Volume One, 2008, DC Comics, Inc., 552 pp., $16.99
During the 1960s, as I was getting into serious comic book reading and collecting, my interests were mostly centered on following the super hero offerings from Marvel and DC. This period had a diverse mix of other genres such as romance, mystery/fantasy, funny animal, and war comics. While I enjoyed contemporary TV programs like Combat and the Gallant Men, war comics didn’t attract me. The “War Comic for those who hate war comics,” Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, was too much like a Marvel super hero book, only with tommy guns. Sgt. Rock tended to be too predictable and the Haunted Tank was too implausible.
But in 1965 a new war strip appeared, produced by DC, that was truly intriguing. This strip dealt with a World War I German Fokker triplane fighter pilot named Hans Von Hammer. Enemy Ace was something original. This was a war strip done from the viewpoint of the enemy. Von Hammer, roughly patterned after the real life Red Baron, was a noble Prussian aristocrat. The creator and writer, Robert Kanigher, eschewed politics and centered on one man caught up in the horror of war. Von Hammer is racked by guilt and conflicted by a sense of duty. Von Hammer is described by his squad members as a merciless killing machine. He is a loner whom women find both attractive and repellent. His only “true friend” is a large wolf that he meets with on periodic hunting trips in the forest. Kanigher is careful to show that the Enemy Ace, while very formidable and the best at what he does, is not invincible or invulnerable. He engages in frequent aerial duels, is sometimes shot down, and is seriously wounded several times. Von Hammer also shows his inherent sense of nobility and fair play by letting his French or English foes go when they run out of ammunition rather than mercilessly shooting them out of the sky.
Kanigher developed a roster of notable opponents for the Enemy Ace including the Hangman, the Bull, St. George, and the Balloon Buster (who had his own DC war strip).
The volume also includes an excellent Neal Adams illustrated Batman tale from a 1970 Detective Comics featuring a bogus Enemy Ace.
Joe Kubert does some of the best art of his career on Enemy Ace. The blending of his early influences such as the classic draftsmanship of Hal Foster (1930s Tarzan) and the gold standard story-telling dynamics of Milton Caniff combined with his sense of grim and foreboding made Kubert’s work a comic book tour de force. Kubert’s atmospheric yet gritty art endowed with heavy spotting of blacks, evocative yet crystal-clear layouts, fitted perfectly Kanigher’s sense of fatalism. Enemy Ace was one of Kubert’s signature strips. His work on Rittmeister Von Hammer was a tough act to follow. This volume also contains work by other artists. None of them successfully capture the dark mood created by Kubert. Russ Heath comes closest but while he imitates Kubert’s line quality his panel/page layouts are much less innovative. John Severin’s very stable and clear story-telling works well but lacks the energy of Kubert’s work. Howard Chaykin’s over- inked strips are crude, showing that he was still developing as an artist. Several years later he would get it together on First Comics’ American Flagg.
As good as the Kanigher and Kubert Enemy Ace stories are, the strip eventually became repetitive. Plot elements that were fresh and interesting in the first few stories were repeated again and again and again. The Enemy Ace being described by his comrades as a “human killing machine,” Von Hammer’s sense of fatalism, his conflict of conscience, his nobility toward his foes, his amazing survivals from near fatal dangers, the “killer sky” being the only winner, his talks with his wolf friend, and his depressive moods cropped up in most of the stories. In some ways Kanigher wrote himself into a corner with Rittmeister Von Hammer. While these elements in the beginning made the Enemy Ace fresh and provocative, it also cast the character into a cycle of predictable redundancy. For Von Hammer to have a happy ending or “get the girl” or come to terms with his sense of fatalism would have ended the strip. Or would it have? Kanigher seemed unable to move the story line (or character development) beyond these elements. His Enemy Ace eventually became a johnny-one-note.
All of that notwithstanding, the Kanigher/Kubert Enemy Ace stories are some of the best adventure comic book stories to come out of the 1960s. This volume is highly recommended for the Kanigher/Kubert work alone. The rest is a nice bonus. o
Today is the day of the third annual Tucson Comic Con. Got last minute preparations done and packed up the books and table stuff for the Con. Then went over to Brent Hofstra’s home and picked him up and we then drove to the Hotel Arizona in Tucson. We parked in the garage across from the hotel and packed our stuff into the exhibit hall. We found our table which was on the near the entrance we came in on. We unloaded our stuff and set up the table and were ready to go by the time the convention opened at 10 AM. I encouraged Brent to take his jacket (which he did) and needed it as we in an A.C. draft area (not as bad as Phoenix). The crowds were large and consistent through much of the day---ebbing and flowing as groups of people came and went. It is hard to gauge the crowd size--but it was as large or larger than last year. This is overall kid friendly convention as there were a lot of grade school children in attendance. Our table was next to Howard Salmon (the Comic Book Siddur book) which I purchase at the Phoenix Comic Con in May. Brent subbed at his table on several occasions when he needed to be away. We did meet a number of Christians and gave away a good number of tracts (especially Jack Chick) and ran out of the Action Bible Sampler.
