GORDON McALPIN, Webcomics - Interview

This week, we get to chat with webcomic creator Gordon McAlpin.

Gordon McAlpin

Gordon McAlpin lives in Minneapolis with his cat Punk. In his twenties, he watched over a dozen movies a week. Gordon has written movie reviews, co-hosted a movie podcast, and edited a movie news blog, but now he just writes and draws Multiplex. While he has never worked at a movie theater, he has had several equally terrible jobs. From 2004–2006, Gordon created Stripped Books, a series of non-fiction strips covering book- and comics-related events in comics form. Multiplex began in July, 2005, and is Gordon’s first on-going comic strip.

The cast of Multiplex

ANTHONY: So let’s start out with the basics: Multiplex has been running continuously since 2005. Tell us about the comic’s origins. How did you decide on this situation and these characters?

GORDON: My buddy Kurt Bollinger first suggested that I do a comic strip about a movie theater. We both love to talk about how I basically thought it was a stupid idea at first, but the truth is, I just didn’t know how to approach the idea. I was thinking in terms of newspaper comics, the 22 (or so) page magazine comic, and long-form graphic novels, none of which I thought were really well-suited to the premise. Once I’d learned about webcomics, I started toying with the idea again, because I realized you could keep the strip extremely timely by setting the strip in real time and referring to actual movies.

In the intervening years, I did also manage to forget that Kurt first suggested I do a comic about a movie theater, but I named a character after him, and stole some aspects of his personality for the character, so it’s all good. There’s a ton of stuff with Kurt that’s totally made up, though, and a ton of stuff in the real life Kurt that I’ve used for other characters, especially Whitey. Along the same lines, Jason is sort of loosely based on me, but he isn’t just a mouthpiece for me. People assume that, especially once they realize we’re both half-Filipino and sarcastic and hate everything, but he’s more an exaggerated 21-year-old me than me now.

The supporting characters tend to arise from a theme or idea I want to play with — Gretchen, for instance, is kind of a commentary on tabloid journalism (comparing it with gossipy high school bullshit); Allen and Norma are two of many types of managers; Lydia started off as me just wanting Jason to find someone even snobbier than him and see how he reacts to it. Obviously, if I’m doing my job as a writer correctly, these aren’t completely obvious.

A: The cast has grown over the years, but the story still centers on Jason, Kurt, Melissa and Becky. How would you describe the dynamic between them? And how, if at all, has that dynamic changed over the years?

G: I don’t know that their dynamic has changed very much at the core of things. Jason and Kurt are still basically in love with each other, Kurt and Melissa are definitely in love with each other. Melissa kind of thinks “Jason is annoying but I guess if Kurt’s his friend then whatever as long as he doesn’t ever talk to my sister.” Those two, I think, have had their ups and downs, but they’re starting to get each other a little more.

And, of course, Becky and Jason are Becky and Jason.

A: Everyone grows up and moves on eventually. Do you foresee Multiplex continuing without “the core four?” Or does the story end when they leave the Multiplex 10 for other jobs? And speaking of the story’s end: is there a plan for how Multiplex wraps up, and specific character arcs that you’re following step-by-step, or are you just letting the story go where it will, throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks?

G: Multiplex is about Jason, Kurt, Melissa, Becky, and Franklin. Mostly Jason and Kurt, though, and really mostly Jason. But those five are the Big Five to me. Becky, Melissa, and Franklin all get shafted for screen time, I know, but I try. The Big Five will always be in Multiplex, whether or not they’re still working at the Multiplex 10; I know where each of the Big Five is headed with their lives, although not necessarily exactly how it will play out. There will be a definite ending to the series, though, and I think I’ll keep any more details than that to myself for a while longer…

I’ve already laid some of the groundwork for the various ends to each character’s arc (as you would expect, being half-way through the story), so you could probably make some good guesses, anyway.

A: The Multiplex has boasted a very diverse supporting cast over the years as other employees and managers have come and gone. Is there any character you were surprised took on a larger role in the story than you’d originally intended? Or, vice versa, a character you thought would be important who ended up relegated to the background?

G: Every time I introduce a new character, I start to feel bad that they never get any screen time. The worst of these was a character named Letizia, who I never even introduced. I mentioned her in one of Gretchen’s Multiplex Examiner articles, but she never actually appeared. I finally had one of the managers mention he was about to fire her for never showing up for her shifts as a joke.

I was surprised at how much Angie kept coming back for a while. Her and Jason dating was never supposed to be more than a few dates. If I remember correctly, I planned their relationship to last from the release of Expelled, the Ben Stein Creationist screed, until the release of Religulous, the Bill Maher atheism screed. At some point, the two movies’ release dates were a few weeks apart. I started the arc, and then I noticed that Religulous got pushed forward by about six months. I ultimately decided to stick with the original plan and leave them together for a few months longer.

Mr. Harris (the security guard) should have been a little more prominent, but he kind of fell into the background more because of the logistics of doing a strip in real time. I simply couldn’t take the break to tell the story of young James at the Regal Theater without interrupting the main story for too long. I hope to add that into the Book 4 print collection as a bonus story, but how well I can do that will depend on whether or not I can convince the Chicago Blue Museum to let me see the blueprints to the theater.

A: As a writer, of course, I’m curious about your plotting and scripting method. Do you write out a full script first, and then craft the art to match? Or do you come up with a rough idea, pencil it out, and then craft the dialogue?

