Sometimes the best way to improve your writing is to work with another, more talented writer, on a project. More details will follow as things progress.

Shadows of the Past

It always amazes me how how much things change, and not always for the better. I used to be pretty passionate about telling stories. I'm not the best writer but my heart was always in it. That was a year ago.

It has been a difficult few years with many personal challenges and, as a result, my passion has waned. I just couldn't keep my head in the game and no amount of inspirational quotes or motivational videos was changing that.

Recently, I was puttering around with my laptop and decided to do a little maintenance on my email inbox. I knew I had a lot of old emails but I never expected to find over 2000 from as far back as 2011. Now most folks would just delete all of them and call it a day. Not me.

I painstakingly went through each and every one of those old emails. What I found was astounding. Mixed in with the normal spam were emails pertaining to failed projects and unreliable people. What I wrote in those emails read like it was written by a stranger. This guy, ignorant of upcoming events and shortcomings, was genuinely passionate.

This "Manny" was driven and happy creating stories. You couldn't help but feel for this guy as he and his friends traveled the road to their dreams. It was not to be.

After going through those emails I was filled with anger and sadness. It all seemed like a waste of time and effort, with only a single, independent, micro-published, 8-page digital comic book story to show for all my hard work. That realization shook me up.

Most of my friends suggested I delete all the emails and "move on". I'm not going to delete them. They're not only a reminder of what NOT to do but also that, ultimately, its all my fault. I should have done things differently.

I'm more determined than ever to continue my dream of telling stories, that I think others will enjoy. I'm reading more novels than I ever have before, even absorbing the best aspects of the terrible ones. I'm writing more, whenever I can, on my laptop, note pad, smart phone, etc.

I'm not psychic and I can't tell you what the future brings but I've got my fingers crossed.

Let's try this again.

Please sign the petition asking the FCC to restore net neutrality.

http://act.freepress.net/sign/internet_FCC_court_decision2/

HERO CHRONICLES and the bump in the road

Hero Chronicles #1 was released as a free downloadable comic book, for a limited time. I wish I had the forethought to announce it here on my blog, as well as on my Facebook page. Regrettably, the time was cut short by restrictions from the website we used for downloads.

Apparently, rules are now being enforced that prohibits online file storage accounts to be used by multiple users. Therefore, by letting many readers download a file, that was owned by us, was not allowed and the account was abruptly barred from such use.

Right now, the administrators at Infinity Comics are working on plans to make Hero Chronicles available for readers, both digitally and in print form. The gears are turning and hopefully things will be working again soon.

In the meantime, feel free to check out our Facebook page, if you haven’t already. We’re updating it constantly with art from our talented artists and announcements of future plans.

Another Try

As I sit here, at my desk sipping an extra-large coffee, the caffeine begins to clear the cobwebs from my mind. I begin to remember why I started this blog. I needed an excuse to keep writing and try to learn my craft through practice and this was the perfect outlet.

I’m envious of those that are naturally gifted and their skill comes to them much easier than most. It’s a simple truth that to some, certain skills are learned easier. I’m not one of them.

I’m still sorting through the not-so-fun aspects of my life which include finances, family health, etc. I’m also doing my best to help a comic book company succeed. It’s not easy.

So I return to this blog with hopes that I can pick up where I left off and continue my goal of being a better writer. For those faithful few that have followed this little blog, thanks for hanging around.

So, let’s give this another shot...

Another Dr. Sunn Sample Page

Dr. Sunn sample page for The Hero Chronicles

The Hero Chronicles #1 Cover by David Okum

The Hero Chronicles cast

Dr. Sunn and Romero

Dr. Sunn drawn by the talented Salvador Lopez Donaire. Salvador will be drawing my Dr. Sunn story for The Hero Chronicles.

Dr. Sunn

Dr. Sunn is a character that I created for a story in The Hero Chronicles. Here's a little preview of the character.


Dr. Michael Sunn, a prominent Boston psychiatrist, is one of the most respected in his field. After a tragic accident that took the lives of his wife and daughter, Sunn, became obsessed with speaking to their spirits and finally saying good bye. It was that dark and twisted path that led him to a mysterious group of mages. They taught Sunn how to unravel and control the mystical energies of the universe.

Dr. Sunn, along with his companion, Romero the cat, has made it his life’s mission to defeat the supernatural evil that preys upon the innocents. Those that live in the dark should be very, very, afraid.

Infinity Comics

In September of 2010, my good friend, Gabriel Leal-Ramirez and a new friend, Wayne Skiver were talking about starting a comic book company. I was intrigued since I love comics and I’ve been reading them for 40 years.

