A Week in Writing #202

Now that the dust has settled and I can take a step back, I realize that some of the stories that were published about Powers Squared at the time contained some factual errors, mostly revolving around the colorist on issues #3-5. For some reason, the colorist on Issues 1-2, Lisa Richards, is given credit in a couple of places as the colorist on the more recent issues. This isn't information that we provided and I want to go on record here with my apologies to Paige Cambern for being overlooked in those articles. Everyone deserves credit for their own work. In the euphoria of the moment, I didn't notice this error.

Another "ugly" reality is that you don't control the press. Besides the errors above, which I assume were innocent mistakes, the reviews that we were waiting for came with comments about the lettering being cut off on a couple of issues. This was shocking to hear as we believe the review was based on .pdfs that we sent, not what was on comiXology's website. However, hearing that sort of comment might keep someone curious from buying it. comiXology did confirm that there were no issues with the comic on their site and Paul and I confirmed that there was no issue with the .pdfs. Fortunately, the PR firm contacted the publisher and he took down the comment on one review. I contacted him, in between painting a bathroom, and he took the comment off the other review. Hopefully, not too much damage was done. I really wonder what happened.

While we're still publicizing Issues 1-5, work continues on Issue #8. Spent part of Tuesday night looking over thumbnails for the first 8 pages. Our artist sends us two versions and Paul and I select some panels from one version and some panels from another, sort of like ordering on a Chinese restaurant menu. Instead of moo goo gai pan and shrimp toast, its panel 1 from the A version and panel 2 through 5 from B. Later in the week, she sent us the rough layouts based on our panel choices.

She also provided us with a final character study of our newest villain, Professor Theorem, so it's interesting to see things taking shape.

A little note about copyrights, which are a very good thing but also quite slow. Last summer, June 11, 2017, as a matter of fact, we applied for copyrights on the first two issue of Powers Squared, both script and visuals. (The script had already been copyrighted.) Well, it took until this past week to get the notices from the Copyright Office. That's a little over a year. There was an issue about the work-for-hire but that, I believe, was in the original application. Just wanted to let you know that the wheels of government can turn very slowly.

I was approached this week to do an AMAfeed about Powers Squared. Didn't want to miss out on the exposure, so I agreed to do it. Sort of threw it up on their site sort of quickly and it shows. The headline I wrote contains the word anything after AMA. They also wanted a proof photo and at the time I was painting a bathroom and hadn't shaven in a couple of days; let's just say, not a pretty picture. I used a photo I had around but when it was displayed on their site, it really looks blurry. (Tip, headlines and photos are two things you can't go back and change. I know because I tried.)

The AMA went live on Friday and so far we've had about 20 questions. If you have a question about Powers Squared, then please ask away here. It'll be open through next Friday, June 13th. We've also invited our artists to submit answers as well. I'll write more about this experience next week.

On Saturday, thanks to Paul's editing, we posted a new video of me with my sons, the first time we've all sat down together on camera. We were answering the questions given to us by FreakSugar for their interview. You can view it on our YouTube channel here. You can also read the actual  FreakSugar interview here. It was our first interview and we wanted to commemorate the occasion.

Related to the comic-book, this week the program schedule for San Diego Comic-Con was released and we went through them looking for both educational as well as entertaining panels to attend. The trip will be discussed in greater detail in the post Report from the Front, the following Monday.

Also wrote a short review for Ant-Man and the Wasp for Trophy Unlocked. Thanks to the holiday we were able to see the film on Friday morning and put up a review that evening. It's rare we get one up the day a film is released. The Saturday Morning Review was Paul's about Bayonetta 2, as last week's was about Bayonetta.

I did call my editor about Familiar Stranger. The main thing is he's still alive and well. This is not unusual to have long gaps between hearing from him. Not that I like it, but it's not unusual. He's doing me a favor and I understand that. But it was good to talk to him and get an update.

I'm still working on finishing the rewrite for Paperback Detective. I'm into the final main chapter, trying to preserve as much as I can from the original but changing the location where it takes place from a car in a downtown parking garage to the house where a murder took place. I always knew I needed to change that and I think it will work a lot better.

A Week in Writing #200

This week was mostly, though not entirely, about Powers Squared. As confirmation, the next three issues, the story arc With Great Powers Comes Something, Something, Something..., will be published on Wednesday, June 27 on comiXology.com. To that end, we spent part of this past weekend answering some questions for an interview on Freaksugar that should appear on Wednesday. We also edited and posted a video to our YouTube channel and shot another one we'll put up later of Paul, Trevor and I answering Freaksugar's questions. We're also planning to do a Google hangout with our artist, Rachel Wells. So much still to come.

Also, Adventures in Poor Taste is confirmed to run an exclusive preview of issue #3 tentatively on Monday, 6/25 and our good friends at First Comics News is confirmed for review coverage to tentatively run on Wednesday, 6/27.

