"Spire City Noir"
"Spire City Noir Anthology"
"Spire City/Johnny Saturn Series Bible"
"Johnny Saturn No 18"
"Johnny Saturn Planar Eclipse"
"Medieval Book of Lists"
"Name of the Shadow"
"Requiem"
Big Announcement: “Johnny Saturn: Synns of the Father” is now available for the Amazon Kindle as a guided view comic. Honestly, this format is such a neat way to read a comic, with each expanded panel popping up one after another. This book has been published on paper since 2008, but this is an entirely new way to read and enjoy it. It looks very beautiful on my Kindle Fire, I must say. Unlike Comixology comics, I did all the panels cuts myself, and tweaked everything to my standards. This was the first time I attempted to make an entire graphic novel fit this format, but I did, and it’s available!
(In case you are wondering, I am also going to adapt the second and third trade-paperbacks to this format. It takes time, so I’ll do it as I can. My sketchbooks should follow soon thereafter.)
Speaking of Comixology, I should note that issues no. 12 through no. 14 of “Johnny Saturn Unlimited” are now available. That means issues no. 16 and 17 should be close behind! It takes a while, because the good folk at Comixology have to go through and split every book into panels, creating the guided view experience. It’s worth the wait.
Recently, I did an interview with Jim Zoetewey for the Pen and Capes Society’s podcast “Throwing the Gun.” Jim is a superhero prose author as well, and he writes the “Legion of Nothing.” I did the interview to promote “City of the Broken Gate,” but we ended up covering a lot ground. I’ll let you know when the interview is up.
Sometimes I miss doing the “Johnny Saturn” webcomic, but it is wonderful to see all my various publishing projects coming to fruition. The webcomic was incredibly time consuming, and it left time nothing else, not even its own promotion! Without it, I’m able to read again, draw in my sketchbook, sometimes watch shows (Daredevil, Penny Dreadful, etc.), and spend more quality time with my lovely wife, Benita. I will return to making comics, and may even return to making a webcomic at some point, but it’s going to be a while.
Now available in print and on Kindle, “City of the Broken Gate” by Scott A. Story. It’s a mad race through the distant past as superheroes are challenged by ancient technology, conspiracy theory, and the power of mystery itself.
Now available in print and on Kindle, “City of the Broken Gate” by Scott A. Story. It’s a mad race through the distant past as superheroes are challenged by ancient technology, conspiracy theory, and the power of mystery itself.
Friday night is an odd time to make a blog post, but I feel inspired. It’s and odd time because this is the end of the so-called news cycle and everyone is probably more concerned with their weekend than reading blogs. Well, I’m a rebel, so I’m putting up a post anyway.
“Johnny Saturn Unlimited” no. 12 and 13 are now available on Comixology, so issues 14 through 17 cannot be far behind. Like the other comics in the Unlimited editions, these have lots of extras, and are guided view reading. This latter makes them easy to read on phones, tablets, whatever.
Tonight, I watched two movies.
First, there was “John Wick.” This slick, modern crime noir action thriller was nearly perfect. I’m not going to bother to dissect the plot, dialogue, acting, storytelling, and all the other things I normally go on about with movies. If you like action movies, or crime noir, then you will want to watch this. As a movie, it’s quite beautiful in its hyper-violent ugliness.
Second, I watched “The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies.” Much has been written about the failings of the Hobbit movies, and many of the hardcore “Lord of the Rings” fans have turned away from this second “trilogy.” Yes, it’s bloated and full of fan service. Yes, the magic is more Dungeons and Dragons than Tolkein. Having said that, maybe it’s time to say a little about what I liked about it.
Thanks to Alan Lee, John Howe, and Wetta Workshop, the sets, costumes, and creatures where beautifully textured and realized. Martin Freeman was charming as Bilbo. Evangeline Lily was pleasant on the eyes. Smaug was pretty cool.
Really, that’s about all that I can say. The combats were too long to maintain my interest, and many elements were introduced that never were really explored. In fact, some of the action was confusing, with new elements coming and going at a breakneck, choppy pace. The extra plot lines, additional non-Tolkein characters, and background characters fleshed out into bigger roles than they merited, all struck me as superfluous and overdone as, well, dwarves in barrels. Lots of extraneous dwarves in barrels.
More and more, this blog has become about media that interests me, so here are some quick shots:
1) I’m reading Ian Healy’s Just Cause Universe book, “Castles.” I’m really a fan of his work, and he presents a consistent, well-thought out view of superheroes and a somewhat more realistic view of how the world would react to them.
2) I watched the first two episodes of the show “Lost Girl,” about a secret world of Fae that lives among us, hidden in plain sight. I was mildly entertained, but probably not enough to watch any more. I’m not sure what the show later developed into, but the first two episodes was a mish-mash of well-trodden tropes, cliche characters, and clunky, predictable dialogue. That sounds horrible when I put it that way, but it was really no worse than most television shows. It was somewhat diverting, and the characters likable, so I’ll stop there.