Our sales weren’t as good as last year. My sense was that the convention attendees were not in a big buying mode. We didn’t see a lot of people with purchased goods. We sold some stuff but not a lot. Which was too bad as we had a lot of very good new comics and graphic novels. We did our drawings for the Action Bible (12:30 PM and 3:30 PM) but the people didn’t show up. So after 5 PM we still had the two copies to give away. I prayed about it and felt impressed to give one of the Bibles to Howard Salmon and later the other to a young tween girl who was our last customer of the afternoon. We learned that the drawings need to be more frequent and within a fairly short time of the person who puts their name in the basket. Most people are not going to hang around several hours at a smaller convention like Tucson.
Tucson Comic Con is growing as this was the first one with programming. I attended briefly several of the panel discussions. They were held in two small conference rooms. One of the rooms held about 30 chairs (with 15-20 attendees) and 4-5 on the panels. One of the panel organizers/moderators also does the same thing for the Phoenix Con so there is overlap and cooperation between the two. One panel featured comics writers and another comic book artists. The writers and artists had pro experiences (several from WildStorm) but I wasn’t familiar with their work. These were very basic panels where the panelists shared why they do what they do and how they came to be located in Arizona. There was a need for microphones. Another was a demonstration on how to use Apple I-Pads for reading comics. I-Pads have amazing selective zoom and search capacities. This was lightly attended but it gave the audience the ability do some hands on and ask questions.
Another thing I ran into this weekend was people who were blown away that there is such a thing as Christian Comics. It is almost as if the two words didn’t go together. It seems as if Christian comics is a concept some people find it difficult to wrap their minds around. There are still a lot of people (I assume mostly Christians-though not entirely) who are ignorant of current Christian comics. We also had some folks that shared that they had a complete collection of Jack Chick comic books and remembered the Archie Christian comics from years ago (hey, folks there is a lot happening now in Christian comics!!!) This is a different response than “I thought I was the only one” which was less than previous years.
This year was similar to previous years in terms of crowds and interest in being at the Con. I heard rumors that next year the Tucson Con would be moving to the Tucson Convention Center which would open up a lot more venue space.
It is good for CCAS to have a continuing presence at this growing regional Con. While it is still as dealer’s convention (with a large artist alley section) it is expanding in other directions.
Brent Hofsta and I started out from Green Valley Thursday afternoon and met Ralph Miley at the Phoenix Convention Center and helped with the setting up of the CCAS table. The crowds were like San Diego. Wall-to-wall people. An early estimate was 10,000 to 12,000. I believe it easily exceeded those numbers. The Phoenix Con has graduated from a dealers convention to a full fledged Con with many panels and other events. It reminded me of San Diego maybe 20 years ago when it was a the old S.D. Convention Center. (The official attendance for this year’s Phoenix Con was 13,988. The San Diego Con had 13,000 attendance in 1990 with its 21st convention). The Convention administration was very gracious, coming around every day to find out how we were doing and offering us cold water and so on.
We were able to pay (and then some) for the cost of the small press table through sales of comics and graphic novels.
We met many, many Christian Convention goers who were very pleased to see us there. This was a very unexpected, but pleasant and blessed surprise. We met a number of young Christian creatives who expressed interest in networking. There was one couple that are leaders in their church who volunteered to host a local Phoenix CCAS meeting. We did get their contact information. This opens up the possibility of having a local CCAS group do the convention. Lots of opportunities for ministry.
We handed out a lot of the comic tracts as well a good sales for the comics. We had dinner Friday night with Brent, a professional level Christian artist, who was very eager for fellowship. There were at least three of other Christian comics vendors there. One was Bryan Kilgore who had done Logos — some manga-ish adaptations of parts of the life of Christ and educational comics. Also was Pepe Melon who is the artist on Tales of Watchman. We also met Joey Lee Cabral the writer/artist of Kause of Death. Tom Hall and Daniel Bradford of Blacklist Studios also had a booth selling their R13 and The King comics. Tom Hall really wants us to do a Spiritual Themes panel at the New York Comic Con.
The Spiritual Themes panel went well. We had Joe King, Tom Hall and Daniel Bradford on the panel that was moderated by Ralph and myself. We had an audience of around 20-25 who were very interested in what we were talking about. After intros and general discussion we had audience questions which went up to the end of the hour and we had to cut the discussion off. I spoke with an LDS man who attended. I offered to have an Mormon rep be on the panel next year. He said he would contact some of his artists friends. Also the next day I started chatting with a Star Wars devotee who was very knowledgeable about the Buddhist roots of Star Wars. She is a book reviewer. I gave her my e-mail address for having her on the panel next year. Overall the Phoenix Comic Con was a very positive experience. Lots of prayers answered. Also lots of sharing opportunities with the people who came to the table.
