So, today, DC Comics announced a Justice League Canada title, spinning out of their Justice League of America book. It will be written by Canadian comic author Jeff Lemire and Mike McKone, one of my favorite artists, will be providing the pencils.
Excellent news.
Since the demise of the most recent Alpha Flight book, Canada has been forgotten by the "Big Two" and independent comics have been the only source of superhero adventures in the Great White North. Though considering the quality of those books put out, things are in good hands.
I, myself, wanted to create a superhero team based out of Canada, and set about it a few months ago, the end result being Canada Corps, a loose-knit group of heroes who band together in times of need to save the day. Unlike American cities, with higher populations, larger cities, and therefore, more prevalent (at least SEEMING so) crime rate, Canada is a more spread-out population and a crime rates, for he most part, are lower. Canada is closer to what one would have found back in ancient Greece- a loose collection of city-states, who all identify themselves as TRUE Canadians, feuding amongst themselves yet banding together against outsiders. Like the Athenians and Spartan putting aside differences to fight off invaders.
Canadians heroes are cut from a different cloth than the "traditional" American heroes. Whereas most American folk heroes are individuals whose excellence, ambition and skill propel them to heights, Canada is a nation of regular every day people who are thrust into extraordinary circumstances and do their best to rise to the challenge. Heroes who's quiet strength is their greatest asset and their compassion a key component to what makes them tick. Batman or the Punisher would never have been Canadian. The rage and drive to punish, although there, is not what motivates most Canadian heroes, both real and fictional, but a desire to make things better, to seek and understanding and to improve quality of life. It's no wonder a Canadian-born person came up with Superman.
That's not to say Americans are bloodthirsty gun-toting killers- far from it, but if you look back throughout history, American heroes are much more celebrated for their drive and personal achievements than their Canadian counter-parts. Here's a guy you've probably never heard of, Peter Lemon. You can read up on him here: http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Military/peter_lemon.htm A remarkable individual, indeed.
And that's where my characters that make up Canada Corps come from- a place where every day people, though some may have superhuman abilities, step up at times of need and make the sacrifices that they need to for the greater good. They don't ask for accolades, in fact most shun them, and for the most part they just want to do the job and go back to their lives. A housewife, a police constable, a mechanic, a student, a former street gang member, a first-generation Canadian, and a couple of teenagers make up Canada Corps. They all come from different backgrounds and have different reasons for doing what they do; standing on guard against any evil that might threaten their nation, or the world.
How do they differ from the Big Two's heroes?
Well DC's new title, as excited as I am by it, ISN'T mainly populated by Canadians, but by American heroes who are forced to relocate (much like during Marvel's Civil War which saw USAgent, Arachne, and a couple others flee north of the border to escape persecution- sort of how it sounds for the JLC too...) in much the way that men trying to avoid the Vietnam draft did, back in the day.
Marvel's Alpha Flight is, in many ways, very much representative of how Canadians view themselves. Nowhere else would a team be comprised of a French-speaking schizophrenic, her brother (who later would be revealed as one of the first gay characters in comics), a former CFL football player turned scientist (who would later inhabit the body of a woman, making him one of the first transgendered characters), a person of short stature (named after a piece of hockey equipment or a sprite from a Shakespeare play- either works), a Native American doctor, a goddess who could take the form of any animal found in Canada, and led, originally by a scientist who left a big American corporation over moral grounds. Later they would be taken over by his wife (who did a far superior job of leading, even). Add to that their biggest name (Wolverine) would leave to go south of the border to join the X-Men (shades of Wayne Gretzky or any other athlete, or actor, that wants to make it big, it seems), and Alpha Flight became the quintessential Canadian superhero team. They never got much respect in their own world, but in ours, their fans were passionate and kept the team coming back every time the series was cancelled. Even getting KILLED wasn't enough to keep them down, and the members have returned time and again to serve a country that they love and believe in.
Canada Corps will see to it that they are not alone.
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Creator Spotlight: Christine Steendam
One of the things that I had said I was going to do on this blog was spotlight some of the authors, musicians, and other artists who I think are deserving of more recognition- people that have created something that, quite frankly, I believe you will benefit from looking into. For the debut spotlight, I thought it only fitting to feature a fellow author who, like myself, published their first work this year, and one who I think you'll be hearing a great deal from in the coming years, Christine Steendam.
This evening I was fortunate enough to meet one of the writer's who's work I've come to admire. Christine Steendam the author of Heart Like An Ocean, a historical romance novel that tells the story of... Well, you know what, let's just take it straight from the book description on Amazon, because I doubt my simple words can do it justice.
