaming about things I might do for major publishers and characters. But one step at a time right?
Switching gears a bit, I had a fun filled weekend with friends, managed to catch Pirates 3. I immensly enjoyed it, and Barbosa completely rocked. Best. Character. EVER! And then the next day (which really was today since Pirates was on Sunday) we hit the bargin cinema to catch 28 Weeks Later (loved it, it got down right genuinely creepy at one point, and the ending was pretty mind fuck worthy) and 300 (good seeing it one last time on the big screen where it was meant to be, now I await the DVD). Had a blast!
I also picked up a copy of Watchmen this weekend. I heard the name tossed around in reference to Heroes, and then started hearing things about a movie version. Heard it was by Alan Moore, one of my favorite comic writers, so I searched it out and found it at my comic shop. I read it in an afternoon. Then read it again the next day. I loved it! I can see why its such a talked about and beloved story. I was utterly blown away by it, and I'm slightly curious to see how a film version of it does. Rorschach has now become one of my all time favorite characters, ever. If you've read it you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't, then go read it. Now!
I had this crazy dream, it felt almost as if I was there it was quite vivid in parts. I was in the Navy, and currently stationed in Hawaii. Pearl Harbor to be specific. And it was 1941. I was apparently off duty the morning of December 7th, just messing around further inland with a buddy who also happened to be off duty. Then the attack started, we both heard it and took off like a bat out of hell. See turns out I had a girl, worked in a small resturant type establishment right on the water practically. I was worried about her, I can still remember that, still bring up that fear, that worry, like it was my own. Turns out she was safe, and boy, pretty little thing too. Pale skin, freckles, curly red hair, and just barely over five feet tall. It was after the attack, I was getting ready to ship out soon, she and I spent one last night together, I remember how much I loved her, how much I didn't want to leave her. We were planning on getting married that coming spring it turned out, but that would have to wait for me to get back. She fell asleep in my arms, and I held her close, listening to her breathing before I too fell asleep. That was about the point I woke up this morning. It was all so real, so vivid. I could taste the salt spray in the air. Could hear the explosions. Could smell the smoke, the burning oil. I heard the screams. I stood and watched a ship full of my friends sink. Its still got me a little out of sorts if I think about it hard enough. What did it all mean I wonder.
And to think I had the dream on Memorial Day. Coincidence?
-JC