So if vampires are a hot mess and haters are at the gates what can YOU learn from vampires? Well, a lot, vampires are not the only over extended sub-genre out there. Let's explore another genre that is trying to avoid ending up in a similar space, superheroes, specifically ...

One Bad Apple, part 2
Amelius at 12:09PM, Dec. 2, 2018Recycling Ideas From The Trash
Amelius at 12:04PM, Nov. 18, 2018
There are no bad ideas, just poor execution…..terrible, awful execution.
You may have seen those games that go around on social media, such as “Describe a classic movie/video game/novel in the worst way possible”, it shows how easy it is to make any concept seem like the ...
Shaking the Pillars part 1
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 11, 2018
Shaking the Pillars part 1 - Losing the Lead
The Walking Dead is apparently killing off its main character this season - this is the guy who's been the main guy since episode 1 about 8 years ago. This is not a spoiler - it's all over the Internet, the promos ...
Justifying the Tragic Backstory
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Sept. 21, 2018
Throughout literature and modern media, many faults and drives for leads, damsels and villians have often been motivated by a tragic backstory so much so, that to employ one for your story may appear trite or cliche. There is, however, a way to use a tragic backstory effectively and can ...
White Hats
Banes at 5:04AM, Sept. 20, 2018
When Superman returned to the big screen ten years ago or so in “Superman Returns”, the movie was intended to be a direct sequel to the two original movies with Christopher Reeve. I was surprised at how mopey and depressing the movie felt.
Which is to say, the movie felt ...
Casting Characters in Comics - 123
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 2, 2018
Creating a Cast - in 1-2-3
One of the challenges…and maybe one of the greatest pleasures…of creating a series is populating it with a cast of heroes. I know I spend many weeks or months tinkering with characters and deciding who they're going to be. …And how many ...
Art and Propaganda
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 21, 2018
Soviet poster advocating atheism and science over religion
From the most ancient times, art has always been used by the ruling classes for purposes of propaganda, to propagate certain ideas about those commissioning it and their purposes: that kings are mighty, that regimes are for ever, that the enemy is ...
Quackcast 383 - Slow burn
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, July 17, 2018 LISTEN!
The idea for this Quackcast came from a rant by the irascible PitFace. She was talking about how there's a trend in modern SciFi and horror movies to bash you over the head with constant action and it doesn't allow you time to relax and take in ...
Studies
Banes at 12:00AM, June 14, 2018STUDIES
Recently I began two training programs: one for writing and one for drawing. Both have teachers that are very impressive.
The art program in particular is cool, because I've done almost no study of art or drawing other than some lessons in elementary and high school classes.
I ...