Saturday, May 31, 2008

DragonFUZE #22

Here is the script that I recently submitted to an Ape Entertainment anthology project; the book's theme was revenge. I found out the other day that my story didn't make the cut; the publisher went for more traditional superhero-type stories.

I am really proud of I Hate You, this story is so far from the usual fare that I write. I feel as though I really pushed myself as a creator on this one; that's the real positive here. This story will probably never be published anywhere else but on this blog. I am placing it here for all to see as I feel it is one of the strongest pieces I have ever written.

Thanks to Brant and Cary for their edits on this script.

I HATE YOU

Page 1

1. The first panel shows a typical hallway of any American high school. The shot is straight down the middle of the hall, with lockers on each side and teenage kids walking up and down the hall; some kids should be together, others alone. They are all dressed in casual clothes, no school uniforms.

Caption: I Hate You …

2. We see a close up of pretty girls gathering around one girl’s locker. One of the girls is talking.

Girl: So, like, he put his hand…

Caption: I hate you Lisa White. With your perfect hair and your perfect nose and your perfect clothes and your perfect perfectness!

3. We see some boys walking down the corridor and they are laughing.

Boys: Ha! Ha!

Boy: Dude, she let me do it …

4. We see the boys vanishing into the distance of the corridor. There are some open doors with kids heading into classrooms. We see a girl from behind, she is stooping slightly. The girl is wearing a loose sweater, jeans and sneakers. She has long curly hair pulled together in a ponytail.

Caption: They all want one thing, the same thing.

Caption: I hate them.

Credits appear on this page.

Story/ Script: Jason

Page 2

1. We see a girl sitting on her bed, she is slightly turned from the camera, so we don’t clearly see her face, but it is the same girl from the last panel on Page 1. The girl has curly hair. She is dressed in a sweater and jeans. Her shoes are off. She has a laptop computer on her lap and is writing in her blog/ online journal. The captions could look like plain text.

Caption: I wonder if, like, the FBI is gonna read this?

2. We see the girl’s fingers on the keyboard.

Caption: …so that’s my plan. I know where to get it, and I know how to use it. Like, I’m not dumb!

Caption: If you’re reading and wondering … yes, I am crazy enough to do it.

3. We see the girl’s fingers on the keyboard.

Caption: Bang! You’re dead.

4. We see the girl’s fingers on the keyboard.

Caption: I’m sorry Mom, but I am going to pull the trigger.

Page 3

1. We see a girl’s hand holding a pistol (see http://www.gundirectory.com/more.asp?gid=20271&gun=Pistol).

These captions are not in plain text.

Caption: Cobra HP22. I bought it online - $150. That’s all I could afford.

Caption: It’ll do the job.

2. We see a shot of the inside of Kane Street Synagogue (see http://www.kanestreet.org/index.html). Do not name the synagogue in the story.

Caption: I hate when Mom drags me to synagogue.

3. We see a group of middle age women all chatting. Deborah is in the middle of the group, a woman is waving excitedly and her hand obscures Deborah’s face. Deborah is wearing a dress.

Caption: They are Brooklyn’s ‘whinest’ … I made up that word, but they really do whine. ‘

Caption: Kane Street kvetchers … I hate you.

4. We see the girl’s hand with the gun.

Caption: Imagine if I did it in the synagogue! Not a very good Jewish girl.

Page 4

1. A good-looking teen girl (she’s about 16) walks towards the camera. She is dressed casually and has long straight hair. She is smiling and waving.

These captions are not in plain text.

Caption: I hate you, Natalie. Your smile kills me.

Natalie: Hey Deb!

2. Natalie is running away from the camera. She is holding Deborah’s hand although Deborah is off panel. Natalie looks excited.

Natalie: Come on! They’re at the back of the baseball field. You have to see them … it’s totally gross!

3. Natalie and Deborah are running away from the camera, so we only see them from behind.

Caption: I hate how she lives life vicariously.

4. Natalie is running towards the camera, her face fills the panel. She is smiling.

Caption: She’s my best friend.

Caption: Can I pull the trigger?

Page 5

1. Mom and Dad are sitting at the dinner table, they are in their 40s; Dad is balding and wears a messy looking shirt and tie. Mom is wearing an apron over her dress. Steaming plates of food are on the table.

These captions are not in plain text.

Mom: Dinner!

Caption: I hate her cooking.

2. The dinner is over. Dad kisses Mom on the cheek, they are still seated at the table. We see Deborah from behind.

Caption: I hate public displays of affection.

Caption: Especially involving Mom and Dad. Gross!

Caption: It’s safer to eat in my room.

3. Mom and Dad kissing. Deborah is off panel.

Caption: No one wants to kiss me.

