Voices is a story I wrote about a man who’s sanity is slipping away and the consequences of his warped reality. It was accepted for publishing by Future Quake Press. You can peak at it here. It should appear in FQPs next issue of “Something Wicked” later this year.
Here is the Voices script for any artist looking to build their portfolio.
…the Dude is online. And it is glorious. As of Tuesday I’m rockin’ 8mbs and got the PS3 and XB360 all juiced up. Man, it’s insane to think what I’ve been missing. Mostly in the form of demos. I’ve downloaded and played something like 15 demos in 3 days. A bunch of PSN titles I’ve been salivating over–Savage Moon, Pixel Junk Monsters, Fat Princess, Crash Commando, Super Stardust HD–and upcoming titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Lost Planet 2 and Mini Ninjas. I’ll save a stand alone sentence for Shadow Complex, an exclusive Live Arcade game from Epic, based on an Orsen Scott Card novel, that rocked my socks last night. And I can’t forget an older arcade title that I’ve fallen for, Age of Booty by Capcom. And shit, Castle Crashers!
Man, my wallet is gonna be a-hurtin’ after all this. But on to specifics.
Last night was the release of the 360 timed-exclusive demo Lost Planet 2 from Capcom. Three friends and I got all up in it last night and it did not disappoint. It still looks and plays like the original Lost Planet, which I think is a good thing. It’s a 3rd person shooter, but still has a few Japanese developer quirks in the control scheme like a 45 degree angle quick-turn, something you don’t see in American-developed 3PSs, which serves to separate it from the generic titles that are plentiful these days. The demo pits you against a massive 6-legged worm/salamander-like beast that dives in and out of a deep pool of water in a steep-walled canyon. V-Suits (aka ‘Mechs’), grenades and a healthy array of large gun types litter the area. And from there it’s typical Lost Planet gameplay. Shoot the orange glowing parts that cover the monster’s body. What’s awesome though is that you just don’t whittle down the health bar. The bosses are sort of puzzle-based like Shadow of the Colossus. The demo monster requires you to take out the legs so that the beast falls to the ground. Then you blast open its mouth defenses and use your grappling hook to enter the thing, working your way around its innards to find its vitals and blast away. But watch out, huge insects try to stop you and you might get sucked down into the bowls and excreted, if you know what I mean. Overall, the game was frantic. At first a little too much, but I chalk it up to getting the controls down. Though the monster encounter was sweet, from the vids I’ve seen, the teamwork required to take out squads of human targets looks equally engaging. Graphically, it was gorgeous, the scale was incredible (I froze in may tracks as I found myself directly under the beast, no clue what to do), and there was nary a frame-rate issue. With this demo it’s obvious that Lost Planet 2 is gonna be a heavyweight for the early part of next year. If you’ve got some friends on the 360, get that demo and get with it.
Next, Shadow Complex. This 360 exclusive is coming from Epic, makers of Gears of War. It won lots of praise at E3 this year and from the demo it’s easy to see why. Touted as a game inspired by and to even play like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it has a lot to live up to. From the onset it’s obvious this gorgeous side-scroller wasn’t throwing around their inspirations for hype. The environments have a great depth to them that makes you forget you’re playing a side-scroller. The main character controls like a dream as well, very reminiscent of the likes of Samus and Alucard. And just like said games there’s a strong exploration element with alternate routes, hidden items, power-ups, etc. I myself am not familiar with the source material, Orson Scott Card’s novel of the same name, but I am familiar with his other series of Ender. It’s safe to say that the story will be very good and not just a backdrop for stellar gameplay. Shadow Complex is out now. Grab some Microsoft Points and download it. Now!