"In a society where she doesn't belong, Senona Montez, a strong-willed and free-spirited woman refuses to follow the path expected of a Don's only child.
On the eve of her marriage to a stranger, she saddles her horse and flees everything she knows, only to discover the petty concerns of society did not prepare her for the harsh life on the open sea. She finds an unlikely protector in a reckless privateer, Brant Foxton.
Straddling the worlds of independence and privilege in 1600's Europe, this captivating man challenges her in ways she never thought possible, shows her what living to the fullest really means, and allows her to follow her heart wherever it leads."
Sounds pretty intense, right? And, it is. However, it is also a fun and entertaining read. The characters are excellent, real, and you find yourself quickly becoming wrapped up in their stories- even if, like myself, this isn't a genre that you would normally pick up.
I wrote a small review on the Amazon page if you'd like to check it out and while you are at it, make sure to pick up the book. Extremely reasonably priced and well worth every penny. http://www.amazon.ca/Heart-Like-an-Ocean-ebook/dp/B00BC2TCJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374738927&sr=8-1&keywords=heart+like+an+ocean
But I digress.
The reason I was writing this was not only to spotlight her work, but also the author herself. To me, the person who writes the book is as important as the book itself. That's just my feeling on the subject, but I'm always fascinated by the story behind the story-teller. Why did they choose to tell this particular story? Does it reflect anything about the author, themselves? What made them decide to be a writer in the first place?
I first became aware of Christine during the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project/contest when I was browsing through the list of local participants. There were a fair bit of folks from the great big city (aka Winnipeg) but only a handful of us from the outlying area (aka the "country") and I made an effort to keep track of how the others from my "group" were doing in regards to word count.
For whatever reason, Christine was one of the two or three entrants who's word count I kept an eye on. Part of it was because she sounded very "on the ball" as they say- she had a plan, had participated before, and just seemed like she was someone who I could use as a measuring stick.
For the first week and a bit, my word count kicked her's butt. Then, it didn't. Slowly but surely, she continued at a steady stream of increasing output until she FAR surpassed what I had. Eventually, I ended up dropping out, and she would go on to complete the 50,000 word goal, with time to spare.
That stuck in my head. I had dropped out partly because I had started a new job that turned out to be extremely stressful in the learning curve, and part because I was lazy. I lost that drive to continue on. Not her, however. She persevered, even when stuck, and managed to not only hit the goal, but surpass it.
So, when her book came out, I remembered what she had accomplished, and thought I'd send some support to a local author who had made good on her writing and had pushed me (unknowingly, and only for a few weeks, but nonetheless) to push myself, and so I bought the e-book version of Heart Like An Ocean.
As if destroying my word count during NaNoWriMo wasn't enough, she destroyed my preconceived notions on romance novels. It wasn't some tried and true same old song and dance romance novel, with two-dimensional characters and a predictable plot. Far from it, in fact. Her characters had depth, reacted realistically, the plot was anything BUT predictable, and, nothing against Christine, exceeded any expectations that I had. Quite simply, it was a great book.
So when I had the chance to meet her and exchange books, me having just released LEGACY, and her with a print copy of HLAO, I jumped at it.
She was everything one might hope for in speaking with a writer- eloquent, intelligent, thoughtful about the "art", humble about her success, and eager to see others succeed as well.
I fully expected us to have a "writers talk" along the lines of trading stories about the, well, stories that we had written and our experiences in getting to our respective debuts. We did, but mainly the time spent was of telling some of our OWN life stories. I was treated to a few small tales of her time in school, of her son, Jasper and his adventures, and her husband, Kyle, who sounds like a pretty cool dude in his own rights.
It seems that writers are always interested in stories, whether ones that they've made up, or ones that they, or others, have lived. A good story, is a good story.
Which answers a question that Christine had posed to me in a previous conversation: Is her writing going to turn me into a fan of romance novels? The answer to that, is no. I don't think I could ever get into reading strictly romance.
BUT, you better believe that her writing has made me a fan of Christine Steendam, a skilled writer who crafts a compelling story with engaging characters that you genuinely care about, and I eagerly await any book that she publishes. And you should too.
This evening I was fortunate enough to meet one of the writer's who's work I've come to admire. Christine Steendam the author of Heart Like An Ocean, a historical romance novel that tells the story of... Well, you know what, let's just take it straight from the book description on Amazon, because I doubt my simple words can do it justice.
"In a society where she doesn't belong, Senona Montez, a strong-willed and free-spirited woman refuses to follow the path expected of a Don's only child.