I was honored to be included in the endeavor, along with Don Gates and the four of us became the founders of Infinity Comics. Our goal is pretty simple – we want to produce and release comics that stress action and adventure, with great art and characterization. It’s the type of comics we enjoy and we hope others will enjoy as well.

In the coming weeks and months, I will do my best to keep you informed of our plans. In the meantime the schedule for our books is the following:

- Hero chronicles (spring) - superhero, cosmic Sci-Fi, supernatural

- Tales of Danger (summer) - pulp action, WW2/golden age, weird horror/supernatural

- Fists of Legend (fall) - martial arts, historical, superhero, sentai/tokusatsu

- Weird Wild Westerns (winter) - western, weird western, "steam punk"

It’s going to be a fun ride and I hope you can join us.

http://www.facebook.com/InfinityComicsGroup

Closer and closer

One of the toughest things to do is keeping a secret, especially when it’s a project I’m so excited about. My collaborators and I have been hard at work trying our best getting everything in order for the big day.

Yes, it won’t be long before we can tell all our friends and family what we’ve been working on. I hope when everything is revealed everyone enjoys it as much as we have putting it together.

The good news is that we have an official FB page. It’s a work-in-progress so please check in regularly for updates on our project.

 http://www.facebook.com/InfinityComicsGroup

Sneak Peek

COMING SOON

New Project

I haven't been posting because I'm working on a project that I can't talk about at this moment. Let's just say that I'm working with a group of great people and I'll be one of the gears in the machine. As soon as I can talk about it I'll be posting the announcement here.

2011 Begins

It’s the beginning of the new year and there will be many changes to come. I would like this year to be better than 2010 or even 2009. The past 2 years have not been easy for my family financially and I hope that things improve.

I’m not bringing this up for sympathy but to stress that its been very difficult and I wouldn’t have been able to make it this far without the support of my family and friends. My Facebook friends have especially been supportive of me since the beginning and they continue to be part of my strength.

Thank you.

Let’s make this year a great one!

NaNo and Me

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNo for short, is a great annual event that happens in November. The premise is quite simple: write a 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

For anyone who's just started on the road to being a writer, like myself, 50,000 words is a lot to write in only 30 days. For some, it may as well be 50 million words. But I wanted to challenge myself and hopefully come out of the ordeal as a better writer. At least, that was the plan.

Most writers that join NaNo have at least an outline of the story before they begin the actual novel. I thought it would be more interesting if I just started writing with a clean slate and just jump in. That was my first mistake. Every story idea that popped to my head just seemed ridiculous and trite.

When I finally decided to write something it was too little too late. I had procrastinated so badly that unless I could average 5000 words or more a day I would never meet the deadline. So, I gave up.

It wasn't my finest moment. In the process, I learned to greatly respect all the participants and especially those that were able to meet the goal. They've more than earned their bragging rights.

I must be a glutton for punishment because I plan on participating again in 2011. Next time I'll have a better and more realistic perspective before I begin. I'm not saying I'll be able to meet the goal of 50,000 words but I'm going to give it one hell of a try.

I thought you may be interested in reading what I  actually managed to write for NaNo this year. Keep in mind that this is completely unedited and I was going for quantity and not quality at that point. Still, it did give me a plot idea and hopefully I'll be able to continue this story in the future. Well, here is the whopping 280-word beginning of my unfinished story:

He crouched down with his back up against the chimney on the rooftop, clutching his ribs. They may have been broken but all he cared about was trying to control the severe pain. His attacker was slowly searching the rooftop and it would only be a matter of time before he was discovered.

“Come out, mien freund,” stated the tall stranger as he slid the blade of a large sword across a ventilation duct, making a screeching sound much like running nails on a black board.

“You can not hope to escape. Face your death like a man.”

The huge flashing neon sign that was attached to the side of the building intermittently illuminated the rooftop on a very dark, moonless night. It was during those moments of clarity that the injured stranger peered around the chimney to view his opponent. He was a tall man over 6 foot tall and dressed in a German military uniform, perhaps SS. His build was that of strong man in the circus, overly muscular and the clothing was tight on him. There was a scar across the side of his neck that was quite visible and dramatic. His hair was blonde and his chiseled face showed signs of a harsh life yet strangely young in appearance.

The German’s holster was empty but he held a military sword in his hand that shined brightly against the orange neon glow, apparently polished to perfection. He began to swing it from side the side as if warming up for a fight.

“I’m waiting.”

Rockin' Santa

I was so tired of hearing Christmas music this season so I decided to draw Santa rocking out in protest. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music but for some reason it seemed to be EVERYWHERE this year. I can only hear Rudolph or Jingle Bells so many times before my ears start to bleed. I like to imagine this Santa playing something by AC/DC or Iron Maiden before jumping on his sleigh.

Hey look who's finally back!

I’ve been away too long.