Lastly, I wanted to comment on Mini Ninjas. This upcoming title is courtesy IO Interactive, makers of the Hitman series, Kane & Lynch and Freedom Fighters. I absolutely loved K&L and Freedom, so IO is up there on my list of favorite developers. From their track record it’s plain to see that their latest IP is a departure from the normal gritty, gunplay-driven games and I admire a developer who takes a chance, branches out and does something new. I wish I could stay positive about the game, but I can’t help but think Mini Ninjas will get lost in the fold, simply because it is such a departure. In case you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, lend me your ear. Mini Ninjas is what it sounds, a light-hearted story of, for lack of better term, cute, cartoon ninjas. It has a heavy animated style with a bright color pallete and no blood or death; similar looking games of late feature bloody explosions (Castle Crashers, Fat Princess) and ultra-violence, but MNs carries its E Rating with pride. Whether that’ll help or hinder, judging from popular trend, I can’t help but assume the negative. I hope it works out the other way because from the demo alone this game is ready to position itself as one of the best platformers of this generation. Honestly, there’s quite a bit to the demo. Tons of items, several combat situations, a sweet, SWEET river rafting segment (that they obviously “borrowed” from Brave: Search for Spirit Dancer, which is a good thing), access to 3 different ninjas and a great montage of what’s to come in the full version. If you have any love for ninjas, play this game. If you have any love for the platformers of last generation, play this game. If you can appreciate a good video game that doesn’t conform to marketing trends, play this game and give IO Interactive some support for stepping so boldly out of their comfort zone.
Well, that’s about enough for now. Gotta get back to it. Feed me!
Terminal Reality, that’s who because, after teetering on the precipice of disaster amidst the chaos of the Vivendi and Activision merger, they still managed to pump out possibly the best videogame adaptation of any IP in all of gamedom.
I just got done finishing the game last night about 4 a.m. and though it was very tight, and about the right length, I was still sad to be done with it in just under 10 hours. As good as the game controls, as much fun as it is to wrangle hordes of ghoulies and blast golems, the game would not be as good without the close tutelage and script writing of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, not to mention the complete voice cast of Ramis, Akyroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Bill Atherton. Aykroyd himself has said that he intended the videogame to act as the third movie. And it really feels that way. The banter between the Busters is music to the ears, especially to a kid like me who wore out the VHS of the first movie to the point of melting. Venkman’s soaking sarcasm, Stantz’s giddy wonder for the supernatural, Spengler’s monotone scientific foreboding and Zeddemore’s wry street smarts are all there. This dialogue could only be written by the original scribes and only justly performed by the original actors.
As always when I play a game, right outta the gate I started thinking about different gameplay elements the developers could’ve done or different directions they could’ve taken. Honestly, the IP is perfect for sandbox style. Taking calls all around the city, jumping in the Ecto-1 and hauling ass around NYC while the whole Ghostbuster crew cuts it up, taking the core missions as you please would’ve been sweet. I could sit here all day and spew out ideas that would’ve been cool to have in the game, but what’s different about this title is that my ideas wouldn’t have necessarily made the game better. If Ghostbusters the Videogame wasn’t a linear level-based affair, it probably wouldn’t feel right. It would likely feel more of an interpretation instead of a faithful progression of the series. It’s quite brilliant in the later part of the game how missions that start out in, say, the Sedgewick Hotel, end up warping you to an inter-dimensional catacomb ruled by a Spider Queen or the Museum of Natural History contains hidden stairwells to eerie catacombs and graveyards. Part of the charm of the game is the close-to-zero down time, the only breathers in the form of touring the firehouse, checking out where all the relics found in each mission are placed, talking to Viggo the Carpathian who’s hanging out in the basement or overhearing Janine’s phone conversations at the front desk.
Though it’s hard not to focus on the presentation of Ghostbusters, the gameplay is top-notch. Once you get past the slight learning curve of trapping a ghost, it’s all peaches from there. Terminal Reality made a wise decision to include, in addition to traditional ghosts that require laying down the trap to capture, physical manifestations of ghosts that simply require you to blast until their health bar diminishes. This changes it up nicely because I can’t help but think, even though trapping is fun, it could have easily become redundant, especially to gamers who aren’t that in to Ghostbusters in the first place. Using the PKE Meter was a cool addition, though it’s uses were negligible at times, other than finding secret doors and relics. One of the biggest flaws of the game is undoubtedly the health system. Think Gears of War. All-in-all a good model to follow, but through more of the hectic battles you and your teammates will go down dozens of times. In boss battles you’ll be reviving your teammates every couple 10 seconds. Also, more often than not the sides of the screen will be red with damage indicators making it seem like your always about to die.