On the eve of her marriage to a stranger, she saddles her horse and flees everything she knows, only to discover the petty concerns of society did not prepare her for the harsh life on the open sea. She finds an unlikely protector in a reckless privateer, Brant Foxton.
Straddling the worlds of independence and privilege in 1600's Europe, this captivating man challenges her in ways she never thought possible, shows her what living to the fullest really means, and allows her to follow her heart wherever it leads."
Sounds pretty intense, right? And, it is. However, it is also a fun and entertaining read. The characters are excellent, real, and you find yourself quickly becoming wrapped up in their stories- even if, like myself, this isn't a genre that you would normally pick up.
I wrote a small review on the Amazon page if you'd like to check it out and while you are at it, make sure to pick up the book. Extremely reasonably priced and well worth every penny. http://www.amazon.ca/Heart-Like-an-Ocean-ebook/dp/B00BC2TCJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374738927&sr=8-1&keywords=heart+like+an+ocean
But I digress.
The reason I was writing this was not only to spotlight her work, but also the author herself. To me, the person who writes the book is as important as the book itself. That's just my feeling on the subject, but I'm always fascinated by the story behind the story-teller. Why did they choose to tell this particular story? Does it reflect anything about the author, themselves? What made them decide to be a writer in the first place?
I first became aware of Christine during the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project/contest when I was browsing through the list of local participants. There were a fair bit of folks from the great big city (aka Winnipeg) but only a handful of us from the outlying area (aka the "country") and I made an effort to keep track of how the others from my "group" were doing in regards to word count.
For whatever reason, Christine was one of the two or three entrants who's word count I kept an eye on. Part of it was because she sounded very "on the ball" as they say- she had a plan, had participated before, and just seemed like she was someone who I could use as a measuring stick.
For the first week and a bit, my word count kicked her's butt. Then, it didn't. Slowly but surely, she continued at a steady stream of increasing output until she FAR surpassed what I had. Eventually, I ended up dropping out, and she would go on to complete the 50,000 word goal, with time to spare.
That stuck in my head. I had dropped out partly because I had started a new job that turned out to be extremely stressful in the learning curve, and part because I was lazy. I lost that drive to continue on. Not her, however. She persevered, even when stuck, and managed to not only hit the goal, but surpass it.
So, when her book came out, I remembered what she had accomplished, and thought I'd send some support to a local author who had made good on her writing and had pushed me (unknowingly, and only for a few weeks, but nonetheless) to push myself, and so I bought the e-book version of Heart Like An Ocean.
As if destroying my word count during NaNoWriMo wasn't enough, she destroyed my preconceived notions on romance novels. It wasn't some tried and true same old song and dance romance novel, with two-dimensional characters and a predictable plot. Far from it, in fact. Her characters had depth, reacted realistically, the plot was anything BUT predictable, and, nothing against Christine, exceeded any expectations that I had. Quite simply, it was a great book.
So when I had the chance to meet her and exchange books, me having just released LEGACY, and her with a print copy of HLAO, I jumped at it.
She was everything one might hope for in speaking with a writer- eloquent, intelligent, thoughtful about the "art", humble about her success, and eager to see others succeed as well.
I fully expected us to have a "writers talk" along the lines of trading stories about the, well, stories that we had written and our experiences in getting to our respective debuts. We did, but mainly the time spent was of telling some of our OWN life stories. I was treated to a few small tales of her time in school, of her son, Jasper and his adventures, and her husband, Kyle, who sounds like a pretty cool dude in his own rights.
It seems that writers are always interested in stories, whether ones that they've made up, or ones that they, or others, have lived. A good story, is a good story.
Which answers a question that Christine had posed to me in a previous conversation: Is her writing going to turn me into a fan of romance novels? The answer to that, is no. I don't think I could ever get into reading strictly romance.
BUT, you better believe that her writing has made me a fan of Christine Steendam, a skilled writer who crafts a compelling story with engaging characters that you genuinely care about, and I eagerly await any book that she publishes. And you should too.
Friday, 5 July 2013
First Day of the First Book
Hey there, everyone! I'm back! Well, here we are, just over 25 hours in to the release of my first comic book, LEGACY #1, just in case SOMEHOW you missed the flurry of Facebook posts, tweets, text messages and emails. There was supposed to be carrier pigeons too but apparently that went out of style some time back. I call it classic, you call it animal cruelty. Details, details... I'm kidding. I'm from Canada, so of course it would have been geese. Or polar bears. MESSENGER BEAVERS. Now THAT would be cool. Maybe one day...
But I digress.
