first person view

I Feel I Should Explain......

2004-12-28T08:22:00.000Z

...where I have been for nearly two months. Those that see me in real life know that I spend far too much time with joypad in hand, shooting things, driving things, jumping from precarious ledge to precarious ledge collecting things and otherwise engaging in virtual activities too numerous to mention. Those that know anything about computer games will know that the build up to Christmas is a heady time of AAA releases (as well as licensed tat) that can distract one from pretty much all that regular life has to offer.

Purchased games have been more numerous this year than previously due to my trading in my Gamecube and games that had been relegated to dust collecting paper weights following my purchase of an Xbox live starter kit this summer. Armed with a huge credit note for my local Gamestation I embarked on a journey, experiencing all that is great and good in this year's Q4 releases. Which is part of the reason for me being a bit slack with the old blog updates. Instead, I've been shredding cars to smithereens in Burnout 3, gangbanging in GTA:San Andreas, protecting the Earth from the evil Covenant onslaught in Halo 2, running like a bastard from the forces that pursue Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2, fighting in Stalingrad, Africa and Germany in WWII as I answered the Call of Duty (breaking off only to answer the call of nature), challenging the world in Colin Macrae Rally 2005, taking revenge for the death of my parents in the Western world of Red Dead Revolver, fighting ravaged time beasts in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and shooting Rebels in Star Wars Battlefront, while a pile of other games sit waiting patiently for me to complete them.

Add to this the fact that I am now gaming online through the power of Bill's mighty Xbrick (Gamertag: OfficerSlade) and you see why I haven't written to you for a while. In fact it's fair to say, I have been busy making new friends thanks to an excellent community of gamers at the LiveLounge where I have made myself well at home, becoming a moderator while shooting my mouth off via the site's forums on subjects too numerous to mention.

That's not to say I haven't been writing. Tone and myself have completed the Cairn script and redrafted it to a sharp point capable of making a sticky mess of man if required. Also, while going about the serious business of gaming, I met a rather smart fellow by the name of Peter Gilmore, who will be drawing a rather smart samurai tale in the New Year. Just as soon as I get round to writing up the plot into a marvel style script for him to layout before I put the words in everyone's mouths. But I did write the plot this Q4. I did mange that much.

I also decided, after much deliberation, that my novel is not what I wanted, or even much good, beyond the odd bit here and there. So I am drawing a line under it, after some halting attempts to kick it up the arse and get it moving. I am currently in the market for a decent idea. Hopefully I'll have one in time to get a head of steam up before next year's onslaught of gaming goodness around October/November. Oh bugger. Just remembered, there's Forza Motorsport in March and Republic Commando, not to mention a decent looking lightsabre fighter based on Episode III in May or indeed Lego Star Wars. Damn you games publishers, damn you all to hell.

A month of old friends, new games and Cairn completion

2004-11-06T14:18:00.000Z

Well it is finished. In what has been a very busy month I have written the final portion of my share of Cairn. I emailed it to Tone last night (still awaiting his usual astute verdict on what I have written)then took a few minutes to look back at the script in full and consider what Tony and I have achieved. I was quite surprised.

The story has turned out to be better than either of us hoped for and better than much if not all of what I have written before (Tone might well say the same). It has a very tight plot yet still manages to have moments of depth and stillness. It has Tony's trademark subtlety of character and control of dialogue. It has a kick arse ending. More important than the product though has been the process. Writing with another writer, particularly one whose style so obviously contrasts with my own has led to this old dog learning a few new tricks. I have written less dialogue for this project than any other. The fact that the ending I mention above has a large number of completely silent pages is nothing short of a revelation for me, one that occured when I looked over the pages and realised just how few speech balloons will feature on the forthcoming artwork from Chris Askham.

Cairn has been fun, with plot sessions fueled by beer and coffee, random emails in the dead of the night and lots of moments where we both forgot who wrote what and were pleased or disappointed to realise just who was responsible for which line. I recommend Tone as a co-writer to anyone. His deftness of touch and ability to see the finer points of a scene have generated many scenes in Cairn whose absence the story could not bear. As we plotted the ending he came up with one particular gem idea that had me proclaiming his genius loudly, while spilling tea on the carpet. I, of course, held up my side of the partnership by providing a way to make the ending seem less like a military action involving laser guided missles and more akin to a touching spiritual moment with added death. (The previous statement will make more sense when you read the final printed graphic novel at some indistinct future time).

The other event of note this month is my renewed contact with old Uni friend, Diane (who we called Den because of her Menace like sweater). She found me through this site and my other one, knowing that I would still be writing comics and doing music. Weirdly it was a friend of hers who had heard of my that pointed her in the direction of my sites. What it is to be a legend in your own lunchtime. We emailed, phoned each other, and finally met up which was great. Sooz and Ethan took to her straight away and it was great to see important people from such different times in my life meeting up and getting on so well. In a year of meeting up with old mates this was like the cherry on top of a delicious cake.

