What It Is – week ending 7 December [2014]

With apologies to Dave the Thune.

WRITING:

Every day.  1000 words.  That’s the goal.

With the coming holidays, and other responsibilities, my writing has tapered off a bit this week.  When last we met, I had written roughly 290,000 words for the year, with 231,000 of those being “new” first drafts.  At this point, I have reached 295,325 words with 236,475 “new” words.  I will easily pass my goal of 300,000 words for the year, but life is conspiring against the daily goal. 

All of this writing is paying off.  I got a huge email this week.  A crime anthology I wanted badly to be a part of will be publishing the latest story I submitted to them.  It still feels a bit surreal, and I plan on going into a bit more detail when publication gets closer, so I’ll keep it vague a while longer.  But, for now, I’M IN!

READING:

Finished re-reading the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil run.  It is still enjoyable, but upon this subsequent reading, some cracks in the foundation revealed themselves to me.  Nothing to heinous that it ruined the experience for me, but enough so that it trickled down the list of “favorites” a bit, which also reaffirmed my affection for my favorite DD run of all-time (Born Again, excepted) from Ann Nocenti & John Romita, Jr.  I plan on writing more about both of these runs, so we’ll leave it at that, for now.  Look for the Bendis/Maleeve piece soon, and the Nocenti/JRJr piece far down the line. 

Comic Geek Speak has also been reading and discussing Daredevil this year on their podcast.  The most recent episode dealt with the “[Frank] Miller era.”  This 2 ½ hour discussion really got me excited to go back and re-read my Miller Visionaries trades, and I’ve almost completed the first one of these, which includes all the work written by Roger McKenzie, with a fill-in by David Michelinie.  And they are pretty great, even better than the first time I read these a few years back.  I think at that point the hype surrounding this run of stories was too much to live up to, especially considering hos stellar “Born Again” is, which the CGS guys did not get to with this one.  That book, they will be tackling issue by issue, it sounds like, and that is something I cannot wait to hear.

  

WATCHING:

Watched the second Hobbit film, “The Desolation of Smaug.”  This one, even more than the first, diverges far away from the source text, in order to make it more exciting for the audience.  I suppose that’s smart – different mediums and all – and I know that my middle son said he really enjoyed this one.  But, for me, I am unable to divorce this movie from my childhood experience with the book, and with every new obstacle that need not be there, I shake my head.  *sigh*  Which means my objections should be taken with some sense of skepticism

It feels like a cookie cutter script due to this, rather than consequences growing from choices made by the characters.  We never get a chance to know these characters, because they are always on the run, battling some new obstacle, and doing it with a grace and facility that rings untrue (let the elves have their grace with their lithe bodies, but give the dwarves a different fighting style, please).  And the romance between Tauriel and Kili.  Ugh. 

That said, Smaug was magnificent (see what I did there?)  I enjoyed the scenes with the dragon immensely, even those that trailed far from the path of the book.  I felt a sense of dread for Bilbo (and, come on, Martin Freeman is wonderful as the hobbit, though it feels much like he’s playing “himself” or at least a character very similar to Sherlock’s Watson), and the hubris of Smaug was defined well, though not as expertly as in the book as there were moments where it felt like he should have just roasted the dwarves, quite easily, but that would have been the end of the film with no third film to come.  And I am anxious to see what comes in the final film, for no other reason than where it ends with Smaug.  So, despite its flaws the film did its work.  We’ll see how “The Battle of Five Armies” turns out.

Started the FX show, The Americans.  Only halfway through the pilot, but it’s pretty awesome thus far.  1981.  Russian spies in America.  Their new neighbor is a counterintelligence FBI agent.  Let the fun begin.  And, come on, how did the writer of Speed (Graham Yost) manage to get this and Justified onto the small screen?  Doesn’t matter, because it feels like he’s got two certifiable great shows on his hands.