So far, the book is doing quite well for such a small-scale release: print copies are currently available only through me (though I am willing to send them ANYWHERE as long as you, at least, help out with some of the shipping) and digital is currently on DriveThruComics. There ARE plans in the works to get digital and print-on-demand through more websites, but alas, those are taking longer than I was hoping, to get going. That's all on me; I waited too long and made some assumptions about technical spec similarities and all sorts of other minor details that turned into not-so-minor delays. I'm working on it though! It will happen! Eventually. Either way: If you want a copy (or even several copies) of this book, I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN. GUARANTEED. Even if I have to hire those messenger beavers with their exorbitant rates. It. Will. Happen.
Digital sales are doing decently so far, and at last count, over 75 print copies will be sold by the weekend. Won't be giving Brian Michael Bendis or Geoff Johns any competition in the sales VOLUME category, but I like to think I have a better class of fans (he said, clearly sucking up). For, more or less, local word of mouth, I'm pretty satisfied for a start like that.
By month's end, I should be out of the first run print and be heading into a second printing; and all without even putting it into a store. Yet. That's in the works as well, but the plan all along has been to get more of a body of work together before going that route. A novel you can take anywhere from a day to a month to read; a comic book, even the wordy ones, take much less time. Therefore, I want to have at least a couple that can be released in short(ish) order, to get people coming back to the store for a steady diet of books.
You wonderful folks who are buying now are lucky in that you get the books first, but unfortunately will have to wait a little longer to get your next fix. And it's going to be a GOOD one! Andre's art is going to make worth the wait. The story's pretty darn too, in my not so humble and completely biased opinion. ;) More on the release dates/schedule/plans in a post coming up. For now, just take some time to pat yourself on the back for being part of something that's been a long-time dream of mine. Thanks for being part of it, even if you haven't bought a copy yet.
What are you waiting for? Go buy one!
Andrew
But I digress.
So far, the book is doing quite well for such a small-scale release: print copies are currently available only through me (though I am willing to send them ANYWHERE as long as you, at least, help out with some of the shipping) and digital is currently on DriveThruComics. There ARE plans in the works to get digital and print-on-demand through more websites, but alas, those are taking longer than I was hoping, to get going. That's all on me; I waited too long and made some assumptions about technical spec similarities and all sorts of other minor details that turned into not-so-minor delays. I'm working on it though! It will happen! Eventually. Either way: If you want a copy (or even several copies) of this book, I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN. GUARANTEED. Even if I have to hire those messenger beavers with their exorbitant rates. It. Will. Happen.
Digital sales are doing decently so far, and at last count, over 75 print copies will be sold by the weekend. Won't be giving Brian Michael Bendis or Geoff Johns any competition in the sales VOLUME category, but I like to think I have a better class of fans (he said, clearly sucking up). For, more or less, local word of mouth, I'm pretty satisfied for a start like that.
By month's end, I should be out of the first run print and be heading into a second printing; and all without even putting it into a store. Yet. That's in the works as well, but the plan all along has been to get more of a body of work together before going that route. A novel you can take anywhere from a day to a month to read; a comic book, even the wordy ones, take much less time. Therefore, I want to have at least a couple that can be released in short(ish) order, to get people coming back to the store for a steady diet of books.
You wonderful folks who are buying now are lucky in that you get the books first, but unfortunately will have to wait a little longer to get your next fix. And it's going to be a GOOD one! Andre's art is going to make worth the wait. The story's pretty darn too, in my not so humble and completely biased opinion. ;) More on the release dates/schedule/plans in a post coming up. For now, just take some time to pat yourself on the back for being part of something that's been a long-time dream of mine. Thanks for being part of it, even if you haven't bought a copy yet.
What are you waiting for? Go buy one!
Andrew
Thursday, 4 July 2013
LEGACY #1 Is Officially Released! Aka I Have Actually Published a Comic Book!
Well, here we are, folks.
We made it.
LEGACY #1 is a reality.
The books are all in, the PDF is up for sale on DriveThruComics ( http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=4393 ) and I'm plastering it all over my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hopefully a few other people decide to throw it up on theirs too, to get the word out.
It's been quite the journey to get to this point; Mike and I first spoke back in March of 2012 (the 15th to be specific) and, though the book was finished some time back, we're just getting to the release now (printing and shipping take far longer than anyone who's ever had to wait, would like LOL).
I want to thank everyone who's been part of it; from the people who encouraged me to get back into writing to the people who've only heard about the book recently- I know I've thanked people a lot in these posts, but trust me, it will never be enough. That being said, if you REALLY want me to thank you, throw a couple bucks my way for a copy (or 5!) of LEGACY and odds are I will hug you for no extra charge. And if you say something nice about it, I may even wash your car for free! (There's a 99% chance that I won't but, hey, you never know.)