G: Honestly, it varies depending on the comic strip. I’ve done both. I think I’m more likely to just start writing out dialogue and breaking down panels (without any actual scribbles to go in them) than anything else. Sometimes, I sit down knowing what needs to happen and in what order and I’ll just go straight to breakdowns and write the dialogue later. In any case, I’m constantly revising dialogue until a strip is posted — and sometimes for a while after it’s posted.

I have an outline file to keep me reminded of where the various themes and arcs in the strip should be progressing in any given chapter. I work out of an InDesign file with the current chapter of the comic. In that file, I’m basically blocking out (on a strip by strip level) and breaking down the chapter in shorter 4–8 page arcs, with approximate dates for when the strip will post and what movies have just been released.

My workflow changes pretty regularly, though: it wasn’t until the beginning of Book 5 that I started even thinking about Multiplex in terms of chapters. Books 1 – 4 were broken into chapters after the fact, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve been adding new material in the collections — so I could flesh out the events in various chapters and make them feel more intentionally constructed when you read them in the collected editions.

A: What tools do you use for the art? Is it hand-drawn first and then scanned in and completed on the computer?

G: I draw Multiplex almost entirely in Adobe Illustrator, a vector illustration program. I use a graphics tablet for any rough thumbnails I need to do, but if a panel is just two people talking to each other in a room, I often don’t bother with any thumbs first and just go get any existing vector reference I need to get crackin’. When I have movie posters shown in perspective in the backgrounds, sometimes I’ll need to use Photoshop to distort the images, because Illustrator’s capabilities there are… limited, at best.

When I do hand-drawn sequences in Multiplex, I pencil digitally with Manga Studio and then print the page out onto Bristol board (in 10% cyan) to ink by hand. So those, I’ll scan in and touch up and color or tone in Photoshop with my tablet.

A: After a successful Kickstarter project in December 2009, you were able to bring Multiplex to print form with Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show. What was the most difficult part of making the change from web to print?

G: Distribution, definitely. I’ve worked in printing and publishing for over a decade, so getting the book together and to the printer was easy — time consuming, of course, but easy. I do that stuff for a living, and this book was for me — so I was happy to work on it. But once the book was printed, getting it out there was (and continues to be) a lot of work.

I’m signed up with Small Press United (a division of IPG), which specializes in distribution of new publishers like myself, and through them, I’m available through Amazon and (via Ingram and Baker & Taylor) at bookstores nationwide. It took us several months to convince Diamond to give the book a chance, unfortunately. Hopefully whenever the second book comes out, Diamond will be on board from day one, and I’ll see stronger sales to comics shops out of it.

A: You created a brand new “prequel” sequence for the print edition, revolving around the debut of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. What was that process like, getting permission from LucasFilm to use the still from the movie and the poster?

G: Most of the time, I don’t feel I need permission to use film stills, because I’m commenting on the film (or satirizing them) in the strip. But that movie still was really half the punchline to the Prequel story, and I knew that it was an unusually prominent and non-critical way, so I felt it was important to ask for permission. I licensed one still from Lucasfilm, and they also gave me permission to use the theatrical poster as “set dressing” — but not as a focal point in any panels, just in the backgrounds.

It was a very smooth process; as you would expect, they have a whole team that works on this stuff for people like me, so on their end, it was all business as usual. For my part, I tracked down their licensing department’s e-mail address and explained the whole idea of the story. They responded very quickly and asked me to send the relevant pages for approval (in their incomplete state), so I did so. We signed some contracts, I paid a licensing fee, they gave me a high-res file for the still, I added legal notices per their instructions, and eventually I sent them a few copies of the book for their records. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

A: Any idea on when we’ll get to see the next print volume? There’s still plenty of story not collected, after all. You have years to catch up on. And will future volumes feature print-edition-only material like the Prequel in Book One?

G: I’m working on it! I’m examining ways of financing a second book, but while the first book was profitable, it wasn’t profitable enough to allow me to jump straight into Book 2. I don’t make much from bookstore or comics shop sales; I just want them available in stores so I can introduce the comic to new readers, really.

Book Two will have a bunch of new material in it, as well. Nothing as big as the Prequel story, though, just shorter strips spread out throughout Chapters 6–10, like I did with Chapters 1–5. Some of that stuff will be in the eBook collections. Some may be exclusive to the print book. I’m still working on the Chapter 6 eBook, though, so the Book 2 print edition is a ways off, I’m afraid. But I’m working on it.

A: I’m going to tweak my usual final question just slightly, and split it in two: First, since Multiplex is all about the movies, what is your favorite movie and what would you say to convince someone who has never seen it that they should watch it?

G: My all-time favorite movie is The Apartment by Billy Wilder (co-written by I.A.L. Diamond), starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. It’s hilarious, dramatic (shockingly so, in a few parts), romantic without being schmaltzy, and sort of a coming of age for the main character — all stuff I love, all in one flick. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Shirley MacLaine was ridiculously cute in the film. I could watch it forever and never get sick of it.

A: Second, what is your favorite book, and what would you say to convince someone who has never read it that they should read it?

G: I don’t know how to begin comparing comic books against novels, so I’ll have to answer that twice:

Comics — Cages by Dave McKean. It’s a beautiful exploration of art and writing and music by one of the finest artists working today. He throws so much up in the air in the first several chapters that it’s all the more amazing when everything falls into place by the end. Or just about everything, at least. It’s a brilliant story, brilliantly told.

Novels — Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet and novelist with an exquisite writing voice. She’s my favorite novelist, in part because every one of her books has a few passages that make me stop and turn them over in my head for a while. And Cat’s Eye is my favorite of hers, because it has loads of such passages. I think Cat’s Eye struck a particularly strong chord with me, being about an artist who returns to her tremendously dull (to her) hometown of Toronto for a retrospective on her work and continually flashing back to her youth, especially her rather abusive “friendship” with a girl named Cordelia.

