So, here are my rough ideas, please tell me what you think and if you would buy them. Of course, it would be relatively easy to come up with four superhero ideas so my challenge included the stipulation to think of four genres. I picked superhero, crime, slice-of-life and science fiction.
1) Inspired by the darkening of Superman in the Man of Steel movie, I started to think about the life course of morality in regards to superheroes. This is the most ambitious project of four and the easiest to break into smaller parts. I learned a lesson from my Damocles Fugue 20 part beast of a story, I can probably raise enough to print 2 issues at a time but never 20 in a row. The good thing about this series is that each arc is only two issues.
The core concept is that I am following 10 years in the life of one superhero. Every two issues is a single adventure from one year of the hero's life. But, the underlying idea is that each arc also represents a certain span in the history of comics. Like, the first two issues will be dawn of comics and have a super pulpy feel. The other good thing is that I can change artists every two issues if I need to. As each adventure takes place in a different time period, costumes and the overall look can change. There will be an actual story as well connecting all the thematic elements (there will be recurring villains and other heroes who also change over time). I know meta-commentary about comic books is old hat but I want to bring a fresh spin to it while presenting stories that are entertaining on their own.
2) The crime comic is a four issue series that helps me work out my complicated plotting jones. Heavily inspired by Ed Brubaker, Tarantino and a little Greg Rucka I love the idea of wheels within wheels when it comes to crime drama. We will follow Tommy Fuckup (not his Christian name) as he takes part in a robbery that goes really badly. As he tries to find out why, he begins to get the feeling it was never meant to go well. So, a little like Reservoir Dogs but if only one guy got away. There are a few twists I think will be surprising and cool. Plus, I just love the name Tommy Fuckup for our hero.
3) For the slice-of-life comic, I agonized for a while. I keep thinking of stories like Blankets or Harvey Pekar stuff and I was trying to figure out how to tell a story that means something to me. I realized I had already written a short story called "Five Movies" a few years ago that depicted a very rough time in my life. So, I decided to adapt that into a graphic novel. For those who haven't read my story, it is about the beginning and end of a romance from the point of view of a movie buff. Now, I just have to find the right artist.
4) I think this one has the best origin story. I was looking through a website called guru that hooks up creative people with people looking to pay creative people for creative work. Of course, the offered payments are super low. There was one that wanted to pay $150 total in exchange for four 10,000+ word science fiction stories to be used without giving any credit to the author. I thought, shit, if I am going to write that much, I want credit. But it got me thinking about making a science fiction world.
I stalled out on the reading of Dune (even though I was enjoying it immensely) but it and John Ostrander's Grimjack comic have both been two amazing works of fiction I have enjoyed this year. I also have a ton I want to say about politics and class warfare that just comes across as preachy if it isn't buried under some metaphor. The job posting asked for a Vonnegut feel and a distopian setting so I stayed up all night long and created an entire world in my head.
The general idea is that there has been an entirely preventable disaster that has ruined the world. Through the medium of television, large swaths of the population have been altered. There are a bunch of distinct groups running around the U.S. wasteland. There are the people who controlled the television broadcasts, living like kings in protected cities. There are the Conscripted Consumers, who serve those in the cities; the Corrupted Consumers, those who willingly serve the ruling class without having been exposed to the alterations; the Cannibal Consumers, these guys reacted badly to the alterations and grew uncontrollable (think the reavers from Firefly); the Watchers, an ironic name for a band who put out their own eyes when they suspected they were being altered and are now kind of religious zealots; Scroungers, peaceful nomadic folk who roam from city to city living off the refuse of those inside; and finally the Scavengers, sort of robin hood/pirate types who rob supply caravans or any city dweller who ventures outside the safety of their walls. Our hero will be a scavenger who gets tangled up in a messy plot that brings him into contact with all the various groups over the course of four issues. Lots of swash to be buckled and adventure to be had. And, if it succeeds, many more stories that can be told.
Well, there are my ideas. Starting next week, I begin working on screenplay ideas.
In other news, it looks as if, barring a miracle, I will be returning to Greenville. I know my friends and family are excited. I really was making a life for myself here, slowly but surely. It would have been pretty cool. Oh well.
Just in case you haven't heard this work of genius yet...
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