Luckily, as anyone who has spent any time at all with me knows, I can talk a lot about comics.

“Comic Books, Manga, Graphic Novels & Pop Culture: A Panel Discussion”
 Room 101 (”The Forum”), Madison Connector Building
 Camden County College, Blackwood Campus
Thursday, March 11th @ 6 PM
A panel discussion on the changing role of comic books and graphic novels, particularly in pop culture. Impact of manga and anime will also likely be a topic of discussion, as will comic book movies, TV shows and other adaptations. Role of comics in literacy will also come up. The panel will be opened to questions from the audience as well.

Directions are provided here (If you go to the website, make sure you use the directions for the Blackwood Campus, not the Camden or Cherry Hill campuses.) You can also find a map of the campus - with buildings marked - linked here. If those links don’t work, head to www.camdencc.edu and look for the Locations link, then follow it to the Blackwood campus. Directions, address info and campus maps with buildings helpfully marked are all found there.

I have been told the previous panels were recorded, so if this one follows suit I’ll post it for those who can’t make it.

I’m easy that way.

What inspired “Bitter Kiss of the Ronin’s Cup”? by cmdln

My own love of coffee and samurai tales, mainly. But the germ of the idea came from thinking about the future, and how we might eat on other worlds. We’re getting very good at mimicking flavors and textures, but there are some things I believe we will never get right. Coffee has such a complex flavor, tied to not only its freshness but also the surrounding in which it was grown. So it follows that these sorts of food would be the ultimate status symbol in a place where they could not be grown. Anything is luxury if you can’t get it. Coffee, originally a peasant brew used by goat herders to keep themselves awake, makes an eloquent commentary on that.

Also, as a former barrista, I feel it’s important to celebrate the craft.

How did you become so manly, Jared? by ctmiller

By not being afraid to flaunt my feminine side. Nothing more manly than a dude comfortable in his own skin.

What infuriates you?

Story bibles. They are the most seductive possible way to keep you from finishing a story. Unless you are planning a collaborative work of fiction, story bibles are distraction at best and a absolutely useless at worst. If your story is so needless complex that you need a document OTHER than your story to keep track of it, you need help that a story bible can’t fix.

I hate it when people say that they haven’t finished their first draft because they’ve been working on their story bible. HATE. Burn It With Fire hate.

Story bibles are essentially masturbation. Sure, it feels good when you’re doing it, but in the end, you’re just left with a mess you don’t want anyone to see.

If you were forced to choose, what would be your preferred method of time travel? TARDIS, Delorean, going to warp speed around a star, hot tub, etc? by chrismorse

I’ve never seen the show, but there’s no classier mode of chronological transport than the Omni from VOYAGERS. Made of shining brass and containing a highly detailed globe, the Omni clips easily to one’s belt, conveniently accessible in times of need. An accessory that’s also a vehicle, few time machines are more precise, or more stylish.

If you could make your friends do one thing, create one mighty and wonderful thing together, what would you make them do? (This is in some kind of ideal world where no matter what you choose they are all happy to do it.)

We’d found a nation. Preferably an island one. You know, for the beaches. But if the land mass was big enough that it had beaches on two sides, I’ll settle.

I wouldn’t have to be president, of course. It would be enough for me to be a Founding Father.

What gave you the idea to start a webcomic?

I’ve always wanted to do a comic strip. Since I was, like, 9. I drew several, but could never dig in for the long haul. When Mur asked me to do some stuff for ISBW, the first thing I thought of was a comic strip. I’d been wanting to work with Natalie for ages, so it all worked out.

9-year-old Jared would be very pleased with 29-year-old Jared. Not only am I writing a webcomic, but I also have a really awesome Batman costume.

Why do you think your opinions on fashion are considered by some to be controversial? (I don’t)

I’m assuming that it comes from me says that a t-shirt with someone else’s saying on it doesn’t really say as much about a person as one would think. That and people have gotten upset with me saying that they dress like children.

Which, you know, I can understand. No one wants to be told that. But I pass an elementary school every day, and all I see are kids dressed in jeans and t-shirts.