4. Mom is standing behind an ironing board and is holding up a neatly ironed business shirt. She is smiling.

Caption: Mom, look at what you have become.

Caption: I hate you.

5. Mom and Dad are framed in a box, as if they are being lined up in a gun’s target.

Caption: Dad, you’ll never understand me.

Caption: I hate you...

Page 6

1. A school party is being held at a house (see http://www.hep.man.ac.uk/u/kim/paloalto/bluehouse.jpg for reference). A group of teenagers is outside.

These captions are not in plain text.

Caption: I hate parties.

2. Deborah is walking towards the house, she looks slouched. She is wearing loose jeans and a sweater.

Caption: I don’t have a fake ID. I have no beer.

3. Natalie is standing at the top of the steps, waving at Deborah. We see Deborah from behind.

Caption: I’ve never been to Tina’s before. She’s too popular to be seen with me

Caption: I can’t believe Nat wants to be here. Why does she look so happy?

4. Deborah and Natalie are hugging in front of an open door.

Natalie: Hi!!

Caption: She isn’t drunk … yet.

Caption: I’m sure some guys will try to fix that.

5. A group of guys drinking cans of beer. We see them as though framed by a gun’s target.

Caption: I hate you.

Caption: Imagine if I pulled my Cobra right here!

Caption: That’d be messed up.

Page 7

1. We see Deborah from behind. She is holding Natalie’s hair away from her face. Natalie is hunched over, facing away from the camera. She is vomiting,

SFX: HHHUUURRRGGGHHH!!

These captions are not in plain text.

Caption: I hated them urging her on.

2. Close up, and side on, we see Natalie’s lips, bile is dripping from them.

Caption: The boys wanted her drunk.

3. In this panel, show Deborah’s hand clasping the gun.

Caption: If I had it with me, I’d make sure I never had to see their snickering faces again!

4. Close up on Natalie’s eyes, she is crying.

Caption: I haven’t got a choice now. I can’t take this anymore.

Page 8

1. We see Deborah sitting on her bed, she is slightly turned from the camera, so we don’t clearly see her. She has a laptop computer on her lap and is writing in her blog/ journal. The captions should look like plain text.

Caption: The party was the last straw. I know I have to do this.

2. Deborah is typing with one hand. The other hand clasps the pistol.

Caption: This blog is a record of all that I have seen; a catalogue of corruption, decay and insanity.

3. This box contains only text.

Caption: A monument to one lone girl’s stand against cancerous decadence.

4. This box contains only text.

Caption: A manifesto that lays my plans clear for all to see.

5. This box contains only text.

Caption: When they scrub the blood off the walls, they will know…

Page 9

1. We see Deborah sitting on her bed, she is facing the camera. We see her clearly for the first time. Deborah has freckles, a button nose, dark eyes. She has a laptop computer on her lap and is writing in her blog/ journal. The captions look like plain text.

Caption: … why I hate you.

2. We see Deborah, face on for the first time. She is crying and tears roll down her face.

Deborah: What have I become?

3. Close up on Deborah. This poem appears in text boxes around her face. The text boxes could look like plain text.

Caption:

My heart is like an Abyss
Deep. Cold. Empty.
Deep within, my soul screams
it echoes with unconscious fury
No-one hears, no-one cares

I peer over the edge and see
only nothing
There is no light or passion
I am barren

I have been stripped of all that is me
Now I am blank, I am nothing
Fury and self destruction is my life
It will bring the end and then
the Abyss will take me

Page 10

1. We see Deborah looking into a mirror. Her reflection is clear. She is crying, tears run down her cheeks.

These captions are not in plain text.

Deborah: No more blogs. No more lies.

2. We see Deborah looking into the mirror. She is holding the Cobra HP22.

Deborah: I am blank.

3. We see Deborah looking into the mirror. She is holding the Cobra HP22 to her temple.

Deborah: Grow up. The tears stop now.

Deborah: No more pity, no more envy.

4. We see Deborah looking into the mirror. She is holding the Cobra HP22 to her temple.

Deborah: Deborah; you did this!

5. The panel is black. The SFX and caption appears in white.

SFX: Blam!

Caption: I hate you.

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

DragonFUZE #21

If you click the title of this post, you can head over to my new forums which are now being hosted at Valhalla Comics. The site is hosted by friend of mine, and fan of my The Story Factory column, Kevin Bush.

A HUGE thanks to Kevin for this opportunity. The way I see it, having a higher profile forum (Valhalla Comics has 124 users) is a good path to generating some more heat about my work. Also, exposing my work to a wider and more public audience means that I have to actually come through with the work now! So, this is a win-win; I get more people looking at my work, I get to meet more pop culture/ comics people, and I get inspired to do more work.

