edward norton in “primal fear”

One of the things I like in fiction is characters who are not what they seem.

Like all things, this sort of thing can be done well, or badly, or somewhere in between. It can be fascinating and surprising, or cliche and predictable. It can ...

So on occasion, there's a lot of controversy over gender bending characters- that is, to change the character's sex from male to female or vice versa.

I'm not going to talk about my take on this controversy. At least not in this article.

What I want to ...

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For the month of October we've decided to look at a different movie franchise each week, starting with Indiana Jones! Banes and Tantz have way more ...

I decided to give the first episode of Riverdale chance after seeing lots of its merchandise advertised in the local Hot Topic and several teenagers recommending it. If anyone is late to the party (as I was), Riverdale is a series based off of the 1939 Archie Comics. It shares ...

I Was Wrong - The Character Arc

Last time I was here I talked about “The Old Warrior”. It's one of my favorite character types and story elements.

This time I'm going to go into another trope/theme that almost always works for me: The realization of a character ...

When you're creating the look of your fictional world what can really help you in the design of the look and feel of it is coming up with a “Design Language”.
What I mean by this is the theme of the overall look of things and the reasons for ...

The Mysterious Stranger


This is about ‘the mysterious stranger’ in fiction. Well, one of the variations of that, at least. I'm not talking about the mysterious stranger who becomes the MC's lover in a romance novel, or the mysterious stranger who knocks on the door or gets into ...

Metal Hurlant: The Craziest Comic Book Series You Probably Never Heard About.
Comic books and graphic novels are considered by many an inherently American form of publication. They became popular in the English-speaking parts of the world (the US and the UK) in the 1930s and conquered the world in ...

I'm not generally a fan of ‘spoofs’ or parodies. There are a few greats of course, like Young Frankenstein, but even the well-regarded ones like the Naked Gun series back in the day aren't ones I was ever crazy about. There are some funny jokes and good performances ...

Lately more and more comics and animated features seem to consciously, and more importantly loudly, incorporate political messages in their stories. From feminism to social stratification and discrimination, to racism and xenophobia or even depression and psychological trauma.

This is by no means a new thing, to incorporate themes and ...