But, few games are perfect. Ghostbusters is a near perfect adaptation, though. If you have any love for the film, this game is a must-play. And if you don’t play games, go to someone’s house and watch it be played. It’s that entertaining. From what I heard the game sold very well, but I don’t know if we’ll see another one, especially with the rumors of a new movie in the works. I would love to see a sequel to this game, but even though they pulled it off this time around, I can’t see it being as easy a second time getting the entire cast back together. And if they can’t do that, than they just need to lay it to rest.
Not on the surface, but there is no doubt a growing fissure between my writing and my music. And it really couldn’t come at a worse time as both are producing results never achieved before. And I am not known for the ability to juggle multiple mediums.
Now, a brief history:
Over the past year I’ve mustered a fairly momentous effort to, for lack of a better term, “break in” to the comic book biz in some capacity. With the kind, helpful words of my unofficial mentor, super-scribe Cullen Bunn–writer of the much-lauded series “The Damned” published by Oni Press, art courtesy the sickening talent of Brian Hurtt–I went to work on a number of scripts and scoured the ‘net for any artist willing to collaborate for free. Also of huge significance was the assistance and advice of current DC heavyweight Jeremy Haun who lead me to various websites of like-minded individuals. As a result of my efforts I pumped out a few short scripts, one of which was accepted for publishing in the UK magazine “Future Quake” which should be out sometime later this year. Later while perusing a comic creator-related forum I met a very talented artist, Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, with whom I’m collaborating with on a few projects. Toss in the bevy of new ideas for scripts/stories I’ve gathered in the past year and I’d say it’s been a fairly productive period in relation to comics.
But, right as I was getting into the swing of scribing regularly, one of my long-time friends, his nephew–now a good friend of mine too–and I started a band, something we’ve always longed to do. Since starting a couple months ago we’ve performed numerous open mics, played our first paid gig at a big venue and just got a second show lined up with hopefully more in the works. It seems to be taking off and I couldn’t be happier, but it’s obvious that my writing has slackened because of it. A solution has yet to present itself.
Various options have gone through my head like taking a break from all structured writing and sticking to conceptualizing only, but I can’t help but think that’d be a waste of the effort I’ve put forth to sharpen my pen, so to speak. Currently, I’ve got an 8page script, near completion, that’ll be the first collaboration with Mr. Sawyer, but it’s taken me far too long to get this much done. I’m loving the script and the premise, but I just don’t want make him wait again on future scripts and like I said, I’m not sure whether it’s better to take a break from the writing or try to plunk through it when I can.
Hopefully, upon moving into my new place and securing a more dependable job I’ll be able to focus my efforts. As it is, my wandering mind isn’t doing anyone a service.
Just recently finished Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and started Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea last night. I’ve been meaning to get around to reading Verne for awhile now, my only exposure having thus far been the film incarnations of his work, which, overall, leave much to be desired. I finally put Verne at the top of queue (hehe, is that Netflix speaking?) after reading a very interesting book called, and get ready for this one: Hollow Earth: The Long and Curious History of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, Advanced Civilizations, and Marvelous Machines Below the Earth’s Surface by David Standish. I got it from a book warehouse for a few bucks and it turned out to be a great read. You can easily discern the book’s content from the ridiculously long subtitle, but the history behind the real world concepts of a hollow earth are astonishing. But I digress. Point being, Standish’s book made me pick up Verne asap, but after “Journey” I was…underwhelmed.