3) I bought one of Neil Young’s archive performance albums, this one from Chicago in 1992 when he was touring with his “Harvest Moon” material. This was the tour where Young played alone, seated amid a circle of guitars, a piano, and an organ. He was on a creative high during this period, and his music was outstanding. So is this particular performance and CD.
4) My other musical obsession of late is the oh-so-weird Buckethead. I had heard of this performer, but only really looked into him because of his Guns n’ Roses connection. His basic M.O. is that he wears an expressionless white mask, a KFC bucket as a hat, and he does not speak or sing. Essentially, his musicianship is so amazing that alone is enough to carry his shows. Well, that and robot dancing and martial arts. And puppets. So, no matter how weird all this sounds, Buckethead is no joke, and he makes some stunning music.
Now available in print and on Kindle, “City of the Broken Gate” by Scott A. Story. It’s a mad race through the distant past as superheroes are challenged by ancient technology, conspiracy theory, and the power of mystery itself.
Yesterday, my first print copies of “City of the Broken Gate” arrived on my front porch. It was lovely to see this novella in physical, hardcopy form. It made the book seem somehow more real to me. CotBG is an ongoing experiment for me as I learn the ropes of self-publishing, and I hope to bring the lessons learned to many future ventures. I’ve been through a variation of all this with my three graphic novels, but comic publication is a much different thing than traditional book publication. Take my word for it.
Today I had the good fortune to see “Suicide Squad” on the big screen. This movie opened big, but like “Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice” before it, it suffered a sharp drop off in revenue as the critics panned it. In fact, I had the whole theator to myself, as I was the only one there watching it. I’m glad to report that the critics were wrong, that this was a good adventure flick and I enjoyed it a lot. Was it as good as most Marvel movies? I don’t think so. Was it as good as “Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice”? I believe it was better.
I finished the Showtime series “Penny Dreadful” last night. This show lasted three seasons, and it has become one of my most favorite shows of all time, surpassing the great “Millenium.” I could write a great deal about the beautiful plotting of this show, the dense and wonderful writing, the beautiful sets and lighting, and the unforgettable characters. Maybe I will, because there is a lot I could learn studying this masterpiece of gothic horror and heroism. There are so many points when this show could have jumped the proverbial shark, and it never did. I’m sorry that it will not continue, but I will watch and re-watch its three seasons again and again. I suspect I will learn more with each new viewing.
Now available in print and on Kindle, “City of the Broken Gate” by Scott A. Story. It’s a mad race through the distant past as superheroes are challenged by ancient technology, conspiracy theory, and the power of mystery itself.
I can’t tell if my thoughts are really concise and regimented, or unusually fragmented and piecemeal. Whatever your view on this, that’s just the way I think. I usually have multiple levels of internal discourse going on, but I think the primary function of that is to keep me from going crazy from boredom while I’m engaged in the necessary duties of “real” life. I suppose that’s what they call “living with my head in the clouds”, or being a “daydreamer.”
I ordered my first physical copies of “City of the Broken Gate” today, and they should be here in about five days, give or take. This is exciting for me. I’ve seen my stories and articles published in anthology books and magazines by other publishers, but I’ve never seen a whole prose book by me in print. (Yes, I’ve seen graphic novels published by me, but that’s kind of a different thing, isn’t it? Yeah.)
I also ordered some copies of “Johnny Saturn: Intelligent Redesign” as part of that same order, both to sell to people in real life, and to provide copies to the fine gentlemen who wrote my forward and afterward.
I see that the negative reviews for “Suicide Squad” are rolling in. I’ll make up my own mind, thank you very much. It looks epic, at least based on its trailers, and I’ll watch it with the expectation of being entertained. Despite the drubbing that “Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice” took, I enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the director’s cut BvS, and I suspect it will be even better.
The “Silmarillion” is being made into two movies and a cable TV show? Really? OK. The executive producer is Peter Jackson. The article described the book as the “beloved classic.” I’ve met few Tolkien fans who have really read it, and no one who has called it “beloved.” After the thorough padding Jackson stuffed into the Hobbit trilogy, I think he needs redemption. Having said that, after his incredibly masterful adaptation of the “Lord of the Rings,” Peter Jackson can produce crap for the rest of his life and still be beloved for the LoTR. That’s my opinion, anyway.
I’ve been watching “Penny Dreadful,” and I’m almost done with season two. The Gothic show is darker than dark, and more or less about the monsters we all carry with us in life. Somewhat like the “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” in premise, it is written wonderfully with a dark, poetic, delicious tone, its characterizations are multileveled and nuanced, its sets beautifully designed and convincing, and its casting is brilliant. I could say more, and probably will, but what a show! Don’t watch it if you are easily offended.