I guess I like books about artists…?

A: Thanks again for joining us, Gordon!

G: Thank you for having me!

You can find Jason, Kurt, Becky, Melissa, Franklin and the rest of the gang hanging at the Multiplex. You can follow Gordonhimself on Twitter, as well as Multiplex10. There is also a Multiplex Facebook page for you to Like! And you can still buy the print version of MULTIPLEX: ENJOY YOUR SHOW, which I highly recommend doing.

JEREMY C SHIPP, Author - Interview

Join us as we Ramble On with author Jeremy C. Shipp!

Jeremy C Shipp, sans Attic Clown

Jeremy C. Shipp is the Bram Stoker nominated author of Cursed, Vacation, and Sheep and Wolves. His shorter tales have appeared or are forthcoming in over 60 publications, the likes of Cemetery Dance, ChiZine, Apex Magazine, Withersin, and Shroud Magazine. Jeremy enjoys living in Southern California in a moderately haunted Victorian farmhouse called Rose Cottage. The gnomes in his yard like him. The clowns living in his attic–not so much. Feel free to visit his online home at jeremycshipp.com. His twitter handle is @JeremyCShipp

Vacation, Jeremy C Shipp

Jeremy is the author of the novels VACATION and CURSED, and the collections FUNGUS OF THE HEART and SHEEP AND WOLVES, all available from Raw Dog Screaming Press as well as on Amazon. And of course you can order through your local independent book seller as well.

And now, on with the interview:

ANTHONY: Okay, let’s get the 800-lb gorilla in the room out of the way right away. Attic clowns? How are they scarier than Pennywise in IT? And can’t you call in an exterminator?

JEREMY: For me, the Attic Clowns are much more terrifying than Pennywise because they’re living in my attic instead of in a book. They throw flaming pies at me, and while I’m sleeping they replace my organs with balloon animals. I’ve learned that if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will giggle back at you. I’ve tried calling a few exterminators, but they always end up transmogrifying into rubber chickens.

A: Attic clowns, yard gnomes. On a more serious note… like your life apparently, your work is often called “bizarro.” To me, that brings to mind the defective anti-Superman, something imperfect and plodding. Not words I’d use to describe your work at all. So for my readers who are unfamiliar with the term, can you explain “bizarro fiction” and mention a few other authors that might fall into that description?

J: Bizarro fiction is the genre of the weird. Bizarro has been described as “Franz Kafka meets John Waters” and “Dr. Suess of the post-apocalypse” and “Takashi Miike meets William S. Burroughs.” Bizarro books are not only strange, but thought-provoking and fun to read. Some prominent authors include Carlton Mellick III, Jeremy Robert Johnson, and Chris Genoa. Anyone interested in learning more about Bizarro should check out www.bizarrocentral.com.

A: Like most of my favorite authors, you write both novels (VACATION, CURSED) and short stories (collected in SHEEPS AND WOLVES and FUNGUS OF THE HEART), and even your novels are fairly succinct. Do you usually have an idea of length when a story pops into your head, or do you let the story take you where it will?

J: From the get-go, I know whether an idea will grow into a novel or a short story. But beyond that, I just write the story until it’s finished. Somehow, my novels usually end up around the same length.

A: Do you see yourself ever producing the doorstop-sized fantasy/sf so many genre writers seem to eventually write, or are you content to write in shorter bursts?

J: As a minimalist, I don’t think I’ll ever write an extremely long novel. But perhaps someday I’ll write a series of books that could be compiled into a book of admirable girth.

A: One of the things I noticed about the short stories in FUNGUS OF THE HEART is that the worlds in which they take place feel so fully realized and yet there’s often very little world-building detail in the stories themselves. How much work do you put into creating the background for your short stories versus your novels? Is it a conscious choice as to the level of descriptiveness in any particular story?

J: For every one of my tales, there’s a lot of world-building that goes on in my notebooks and in my head. But then, when I write the actual story, I only include those details that I believe are important. For me, that’s what being a minimalist writer is all about. I often spend just as much time building the reality for a short story as I do for a novel.

A: I know you’ve been actively promoting your own and others’ work being published through Amazon for the Kindle. Tell me a bit about how that cross-marketing project got started for you and where you see it going.

J: For years, I’ve helped other authors promote their work on sites like Facebook and Twitter. These days, I’ve been focusing more on Kindle books, because I believe ebooks are the future. Recently, I created a site called dailykindlebargains.com, where I blog about bargain kindle books. I’m surprised at how popular the site is already, and my hope is that it will continue to grow.

A: If I had a Kindle, I’d check out dailykindlebargain.com. Someday! You also run Yard Gnome Boot Camp writing classes online. How has the turn-out for those been, and when is enrollment opening for the next one?

J: I love teaching, and I love writing, so teaching the craft of writing is a fantastic experience. The classes always fill up quickly. I’m have some slots open for my July course, so anyone interested in learning more about the class can contact me at bizarrobytes@gmail.com.

A: So what’s next for fans of your work? When can we expect the next book, and can we get a hint as to what it’s about?

J: There’s a stage musical in the works called Nightmare Man, which is based on one of my short stories. More information can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/nightmaremanmusical. Right now, I’m writing an Attic Clown book, as well as a young adult fantasy novel. Hopefully, these will be published within the next couple of years. I’m also putting together a monster anthology called Aberrations, which should be out within the next few weeks.

A: I’ll be watching for that and adding it to my TBR pile. Now for my usual last question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to recommend it to someone who hasn’t read it yet?

