Writing Plans

 My 2017 writing plans:

On Monday, January 1st, 2017, I start writing what I hope will be the first in a series of 70's pop-styled, space war action novels, tentatively titled Raid on Inferno. I have it loosely outlined - I've found in the past that if I do too much planning I feel stifled in the writing, and this time I want to try and keep it loose. I'm psyching myself up for it now.) My intention is to self-publish under the Atomic Pulp imprint through Amazon's program as both e-books and paperbacks. 

This is a big change in direction for me as I have almost exclusively only written comic books (and it's pretty much all I've ever wanted to write) and short fiction under 5,000 words. But my only two active comics projects (noted below) have stalled out or been postponed indefinitely, and while I'll keep plugging away at them, I've decided that it's time to try a different medium.

I'm nervous as hell about the idea of writing long-form prose, and as I struggle constantly with ADD and poor self-discipline, I'm worried that I won't be able to focus on a  single project long enough to complete even a short novel. But I've been receiving a lot of encouragement and support from my friends and fans on Facebook, and I'm going to give it my best shot.

I've also "dusted off" the first few chapters of my hardboiled fantasy mystery novel, The Sorcerer's Detective, and done some more outlining on that, too. I plan on keeping that on a side burner (so to speak) so if I get bogged down on the space opera, I can maybe switch over to the fantasy for a while.

I still have some Space Crusaders comics script writing to do, so I have that to fit in, and if Gravedigger starts up again, I'll have some more to write there, as well.

In terms of time, I should easily accomplish all of that (the only real benefit of being essentially unemployable). But it's discipline/focus that I have trouble with, so we'll see how well I deal with those issues in the New Year.

Looking Forward, Not Back

2016 was, as most of us will agree, a pretty awful year in many ways. For me, it was a year of frustration, a lot of wheel-spinning, and anxiety about national and world events. But we have to look forward, and in that spirit, here are my general life goals for 2017:

Lose weight. A lot of weight. (Necessary for my continued survival.)

Write a novel. If possible, more than one.

Keep plugging away on the Space Crusaders graphic novel and the Gravedigger sequel. (Hopefully, my collaborators will do the same. )

Try not to let my anxieties about the state of the country and planet consume me. This is going to be the toughest of all....

STAR TREK @ 50

I’m one year older than Star Trek. Of course, as memories of my early years are lost to the fog of infancy and toddlerhood, I don’t recall really becoming aware of its existence until I was about nine years old, when, in 1974, the Star Trek animated series became a staple of my Saturday morning cartoon viewing. Around the same time, I received a Mego Captain Kirk action figure for Christmas. Other random Trek toys – and a few James Blish paperback novelizations – followed, and for Christmas of 1976, my favorite cousin gifted me with a copy of Bjo Trimble’s seminal Star Trek Concordance.

You’ll have noticed that I haven’t mentioned the original series as yet, and that’s because, in the early Seventies, Trek rarely appeared on any of the four television channels our rooftop aerial was capable of snagging out of the ether. So my love for Kirk, Spock, McCoy, et al, was first nurtured via the cartoon and Blish paperbacks. When I got the Concordance, with its encyclopedic coverage of the classic series, I was able to familiarize myself with the episodes I had not yet seen, whetting my appetite to the point of nigh-insatiability.

Of course, eventually, I saw the entire series (although a few of those episodes eluded me until my sojourn to art school in Jersey in the early 80s, where I finally received a TV channel that aired the show nightly), and, already well-indoctrinated in the mythos, found my passion for the 23rd century and the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise continuing to grow and thrive. Then came The Motion Picture, The Wrath and The Search. There was a Voyage Home, a somewhat disappointing detour into The Final Frontier, and an emotional denouement on the shores of an Undiscovered Country.

Other treks followed, with next generations, lost voyagers and denizens on the edge of deep space, but it was always the (sadly truncated) original Five-Year-Mission that inspired and informed the person I became.