This is not to say that I don’t wear jeans and t-shirts. I do. When I’m playing.

What DC comics superhero do you most want to write? And which Marvel superhero?

I’ve said in the past that all I really want to play with is my own toys. I also seriously doubt that either company would give me theirs to play with, as what I mainly want to do is break them. I love reading classic superhero stories, but that’s not what I really like writing, y’know?

That said? Lois Lane and Blade.

what is your latest Cooking Adventure?

My main quest is the mastery of cacio e pepe, a pasta dish so simple it’s infuriating. All it is is cheese, pepper and pasta, but devil is truly in the details with this bad boy. Mix the cheese wrong, and you’re left with a gloppy mess. Mix right, and you’ve got heaven on a plate.

I think I’ve figured out the secret. But I’ll need another run at it to be sure.

I should really wear those goggles more…

Hit me. I can take it.

Your picture is under the definition of steampunk, but what defines steampunk to you?
I’ve written an essay on this: Rayguns In The Time of Cholera

Short version: A 19th century setting with advanced technology and themes of aggressive confrontation, anti-authoritarian behavior and the DIY atheistic.

But that’s just my personal opinion. As I’ve said before, we can be nerds and put everything in little boxes or we can include everyone and all have fun. And I am pro-including everyone and all having fun

How do we solve the Butt-Burning problem that comes with strapping a jetpack to your back? Special pants?
Most modern rocket belts have a burn shield, but I’ve always thought the easiest thing to do would be have the jets stuck out to the side like the starship Enterprise.

 Your socks. Are they awesome? Have you ever made awesome socks?
My socks tend to be more fluffy than awesome. So, in the sense that I have cold feet offen and my fluffy socks keep that from happening, yes. They are awesome.

They are also black. Which is an awesome color. So there’s that.

However, I was recently given a Sock Dreams gift certificate, so I should have some visually awesome socks in the near future.

you have some controversial opinions about fashion. did any one event in your life prompt you to have these views or did they just develop over time?
I don’t really think my ideas are that controversial. I believe that how you dress shows who you are to people, and if you dress the same as a 6-year old on the playground, that may affect that perception. I don’t think that’s particularly revolutionary thinking. Maybe it is.

When I was I college, I read the wonderful RuPaul quote, “We are born naked, the rest is drag.” Which I believe is true. Whether you dress up, down, or go naked, what you wear is part of your conversation with the rest of the world. So you should be sure you’re saying what you mean to say.

 If you had to choose a fictional world to be reborn into, which world would you choose?
FLASH GORDON, probably. I am prepared to take down that tyrant Ming and be occasionally shirtless!
 I’ve seen a lot of neat costumes that you’ve made, and of course there’s your new web comic on I Should Be Writing. But are you working on any writing projects nowadays? Anything you can tell us about?
See the answer below. At this point, all I can say is that it is awesome. And that it will most likely be podcast.

Okay, here’s more of tease: It’s about a girl who’s in trouble. In same way STAR WARS is about a boy who leaves home.

What turns you on?
New things. Shoulders. Collar bones. Muscles. Boots. Tight pants. Confidence. Musical voices. Shiny clothes. Eyes. Lips. My wife.

Have you ever gotten in a physical fight? What were the circumstances around it?
Oh, sure. But not since the schoolyard days. One kid says something aimed to hurt, and all you can think to do is throw a punch. Because as a kid, that’s all that makes sense.

But in adulthood? Only thing that comes close was a playful tussle with my wife’s then-boyfriend when I first moved to Philly. It got a little serious, but ended quickly when he banged up against a table. Which may have been my fault. In which case, I’m sorry, Rob. But even that wasn’t really a “fight.”

I have been told that I have an incendiary presence when angry that seriously frightens people. So things have never escalated to violence. I’m incredibly slow to anger in the first place, so that it itself is rare.

So, I guess the answer is “No.”