Okay, now that the shilling has stopped, there was also work done on Powers Squared the project as well. Our artist completed her inks for Issue #7 and we're now moving on to Issue #8, which starts a new story arc, Mathemagical. We're bringing back Dr. Atlas and introducing a new villain, Professor Theorem. Rachel has done some preliminary character design work on her already. We're basing her on alternative rock musician K.Flay, for whom I'm a big fan, as an homage.

We've written the scripts for this story arc and the one to follow, What's In a Name?. I haven't yet started to make revisions on The Imposter, the arc to follow that based on feedback from Paul and Trevor. It's been more a matter of time than any disagreement on making them. In fact, their suggestions should make it better, which as a writer I'm always after.

Rachel has also come back with some comments and suggestions on Mathemagical, all of which are welcomed. We've always meant for the creation of the book to be an interactive process.

On Thursday night, Paul, Trevor and I attended a local gathering, Koffee and Komics at a cafe on Tujunga near Universal City. I had been a member of the group for a couple of years but had never attended one of the functions. It was a small group and the Hankins men do what we do best, sit on the side and talk to one person at a time. We're not great socializers. We did come away with a few ideas, including looking into Printing on Demand for Powers Squared.

We only stayed about an hour and a half as there was work to be done. When I got home I also registered the script for Mathemagical with the WGA, made some updates to files to keep my thumb drive and hard drive in sync.

I also continued editing on Paperback Detective. I've edited through page 436. The next section requires some rewrites, which is why I originally put it aside to finish later.

No new reviews from me this week, though Trophy Unlocked did post Paul's Batman Ninja as our Saturday Morning Review. We are going to work on new ones, including one for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which we saw this afternoon at the Cinerama Dome, so look for that coming soon.

Next week, in addition to seeing our comic book get published, there will be other writing involved, including more rewrites and reviews.

A Week in Writing #199

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that a lot of what goes on revolves around Powers Squared, the comic book my sons and I created several years ago. And I know I've been begging, yes begging, for you to check out us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It's all part of trying to grow our brand and its been a struggle all the way. Organic growth is best, but it is slow and all that work doesn't necessarily end up with increased sales. To that end, we received an accounting update from comiXology this week and we've sold exactly 1 issue in the past two months.

But hopefully, that will change in the very near future. Don't know the details, but we're hopeful that our next release, on June 27th, will be getting more of a push and hopefully, more people will hear about Powers Squared. We're supposed to find out more next week and I will be certain to fill you in here, as well as the other social media outlets I've listed above.

Work continues on the book, as Issue #7 is nearing the end of the art phase and its fairly far along with coloring as well. I'd like to think we'd have the issue ready to go in a couple of months. We've worked out the scripts for the next two issues and we'll probably start working on them next month with the artist.

I'm still giving serious consideration to kickstarting or some other crowdfunding method to help with some of the expenses of the production. Nothing concrete, yet but I'll be sure to let you know if it ever comes to fruition. It's not a make or break issue for the comic book, but it would be a big financial relief to not have to carry it all on my biweekly paychecks.

We posted another video this past week on our YouTube channel, one featuring Paul and Trevor, the co-creators and the basis for Marty and Eli Powers in the comic book. We have more footage, so hopefully, there will be more forthcoming, as well as a chat with our current artist, Rachel Wells, yet to be scheduled.

Finished a review this week for Conflict (1945) and published one on Trophy Unlocked for Buster Keaton's Seven Chances (1925), the latter in honor of Saturday being Buster Keaton Day in Los Angeles. Besides the proclamation, I don't think there was really much else done to commemorate one of the greats of silent film comedies.

Still no word from my editor on Familiar Stranger. Not wanting to let the grass grow under my feet, I decided to re-edit another in the yet to be published J.D. Barrister series of private investigator mysteries. This one is called Paperback Detective. I started working on it on Friday and I'm about 134 pages into editing it. I know there will be needed work at the end of the book, as I decided to change the location, but right now I'm enjoying the work. I'm printing out forty pages at a time and working on it in odd moments during the day.

A Week in Writing #198

Another week spent mostly but not exclusively on Powers Squared.

No new pages from anyone this week which is no big deal, but work was still done on upcoming issues. I finally finished a draft for the script for The Imposter, so after feedback from Paul and Trevor, I'm hoping to put that writing to the side. We would then have three story arcs and seven issues worked out so we should be good for a year or more, based on our rate of production.

Paul and I had a brief conversation with our contact at comiXology on Monday with the promise of more information later in the week but now pushed back to tomorrow, so we'll see. Still sounds like there would be some sort of push for our next few issues that are supposed to be published soon, still don't know exactly when. Again, it is something they control, not us. Hoping to hear something on this coming Monday.

Still working on trying to build some following. Published our third video on our YouTube channel featuring me talking about the comic book the origins and future. You can watch it here: Powers Squared Interview Part 3. Would really appreciate your patronage and would welcome feedback either on the channel or here.

