Day 26: Baker, Poet, Cinema Goer

Could I tell you where the day went? I could not. Could I take a guess? Darn tootin'.

I know I spent a lot of time watching Buffy. Again. Season 3 has now been watched, complete with prom and school explosion. I will admit, I got a little bit emotional watching it. Aside from the flashbacks to childhood, it also reminded me of my final year ball. We had less demons.

In the midst of the final episodes of the season, I also put a cover on an old-but-unused-copybook, complete with card on the inside covers, and coloured paper on the outside. I'm using it to track the publication - if any - of my poems. Since May 30th, I've written 70 poems. I'm hoping to do a massive write-a-thon of poetry soon in an effort to increase my creative expression. I'm talking about more than a poem a day; I plan on writing about twenty to twenty four poems in a single day. In my head, it sounds like fun.

Part of me also wants to maintain a poetry blog. So, that might happen soon.

Aside from prom and poetry, I baked some brownies. I'll be brief: they're delicious, and everyone who's had one agrees. I brought some to the cinema. We went to see The Wolverine. How was it you ask?

Well, it was significantly better than Wolverine: Origins. It was better than X-Men: The Last Stand. It was violent, it had swearing, it was better than the trailer suggested it might be. There were a couple of things I didn't like - nit-picky comic book things - but overall it was fun, and the after-credit scene leads on nicely to Days of Future Past, which is going to be awesome.

All of that aside... no writing. I don't know if I'm just lacking enthusiasm to sit down at my laptop, or if I'm just being lazy. It's probably laziness. However, I'm not giving up on the book. I just need to get my head back in the game.

To be honest, I want Camp NaNoWriMo to be over. It's not making me more productive. If anything, it's making me wary of doing anything else. Which is exactly what the exams did to me in May. That's less than convenient. Hopefully I can get The Blood of Leap completed soon, and then I can get on to doing what I want with writing, when I want, without a month-long challenge hanging over my head.

Oops?

I did a check: I follow 14 series of comic books. I'm fairly sure there's been some universe breaking along the way in every one of them. All of them Marvel. Hmm... Let's have a wee little look at them, shall we? (NB  this post will contain spoilers if you're not up-to-date with these stories.)

All-New X-Men: Let's put it simply. After Avengers Vs X-Men, the Phoenix Force blew up, and new mutants started showing up all over the place. Beast happened to also be affected, it seems, and was dying. So, he did the only thing he could think of: he went back in time to bring the younger versions of himself, Angel, Cyclops, Jean Grey and Iceman to the present to show Cyclops what a massive bag of douche he's being. Younger Beast saved him, so his whole "I need to do this one last thing before I die" story fell to pieces, and we still have five time-displaced X-Men wandering about.

Uncanny X-Men: Following aforementioned douche-bag Cyclops, in a post-"I'm going to change the world with reality bending abilities" life, things are still not quite as they should be. Even Cyclops's universe breaking before these comics, they're breaking the universe. I'm pretty sure Magik just exploded, or something, and Hellfire is loose. Yay.

X-Men Legacy: Legion accidentally killed the pseudo-mutagenic-alien-monks that were keeping him calm and not destroying the world. Now he's losing control of his abilities, because of a lack of self-esteem and a weird Xavier ghost in his head. Giant inter-dimensional monsters keep attacking him, and alien-police, and I'm pretty sure he's one bad date with Blindfold away from losing it all and accidentally ripping the universe a new one. So, uh...no pressure, Blindfold.

Cable and X-Force: Oddly, these lads aren't breaking the universe. However, they are breaking the law. Even if they are actually saving people. Bold Cable. Bold.

Wolverine: Hey look, someone who's not responsible for breaking the universe! Except, you know, the Watcher showed up. If memory serves, he's only there when there's some universe breaking going on. Something about the alien-tech blowing people up might explain that. But yeah...universe broken. Again.

Avengers: Where do I even begin? So, first Ex Nihilo decides to make a human, named Adam. And the Universe decided to personify. Again. And while she's not broken physically, the nexus that keeps all reality from collapsing seems to be in trouble. Add to this the fact that the Star Brand is up and running (and should only do this when the planet needs protecting) and he shouldn't be, because he's breaking things (like the Earth's consciousness). So...yeah...universe broken. Repeatedly. Last White Event and all that nonsense going on.

Uncanny Avengers: Despite her role in this series, the Scarlet Witch is not responsible for breaking the universe...yet. Instead, Kang the Conqueror is manipulating people and traveling through time, and now has a shiny magical axe with which to break stuff. And we can kind of blame Thor for that one, because he's arrogant and violent and he was seven hundred years younger, then.