If you could make any costume, and expense were no object, what would you make?
I’ve got extravagantly detailed costumes in mind for half a dozen superheroes that I’ve calculated in the hundreds of dollars, but if expense were truly no object?

Space armor. Retro-fabulous space armor. With a working jet pack.

What is the next project that you are working on?
Something secret, which is also awesome. There’ll be an official launch at Balticon, so I’ll leak out more information as we get closer to that date.

It is awesome, though. Completely and incredibly awesome.

What is your favorite Superhero?
Batman, who I love both because of his incongruity (he’s supposed to be dressed as a bat, but really only the abstract sense of that, has no bat powers, and has obsessive need to personalize all his stuff)and his malleability. He’s Adam West and Christian Bale and Kevin Conroy. He’s a gritty, street-level avenger who regularly battles aliens. He’s a tortured loner who inspires a loyal following of younger heroes. You can alter just about everything about his costume and he’s still recognizable. He’s everything about superheroes that’s wonderful in one package.

What does Panda want for Christmas?
That’s really a question for Panda, isn’t it? But I will say that Panda, JR and I were watching KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (the American version, though Panda prefers the original British series), and Panda remarked that he would love his own restaurant where he could serve fine tea and delicious bamboo-based dishes. So, that’s clearly a dream he’s put some thought into.

I imagine that if Panda received a restaurant of his very own for Christmas he would be quite chuffed.
If you had to throw away either your TV or your computer, which would you choose?
I’ve already thrown out the TV, so I guess that answers that. That’s not to say I don’t watch television, just that I no longer watch it on a TV.

Now, I suppose the question is, “How much of Jared’s brain will I be getting?” A valid query.

I would say, around about this much:

Jared Axelrod, published author and creator of the ALIENS YOU WILL MEET and VOICE OF FREE PLANET X podcasts, will edit your short story up to 9000 words. But what is being offered here is more than mere red-pen spelling and grammar check. Over a personal Skype discussion, Jared will provide:

-Detailed analysis of themes, and how you can make them stronger.
-Discussion of the wants and obstacles of both the protagonist and antagonist
-Examinations of the setting and the pace of the story
-Market suggestions for your story
-Axelrod-brand Encouragement! (TM)

The whole business will be auctioned in the Bespoke items timeslot on February 27th. But if you can’t make the event, feel free to place a proxy bid.

Bid high and bid often!

Yeah, I should really get around to talking about that.

I’m not gonna say it’s hard being me, because it isn’t. It is however, apparently difficult to keep up with being me, even for me. And I’m around me ALL THE TIME. Maddening, I tell you.

So, right. “Latent Memories.”

“Latent Memories” was part of Plays & Players 24 Hour Cram project. The idea was, you get a handful of people signed up to be writers, directors or actors. The writers get assigned a director and some actors at 8pm. They have until 8am the next morning to get a brand-spanking new script to their director and actors. The director and actors have until 8pm that day to learn their lines, block the show, work out lighting and sound, acquire costumes and perform the piece. Clearly, insane and awesome, as I stated previously.

JR and I had signed up as writers, but we instead asked to be a directors and an actor, as they had too many writers. I ended up being assigned to Shawn O’Shea, and have Dennis Frazier, Mark Skandera and Wes Frenza as our actors. Shawn gave us a wonderful script that worked with our strengths and was full of laugh-out-loud surprises, and the guys dove in. As you can see for yourself:

It’s very easy to get caught up in questions that just be addressed one, two, three drafts ahead, so it’s nice to have to have a guideline of what questions should be asked when. Your mileage, of course, will vary. But this works well for us.

1st Draft: What happens next?

This is the only question you should be asking yourself as you write your first draft. The. Only. Question.

The point of the first draft is the foundation, the rocks you build your story on. And for that story to be built, the foundation has to be finished. Nothing is more important in writing your first draft than reaching the end. Not your word choice, not your plot mechanics, not your personal politics. All of that can be changed, but not until the draft is finished. This means when you’re done you’ll have a pretty shitty piece of writing, but who cares? You’ve got at least 3 more passes to get it right.

