I THINK I'D DIE, I THINK I'D LAUGH AT YOU

“Just” is a word I need out of my writing vocabulary. I was proofing some copy for Last Exit Before Toll today and was a bit horrified. For instance: “Charles is left stranded in the middle of nowhere, and it just may be the best thing that ever happened to him. … Newcomer Christopher Mitten’s delicate pencils bring Shaffer’s script to life, giving it just enough of a real world flavor to ground the material, and just enough of an edge to bring the emotional underpinnings of the story to the foreground. It’s all rounded out by Dawn Pietrusko’s digital gray tones.”

It just seems lazy. (Oh, dear, there it is!) And I am always trying to challenge myself to use different words anyway. Nothing bugs me more than a writer who uses the same word to describe the same thing every time. If I could, I’d give an example. But, of course, they all escape me now.

I have actually been working on Gravitation volume 5 for the last three nights. I am a little behind, as it was due today, but Jill at Tokyopop gave me an extension until Monday. I think it’s the first one I have had to ask for, and I asked far enough ahead so that if she said no I could still get it done—and it won’t effect my deadline for 6 that’s in two weeks. So, it’s all clear. Trying to get back on track post con was a bitch. Plus, I hit a lull with volume 4 that made me kind of worry about the series. Odd stuff goes down, and the sexual politics are…well, again, odd. But it gets back on track for 5, and actually gets even better. The storytelling opens up quite a bit, and I think I am firing more efficiently than on any of the previous volumes. I even managed to work obscure Morrissey and Duran Duran lines into the dialogue.

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I am also a tad amused by the Blankets review that ended up running in the Mercury. I know there is a little of sour grape flavor here, since I wanted to do it, but I don’t care. I will admit, too, that I think since the reviewer comes off as someone who doesn’t really know comics, it does make for an interesting viewpoint, to see how Blankets wooed him. (If he does know comics, then, well…never mind.) But, the thing that really got me was this opening line: “It's apparent from meeting Craig Thompson that he's a good artist; his characterization of himself in his new autobiographical graphic novel Blankets is spot-on.” Say what? “Obviously, Monkey McFuckface is a great writer, because in conversation, he can really string some words together.” “It’s clear from meeting Bob Stitchalot that he’s an excellent tailor, because he’s got pretty swell shirts.” “Chynna Clugston-Major must brew really good beer, because it smells great on her breath.”

Current Soundtrack: Duran Duran, Singles 81-85

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