J: I have quite a few favorite books, but if I had to choose one, I’d go with The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Roy’s unique writing style is amazing to me as both a writer and a reader. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves good books.

A: Thanks again for taking the time to chat, Jeremy! Always a pleasure.

NANOWRIMO 2010 - Anthony R Cardno

I’ve been a bit silent around these parts for most of November. In fact, I’ve been a bit close to silence on any of my social media platforms that require any amount of thought. It’s easy enough to Tweet and to make status posts on Facebook (and to respond to tweets and wall posts on same) while I’m doing other things … but it’s hard to concentrate on making word-count for National Novel Writing Month and also write book reviews, tv episode reviews, or even just general “here’s where I am in life” blog posts at the same time. At the end of the Daye Jobbe (whether I’m on the road and slinking back to a hotel room, or back in NJ at the office and driving home to my apartment), there’s only so much time left in the day for creative pursuits, and I have been choosing to spend most of that precious time working on the novel.

I am officially what the NaNo folks call a “rebel,” using the NaNo word-count not to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch but rather (at least in my case) to make progress on / finally finish an existing work. The mystery/thriller that is tentatively titled AMBERGRIN HALL has been the love of my writing life and the thorn in its side.

The whole concept started as a writing exercise one night back in 1993, sitting on the Elmira College campus, staring at one of the oldest and most un-used buildings and just writing what felt right. That 2,000-or-so word snippet went into the “binder of lost ideas” until I was faced with having to pull something together to submit to my local writers’ group and found I had nothing really new to submit. This was in … 1998, I believe. So I pulled the “Ambergrin Hall” snippet out, polished it slightly, submitted it … and two weeks later was told by the majority of the group that if I didn’t finish the story, they’d kill me.

Honestly, I’m amazed I’m still alive. More than 10 years later, the book still isn’t done, although I won NaNo in 2007 by adding 50,ooo words to it.

So I’m making an effort. Garrett, Ezra, Thaniel, Dylan, Paddy, Dean D’Oro, Professor Quentin and especially poor Lisette, whose death kicks the whole thing off … they deserve an ending to their story. It’s taken me most of the month (and a frighteningly behind-the-pace word-count) to find their voices again, but I think this weekend I’ve clicked on it.  And the same time, I’m also a bit sick of it. I tweeted earlier tonight that I feel like I’m at the point where I’m writing just to get to the end because I want the story to be over and be able to move on to something else. I love these characters, but I’m almost hating the process right now.

So that’s how NaNoWriMo is progressing for me this year. Slow, behind the pace, pushing my way through.  As I’ve dubbed a few of us in our Northwest NJ region this year: I am feeling even more like a Rebel Without A Clause.

MUSIC YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO - Signal Boost

I haven’t signal-boosted for my musician friends in quite a while, despite all of my best intentions. (Okay, I haven’t signal-boosted for my author friends either, but that will have to be a different post.) So, because my old friends The Dalliance released something new today, here we go. Links to MUSIC YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO! (Because I said so, that’s why. Now stop asking why and finish your broccoli.)

The Dalliance’s new single is up on BandCamp for free this month. Darrell, Greg, Shawn and Barry are old high school friends of mine.

Singer-Songwriter Casey Stratton’s Store, where you can buy lots of great music, including his winter/holiday albums. (He’s also on livejournal as caseystratton and has become a good personal friend as well.)

Singer-Songwriter Phil Putnam’s Homepage, where you can buy lots of great music, and you can download the fun “I’m No Prize” single for free. Phil is a new friend, and I see the friendship only growing.

Musical-Brothers band Kropp Circle’s video for their newest single “Can’t Stop The Rain,” because their website is in a state of flux and this way you can hear it before you go to itunes and buy it. I’ve never met Sebastian, Remington and Emerson in real life, but I very much enjoy their music and their Twitter / Youtube content.

Singer Thomas Fiss’ Website, where you can pick up his new EP in a variety of formats. Something for everyone! Another artist I don’t know in real life, but feel like I know thanks to our short Twitter conversations.

I haven’t signal-boosted for my musical friends in a while, although I always have the best intentions of doing it. So there we go.

And even though he’s not a working musician (as far as I know), I’ll once again link you to Jordan Bean’s IT GETS BETTERvideo because I do think it’s cool.

LUKE HERR, Webcomics - Interview

For this, our first interview on the new Tuesday night schedule, we ramble on with Luke Herr.

Luke Herr (aka Koltreg)

Born in Ohio and currently abandoned in Pittsburgh, PA, Luke Herr alias Koltreg is a web designer, writer, and amateur impressario along with anything else that you need. He currently writes the online comics Changeling and Socialfist as well as articles for the comics blog DC Versus Marvel and occasional extra comic pieces for Socialfist.

ANTHONY: Thanks for sitting down to chat with us, Luke.

LUKE: No problem Anthony. I’m always happy to talk about myself and my work.

A: So, you’ve currently got two webcomics running, on different publication schedules and with different artists. Let’s talk about Socialfist first, since that one’s been around a bit longer. Give us a summary of what Socialfist is about and what kind of audience you’re intending to reach.

Zendorsky leaves his mark on Socialfist

L: Socialfist is about some really confused communist superheroes trying to bring communism back. In the world though, communism has been outlawed and it is seen as a form of rebellion more than actual communism. The force they (the Russians who get branded Socialfist) are fighting is the American Justice Squad (because every American team needs America, Justice and something saying they are a group in the title). The AJS isn’t much better than Socialfist but they are a lot bigger and so this struggle and the inner group struggles are the crux of the story.

