The script for the 28th issue of my supervillain drama Rapid City has just been posted. Read the full script here.

Panel 1. Later that night, Icicle walks along the side of concrete bridge where a main road is crossing a set of railroad tracks. She is carrying the gym bag. Her clothes are in rough shape after running through the brush.

Caption: The cold never bothers me. But hunger does. Exhaustion does.

Caption: Cars just pass me by.

Panel 2. We can see a hint of the bridge she was crossing in the background. In the foreground, she is hunkered down behind a long-unused set of newspaper boxes. She is sliding a few bills out of the cop’s wallet that she took. The way it is flopped open, we can see the cop’s badge.

Caption: Twenty six bucks. That’s it.

Panel 3. Icicle is caught in the lights of a passing car, she raises her arm to shield her face. We can see rips and smears of dirt on her sleeve.

Read all of my previous Rapid City scripts right here.

The script for the 27th issue of my superherovillain comic book, Rapid City, has just been posted. Read it here.

Panel 4. Shot of Icicle trying her hardest just to hold it together.

ICICLE

Piledriver’s dead.

Panel 5. Small panel of the milk hitting the ground and busting open.

Panel 6. As large a panel as the page will allow of Katy grabbing Icicle into an awkward hug. It is awkward because Katy is carefully keeping her spiky hands from poking Icicle.

KATY

Oh, Steph. No. You poor…

KATY

Come here.

ICICLE

He’s dead, Katy. He’s dead.

Read Issue 27 and all of the previous Rapid City scripts right here.

Everything gets shuffled around this time of year.

In this case that means Rapid City #27. It is going to be late.

As it stands, I have more than half of it ready to go. So, in theory, if I had an artist waiting to get started he or she could get started on those pages while I caught up.

Not ideal, obviously, but not a complete disaster.
I plan to catch up this weekend and then use the upcoming time off from school to get further ahead so that this kind of thing can be avoided in the future.

A few weeks ago I bought this book on a whim.
45 Master Characters.
See, I love formulas and structures when I am writing. I am not one of these that thinks everything MUST fit a formula. Rather, I think that the formulas that make sense are derived from observation of what works.
The are descriptive, not prescriptive.

The bulk of the book lays out 45 character types and how they can be used in fiction. Then there is a whole section of sub-types, with descriptions of how they can be used. That is all fascinating, but the real gold came after that.

At the end of the book is a section outlining the female version of The Heroic Journey. It is shoe-horned in almost as though it was a great idea that was not quite long enough to have a book unto itself. This was quite fortunate for me, as I think I might have been too skeptical to pick up a book called “The Feminine Journey”.

In fact, I was still skeptical as I started reading those chapters. But then pieces started to fall into place. The story structure it was putting forth started to line up perfectly with things that I had been planning for my new female protagonist, Icicle.

I was sold and I started carrying to book around with me.

It has helped me shape this story arc with skill and confidence.

With all the holiday commotion, I have taken a bit of a break from busting out the next script. This is not to say that issue 27 will be late, I just have to turn it on pretty soon.

A recent spike in activity on this blog has caused me to take a look back at my earlier scripts.

I am still quite proud of them, but I also know that they are a bit rough.
If you are reading them, please bear in mind that I have not fixed them up as part of an effort to preserve my learning process.

Thanks, and enjoy.

Issue 25 has been a pretty quick one to write.

Maybe the reason is just that I am getting faster at doing this….or maybe this was just a quick issue.
The last two panels of the issue, though, have to set up the next mega-arc. Something on the scale of the next 24 issues.

A lot is hanging on them and I am finding myself stuck between flat out declaring the dramatic magnitude of the moment, or slyly downplaying it.

But, this is to be a revenge story, and I tend to think that subtlety and revenge do not often work well together.

Update: I just went and talked to my lovely girlfriend about how to play those last two panels. She opened my eyes to the completely obvious slam ending that this issue deserves.

It should be ready for you to read by tomorrow night.

Most of my writing time goes into the first four or five pages.
Even if you consider all of the plotting and pre-planning a different thing, it is still those first few pages that take the longest. I don’t know why that is, it just takes a long time to get started.