There's been more than a few times I almost walked away from doing this, but I'm glad I didn't, and happy that I'll be doing it more, down the road. LEGACY #2 will be out this Fall and New Guard #1 will kick off our as Winter release and the first of 2014. And just to let you know- it gets better with every book. ;) Glad to have you all along for the ride, can't wait to show you what's in store... It's going to be a blast!
Andrew
We made it.
LEGACY #1 is a reality.
The books are all in, the PDF is up for sale on DriveThruComics ( http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=4393 ) and I'm plastering it all over my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hopefully a few other people decide to throw it up on theirs too, to get the word out.
It's been quite the journey to get to this point; Mike and I first spoke back in March of 2012 (the 15th to be specific) and, though the book was finished some time back, we're just getting to the release now (printing and shipping take far longer than anyone who's ever had to wait, would like LOL).
I want to thank everyone who's been part of it; from the people who encouraged me to get back into writing to the people who've only heard about the book recently- I know I've thanked people a lot in these posts, but trust me, it will never be enough. That being said, if you REALLY want me to thank you, throw a couple bucks my way for a copy (or 5!) of LEGACY and odds are I will hug you for no extra charge. And if you say something nice about it, I may even wash your car for free! (There's a 99% chance that I won't but, hey, you never know.)
There's been more than a few times I almost walked away from doing this, but I'm glad I didn't, and happy that I'll be doing it more, down the road. LEGACY #2 will be out this Fall and New Guard #1 will kick off our as Winter release and the first of 2014. And just to let you know- it gets better with every book. ;) Glad to have you all along for the ride, can't wait to show you what's in store... It's going to be a blast!
Andrew
Friday, 28 June 2013
Almost there...
In less than a week, my first published work, self-published, yes, but published nonetheless, will be released for sale. Something that I wrote will be out there for people to buy. And read. That is a pretty big thing. A HUGE thing, in fact.
It's not necessarily my best work, as a matter of fact, I know it's not as good as it could have been, but it's what it SHOULD be.
I never intended to go out and hit a home-run with my first issue of LEGACY. There's a few reasons for that. LEGACY is a long-form story, a style that has come under fire the last year or so from some critics who dislike having to read more than one issue to get the whole story. I get their points on it, and in fact, I agree with many that we need more "one and done" books as they call them. It's not exclusive to comic books by any means. When was the last time you saw a really good movie that didn't end up with a sequel or prequel, later on? LEGACY is a story that spans from the late 1800s to the "future", and therefore it only makes sense to be told in long form. LEGACY is a generational story, it is a story of a city, the people who live in it, and their families- it only makes sense that not every book will tell a complete story. Not to say that there won't be issues like that- I have SEVERAL in mind, as a matter of fact.
But I digress.
LEGACY #1 is an introduction to the city and some of the players; the people that we'll follow and get to know as the series goes on. Locations that we'll go back to and will have their own stories to be told. A friend of mine once told me that he could never get in to Batman or Spider-Man or any other comic that had been out for a long time because the depth of history and story was just "too much to catch up on".
As a matter of fact, my favorite comic book writer, Geoff Johns, answered that very question in an interview once, and I thought it rang quite true. I'm paraphrasing but the basic of it was "when you first meet someone, you don't suddenly know everything about them- they've lived a life before you met them, and it takes time gradually you learn bits and pieces of their lives and even then, there will always be things that you didn't know, that await discovery, or that you will never know".
I probably butchered his quote but I'm working from memory and he's much more eloquent than myself. The idea stuck with me though. The idea that you have to start somewhere and I took that and applied it to the first issue of LEGACY. #1 is a handshake, a "how do you do" or a name-tag saying "hi, my name is...". You aren't meant to know everything right away. It's not meant to tell a complete story, it's meant to give you just enough to make you want to come back and explore some more. To give you a peek into the world that I'm creating.
A world that I hope you'll find interesting and fun as I do. One that evolves every day- a world much like our own; a world full of people, both good and bad, and others just trying to get by. A world where wondrous things happen as well as the mundane, where hopes and dreams are realized and where struggles sometimes are too much for one person to overcome. A place where anything can, and will, happen. It's a lot like your life and the world around you.
But this world has supervillains. Alien armadas. Giant killer robots. Time rifts that threaten to tear apart reality. Dark sorcerers bent on conquest. Secret societies who wish to dominate people's hearts and rule humanity. It's a scary world to live in.
