Romance

I don't know much about the Romance Genre. I've never read a romance novel. Not that I recall, anyway.

Of course, I've seen a fair number of romance-focussed movies, and have consumed HUNDREDS of stories with a love subplot. Love is still the most common subplot ...

Lately there has been this pattern that I've noticed in both social media and mainstream comics/cartoons outlets that is very saddening: the use of denigration and belittlement as a promotional tactic, or as an argument.

More and more I seem to notice that new series, reboots, retellings or ...

After the End …and the Duck is on Patreon!



All stories must come to an end somewhere - whether it's a “just another day” ending, an “everybody dies” denouement, or the always wonderful “it was all a dream”. Or maybe it's just the end of this adventure, with another ...

Iron Man and the multi film arc - revisited


There are spoilers below for the Iron Man and Avengers movies, Civil War, and Spiderman Homecoming


The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been breaking new ground in movies with their various interconnected films for about ten years.


The MCU began with Iron Man ...

Today we'll talk sequel and series character arcs

Last Week we talked about character arcs. They're an important element of fiction writing…although a lot of the time, there is no arc! But a strong, unpredictable character arc can be a great help in driving a story from ...

A character starts in one state of being, and ends in a very different state of being.

The Character Arc in a nutshell!

Every time the subject of character arcs comes up around the site or on the Quackcast, one of the first examples that comes to my mind is ...

Cinematic Universes are the big thing these days. Or they're trying to be.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding to further-flung corners all the time: I couldn't believe some of the “cosmic” characters who appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2. Characters I would have thought ...

I have a high interest in comedy. Writing and drawing it, reading and watching it, studying and cuddling it.

Trying to be funny is a way of life for me. When I have the time, I want to bury myself in trying to be funny in my comics as often ...

I was just watching Midnight Run.

Actually, I haven't watched it in almost a year, if I'm being honest. But I was just THINKING about it. One of the all time great movies. A perfect movie.

I sometimes wondered if there would ever be a sequel to it ...

Today we'll talk sequel and series character arcs, and focus on the cinematic portrayal of Iron Man

Last Week we talked about character arcs. They're an important element of fiction writing…although a lot of the time, there is no arc! But a strong, unpredictable character arc can ...