MISCELLANY:

In the Mouth of Dorkness – the great, and frequently updated blog, from friends Matt & Brad – is now a weeklypodcast, with the able assistance of newest dork, Darren Smith.  The initial ‘cast is almost two hours long, but it didn’t feel like it.  These guys sounded comfortable behind the mics – they should, having been talking all things dork for some years before ever starting the blog – and there was none of those uncomfortable pauses or bits of dead air one might expect from newer podcasters.  They discussed the new Star Wars teaser trailer along with some current films, and then went into their “Fistful of Influences,” their top 5 films that have formed the film fans they all are.  It was fun and insightful and well worth listening to if you enjoy film, especially genre film – though they do cover the gamut with regard to eras, genres, filmmakers, etc. leaving no stone unturned, or some other treacly cliché.  Fun stuff.  Check it out.

And look for my own "Fistful of Influences - movies" in a day or so.

SIGN OFF:

As always, check out my friends – Brad& Matt and Don McMillan for their own weekly recaps on things comic-y and geeky, and we'll see what's what in seven.  

-chris

What It Is – week ending 23 November [2014]

With apologies to Dave the Thune.

WRITING:

Every day.  1000 words.  That’s the goal.

Got sidetracked and took Sunday and Monday off from writing.  Which afforded my mind a chance to wander, and an incident from my childhood reared up (an abandoned and run-down home a few blocks over from my house, which had a single light on in a second floor room – prompting chills and the question of why the electricity was still on in the house).  Over the course of the week, I wrote a story using this as a springboard, something I’d wanted to do for a long time, and I’m fairly happy with the first draft.  A bit under 5,000 words, I know it will need some serious cleaning up.  But I like the point of view I took and the tone I tried to carry throughout the whole thing.  Anxious to revise this and set it off in the wild sometime next year.

Also:  9 Things You Need to Write A Novel

READING:

CINDER & ASHE by Gerry Conway and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.  Once you get past the horrendous Cajun accent Gerry Conway places in one of the main character’s mouths, this is a pretty good series.  Beautiful artwork, a compelling and multi-layered storyline, with a mystery that makes sense.  Good stuff.  If you can get past that damn accent.

THE FADE OUT & VELVET from Ed Brubaker (writer), Sean Phillips (artist: Fade Out), Steve Epting (artist: Velvet), et al.  I haven’t been getting new comics for a  number of months now, preferring to save my money and get collections through the library when they become available.  But Brubaker and his team of collaborators pulled me back in.  I was at the local independent bookstore/music store/video store/game store/comic store, Bull Moose Music, and saw a couple issues of the Fade Out and issues 6-8 of Velvet (I already have 1-5) and had to pick them up.  And they were fantastic.  The thing about these books, besides the engaging and exciting stories, is that they often include short essays in the back related to the narrative material.  They’re the extras you expect in the collection, but they’re in the single issues.  So, for that, and for the fact that I have loved most everything Brubaker has done, independent from the Big Two, I allowed myself to be pulled back in.  And I was not disappointed.  Looking forward to getting these on a regular basis.

THE MULTIVERSITY by Grant Morrison, et al.  And, since I was perusing the comic racks, I figured I should check out the fourth issue of Multiversity, Pax Americana, by Morrison & Frank Quitely, which was burning up my social feeds online this week.  Wow.  When these two artists collaborate, it’s always brilliant.  Taking on the Charlton characters, they infused the comic with many of Alan Moore’s best-known formalistic approaches to telling comic book stories (which, it should be pointed out, are not crutches he used but techniques utilized in specific stories).  In Morrison’s hands – and this could be due to the apparent feud between Morrison and Moore – these feel like tricks used to say:  “See, I can do this too.”  They are well done and enhance the experience of reading the book, but they don’t feel as essential as when Moore utilized them in books such as Watchmen and Promethea.  Could be my prejudice showing through, but I can live with that. 

The earlier issues were also available, and I picked them up too.  They’re just as enjoyable.  Looking forward to seeing where this all ends up.  (and man, that Cameron Stewart cover for the Shazam issue looks phenomenal!)