We met Howard Salmon, a reform Jew, who was selling his Comic Book Siddur For Shabbbat Morning Services. This graphic album presents the Jewish perspective on how an observant Jew prepares himself for Siddur.
On Thursday night a 16 year girl came up to the table without her glasses and chatted with us. The next day she was back (with glasses) and Ralph, Brent and I had a prolonged talk with her. I found it amazing she wanted to share about her life with three strangers. Pray for Jessica a very intelligent young lady.
An atractive 35-ish woman came to the table on Saturday who was puzzled about the meaning of the Comic Con [answer: fantasy & imagination]. She was obviously a Christian and didn’t really connect with this aspect of youth culture. She is typical of the lack of understanding many people in the institutional church have concerning popular culture.
Report by Don Ensign
For the second year the CCAS had a table at the Tucson Comic Con on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The convention was held in a larger venue at the Hotel Arizona in downtown Tucson. Last year according to the Convention organizer there were between 300-400 and this year three were around 1500 (other estimates were more around 500). There were many more vendors (and artist tables) than last year with at least 56 vendors participating in the dealer’s room. We arrived shortly before the official opening time of 10 AM and stayed until around 6:30 PM. We had a table next to James Babcock who was presenting his Unbelievables. Have you ever wanted to become a custom made super hero? Well, James can do that for you.
I asked a friend (a non-comics man) from my local church to help me with the table this year. Brent Hofstra proved to be a very valuable co-worker on this outing. I spent time with him the day before showing him the tracts and other comics material we were making available at the table. Also since this was his first Comic Con I emphasized the unique aspects of Comic Cons and the various types of people who he would see there. Brent, who has ministry responsibilities, did very well adapting to the Con environment and saw the spiritual hunger of so many at the convention.
The convention had leggy girls on roller skates buzzing around the dealer’s room telling visitors of upcoming community events. A tall young man dressed in black with a long lime colored tie walked the floor with wireless mic in hand. On the hour he would announce the winners of a door prize drawing with gifts provided by many of the vendors. A sizable crowd gathered around him whenever he announced the winners. A number of people came in costume. A local Arizona Star Wars group fielded Darth Vader, Empire Storm Troopers and there were a whole troop of Boba Fetts in various sizes and color schemes. Perhaps the best costume was that of a year and a half year old girl decked out in a Wonder Woman costume complete with mini cape.
Several vendors stood out. One was called Body & Blood. I talked with a man who was manning the table (not one of the creators) and he told me the premise behind the series. In an alternative reality after the Resurrection Jesus did not ascend into heaven but stayed on Earth to become the ultimate vampire. The visual images were disturbing (and dis
gusting). While I try to be as tolerant as possible I had to tell the man that this concept was blasphemous. He, not being on of the creative people, actually agreed with me.
Daniel Bradford of Blacklist Studios was there (I had previously meet him at the Phoenix Comic Con) and I had a chance to chat with him. He and Tom Hall, both Christians, have done various comics including King (an Elvis-look-alike zombie slayer). Bradford’s work is highly professional and somewhat resembles Mike Mignola’s work.
A lot of young people came up to the table. Some of the tween and teenage girls picked up one or more of the color tracks. We also had copies of Eric Jansen’s Christ of Prophesy displayed prominently and many picked up copies of those. Some of the young girls looked at it with raised eyebrows, sly mocking smiles and giggles. Some gingerly replaced the comic while others took it. Perhaps for some gospel tracts are forbidden fruit. We gave out many tracts including Homeless Harry, Vengeance is Mine, Lonely Lady, Betrayed, Paraman Vs. Terriflex and others.
One gentlemen came up to the table who sported a white tee shirt with the EC Comics logo emblazoned on it. He seems to be somewhat acquainted with Christian Comics and the conversation turned on a short discussion of Jack Chick. He apparently was a dealer as he needed to return to his table.
Another one was a group from the Arizona Paranormal Research Society that was filming the various vendors. I gave a mini interview (on camera) saying that we as Christians are supernaturalists. We may perceive unseen phenomena from as different perspective than they do but we believe that the material world is not all there is.
As far as sales were concerned it seems as if Christians were by and large the people who buy materials from the table. That probably makes sense within the niche market that makes up the comic Cons. Christian comics tend to be a niche within a niche. One lady came up and made a large purchase for gifts to family members. Another woman who was very concerned about her nephew (with behavior problems and whose faith was wavering) asked for material that might be of help to him. In all truth the material we have falls in several categories (1) entertainment comics or graphic novels with a message (2) tracks and (3) various Bible adaptations. Her nephew’s needs probably are beyond the scope of what we were offering at the table.