I learned the value of reason and logic from an alien with pointed ears and a Satanic visage. I learned the nobility of humanity and compassion toward all life, regardless of shape, color or form, from an anachronistic Southern medic. And, most importantly, I learned about the worth of boldness, courage, and tempered wisdom from a charming leader with a confident swagger sporting a gold tunic. Kirk was a fighter, a diplomat, a philosopher - and a libidinous wolf – but in my eyes, he was the best of us as a species. He wasn’t perfect – and to his credit, usually admitted his flaws and acknowledged his mistakes – but he was also a man of intelligence and action, who sought out brave new worlds and always had his eye on the future.

I have aspired to all of these things, and usually fallen woefully short. But Star Trek continues to fire my imagination, fuel my creative efforts, inform my social conscience and drive my personal ambitions. To me, it’s not just a television show, and apparently, many, many others feel the same way. If that wasn’t the case, then we wouldn’t be celebrating the anniversary of its debut fifty years ago today. The brand wouldn’t be gracing new movies and TV shows (regardless of their relative merits) on our screens, large and small(er). And Star Trek wouldn’t still be sparking imaginations and inspiring so many people, of all ages and backgrounds.

May Gene Roddenberry’s vision of humanity’s future live long and prosper... and the U.S.S. Enterprise and her valiant crew go boldly on forever.

Into The New Year

I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to in 2013, but I'm proud that I was able to launch both Perils On Planet X and Gravedigger online in February, and haven't missed a weekly update on either comic.

A big shout-out is due to my amazing collaborators on those projects: Rick Burchett, Gene Gonzales and Ian Sokoliwski, who helped make sure we stayed on schedule. Both comics serials will continue in 2014.

I also began re-presenting Femme Noir stories online this past Summer, in anticipation of a new graphic novel that Joe Staton and I (with inker Rick Burchett & colorist Matt Webb) will be putting together in 2014. I'd hoped to have this mostly written by now, but it's taking me a bit longer than I expected. Hopefully, I'll have script pages to Joe shortly after New Year's.

I'm also moving ahead on my graphic novel "secret project" with artist Peter Grau, which I also hope to get put together in 2014.

Sincere gratitude to all of you who have supported my comics efforts this year, especially those who spread the word and shared links. I am genuinely grateful.

As to 2014, I intend to keep plugging away on my comics, maintaining a stellar updating schedule, and working toward eventual print editions of my comics properties.

Outside of my comics efforts, the second half of 2013 saw a decline (due to blogger burn-out) in my sci-fi blogging (Space: 1970) and my writing of DVD and Blu-ray reviews (DVD Late Show). I plan to return to both with a renewed enthusiasm and energy in 2014, as long as I believe that people are getting something out of my efforts.

That all said, I want to wish all of you a very fine 2014. May we all see our goals realized, seize our victories wherever we can, and be relatively untouched by tragedy and misfortune.

Happy New Year!!

October 1st Musings

October, at last. Random thoughts:

• Foot pain back, and it appears to be my old friend, gout. Laid up again. Yay.

• Numbers on yesterday's Gravedigger comic update were unusually low. Disappointing - and, given my state of mind today, discouraging. Need to find new (free) ways to drum up traffic. Facebook & Twitter and this blog aren't doing the job.

• Was hoping to get back to regular/semi-regular posting at DVD Late Show and Space: 1970 this month - depends on whether I can get the comics work on my plate and design gig that's supposed to show up soon out of the way.

It doesn't help that new Maine state tax laws going into effect today have shut down the only income I earned from those blogs, via the Amazon affiliate program. It wasn't much, but it was an additional incentive to keep putting in the work those sites require.

• News is just too depressing today. Will try to avoid it.

• Been watching a lot more current TV than usual lately. For the record, I thought the last four episodes of Breaking Bad were terrific, I liked the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot and think a lot of people were way too critical of it, and thought the pilot of Sleepy Hollow was goofy fun. Plan to follow S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hollow for a few weeks, at least.