Through the middle section it starts to pick up the pace. It isn’t that those pages are easier, they just move a little more quickly.

Then, almost every time, I find myself suddenly at the last few pages. These pages move so quickly that I get worried about being able to wrap up the issue in my allotted 22 pages.

Right now I am in that home stretch. I have a certain chunk of story to tell, and only a certain amount of pages in which to do it. It looks like it will work, but I will have to make some tight decisions.

That will be issue 25, likely done ahead of schedule. It is the start of a whole new story and I think it is coming out pretty well.

If I recall correctly, I happened to get some copies of a SuperNoir thriller Jack Hammer in trade for the last few copies of my own comic. Honestly, I was just taking whatever I could get, so I was pleasantly surprised by what a good comic it turned out to be.

Who are you?

I’m Brandon Barrows. I write comic books, and I’m a staff writer for the website CosmicBookNews.com.

What do you write?

I write a detective series called JACK HAMMER, about a detective in a world of super humans. I also write the adventure/sci-fi series VOYAGA, about an astronaut stranded in the 31st century. I have a new series called WESTERN ADDITION, which is a western series focusing on a fictional town in 19th century Colorado. I also write short one-off tales on a frequent basis that have appeared in a variety of anthology books in both the US and British comic markets.

In the past, I’ve written a sci-fi series called SOLARWIND and I’ve written and drawn a few minicomics in my day.

Why do you write?

Well, I’ve always been a writer. I’ve been writing fiction, for my own amusement, since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I think my first story was written when I was about 7, about a group of knights hunting dragons who had stolen the king’s treasure.

I’ve also been reading comic books since before I could actually read the words. I guess it was inevitable that someday I’d start writing comics.

How do you write?

Most “big ideas”, on-going series or the graphic novel I’m working on in my spare time, tend to germinate for a long time in my head before I ever write anything down. It’s often months, or years. When I get to the point that it’s ready to spill out of my ears if it doesn’t come from my fingers, I write down every little thing I can think of just to get it out of my head. It helps me sort things out and I’ve found that stuff that works in my head may not on paper, so it’s best to get it out there as early as possible.

Once I have as much in the way of notes as I need (or think I’m going to get), I’ll start scripting. Sometimes I script directly in comic script format and sometimes I’ll make the story work as a prose story before going to comic script. It depends on how much of the flow of the story I already have down. A 22 or 24-page script can take anywhere from 10 to 30 hours once I start writing, depending on the complexity and how my writing mojo is flowing.

Many of the short comic stories I’ve written, however, have been more or less spur of the moment ideas that I get down on paper immediately. These I frequently write directly in comic format and only occasionally do I write up notes or plot points first. These can sometimes take as little as an hour to write the first draft.

Jack Hammer isn’t just set in a world where superhumans exist, it is set in a Boston where superhumans exist. Capturing the unique feel of a city is not something that superhero comics are usually known for, with many cobbling together amalgams or stand-ins. In Noir, however, the city in which it is set defines the story. So, why Boston? What does that setting bring to this story? Why not simply use “The City”?

For two main reasons. The first was because it seems like everything in comics/movies/etc takes place in New York or Los Angeles, even some foreign comics and movies, and I wanted to do something different. Boston is certainly large enough, and old enough, that it would have the kind of diverse population and history that would be ripe for a detective series. I also chose Boston because I wanted to use a city I was at least somewhat familiar with.

As for not using just some generic city? Well, I wanted to add a bit of realism. One thing I’ve tried to maintain with Jack Hammer is that yes, there are some super humans running around, but other than that it’s just like our world and I think placing it in a concrete, real, setting enhances that. I’ve had people come up to me and say “hey! What street is Jack’s office on?” or “hey, I know just where you’re talking about in issue 3” or whatever. It gives people something to identify with.

Is there a certain kind of story that makes more sense in Boston than is any other city? Is Jack Hammer one of those stories?