Add to that the release of GTA: San Andreas and Colin Mcrae Rally 2005 and you can see why I haven't blogged for a while. I've been building up my criminal empire in Rockstar's epic crime sim and setting fastest times on Codies website in my gamertag psuedonym of OfficerSlade. And Halo 2 comes out in a few days. I'm going in. I may be some time.

Doppelgangers!

2004-10-10T13:33:00.000+01:00

Met Phil for a drink in Brum yesterday. Few pints in The Fox, the pub our mutual group of friends use for the monthly pub meet; a gathering of friends who write, draw or just enjoy comics. Two pints in, Phil goes to the loo and I look over to the next table and feel like I've fallen into a parallel dimension.

Sat on the the table next to us, one of the tables our pub meet crew gathers round, are four men, late twenties/early thirties, pouring over pages of original comics artwork in portfolios. Coming back from the loo, Phil catches my eye, smiles and sits down.

Me: Look mate, it's us.
Phil: I was thinking that.
Me: I've gotta say something.

Which I do. Turns out they are one comics professional (James Hodgkins, inker on Jenny Sparks amongst other things) and a group of aspiring pros who meet regularly in The Fox but who we've never seen as the middle Saturday in the month is obviously theirs (while we take the last Saturday of the month). We tell them about our meet, invite them along, and after a few laughs and some discussion of the industry go back to our table feeling slightly Twilight Zoned. For a moment , both Phil and I feel like everyone else must when watching our pub meet group seriously discussing kiddie comics in a pub. An eye-opening experience, like meeting your Earth 2 counterparts.

Not sure if they will turn up at our meet in a fortnight, though it would be smart if they did. I'll be bringing my Jenny Sparks trade just in case. Ho ho!

Ico, Ico, OK!

2004-10-03T17:25:00.000+01:00

Ico 2/Wanda and the Colossus/Nico - whatever it is called, it's going to be great. I can't wait to start climbing and fighting these architectural beasts.

Once upon a time I played a magical game called Ico. More tranquil adventure than action adventure I have returned to it's fairytale stylings often. Now I find that a psuedo-sequel is coming out from Ueda-san and his team. Marvellous. Now if the new game can receive as much commercial success as it will critical all will be well in the world. Whatever happens, I'll be playing this with a smile on my face and a glint in my eye.

Was I too saucy?

2004-09-24T08:18:00.000+01:00

In the spring I entered the BBC's 'End of Story' competition, writing an ending for the Alexei Sayle story 'Imitating Katherine Walker.' I had a phone call from the BBC regarding my story in June, then nothing, though I did read an interview with Alexei Sayle where he talked about the fact he enjoyed seeing middle-aged men in compromising sexual situations which raised my spirits as I thought Mr Sayle might like my ending if it got through to the final three he would judge.

I knew I hadn't won when July turned into August and I had heard nothing more. I was a little disappointed as I thought the ending rather good if a bit rude but then forgot about it as I got wrapped up in writing Cairn with Tone. Clicking on the BBC site today I found they had posted the winning entry, which you may or may not be interested to read. I have to say, and this is not sour grapes, it's a little flat and unfunny when compared to the opening. It starts really well actually but seems to just reassert the stories opening situation with a twee character change where everyone just gets on. A shame really, but then I am probably being unrealistic expecting the Beeb to pick good literature for a reality tv writing competition. I can only assume that my ending, filled with men in saucy red underwear, hand jobs and duvet lurking was a little too risque to be selected and then aired on Radio 4. Also it would have to be dramatised on the BBC3 show. Probably shot myself in the foot by trying to write an ending that fit the story not the tv channel.

If you are wondering what the hell I am talking about, check out the links above, read the one that won, then click on comments below, where I will post my ending. Was I so wrong? You decide.

My Son Has Superpowers! or A comics fan's dream come true!

2004-09-16T09:33:00.000+01:00

My son's mutant powers have manifested well before puberty it seems. No wonder he can tire me out so quickly and manages to get through doors, the living room safety gate and any and all seemingly impassable furniture barricades I build. Now we just have to make him a costume, give him a name and I can exploit him via a series of pay per view tv spectaculars.

See the blurry nature of the photo as Ethan's super speed kicks in. I plan for him to us this power to win races at school sports days at first.

Here Ethan displays his burgeoning Kitty-Pryde-alike power of phasing. I plan to have him use this power for evil, robbing banks, that kind of thing. In a mask of course. Note that he phases the sandwich in his hand, a precocious display of control of this power, as Aunty Shiralee watches with pride.

Driving round the bend.

2004-09-12T08:41:00.000+01:00

Two quick things about certain drivers and their driving.

1) Saw on the news this week that those ridiculously large car stereo speakers used by boy racers and car modders are crushing their lungs because of the oomph of the sound. Good, at least its not just the peace and quiet of my home they are destroying when they stop at the lights by my house with their windows down and some sad shit blasting out for all to hear. Crushed lungs are too good for 'em if you ask me. Wouldn't 'ave happened in my day.