Young Avengers: Um... remember that mention of the Scarlet Witch? Yeah, one of her sons is following in her footsteps. We'll ignore the fact that he's died and been re-incarnated twice and that he and his twin brother were born from two different women, neither of whom are the Scarlet Witch, and neither of whom are related to each other or the Scarlet Witch. No, this is all to do with Billy's powers, and how he seems to have brought an inter-dimensional parasite into existence that may or may not have created similarly parasitic copies of the Young Avengers parents and parent-figures (so...the Avengers), and Billy doesn't know how to stop her. Kid Loki does, but he's not strong enough, and it seems the only way to save the universe is to make Loki all-powerful. Also, Skrull Invasion. Yay.

Fearless Defenders: What happens when a Valkyrie gets lazy and doesn't do her job of recruiting Midgard's finest female heroes? She breaks the universe. Doom Maidens abound. Yay.

Guardians of the Galaxy: It's not their fault, but yeah... invasion. Massive invasion. At least they're trying, right? And no sign of... wait... hang on...

Nova: Watcher. Watcher right there. And this new Nova? Yeah, his dad seems to know Rocket Racoon and Gamora from the Guardians of the Galaxy. So... I think the universe is broken. Again.

A+X: They're short stories. There has yet to be any universe breaking. This pleases me.

Age of Ultron: This entire series is universe-breaking. Everyone is dead. Well, almost everyone. And now Nick Fury thinks it's a good idea to go to the future to fight Ultron. With just Captain America, Iron Man, and Red Hulk armed with Ares's axe. And I think they're going to die. At the same time, Wolverine wants to go back in time to kill Hank Pym before he makes Ultron. So, aside from the fact that there will be three stories going on simultaneously, we've also got to accept the fact that it seems the most use Hank Pym has ever been is in stopping Ultron over the years. Can we just let Wolverine kill him and be done with it?

Thanos Rising: He hasn't broken the universe yet, but I'm fairly sure this is all backstory. So, he's bound to break it at some point, sooner or later, and that's not including all the times he already has. Because Thanos.

By my count, about ten universe-breakings in fourteen series of comic books. Um, Marvel... I can't even.

A Marvel-ous Line-Up

It's no secret I'm a massive fan of Marvel Comics. Thankfully, the comic books are supplying a lot of entertainment off the page - and on the big screen - over the next few years. There's a lot to keep up with, and a lot changing, but I thought it would be worth sharing the future developments of Marvel-related films, more than half of which are part of the grander scheme of Marvel films. Release dates below are taken from IMDB, listing the UK release unless there was only a USA release date. Keep in mind: I will be referencing previous films in the Marvel universe, and there will be spoilers in that regard.

Iron Man 3 - 26 April 2013

The third in the Iron Man franchise, there's a lot to expect. I don't think they'll be setting up the armoured billionaire for another film after this one, using the trilogy to present one half of the dynamic duo that lead the Avengers in every struggle they face. Iron Man 3 is the first film to hit the cinemas as part of Marvel's 'Phase Two'. Phase One ended with The Avengers, and the gathering of the heroes.

Why the division, now? Because each hero has his or her own story, and they only come together to face to the world's greatest threats. In this instance, Iron Man is to go up against The Mandarin. In the comic books, he wears ten magical rings that grant him magical powers. So far, the Marvel universe has held back on the magic, unless it came from Asgard. This does raise the question: will this be the introduction to earth-based magic in Marvel films?

The Wolverine - 26 July 2013

Following up from X-Men: The Last Stand, we're back with Wolverine. Xavier is dead, Jean is dead, and I'm sure he's pretty beat up about Scott, too. Inside. Deep inside. With Wolverine: Origins having already hit the screens a few years back, there were certainly some troubles with continuity as the X-Men films continued. While the relatively recent trilogy wasn't entirely true to the comic books, it still maintained some of the standards set by the comic books.

The Wolverine will see the titular hero in Japan, a journey he took much earlier in the comic books. It is likely that, in facing psychological and emotional troubles following the events of the previous film, Logan needs some space to breathe, to discover himself, and maybe move on from Jean Grey.

The trouble is, mutants aren't an American problem. The Silver Samurai, if they use the original, can cut through anything - except Adamantium - by channelling energy into his sword. He's also supposed to be able to teleport, but the films haven't always stuck to canon on powers. If they use the second Silver Samurai, he'll just be a human with a technological suit of armour, and swords. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the film, and there isn't that long to wait.

Thor: The Dark World - 30 October 2013

The Asgardian is due to face two sets of 'aliens' in this sequel to Thor and The Avengers: dark elves and marauders. I won't lie: I don't know much about them. However, there are much more interesting developments to keep in mind. For a start, Loki will be present again, and he's never been up to much good in the films.

To add to that, however, are the rumours of the first appearance of Doctor Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of Marvel Comics. Early suggestions have said that he will be working alongside Jane Foster. However, no information about Dr Strange has been released officially. If the hearsay proves true, it may be a cameo role, but one that will see his introduction to Asgardian technology. As Thor remarks, science for him is magic for earthlings, and it may result in a fascination that cannot be overcome for the good doctor.