A: What inspired Socialfist?

L: Way back about 5 years ago in high school I wanted to make a parody of American superhero teams with the opposites so I thought “Who is the classic stereotyped American enemy – the Russians.” Back then it was SFCRTSN or Super Feudal Communist Russia Team Squad Now! and it was a bunch of horrible characters and a good deal of scatological humor.

As time passed though I decided a guy whose power was vomiting from his butt was probably too juvenile so I removed the superfluous characters and rounded the casts down while making the story about this incredibly partisan world and people trying to cope with living in it. Those people just happen to be superheroes.

A: What kind of working relationship do you have with the Socialfist artist? Do you send a full script with detailed notes, or do you work more in the “this is what should happen on this page” mode and let the artist fill in the details?

L: I’m currently working with Remus Brezeanu who lives in Romania and is a wonderful illustrator. We mostly communicate via email or sometimes via Skype or IM if something needs more immediate notice though I am an internet addict so I am rarely away from my laptop for too long. Usually when I write I have at least loose notes on each script since we reached this understanding of how we were doing the comic. The first chapter was really heavily annotated but that was because I wanted something very cinematic and planned. I didn’t write page long notes like Neil Gaiman or Grant Morrison but enough that I could slip things in. Now for the other chapters where there is dialogue, I usually just do loose notes on the scripts.

A: Does Socialfist have a limited storyline? An “end-date,” so to speak? Is it fully plotted out or is there room for character growth to impact how the story will play out?

L: Socialfist, at least for the meantime, has an end date all planned out but this universe and the major changes and movements are planned though I’ve changed ideas before just by sitting on them. With all of that said though, the first person who I told the whole Socialfist outline to pretty much said he really wants to know what goes on after Socialfist is done. If I am up to do that will depend where I am at the time.

To answer the second question, this is one comic where I am happy to tell origins and other stories of the characters. Socialfist is sort of like only reading an event comic like Crisis on Infinite Earths. There is still so much going on in the world and books of interesting stuff that went on in the past that can change things like how you might see a character. One of the ways I am actually going about showing this backstory is that once the current chapter is finished, I’ll be having a guest artist do a background story, both to flesh out a more popular character and to get some more time for Remus to build a buffer.

A: Any creative type knows that sometimes you start a project, and you realize it’s not working, and you go back the drawing board. For writers that often is a hidden road-bump, meaning our larger public (outside of our circles of first-readers) doesn’t see the false start. But webcomics sometimes face that hurdle right in the public eye. You restarted Socialfist with a new artist and a refocused storyline. Talk a bit about how you came to the decision to relaunch, and whether you feel you’ve addressed the problems you’d identified.

L: The last version of Socialfist, when it was SFCRTSN, wasn’t working for me and so when the artist had to leave for better paying work, I was stuck. We’d signed a loose agreement where he got to keep character design privileges and I actually started to think more about the aesthetic and what wasn’t working for me.
When we rebooted, Remus and I got inspiration from the DC Animated Universe shows like Justice League that also helped to set my mind in place for how to show action. I do believe that now we have addressed a lot of the problems that I had concerning me about the original series at the time but sitting with the comic for so long, you start to think of ways you could improve it and there are some ways that are obvious now that were not before.

Chaneling's main character

A: Okay, now, on to your other comic, Changeling. Tell us what Changeling is about and what audience you’re intending to reach.

L: Changeling is my attempt to condense a lot of the comic ideas I had back in high school about these weird paranormal worlds similar to ours into one story and ultimately to make it about something bigger. Less abstractly though, it is about a paranormal detective named Jeff Seibert. The first chapter deals with him being called in for an insurance claim and the second chapter, well, that will be interesting when it happens. We are currently finishing it up early for SPX to bring some prints of the first chapter along so we can get some early opinions.

A: Changeling has a very different feel to it compared to Socialfist: very much in the style of the daily three-panel newspaper comics, with a punchline of some sort at the end of each “day” but also a building storyline. How is plotting Changeling different from plotting Socialfist?

L: With Changeling I wanted to exercise my mind a bit more as far as writing goes. Remus had commented that I wrote a lot of panels on each page of Socialfist so I wanted to make myself learn to do more with less (though I wouldn’t be surprised if some people thing I am worse at that based on Changeling’s pacing). Changeling was also a test to see if I could make jokes easier or at least anti-jokes in some weird attempt to try and create the biggest unfunny thing I could (nut tots) and see if people would start saying it. I’ve heard it purposefully said it twice but luckily the phrase wont show up for another two years of story at least.
Really though Changeling isn’t all that different in plotting though from Socialfist minus the fact that most stories will be able to stand on their own chapter to chapter. For both of the comics I follow this pattern of writing out the dialogue and notes with an idea in my mind. When I reach the end or when I need a break I end up counting pages to see how many I got and then adding in additional notes. Currently I have about 9 or so chapters of Changeling dialogued out and at least 20 other story ideas.

A: Your artist on Changeling, Joe Hunter, has other webcomics running as well. Did his schedule have any influence on the way you’re plotting/telling the story?

L: Haha. Ironically it was my perception of his lack of a schedule on his journal comic Ghostbucket that got me to say “Hey, we should do a biweekly comic.” Keeping him on a schedule and all while fueling my ego with another comic.

A: Does Changeling have a finite storyline?

L: Oooh, that is an interesting question. Last week I couldn’t sleep and so I wrote the end point for the first arc of Changeling that could be the end of the series. It ends with something set up and hinted at and reading through I got shivers which I take as a good sign. Luckily the whole story is in flux but I figure when the characters reach that point I’ll see how Joe and I feel about continuing or not. If we do continue, it will, well… it will be fun.