2) Some idiot crashed through my nextdoor neighbour's fence at three this morning. Which was nice. And guess what, it was a modded Peugeot with an official 'kick-ass' sound system. Add to that, the arrival of a tow truck an hour later, when Sooz and I had just managed to doze off again, and you can proably guess how much sleep we had. If not, let me add that they started using some kind of cutting tool to chop up bits of fence/or the car or something. I don't know what they were doing or why as Sooz and I buried ourselves under the duvet to try and grab a little sleep before Ethan's 6.30 wake-up. Which was actually 5.45am today. And because his bedroom is at the back of the house he had a great night's sleep and is full o'beans.

As I said, crushed lungs are too good for these idiots. As things go I may take to slashing tyres and smashing windscreens, vent my spleen in a more productive manner.

Rant over, I go back to my Xbox to play Burnout 3. Oh the irony!

A Max Power-ed Peugeot like the one that destroyed my neigbours fence. You too could spend all your cash on a doing up car like this. Or you could just buy a decent car to start with. Modded cars, created and driven by arses.

First full week.

2004-09-12T08:19:00.000+01:00

Quite a week, this one. My first full week as househusband/writer-when-I-can went well. I have completed 50% of Cairn with Tony and we are planning to write the second half in the same room at the same time. That will be weird. Meanwhile, Ethan has taken to climbing onto the large bookcase in the front room without correct apparatus which means I have been rescuing him from the small space behind his play pen and in front of the bookcase. Luckily I already did the safe parental thing of bolting heavy furniture to the wall using brackets I think may be impossible to remove should we decide to move.

The rest of my parental duties have gone well and Ethan has learnt lots of new words. He has a play mat and can point to the majority of little picutres on it when asked for something. Spent much of yesterday afternoon saying things like, camel, tree, helicopter and clapping when he did it right (nearly all the time). He loves the praise too and laughs like someone on high quality, designer drugs. All that boys achievement stuff I learnt while teaching will come in handy as he grows up.

Signed Sooz and I up for Ballroom and Latin dance classes yesterday. We are finally going to take a first step into a larger world. Should be cool. Probably make us wish we had learnt before the wedding. First lesson is on Monday and the instructor sounded cool on the phone. Looking forward to it and the beer at the hotel bar afterward should provide a lovely full stop to the evening before heading back to relieve Grandma-babysitter.

I also did all the household chores, reorganised our financial files, tidied up the new DVD overflow in the front room, burned Sooz a CD of lovely tracks as a late, great anniversary present, and became Captain of a Rainbow Six:Black Arrow team on the Old Live Dudes Forum. And Burnout 3 came out on Friday and has been eating away at my spare time like some kind of ravenous beast. I am ranking 1880th or thereabouts in the world. Oh the heady heights of success. Great game though, fast enough to make your eyes bleed, though EA's online servers are currently creaking uner the weight of the online demand.

This coming week will see me mowing the lawn, starting supply teaching and ballroom dancing, finishing Cairn with Tone, changing numerous nappies, cooking the majority of lunches and dinners, hoovering, washing-up, unlocking the F1 car on Burnout 3 for silly speed racing online(hopefully), finishing chapter 5 of novel, starting to prep the short story collection I had an idea for this week (more later),taking Bomba swimming, and all will be full stopped with Jeffrey Lewis live in Moseley.

Life is sweet, indeed!

10 things I love about being a house husband.

2004-09-01T18:07:00.000+01:00

Sooz started her new job today. She's 'Back To School.'So today is my official first day as a house husband. So here's the list (in no particular order) of things I really appreciate now I have given up teaching and started looking after Ethan full time.

1) Strolling to the Post Office at 10.30 in the morning because me and Bombarine are in no real rush.

2) Watching the Rubberadubbers. 'Rarrrr'

3) Having lunch when we feel like it and taking as much time as we need.

4) Nap time for Ethan is writing time for Daddy. (Today he did two hours. Top boy.)

5) Cuddles and rough 'n' tumble.

6) Reading baby books.

7) Playing cars and not feeling silly.

8) Pushing a giggling boy on his trike in the garden.

9) Watching folk smile at Ethan when he's out and about 'cause he's bloody cute and they know it dammit.

Ethan - the Bombarine. See, cute as you like.

10) Knowing I have the best job in the world. (True, an old bloke, 60/65, told me so when we passed him at the bus stop today and never a truer word was said.)

Reflective thought!

2004-09-01T12:48:00.000+01:00

Been reflecting on my writing. Particularly in light of working with Tone on our new comic script, Cairn. Not having worked this closely with another writer before has started to highlight definite idiosyncracies in the way I work as well as point out some areas or my writing (particularly comics-wise) that are less than sharp.

After writing the previous entry, I asked Tone to tell me what I brought to the project. He said:

'Without wanting to sound like a ponce, I think my style's more ethereal, while yours is intellectual. You like quirky ritual and detail and the actual mechanics of it while I'm more focused on the human aspect and the bigger picture. Plus y'know, you plotted at least two thirds of the story.'