There is hope, however. Much like our world, there are good people who strive to make it a better place to live, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to guard against these new and frightening threats, sentries against the worst that might come our way. There are heroes. Like us, they are, for the most part, human. They have within them the same potential for greatness and the same frailties that they seek to overcome. Some will fall. Some will soar higher and accomplish more than they could ever dream.
Much like us.
So why should you read LEGACY? What does it have to offer? Hopes and dreams. Fears and nightmares. Failure and success. Stories of life. But in colorful costumes and cool super-powered fights. Sounds like fun, huh? ;)
LEGACY #1 has been a journey for me of not only time put in, but of lessons learned. It's one thing to read a book, comic or otherwise, it's another to write one. I've been fortunate enough to have a good support team in place, and a great partner in doing this first book, Mr. Mike Campeau. I cannot thank him enough for all his hard work on this initial chapter in not only LEGACY, but in my writing career. Huh. Writing career. That looks pretty cool. Here's hoping that you think the same of #1 and tune in for the next chapter in the book and my career as a writer. It's going to be a heckuva story, however it all works out.
Follow your dreams, before you know it, you'll be living them.
Andrew
It's not necessarily my best work, as a matter of fact, I know it's not as good as it could have been, but it's what it SHOULD be.
I never intended to go out and hit a home-run with my first issue of LEGACY. There's a few reasons for that. LEGACY is a long-form story, a style that has come under fire the last year or so from some critics who dislike having to read more than one issue to get the whole story. I get their points on it, and in fact, I agree with many that we need more "one and done" books as they call them. It's not exclusive to comic books by any means. When was the last time you saw a really good movie that didn't end up with a sequel or prequel, later on? LEGACY is a story that spans from the late 1800s to the "future", and therefore it only makes sense to be told in long form. LEGACY is a generational story, it is a story of a city, the people who live in it, and their families- it only makes sense that not every book will tell a complete story. Not to say that there won't be issues like that- I have SEVERAL in mind, as a matter of fact.
But I digress.
LEGACY #1 is an introduction to the city and some of the players; the people that we'll follow and get to know as the series goes on. Locations that we'll go back to and will have their own stories to be told. A friend of mine once told me that he could never get in to Batman or Spider-Man or any other comic that had been out for a long time because the depth of history and story was just "too much to catch up on".
As a matter of fact, my favorite comic book writer, Geoff Johns, answered that very question in an interview once, and I thought it rang quite true. I'm paraphrasing but the basic of it was "when you first meet someone, you don't suddenly know everything about them- they've lived a life before you met them, and it takes time gradually you learn bits and pieces of their lives and even then, there will always be things that you didn't know, that await discovery, or that you will never know".
I probably butchered his quote but I'm working from memory and he's much more eloquent than myself. The idea stuck with me though. The idea that you have to start somewhere and I took that and applied it to the first issue of LEGACY. #1 is a handshake, a "how do you do" or a name-tag saying "hi, my name is...". You aren't meant to know everything right away. It's not meant to tell a complete story, it's meant to give you just enough to make you want to come back and explore some more. To give you a peek into the world that I'm creating.
A world that I hope you'll find interesting and fun as I do. One that evolves every day- a world much like our own; a world full of people, both good and bad, and others just trying to get by. A world where wondrous things happen as well as the mundane, where hopes and dreams are realized and where struggles sometimes are too much for one person to overcome. A place where anything can, and will, happen. It's a lot like your life and the world around you.
But this world has supervillains. Alien armadas. Giant killer robots. Time rifts that threaten to tear apart reality. Dark sorcerers bent on conquest. Secret societies who wish to dominate people's hearts and rule humanity. It's a scary world to live in.
There is hope, however. Much like our world, there are good people who strive to make it a better place to live, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to guard against these new and frightening threats, sentries against the worst that might come our way. There are heroes. Like us, they are, for the most part, human. They have within them the same potential for greatness and the same frailties that they seek to overcome. Some will fall. Some will soar higher and accomplish more than they could ever dream.
Much like us.
So why should you read LEGACY? What does it have to offer? Hopes and dreams. Fears and nightmares. Failure and success. Stories of life. But in colorful costumes and cool super-powered fights. Sounds like fun, huh? ;)
LEGACY #1 has been a journey for me of not only time put in, but of lessons learned. It's one thing to read a book, comic or otherwise, it's another to write one. I've been fortunate enough to have a good support team in place, and a great partner in doing this first book, Mr. Mike Campeau. I cannot thank him enough for all his hard work on this initial chapter in not only LEGACY, but in my writing career. Huh. Writing career. That looks pretty cool. Here's hoping that you think the same of #1 and tune in for the next chapter in the book and my career as a writer. It's going to be a heckuva story, however it all works out.
