In today's fast-paced world, you need to immediately catch an audience's attention with your story, your movie, your webcomic or your graphic novel. You get two lines in a text, a page or two in a comic, 20-30 seconds to a minute for a movie or a series ...

The Mini-Story Intro
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Nov. 3, 2018Catharsis
Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 1, 2018
CATHARSIS
from the Best of Banes Collection
A writing instructor once gave me brief advice on how to write a story, structurally speaking. It was 1/4 Act One setup, 1/2 Act Two complications and rising stakes (I think), and about 1/4 An Act Three “cathartic ending”.
I ...
Introductions: A Wall of Text!
Amelius at 10:06AM, Oct. 28, 2018
Hello everyone, I'm your new article writer here on DD, Amy! And while we are on the topic OF introductions, what finer time would there be to discuss that very thing than in this very inaugural article? No better time, says I!
Introductions are hard. It's the first ...
Character and subtext in horror
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 18, 2018
The Haunting of Hill House is masterfully done horror with humanity
The Drunk Duck Awards, 2018 are underway! Check 'em out here:
https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Drunk_Duck_Awards_2018/
In the movie “The Innkeepers”, two clerks in an allegedly haunted hotel work on the last night before the place closes down. They ...
After the End
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 4, 2018
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 ...
White Swan, Black Swan
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 29, 2018
In Swan Lake, the black swan Odile is transformed by her warlock father into the white swan, Odette, and posing as Odette she tricks the prince into breaking his oath to the white swan- because clearly making life-binding oaths to a woman you know so little you can mistake her ...
Before the Beginning
Banes at 12:00AM, Sept. 27, 2018
One of the great things about the original Star Wars movies was the strong sense of a grand, adventurous, and terrible history before the movie started. So much is hinted at through Obi Wan Kenobi about the Jedi Knights, Anakin Skywalker, great friendships, laser swords, and terrible war and loss ...
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 ...
80 Years of Superman
Banes at 12:00AM, Sept. 13, 2018
2018 marks the 80th birthday of the big guy himself - the OG superhero.
Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938.
Actually, there were precursors to Superman. But he popularized and defined the ‘Superhero’ character-type and genre. He was the template for countless characters who came later, with his ...