Which struck me as weird as my novel is very much all about the 'human aspect' than anything actually happening. Wonder if I am subconsciously rebelling against that part of my writing?

When I mentioned this to Tone, he added:

'It's not that your writing lacks a human side, Sin had some great characters, it's just your stories in the past have tended to focus more on ideas rather than how they affect people. It's just a different style of writing to mine. Take Philip K Dick for instance (not that I'm comparing his stuff to yours), brilliant writer with barking ideas by the shedload, but how many of his characters stick in the memory? One of the things I like about Cairn is it gives us both a fresh perspective on the way we write. I know you were talking about doing whole scenes silent, while I'm looking forward to the challenge of writing more wordy pages than usual.'

Writing Cairn I have found that I am writing differently, as is Tony (he assures me). Not that I am attempting to ape Tone (or vice versa)but I am approaching scenes with a less-is-more attitude that a decade or more of reading Vertigo books had really drummed out of me. Gone are the caption boxes and even my panel descriptions are slimming down fast. Whether this is solely due to the colaborative way of working or something that comes from not having written a comic script in about two years is debatable. I think the break has helped to flush out the crap in my system though.

Perhaps now that I only read about three or four comics a month I'm ready to write them.

Pervy Album Art!

2004-08-31T16:54:00.000+01:00

Just got round to buying the QOTSA album 'Songs For The Deaf' as only £5 in MVC. Best thing about it is PVC effect on the inner-sleeve-art-foldout-poster-palooza. Very pervy. Very nice. If only more bands did this kind of thing I could sew my own gimp suit for free.

iPod? I saayyyy!

2004-08-26T08:15:00.000+01:00

iPod - another reason for someone to mug you.

I got an iPod yesterday. Yes, I know some of you out there may well be anti-iPod for numerous valid reasons. But I think they are lovely. Since getting my new PC and broadband I have been downloading music from various sites but have made best use of iTunes due to it being straightforward and you only pay for what you buy, bloody subscriptions piss me off.

So as a natural extension of all this downloading (plus the fact I am starting to digitalise my music collection) getting an MP3 player was essential really, CD Walkmans being so last century. Faced with the plethora of options available I did what most sane people do. I bought on the basis of an add campaign. And to highlight the power of advertising, I danced round my house for a bit yesterday while listening to The Beyond on it. Just like the ads, only I'm marginally better looking than most of the folk in the ad (yeah, right).

That said, it is a marvelous piece of kit and I'm amazed at just how much music you can cram into one little white box. Oh and it has a groovy pop quiz game where it plays you a snip of one of you songs and you have to find the song before the timer runs out, kind of like a futuristic 'Name That Tune.' No robots though, shame.

What has all this got to do with writing I hear you say. Well now I can plug this in when Sooz is watching Ethan and get on with writing without being distracted by the screaming and the tears (and that's just Sooz).So there. It was a necessary purchase. Shame I'm not a published writer as I could probably argue to make it tax deductible.

So, in short, I am a shameless lackey of major corporations, doing their satanic bidding on the basis of glossy ads, packaging and design. But damn, I rock. I promise my next post will be about the project me and Tone are working on. The first 16 pages are complete. TTFN.

In the groove.

2004-08-25T23:05:00.000+01:00

So I was working on my novel today, after completing the first draft of the first section of Cairn, and I was in the groove. Hammering away on the keyboard, lots of good stuff flying onto the page, so much in the flow that I didn't save for a while, 5 pages to be exact. You can see where this is going.

Yep. A bloody error with the wp and the bloody thing has to close. Hasn't happened since I got this new pc. Until today. the one time I forget to save a word document regularly and then bang, all that good stuff gone. After a wee rant and a brief period of head holding I went and made a cup of tea. Feeling a little better I started from my last save and attempted to rewrite the lost pages.

And here's the thing. I rewrote them. But they just don't feel as good, despite the fact that I know that in at least two places I have written better dialogue and in three or four places put in some damn fine description. Yet the feel of the pages is marred. Damn, the new stuff could be the best stuff I've ever written, the best stuff in western literature, but it pales in comparison to the memory of my perfect lost pages.

Fact is, I find myself feeling like a man who's been dumped by his best girl. The symptoms are the same. I look back on the pages and I remember them better than they were. I felt shock when the seperation took place, I didn't see it coming. I even blamed myself at first and tried to work out what went wrong. But I didn't cry.

So, writing is like falling in and out of love, just like all stories are love stories. Or I'm trying to turn this random electronic blip event into a story. Or something. But get this. Irony of ironies, the last 3 paragraphs of this piece are a second attempt. As I was drafting this blog entry I pressed the wrong button while checking the preview and wiped off the second half of the original entry. At least I had the presence of mind to save the first few paragraphs. Ahh, we love/live and learn.