• As far as October movies, I'm really looking forward to Machete Kills! despite the presence of Mel Gibson. Interested in Gravity, as well, despite presence of Sandra Bullock.

• I could really use a bowl of Count Chocula... hope I can make it to Target soon to stock up.

Pulp, Atomic-Style

It's no secret that as a writer I've had a few rough years, and haven't been nearly as prolific/productive as I'd like. There are a lot of reasons for that - many (if not most) of them of my own making. As per my New Year's resolution, 2013 has been all about the Atomic Pulp brand - i.e. finishing up the creator-owned comics projects that had been languishing (Gravedigger & Perils On Planet X), reviving older properties (Femme Noir), and getting started on some new projects that have percolating in my brain for a long, long time (Skorpion, "The Issue #200 Project," Star Busters, Young Felons In Love).

With half the year already gone, I haven't made quite as much progress as I'd hoped, but with the Gravedigger and Perils On Planet X comics running weekly online, I've at least made real headway on those particular projects and have raised my profile a tiny bit. I'm currently working on a new Femme Noir graphic novel, which I'll be sending to artist Joe Staton around the end of the month (I hope!) and have started plotting a new Gravedigger caper that both Rick Burchett and I are quite psyched about.

I also am working on plans to re-present the already-existing Femme Noir comic book material, and should have some news on that front shortly.

If I can keep my shit together, I should be able to get to work on new stuff by mid-Autumn (the above-mentioned "Issue #200 Project," Star Busters and Young Felons In Love), and maybe, in 2014, I can start looking for freelance comics work again (assuming anyone would be interested in hiring me).

In many ways, I'm my own worst enemy, allowing myself to get discouraged too easily, and letting that discouragement paralyze me for ridiculously long periods of time. I'm working hard to get past that, though. I just turned 48 years old this week, and there are so many stories I still want to tell....

A New Year Resolution

I have only one (compound) resolution for 2013: get my shit together and finish everything.

For the last few years, I've stalled out on pretty much every creative project I've started, and as I'm not currently working a day job, that means I've accomplished virtually nothing in a very long time. There are a lot of reasons for my lack of productivity - some of which I'm not even sure I understand - but there comes a point when you just have to get shit done. I've reached that point.

I am determined to finish my part (the writing, primarily) of every comics project that I've promised to do over the last few years. This consists of the Perils On Planet X miniseries/graphic novel with Gene Gonzales, the Gravedigger: Hot Women, Cold Cash graphic novel with Rick Burchett, a Captain Midnight one-shot with Richard Clark, and a new Femme Noir graphic novel with Joe Staton. I can't control their schedules in drawing those projects, but I can at least get my part done and stand ready to letter and handle the production on the books when they complete the art.

The hardest part of all this is believing that I can accomplish my goal; which is ironic because all of those talented artists listed above seem to believe in me. Even after years of me missing promised deadline after promised deadline, they have all - to a man - expressed their willingness to still draw these books.

And then there's the fans - yes, I have fans, even though that concept is still utterly incomprehensible to me - who keep asking when the next Femme Noir is coming out or sending me notes on Facebook to tell me how much they're looking forward to Perils On Planet X or Gravedigger. I'm tired of disappointing those folks.

But most of all, there's Brandi, who always believes in me despite how well she knows me. I can't bear to let her down.

So... here's 2013. One way or another, I'm making it my bitch, because I don't just want to finish the projects I've already started; I want to move on to new ones. Skorpion with Rick. A retro super-hero graphic novel that I want to co-write with my pal Jim Chambers. A couple of novels that have been percolating in my brainpan for a while now.

And I can't move on until I clear my desk....

A New Year's Eve Toast

Anyone else remember when TNT used to have Man from U.N.C.L.E. marathons on New Year's Eve?