A: Is Changeling a more collaborative effort than Socialfist, or vice-versa?

L: Socialfist is the more collaborative of the two comics I am currently doing, Remus frequently checks in on his ideas and substitutions. With Changeling it is more of Joe and I sending work to each other and only meeting up after everything is done for the commentary. We do frequently chat about other things though, more so that I talk to Remus, partially due to the time difference.

A: Now for my usual last question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to recommend it to someone who hasn’t read it yet?

L: Oh, well my favorite book of all time is How To Become King by Jan Terlouw though it is really hard to find, at least online, since it is out of print. I remember reading that book at least 7 times in elementary school, if not more. It is this story about a teenager trying to become king but he has to deal with these codgery old politicians who give him these impossible tasks like stopping a dragon and a wizard, figuring out why houses are moving. There are these great political twists though like the dragon has polluted the countryside which causes all of the people in the town to become the most efficient workers and the wizard is actually a good guy at heart. He ultimately succeeds but it is done in such a creative and fun way it stuck in my mind over all of these years.

I’d recommend you pick up How To Become King if not for the fact that the only copy on Amazon is ridiculously expensive. As that is the case, read Grant Morrison’s Supergods which is what I blame if I come off as pretentious in the interview because that book is literary wizard drugs and comic history rolled into one.

A: Thanks, Luke!

L: No problem Anthony. Pax.

* * * * * * *

In addition to the links in his bio, you can also find Luke Tweeting away as Koltreg and occasionally on the official SocialfistTwitter as well.

IT GETS BETTER

It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools.

RIP Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh (top)
RIP Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase (middle)
RIP Asher Brown and Billy Lucas. (bottom)

REBLOG to spread a message of love, unity and peace.

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS BOOKS - Anthony R Cardno

As the author of a book that retells some classic Santa Claus-related legends (THE FIRFLAKE, which you can find purchasing links to right here on this website), and with another book that takes place at Christmas (CHRISTMAS GHOSTS) hopefully to be picked up by a publisher in the coming year, I guess it’s natural for people to assume that I love most of what’s connected to the Christmas holiday. And that assumption would be correct. As most people, I have my  downs during the holiday season: missing loved ones who are no longer with us, getting caught up in the more commercial side of the holiday and feeling all of that shopping pressure and tension. But there are more “ups” for me than “downs,” and one of those “ups” is the plethora of Christmas-connected fiction that is out there.

Here, in no particular order, are my favorite Christmas books and a brief comment about why they rank amongst my favorites:

1.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Okay, this really is #1 for me, although the rest are in no particular order. This is the one Christmas book I am guaranteed to reread every year. I should note that overall I am not a Charles Dickens fan, but there is something about the narrator’s voice in this book that I just love, apart from the story itself. I tend to read large portions of this out-loud to myself. Is anyone not familiar with the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, Jabob Marley, Tiny Tim and the Three Ghosts?

2. Red Ranger Came Calling, by Berkeley Breathed. Breathed is better known for his “Bloom County” and “Opus” newspaper comic strips. He based this story on an event from his father’s childhood, retelling it in his own inimitable style. “Red” Breathed is sent to visit with an aunt at Christmas time, and meets a hermit named Saunder Clos, who may or may not be the real Santa Claus. It’s a great adventure story with fantastic illustrations.

3.  The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, another picture-book classic lavishly illustrated by the author. Late on Christmas Eve, a boy who no longer believes in Santa is beckoned to board a train bound for the North Pole, and the adventure changes his life. I wonder how many people watch the movie without ever opening up the original book?

4. How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess. The question I asked about the Polar Express could be asked about this book as well. We are all so familiar with the Boris Karloff-narrated, Thurl Ravenscroft-sung television special that I think people forget the book came first. I love to read this to my niece and nephew on Christmas Eve, along with The Polar Express and the next book on my list…

5. Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. The version I have is illustrated in a highly realistic style by Bruce Whatley. There are so many published versions that there has to be a style for everyone by now. When they were younger, the kids loved the reindeer’s facial expressions in this version.

6. A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd is actually a compilation of his essays from various other books which includes all of the stories used in the movie version. Reading these stories, you can hear the author’s voice as clearly as you hear it narrating the movie. There are some subtle differences between the two formats, but I love Shepherd’s down-home storytelling style.

7. A Wish Upon the Wind by Joseph Pittman is a story of celebrating Christmas in the aftermath of a great loss. Brian Duncan and his young ward Janey Sullivan are trying to find their way after the death of Janey’s mother. Their small town friends and neighbors end up helping them remember what Christmas is all about, and how we can use our grief to grow. A wonderful short novel.

8.  Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis is a collection of short stories that take place during the holiday season. I usually pick one or two to reread each year since I bought the collection back in 1999. There are eight stories in here, and surely something for everyone.

9. The Autobiography of Santa Claus, as told to Jeff Guinn. I put off reading this one for years, knowing that it might touch on some of the same territory I was covering in my own book. And then one year I realized — doesn’t every story about how Santa became Santa touch on the same basic concepts? Why avoid reading what everyone says is a wonderful book? I’m glad I did. It’s a bit heftier than most of the usual Christmas-season fare in terms of page-count, and I have yet to tackle either of the two sequels, but Guinn captures a wonderful voice for Santa and makes some unique story choices to explain how Santa does what he does.

Honorable Mentions: “A War of Gifts” which takes place in Orson Scott Card’s Ender Wiggins universe; “The Book of Christmas” by Time-Life Books (which inspired my second Christmas book).