I reckon I'll have to stick a footnote in my novel, should it see print, to highlight the fact that somewwhere in the ether lie four bloody brilliant pages that do the job of those that now exist in a physical sense far, far better. Or perhaps a tearstain smudge effect, if I can convince whoever publishes it to go that far (if indeed it is published, if not every page may be stained with tears).

Till then, I'll be over in a corner, typing like a demon and doing my crying in the rain.

A bloody big comic book!

2004-08-21T08:10:00.000+01:00

Sunday, August 15, 2004, I wrote:

'So, in a few months time, maybe a year but definitely no more, look for a dark, supernatural thriller, working title, 'Dead Children' (at least at the moment, this will undoubtedly change as soon as I discuss plot with Tone tomorrow).'

And I was right. The title for this piece is now 'Cairn' and its a massive beast of a book on first impressions. Before I went on holiday, Tone and I had a chat about a joint project and shared some initial ideas about setting and tone (no, not Tone, tone witha small t). That done, I went off to Wales with the Sooz and the Bomba, my brain slow cooking the beginnings of a story set in the heart of England, the dark heart of England actually. I did a bit of brain splurging onto note paper and had the start of a pretty good tale, I thought. Surprisingly when I got back, Tone had come up with some similar ideas on the story and, not suprpisingly, some very different. So we made plans to sit down and plan the bugger out.

As I write this it is the morning after the night before and 'Cairn has turned into a bit of a beast. After two marathon sessions of planning we have the plot done and have started scripting. And it really is a beast. My best estimate has it weighing in at about 100 hundred pages overall. Plus it spans a great deal of time (and no time at all, bizarrely). The best thing though, is that it reads like nothing written by either myself or Tone. Don't get me wrong, it features elements of both our writing styles (I would say the better ones) but really seems to have become something more than the sum of its parts. It has Tone's deftness of touch with character and makes the most of his talent with sweeping emotive stories. As for what I bring to the mix, probably best to ask Tone, but I think the dark edge of the story is fueled by my interest in the more macabre interests of our ancestors.

It has been a draining experience to plan this in such a concentrated manner (we completed the whole thing in two six hour sessions - interspersed with research and lots of coffee and tea; not in the same mug mind) but a rewarding one. This book will really be like nothing either of us has done before, all we need to do is write it and get Chris and Tone to draw it (which again will be a new experience as Tone inks Chris's pencils; should lead to something altogether wonderful). And then we have to convince the collective with no name to print the big mutha. Judging by Chris's most recent pages for Tone, which can be found here and here, the art is going to be suitably dark and disturbing.

I'll let you know when the script is finished. We may be a while.

My Summer Reading

2004-08-16T17:34:00.000+01:00

Steve Aylett's excellent 'Only An Alligator' first in the four book Accomplice series.

Managed to get in some top quality summer reading while away on holiday. Started with the truly marvelous 'Hey Nostradamus' by Douglas Coupland, who manages to shake of the slacker chic and produce something a lot more substantial and spiritual. This book really gripped me and refused to let go. It is dark in tone, revolving as it does around a high school shooting, but focuses on the ripple effects that such an event causes in the community. The first section of the book is narrated by one of the victims of the shooting after her death and is rather brilliant. It reads in the smae way that Six Feet Under feels when you watch it, touching, true and often shocking and with such a deep vein of pathos and humanity that it hurts at times.

I plunged my head into the first of Steve Aylett's Accomplice novels, 'Only An Alligator' which could not be more different to Coupland's latest. This book, the first of four, tastes like a Marx Brothers movie, crossed with Philip K Dick at his most mentalist, then sprinkled with Lewis Carroll and a smidge of weirdy comics writing (Moore or Morrison, take you pick), cooked under the low heat of a Beckett play. Very funny, with Barny Juno lumbering through the novel like an idiot savant/holy fool. Worth reading if only for Gregor's lusty liason with a triceratops skull. I won't detail the plot here as a synopsis just will not do this madness justice. Instead, I'll tell you that I have bought the other books in the series, and as well as finding two of his earlier novels in a cheap bookstore in Hay-on-Wye I am on the lookout for others. See, well worth buying lots of.

Finally I am just coming to the end of the last in Jake Arnott's excellent London gangland saga started in his first novel, 'The Long Firm,' recently televised on BBC 2 with the excellent Mark Strong as the complicated gangster Harry Starks. 'truecrime' seems to be tying up the loose ends with Harry lurking behind the narratives provided by the three main characters like some malevolent ghost. Arnott's depiction of nineties London brings the series near-to-date and he manages to have a pop at Guy Ritchie along the way which is always welcome. The fact that all the major character's from the previous two books are being revisited (those not dead anyway) works well and we get to see how tykes like Beardsley end up twenty/thirty years down the road. As I said, Harry is the imposing figure behind the narrative, seldom seen, except in recollection where he is transformed into a mythological figure for the cast of the novel. I only hope he appears from behind the curtain before the end and that the appearence is sutiably weighty. I reckon chances are good, seen as endings are the strongest things in Arnott's books.