Part of the reason I started this blog was to force myself into the habit of writing everyday. I enjoy writing but unless I do it on a regular basis I won’t improve.

I could come up with a million excuses why I haven’t posted anything for months but it wouldn’t change a thing and quite honestly, you probably don’t care. I apologize.

That being said, I’m going to try to post more often even if it’s not a long entry. I just ask that you please be patient.

I also want to thank all those that have been supporting me in my endeavors. You guys are the best.

Are movie superhero costumes for real?

You can call me a comic book fan, geek or fanboy. That’s fine with me. I’ve been reading comic books since I was 5 years old and my parents bought me a copy at the local pharmacy and I haven’t put them down since.

I think one of the biggest thrills for a fan is to actually see their favorite characters portrayed by real people. My first experience was watching the 1960’s Batman TV show in re-runs. Here was Batman and Robin out of the comic books and in the “real” world.

At the time, I identified more with Robin because he was a boy like me. I used to run around the house in my Robin “costume” which consisted of a dress shirt buttoned only at the collar for a cape, my mother’s leather winter gloves, a cheap Lone Ranger mask from the 5 & dime, and my underwear, of course.

As I grew up it became increasingly rare to see superheroes in TV or film. Then a movie came along that changed it all for me - Superman. Christopher Reeve’s Superman was amazing. No other movie had done such a great job at portraying a superhero. His acting was dead-on and he looked exactly the way Superman should look, strong and majestic. It was like he stepped right out of a Superman comic book.

The movie was a blockbuster that broke all kinds of records. It proved that everyone, and not just comic fans, was ready for superheroes on the big screen.

Since then there have been more superhero movies, some good and some not. Since Hollywood has a tendency to copy successful ideas there have been certain trends set.

Tim Burton’s Batman brought about the trend of molded costumes. No exercise needed, just zip up a costume with muscles.

Then the X-Men movies started the leather look. It wasn’t realistic enough to have them in a cloth costumes so every one wore leather. Each team member lost their uniqueness and they all became uniforms.

Spider Man started with the trend towards a more realistic look to the characters. Spider-Man’s web was now organic and the villain, Green Goblin, no longer wore a creepy Halloween costume. They put him in green armor with a goblin-like helmet/ mask. The Goblin looked more like an Iron Man villain.

With the success of current superhero movies many others are either being filmed right now or are in the planning stages. Of course, as much as the fanboy in me is excited about seeing comic book characters on film I’m also worried about how they will look.

With the internet few things can be kept secret. More and more photos have popped up and after seeing them I am not pleased. I understand that some costumes, even though they look cool in a comic book, don’t translate well to the real world. Some tweaking has to be done for the average movie-goer to accept these characters but why do they have to be so ultra-realistic.

I think when you lose all the fantasy factors to the costume it’s no longer fun. Here are some examples of upcoming superhero movies:

Captain America – The only thing I like about his movie costume is his shield. Gone are his blue chainmail, red striped shirt, red gloves and boots, and the wings on his mask.  Cap’s mask is now basically a molded blue helmet with eye slots, his costume is primarily leather, his gloves and boots are brown leather, and he wears a pouched utility belt.

My biggest complaint is the helmet and belt. He never wore a helmet even when he was on the battlefield and his primary weapon is his shield. He has no need for all those pouches.

Thor – Thor is an Asgardian god. He and his fellow gods are Vikings at heart. So why do all the costumes use streamlined leather and metal? Thor is dressed in black leather and with only his arms in chainmail. They kept his red cape but his helmet is gone. Thor always wore a winged helmet so not having him wear one is inexcusable.

The movie version of Thor bears very little resemblance to the comic book version. It makes you wonder if they even used the comics for reference at all.

Green Lantern – I’ve been a huge fan of Green Lantern since I can remember. So when I heard there would be a live-action movie I was thrilled...then I saw the image of the costume. The only thing that they kept from the original costume was his mask, the ring, and the lantern symbol on his chest.

His costume is very organic looking. It reminds me of muscle tissue and has a rubbery shine to it. Instead of green, charcoal, and white the costume is now all green. His mask looks like it was painted on his face. Oh, and did I mention that his costume is entirely CGI? That’s right, it’s not even real.

There was a story online of how the director didn’t like any of the costumes that the costume department had created for Green Lantern then the special effects department mentioned that they could just CGI the entire costume and make it look any way he chose. That sealed the deal.

Why does Hollywood feel the need to change the original look of a character so much that he bears little or no resemblance to the original? Why must all the fun be replaced with realism?

Maybe someone should send every movie executive a copy of 1978’s Superman to remind them of how you can make a blockbuster movie and still respect the original look and feel of the character.

Just don’t send them 1997’s Batman and Robin. They don’t need that kind of inspiration.