If those rumours prove true, the chances of a Doctor Strange film appearing in 2016/2017 are increasingly likely, but I don't imagine we will see one before Avengers 2.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 4 April 2014

Remember Bucky Barnes and how he plummeted to his death in Captain America? Well, the trick to Marvel Comics is that nobody really dies permanently. (Just ask Jean Grey...) Bucky is, in fact, the brainwashed Russian warrior, known as The Winter Soldier.

Cue dramatic music and a shocked close up of the dear Captain. Right before Bucky tries to kill him.

But then, Bucky isn't the only one to return to the big screen. Natasha Romanov, AKA Black Widow, will return as Captain America attempts to fit in to his new life in the twenty-first century in SHIELD. Along with her are introductions to Crossbones and Sharon Carter, one of whom is responsible for the death of Captain America. We've also got the listed seventh hero of the Avengers: The Falcon. While he won't be getting his own film, it seems, the hero is credited, so far, in both The Winter Soldier and Avengers 2. If you haven't guessed yet, he flies.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - 18 April 2014

April's a busy month for superhero films, with the web-slinging wall-crawler making a return to the big screen. He's joined by the lovely Gwen Stacy again, and Mary Jane Watson. Yep, MJ's back. I'm not sure I'm happy with that. Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy have a much bigger story than has been shown already, including her untimely death. But then, we won't have a Green Goblin to get that ball rolling. Yet.

We've got a new villain to join the ranks, though: Electro. He's going to cause a fair amount of trouble, it can be assumed, especially if the casting of a Rhino is to be taken seriously. We're talking full-on Super Villain Super Team here, with Doc Connors only locked away, and a mysterious figure in his cell. It's my guess that they'll be building things up for a big finish with the trilogy - and God I hope it's only a trilogy, and without the emo-Spidey that featured last time - with a collection of villains to really test Spider-Man in a way that hasn't been seen since the comic books. So far, adaptations have been lacking in the villainy Spider-Man has had to face during his life.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - 18 July 2014

The X-Men were the first superheroes I really loved. In this sequel to First Class, we're continuing with the newbies that were introduced, and still back in the Cold War era, but with a story that hasn't been tested on the superhero big screen before: a time-travel story arc.

With the casting of particular actors, there's the suggestion that this burst of X-Men films precedes the trilogy that first starred Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman. Well, guess what? Thanks to the miracle of time travel, many of the trilogy's characters are coming to cinemas once again! While there are still only rumours about Cyclops and Storm, so far it has been revealed that we'll be seeing Shadowcat, Iceman, Rogue, Wolverine, Magneto and Xavier, and actor Peter Dinklage (from Game of Thrones) as the antagonist. So far, his character is unknown, as the original story arc isn't quite the same as what the film will produce.

What this revelation does, however, is completely remove Wolverine: Origins from the line of stories. Emma Frost is younger in Origins than she is in First Class; Professor X can walk and has hair when he first meets her in the later film, but in Origins he's bald. He's also walking, despite the bullet to the spine. While it is still suggested by the line-up of films together, Wolverine: Origins doesn't seem to fit in, in terms of continuity.

Guardians of the Galaxy - 1 August 2014

We've received very little information on Guardians of the Galaxy as of yet, though the Marvel Now! comics are due to begin fitting the shelves shortly. Historically, they've only had a couple of major stories that people still talk about, one of which involves a battle against Thanos.

This is Marvel's chance to play off the more science-fiction elements of their universe. The Guardians are space travellers with high-tech equipment. I don't know what to expect from the film, but if the rumours are right, they'll be in the way when Thanos starts making his journey to Earth. If the film proves to be part of Phase Two in Marvel's plan, the heroes may lose the battle, and Thanos will reach Earth.

Fantastic Four - 6 March 2015

We almost had a chance to rewrite Daredevil's cinematic history. That would have been wonderful. However, the man in charge decided that the Fantastic Four reboot would be favourable. I tend to agree, though I'm a little bit annoyed at the same time. Marvel would have recovered the rights to the universe of the Fantastic Four if a film hadn't been made.

At the same time, there are some interesting stories to tell with the Fantastic Four, who exist in a universe outside of Marvel's films, but in the same developments as the X-Men franchise, and the Spider-Man franchise. It will be interesting to see what they produce by the time 2015 comes around.

Avengers 2 - 1 May 2015

Bringing Phase Two of Marvel's films to a close is the second Avengers film. We can expect it to take place after the events of Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and likely after Guardians of the Galaxy, if it is indeed included in the same story arc.

With that in mind, we'll be receiving the Falcon into the team, and just in time to face an as-yet unspecified villain. Rumour has it Thanos will be taking the world by storm, having pledged his vengeance for his defeat in The Avengers. Still, rumours will remain rumours until something is said.