In addition to the above, I have been dipping into classic Spiderman comics (blame Sam Raimi), a book on funeral rites throughout history (research for the project ' Dead Children'), and a critique and history of the Beach Boys, 'Pet Sounds' album. I used to read one book at a time in a very male way, focused on the job in hand until finished. Since I started living with Sooz, she encouraged me to have a few different types of books on the go at once. I must be embracing a more multi-tasking feminine side of myself. Probably stand me in good stead, seeing as I will be doing the house husband thing from September. Meanwhile, Sooz has reverted to reading only one book at a time, this change around in our reading styles seeming to mirror our change in roles as she becomes the breadwinner.

Having said all that, what are you reading and how do you read yours?

Summer holiday

2004-08-15T15:25:00.000+01:00

Just got back from a week of thunderstorms and sweltering sun in the wilds of Wales. Wasn't able to work on the next chapter of my novel as the laptop I took to work on had an incompatible word processor to the files on my ISB memory thang. The saucy laptop kept taunting me with its Microsoft Office WP but my previous work spilled onto the page as symbol gibberish (not a bad name for a band that) when I attempted to open files. Shame. So I resorted to playing on my Gameboy, reading some great books (more in a day or two), dreaming up possible names for the collective I am attempting to kickstart and drafting ideas in my note book for the graphic novel project I am planning with Tone and Chris.

The new project looks set to be a cool thing, with me and Tone writing and Chris and Tone getting all collaborative on the art chores. As such this will mean much phoning and visiting between the three of us, so beer will be drunk and pretentious ideas kicked out without thought of each others feelings. At least I hope so. Looking forward to this kind of collaboration as it will work like the stuff I do with Dave and Jim as The Terrapins, all of us with a say in each others work and good ideas being shared and bad ones thrown out without worrying about hurt feelings. Who would have thought that artists (whether musical or comic) could be so not-precious. (What is the opposite of precious when used to describe a person's demeanor?)

So, in a few months time, maybe a year but definitely no more, look for a dark, supernatural thriller, working title, 'Dead Children' (at least at the moment, this will undoubtedly change as soon as I discuss plot with Tone tomorrow). As long as the problem with my PC is solved today. You see, I got home from my holiday yesterday to find that my PC had developed a fault which has had it crashing out with no warning. After much shouting at the screen, a lengthy phone call to the PC support line and stop-start attempts to make backup discs due to hellish shutdowns I have bitten the bullet and used the system recovery disc to reset to factory settings. Now all I have to do is reload all the software and files. Hence me typing this in now on my folks pc at my childhood home. Add to that the fact that two flat packs await my building skills at home and you can see how my Sunday is panning out. Oh well, at least I've got a lovely roast dinner about to be served up. Speak of the devil, Sooz just called up stairs to say lunch was finally ready. Ah, upstairs at my Mum and Dad's, being called down for Sunday lunch. I feel ten years old again. Wonder if I should ask for my pocket money, see how far I get.

Until next time.

New website on the block.

2004-08-04T19:47:00.000+01:00

My website, sent out into the world like a newborn child.

Well, here it is. Through the magic of modern technology and a little help from Webplus8 and Tony McGee, my website is finally here. I'm pleased with it for a first attempt. Only thing I am unhappy with is the fact that my menus scroll up with the page, but not sure I can fix that with the dated software I'm using. Perhaps when I can afford Frontpage I'll be able to sort that out.

Still, other than that I am well happy. There is lots of stuff there, info on my comics and how to get the latest issue of Sin, a full short story for folk to read called 'Shopping Maul' and blasts from the past in the shape of pages on old comics wot I wrote. Please, come on in, sit down, have a drink and relax. Make yourself at home at firstpersonstories.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

I'll be over here if you have any questions or comments.

That was the weekend, that was!

2004-08-03T16:19:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was pub meet weekend. For those of you who don't go, basically its meeting in a pub in Birmingham of lots of small press folk, comics fans and generally gobby people who like to have a beer. So you can see why I go. Only I hadn't been to one for about four years and this Saturday's meet was my first in while.

It's like I never left. I turned up to meet mate's Tony and Nige at Forbidden Planet. Did some shopping and hit Mr Egg at about 3.30pm for the ubequitous plate of sausage, egg, chips and beans. Lovely. Then to the pub. Where I proceeded to drink vast quantities of Stella, each one punctuated by conversation about serious stuff, like the publishing collective I want to get moving, to not so serious stuff, like which superheros/villains should go into the Big Brother house. We three were soon joined by Mark, Sarah and a little later the whole crew. No one really questioned me on my disappearence for four years, in fact things really did pick up where they left off. Like a timewarp or something. Cool.

By the end of the evening I was very drunk, failed to leave the pub in time for my train and followed, Jez, Jon, Tom, Phil and Pete to a balti house, and then to Tom's, where I awoke the next morning at an ungodly hour due to my brain being wired to wake up with my one year old. Then followed a two hour trek from King's Heath to home via the best and worst of West Midland public transport.