See you at the DragonFUZE Comics forum!

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Friday, May 23, 2008

DragonFUZE #20

I did hear back from the editor and it looks like time is not on my side... The good news is that the publisher is anticipating doing a follow up anthology later (probably in 2009) so I think we will aim for that. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! I am so frustrated by my own insanity in biting off more than I could chew. What's done is done, so I best just leave it at that. I know the publisher of a different horror magazine, so that route might be a back up...

Meanwhile, I still haven't heard anything about the I Hate You script, it's only been a few days since I sent it off, but passing time just eats away at me! I just want to know the outcome. I am so passionate about this story, I think it is the strongest piece I have written yet, and I am keen to see an artist tackle the script. If I don't make it in, I will see what other avenues I can pursue because I really want this story out there. I think people who know me will be surprised when they read it... so I am hoping that they get the chance.

At the moment I am feeling very unsure of the way forward creatively... More soon.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

DragonFUZE #19

I promised myself that I wouldn't do this, and now I have gone and done it. A long time ago I found myself with four or five comic book projects on my plate and a recipe for disaster; with so many competing projects most of them just didn't get done and the ones that did would not benefit from 100% focus and effort.

I promised myself that from then on, it would be one project at a time. Well, I recently broke this promise and found myself with two competing projects; I Hate You, a script for an Ape Entertainment revenge anthology and Scratch, a script for an Arcana horror anthology.

As you know from reading this blog, I submitted the Ape script earlier this week and I am yet to hear back from the editor. I poured so much time and effort into I Hate You that time has flown by and I haven't had the chance to focus on my horror story of a nightmare gone very, very wrong. I will get started on the script this weekend, but I fear the deadline has flown by. I contacted the editor tonight, so I will see if I am still in with a chance.

More news soon...

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

PopART #1

As much as I am obsessed with the idea and challenge of getting the perfect story onto the page, I am equally consumed by the awe inspiring talents of those people who have the skill to capture an image from their mind and faithfully render it on paper or screen in the form of comic book art.

There are many artists whose work I love, and I feel that my taste is quite diverse ranging from Rob Liefeld to Mark Bagley to Mike Wieringo to Ryan Ottley to Joe Madureira to Ed McGuiness to Stephen Platt to Jason Martin to David Finch to Michael Kassinger to Brian Denham to Marc Silvestri to Jason Metcalf to Alex Ross to Michael Turner to Marat Mychaels to Cory Walker to Brandon Peterson to Jack Kirby to Pia Guerra...

So, I present my latest piece of inspiration:



Keron Grant is just amazing. I have loved his work since I was first introduced to it in the second volume of Kaboom! which was published by Liefeld's Awesome Entertainment. Keron also worked on another book for Rob, called Century, but sadly that was never released.

What I love most about Keron's work is his Eastern-influenced design sense. His work is unique and has a very 'liquid' feel; sorry I can't really articulate that any better. The pic above is one of the most beautiful images of the Amazonian Goddess that I have ever seen. At once, Wonder Woman appears strong, iconic and awe inspiring. I could stare at this pic for hours... You can visit Keron's website by clicking on the title of this post. While you are there, check out the amazing design sense showcased in some of his mecha-styled pieces.

From time to time I will post other pics that spark my imagination.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

PopFUZE #25



August 6, baby!! Mark it in your diaries dudes, that's the date the the Invincible Hard Cover Vol. 4 hits the streets; I can't wait to read it.

Aside from the glory days of Ben Reilly as The One True Spider-Man, as far as I am concerned Invincible represents the heyday of superhero comic books. The book has it all, great drama, unexpected twists, cool characters and hot babes! Kirkman's story is always bang on and Ottley and Crabtree work a charm on the pencils and colors.

No, it doesn't get much better than this. Invincible is probably the closest you can get to superhero perfection.

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Monday, May 19, 2008

DragonFUZE #18

I finished the I Hate You script over the weekend. Completing this story required a huge effort as each and every letter typed, each page completed took me one step closer to the horrible conclusion; I felt as though I was dragging this story out of me.

So, I am partially relieved to have the story done. The story is now with my LCS editors Brant, Cary and Chuck. Thanks to Cary for his useful and perceptive feedback. I hope that Brant and Chuck can share some insights, but I know that they are both busy.

The deadline for the script is Thursday, but I am determined to get this to the editors by no later than the day before. I know the inclusion of my story was touch-and-go, so I am keen to get them the best script I can, as early as I can. I really want this story to come to fruition; this has been difficult to write, both emotionally and technically, so just in its completion I feel a sense of accomplishment.