Ant-Man - 6 November 2015

Beginning to Marvel's Phase Three is the introduction of Hank Pym, AKA Ant-Man. There's much to reveal yet (except to tell those who don't know about him that he can become microscopic, or about 100 foot tall, depending on what he needs), though there are rumours that Ant-Man will confront one of his enemies, Chen Lu, known also as Radioactive Man (imaginative naming at its best.)

The film's position at the start of Phase Three does raise some questions, especially with recent rumours about a new Hulk film. This has led to speculation that somewhere along the line, the Hulk will rampage and be sent off to space, resulting in a Planet Hulk film, and eventually World War Hulk - a possible story for Avengers 3.

However, that's all a long way away. It can be expected that some rumours will be bashed and others confirmed, so that maybe we'll be seeing Thanos fighting the Avengers, Dr Strange weaving some spells, and the Hulk smashing a whole other planet. In the meantime, we've got ten films based on Marvel's comic books to keep us going for the next two and a half years or so, many new characters to be introduced, and a lot of interesting developments to be made. And of course, I'll be getting massively excited about each one.

Exam Conclusion

It's the weekend before the last exams. I've got four to go, which seems like way too many to be true. Alas, with an exam in each of the areas I study (Theology, English, Education and Philosophy) in my course, I'm going to be busy. For each of the exams, I need to cover quite a bit of material, none of it linking up.

However, I'm trying to look on the bright side. In preparation for Monday's exam, I can reuse a lot of the material I covered while teaching in January. We've got World Religions, allowing me to study Judaism and Islam as part of it. There are others I could do, but I think I'll stick with them. As well as that, I can reuse the material I studied for another exam on Inter-religious Dialogue for this one. The only thing that's being looked at for the first time since we studied it is the Phenomenon of Religion. So, that's fine.

Tuesday, I've got Nineteenth Century Fiction. I'm normally okay with English exams, though I don't know if I'm familiar enough with the texts yet. I suppose we'll see, when I attempt to answer on The Awakening and Oliver Twist.

Wednesday, I have no exams. It's likely I'll head to the comic book shop before studying for my last exams. You know, because Wednesday is New Comic Book Day and I'm fairly sure there's a new issue of Avengers Vs X-Men out. It would be rude not to read it.

Thursday, I face the "fun" that is The Language and Logic of Religious Education. Or something like that. I'm wary of that one. Education exams have never been my strong point. I make up for it with teaching in the classroom, but when it comes to answering on things like this... I don't know, I choke? No, more likely I just don't write the way they want me to.

Then, on Friday, I've got Sociology of Religion. Okay, I think the module has a different name, but that's the exam, essentially. It should be okay. It's in the afternoon. It was an interesting subject to study. It'll be grand.

Also, I plan on getting a little bit drunk. But that's after the exams.

After that, it's the summer and I have to get down to work. I've got some big plans for the three months I've got off. Some really big plans. I don't think it'll be easy to get it all done, but I'll have to see what happens. Whether or not it's easy, I know I'll enjoy it. I'll be mixing study for my research paper with lots of creative writing. And I mean lots.

There'll be more on that in the future. Probably lots more.

Mostly, I'm just looking forward to getting these exams out of the way so I can focus on something that isn't college!

Life and the World to Come

Way back in July, I made a few decisions that would, inevitably, change the way I lived my life. Almost five months have passed since I made the choice to do a massive writing challenge to finish Bliss's Camp NaNo 50K. That, in itself, wasn't massively life-changing, except that it made me realise how much I could do if I stopped messing about, and if I put aside whatever was happening in my life that might distract me from my work.

In that same week, I made the decision to set up a website - which I worked on from then until the middle of September, when I launched the site. That involved a lot of planning, of course, and a lot of mulling over what would eventually end up on my site on Day 1. Over the next month and a half, I edited Stepping Forward, fixing up a novella I was already pretty happy with to give away for free.

That's been the first big change in my life: I now have a book out in the public domain.

The website has, since, been host to a number of articles, poems and short stories. While these haven't exactly changed my life, they have gotten me thinking about the different ways I live my life, and the way in which I write. I also decided to use the website to play host to a couple of projects in the New Year, one of which is an X-Men story I've been planning for some time. (I've checked, and given the fact that Marvel pick up writers and stories from self-published works - and that's the only way they will now consider someone new - I am perfectly within my rights to release this story as I see fit.) That one doesn't have any immediate effects on my life, though it will at least encourage me to stick to creative deadlines.

The other project is an adaptations ezine, which will help me (a) hone my critical writing and (b) review books, films and the adaptation process. Again, no immediate effect, but it will involve, once again, sticking to deadlines.