All that and I didn't really seem to get any further with the collective, though people are interested. Oh well, maybe next time I'll be sober for longer and actually talk sense for some of the night. Fat chance. Anhow, I have a plan to try to attain this higher state of soberness. Arrive later, drink slower, and attach myself via some sturdy rope to Tony to make sure I make it back to Coseley via train or tram. I'll let you know how that works out, unless you're at the pub meet (The Fox, round the corner from Nostalgia and Comics, just down from Mr Egg, last Saturday of the month, 4 pm start), in which case you'll see me drunk and disorderly around the same time as this month. It'll be an improvement to actually make it home.

Oh and Pete, Phil and Tom. Sooz wasn't annoyed when I did get back. In fact she made me a cooked breakfast and a cuppa, before letting me snooze on the sofa in front of the tv. Go figure.

Suffice to say I have done little writing since Friday due to the vast quatities of alcohol and the lack of sleep. I have managed to complete my website though, and will be attempting to upload it tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Theatre of Conceits! A forgotten classic?

2004-07-27T11:58:00.000+01:00

Frog-Eyed Dreamer Epilogue Splash: weird to think I wrote this comic five years ago and now I have my own one year old.

Spent yesterday sorting out my small press comics for printing. Sin 7 is ready and I am going to the printer's with my good friend Tony McGee of Frontiers fame. We are both to print our latest efforts and will probably slip into a Wolverhampton pub for a couple of pints along the way. I say I'll be printing my latest but this stuff has been ready for some time, I just haven't got round to printing any of it.

So yesterday was a real trip down memory lane. Re-reading Sin7 reminded me how good Chris and I were getting before real life made major demands on our time. Chris is getting married this summer and the Askhams already have a little baby girl called Jasmin. We managed to mix up literature influences and art styles in some very interesting ways. I'm real glad to be back in touch with Chris and we are sure to collaborate on a new project in the future; more on that in later.

The real eye opener was Theatre of Conceits though. This was an anthology of two strips, Dan and the Ankou (no, the main character was not actually meant to be me), and Frog-Eyed Dreamer. Those who read it will remember the oddness of Theatre, filled as it was with characters like Jethro, the Nippleman, a six foot tall man whose skin was covered head to foot in nipples, obviously, and Damfool, the psycho-sexual deviant host of the comic's intro pages. I re-read the eight issues I actually managed to publish and only then remembered that I had the final two issues nearly ready too. Scurrying around in my piles of original art and correspondence I found the two lost issues of Theatre. Keen to see how it ended I read them, having forgotten ever writing them, though I know I did.

And that was the weird thing. I found that the last episodes of Frog-Eyed Dreamer, though written five years before the birth of my son (and the strip actually began in script form nearly ten years ago) was actually focusing on some of the responsibilities of parenthood, though in a slightly hamfisted way if I'm honest. If I knew then what I know now the strip would probably be different but hey, I'll print it as is. It still holds together and I even manage to have a dig at myself in particular and writer's in general along the way so best not to be too precious about it.

As for Dan and the Ankou, that strip actually looks like I knew what I was doing, with sub-plots and twists hanging together nicely. The whole thing ends leaving the reader wanting to know more, it did me anyway; remember I was reading this with fresh eyes after sticking it away in a cupboard for five years. The plan was to write a Dan and the Ankou one-shot, graphic novel thing that wrapped up the major plot stuff which I am keen to do after re-reading the strip. Now I need to get back in touch with Theatre artist Chris Low, who produced some truly excellent work over the years of its run.

Which brings me to what is really nice but weird about this whole small press thing. When I have finished putting out issue 9 and 10 of Theatre, there will be a complete 10 issue run of an original and interesting series that a small but select group of people own yet, and here's the nice but weird bit, Chris Low and I never met. Not once. Yet we created something no other writer and artist team could, good or bad. In the late nineties, through the magic of our postal service, we were able to collaborate over a great distance, share a vision and create something I think is special (if a little flawed, but then what writing isn't).

The fact that I can go back to these books, having forgotten them has enabled me to look on them a bit more objectively but also a little more fondly than I have in recent years. These books are the evidence of how I learnt to write comics, by fumbling along, convincing my artists and readers alike that I knew what I was doing. When I disappeared from the small press scene a large part of me gave up on writing. The lack of time was in part an excuse that enabled me to step away and not feel like I was dropping out. Perhaps I was even a bit afraid of trying real hard to be good at this writing lark and failing. Strange now that I have a wife, a son and more time-sucking responsibilities than ever before in my life, yet I am finding the time to write.

Looking at Theatre now I can see it kind of heralds the pessimism I have displayed about my writing over the last few years. It also holds some of the optimism I feel now and as such has told me a thing or two about myself, one way or another. Funny. I thought you only learnt things from other people's words. Whether anyone else gets anything out of reading the complete run of Theatre is another matter, but I am glad I wrote it.

