With apologies to Dave the Thune
(as well as Mike Baron & Steve Rude).
WRITING:
Every day. 1000 words.
That’s the goal.
48 straight days of writing without
a break, and 65 of 66 days, so far, in 2015.
Even when I plan on taking a day off, the fates conspire, open a doorway
for me, and I walk through.
(ahhhhhh, the poetical metaphorical)
I passed 70,000 words for the year
and am 92,000+ words into the first draft of the novel. I am almost to a point with the novel where I
can see the end rearing its ugly head.
I’m feeling pretty good about that and am anxious to pull the train into
the station.
(again with the damn metaphors,
what the heck, man?)
Last year I completed the first
draft of a YA novel on my birthday. As I
continued writing this latest novel, I considered that I might pull that same
trick again, but at this point I’m unsure.
Seems like there’s more novel to get written down than days left to the
end of this month, but we’ll see.
(that was a boring, non
sequitur-type aside; quit yappin’)
Anyway. Looking forward to finishing this up so I can
get to some of the short stories I have lingering around. I hope to double the number of “completed”
stories I have on hand by the middle of the summer, in order to broaden the
scope of my submissions. So, onward and
upward.
READING:
I’m reading the novel Disgruntled
by Asali Solomon. Revolving around a
young, black girl in 1980s West Philadelphia whose parents, before divorcing,
created an activist group called the Seven
Days, based upon a similar (but more militant) group from Toni Morrison’s Song
of Solomon (which is next on the to-read pile). It follows Kenya (the young girl) as she
deals with her parents’ divorce, moving into her grandmamma’s home and going to
a private school, and all the trials that come not only from being an
adolescent but also being female and black in Reagan’s America. It’s an engaging, wonderfully written book.
Also reading Matt Wagner’s Grendel:
God and the Devil. Five hundred
years in the future, America and the world is contaminated, many parts of the
Earth unfit for any living beings.
Corporations now run the world (that’s different, how?), with various
parcels of land carved out by these conglomerates as their bases of power, and
the church of Pope Innocent XLII oversees it all, wringing money from those who
can ill afford it, in order to build a giant weapon that will block out the
sun. But Grendel, in the guise of a
junkie addicted to a drug he calls Grendel (if I read that correctly), is here
to save us from the church – or maybe he just wants to kill the Pope; either
way, the same ends will be achieved, a similar theme to be found throughout
Wagner’s Grendel mythos.
Art is shared by John K. Snyder, III,
Jay Geldhof, Bernie Mireault, and Tim Sale, and it all meshes nicely, with the
styles of these disparate artists similar enough to allow one to appreciate the
story without feeling jarred by a sudden shift in delineation. I haven’t gotten to the end of this yet, but
it’s another fine offering in the broader Grendel story that Wagner has been
telling for over thirty years, now.
Great stuff.
Also read the first two collections
of Geoff Johns & Jim Lee’s Justice League. That … was a comic. And if you enjoy full-page and double-page
splashes, this is the comic for you. Not
that it was bad, per se. It entertained
well enough while I read it. But once I
finished these two volumes, any residue from the narrative seeped right out of
my ears, and all that’s left are the foolish characterizations of Hal Jordan
and Diana Prince that DC and Johns chose to go with in this iteration of their
greatest superhero team. At least I
still have my JLI issues.
Finally, though, the big winner of
this week was Hit: 1955 from Boom Studios – written by Bryce Carlson
with art by Vanesa Del Rey. A crime
comic set in 1955 Los Angeles … oh, man this was great. It reminded me very much of the film
adaptation of L.A. Confidential, using the geography of L.A. to tell a
seedy crime story, juxtaposing the ugliness of the crimes and the double
crosses with the glitz and glamor of Hollywood and its beautiful
surroundings. It was great. (did I mention it was great?) There are great characters, some great plot
twists, tough guys and tougher dames, and the art is gorgeous. Del Rey’s work has a painterly quality to it,
with hints of Matt Kindt in her linework, but it is all, distinctly her own art
style, and it is perfect for this story.
Check it out, read it, and then go out and get the sequel, which hit
stores this week? If you love crime
comics, you won’t be disappointed.
WATCHING:
Started watching Downton Abbey
with the wife, and it’s pretty great so far.
Yes, it could be described as a period piece soap opera, but that would
be giving it short shrift. The
characters in the series are fully realized, and you have some incredibly
horrid ones who help to spark the tension that molders beneath the surface of
those serving the upper classes directly.
And the stories of the Grantham family are equally enjoyable to watch,
especially when the Dowager Countess, as embodied by Maggie Smith, is
involved. She steals most of the scenes
she plays in, and it’s pretty great.
Smith’s character always has a sharp rebuke for others and never backs
down from anyone, most especially not her son who is the one in charge of
Downton.
Watched Inglourious Basterds
this week, for the second time, and it was just as good, maybe even better,
this time around. Tarantino’s story of
righteous vengeance against Adolf Hitler and his high command in the middle of
World War II is riveting and invigorating.
His dialogue typically garners much plaudits, and rightfully so, but the
way he shoots a scene is also something to appreciate. And those opening fifteen-plus minutes are
mesmerizing. The way he builds the tension
through the discussion between Christoph Waltz’s Colonel Landa and the poor
French farmer who only wished to help his neighbors but cares more about the
welfare of his daughters is a master class in filmmaking and writing. Seriously, for that opening scene alone this
movie is amazing. But add to it all that
comes after (Fassbender’s turn in a similarly tense scene) and this is just a
stellar piece of cinema. Loved it. Top of the list (with only one left to
go).
MISCELLANY:
The Flash is my favorite character,
and when Brad at the IMTODcast said he knew very little about him, I took it
upon myself to finally try and get to the bottom of my fascination with the
Scarlet Speedster. Steeped, as it is, in
my youth of the late 1970s/early 80s, I am dubious of my ability to get to the
heart of it. But I’ve tried and written a five-part examination. The first two parts went up this past
week and can be found below this post. The final three will hit this
coming Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’d
be interested to know your thoughts – do my arguments make sense; are they
persuasive; could one even call them coherent?
Let me know. I’d be interested in
an unbiased opinion – I’m looking at you, Brad.
SIGN OFF:
As always, check out my friends – Brad& Matt and Don McMillan, as well as Dan’s foray into podcastdom, the Potato League Podcast, for their own weekly recaps on things comic-y and
geeky, and we'll see what's what in seven.
-chris
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