Aside from my website, I also decided to apply for a writing position at The Phantom Zone. While the rush of college work has stopped me writing for the site in some time, I still have this job. More than that, I still have my first ever writing job. It was something for me to be proud of.

In the two months that followed, I wrote and edited a play, The Rest is Silence. This is where things took another big turn: as a result of this play, I'm going to have something performed on-stage. More than that, it will, hopefully, raise some money for a worthwhile cause.

At the same time, I've set up an ezine in college, which has gotten someone else writing. He's a good friend of mine, and he's decided to put his quirkiness to good use. The immediate benefit for me? I can have a good laugh reading his blog when I'm stressed; he has all of these really funny observations and stories that aren't as noticeable in a group of ten (yes, there are ten of us... we're a bit of a mob.) It's also fun to be able to talk about writing with someone who's only just started to think of it as having potential to be more than a hobby.

The driving force behind a lot of this work was an old friend of mine. Whether I was trying to make him proud or merely using that as an excuse to make myself do something with my life, I mustered up the courage to finally put my name out there. As I said in my dedication in Stepping Forward, he taught me there's more to life than just existing. No matter what happens between us, I will always remember that I was too scared to do any of this on my own. Having a reason to get going has made the past few months some of the best of my life.

That's the immediate effect of knowing him; after so many years writing, and so many years living the same mundane life, I ceased to just exist. As a result of that friendship, I started to live.

Near Death Experience

Yesterday was worrying. For the fish in the work. Yes, the fish. They almost died. Like, actually almost died. The pump stopped working. No more air was going into the tank. Sometimes people forget that fish need to breathe oxygen. And when the pump stops sending it into the water, that spells trouble.

First thing to do? Check the fusebox. The electrician's-brother in me did that first. The switch was down, and it wasn't staying up. (No innuendos, please.)

Next step? Check to see what's wrong. The fuse might have blown, or something else stopped working. It wasn't the lights, anyway. They would have just gone off. So we got an extension lead from the centre security guards, plugged the pump in and... nothing.

That gave us a new problem. It wasn't just a fusebox problem. It was a pump problem. An expensive pump. The natural reaction was to call the local (very local) pet shop for help, but they could only help us with the fish. So a fish-tank company were called. They arrived right before closing time, meaning someone had to stay behind (thankfully it wasn't me, because I wasn't in the shop at that stage!)

The new pump was installed, with the little note that if we'd waited a single day... well, the fish would have asphyxiated. You know what that means, right? We saved their lives! Super booksellers to the rescue! And we had our pet shop, security and pump-installer friends to help us! Hip-hip hurray!

The madness of the fish's near death experience was surrounded on all sides by screaming children, pouting adults and books being put in the wrong place... none of which were connected to the fish, of course, but they didn't help. It was an eventful weekend, to say the least! But it wasn't all bad. The fish were alive and well when we got into the shop (and when we left!), various assorted problems were sorted out and now my co-worker gets to enjoy a trip to Japan. I got almost everything ready for my website, so it won't be long before I'm ready to launch it! I'm hoping for a September 11th launch (I may have already said that a dozen times...).

In the meantime, I've secured my wordpress.com username for my X-Men story. I figured it was best to do that now, rather than wait and risk it being taken. Now I just need to actually write the story. I still think it's going to be amazing. Probably less disturbing than the fish almost dying, too. At least I'm in control of who lives and dies!

Deadlines Approaching!

My website is, hopefully, being launched on September 11th. I have a lot of stuff to do between now and then, but I chose the date for one reason and one reason only: it's the day before I go back to college. I want to have the website up and running with content to view (and share?) before then, but I'd be too pushed for time to try get everything done before then.

Because I slacked a little the past couple of days, I have to play catch-up on my workload. I've got to write four scenes of The Rest is Silence, which will be no small feat, and that's only one of the many things I have to do. Thankfully it's also the only explicitly creative goal for the day, the rest being website work, editing, etc.

I have to finish editing a short story - the first short story that will be going on my website. That's my primary concern, because I don't want that section to be blank when I launch. The story is called Dear World, but I can't tell you much more about it without spoiling it. It's something I hope people like, that they can maybe connect to, but that I mainly wrote upon seeing a publication opportunity. It wasn't accepted, but then I didn't really believe it would be. I still like the story, though, so I'm posting it online. I just don't believe in posting on a website someone else set up. This is my baby, so it's staying in my house.

Once that's all done, I have to get some poems selected for the launch of the site. I'm not the best poet in the world, but some of the stuff I've shown people has been liked, so I'm going to share it through the website. I sometimes write with particular people in mind, other times I find the connection with a person after it's written. (Classic example in my novel Meet Sam was realising how much like Nick a friend from college was, who I didn't meet until ten months after the novel was written!)

To finish off my day, I have to type up articles for the website. I have five categories for non-fiction on the website, and each one needs a piece written in it by launch day. Of course, I need more pieces to post in the future, which is where next week's workload comes in. I have to write more articles, edit something, get more poems ready, and work on the banner. Still working that one out, mind you!