After a full day Brent and I visited a local Buffet where we eat and talked about the happenings of the day. Overall a good experience and a great place for seed planting.
The Good: The characters are still very engaging and personable. Clark is still wonderfully square. Lana is still beautiful but whiney (Kristin Kreuk was miscast for the role). Made-for-TV Chloe is still perky and fun. Lois is starting her ascension as Superman’s true love. Supergirl debuts with the well cast Laura Vandervoort and Jimmy Olsen is introduced as a very likable character. We have an African-American Martian Manhunter and Black Canary makes her appearance. This season we see Green Arrow and a sort of Justice League or is it more of a Teen Titans (with Aquaman, a Flash character and several others)? There are some nice special effects.
The Bad: Did I miss sometimes in the first Smallville episodes? This program has degenerated rank soap opera. One of the producers admitted this by saying Smallville is a soap opera with a little superhero stuff tossed in rather than a superhero story with a little soap opera tossed in. Lana and Lex are bedded and they wed, but she almost backs out at the last minute. However, Lionel threatens to kill Clark if she doesn’t go through with it. Lana is found with child but she finds out later it was a false pregnancy. There is other sexual hanky panky going on (no abstinence message here). Everyone is lying to one another-constantly. At one time Superman was a role model character. Lionel is a master manipulator who maneuvers everyone in the show including his own son and the recently widowed Martha Kent. Lex is a deceitful and dangerous sociopath with several different personalities.
The Ugly: The Bizarro Superman reaches into Martian Manhunters torso and pulls out his spleen(or is it his liver?). One villain carves up Lex’s chest with a knive (later Clark gets the same treatment). Lex kills his father Lionel by pushing him out of a window of the Luthercorp building. Smallville is probably on its last legs—a victim of sheer goofiness, poor stories and disrespectful handling of characters. David Porta has said it correctly. The writing on this program is terrible. It is very formula ridden. The first 31-32 minutes has the main story and the last 9-10 minutes is devoted to wrapping up details and setting the stage for the next episode. What started out as a fun program several years ago has deteriorated into a hopeless mishmash of utter nonsense.
Captain Marvel Jr #77 (September 1949)
"The Two Roads" Art by Bud Thompson
PLOT: Young Bobby Deal runs to save a little girl from an onrushing car. Freddy Freeman sees what is happening and changes into Captain Marvel, Jr. (CMJ), who uses super breath to stop the car from running over both children. Harry Sloan, a millionaire industrialist, also witnesses the incident and upbraids the boy(Bobby) for trying to save the girl. Sloan doesn’t believe in heroism, only in making money. “Now I can buy and sell a hundred heroes!” Then Sloan is confronted by a man who has a grudge against him for a bad business deal, and who tries to shoot the millionaire—CMJ intervenes and protects him. Sloan tries to pay CMJ for the rescue, but the super hero refuses. “No thanks! I only want to see justice done! But you wouldn’t understand how I feel about that!” The Blue Boy transports the assailant to police headquarters.
Sloan takes a liking to Bobby and declares, “...someday, Bobby is going to take over my business!” Sloan takes Bobby on a business trip on a poorly-maintained cargo ship. A severe storm comes up and the ship starts to sink from numerous leaks. The ship’s radio operator sends out an SOS which Freddy hears. CMJ flies out and repairs the leaky life boats. In the commotion, Bobby pushes Sloan out of the way of some falling boxes only to be hit by them himself.
Sloan thinks the boy is dead. This causes a change of heart about life’s priorities. “I’ve killed him! This is all my fault! If only I’d made those repairs on the ship, this wouldn’t have happened! What a blind, selfish fool I’ve been! What good is my money now? I’m a lonely old man, with no one who cares whether I live or die! I meant to give Bobby everything, and instead I murdered him!” However CMJ examines the boy and finds he’s still alive. The World’s Mightiest Boy lifts the entire ship and flies it to the home port where Bobby gets hospital attention. Sloan, a changed man, comforts the boy. Freddy sums up, “Yes, Bobby chose the right road, folks! And he helped his new father to find it, too! Because money and power alone can’t bring happiness! True happiness comes from within!”