As I said, it isn’t specifically Boston but the type of city Boston is (and my complete lack of firsthand knowledge of other major comic hubs like NYC): it’s old, it’s very diverse, it has a sizable population and this kind of stuff is absolutely happening in Boston as I type this (minus super powers, of course).

What mistakes do you find yourself making again and again?

Not that I’m aware of. If I do, the artists I work with must work around it without letting me know. But, kidding aside, I made a lot of mistakes very early on in my writing career and I’d like to think that I’ve gotten a lot of major mistakes out of my system and learned from them. I’m completely self-taught when it comes to writing comic scripts (note: I don’t recommend this for aspiring writers. Denny O’Neil’s The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics or Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics are good resources I wish I’d checked out back then) . I know the format I use doesn’t really correspond to anyone else’s but I’ve developed a format that works for me, and no artist has complained about it since I more or less finalized it.

In your writing, what are you really good at?

I’ve been told that I’m really good at two things: taking the essence of a classic genre (all my work is genre-based except some short one-offs) and mixing it with elements of my own to create something unique and interesting. I consciously tried to do that with Jack Hammer and it seems to have happened on its own in my other major works, Voyaga and Western Addition.

The other thing, and I kind of pride myself on it, is the cliffhanger. I’ve gotten a real knack for ending a story on a note that makes people say “oh, man, I GOTTA know what happens next”. I’ve had fans email me or friends call me and say “you bastard! I was so caught up in the flow and then you drop that on me? You gotta tell me what happens next!”. In fact, before Jack Hammer was first released, there was a few teaser pages posted online and I actually got an email from a lady who was very concerned for the welfare of one of the characters. It was pretty amusing, but also very gratifying.

The script for the twenty-third issue of my superhero comic book, Rapid City, has now been posted.

In this issue, Coil’s plan to steal an ancient artifact unfolds with terrifying consequences.

Panel 1. Everyone looking toward the Captain with surprise.

GUARD 1

Sir!

SCIENTIST 2

What have you done?

KINETIC

What’s wrong with you?

Panel 2. The Captain yelling back at Kinetic.

GUARD CAPTAIN

Not me. Them. Look what this scum does with the power they have now. They hurt, steal, and kill.

GUARD CAPTAIN

More power will mean more people hurt and more people killed. That’s not happening on my watch.

GUARD CAPTAIN

The vault stays closed.

Read and discuss this issue of Rapid City, plus all of the previous issues, for free here.

I met fellow Bostonian comic writer George O’Connor at his booth at the Boston Comic Con where he was selling his book Healed. We quickly determined that we had already “met” online at the comicsexperience web site. I was impressed with the quality of his work and asked him to talk a bit more about himself and his work.

Who are you?

Such a deep question so soon? My name’s George O’Connor and I’m a writer, producer, musician and copywriter from Boston.

What do you write?

Currently I write the comic book “Healed” which is illustrated by my friend and creative partner Griffin, and distributed by our indy press, Homeless Comics. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of two anthologies put out by Elevator Pitch Press: Tales from the Comics Experience and Great Zombies in History.

In the past, I’ve spent 10 years writing, directing and producing short films and created the webseries “664-The Neighbor of the Beast”.

By day, I’m a mild-mannered copywriter for a Boston advertising agency.

Why do you write?

The simple answer; because it’s fun! The long answer; because I love the creative process and seeing ideas come to life. Getting into a room and working on a song with musicians, or on a set with actors, or working with an artist and seeing the germs of an idea grow and seeing it grow really gets me excited.

The other reason is that in this day and age, it’s so easy to get your ideas out there for people to find. From your basement, you can put your music or podcast up on iTunes, webseries on YouTube or your comic on Graphic.ly or Indy Planet and you can reach fans. I truly believe there is no better time for creators to get their ideas and art out into the world.

How do you write?

I’m a stew-er. I roll ideas around in my head all day, writing and working out scenes, lines and beats. Eventually, a little light goes on that says “It’s time to write.” Then I’ll head down to the basement, throw on some metal (Metallica’s “… And Justice For All” or Testament’s “The Ritual” are two go-to albums. I try to write the first draft as fast as possible, not dwelling on it too much, embracing the idea that the goal for the first draft is to be completed and that’s it. Once it’s written, I like to walk away from it, for a few hours or a day. In that downtime, I usually think of new lines or beats to work into the second round. After the 2nd version, I usually flip it to my wife to make sure the ideas I wanted to get on the page actually got there and make sense outside of my head. She’s also fantastic on grammar and punctuation. At that point, I feel comfortable with throwing it out to the world.