I consider myself a good reader, a relatively fast reader, but at 230 pages it took me…3 weeks? to finish Verne’s subterranean adventure. Not good. Aside from a few chapters I thought the book was awful. The characters were very hard to engage and the narrative style was borderline juvenile. My thin patience for exclamation points was put to the test as well. I kept waiting for it to get better, but I was not rewarded for my effort. The MC, Axle, was so incredibly inept that when he got lost in a tunnel I hoped he would wander into the black abyss never to be found. Axle’s uncle, Professor Lidenbrock, starts out with some depth, but deteriorates into an unlikeable old cuss who goes from anger to compassion in the blink of an eye. Normally, I’d find solace in a character like Hans, the stalwart Icelandic ranger, but it’s hard to get behind someone who speaks in one-word sentences and even those in a foreign tongue. Though Hans was my favorite component of the adventure, a competent tour guide, building a raft and lugging equipment and the like, I kept waiting for him to perform some Herculean task, but, again, disappointment. Even the adventure itself was a sort of anticlimactic. I will concede on this point, though as the novel was published in 1864 and, as Standish’s book provides, the Hollow Earth concept was all the rage. Naturally, “Journey” was likely far more entertaining to an audience who didn’t have access to the type of media we do today.
So, it was with a bit of reluctance that I picked up “Twenty Thousand Leagues.” Part of me had to know, though, if it was just a fluke that’s made Verne a significant author for over a century. Astonishingly, after the first chapter it was as if I was reading a completely different writer. The syntax is entirely different, the vocabulary already far above the level of “Journey.” Even the concept itself is better. It encompasses the entire world with the story of the mysterious creature terrorizing the seas. There’s a willful suspension of disbelief that is much easier to accept, at least at this point, in “Twenty Thousand Leagues” that was difficult with the Axle/Lidenbrock story. Knowing the synopsis, the two stories do become similar in scope in their core events, so I’ll be very interested to see if, for this reader, Verne is able to deliver in “Twenty Thousand Leagues” were he didn’t in “Journey.”
After “Twenty Thousand Leagues” I’ve got Jules Verne: The Definitive Biography by William Butcher lined up. After that I’ll decide if I’ll keep running down the Verne gamut with The Mysterious Island and Around the World in Eighty Days.
Seriously, if you have any interest in the concept of the Hollow Earth, I highly recommend David Standish’s book. The history, which goes from Edmond Halley of “Halley’s Comet” fame, to Edgar Allan Poe to Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, is very compelling.
Hi. I’m Scott. I’m a student with a part time job and an aspiring comic book writer. And the world is about to end.
To be honest, I’m so flustered that I don’t know really where to begin. I guess it’s easiest to start with Global Warming, something that is or isn’t real, depending on, of all things, your political party? We’ve been bombarded with this debate for a couple years now. Seems the more I hear the less clear it becomes. Part of me thinks it’s all a wickedly evil ad campaign to get consumers to buy “Green” products. Or it’s real and we’re fucked. And that’s the part I keep coming to.
We’re fucked. Right?
I’m to the point that it’s gonna take quite a lot to convince me otherwise.
So, 60 Minutes last night had a story about coal plants and their need to produce a system that captures their CO2 byproduct and spew it back into pockets within the Earth. Not only is it uncertain as to be effective, it’s also so insanely expensive that it’s not possible. That’s what all these “experts” are saying.
Too expensive? To save the Earth we all live on? Then what the fuck is money for?
Then, they say that China is opening coal plants at a rate of one per week, all without any CO2 regulations.
Following that story was a piece about an orphanage for African elephants whose parents are being slaughtered for their tusks as the price of ivory has sky-rocketed recently. A related statistic, I read that on average, 150 species, flora and fauna, are exterminated each day. Each day.
There is visual evidence of Polar Bears dying, drowning, because they are no longer able to survive in their natural habitat.
I read a recent lecture by Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael, where he addressed such issues. In short, he said that in 100 years, if we continue living the way we live, there won’t be humans on Earth.
If there was no truth to any of this, whatsoever, why is there some report, article or media piece around every corner, every day that portents some type of doom?
But, the whole idea of apocalyptic doom, the world being destroyed, that’s not the most daunting part. Not for me. The hardest part for me is that we get closer each day to a future that no one is that sure of. But, here we are, going to school, going to work, worrying about parking meters, bills, playing video games, watching sports, arguing about the most inane things on a daily basis instead of doing something.