Comment: This is a good morality story. It has a clear moral message on what is important in life. The splash page has a symbolic illo with Bobby Deal having to make a decision on which road to follow. One road has Mr. Sloan beckoning with a road sign saying “Power and Riches” and Captain Marvel, Jr. gesturing to another road which is posted “To Good Deeds and Helping Others.” The caption reads “Which will Bobby Deal choose, the way of life of Captain Marvel, Jr., or the way traveled by men of power and wealth like Harry Sloan? No one can help him make his decision, for sooner or later everyone must choose for himself. “
This tale shows that money and materialism are not the highest good in life. Sloan sees the light when he thinks Bobby is dead. Several Bible verses come to mind. One is Proverbs 16:25 (all scripture quotes from NASV), “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” About riches, “But for those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who supplies us with all things to enjoy.” (I Timothy 6::9, 10, 17). Freddy’s ending statement gets it partly right. Proverbs 4:24, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life.” Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:45)
(For those interested in reading the actual story go to http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/index.php?dlid=9539 and download (free) the issue. You will need to set up an account first.)
Hi all. Sorry for the late report on Comic-Con, but after a very long sleepless week at the convention I dove right back in to my regular work schedule, so it's taken me a little longer than I hoped to "bounce back" from the show.
The Christian Comic Arts Society has had a presence at the San Diego show for over 13 years now -- organizing panel discussions, arranging after-hours meetings for Christian attendees, and running a table in the small press area where we sell Christian comics and give away Christian comic tracts. Here's a quick rundown of my experience at this year's show...
Wednesday:
Woke up around 3:30 am to pack up and meet Ralph to carpool down for morning setup at the convention. We left for San Diego around 5, arrived a little after 7. Was one of the first to arrive, and got to watch a large parade of forklifts as we waited in line to get into the loading zone parking lot. Unloaded the inventory at the loading docks behind the convention center, had the union guys shrinkwrap our stuff onto the forklift pallets, then we left to park the car, picked up our exhibitor badges (and a temporary setup crew sticker for my wife Heather, who also joined in to help) and started the hike over to the small press area.
The carpets were still being rolled down, all the big exhibitor booths were still being set up, and those of us in the small press area just sat around waiting for the forklifts to finally arrive and deliver our pallets of material. Once it finally arrived, it was setup time: assemble the banner, spread the tablecloths, fill the display racks with our Christian comics for sale, and spread out the tracts/flyers for the "freebie" half of our table. As we set up, we discovered that our neighbors at the table next to us were fellow Christians Ralph had met during his trip up to Wondercon earlier this year. God always finds a way of bringing his children together!
The rest of the day was spent with the boring details of conventioneering: finding lunch, checking into our hotel, picking up guest badges, meeting up with the rest of our team of volunteers, and (briefly) walking around the show on "Preview Night" to see how the rest of the convention hall was set up.
I can honestly say that this was the most crowded convention I ever remember. Regardless of the actual numbers, the crowd control (and lack thereof) on the exhibit hall floor gave the show a very claustrophobic feel. The big media booths (Warner, Sony, Fox, EA, etc.) were always staging different contests, handouts, and other stunts which drew such large crowds that they would completely block the aisles in all directions, leading to gridlock on the convention floor as pedestrians overflowed into neighboring aisles. That part wasn't fun at all, and made me glad I spent most of the show safely seated behind our table in the small press area.
Thursday through Sunday at the Table:
I spent most of the convention at the table with Ralph. Talked with people who were curious about CCAS, handed out lots of flyers and tracts. We had guest signings at our table with fellow CCAS members Buzz Dixon (whose credits range from writer on the classic GI Joe and Transformer cartoons up to the trailblazing Serenity Christian manga series) and Eric Jansen (whose work at the Foursquare Missions Press is responsible for the majority of comic tracts at our table. He is also a self-publisher of various comics through his "God & Country" imprint, and is the artist on my Tales of Hemlock comic series).
This year, I didn't run into anyone who came to our table just to give us a hard time or to argue theology. I did have an interesting conversation with a Mormon cartoonist who wanted to know if his work could have a place within the Christian Comic Arts Society since Mormons considered themselves Christian. I probably stumbled over my words a bit, as I was trying to be as polite as possible in telling him "no". CCAS is open to Christians of the three historical traditions within Christianity: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. For all their differences, at least those three groups do agree on basic fundamentals of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, etc. Groups like the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses -- full of wonderfully nice people -- don't share that common ground. They may use similar terminology, but their definitions are completely different. If we're going to call ourselves a "Christian" group, we need to draw the line somewhere as to what that word means; we've opted to draw it based on traditional orthodoxy and the historical creeds. But I digress...
Weekend panels:
Other CCAS events at Comic-con included a Saturday morning panel discussion on "Spiritual Themes in Comics", with panelists ranging from Chrsitian writer Doug TenNapel to self-described witch Holly Golightly. Another panel was a Sunday morning panel/chapel service, in which Buzz Dixon gave a mini-sermon tailored to creative artists and then introduced a panel discussion between himself, Eric Jansen, and Leo Partible.
