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And now, Glyph….

This morning I was very careful to download the script for issue #7 onto my mini-laptop so that I could work on it during my commute and during down time at work.

And then I forgot to put it in my bag. So it is sitting there on the arm of the couch, all ready to go. Doing nothing.

Instead, I worked on some peripheral stuff. I worked out some general plot points and some character motivation stuff.

I also noticed that Glyph has become a major character in this story arc, but did not have a character profile page.  I wrote one up for him this afternoon. It is neat to see how a character can remain the same, but seem very different depending on the story and how he comes into it.

Go read about Glyph and the other characters in the Rapid City Handbook.

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By joshdahl – March 5, 2010

Issue #6

The script for the sixth issue of the superhero comic book, Rapid City has now been posted.

Read and discuss it here.

Panel 1 Hourglass is still talking, but now we see Kinetic
and Justin’s reactions to her story. They are both
concerned.

HOURGLASS
The man was gone and so was the girl. I could have
stopped the whole thing, but I screwed up. Her
death is on my head.

KINETIC
Hey, you did the best you could at that moment.
It’s ok to be scared.

Panel 2 Kinetic keeps talking. He is gesturing to his own
head.

KINETIC
No one can be expected to know how to deal
with….with death like that. I can’t imagine how
that must mess with you up here.

Panel 3 Hourglass looks back at him with a look resembling
pity.

This issue is the second part of the Hourglass story arc. Kinetic and Hourglass are getting closer to finding a killer, who is getting closer to finding them.

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Posted in Commentary, Hourglass, Kinetic, Maxwell Murder, Rapid City Comics, Red Lion, Script Updates, Superhero, Technical, Updates, Writing.

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By joshdahl – March 2, 2010

Latest issue, DONE!

Done. All done.

It didn’t exactly how I expected it, but all of the pieces are in play and things are moving along.

In the last scene there were two twists that I didn’t see coming. The characters just did what they weee gonna do and it worked out wonderfully.

I am going to sit on it for a day, edit for mistakes and clarity, and then likely publish it tomorrow. Feels nice to have it done and out of the way.

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By joshdahl – March 1, 2010

Time to work.

I have this free time in comparison to the last three weeks.

This past week has been a rush to get my girlfriend, Bekah, ready for her trip to Kiev.

Before that was a week in Florida with my family.

And before that was a week getting ready for that trip.

So now I have nothing to get ready for and a strong motivation to keep myself busy so that I don’t spend all of my time moping and wishing that she was not half a world away. It’s too bad for me, creatively, that my current story arc is not about lovers pining away for eachother.

Instead it is about the internal and external wheels set into motion by violence.

On the one hand I could channel my current emotions in to a book about being away from a loved one. On the other hand, writing about superheroes, violence, murder, and science will help me stay distracted.

Josh

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Posted in Commentary, Random Thoughts.

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By joshdahl – February 28, 2010

Murder gets it done.

With some actual time to work, I am zooming in on a completed issue#6. Just over two weeks late.

That is bad. And, to be fair, I am counting chickens before they have hatched.

It is completely possible, though, that I will get it done tonight or tomorrow. There are basically two things that must happen before I wrap up the issue and I have just enough pages to get them done.

One easy part of this story line is writing the character “Maxwell Murder”. He is a complicated character, but he acts with certainty and focus. He has already made his decisions, now it is just a matter of acting on them. It is niceto have a very decisive, and creepy, character cutting through the conflicted drama of the protagonists.

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Posted in Commentary, Maxwell Murder, Random Thoughts, Rapid City Comics.

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By joshdahl – February 28, 2010

Back to work

I spent the last week in Florida with my family.
And the week before that getting ready for the trip.
We did Family Christmas while there, so that week was spent making and shipping gifts. It was exhausting and stressful to scramble all of that stuff together, but it was well worth it to see the results.
My girlfriend, Bekah, and I each got dedicated writing notebooks. So, while my brother fished for sheepshead in the intracoastal waterway, I was able to sit and write for a little while.
I also managed to punch a few keys on the two flights on the way down. All told, though, this was NOT a productive fortnight.

Now that I am back in my routine, though, I think I know what I need to do. I have a few scenes to re-work, but the characters seem to be moving into position.

There is a confrontation at the climax of issue two, about which I have not done enough thinking. Ideologically it makes sense. The characters are in conflict with eachother. One represents a subject about which the other is in deep denial, so it makes sense for her to respond with strong emotions…. which in superhero terms means FIGHT! I just have not paced out the escalation of that confrontation.

Once that is done, I can put this issue to bed.

I just hope I don’t go too far over my page count. It is dense as it is and I would hate to have to chop things or move them around.

It occurs to me now that if I do need to cut some pages, I can set up that fight, and leave the pay-off for the next issue. That has the added benefit of putting that fight in what will be the last issue of this story arc.

And, hopefully that will mean that the third act will wrap itself up with minimal coaxing and I will be able to get back on deadline for next month.

