Hitting Like a Kamehameha to the Gut
Last week
shared a great post with a helpful process to create a structure to help grow your story. I linked it below for quick reference. I also highly recommend subscribing to James’ newsletter as he shares a wealth of knowledge about story building and character creation.
This came at a good time as I was working on breaking issue #2 of Clean Up Crew, a story I’ve been noodling around with for close to two decades. I have a tendency to rush to the end of a story and not let elements breathe enough. That might be fine in short stories, but it doesn’t translate well to longer tales. One of the first notes I got from James on A Real Slobberknocker involved character motivations and I realized that all the answers were in my head, but they didn’t make it onto the page.
This process was helpful as a gut check as I looked at the script for Clean Up Crew #1 and feel it checks all the right boxes for character desires and stakes. With that settled, I used it to start fleshing out issue #2. I found areas to help solidify character arcs and define the motivations behind each action.
Dan has started work on the artwork for A Real Slobberknocker #2. Thumbnails are complete and he’s building some designs for Bret & Jake’s new looks. The current plan is to get as much done as possible and then launch a Kickstarter campaign around Survivor Series, a big WWE event held on November 30th. We launched the campaign for the first issue during Wrestlemania last year so it’s fitting. The themes of this issue play well with the “War Games” element of this event.
I went on vacation last week with my family and had plenty of time to read on the beach and by the pool. I read through the entirety of Aquaman by Geoff Johns and loved it. Like a lot of folks, I didn’t take the character seriously, but this run definitely upped his game.
I also read through five volumes of Dragon Ball Z. I absolutely love this series and I have fond memories of getting up early on Sunday mornings to catch episodes of the anime on WPIX11. In high school, some friends and I created an online text-based RPG about it. (Yes, I am that nerdy.) This came at a time when the internet was really ramping up so I spent countless hours reading about what happened in the later episodes of the series as they weren’t translated into English yet. Unfortunately, when they were, I never actually finished it, so I haven’t seen them yet. I’m hoping to watch them with my kids soon.
In any case, the manga is superb and so very fun. It moves at a quick pace and the action is off the charts. I can’t recall if I’ve ever fist pumped the air or yelled out in excitement while reading a comic before, but I’ve literally done that while reading DBZ. The build up to the fights are awesome as creator Akira Toriyama clearly establishes the power levels of each character. You understand that Frieza is the strongest one out there so his very presence is intimidating. That makes Goku’s arrival and their subsequent battle so satisfying as you know you’re in for a treat. There are moments of doubt as you wonder if Goku got strong enough to defeat this monster as Frieza pulls out a few unexpected tricks.
Vegeta is particularly interesting. Over the course of a few volumes, he goes from a heinous villain to an anti-hero. It’s fascinating from a character perspective to see this change. He’s so full of pride that he cannot fathom another Saiyan that could be stronger than him. I cannot wait to finish the manga and do a good watch through of the entire anime.