Here's wishing the half-dozen or so readers of this blog a very Happy New Year. For myself, I'm working to make 2013 the year that I return to comics in a big way, with the long-delayed publication of Perils On Planet X, a new Femme Noir graphic novel, and more. Have a great time tonight, and celebrate safely - perhaps you can take a cue from Napoleon Solo, and spend the evening at home with a few close friends...

Hey Kids, Comics!

The FedEx guy just dropped an Amazon box in the door. Since I didn't have any orders pending, I was baffled. Turns out it was a box full of graphic novel goodies - a belated holiday gift from my bestest buddy, author (and occasional writing partner) James Chambers!

Along with some recent Daredevil and Punisher trade paperbacks by creators he knows I like, he included this handsome hardcover collection of vintage Batman comics drawn by the late, great Don Newton. Jim knows how much I admire Newton's work, and guessed that I'd enjoy the book, which collects most of Newton's Bat-art from the late 70s. Just a quick skim through its pages more than confirms my pal's assumption - it's gorgeous stuff.

Not having been a regular comics shop customer for the last ten years or so, the Daredevil and Punisher trades are all new stuff to me, but I do like the writers involved (Mark Waid and Greg Rucka, respectively), so I look forward to reading those, too.

I am so grateful that I have a friend like Jim - and not just 'cause he gives me stuff. (Though it helps!)

Meet Max

Meet Max (formerly known as Wags). This is how he rode home - quietly - from where we picked him up in from the Dog Transport folks in Kittery early this morning.

He's one exhausted pooch, fresh off two days crated up on a bus, now getting a lot of new stuff thrown at him all at once - new people, new house, new backyard... and two insane felines that aren't quite sure what to make of him, either.

It's going to be good having a dog around the house again.

A Holiday On Mongo...

As I noted a few posts back, Brandi let me order the first three of Dark Horse's hardcover Flash Gordon comics collections as my holiday gift from her. Have I mentioned that she's a great wife? Well, she came home tonight and informed me that she'd finished the budgeting for the month, and that I could go ahead and order the remaining two volumes! (Fortunately, I'd found an online dealer offering all five at a HUGE discount - being perpetually broke means I've gotten really good at finding bargains. I purchased all five volumes for the cover price of just one - not counting shipping.)

Plus, she also allowed me a little extra cash to order used copies of the last two David Hagerberg Flash Gordon paperback novels published by Tempo Books in 1980 that I needed to complete the series. Have I mentioned just how awesome my wife is?

So, in a few weeks, I'll be kickin' back on Mongo, enjoying forty years' worth of interplanetary swashbuckling. In fact, I've been totally immersed in the space opera genre lately. Writing it (Perils On Planet X), reading it (Spacehawk), watching it... and if there's one thing I've learned, it's to....

It's official. We've got a new dog. Everything went through okay, and we'll be driving down to meet him and bring him home on the 22nd. The folks from the shelter call him "Wags," but I suspect we'll be changing his name once we get to know him a little. He kinda looks more like a "Max" to me....

Monday Morning Musings

So, let's see... what's been going on here at stately Mills Manor? One cool thing was that Brandi let me order the first three Dark Horse Flash Gordon hardcover collections as my holiday present. This series of volumes collect all of the Flash Gordon original comic book stories (omitting the newspaper strip reprints) published by Dell, King Comics, Charlton Comics, Gold Key and Whitman, from the late Forties through the early 80s. Can't wait for them to arrive - I've read most of the King Comics issues (in Vol. 2) by Al Williamson, but the early Dell issues (in Vol. 1) and the Charlton issues (in Vol. 3) are all new to me!

Now if I could just pick up a little freelance income (or holiday cash), I could get the remaining two volumes....

Along the same general theme: after ten years of distractions, detours and discouragements (almost entirely of my own doing), I'm finally finishing the third chapter of the first story arc of my own space adventure comic, Perils On Planet X, this week. You have no idea how pleased I am to actually be writing the concluding scenes of a story that has been in my head for so long... especially since the art for the damned thing has been more than half finished for, literally, years.