As always, keep up on my blog here.
And read my Rapid City scripts here.

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Posted in Commentary, Hourglass, Random Thoughts, Rapid City Comics, Red Lion, Technical, Updates, Writing.

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By joshdahl – February 22, 2010

Happy Holi-delays!

Lots of things get delayed during “the holiday season”.
Creators site family pressure, illness, travel, and hustle&bustle.

Ok, well, I met my holiday-related deadlines just fine. Partially because my family made the wise decision to dodge the big rush and hold our “holidays” in mid-February. Ok, so this eased up on a lot of that pressure for me. I was able to use that vacation time to really get ahead of the game.

So now it is mid-February, and that time pressure has come back with a vengance.

Think of it like this…. If my relaxing December could be thought of as sending those problems away to a far-off planet where they will never bother anyone again, then this past week or two has been World War Christmas.

Buying and making gifts for everyone, making travel arrangements, making dog arrangements, packing, cleaning, working, every other thing that a person has to do….. and feeling sick for about a week.

Short version. I am not going to make this month’s deadline on the 15th.

But, I will have the whole next week off, so I plan to catch up pretty quickly and get back on schedule.

This delay bothers me, but I know that it was not due to laziness… so I can accept it.

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By joshdahl – February 12, 2010

Dial 999 if you can’t see it through…

Sometimes answers just present themselves.
And sometimes they aren’t really answers, just avenues.

This Rapid City project is all about me. As I have said before…. this is me learning how to do superhero comics by writing about a guy trying to learn how to do superheroics. Hopefully it is a little better than that makes it sound. Anyway, that allows me a lot of different ways to write about the things in my life.

Things that encourage me become things that encourage my main character.

Different characters also represent different attitudes toward motivation. Some have it thrust upon them and resist it, some seek it out, and some would rather just ignore the whole thing.

Maxwell Murder is one of those who would much rather be left well-enough alone.

He is also, as his name would imply, a very bad person who does very bad things. He is selfish, and petty, and short-sighted. This means that he is a great character to write when I am pissed and feel like it is a really good idea to do short-sighted, mean, petty, things. He is my Slim Shady.

So, maybe that is the solution for how to get Max to where I need him in the story. Let him boil over, hurt some people, and see where he ends up.

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Posted in Comics, Commentary, Maxwell Murder, Random Thoughts, Superhero, Writing.

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By joshdahl – February 2, 2010

Killing time

I am starting to worry that plotting might not be my real strong suit.
That is what I am stuck with right now.
I can write with certainty what my characters will do next, and what they think and feel, and how their positions reflect the overall theme…. I am just not as certain that the things they are about to do will result in some kind of conflict and resolution.
No, I am overstating the problem a bit. I know what is going to happen. I have the pieces lined up, and they are all pointed in the right directions. The internal logic is sound. The problem seems that it might be a little too stable.
Essentially, I need one character to be in a different position, and I am not sure how to get him there.
Once I can figure that out, everything should slide together correctly.
I guess the thing to do is to just stir in more problems. If characters aren’t moving where I want them to…then just get them to move and see where they land.

Another problem I am seeing now…. Something that I now realize must plague serial writers all the time.
I know that someone’s gotta die.
The story can’t end without it.
But, I want to keep that character around. Now I see why people pull all of those fake-out deaths.

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By joshdahl – February 2, 2010

…meanwhile, in Rapid City.

This is some of what I was working on today….

Panel 1: They are in the “waiting room” of Justin’s lab. It is really just a place for nerds to sit and drink coffee while experiments are processing. There are two couches and two chairs, plus a coffee machine and a few simple computer stations, some comic books, some nerdy slogans on posters on the wall. Kinetic has changed back in to his work pants and a t-shirt. He sits on one couch with his elbows on his knees. Hourglass is still in costume, and she is trying to get cozy with a ratty blanket.

KINETIC

Hey.

KINETIC

I know it’s frustrating when it feels like you are going no where. But, believe me, you are doing the right thing.

Panel 2: Close on just Kinetic talking.

KINETIC

When you saw this girl getting attacked, you did the right thing….you did SOMETHING. Which is more than most people do. So quit beating yourself up over it, you did good. Ok?

Panel 3: Shot from Kinetic’s POV of Hourglass, she still has her mask on and is clenched up like she might cry.

HOURGLASS

I know…I know….But, I was there. I should have been paying attention. I should have stopped it.

Panel 4: Shot of the whole room.

KINETIC

It’s ok. You did what you could. And right now, we don’t even know what happened. This girl could be a live somewhere. That could have been a teleportation bolt. You know, anything’s possible.

KINETIC

Don’t worry. In a few hours, we’ll talk to Red Lion, we’ll figure all this out. Just try to get some rest.

HOURGLASS

You’re right.

Read all of my Rapid City scripts here.

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Posted in Commentary, Hourglass, Kinetic, Rapid City Comics, Script Updates, Superhero, Writing.

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By joshdahl – January 31, 2010