See, I have deadlines for a lot of stuff. All the basics for the website need to be ready by the 11th at the latest, but preferably the 10th. My play, The Rest is Silence, needs to be written, typed and edited by the time college starts back on the 12th. I'm not in until the afternoon, but I don't want to be working on it, then. I have a deadline list, and the play needs to be finished so I can write my novels throughout the college year, while continuing to work on the website and for The Phantom Zone, and then I'll get into the heavy planning stage of my X-Men story that I've been talking about on Twitter and Facebook; that needs to be planned in some details by December 10th.

I might be mad with the amount of work I'm taking on, but I wholly believe it's possible to do all of this. And hey, there's a reason I chose December 10th - Christmas break! I will finally be able to collapse, then, after a tiring first semester! (I'm not entirely sure of the date I'm off, but that's my deadline, anyway!) In the meantime, I have to get a lot of other stuff ready, before I even go back to college. I don't think I'll ever stop working, you know that? It's like I'd heard on the radio, and mentioned a short while ago, a professional does the work even when he doesn't feel like it. Thankfully I happen to know some amazing people who will make the winding-down periods in my life so much better!

Mutant Babies!

On Twitter, a discussion got going between myself and @Darke_Conteur about X-Men. It took a turn for the better - and strange, when taken out of context - when we started to talk about next generation mutants. The Mutant Babies, we thought, would make for more compelling stories in the X-Men comics. We've all seen the various incarnations of Scott and Jean get it on, and Scott and Emma, and Wolverine and Jean, and Gambit and Rogue, Rogue and Magneto, Iceman and Polaris, Polaris and Havock... you know what, I'm getting sidetracked. The point is: there are lots of mutant couples in the X-Men comics, and lots of possible pairings, and the on thing that doesn't last most of the time: the children.

Okay, so Scott and Jean technically have three children together: X-Man, Cable and Rachel Summers. Except X-Man was grown by Sinister in the Age of Apocalypse universe and Cable is from the future, and they're basically the same person. To make things even creepier, Jean's clone Madelyn Pryor had a child with Cable, called Stryfe. So, they have four kids whose powers range from: telepathy (from Jean), telekinesis (from Jean), superhuman strength and durability (cybernetic in nature), technopathy (cybernetic in nature), precognition (from Jean, if enhanced beyond her capabilities) and, er, cross-dimensional travel (that one bewilders everyone). Scott's part in the powers seems to be in enhancing what's already there - X-Man seems to be able to focus his telekinesis into an eye-beam. Sound familiar? (It should: Scott is Cyclops!)

Rogue and Magneto also have a child, resulting in the phrase, "Yeah, scientific sex!" making its way into the World Wide Web. He manipulated her bio-magnetic field to allow him to touch her skin... anywhere. So, they have a relationship and a baby. A baby that has telepathy. This raised the question: how are the children of Rogue's powers determined? One source on Oliver Raven, the child of Gambit and Rogue, says that Oli has his mother's powers, to the extent that he has permanently absorbed telepathic and flight abilities from unknown sources.

Nightcrawler's children all seem to have powers that link back to his biological father, Azazel, just as Nightcrawler's siblings share the same trait. This is likely due to Azazel not being entirely human - beyond the extent of being a mutant. It's suggested, a lot, that he's a demon. Go figure.

Examples out of the way, we started to wonder: what sort of powers would different couples' children have? Havock and Polaris - radiation and magnetism. She took her father's powers, his are similar to Scott's, his brothers. But would there be a cancellation of one parent's powers, like Scott and Jean? Or would there be more devastating effects? Remember, Polaris's siblings have powers completely different to her own: Quicksilver has superhuman speed and Wanda can alter reality for frick's sake! There's no telling what Havock and Polaris would produce. The same goes for Kitty and Piotr, both of whom alter their density in one way or another, and the list keeps going on and on as the writers attempt to add new twists to the tale.

I'm not even going to go into the matter of Legion, Xavier's son with the multiple personalities and abilities. Lets just call it complicated and move on.

The basis of the discussion resulted in the big questions: why haven't the writers utilized the children more? Why are they telling the same stories of the same characters over and over again? We get it: Scott's not exactly faithful. We get it, Logan likes Jean. We get it - they're adults, they have sex.

But for God's sake, why can't the writers let the children take the stage?

Think about it for a second. Say you take Rachel Summers. She's essentially Jean, in terms of abilities. Complicated. Cool. Take the child of Havock and Polaris. Rachel has a cousin. Maybe that cousin is a villain. Lets face it, someone has to be. Suddenly you have a new and complex story, because maybe the cousin - the grandchild of Magneto - hates humans. We're going somewhere. You might have to kill off Havock and Polaris for the story to work, but it's going somewhere.