Our other CCAS event this year was a "secret" after-hours fellowship meeting at the convention center, after the hall closed on Saturday night. It was "secret" in the sense that we had asked the convention for permission to hold a meeting there, they said "sure", but then they did not actually mention our meeting in any of their on-site event programming guides. So, the only ones who knew to attend were those who heard about it from word-of-mouth at our table in the small press area. Still, we somehow got around twenty people who showed up for a fun night of Christian fellowship between a wide mix of comic fans, amateurs, and professionals, all of us coming together for laughter, fellowship and prayer. It was a great night.
Final thoughts:
Each year at the comic-con, a pattern seems to emerge. Last year, the focus was readers of Christian comics. We had tremendous sales at the table, and people came by to snap up whole sets of graphic novels at a time. In previous years, the focus was evangelism/apologetics, as we had a large number of people who came by the table just to try arguing with us about the Bible, the existence of God, or some issue relating to the Gospel. This year? This year's pattern seemed to be fellowship. We received a surprising number of people who had been coming to the convention for years, yet this was their first time finding us. There were many sudden shouts of "I thought I was the only one!" or "I'm so glad to see there's a group doing this!". This year, we made a lot of new contacts of people indicating that they want to sign up for the social network site online to meet other Christian fans, writers and artists and -- even more surprisingly -- there were a large number of people from the local Southern California area who expressed interest in getting involved with the local CCAS group and convention ministry. If everyone who expressed interest actually follows up on it, we may end up doubling the number of volunteers working the CCAS convention ministry by the time the San Diego Comic-Con rolls around next year. As always, the path ahead is in God's hands.
I'd like to give a hearty "Thank you" to everyone who prayed for us during last week's ministry, and to those who supported us through time and resources. Most of all, I'd like to give praise and thanks to God for his ongoing blessing of this ministry. Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain. God is good.
Hello again. For those who have been following this site regularly, I'm sure you've noticed the recent lack of updates.
For that fact, before anything else I write in this blog, I want to apologize. Writers and artists can't exist without an audience, and your continued support -- even during this lull -- has been greatly appreciated.
Were there reasons for the lack of updates? Sure, there's always reasons. Every member of the team here at NewCreationNow.com has their own personal lives and projects in addition to our work here. Sometimes those workloads overlap and require some creative juggling. Sometimes things blow up and derail our plans completely.
It could be anything: A personal illness. A financial crisis. A family tragedy. A church split. It could be something we should have seen coming. It could be a surprise that came out of nowhere. It could be all of the above and then some.
But no matter the cause, the result still looks the same to an outside viewer -- a silent website, an empty in-box, and unfinished stories.
So as we roll up our sleves and get back to our figurative and literal drawing boards, it raises an important question: How does one deal with disruptions to our plans?
HUMILITY
When our plans don't work out, it's understandable to be upset. But we also have to ask ourselves, are we upset because of the results (late comics, disappointed readers, etc.) or is it really because it reminds us that there are things outside of our control? There's an old saying that "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans". Or as the Bible states, "A man's heart plans his way, but it is the Lord who directs his steps". (Proverbs 16:9)
LETTING GO
Sometimes, being frustrated is a perfectly appropriate response to a disruptive situation. So is anger, sorrow, fear, and worry -- up to a point. But we finite human beings can only handle so much. There comes a point where our arms are simply too small to hold any more, and we have no choice but to let go and trust in a God whose hands are big enough to hold all our problems -- and us too.
GET BACK UP
Once momentum on a project is lost, it's hard to get back to work on it -- but it only gets harder the longer we let it sit there. We need to dust ourselves off, stand up, and keep moving. It might not be fun, it might be hard work, it might even be frightening -- do it anyway.
It's too intimidating to face the blank page and start drawing again for a story that's been stalled for so long. Pick up the pencil and face it anyway.
It's too overwhelming to turn on the computer and face a screen full of unread emails. Boot it up and face it anyway.
It's too embarrassing to write a new blog post after such a long dry spell between updates.
But here I go -- posting it anyway.
This is final part of Kevin Yong's "Character Creation Guide" checklist, from an article originally written for Alpha-Omega #100.
META-CONCERNS:
These concerns are "meta" in the sense of being "outside" the internal context of the story. These are things about the character that you know because you're the writer, but that the character himself may be unaware of.
Admirable traits: What do you like about the character? Even if they are a villain, what aspects of his personality and motivation can you sympathize with, or even admire? Can they or other characters see these traits in themselves?
Negative traits: What do you dislike about the character? What traits do you disapprove of, simply find annoying, or (begrudgingly) remind you of your own shortcomings?
Character motivations: What is the character's short term goals? Long term goals? Short term needs? Long term needs? Are they consciously aware of them? The character may not be aware of these innermost desires, or he may be mistaken about them, but it's something that you as the writer should know if you are going to write a story about it.
Character's view on life: How would you (as the writer) sum up the character's attitude toward the world? Would the character agree with your assessment of him? Why or why not?
