The Sum of David

There are a few things that I will go straight up fangirl over. Hellboy is one of them.

Josh spent much of the weekend hibernating against our awesome 20-degree weather, so I popped in the Hellboy movie while he sawed logs on the couch. First off, let me say this: I know it’s not the perfect movie. The graphic version of Seed of Destruction is superior in several ways (the greatest of which is the fact that Sammael doesn’t resurrect fifteen times and we have to watch them battle him over and over. And over.) But it is so much fun. The casting is perfect. No one but Ron Perlman could play Hellboy — playing a giant red demon-man toting a giant stone hand and covered in runic symbols would be impossible for anyone else to pull off. Doug Jones and (the uncredited) David Hyde Pierce are an impeccable Abe Sapian. And even my reading brain didn’t translate Professor Trevor Bruttenholm as well as John Hurt did.

The thing that makes this movie enjoyable for me is the execution of taking the world and story from paper to live action. Hellboy’s creator, Mike Mignola, worked very closely with del Toro to make the creatures and environments rich and believable. I think they do a beautiful job of it — the set of Bruttenholm’s study and the Russian graveyard are especially beautiful in my opinion, and Kroenen and Sapien really are very fantastic. With three discs, the Hellboy special edition is also  one of the most extensive bonus features DVD I’ve ever encountered and offers HOURS of yummy documentation of what went into making the world come alive. (Rivaled in size and detail only by LOTR box sets — 7 discs. Yowza.)

Mignola’s Hellboy is a fascinating character. While I am not usually a huge fan of horror in other fiction, I love it in Mignola’s dark, boxy style and the humor he injects into the stories is a nice balance between the gore. I generally love the ‘refusal of destiny’ arc in stories anyway, and throwing in the impending apocalypse via the hero is right up my alley. Combine it with lots of dark folklore, disturbing occult conspiracies, heaven vs. hell, and the whole what makes a man thing — I am one happy camper.

Visually, Mignola’s art is more than drool-worthy. He has an unmistakable style: heavy shadows that can cover an entire page but still insinuate there is so much going on; angular, sometimes abbreviated shapes that lose nothing from their incomplete execution; character designs that challenge your base knowledge of mythological figures (like the stone, iron-maiden goddess Hecate, anyone?); action and framing that is clear and dramatic. And his paintings make me cry tears of jealous, reverential JOY.

JOY!

“Look, Sammy, I’m not a very good shot… but the Samaritan here uses really big bullets.”

My first exposure to Kazu Kubuishi was through his website for monthly installments of his comic Copper — single-page comics that follow a boy and his dog along various life themes. His insights on art, comics and entertainment kept me coming back, and I anticipated the release of his first full-length novel, Daisy Kutter. He was also the driving force behind the Flight novels, which showcase the exceptional talent of a wide variety of writers and artists under the theme of , you guessed it, “Flight”.

Kubuishi’s recent blogs have highlighted his recent involvement in Flight 4, the youth-aimed Flight Explorer, and his latest graphic work, Amulet. It’s been a unique experience following him as he created this latest novel — through tables stacked with thumbnails, the challenges of story development (and redevelopment), deadlines, etc. I was able to secure a copy of the first print run before Christmas (because I’m that awesome, yo) and Josh was tickled pink when he unwrapped it December 25.

…but he didn’t read it fast enough, so I got to it first. Really, this was my plan all along since I boosted his graphic library by at least ten, and he cannot humanly read them ALL at the same time. So: I win.

The story begins with Emily, Navin and their mother relocating 2 years after the tragic loss of the children’s father. Noises draw them into the basement on the first night in the previously abandoned family home, and their mother is captured by a monster and carried away. Emily and Navin pursue it down a mysterious stairway that disappears behind them and leads to much more than a simple sub-basement.

The fantasy world grows from there, introducing a mysterious voice that guides Emily in using a strange and powerful amulet that she discovered in their great-grandfather Silas’s study. Beyond the blob of tentacles that kidnapped their mother, there’s also a crash course in creatures that announce you’re not in Kansas any more, such as parachute mushrooms, dangerous conebeak birds, robots and the terrifying gauntlet. There’s also a creepy dude that follows them around, which you just know is going to end badly.

The art is Amazing. Yes, with a capital A. Kubuishi is more than competent at showing action and emotion, and his choices on what to frame and how to frame it are excellent. The shots and pacing feel like you’re watching a movie. The linework is relatively simple, if very well executed, but the color and texture is what makes it fan-freaking-tastic. There’s a gritty texture to many of the environments and scenes that raises the bar to a new level; layered colors pile on top of one another and particle-like specks add a level of realism that boost it out of cartoony. I was originally worried about the character design, since the main two we follow through this first book are kind of generic looking, but the color really helps make them unique.