See. I'm a better person for this. Oh I am. Really. Aren't you glad I shared?

And the many references to sex in Theatre aren't necessarily autobiographical. One thing I do remember about writing the series is that, at the time, I thought there were too few orgasms in comics so I thought I'd chuck some in. I think I was listening to a lot of Pulp at the time, which probably explains that particular feature of the series. To see what I mean check out issue 10 around Halloween.

Cheers.

2004-07-27T11:56:00.000+01:00

Theatre of Conceits issue 10. It's coming......yeah baby!

24: A real good day.

2004-07-23T21:26:00.000+01:00

While nursing my shock over just how bloody good the new Spiderman2 movie is, I tuned in for the season finale of 24. A hour later and my mind was beating fast as my heart ran through the myriad possibilities behind the announcement that Season Four was due to arrive sometime after Xmas. I couldn't really take it all in, mostly due to Jack's minor breakdown at the end of the episode leaving me empathising with his moment of despair. This was a top piece of telly, in a similar vein to the quiet, extended scenes in Spiderman2, where silence reigns but much is said with a glance or a pause. Only here the scene was entirely necessary, simply could not have been cut, unlike the Raimi directed scenes in S2 which, though brilliant, were not essential to the plot.

Now I can't wait for next season. I want to see Tony brought out of jail to save the day, Jack to have ample opportunity to yell things like 'Where's the bomb?' or 'Tell me how to find the virus,' with his great shouty voice. Sad thing is the femme fatales of Nina and Sherry cannot return. Damn shame as they were top viewing, Nina as the rock hard Ice Queen, while Sherry hammed it up in true Lady Macbeth style. RIP ladies. Unless of course the next threat is some kind of reanimating virus that brings them back as bile spitting zombies. Remember, you read it here first.

I'm off to download the CTU ringtone to my new mobile.

Ahh, this is the life

2004-07-23T21:10:00.000+01:00

Last week I gave up work to be a house husband, the idea being this will free up more time for writing. For the last seven years I have been a teacher and have had little time for any extra-curricular work. As you can see by the title of this post I am enjoying my new found freedom. I say freedom, but I'm really only as free as being reponsible for a one year old called Ethan allows, which isn't really free at all. Except when he naps, ahh the stuff I can get done then.

This morning I continued work on my web site, which is about a third complete as the little fella slept for a good bit of the a.m. Good thing too as I really want to get it up an running. Also managed to get the text pages ready for Sin7, so I am on schedule to print early next week. This is a fairly big deal as it will be my first small press book for about five years or so. Now I have to knuckle down to some real writing. That means getting stuck into the next chapter of my novel. More on that later.

Distractions from writing are many fold. Went to see Spiderman2 with mates on Wednesday, some of who I haven't seen for a good long while. Always nice to meet up with old firends. And what do you know, Spiderman2 just happens to be the best film I have seen in ages. Add to that my recent obsession with Xbox live and Fight Night 2004 from EA games, reading Jake Arnott novels, helping my sister move house (she bought the biggest tv in the world and we nearly had to take her bloody back door off to get it in) and my brother's return from New Zealand and things have been a bit hectic . Really need to sit down for some quality time with a Word document.

Oh well at least 24 finished last night. That's one hour a week I can claw back, at least until the start of Season Four next year.

First Steps

2004-07-20T23:15:00.000+01:00

Sin 7 Cover

Two main things happening at the moment.

First off I'm preparing my relaunch into the world of small press comics. This means that I am finally putting out issue 7 of Sin after a break of far too many years to mention. Issue 7 will be the final issue of Sin as it is known by its limited audience but characters will be returning in future projects, both comics and prose. I'm taking the wider view of utilising characters in various ways. For example, the character of Seagull appears in Sin's later issues while also appearing in my-novel-in-progress 'sidestreetshow', though years older and in an altogether different fictional universe. I suppose I just like the idea of using a character in a one setting and seeing how that character is different in another.

Second, I'm working on a website for the first time. After having real problems with some web creation software and being unable to afford the most up-to-date package due to, amongst other things, having a one year old to pay for, I have opted to use Webplus 8 as it only cost a tenner. Yes it's years old, and weirdly I just found out that my brother was one of the people who worked on designing the program, but it seems to be doing the job. Have to see if it goes the distance. Once 'FirstPersonStories' is up and running rest assured there will be a post heralding its first steps into the wider world.

On the back burner, I'm slowly but surely bending the ears of those in my small press circle, trying to drum up support for a 'publishing collective' (more on this another time), and I'm waiting to see if the ending I sent in to the BBC's 'End of Story' competition has turned the heads of the judges. My entry is a saucy conclusion to Alexei Sayle's story 'Imitating Katherine Walker.' More info on this can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/endofstory/ If I get the call before the end of July, when the competition winners are notified, you'll hear it first here.

Oh well. Better get on with some real writing. And if you see Pete Ashton tell him I can see what he means about these blog things.