Books I hate to admit I haven’t read yet: I have never read L. Frank Baum’s “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus,” or Orson Scott Card’s “Zanna’s Gift.” Perhaps this year!

CHAIN RESTAURANT SERVICE - Anthony R Cardno

For my day job (i.e., the one that pays the bills while I pretend I’m a writer and blog a lot), I travel a lot. Some months I’m on the road two-and-a-half weeks without a stop home.

As you can imagine, I eat out a lot. Hotel restaurants, well-known chains, and if I’m lucky the occasional locally-owned ethnic restaurant as a change from all those chains. While this does have a positive effect on my reading stats and occasionally on my writing stats, it also has made me something of a expert on restaurant service. Which is not necessarily something one needs to be an expert in unless one is a restaurant critic for a newspaper (and those seem to be in dwindling demand these days, just like book critics). Still, when I experience service that is more than just good, I like to spread the word.

Tonight I ate at a Ruby Tuesdays here in the northwest corner of Indianapolis, just off of 465. I was greeted at the door by Vivi. Vivi is one of those genuinely upbeat, friendly, dare I say even effervescent, people you occasionally encounter. She didn’t just say “hi” and ask “how many for dinner?” “Hello! Welcome to Tuesdays! Dining alone tonight, or waiting for someone? Let me show you to a table.” and so on. Not overbearing or cloying, just upbeat. Same thing upon leaving: asked me how dinner was, as expected, but also responded to my question about how to avoid the massive pile-up of traffic on Michigan Road by walking out to the parking lot with me and pointing out all the possible routes I could take to get back to my hotel, and marveling at how much worse than normal the traffic seemed to be.

I was also impressed with my server, Matt. Set aside for the moment how much he looked like Alex Bennett, the book-blogger over at Electrifying Reviews, which resemblance had me constantly doing a double-take. He did something servers at chain restaurants rarely manage to get right: he checked up on me throughout the meal without hovering or being intrusive (remember, dinner time is reading time for me!) and without being negligent. That’s a hard balance to strike, in my oh-so-humble opinion, and Matt managed to pull it off. He also didn’t make me feel rushed at the end of the meal. I took my sweet time drinking my coffee because I really wanted to get to the end of the chapter in Mira Grant’s DEADLINE, and he didn’t give off that “please pay your bill and move on so I can get another paying customer in my section” vibe that you usually get from servers during the dinner rush. I’m not saying he wasn’t thinking it (I’m no mind-reader, after all, much as I’d like to be), I’m just saying he wasn’t projecting it; another skill many young male chain restaurant servers seem to lack.

I’m obviously living up to my blog’s title, Rambling On, tonight. Kudos to Vivi and Matt at the Tuesdays on Michigan Rd in Indianapolis for how well they treat their customers. I sent a note through Ruby Tuesday’s website complimenting them. I might even go back tomorrow night, and I try never to eat in the same restaurant two nights in a row.

NOW I NEED A NOOK - Anthony R. Cardno

Now I need a nook.

A breakfast Nook, I mean. In which to sit and read from my new Barnes & Noble Nook.

Yes, I know: all of you who know me are shocked. “Didn’t you once say you would never get an e-reader?”

Well, no, I don’t think I ever actually said “never.” I’m one of those folks who agrees with the title of that Sean Connery non-Bond Bond film. You know, the one that Bieber kid stole his movie’s name from. (Yes, it was also a STYX song. Yes, I’m that much of a geek that one simple phrase throws me off on this much of a pop-culture tangent. Where was I? Oh, yeah…) I may not have said “never,” but I did very strongly say I doubted it would happen any time in the near future. Then, about a month ago, I started making comments along the lines of “well, since the Kindle and the Nook can upload word documents and pdfs, maybe I’d do more timely beta-reading for my author friends if I could put their stuff on the e-reader and not be distracted by my laptops other abilities.” That led to leaning towards the Nook over the Kindle (more for brand loyalty than any specific technological reason, because if you know me you know I’m technologically-challenged). That led to a shiny new Nook (the black and white kind) arriving in my mailbox on Thursday thanks to my good friends Eric and Jean Bauman.

My first purchase on the Nook was Lawrence Block’s AFTERTHOUGHTS, which is available only as an e-book right now. Second purchase was the first of Rachel Caine’s “Weather Warden” books. I’ve also grabbed a free Rizzoli & Isles short story by Tess Gerritsen and a copy of DRACULA because I own that book in every other format in which it is available, and my nephew Jared is reading it on his own shiny new Nook, so why not have it on mine?

The Block, Caine and Gerritsen purchases pretty much exemplify my attitude towards this Nook and what I intend to use it for. I’ll use it for the beta-reading I mentioned earlier (once I figure out how to upload word docs or pdfs to the Nook). I’ll use it to buy stuff I simply can’t get in print form. I’ll use it to check out authors people have recommended to me, or books that one of my book clubs is reading that I know I won’t want to keep in my (already-overfull) home library.

But I won’t stop buying print books.

Why? Simple.

I’m a collector. Always have been, always will be. Now, that term “collector” often carries some weight with it — the impression that if I’m a Book Collector I must be one of those folks who pays extraordinary prices for signed first editions that never actually get read, etc. Seriously … if you know me at all, you know that’s not me. When I say I’m a collector, I mean that I’m a bit of a completionist. So, authors I love and series I’m hooked on? Yeah, I’ll be buying those in print form until they stop printing books. The fact that I have a Nook is not going to stop me from buying the latest Neil Gaiman in hardcover. Knowing the next Dresden Files book could magically appear in my Nook at midnight on release day is not going to stop me from picking up the hardcover at whatever bookstore I’m closest to on that day.

