DragonFUZE #26

Two months gone and no creative updates... The reason why is because there really isn't anything to say... Work and life keep me from pursuing much writing these days.

When I last checked in I was still waiting to hear back on my I Hate You pitch. Well, that pitch got knocked back, so all that will ever be is a script and a few rough layout pages.

Other work that I was doing that seems to be on perpetual hold are the horror stories Scratch and HellGrunt and the fantasy story Tikki's Giant. Of them all Scratch, the story of a nightmare gone horribly wrong, is the only one with a likelihood of being published in the near future. I have a possibly interested artist and a possibly interested publisher. What I don't have is a script! I am still haunted by the experience of writing my massacre/ suicide story I Hate You, so I am wary of delving into darkness again for Scratch.

The thing is though, if I never write it I will never know if I could conquer the fear that is holding me back. So, I have to surmount that block. Plus, I think it is a cool and unconventional horror tale, the potential publisher thinks so too. It's time for me to get fingers to keyboard on that one.

On a lighter note, I want to have more Tikki work published in 2009, so it's time to get off my butt on that too. I have two more Tikki stories that I want to do: Tikki's Giant and Tikki's Mirror. I want to get these stories done for two people; myself and my one year old boy, so that should be a good motivator!

Hopefully later this year, or early next year, I will have more updates for you. I really want these and other DragonFUZE Comics stories out there!

DragonFUZE #25

Well, about one month has passed since my last creative update. Thing is that I just don't know if I can be bothered any more. With a baby boy, a health scare for my wife and me looking for new work, well there isn't much time for writing. Even if there were, is there really a point anymore? I have so many projects that I have started: DragonFUZE, HellGrunt, Scratch and Tikki's Giant to name most of them, but the chances of them being finished and published remain slight at best.

Having said that, opportunities continue to come my way. Just the other day the editor of MangaQuake (which is where Tiki's Phayrie was published) contacted me looking for new stories of mine to publish in their magazine. I pitched I Hate You and I am still waiting to hear back about that. I hope I get the green light for that one because of all my work, I am really keen to see that story published. I think IHY is the strongest thing I have written, it's highly original and has a great twist. The story is also very moving/ disturbing and I strive to have a strong emotional under current in all of my work. So, I hope something will come of IHY and MangaQuake; more news on that when I have it.

As for Tikki's Phayrie the same publisher (Future Quake Press) is interested in doing more Tikki stories, and I have another offer from a small publisher to do a Tikki comic, so it looks like I will definitely have a home for Tikki's Giant if I ever get it written, drawn, etc.

That leaves HellGrunt and Scratch. I really don't know if I am invested in either of these stories. I have put a lot of work into HellGrunt already and have even comissioned a logo design. I have a committed publisher... So, what's the problem? After more than a year of working on this idea, I still can't find a unique voice for the book and I think that is a major problem. This story is a cliche, a blending of Hellboy, Underworld and other bits and pieces of genre culture. Sometimes that isn't a bad thing, as long as you can come up with a unique angle, but the point is that I can't. I haven't got anything in this idea that is different or unique and that I think is the problem.

As for Scratch I have an interested publisher and a committed artist, but the concept remains so vague in its formulation that I don't really know if I can get 10 pages out of it. I mean, I am sure that I can, but again, what is really unique about this story? The truly unique part of it is how dark and twisted the story will be. This tale is even darker than IHY and also involves a suicide, but it is much more graphic and disturbing than even the previously mentioned story. Writing IHY was more confronting, debilitating and painful that anything else I have committed to paper/ screen. I don't know if I can go through an experience like that again, but I will have to go to some very dark places to write Scratch. My hesitancy to do so is a large part of why this work remains incomplete. At only 10 pages, this should be a breeze to write, but I need to confront a lot of darkness to get this story out of me and I just don't know if I can carry that at this time.

DragonFUZE and Tikki spring from the same creative well and I intend to explore these characters for the rest of my life. I am working on a new comic story Tikki's Giant (which I hope to pitch to MangaQuake in the future) and there is always the larger tale that the two fit in to. Of all my work, these are the stories that I really want to tell, but the emotional investment in them is so great that it is almost like I fear writing the words in case I do these wonderful characters and concepts a diservice.

I am not giving or asking for answers in this post. I am just wondering aloud as to where my creative path will take me, and if I really want to travel that road at all...

DragonFUZE #23

I haven't written a single word of comic book script in more than one month!

Scary, but true. The last thing I wrote was the script for I Hate You. I do have some projects that I should be working on, namely a short horror story called Scratch and then there is my horror/ action book HellGrunt.

I have also been throwing around some ideas for a sequel story featuring Tikki and Malinki called Tikki's Giant. Lastly there is a fantasy story that I have been working on for years that features Tikki and Malinki and I keep thinking I should get back to that one...

For a person with so little time, it's crazy that I have four comic book projects on my plate, especially considering that none of them are progressing at all. Here's the current status of each project.

HellGrunt - character descriptions and plots fully written. About 15 pages of script for issue #1 are done. This project is 2 issues long.

Scratch - this is a 10 pager. All I have written is a short pitch. I should be able to knock this together in a few days, if I prioritise it and make the time available to do it.

Tikki's Giant - I envisage this as being a 22 page story, so it is more than double the length of the original Tikki tale. All I have for this is two lines of scribbled notes on a piece of paper, but most of the story is in my head... I just need to write this!

Mystery Fantasy Book - it breaks my heart that I haven't really progressed this project. I have been working on this for at least four years, if not longer. I have two of eight issues written, but I haven't worked on this for at least 2 years. This is the one story I want to tell the most. The reason I haven't progressed it lies largely in the reality that an unknown writer is not going to have much chance of getting an eight issue book picked up. So, I am focused on building up a body of work from smaller projects.

Hopefully I will be back soon with a more optimistic update and with some details on real progress on these projects!

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.

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...

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!