1) Ingram has changed its websites and options. For those who don’t know, Ingram is the largest book distributer in the world. Once I managed to log into my account, I was pleased with the new tools they offer publishers. The additional metadata the require will help sell the book, and the uploading process is much easier than it used to be.
2) When I look at the artwork of artists of much greater skill than my own, I am not jealous or envious. I am in awe, and inspired to do better. Looking at fantastic artwork somehow elevates me, makes me feel like I can accomplish more with my own work. Yes, I would love to have the world-class skill some of these great artists exhibit, but I am not in competition with them. Their work does not invalidate my own vision and expression.
3) I just got the penciled pages and script to our new inker for our story “The Black Zeppelin,” written by me and drawn by Steven Doty. I’m not going to drop the inker’s name until he gets going and everything is worked out, but I have a good feeling about this fellow.
4) After a fair amount of tribulation, I’ve got “City of the Broken Gate” uploaded to Lightning Source, an arm of Ingram’s that specializes in printing. I’m still waiting on an e-proof to approve, so I’m not over the finish line yet, but I am much closer now. It has taken all day to get everything right, but now I both have a headache and feel satisfied.
5) I had meant to do some more promotional work today, and maybe I yet will, but first I need a short break.
Today has been a bit give or take. I was going to color more comic pages, and I realized I left the hard drive in the glove department of my car. My car is in the shop getting some work done. Ooops. So, it’s other work today. That’s OK–I’ve got plenty to do.
Other updates:
1) I fell off a ladder at work, fell about 10′ feet and dislocated my left shoulder, cut my flank, bruised myself up pretty good, and (worst) bruised my ribs on the left side. Ouch. I was able to get my left arm to pop back into socket, luckily.
(Yes, I am very clumsy. I have to slow down and take things more careful.)
2) Getting my car worked on is a real financial hit. Ouch. Hurts more than the dislocated shoulder.
3) I am working very hard in the free time I have to finish up all my current creative projects. I am feeling a powerful urge to begin a new project, but I am holding off until I can get the other stuff off the table. It’s frustrating, but . . .
4) I really miss drawing comics. Miss it bad. But, unless things change around here I just don’t have the time to devote to it anymore. It urks me to know my skills are going stale and my self-esteem about it is dripping away, but we only get one life to live and I’m doing the most I can right now. We’ll see what the future holds.
5) Blah blah blah. My spirits could use a booster. I’m going outside in a minute to work on the house, so maybe the sun and it’s vitamin D rays will help raise my mood.
Today, I re-uploaded “Johnny Saturn Unlimited” no.’s 12 through 17 to Comixology. The first time I did them I processed the PDFs wrong, it appears. I’ll let you know when these issues go on sale. I like Comixology comics for the guided view technology they provide.
Next up, the print version of “City of the Broken Gate.” I’ve got some black n’ white interior illustrations to make, and a spine and back cover.
Then, “Spire City Noir” no. 1. I have the art half colored at this point.
After that, I’m going to package the Kindle and Comixology versions of our three graphic novels, “Johnny Saturn: Synns of the Father,” “Johnny Saturn: Homeland Insecurity,” and “Johnny Saturn: Intelligent Redesign.”
I wish I had been able to do all this as I went along, but for years I was trapped in “keeping the webcomic updated” spiral. It’s a great relief to have put that behind me.
I’ve got Johnny Saturn Unlimited issue 12 uploaded to Comixology. Yes, you can already buy it at Drivethrue and other places, but Comixology has so many hoops to jump through. This is the year that I get all my comics finished and for sale everywhere.
Steven Doty and I are hard at work on Spire City Noir no 2 and 3, and I’m making good progress on finishing up Spire City Noir no. 1 drawn by Les Garner.
Now that City of the Broken Gate is out on Kindle, I’m taking a break from writing to finish up comics. It’s just a shame that my ambitions can be greater than my time or resources. I suppose that puts me in the same boat with everyone else, eh?
Here’s the short list of my current publishing projects:
“City of the Broken Gate”
“Spire City Noir”
“Spire City Noir Anthology”
“Spire City/Johnny Saturn Series Bible”
“Johnny Saturn No 18”
“Johnny Saturn Planar Eclipse”
“Medieval Book of Lists”
“Name of the Shadow”
“Requiem”
One of these days I’ll be caught up and I won’t know what to do with myself.
As a little bonus (?), here’s me playing guitar and looking serious:
Yesterday, my first print copies of “City of the Broken Gate” arrived on my front porch. It was lovely to see this novella in physical, hardcopy form. It made the book seem somehow more real to me. CotBG is an ongoing experiment for me as I learn the ropes of self-publishing, and I hope to bring the lessons learned to many future ventures. I’ve been through a variation of all this with my three graphic novels, but comic publication is a much different thing than traditional book publication. Take my word for it.
