I know what my problem is - I didn't Cutaway

So, Script Frenzy was pretty much a bust as I wasn't really ready to do another first draft, so I just poked at a couple things.  I eventually decided to go back and do the re-writes I should have been doing all along.  Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my rewrite notes, so it's taking me a lot longer than I had anticipated.

Last Saturday I took a class with Scott Lobdell (X-Men, Buffy [comics]) on comic writing and screenwriting.  It was kinda amazing just to here about his process.  It seems like he is just constantly coming up with ideas, but more importantly, he's also constantly working.  He told us his story about how he broke into a comics, and it was basically just working his ass off, until they gave him a chance.  He also gave out handouts about the different stages of writing a comic.  He also talked about
At the end, Caleb Monroe (an up and coming comic book writer) also spoke about breaking in.  I think it was he quoted the old saying about how breaking into comics is like breaking out of prison:  once one guy does it, they close off that means of escape.

As I was leaving I grabbed a copy of Hunters Fortune, which Caleb scripted.  The thing I immediately noticed was, like in screenwriting, Caleb kept entering each scene at the last possible moment.  The book opens with Hunter's landlady yelling about how he is 3 months late on rent.  We don't need to see him miss the first two payments, look at his bank account, or turn out his pockets like in Monopoly.  We find out everything we need to know about his normal life in the first two pages: he is homeless, unemployed, and his car is being repossessed.  The story never stops moving.  There is never a wasted frame.
I'll probably end up buying the other book he wrote, something involving Steven Baldwin.  Ever since http://www.restorestephenbaldwin.org/, I've been a little weary of anything involving that Baldwin brother (Although, I did love him in Shark in Venice, one of the movies that inspired my own creature-feature Piranhasteroid!).
I have to include this as well:



AUTHORS NOTE:  I applaud Mr. Baldwin for living his life openly, I just don't think he should be soliciting money for it.

I think it means, like, sneaky or something

On Groupon last weekend they had a deal where if you could a buy a $12.00 gift certificate for Collectors Paradise for $5.00.  I, of course, bought the max (which was 3).  I neglected to check out the location of this comic book store, which is Winnetka.  Now, for my readers who don't know where that is - it's hip deep in the valley and nowhere near anywhere I go anymore.  It's basically almost as far as the law office I used to work at.  I might have had a second thought about buying them had I known, and I would have ended up regretting it.  It takes me about half an hour to get there, which is about how long it takes me to get to Golden Apple, which is where I make my purchases now.  The store is about the same size and the selection is not quite as good, but still better than Secret Headquarters (the closest store to me).  I have a feeling that they know they are in ass end of nowhere, so they have a "Graphic Novel Club" where if you buy a graphic novel, you get 20% in store credit to spend on your next graphic novel purchase.  I'm not sure if this is enough to get me to go back after I spend all my gift certificates (which can't be stacked).  

So, my first purchase was Incognito by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips.  Now, you may have noticed that this is probably the first time I've mentioned the authors of a graphic novel, and that's because I'm a huge fan of both of them.  Ed Brubaker does the Criminal series, which is usually 3-5 issue arcs that are sort of noir-pulpy.  Sean Phillips has been involved with Criminal, Marvel Zombies, and Hellblazer.  Between the two of them they manage to hit my two favorite things: pulp and horror.

Incognito is the story of Zack Overkill, a former supervillain now in the witness protection program forced to live out the rest of his days as a file clerk at huge office building.  When the drugs that rob him of his superpowers start wearing off, he starts fighting crime - not because he's had some epiphany, but because he likes hurting people.  He's the kind of guy who after he's done saving you, he's likely to yell at you or take you home and have his way with you.  He hates regular people.  He just hate not being superior more, and if he's found out he'll likely be put in prison with his old boss, whom he helped put away.  

I got it home and I couldn't put it down.  What's amazing about this book, is that it isn't a redemption story.  He hasn't learned to love humanity during his time as a regular person - as a matter of fact, he may hate them even more now.  He hasn't found a respect for human life, he still loves killing people.  He is who he is.  

I guess the main thing I took out of this, from a writing standpoint, is to let your character's be who they are.  If their assholes, let them be the best asshole they can be.  Not everyone when given the opportunity to change for the better is going to do it, some might change for the worse just to show you who's boss.