Kitty and Piotr, say they have a couple of kids. They already have Michael together, though his powers and most records of him are missing from the Internet from what I can see (he was in Astonishing X-Men). So, their kids also have half-brothers and -sisters. (Fidelity... not the X-Men's strong points...) They don't all have to appear, but the ones with powers - and complicated powers, at that - would add to the mix.

The list goes on, of course, because the X-Men have been in circulation since 1963 - that's 58 years of sex they could have been having, and they haven't aged much. But with all of those stories told, the writers just have to pick the ones that can match up: stick to a story and keep it that way. One that's over, mind you, not one that they will decide will contribute to the same database of cannon as others.

Would I like to see this comic? Of course I would. It would be dynamic, exciting and it would add to the development of the comics. But it would have to be done correctly. A World War X type situation might help: they've been delving into mutant hate since the beginning, so making a war out of it won't be going too far. The set-up in the upcoming X-Men: Destiny is ideal - people hate mutants, so new mutants pop up along the way. Having the children struggle in this war-filled world, perhaps sent off for safety before puberty like English parents did during World War 2 and therefore separating them from their parents just as their powers pop up, would be a new and interesting story.

Once they don't bring in the frickin' aliens again. God, I hate the aliens in X-Men, especially the Brood.

Anyway... thoughts on that? The development of the comics seems to have gone from What If to What If, and it's possible people might get tired of it all. There's a reason people aren't liking the look of Destiny - I will still be playing it, because I love X-Men games! - and it's because they're not doing it right. But I do like the set-up of it, with new mutants and anti-mutant riots picking up. And let's face it: Marvel could do with some fresh blood. And the family drama? Well, try explain to your four-years younger half-sister why your shared daddy isn't around while the sky lights up red (and green, and blue, and then goes black... mutant wars will be colourful, obviously).

Review - The Age of Apocalypse (X-Men)

One thing quite a few people know about me is that I have a lot of interest in comics. Truth be told, I know more about them than I have right to: I never really read them. I decided to change that, and ignoring my reading list altogether I read The Age of Apocalypse epic in the X-Men series of comics from Marvel, including the Prelude. Originally I had planned to review each of the four volumes in turn, until I realised that they were almost impossible to distinguish between.

They’re broken down into individual stories, following the likes of Cyclops, Havock and Sinister, Magneto and Rouge, Gambit and the Xternals, and a whole cast of characters taken from the comics and thrown into a new story. Everything changes in these comics, the logic behind it all explained in the Prelude. Introduce time travel and things are bound to change. And in the words of my fellow comic book nerd from college, ‘This is their masterpiece.’

How did you find reading comics to reading regular fiction?

It was...different. Essentially, the storytelling falls into two categories: the dialogue and the pictures. It’s literally a case of showing and not telling (except when dialogue and narration has to fill in the gaps for readers). One of the hardest things is getting used to looking at everything on the page in different orders – some scenes spread over two pages, the images being that big, so the whole layout of the comic changes.

As well as that, there’s the issue with reading dialogue and following what’s actually going on. It took me a while to get used to reading what was being said in the right order. This is no fault of the people who wrote the comics, of course; I’m just not that used to reading them. For me, the writing goes right across the page, no pictures.

What did you think of the story?

As I’ve said, this is their masterpiece. Each of the books (Prelude, and Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4) fills us in on the little details: what caused the Age of Apocalypse to come about, how the X-Men planned to stop it, once and for all, what Apocalypse was doing to the world, what was happening to the universe and how they ultimately hoped to stop that, too. I won’t drop spoilers. For fans of X-Men, this is the must-read series of comics. They break open the whole world of X-Men and answer the question: What would happen if Charles Xavier never formed the X-Men?

This really is the ultimate ‘What if...’ story, and it certainly let down a lot less people than House of M and its particular affect on the Marvel universe...

What was your favourite arc, and what was your least favourite?

My favourite would have to have been that which followed Rouge. She was always one of my favourite characters (I know, the outsider being my favourite character... har har har). Again, no spoilers, but there’s a whole new set of stories being told in this group (which still keeps the old favourites around, too, like Storm).

My least favourite... Wolverine. My experience with Wolverine – known in these comics as Weapon X, I might point out – is that he’s the angry, distant type. He fights and he’s looking for answers and God help anyone who tries to get in his way. Well, with certain changes that still follow his character’s general story, he’s a bit annoying in how much he gets down in himself. And he’s missing a hand. That may have attributed to it all (because, you know, his hand is supposed to grow back..?).

Whose story were you happiest with?