Also posted some images on Instagram, which you can also follow if you choose to: https://www.instagram.com/powerssquaredcomicbook/. Trying to be somewhat active and post every day or so to keep it fresh and interesting.

In other writing, did finish and publish a 2000+ word review of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets for Trophy Unlocked's Saturday Morning Review. Also this week, we published  Trevor's review of Epic Mickey.

I don't mean for this to turn into selling my brand but that is part of the job of writing. You write hoping someone will read you and the best way to do that is to put yourself out there to be judged. It may not be the noblest of efforts but it is a necessary evil I hate to tell you. I'm not really sure how good I am at it as growth in followers seems slow but you've got to try.

No word again this week from my editor on Familiar Stranger, despite my reaching out to him. Not really concerned since this is sort of typical. He'll get back to me when he's ready not before. Nudging doesn't always mean success I'm afraid.

Hoping this week to finish a review I started of Conflict (1945) for future publication. Also, want to find out when we're being published and what PR effort awaits us. Maybe there will be news from my editor and there will be more rewrites or else I might start a new story. So much potential for the next week.

A Week in Writing #160

What is the old saying, when the going gets tough the tough get going? Well, the rewrites on Familiar Stranger got hard and I sort of bailed. And not so much because they got hard but because I had other things I wanted to work on. Chief among them was writing a review for the film Key Largo (1948). I felt compelled after Irma hit the Florida Keys and was reminded that this movie took place against a background of a hurricane hitting the same islands. That review ended up as this Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked.

That confession made, I did do some work on Familiar Stranger, though it was more in the head than on the paper. There was a part of the story that I keep going back and forth on and until I get it worked out in my head, I don't want to get too carried away with the rewrite. I know that sounds like the coward's way out, but there are enough things to keep me busy.

Top of which has been the Powers Squared. Our artist has sent us four pages, though only three completely finished. Writing this reminded me to send those pages onto the colorist. That's part of the beauty of writing this blog.

We've pretty much written the next story arc, so I decided to tackle the next one as well. That rewrite took on a life of its own, as I found I had to swap characters in the second half of the story. Still working on that and will do so throughout this coming week.

It's been about three months since we published the first two issues of Powers Squared. I feel like I've given away more free issues of the book then we've sold, but we're not ready to walk away. A lot of things start small and we're still hoping our moment will come. If you've read the book, we'd love to hear from you.

I'm also working on a review of Logan (2017) a film we watched the original release of on Friday night and the black and white version on Saturday night. Watching this film was also prompted by recent events, in this case, the death of the Wolverine's co-creator, Len Wein. I'm hoping to have this done for next week's Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked. Even though our pageviews are way down, we're only a few reviews away from our 800th. So please keep reading.

A Week in Writing #151

Well as promised, this was a week for getting ready for San Diego Comic-Con. This for better or worse is our annual family vacation. We've been attending for 11 of the past 12 years. It's only been the last six or so that we've been going with any connection to Powers Squared. And for the first time, we're going in with a published work to our credit.

After several years in the making, the first issue of Powers Squared was published on comiXology this past Wednesday. To be honest, it was a little anti-climatic. A published work is something I've been after for most of my adult life and when it finally happened, I wasn't really sure how I felt. Not that I was expecting it, but my life really didn't change. I had no expectations that I was going to be carried about on someone's shoulders in celebration, but there was very little actual feedback from most people if they acknowledged this milestone in my life at all.

That is not to say everyone reacted that way. There were a few who did the sort of things you'd hope they'd do, like post something on their Facebook about it, or at least like my post about the publication. For those people, I am very grateful. Their continued support means a lot.

Now that Issue #1 has been published, the marketing of it can begin in earnest. We have a meeting at Comic-Con with comiXology to discuss. I'm really not sure what I should do and what, if anything, they will be doing. I've got a lot more riding on this than they do, so I'm willing to carry my own water, I just need guidance on where I'm supposed to be carrying it.

I also found out this past week that Issue #2 is being published on Wednesday the 19th, only a week after Issue #1, so expect to see Facebook and Twitter posts from me on that as we get closer.

The work of the comic book continued throughout the week. We finally got three of the four pages from our artist that we've been expecting. The whole process stops when there are no new pages.
Our colorist, who has been otherwise idle, did a cover for us, but it wasn't until Sunday night that we had more pages to send her.

I know this sounds like a broken record, but I wasn't able to work on Familiar Stranger this week, but I really didn't expect to. Still, I'm a little disappointed about letting it sit for so long.

I did publish a new review, One Mysterious Night, on Saturday and prepped another, He Ran All the Way, for the Saturday we'll be gone. I also started work on a new one for Kingsman: The Secret Service, which I'd love to finish before we leave, but don't hold me to that. Trophy Unlocked is actually doing very well as far as page views go. We're up to about 41,000+ for the past month. I get a certain satisfaction to see those numbers. It makes me feel that someone out there appreciates what we've been doing.

Just as a note, my weekly blog may be delayed next week, depending on when we get home.