There's generally a tennet about character building for a villain in a story or webcomic that urges the creator to humanize them by giving them a backstory that “fleshes them out”. Often, “humanization” of a villain is taken to mean that they come across as more sympathetic or appealing ...

The Forest is home to a community of woodland creatures who have taken on the qualities of personified human beings while still resembling animals in outward appearance. Three librarians—Milly the Mouse, Martha the Weasel, and Sylvia the Cat—work at the Forest Public Library where they help select the ...

I think many of us who make comics or write stories or are interested in writing can agree that mistake number one in writing is to front-load a story with a long-winded backstory. We've talked about it here on the site plenty of times.

There is an opposite mistake ...

This year is the 30th anniversary of The Fugitive - that is, the Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones movie. It's a phenomenal movie, and maybe the high bar for the…I guess, the “mature thriller”, we could call it.

Funny enough, it's a remake. In the conversation about ...

Photo: X-Men Series II Trading Card Collection (1993)

An unopened, cellophane wrapped pack of trading cards is a sleeve of anticipation. The probability of finding a hologram or a rare character card is reason enough to get excited.

Around the time the Uncanny X-Men cartoon gained popularity in nineteen-ninety three ...

I kid, I just like the gif. But I do prefer prequels.

When are sequels and prequels great to do? What makes a great sequel or prequel?

I believe a lot of us think about expanding our stories, whether it’s in the form of a sequel or a prequel ...

Backstories. We all have ‘em. After all, we wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t. Without our memories, we are like a blank slate waiting to be drawn on. Trust me, I’ve had amnesia. It’s not fun to have to rebuild your life brick by brick ...

Photo: Mortal Kombat logo from the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System


Call it what it is: Nostalgia. Intellectual property rights. Series reboot. The chills start to form as soon as Scorpion drags SubZero’s masked face across the screen and yells, “Get over here!” The goblet of Summer 2021 Blockbusters ...

I have been a fan of the writer Peter David for many years. After being away from comics for some years, I discovered his run on the Hulk, and also found his work on the Star Trek novels. He was the best writer for those, for my taste anyway. There ...

A key aspect to creating a strong story is having believable characters. They are, after all, a key backbone to your narrative. So here are three tips that can help you put together a well rounded character.

1. Create a backstory
If you’re naming a character then you got ...