Odds and Sods

It's been crazy lately but I wanted to try and keep things updated. Here we go...

* Looks like having to cancel my Mid-Ohio plans rather than driving the van to Columbus was smart and may have bought me an extra month. Heater core and front passenger tire both died since the start of the month. On the bright side, not trying to drive as much has freed up time to try to write.

*Miss Vicky pencils are now in the hands of Dash for inking. Hope to get the revised pitch package out in late-Feb/early March.

*New Dreah story has been penciled. It picks up on the threads from the story in DWP 26 and ought to cause some interesting responses once the "What happened in Zar" question is answered.

*Re: The story in DWP 26. I've noticed most of the response for the Dreah story has focused on Sarge's art (as well it should. The boy kicked serious ass...colorists still weep when thinking about filling in that crowd shot.) but the comments on the story itself (what there has been) note there wasn't a whole lot there and the ending it a little sudden. All true. I hate to admit it, but this was my first serious attempt at "writing for the trade." The main purpose of this story was to introduce more members of Dreah's "Guild" (which it did...Uncle Olaf, Cassidy the Dwarf and her foster father Stevenson will be back in the next story) and I also wanted to give Trevor a chance to get some dignity back after how he was left after DWP 22.
So what does this all have to do with the price of eggs? Basically, the DWP Dreah stories have been taking place after she's been established. After writing the first story (DWP 12) I really jumped into creating her world by writing a full 4 issue mini that Sarge and I have been sitting on that goes back to the begining of her saga. Ideally we'd like to try to get it going, but the direct market is what it is and Digital Webbing Presents is a wonderful "safe harbor" to work out the kinks and establish the character before throwing her out to the world. The plan, at this point, is to eventually collect the DWP stories and use that to judge the chances of an actual Dreah series/mini-series. So what would be in said collection?

-The debut story from #12 (Ideally in color for the first time)
-"Eye of Fire" from #22 (Maybe recolored, if just to have it consistant.)
-"Fight Knight" from #26
-"The Truth About Zar" (tentative title) which is unscheduled at this point.
-Dreah's origin as told by Trevor, also unscheduled and in the process of being drawn.
-The long lost first appearance of Dreah from the "DWP Convention Annual."

"Fight Knight," "Zar," and the origin all serve as a single story arc and leave things open to continue the Dreah shorts from that point forward while a series would feature the early adventures of Dreah and Trevor. No idea if it will actually happen as planned, but that's the basic idea of where things are going.

*The Anti-Dreah. Still working out the script for a western project Sarge and I have planned. It's coming along slowly, but it's planned as a 64 page album. I figured that would be the best format in the long run seeing as how westerns are a tough sell in the US, but strong in Europe. Doing it in a more "continent friendly" format might make it an easier sale internationally. That said, I'm "getting my Kirby on" by doing it in 8 page chapters (ala Kamandi) where if we choose to, it can be serialized. Work those angles!

*Recent Comic Thoughts.
- Re: ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN...Get over it Fanboy! Yeah, I understand you were expecting the Frank Miller that gave us "Year One" and "Born Again." Guess what, it's been 20 years and he's moved on. This isn't Earth 1 anymore. Let's just accept he's writing it as the Adam West/Burt Ward series if it had been produced by Quentin Tarantino and enjoy the ride.
- Re: ALL STAR SUPERMAN...Deserving of every nerdgasm accolade it's gotten so far. I loved the Byrne/Wolfman/Carlin reboot as a teen because it made me actually care what was going on the Superman books again after they became stale towards the end of the Pre-Crisis run. This book goes in the opposite direction of the MAN OF STEEL era by embracing the cheese of Super-history and making like Elliot S! Maggin and Cary Bates did in the mid-70's to refine that cheese with modern ideas to make it work for the current audience. I don't want to say I felt like a kid again, but I was craving a Goober Grape PB&J and cold Choc-ola as I read the first issue.
-Black Mask...Pre-reboot debut: the Batman issues during CRISIS...becomes the "big bad" during ramp up to the new CRISIS. No doubt the most subtile nods to 1985 DC did last year. It never clicked with me back in the day, but Batman and Detective may have been the only DC titles that didn't have Crisis tie-ins.
-Guess who's back...maybe...Yeah he turned up in IC #4. There's been rumors for awhile he's coming back to the DCU. I say let him have his 50th aniversary, but by Feb of next year...back to fond rememberances.

I feel better.