I'm so excited that I really hope POPX will be successful enough to warrant artist Gene Gonzales and I producing the two further story arcs that I have in mind (I've always planned it as a trilogy) - and that it doesn't take another decade (or two) to get around to telling them.

If all goes well, we'll begin serializing Perils On Planet X online, a page or two a week, sometime in 2013, and will probably try a Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign to finance an eventual print volume. Stay tuned for further updates, and I'll be sure to let people know when we're ready to launch the new webcomic version.

And, finally, it looks like we may have a new canine companion sooner than anticipated. After losing our girl China last November, we didn't want to rush into getting another dog. For one thing, the loss was so great that honestly, we're still grieving. But in the past few months we'd been talking more and more about adding another critter to the menagerie - we just figured we'd wait until Spring to start looking seriously.

But last week, Brandi was browsing Craig's List, and found an ad placed by an Arkansas shelter/rescue looking for a home for one of their dogs. There were pictures and a video. After checking them out, she showed the ad to me, and we agreed that the dog looked like a good fit for us.

Anyway, Brandi contacted them, then filled out an application, and then had a phone interview, all of which went well... and barring any last minute complications, it looks like we'll be adopting "Wags" (chances are we'll be renaming him) before the end of the month. We just need to finalize a few details - like getting him to Maine - and scrape up the adoption fees, but it all looks good. 

Here's hoping all goes smoothly. Wish us luck. This house needs a dog.

New Old Stuff To Read

Every once in a while, I make a little money off my blogging. Recently, I got a tidy little kickback from the ads on my DVD Late Show and Space: 1970 sites, and decided to use it to order a few older graphic novel/comics collections online.

Having recently enjoyed re-watching the 1938 Universal movie serial Red Barry, starring Buster Crabbe, I became curious about the Will Gould newspaper comic strip that it was based on. After a little hunting around online, I discovered a 1989 Red Barry strip collection from Fantagraphics. I ordered a copy, and am more than halfway through it. Terrific stuff!

I then went through my Amazon wish list to see if anything I had on there had gone down in price. I've long wanted a copy of DC's The Warlord: The Savage Empire trade paperback by Mike Grell & company, but it's long out of print and used copies tended to be prohibitively expensive. Surprisingly, I was able to find a reasonably-priced copy listed and ordered it. It hasn't arrived yet, so I have my fingers crossed that it arrives in the "Very Good" condition advertised by the seller.

Another collection from the same time period that I ordered was DC's Cosmic Odyssey trade paperback by Jim Starlin & Mike Mignola. I missed the original 4-issue miniseries when it came out back in '88 and never got my hands on it after that. But it popped up on my radar recently thanks to Rip Jagger's Dojo, and since I've always loved Mignola's art, I decided to get it. I'm especially looking forward to his handling of Jack Kirby's Darkseid and The New Gods characters.

I also ordered the IDW hardcover edition of The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures, which collects the handful of Rocketeer tales that creator Dave Stevens actually produced in the 80s. I bought all the original comics (& the old Eclipse album) when they came out and have them stashed away somewhere in a longbox, but I figured it was past time to get all the Stevens' material in one nice bookshelf edition. Fortunately, I found an cheap copy online. Should be here sometime this week.

The last of the graphic novels I purchased was the new Fantagraphics collection of Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk comics, originally published in the 1940's as a feature in Target Comics. Back in the 90s, Dark Horse reprinted many of these bizarre and brilliant adventures in B&W comic book reprints, with a few new stories about the character produced by various artists and writers. I have four of five of these issues, but I'm missing at least one, and I'm not sure if Dark Horse actually got around to reprinting the entire run. This new collection is both complete and in color. I love Wolverton's work, and I love the character - he's sort of like Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" in space, an unfathomable and unstoppable entity with a vast array of weapons and gadgets at his disposable.