Healed is a great comic. It seems like a counterpoint to our culture’s current fascination with zombies. It could be sub-titled “Night of the Living Living”. Do zombie stories and Healed deal with similar social, cultutral, and psychological issues? Are they opposites or compliments?

Yeah, in a way it’s kind of like the anti-zombie book where instead of everyone dying, everyone lives but there’s still chaos all over the place. They’re both similar in that there’s a big event and everyone has to figure out how to survive in this new situation. One major difference is there’s no obvious enemy in HEALED’s world, so when it turns bad, it’s human against human. But they still both boil down to the same thing: survival.

Is this a personal story for you? Has your life been affected by terminal illnesses?

I count myself pretty lucky in that I haven’t been affected that much. But I’ve been surprised at how these stories have connected with people who have had to deal with these illnesses. If anything, it might be a testament that good stories don’t need to be complicated, they need to be honest.

If so, is this story in some way wish-fulfillment?

Without digging real deep into my head, I don’t think so. It was an idea that seemed really interesting and as Griffin and I talked about, it seemed like it had tons of possibilities. That being said, if I could live forever with reasonably good health, yeah I think I’d sign up for that.

You feature several stories showing many aspects of this new disease-free world. Surely these few issues

worth of stories do not represent every single story that occurred to you for this setting. How did you choose which stories to include? What do the ones that made the cut have in common?
As the series has gone on, we put more thought into the combination of stories. That helped put some structure to the books and the stories that we picked. Griffin and I sat down one evening to plot out the issues and that turned into a great “what if” conversation and that also helped us decide which stories we were really eager to tell and see come to life.

In your writing, what mistakes do you find yourself making again and again?

Great question. Technically, I’m terrible at spelling and grammar which is why I’m so thankful to have my wife editing the book because she has a great eye for that. I also worry that I’m way too verbose. It’s actually one of the reasons I enjoy lettering the book. It gives me one more chance to edit and sometimes it forces me to say knock a two bubble panel down to one without losing the purpose of the dialogue. Ya know, when I decided to get into comics, I took Comic Experience’s writing class online and it was absolutely worth it and would highly recommend those courses for anyone thinking about getting into comics.

What are you particularly good at?

One of the compliments I’ve received that I’m proud of is that my dialogue sounds like actual dialogue. Other than that, I think I’m good at driving projects across the finish line.

Making music and writing comics seem to be polar opposites. Writing a script is a solitary, heavily structured, activity which usually only goes through a collaborative stage when it passes through the vision of the artist. Music, on the other hand, is instant and very public. Regardless of much effort and attention to detail goes into the creation of the song, it still goes from the creator to the audience at the speed of sound. How are the creative processes similar and how do the influence each other?

At least the way my projects have worked, they feel similar. There are some songs and stories that come out fully baked and there are others that need someone else’s talent and input to reach its full potential. And I count myself very lucky that over the years to have talented friends willing to get involved in these goofy lil adventures of mine. And as I’ve grown older (read: more mature) I’ve embraced a way of working that leaves plenty of room for my collaborators to leave their mark. I don’t care who comes up with the good idea, so long as there’s a good idea. I also think, thanks to the technology, comics and music can get out to the world pretty quick.

What are you working on next, and where will you be appearing?

Griffin and I will be taking HEALED and our other work to Baltimore Comic Con, ComicCONN in Stamford, CT in August and then the Small Press Expo and Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo in September. Over the winter, we’ll get HEALED #5 ready for a spring debut. I’m also hoping we can find a publisher who’d be interested in putting out a HEALED trade. After that, I’d like to get a couple pitches together and throw ‘em against the wall and see if anything sticks.

Thanks a lot, George. I’ll see you at M.I.C.E.