Plot conflicts: What are the character's main problems to solve or overcome during the story? What are the minor problems? Can your character tell the difference?
Plot resolutions: What are the solutions to the character's problems? This may be actual solutions, or they may be false hopes. Some problems may actually have no solution outside of divine intervention, and thus the true problem of the story is how the character chooses to react to the situation.
Changes: Does your character change or grow through the events of the story? Or had he been the catalyst to have others change and grow? What lessons have the characters learned? Are the characters better or worse off after what they've gone through?
FINAL THOUGHTS:
In presenting these lists of character brainstorming questions, the intent was never to make this into a "paint by numbers" shortcut to creating a story. Tools like character checklists or long range story outlines are not meant to set your storytelling options in stone. Rather, they are meant as stepping stones, tools to help you look at your characters and ideas from different perspectives. The majority of possible questions listed here may not apply to your particular character or the needs of your particular story. Other questions may provide a starting point for thinking about your character, but you'll later find that your character needs to change into something different as the story is told. If so, follow where your story leads, and don't let preliminary outlines or character log sheets hold you back. You don't need to have a secret crisis of infinite cosmic cubes as an excuse to diverge from your original draft. You have an even better excuse than that: You're a storyteller. Go, tell stories.
End of part five
This is part four of Kevin Yong's "Character Creation Guide" checklist, from an article originally written for Alpha-Omega #100.
POLITICS: If your story isn't about politics, it's probably safer not to bring it up if you don't want your readers distracted from what the other themes of your story may be. (Politics has a way of polarizing readers and drowning out all other discussions if not handled very carefully.) But whether or not you choose to bring politics into your stories, it helps as a writer to know your character's point of view even if the subject of politics never enters the story itself.
Political party: Is your character even registered to vote? Do they belong to a political party? Do they fit within the spectrum of the political (liberal Democrats, conservative Republicans, and moderates in the middle), or part of a smaller, independent movement (idealistic Libertarians, reform-minded populists), or possibly downright eccentric fringe groups (theocratic communist vegetarian secessionists, etc.)
Political involvement: Are they active in politics, volunteering for campaigns or donating to causes? Do they pay much attention to political news, or do they tune out except for the big Presidential races every four years? Do they care about the local politics of their community (school board, city council, etc.)? Of their state?
Left, Right, or Middle: How does your character describe their own political leanings? How would their friends, family, or co-workers describe them? (For example, a person that we might safely define as "liberal" might define himself as a "moderate" because he only reserves the word "liberal" to describe those to the far left of Karl Marx.) To provide a point of reference, who would be to the "right" of your character? Or to the "left"? How do they view people on the other side of an issue from them? (As a fellow patriot with an honest disagreement? As dangerously naieve and misguided? As contemptibly stupid and ignorant? As vile enemies of all that is true and right and decent in the world?)
Political and social issues most cared about? The world is too big to be passionate about everything. Are their certain issues that push your character's hot buttons? Are there issues they don't care about? Do they take to the streets in protest over abortion? Over the protection of sea turtle eggs? Do they write letters to the editor about gun control? Do they fall asleep from boredom during debates about income tax reform and ethanol farm subsidies.
PERSONAL LIFE: When your character isn't busy saving the world, having wacky misadventures, or teaching your readers valuable life lessons, what do they do in their "down time"... the sort of everyday things that may not be the focus of a story's main plot, but which help define their personality.
Sports: What is your character's favorite sport to watch on TV? (The Super Bowl? Olympic Figure Skating?) To watch live at a stadium? (Local basketball games? NASCAR races?) Did they play sports in school? (Badminton? Volleyball? Football? Cheerleading?) Do they still play sports as a hobby now? (Tennis with friends? An amateur hockey league? Bowling with the guys? Basketball in the back yard with their kids?)
Clothing: What are their commonly worn clothing styles and/or favorite outfits. Do they dress for comfort, for appearance, for functionality? Do they keep up with the latest fads, do they stick to a "classic" look, do they defiantly keep wearing clothes that have long since gone out of fashion? Do they dress to be noticed by others? If so, how, why, and by whom?
Favorite books and reading materials: Do they spend their time reviewing non-fiction in their field of work or hobbies? Study the scriptures daily? Do they enjoy classic literature? Pass the time with the latest bestselling novels? Focus only on the particular genres? Browse magazines? Collect comic books?
Pets? Does your character have a pet? What kind? For how long have they had it? How well were the pets treated? How and why did they acquire them? (For companionship? For security? As a gift?) If they don't have a pet, why not? Have they ever owned one in the past? Would they like to own one in the future?