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

PopFUZE #24

The first time I saw Rob Liefeld's work was on the cover of Fighting American #1. I didn't know anything about Rob and I didn't know anything about the character. I took a look at the book and I instantly loved it - Rob's style back then was really frenetic and charged with energy and featured scratchy boiling lines all over the place.



I took the book to the counter and the store owner of Comics ‘R’ Us in Melbourne, his name is Matt, launched into a half hour tirade about how evil this guy Rob Liefeld was; how Rob ripped off Teen Titans when he did Youngblood and how he was ripping off Captain America to do Fighting American...

Now, I had never heard of Rob Liefeld. But stupidly, and rather than thinking for myself, I let Matt get to me and I put the book back on the shelf. A few weeks later, I saw Fighting American #2 on the shelf in the same store - I bought it, but they had already sold out of #1. It took me more than a year to find it!

The next time I saw Rob's work was on the awesome cover for the Extreme Sacrifice TPB.



I saw it in the same store and nothing the owner said could dissuade me from buying the book. Rob's work in Extreme Sacrifice is second only to Re:Gex in my mind as his greatest art. Extreme Sacrifice remains my favourite comics cross over.

I have been a diehard Liefeld fan ever since - it's been a bit more than 10 years now! In that time I have picked up heaps of Image/ Extreme/ Maximum back issues including whole runs on Youngblood, Team Youngblood and Brigade. Of course, I followed all of the books at Awesome Entertainment; I just wish the potential that was held in that company could have been unleashed!

These days I follow Rob’s work wherever I can get it. While I have enjoyed his X-Force and Teen Titans stuff, my preference has always been for Rob working on his own titles. I can’t wait to read The Assembled (which I hope comes out through Image). I rush to my LCS to pick up the new Youngblood; the book is pretty good, but my fix comes from the Liefeld covers.

The biggest geek thrill that I have had in my life, a geekhgasm if you like, was meeting Rob at Wizard World LA in 2004 where I got a sketch of his Beowulf character from the book Re:Gex.



Me and Rob

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Thursday, May 8, 2008

DragonFUZE #17

I am half way through the I Hate You script. So far, it's good, not great, but good. This is only a first draft. I feel like you can take two things away from the story; either you feel the drama is building, or you feel Deborah is whining. I hope it's the first one.

Some scenes have been really painful. The one with Mom, Dad and Deborah at the table was tough; I can't tell you why, but it was. She's got a gun. This is twisted! Why am I writing this?

I hope it gets picked up.

I'm logging off.

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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

DragonFUZE #16

I started writing the I Hate You script tonight. I have written a few pages, and the story is already freaking me out. Also, another thing that is getting to me is that I don't think I will make it in to the anthology. One of the editors wrote to me today to say there are three piles that they have divided the submissions into: Yes, No and Don't Know. I Hate You is in the Don't Know pile; they are not sure what to make of the story. They won't know until they see a script. I think I am the only writer to have a script in that pile; I am still in with a shot.

So, I am writing the script! I don't give up that easy. The script is getting to me, and I have only written two and a half pages. I am scared of this story. I told my wife about it and she hates it, she is repulsed by it and can't understand why I would write anything like this. I don't either. In the end, I think that's going to be my downfall.

Basically the editor told me there are a few stories with similar themes to I Hate You and only one will get through. I could go about this two ways. I could sanitize the story to make it more palatable, but that's not me. This anthology is about revenge, so this won't be pretty. I am going to push myself as hard as I can. I want to be uncomfortable when I write this (which I am) and I want the artist, the inker, the letterer, the editor and the reader to feel the same way.

Of course I want the story to be picked up. But, I also want to be proud of the story. I want to push myself as a writer. There's no easy way out on this one.

It's 11 pm. I'm off to sleep.

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Monday, May 5, 2008

DragonFUZE #15

I have also been invited to pitch a story that will hopefully appear in a horror anthology from Arcana Comics. The anthology is called Velvet Rope and the story I am writing is called Scratch. The story is all about nightmares and how subconscious fear can literally consume someone. Jacob Bear is on the art duties for this one.

So, yeah, another happy-happy-joy-joy book from Jason's twisted mind! As I said earlier, my writing is heading to some dark places lately, but I definitely feel as though I am pushing myself to grow as a writer and that is a good thing.

At the moment, I have two anthology stories and a 3 issue book on my plate. The anthology stories are the priority. I find it really enjoyable and rewarding to be part of something that is put together by so many fantastic creators. I love the synergy that comes from working with an artist, and the anticipation of seeing how my story, and the other tales come together.

Stay tuned to DragonFUZE Comics for more updates soon!

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