Sure, NBC can put up an actor to tell me to “do my part” and unplug my electronics to conserve energy, but is that my part? And, the millions who hear that message, are they the real culprits behind the situation we seem to be in? Seems to me the owner of 100+ coal plants and the 3rd biggest polluter in the country has more to answer for than an apartment building full of people who leave their stereos and cell phones plugged in all night.
Bottom line, the way I see it, is that if anything is going to change, it has to be everybody at once and it has to come before everything else. Matt Stafford just got guaranteed 40 something million dollars to play in the NFL. I don’t even want to know the amount of NFL players who make millions every year. But isn’t all that futile if they can’t breath the air to play the game? To preserve the frivolous American love of sports, shouldn’t we preserve the means for it, first? If money is what it takes, why isn’t every national sports league forking over funds to help? And for that matter, why aren’t Hollywood stars who make millions so we can be entertained for two hours forking over their fortunes to help?
Maybe some are, but I haven’t heard about it.
In the end I’m right back where I started. What can I do? I don’t have any money to help and money seems to be the only thing that will. I can unplug my shit, yeah, sure. But, I fail to see how that’ll help in the scheme of things. I hate to have such an apocalyptic view, but this is bigger than one person. We can’t do it alone, but we can’t even decide what’s true or false, so how can we stand together? Not only is this whole idea of the future a burden on my mind, it makes my current pursuit of comic books seem like the biggest waste of time.
I’m waiting for someone or something to appear to tell me the answers, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
How much is too much when you’ve really got nothing at all?
Yeah, that sure sounds like some inflated contradiction or pseudo-intellectual muttering, but honestly it’s a fairly accurate description of how things are going right now. You see, I’ve got these ideas…
Tons of ‘em. So many, in fact, that I can scarcely concentrate on a single one for more than a few hours. And the problem of it all is that I don’t know which one(s) to devote the most attention to. Very few of my scripts/stories involve just sitting down and thinking it all up. Most require reading some sort of source material or fact-gathering to write the story how I want. Some are just simple timeline-related stuff, getting events straight in my head, familiarizing myself with certain eras, but others require the reading of massive tomes and biographies.
So, with no artist attached, no publisher on board, no outside factors that would even hint at any of these stories reaching an audience, it’s a little hard to get the motivation to write on anything. Naturally, my better, more rational and less dramatic half says “stop whining you dope and just write everything so that when the time comes, you’ll be ready to write or already have it written.” Sound advice, I know, but it’s a little hard to keep that focus from day to day.
On the upside of things I have made what seems to be progress in finding potential artists. As of late I’ve been in conversation with 2 gentlemen, one more so than the other, I’ve known for awhile who expressed interest in drumming up something comic related. So, I’m concocting a demo script of sorts to see what might come of it. One thing that makes it tough is that neither are extremely familiar with the comic book medium, so yesterday I bought the classic Will Eisner text “Comics and Sequential Art” to not only help my writing, but hopefully to strengthen my ability to communicate with an artist. I’d spoken to another artist through Facebook who’s experienced with the comic form, but after a few exchanges he didn’t seem interested in working with me. Oh well. Fish in the sea, as they say…but not with the meaning they usually say it…anyway.
Focus. FOCUS!
Well, finally heard back from Future Quake, a UK magazine with the motto “tomorrow’s stars today.” Last month I’d sent in a 6 page script called “The Chaser!” about a Pulp-era character of my own creation. It more or less introduced Chaser, his sidekick/mechanic Dibbs and the Chaser’s nemesis, billionaire Theodore Trundle. It was fun to write and I had high hopes.
Unfortunately, the news wasn’t good. Basically, they said it was enjoyable, but wasn’t their sort of thing; it didn’t quite fit the mold as it was an excerpt of an on-going series. Or something. I dunno. I thought it was perfectly coherent and inclusive as a story and didn’t need anything more than what was presented to be enjoyed. I wrote it with that intention. Maybe they don’t dig on 1930s stuff.