Diet: What kind of meals does your character usually eat? Low-fat and healthy? Vegetarian? Deep friend? Do they follow trendy diets? Do they experiment with gourmet recipes? Do they stick with "safe" range of foods they're familiar with? What are their favorite meals? Favorite snacks? Favorite restaurants? Does he live off of cosmic energy and only eat for the sake of appearances among humans?
Favorite drinks? Water? Juice? Tea? Coffee? Soda pop? Alcoholic beverages? (and if so, what kind?)What can you always be sure to find in their freezer? What can you count on them ordering at a restaurant? Is their preference so predictable that it might give away the cover of a shape shifting imposter who bypasses their "traditional" beverage of choice?
Favorite pastime: How do your characters relax? What activity are they most likely to lose track of time while doing? What tempts/distracts them most when they are stuck with "all work and no play"? Do they prefer spending time off "out on the town" or relaxing around the house?
Favorite travel destination: Do they prefer seeing nature (mountains, beaches, etc.), touring cities (large metropolitan towns or quaint local villages), or visiting man-made attractions (theme parks, museums, memorials, etc.) Do they prefer spending vacations exploring somewhere new, or returning to cherished memories from the past?
Enjoys shopping? Are they the kind who see shopping as an adventure and a challenge? Or merely as a chore to be finished as quickly as possible? Is this true across the board, or only for certain items? Perhaps they see nothing wrong with shopping all day for electronics, but turn up their nose at the idea of shopping for new clothes. Do they experience the thrill of the hunt when spending the day scavenging back issue bins at a comic convention, or would they rather avoid the crowds and snipe for collectibles on Ebay?
Favorite flower? Someone who lovingly cultivates a garden of daffodils is a very different character than one whose home is decorated with potted nightshade and venus flytraps.
Musical taste: Is their taste more in line with "Classical" (Beethoven, Bach, etc.), "Cultural" (African tribal drums, Chinese festival dances, Irish jigs), or "Popular" (which might be anything from do-wop to gangsta rap). Are they avid fans/students of such music, or is it merely something they listen to as "background noise". If your character is religious, what role does religious music play in their lives? Do they love traditional hymns, but only in a church setting? Do they listen to contemporary Christian music? Do they favor it as a God-glorifying alternative to all other "mainstream" music, or do they shun it as a "sell out" for copying "worldly" art styles?
Other minor but revealing details about a character may include...
Favorite colors? Favorite movies? Favorite TV shows? Favorite radio hosts? Favorite video games? Other hobbies and interests?
VERY PERSONAL LIFE: Questions about your character's romantic relationships, and the standards that define (or compromise) their character.
Romantic interests: The more possible romantic interests or rivalries, the more dramatic tension (or comedic possibilities). Whom does your character have an interest in? Do others have similar feelings for the character? Are others aware of these feelings, or is it kept secret? Are they in a relationship or is it unrequited from afar? Does your character have past relationships that have shaped their outlook (or might return to complicate the plot).
What attribute does the character have that are attractive to others? Is it their appearance? Their confidence? Wealth? Power? Personality? Is it their virtuous moral character? Is it their conspicuous vices? (Some people like dangerous rouges.)
What traits does your character find most attractive in the opposite sex? Personality? Fame, wealth, power? Self-confidence? Appearances? Does your character accept the modern media portrayal of glamour as an ideal, or do they have their own standards for what is attractive? (Is their eye drawn to elegant models? Muscular athletes? Bookish librarians? Redheads with freckles?)
Relationship ethics? What governs your character's behavior in their romantic relationships? Does she have firm religious convictions against premarital sex? Does he go along with cultural traditions on what is "proper" behavior for the sake of reputation and appearances, but would be willing to break those rules if he thought he could get away with it? Have they taken vows of celibacy for the sake of devoting themselves to some noble cause? Are they unrepentantly promiscuous, and view relationships as a game to be played?
Their imagined ideal? What person or image (real or fictional) best symbolizes the character's imaginary "ideal" of the opposite sex? How would a character react if she actually met someone who resembled that idea? How would a character react if he found himself becoming attracted to someone who (at first glance) appeared to be the opposite of that imagined ideal?
Of your story's cast of characters, whom would they be most attracted to? Ignoring whether or not they are "just friends" (or even enemies) in your story, which other person from your cast of characters could be a potential match? Does either one of them (or both) recognize this? Do others?
Of your story's cast of characters, whom could they be tempted by? If your character is already committed to someone else, who else from your cast of characters could make them reconsider their affections? Could your character be lured away from their girlfriend or boyfriend? From their fiancee? From their spouse? If your character thinks they have found their "one true love", what would they be willing to sacrifice for them? Their job? Their existing relationships? Their good name? Could they be tempted to compromise their faith, their wedding vows, or their moral convictions? If they did, would the be able to self-justify it to avoid guilt, or would they actually feel remorse for their decision?
End of part four, to be continued