This one is difficult... Cyclops has an interesting story, but he still maintains a lot of his usual morals and all that stuff that eventually wears him out. Beast is even more...delightful, we’ll say. I think they did a great job with him in these comics, taking him to an extreme they couldn’t have gotten away with in a different reality. Best of all, though, was Nate Grey. I stumbled across Nate in my extensive reading about X-Men a few years ago and never really understood where he came into the story. Well, AoA answers the very important question of his origins, and goes into some detail on his powers, his life and his personality. And he’s one of the coolest looking characters that isn’t grossly mutated beyond recognition as a human. (The white flick in his hair and the glowing eye certainly did the trick!)

Saddest part of the whole series?

This one would call for a spoiler. No spoilers. Just wait until you get to Volume 4 and you’ll see it all happening. You just have to wonder what made them do it. Then you realise it’s genius, if a little too tragic. You’ll see!

Who would you recommend this series to?

A few groups... firstly, if you like X-Men but haven’t read this series yet: this is for you. Do I have to say it again: It’s their masterpiece! Secondly, to people who generally like comics and haven’t read this series, even if you’re not especially a fan of X-Men. Thirdly, if you like a good story and think you can manage the images (and, can I just say, the artwork is brilliant, so it’s totally worth it), then you should give this series a try.

What’s next?

Well, I can’t possibly answer that for Marvel... they have the most convoluted plots in the world that I will forever be out of my comfort zone with them. I can only hope to catch up on some of the amazing stories they tell. As for me, I’ve got reviews coming up of a children’s book, a graphic novel, a Young Adult novel and a book about writing for children, none of which were on my list. (I think the list is cursed, because I chose too many big books and started reading too many of them at once...)

Geneticide - Getting the Info #2

Time for installment number two! I had an epiphany the other night. I had just finished watching The Phantom of the Opera and realised that Geneticide was not dark enough. Sure, Number One puts the lives of many in the balance, and he's essentially a dark soul, but I'm not happy with him. He could be crueler. And furthermore, there needs to be a darkness outside of him, one that outs "mutants" in danger.

My thoughts - not-so-short stories about characters, mutants I might add, and the dangers they face for being the way they are. One is a blogger, though he never writes it. Another is an unqualified doctor. The third is about a killer and two private detectives bent on taking him down. The fourth is a golem, an iron soldier, a cloud of dust and more. Vague descriptions? that's what I'm aiming for. I will not be revealing the abilities of these characters. Nor will I be revealing their names.

So that's one step to creating a darker Geneticide. And obviously I will be making the villains more evil. I'm going to drop some of the earlier dramatics, go into more depth on my descriptions, and hopefully come out with something that contains the heroics of X-Men, the care of Heroes and the madness of my own mind. A good end result!

Be aware, there will be a re-write!

Geneticide - Getting the Info #1

Geneticide is my latest novel in the making. What I describe as a mesh between Heroes, X-Men and my own personal madness, is a story of real life heroes, with extraordinary abilities. To keep things on a small scale, the characters cannot overuse their abilities (Ted Sprague's induced radioactivity in Heroes and just about every X-Man are examples of when abilities have been used to breaking point.) Should a character overexert him/herself, they would first begin to have headaches, followed by a nose bleed, and leading into crying tears of blood. A sign of strain I often use in the book, particularly when one character, a teleporter, uses his ability too frequently.

In one extreme case, overexertion caused one character to lose his ability temporarily. That man is known to the world as Number One, a name he gave himself. With visions of grandeur and an ability of induced evolution (the simplest term many of the characters have come to believe gave them their ability), Number One tries to take over the world. His army of haf-turned humans cannot use their abilities to harm him, and only a small number are naturally gifted. The half-turned suffer from the process by receiving a change to their vocal chords and a change in colour of the iris of their eyes. Each one has a peculiar voice and violet eyes, though males are more prone to dramatic changes in the former.

In combat against Number One are the unwilling heroes of Geneticide. The first we encounter, and indeed a series favourite, is Emily Quigley, a young woman with the ability to walk through solid objects. She lives with her friend Brock, a fire thrower (his ability is known as pyrokinesis), in a small apartment that acts as their base of operations. From there, they are trying to take down a company known as Horizon Inc. The secret to their mission lies in a story known as Welcome to the World of Emily Quigley.

WWEQ is but one story of many I have planned that will form a book known as Geneticide: Origins. Yes, the name comes from Heroes: Origins, although the idea is much different. Heroes planned to use Origins to introduce new characters into the show. Geneticide is simply giving the origin of the characters in their own individual plot. So far there are three written - WWEQ, The Secret Life of Stephen Doyle, and Eva Untouched. Eva is a secret, so don't bother asking.

Geneticide has a large cast of characters - last time I checked, the series had 97 characters on record, though the full plot so far spans a time of 80 years. Why that is, I cannot tell you. I'd be revealing some plot secrets doing that. I can tell you that the plot will have some serious bangs!

There will be more on Geneticide in the future. Until then, feel free to read the chapters I have online by clicking the title of this post!

Slán go foill.