2nd Draft: Does the plot make sense? What does my protagonist want? What is in his/her way to getting it? Are his/her decisions in keeping with his/her character, or to just move the plot?

Now you’ve got a shitty piece of writing that at least has a beginning, middle and end. Good job. It probably has a few human-shaped lumps that could pass as characters, so here’s your chance to make those characters real. Ideally, the protagonist should drive the plot, not the other way around (nobody likes a reactive protagonist, we like people who get shit done). Concurrent with this is the concern that these proactive decisions are keeping in touch with the character. If they aren’t, you can always change the decisions, or change the character.

3rd Draft: Are my characters engaging? Does my antagonist have proper motivation? How is the pace? Should I cut/add anything? Are the places and people properly described?

Your shitty piece of writing now has gained an engaging through-line and an involved, proactive protagonist. Time to beef up those side characters. A good rule of thumb with this is to imagine the story told from each and every character’s point of view. These new stories, where our side characters and villains are now the main heroes, should be just as engaging—if in different ways—as your main story. You don’t have to write these stories, but it’s important to imagine them. Would STAR WARS be as enjoyable if Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vader didn’t have their own stories going on just to the side of Luke’s? MIDDLEMARCH works the same way.

This draft is also a good time to look at pace. Is the story moving fast enough? Is it going too fast? Luckily, your new and improved side characters and antagonists can help out, by cutting some fat off some scenes or adding drama to others. Take some time to define who these people are, as well as the places they inhabit. If Draft 2 was all about the protagonist, Draft 3 is about giving that protagonist a world to inhabit.

4th Draft: Are the words the best words for the situation? I am comfortable with the themes and politics of this story (is it feminist, conservative, racist, etc)? Is it interesting to people who aren’t me?

The story’s not looking quite so shitty now, is it? Here we get to the polish stage, where you can add all those writer bells and whistles you’ve been dying to include since Draft 1. String all the pearls you want; your story should hold them. Now that that you have the story complete, you can also examine the themes and tweak them appropriately. Same with the politics. I’m making a note of them here, in Draft 4, because it’s very easy to fall into the trap of think of these sort of things before the story even finished. No character has politics until they’re fully fleshed out, no themes are evident until you get to the end.

After this pass, you can hand it off to a first reader or two, and they’ll have their own questions for you.

A note to users: much like the mastery of a martial art, one must approach writing in the appropriate sequence, and build upon the questions of a previous draft. You may ask yourself “What happens next?” while working on Draft 4, but if you find yourself wondering if Draft 1 is sexist, you’re focusing on the wrong things.

The family that cosplays together stays together, I always say.

While Avalon’s costume was fantastic, it lacked the trademark hat and mask.  Luckily, all the snow allowed me to fix that problem.

In addition to that hat and mask and loaning my Batsuit to the cause, I whipped up a purple tailcoat (aka the “Project: Murder Clown” I kept referring to on Facebook & Twitter). Unfortunatly, the actor cast as the Joker was stuck in Amsterdam due to the snow, and a new Joker had to be found. The new Joker was fantastic, but, as you see in the pics, an very skinny fellow.  Great for the character, but bad for the costume.  Luckily, he had his own gear.

As you can see, the whole cast looks fantastic.  I’m not sure if there’s video of the show, which is a shame. Joseph Nevin, who directed the Flash & Green Lantern show I also did costumes for, pulled out all the stops on this one, creating so much more than the advertised “staged reading.” When you’ve got Batman lifting the Joker clear off the ground and punching the narrator, I think we’ve need a new title.

After a fantastic dinner with Dan and Avalon to celebrate their recent nuptials, the four of us took in the show. Holly and Steve braved the horrible roads to see the show as well, and I couldn’t think of better group to laugh along with. Despite the difficulty getting there, the show played to a packed house. What does this mean for next one, in April? Get there early, I imagine.

But what do to with the tail coat, then?  I’m sure I’ll think of something…

photo by JR Blackwell

MAD LOVE! 10:30! Plays And Players! My costumes on stage!

Be there!