BATMAN: STRANGE APPARITIONS by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, and others.  Finished this book up this week.  It was really enjoyable.  Rogers’s art is amazing in this.  I don’t remember it being as good when he did the Silver Surfer, with Englehart, years later.  But it holds up in this.  And the stories are fun too, even if some subplots are too quickly wrapped up for my taste.  Overall, I would definitely recommend this, especially to a Batman fan.  Great art, good writing (for the most part), and some interesting twists that will keep you engaged. 

TURING’S CATHEDRAL by George Dyson.  I’m 100 pages into the birth of the digital age, and it’s fascinating.  So many names I’d never heard of, scientists, theoreticians, and thinkers – BIG THINKERS – all working toward the creation of a computer, in the early twentieth century.  Good stuff. 

WATCHING:

I’m always behind in my movie and TV watching (a not unwelcome result of being a father and writer – these both take time).  But this past week I finally decided to check out Peter Jackson’s THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, or the movie that should have encompassed the entirety of the book but did not.

Yeah, throwing my prejudice right out in front of this one.  The Hobbit was the first book that totally enthralled me and captured my imagination.  It was second grade.  Mrs. Corey read it to us.  I discovered that my uncle had a copy, and I borrowed it so that I could re-read each chapter at home.  I distinctly remember lying on my stomach, up on my bed, and reading my uncle’s hardcover edition – the smell of those, or similar, pages jolts my nostalgia-button in a manner that little else can.  I love that book.

So, it was with trepidation that I read about the three-film adaptation Jackson and his crew were planning.  And this is from someone who loved their Lord of the Rings films and felt them to be exemplary adaptations from Tolkien’s masterpiece. 

So, the first Hobbit film.  It’s entertaining, moves along at a brisk pace, is well acted and engaging, with beautiful scenery and amazing sets and special effects (though some scenes felt surprisingly awkward and not well done, but if you’re reaching beyond your grasp, that is, in general, a good thing).  Certainly, details were changed – as was the case with the Lord of the Rings films – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  When translating a story from one medium to another, it is imperative that the creators understand the differing strengths of each and adjust accordingly.  In that regard, I would say Jackson, et al. have acquitted themselves nicely. 

That said, I don’t find it to be a good adaptation of Tolkien’s book. 

However, I don’t know that I can fault them.  The major issue I have with the film – and let me state that I did enjoy it, and the “issue,” as I see it, did nothing to lessen that – is that it is not faithful to the book.  Unlike the Lord of the Rings, this movie shies far away from the tone of The Hobbit, as written by Tolkien.  Whereas the novel is a book for children that can be appreciated by adults, the film is one that I could never recommend for children.  But, it does match nicely with the tone of the initial films, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which makes a lot of sense.  The vast majority of those seeing these films will never have read any of the source material.  And creating a children’s story after the success of the epic Rings movies would be foolish.  I understand completely why they did it.  I just wish it was a film that I could share with my youngest boy. 

For that, I’ve still got the book, and the Rankin/Bass film.

MISCELLANY:

Thanksgiving next week, which means Christmas is coming up quick.  I’ve always loved this time of year – living in Maine, we used to get the type of snow and scenery you’d find in a Norman Rockwell painting; not so much nowadays.  I love Christmas trees and decorations and the classic TV specials and finding just the right gifts for everyone (we don’t shop at the mall, so it’s far more enjoyable than it could be), and I love the fantasy of the entire thing, the magic of Santa bringing joy to kids.  I prefer a secular Christmas – the holiday being a holdover of pagan rituals – and I really get into it.  So much so, that I have taken on something that J.R.R. Tolkien did for his children and write letters from Santa to my boys.  These always include some little adventure or mishap that occurred at the North Pole in the past year, which is the fun part.  I write them on nice, heavy-stock paper or, if I can find it, distinct handmade paper, using a dip pen, while sealing them in wax.  It’s one of the things I look forward to most, at this time of year.  It also means work on the novel will probably be put aside for a bit, but that’s okay.  This is more important.

SIGN OFF:

As always, check out my friends – Brad& Matt and Don McMillan for their own weekly recaps on things comic-y and geeky, and we'll see what's what in seven.  

-chris