Norristown, Pennsylvania, April 22nd, 1989. It is a sad day for Simon and no fun, being a member of A Clockwork Orange parody band, Durango 95, with the rowdy, crowded audiences that would have, “booed Bowie in Cleveland.” Durango 95 is heading into a breakup. Simon reunites at a diner ...

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People in stories, especially bad guys in stories usually want to take over the world, but why? What's really to gain? Even in reality it's a complex question. That's what we're ...

The gritty rainbow on a sky to dye
Swinging my heart to the fences I voice a stubborn cry
Til’ my feet sounds like limping scars for those arts
Lacing apart and fourth, your dreams cloud me no more
Still… Silent… I finally speak my own lie
A grittier rainbow ...

Now, the good Professor always follows up his “Good News, Everyone” with decidedly bad news. But for this week, that can wait. And I was going to spend the first part of this newspost looking at some of the more depressing stories about books from around the world, but end ...

It's Resurrection Saturday today! What better occasion then than this to talk about the resurrection trope?

Usually, cancelling out a character's death is not a good thing to do in a story. It undermines the weight of the stakes involved and/or the sacrifice or seriousness of the ...

Batman and Robin are fighting crime in the real world!



https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/11/police-deliver-vengeance-on-gamblers-while-disguised-as-batman-and-robin

Two police offers in London used Batman and Robin costumes to allow them to get close to illegal gambling operators plying their nefarious trade on Westminster Bridge.






Batman has a long ...

Comics and their creators have actually been prominent in the news recently.

There was the comic book creator Rebecca Burke who was was detained in ICE detention facilities in the US for a couple of weeks due to some problems with the type of visa she was trying to enter ...

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When love turns to hate… It's a common trope in fiction: partners split up and their once loving relationship turns to one of bitter acrimony! We see hate turning to love frequently too, that ...

Absolute Boyfriend: Volume 1

So, you’ve got this amazing story idea bouncing around in your head—yay, go you! But now comes the big question: how do you actually start the thing? You want that first page to blow your readers away, right? Let’s talk about one of ...

If you are setting a story in the past it can often be hard to get everything from the little things to the big picture right, especially if it's a period you haven't lived through yourself. Even then, your memory can play tricks on you.

It doesn't ...