October 11, 2008

Is the sky falling?

Everyday over the past month or so I have been barraged by talking heads that are predicting more doom and gloom over the state of the economy. There are those who say we are a hair's breath away from another Great Depression and these media-fed histrionics only remind me of Bill Murray in Ghostbusters: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria!"

So you're saying, so what...I know the world is nuts and ass backwards, but that's why I come to this site...I want news about comic books. If I wanted an economics lesson, I 'd fall asleep in front of the TV listening to two rich guys debate on whose fault it is.

However, comics these days are about economics. You just don't have the same amount of spending power you did three years ago. You are being forced to choose between another gallon of gas and an issue of X-Men #867. It makes the trials and tribulations of a certain God of Asgard or a Kryptonian Uber-dude pretty trivial.  Therefore, the industry as a whole, is experiencing a bit of a doldrums. But I promise not to make this whole blog a downer...you get enough of that from the news. Nonetheless, if you want to look at things historically, it was during the last major economic meltdown that the comic industry actually entered its golden age. During the 1930s, the world was introduced to the modern comic book format, we met Superman and Batman for the first time (we didn't, but our parents and grandparents did) and it is an art form that has been going strong for about 75 years. It transcends politics and economics.

I guess that means we need our "heroes" more than ever. Yet, as a pure business enterprise, we understand you are not going to buy every title off the shelf. We know, as a comic book shop owner, you are going to gravitate towards what sells the most. We know, as a reader, if we don't meet your expectations in the first issue, there are other titles more suited for your taste. BlueWater is competing for your hard-earned dollar with the major players and with other independents. That's why we don't treat our titles like commodities. That is why we try to make ourselves accessible to readers, the media, the blogosphere and comic retailers. That's why we develop the projects we do. Take Bartholomew of the Scissors...it is not only a strong story, but the look and artistry that went into that book is, in my opinion, peerless. It is totally original. I would not be at all surprised that in the summer of 2013, we will be lining up to see the movie in theaters!

So, I'm going to get off the soapbox and return to  "everything you want to know about creating comics."  While in the midst of writing issue #2 of TekWar, I came to a creative crossroads. To those who know my writing process, know I work off a skeleton outline and then fill in the blanks as I go along (then I rewrite and rewrite again). However, my vision for TekWar and creating an expanded mythology from a pre-existing work had me try something new...and it worked. I created a character matrix (I'll let readers decide if I took the blue pill or the red pill). I listed all the main and significant supporting characters and started listing their attributes. Not what they looked like, but their attitudes, their history. Then I started seeing connections I never thought of before. Yes I had one character kidnap another and knew why, but as I dug deeper, I started finding deeper motivations and that led me to some ideas I hadn't considered...the old plans-within-plans motif. Now, not every detail of this matrix will make it into the story, but everything will certainly influence how the story progresses. You see, after 25 years of writing experience, an old dog can learn new tricks.

Hang in there everybody...it does get better!

Scott Davis