Finally, in the non-comics category, I placed an order for an early Andrew Offutt sword & planet papernck novel. Chieftain of Andor. I read a lot of Offutt's fantasy novels in the 80s - primarily his Robert E. Howard pastiches and Thieves World stories - and look forward to reading this one, too.

Wednesday Cover: PSYCHO Fall Special

Happy Halloween! October's final Psycho cover is this Prieto Muriana masterwork, which graced the magazine's 1974 "Fall Special."

Today is also the 12th anniversary of my marriage to my wonderful soulmate, Brandi. A dozen years and still together... who would have imagined? Happy Anniversary, hon!

Summer Reading

These are the two books that I got this week. What does that say about this 48 year-old man?

The Superman novel was recommended to me by my pal, Martin Powell, and the Jason Of Star Command book... well, c'mon. Once I knew it existed, I kinda HAD to have it, right...?

(Of course, if someone would let me, I'd happily WRITE Jason of Star Command novels forever. I've had an Ark II/Space Academy/Jason expanded universe and timeline mapped out in my head for years. If only...)

What I'm Working On

Princess Odyri of Planet X by Gene Gonzales

As is my lot of late, the last few months haven't been very productive due to the usual array of chronic ailments. I have, however, been slowly - if not necessarily steadily - working on finishing up my ends of the Gravedigger graphic novel and the long-delayed, initial Perils On Planet X saga. I had hoped to have both of those wrapped up last month; now I'm shooting for the end of May.

Captain Midnight by Gary Chaloner

I have agreed to write a short Captain Midnight novel(la) for Moonstone (tentatively titled Sword of Damocles), which I have mostly plotted. Once the Gravedigger & POPX scripts are off my desk, Cap is next on my schedule, and I plan to get it written over the Summer. I am also hoping that we'll get the long-promised Captain Midnight one-shot comic done sometime this year, as well.

By the Fall, I hope to be working on a couple of other comics projects, specifically a new Femme Noir special with Joe Staton and Skorpion with Rick Burchett. Fingers crossed.

Zoe Is Not Amused

Zoe. Photo by Brandi

Zoe remains unimpressed by Ziggy's youthful exuberance and mad antics....

Nap Time!

Ziggy. Photo by Brandi

Our latest addition to the household is settling in nicely. This is how Ziggy sleeps. Don't try and rub that belly though - I know, it looks so soft and inviting, but it's really a spring-loaded bear trap... with a hair trigger.

Introducing Ziggy

Ziggy. Photo by Brandi

We added a new member to our household over the weekend. Since China passed away last November, the house had been feeling a little empty over the past few months, and Brandi and I had started thinking it was time to adopt a new pet. We considered trying to find another dog, but it was just too soon. So we decided we'd probably like another cat, and on Saturday, we visited the Kennebec Valley Humane Society shelter in Augusta, to see what felines they might have available for adoption.

It didn't take us to long to zero in on the handsome devil pictured above; actually, he zeroed in on us. Most of the other cats in the place were sound asleep, but when he saw us coming he let out with a medley of miaows. We visited with him for a while, and then went home to think some more and be certain that we wanted to bring another cat into the house. Our cat Zoe isn't the most sociable of creatures, and we were concerned how she might handle the arrival of another kitty in her territory.

Anyway, we decided to risk it, and returned to the shelter on Sunday morning. We filled out the paperwork, paid the fee, and brought him home. His name was "Wiggy," but I re-christened him "Ziggy." It seemed slightly less wimpy... and actually suits him pretty well. He's remarkably affectionate, mild-mannered and quite comical.

For the first day, Zoe hissed at him every time she saw him (and at us, too, for bringing him home), but she's calmed down some. She still tries to bully him, but he doesn't let her cow him too much. Today they even shared the bed during nap time (at opposite sides, of course), so I'm hopeful that a mutual tolerance pact is in the offing.

I'm already quite attached to Ziggy, and I look forward to having him around for a long time to come.