A blessing in disguise, I suppose as “The Chaser!” has evolved into a story vastly different from it’s initial creation. I’m still toying with concepts, but the character of Chaser has transformed into John Chase, a detective who will bear witness to a changing of the guard, so to speak. More details on this once I discover them myself.
Not one to be deterred I’m spelunking around in my head for a story that might better suit the folks at Future Quake. I’ve got a few ideas, an FBI agent tracking a mysterious killer in Arizona being my first attempt. So, we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, I’ll be reading a horde of trades I got at Planet Comic Con in KC this past weekend. Good times, good people up there. Until next time…
I remember someone, surely a creator, talking during a Con, about working on licensed properties. He said something to the effect that you can’t really do good work unless there’s a story with the character that you desperately want to tell. He said that even though you may like Spider-Man, if there isn’t a story somewhere inside you that you’ve been dying to tell, then you probably won’t write a story that endures.
After thinking about this a little I realized he was totally right. Even though I enjoy the X-Men, I don’t have an X-Men story to tell. I could probably conceive of something, but it wouldn’t rock anyone’s socks, wouldn’t change the way people look at the X-Men.
So, I sat down and tried to think of IPs that I would jump at the chance to write. Turns out the list is pretty small. Near the top was Ghost Rider, but after reading the first half of Jason Aaron’s current GR run…he’s beat me to it. Not in that he “stole” my idea, I’m not that naive, but he did what I’d have loved to do–make the Ghost Rider worth reading. Aaron has retooled the Spirit of Vengeance, gone back to the source and has him right where he should be, soaked in a world of the occult, not tangling with the Hulk during Civil War for the sake of selling books.
But hey, weren’t we gonna talk about Ninja Turtles? Yeah, I kinda wandered. So, after finding an old Kevin Eastman TMNT poster in my closet at my parent’s house it dawned on my that the IP I would quite possibly kill to write was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They practically raised me and exhausted my parents wallet as I clamored for toys, comics, and anything else with their lovable mugs.
Currently, Mirage Publishing is producing two TMNT books–an ongoing series-proper and a spin-off of one-shots based in the Turtles universe. I absolutely love that the TMNT are still getting the comic book treatment and I do grab the ‘Tales of TMNT’ one-shots when they go trades, but overall I can’t say I really like everything that either series is doing, particularly the ongoing book. My biggest problem is that the Turtles aren’t as fantastic when there’s aliens, monsters and magic around. They become the constant, the normal part of the book when there’s ancient warrior spirits to be vanquished and huge sea monsters and aliens to contend with. And when four walking, talking turtles are the norm, they may as well be regular human beings.
I think the original New Line movie is the best interpretation of the source material to date. When I watch that movie I have no doubt in my mind that four giant turtles could be living in the sewers of New York City. The movie is so gritty, so visceral, very fluid and utterly believable. And as the Turtles and Splinter are the only fantastical creatures in the whole thing, their presence is encompassing. I love the brotherhood conveyed in the movie. I love the untapped ideas that are embedded in the movie, such as loss of parents and growing up ,even racism. Dude, I just love the Turtles in that movie.
I watched it today, first time in a long time. I was no less enamored by the world the film makers created than when I saw it for the first time on a Christmas morning forever ago. Thankfully the movie was made when it was. In the film-making world of today, big business would have ripped out this movie’s soul and damned it to a lifeless cash-in.
The Turtles are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year and that is no fluke. They’ve endeared because they’re more than giant mutated turtles who ninja-kick and eat pizza. Their beautiful existence in the sewers is something that has yet to be fully tapped. They’ve kicked enough inter-dimensional ass, beaten enough pajama’d ninjas to fill thousands of pages and hours of film, but they haven’t quite been realized, at least not to the extent of the original film. The first film was but a glimpse of how powerful the concepts and characteristics behind the Turtles can be.
So, long story short, I’m happy for the Turtles and their 25 years of success, but I’ve got some stories of my own to tell. I just hope that one day I’ll be given the opportunity.
