Moving Right Along

Issue #4 for Journey to the Immortal City is complete. Really happy with how this one came out. The story has taken the characters quite far from where they were as of the first volume. "Sequel seems to be a dirty word but I think they have a very unique kind of narrative appeal when done right. From my end, it was fun to return to these characters I created and then completely throw them out of their element in a story that very much stands apart from its predecessor. The time jumps that each subsequent volume will take also are going to go a long way towards making each one feel different from one another.

Also this issue represents a milestone for Vol. 2, as it has crossed the 100 page mark.

Bleak Schmleak

I really wish dumb asses who think they're writer's would quit perpetuating the idea that bleakness is "more emotional". If you have a character fight through hell and in the end things come out alright, how is that not emotional? It's like the positive emotions don't count. I say it's lazy bastards who can't otherwise motivate their characters that have to kill people off for "emotional impact". It's easy to make a brooding hero. Creating an upbeat one is much more tricky.

So in Hollywood movies, it ends happily and it's predictable, but in Indie movies it ends on a sour note and it's genius? Bull fucking shit! It's just as cliche.

And that's another thing? Why is it that everyone on the left things Hollywood is a bunch of greedy men in business suits, and everyone on the right thinks they're a bunch of deviant druggies and perverts? No, I'm not making a generalization in criticism of generalizations. I'm speaking about dumb asses who are by definition dumb asses.

Fun with Propaganda

I just drew a Century comic cover that involves a superhero, a burning Nazi flag, and a cigar. I didn't want to post it because...

A) Its based off a vague concept of a story idea that I may or may not complete as a comic.

B) It is a major spoiler.

C) I didn't ink/color it.

Despite A, I might post it here after Night of the Silhouette #5 is released. It's so much fun picking on Nazis.

There's a lot of criticism of this type of storytelling, and criticism of the criticism (enemy of my enemy etc...) But I'm all for it. Some people think the Nazis make convenient villains to make people feel better about their own national insecurities, so I'm interested in the psychological aspect of me (an American) making a British hero beatin' the shit out of Nazis. I need British friends to run this idea by. If it's any consolation, while the Nazis are the clear villains of this proposed story, there is a certain belief system that both the Axis and the Allies held that the hero will be fighting against.

This brings to mind another common criticism. Should the moral of a historical piece of fiction conform to the morals of the day it's set? For example, should a story set before the major feminist movements not include a pro feminism message? I don't think so. I think while characters shouldn't act atypical to their time but historical perspective gives us plenty of opportunity to create heroes ahead of their time in historical settings. No one in the Victorian era can read my comic, so why should I write a morality tale catered to their antiquated moral system.

Just to note, feminism isn't the moral tale being told in this "Nazi Puncher" story. Just an example to explain my point. Though the very nature of the Century series will have a strong feminist undercurrent. Being a dude however, I'm not going to be pointing the finger at men. I think there's another gender that needs to shoulder some of the blame as well. I don't think it's an issue that should be painted in black and white. Ironic that I say that because I'm totally doing a black and white take on the Nazis. Meh, I'm cool with where I stand. I'll let it come out in the writing and see what people think of it.

Anyway, that's my two cents.