Follow your dreams, before you know it, you'll be living them.
Andrew
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
The Best Laid Plans...
OK. So remember how the other week I said that I'd be writing more- both on scripts and here on the blog? Regular installments and all that jazz? Well... Yeah... Best laid plains and so.
Well the GOOD news is that I have at least being keeping up with the script stuff. A bit. LEGACY #5 is almost done- last week (I think) I hammered out six really good pages in one night, and now we're pretty much at the end of that book. Four pages left- the last one a splash-style page, so that will be very easy to write. Essentially I'm telling the artist what's happening (very basic stuff) and to make it LOOK COOL. With the super talented individuals I work with, I have no doubt that it will.
That's pretty much where we're at, at the moment, but if you follow the Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/September17Productions ) or the Twitter ( @AndrewLorenz17 ) you'll have seen that I've decided to expand the S17verse a bit.
Welcome Canada's very own superhuman team, Canada Corps! Comprised of seven individuals from a variety of backgrounds and reasons for being part of this squad of heroes, The Corps will protect not only the Great White North, but the world as well. This isn't some token team, these guys can give any villain or hero a run for their money. And, in typical Canadian fashion (except maybe me) they do it without the need to be as flashy and media-seeking as their global counterparts (what can I say, I LIKE the attention).
As I finish fleshing out the details (this weekend most likely as they are 90% done) I will be posting more about them on here, and maybe even highlighting the process behind their creation. That's assuming you folks want to risk peering inside my head. It's an often confusing place but it's filled with shiny things and chocolate, so there's that, at least.
LEGACY #1, despite still being in the printing process, has already managed to sell, through an informal pre-order, 1/3 of the Collector's Edition and about 1/6 of the regular edition. Not bad, considering that the book won't be released until June 28th.
New Guard #1 is coming along, and we're on a brief hiatus for work on LEGACY- #3 linework is completed but, due to bills (man, I hate those), we've pushed back the start on that until the beginning of July. Artists like getting paid for the work they do, apparently. And rightfully so. When you see some of the stuff that Andre's come up with... Well if I had the cash, I'd be giving him a huge raise. Fan-freaking-tastic stuff. Hands-down better than half the stuff on the stands. I buy about three dozen titles a month, so I KNOW what I'm talking about.
Tomorrow night, as far as I can tell, I'm going to have some free time, so if I manage to stay away from the PS3 and other distractions, I'm going to finish of LEGACY #5 and maybe do up another of these. There's a few fellow creative-type people- written word, drawn picture, as well as musical sorta stuff who I really think you should take a glance at or listen to. Not only are they talented, they're good people too- at least in my opinion. Good people, good art. Good times!
Catch you wonderful folks later!
Andrew
Well the GOOD news is that I have at least being keeping up with the script stuff. A bit. LEGACY #5 is almost done- last week (I think) I hammered out six really good pages in one night, and now we're pretty much at the end of that book. Four pages left- the last one a splash-style page, so that will be very easy to write. Essentially I'm telling the artist what's happening (very basic stuff) and to make it LOOK COOL. With the super talented individuals I work with, I have no doubt that it will.
That's pretty much where we're at, at the moment, but if you follow the Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/September17Productions ) or the Twitter ( @AndrewLorenz17 ) you'll have seen that I've decided to expand the S17verse a bit.
Welcome Canada's very own superhuman team, Canada Corps! Comprised of seven individuals from a variety of backgrounds and reasons for being part of this squad of heroes, The Corps will protect not only the Great White North, but the world as well. This isn't some token team, these guys can give any villain or hero a run for their money. And, in typical Canadian fashion (except maybe me) they do it without the need to be as flashy and media-seeking as their global counterparts (what can I say, I LIKE the attention).
As I finish fleshing out the details (this weekend most likely as they are 90% done) I will be posting more about them on here, and maybe even highlighting the process behind their creation. That's assuming you folks want to risk peering inside my head. It's an often confusing place but it's filled with shiny things and chocolate, so there's that, at least.
LEGACY #1, despite still being in the printing process, has already managed to sell, through an informal pre-order, 1/3 of the Collector's Edition and about 1/6 of the regular edition. Not bad, considering that the book won't be released until June 28th.
New Guard #1 is coming along, and we're on a brief hiatus for work on LEGACY- #3 linework is completed but, due to bills (man, I hate those), we've pushed back the start on that until the beginning of July. Artists like getting paid for the work they do, apparently. And rightfully so. When you see some of the stuff that Andre's come up with... Well if I had the cash, I'd be giving him a huge raise. Fan-freaking-tastic stuff. Hands-down better than half the stuff on the stands. I buy about three dozen titles a month, so I KNOW what I'm talking about.