Also, I have lately started re-building my collections of certain paperback series from the 60s and 70s. I’m seeking out cheap old PERRY RHODAN and DOC SAVAGE and TARZAN paperbacks when I hit various used bookstores as I travel the country. There is a certain thrill in consulting my little spiral-bound pocket notebook in the store to see if I’ve come across one of the last two Hamish Macbeth mysteries I’m missing (DEATH OF A TRAVELING MAN and DEATH OF A NAG, if anyone is interested) or one of the many PERRY RHODAN, DOC SAVAGE, FU MANCHU or SOLAR PONS books I’m missing (too many to list here). Those are the things a Nook can’t help me with, even if those books are available in some format … it’s not the same format, you see.

So, I greet this new Nook happily. I thank Eric and Jean for moving me more firmly into the modern age. I look forward to using it consistently, and also to improving my beta-reading time.

I still want a breakfast nook, too. But I’ll be splitting the time in it between print books and Nook books.

WRITING FULL CIRCLE - Anthony R. Cardno

Before this past November, I hadn’t attempted to write actual science fiction (hard or soft) in …. thirty years, I’d say, give or take a half-decade.

So, you’re thinking, Anthony, really … as a genre fan, you’re saying the last time you attempted to write a science fiction story was when you were fifteen years old? And my answer is: Yep. Exactly.

I can even remember the plot of that magnum opus, and the influences I was pulling from.

I was reading John Jakes’ KENT FAMILY CHRONICLES, devouring that multi-generational saga (partly for the history, partly for the sex scenes – come on, I was a teenage boy – and partly for the hoped-for revelation that these folks were somehow related to Jonathan, Martha and Clark – come on, I was a geeky teenage boy). I intended to create a multi-generational future saga to bookend Jakes’ tale of America’s past. It would center on a human family who becomes embroiled in Earth’s attempts to colonize not only our own solar system but planets beyond.

The television adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES aired around that time as well. My story needed an initial protagonist, a man at the center of it all who started the dynasty that would take to the stars. Christopher Connelly played Ben Driscoll in CHRONICLES and around the same time guest-starred on THE LOVE BOAT as a character named Rory Daniels. “Rory Driscoll” sounded like a great name to me for a dashing dynasty-starter. (Looking back at Connelly’s IMDB page, one wonders why I didn’t name him “Moses Driscoll” or “Ben Pray,” combining his CHRONICLES character with his other lead TV role of the time, Moses Pray on PAPER MOON. I know I watched MOON, but I guess five years was long enough to forget he played Jodie Foster’s father. But I digress…)

I wrote the first book, which I believe came in at a whopping 200 double-spaced typewritten pages. Rory becomes a part of the out-reaching colonization effort, encounters a secret civilization living among the larger asteroids, and helps build relations with that race which provides Earth with the tech to travel beyond our solar system. (Then, as now, I was not much of a researcher. What did I know about the nature of the asteroid belt and the likelihood of life, even accidentally-stuck-there life?) I was asked by my English teacher, Mrs. Eugenia DelCampo, to let her read it, because she knew Alfred Bester and might be able to offer a young writer some initial advice. I gave up on doing homework that night in favor of taking a pencil to the manuscript and covering up all the embarrassing sex scenes … there ended up being a lot of blacked-out paragraphs!

[Another digression: I did actually speak to Mister Bester on the phone once, thanks to Mrs. DelCampo. This would have been only three years or so before he passed away. He was pleasant, and supportive, despite what I’m sure was an intrusion into his nightly routines. I don‘t remember specifics, but I do remember him offered advice on clarity of word-choice when speaking on the phone: I’d said that I was ‘writing back and forth’ with Superman writer Eliot S! Maggin, and Bester thought I’d said ‘riding back and forth.’ When I explained I meant letters, he said “say ‘corresponding.’ It sounds more professional.”]

I never did write book two of that saga. In fact, not only do I no longer have that manuscript anywhere … I also have no idea where the story would have gone. Rory Driscoll, and his wife Cedar, stuck around though. While I aborted the attempt to write hard science fiction, I started toying with an idea for super-heroes in space.

Super-heroes in outer space? Sure. As part of the Super-Team Amateur Press Alliance (STAPA), I wrote prose stories featuring my own original creations, The Vanguards. I had plans to send them into outer space to meet a group of heroes I called Denthen’s Gladiators. The connection was going to be another character I’d created named Meld – a human scientist working on a space radio array in outer orbit who gets hit with a teleportation beam and ends up melded with a wolf-like alien life form. Meld owed a lot to my obsession with Burroughs’ John Carter books and DC Comics’ Adam Strange, especially in that incarnation. Meld would eventually get separated back into his component parts, with the human half returning to Earth and the alien half regaining his role as the leader of his system’s premiere superhero team. The human scientist’s name? Rory Driscoll, of course.

In November, I was stuck for an idea for National Novel Writing Month and decided to take Rory Driscoll into the “swords/guns and planets” genre, following in John Carter, Carson Napier and Adam Strange’s footsteps. I couldn’t quite get the idea to gel – it became more of a mystery about an amnesiac woman named Cedar whom Rory eventually marries than it was an SF story. So at month’s end, I set it aside.

And then earlier this year I was invited to submit a story to an anthology called SPACE BATTLES.

“Science Fiction?” I said. “What do I know about science fiction?”
Turns out, enough to get the story accepted for publication. I can’t say much about the story itself, but I can say this: it takes place in the Denthen star system.

Thirty years later, I’m back to dealing with Rory Driscoll and that alien star system all over again.

Full circle….