Tomorrow night, as far as I can tell, I'm going to have some free time, so if I manage to stay away from the PS3 and other distractions, I'm going to finish of LEGACY #5 and maybe do up another of these. There's a few fellow creative-type people- written word, drawn picture, as well as musical sorta stuff who I really think you should take a glance at or listen to. Not only are they talented, they're good people too- at least in my opinion. Good people, good art. Good times!
Catch you wonderful folks later!
Andrew
Saturday, 11 May 2013
It's May 5, 2013. To date, I have written zero blogs, one chapter of my novel Formerly Known As the Invincible Kid, and have yet to complete a full comic book script since this year began. For a guy who is trying to establish himself as a writer, self-published or not, this is unacceptable.
I could offer dozens of reasons as to why I've had such low production: my boys on the weekends take up a lot of time, still adjusting to a new job that I started not that long before the new year started, I've started a (fairly) steady work-out program that I wasn't doing before, I've made time to catch up with friends that I haven't seen in months, and spent a fair bit of time coordinating the art for my various comic books in production. Also, the dog ate my homework. Yeah...that excuse never flew in school (plus I don't have a dog) and it sure doesn't now.
There IS no excuse for not writing. If you want to write, you make the time. Five minutes less of playing DCU Online wouldn't kill me, and really my artists are such great people to deal with that there's no way I could even jokingly call it WORK. Genuine pleasure to collaborate with and just talk to.
I'm not saying I haven't written ANYTHING- in fact I rewrote (twice, in fact) the script for LEGACY #5. Both rewrites were not to my liking and I scrapped both and started over again. First time that I've done a third draft, which, by the way, is turning out to be my best yet. You folks are going to love it when the book comes out in the first quarter of next year. Or is that second quarter...? Either way, it'll be a great comic and well worth the wait!
So, what's the point of this blog, you may ask? Well, for one, it's an apology to anyone who's supported this dream of being a writer, that I have, because, I haven't been lately. A writer, writes. It doubles as a public declaration that I'm going to get my act together, ass in gear and all that other stuff- I WILL be posting regular, weekly, blog posts. If nothing else, at least THAT will ensure I am doing SOME type of regular writing. You can expect topics to range all over the place- some will be about my on-going writing journey, some will be random rants (possibly spiced rum induced) and others will profile various writers, artists, musicians, movies, tv shows, comic books and other goodness that I believe that you, my loyal followers (and you other poor saps who somehow found your way on here), would benefit from learning about. If I think it's cool, then it MUST be. Right?
Catch you next week!
Andrew Lorenz
(aka Captain Awesome)
I could offer dozens of reasons as to why I've had such low production: my boys on the weekends take up a lot of time, still adjusting to a new job that I started not that long before the new year started, I've started a (fairly) steady work-out program that I wasn't doing before, I've made time to catch up with friends that I haven't seen in months, and spent a fair bit of time coordinating the art for my various comic books in production. Also, the dog ate my homework. Yeah...that excuse never flew in school (plus I don't have a dog) and it sure doesn't now.
There IS no excuse for not writing. If you want to write, you make the time. Five minutes less of playing DCU Online wouldn't kill me, and really my artists are such great people to deal with that there's no way I could even jokingly call it WORK. Genuine pleasure to collaborate with and just talk to.
I'm not saying I haven't written ANYTHING- in fact I rewrote (twice, in fact) the script for LEGACY #5. Both rewrites were not to my liking and I scrapped both and started over again. First time that I've done a third draft, which, by the way, is turning out to be my best yet. You folks are going to love it when the book comes out in the first quarter of next year. Or is that second quarter...? Either way, it'll be a great comic and well worth the wait!
So, what's the point of this blog, you may ask? Well, for one, it's an apology to anyone who's supported this dream of being a writer, that I have, because, I haven't been lately. A writer, writes. It doubles as a public declaration that I'm going to get my act together, ass in gear and all that other stuff- I WILL be posting regular, weekly, blog posts. If nothing else, at least THAT will ensure I am doing SOME type of regular writing. You can expect topics to range all over the place- some will be about my on-going writing journey, some will be random rants (possibly spiced rum induced) and others will profile various writers, artists, musicians, movies, tv shows, comic books and other goodness that I believe that you, my loyal followers (and you other poor saps who somehow found your way on here), would benefit from learning about. If I think it's cool, then it MUST be. Right?
Catch you next week!
Andrew Lorenz
(aka Captain Awesome)
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