The end left me a little dissatisfied, since I wanted to know more and it wasn’t quite in a cliff-hanger-thirsty-for-more way. I’m okay with that, however, because there’s a lot that the two Earth children also didn’t understand about what just happened, where they’re going, or why. I would have liked to see a little more exploration of the story/surroundings, but I understand it’s only Book One and introducing a fantasy world does take a lot of time — you have to establish the environment and ground rules from square one. Besides… it was beautiful. All in all, it was well worth the read and I heartily anticipate the next volume. Check it out!

A disclaimer: Two of my current favorite graphic novels are Craig Thompson’s Blankets and Jeff Smith’s Bone, both of which are very large (600 and 1,300 pages, respectfully)… so my slight dissatisfaction with the end of Amulet could have nothing to do with the story and more with me being accustomed to having it all spread before me in a big, fat, satisfy-me-now brick of an epic. If Kubuishi’s past work is any indication, I’m sure I will continue to devour the entirety of the series happily and hungrily; I’ll just have to do it smaller, yummy bits.

…I understand that’s better for your metabolism anyhow.

Writing on David’s sequel has begun slowly, but there is excellent progress being made. My soft deadline right now for the completion of the first draft is May 1st. We’ll see. I’m feeling confident.

…which is ironic, because I totally got my first rejection letter today. I had (sort of) successfully forgotten that I even sent it out, except I started trying to remember why Dec. 15th stuck in my mind and, ah, that’s when the 2 month response time would be up. Well, I got my familiar SASE in the mail yesterday. I stared at it for a moment and, in an exercise of self-control, put it down and started cooking dinner.

But let’s face it, it’s a freakin‘ response, and the piece of paper contained within that envelope lived in the drawer of a real agent’s office — I opened it.

I’ve been bracing myself for months in the event I receive a letter that reads anything beyond “Yes! Please!” Although it would be outside my usual character, I was really afraid I would take the rejection personally, but there wasn’t any of the heartbreak or anguish I thought might bloom from the experience. Actually, my level of disappointment was only about a .5 on a scale from 1 - 10. The letter was very polite, very encouraging. I really thought I’d be more bummed than I am.

I suspect that this may be because by getting a response at all, I’m at least a part of the game now.

So the letter is going up onto the cork board in my studio, I’m on to pursue the next agent in my magic agent binder, and it’s back to work on the next book. Things are rolling along.

I took this holiday week off of work with high hopes of getting some real work done on this sequel. Unfortunately, I’ve been fighting an illness that refuses to let go and was only able to squeeze out about 3,000 words before giving into some recovery time. My pseudo participation in NaNoWriMo was only a means for inspiration to begin with, but I’d hoped to make it at least halfway to the 50,000 word goal by the end of the month. No dice, it seems.

I did get some good writing in at the beginning of the week, however, and thought it might be interesting to show my workspaces.

The first, a common denominator from writing SoD, is Crazy Mocha, located in Pittsburgh’s South Side Works. The staff has completely turned over, which is a shame, but since I’ve sat in their facility for 8+ hours with success, I’m more than primed to get some work done there. Plus, they have the biggest oatmeal raisin cookies you’ve ever seen in your life.

The second is Creative Treehouse, which is a facility that offers shared workspace for creative professionals in Bellevue. Since Bellevue is only 10 minutes from my house, it’s not a big commute if I need to get away from my house. It’s open 24 hours, so I could conceivably write through the night if I needed to. And I heart the treehouse, just because.

The third locale is closer to home… as in, two doors down from my bedroom. I actually just cleaned it out a couple weeks ago, which entailed a box of nails and several garbage bags (Yep, that’s clean). One day it will be painted, with a fancy new light and perhaps a fan.

Art is fun. The top pic shows a piece entitled “The Treeshouse” which includes talkative birds and slugs. Below are framed digital pieces titled “The Nunjas” and “Clang Clang”. The colorful one leaning up against the wall is called “Imagination”. And on the cork board? A main character from the final SoD novel, oh my!
This is a good place when I’m feeling antisocial or contagious. And, because the weather has gotten all winter-y on me, this may become a favorite hide out for a couple months. Because snow is my enemy.

If you do anything within the realm of creativity, you have probably experienced the rush of inspiration. It’s like gold to the writer, artist, designer, inventor, etc, and can make life a whole lot easier.

The mystery of the whole phenomenon is that you can’t recreate the circumstances, because it occurs in such strange and inexplicable ways. It can strike with the converging of music, weather, time of day, a meal, a piece of clothing, a movie, the way a person moves or speaks, and a million other things. You can’t force it, and it’s different every time to every person.

The spark for The Sum of David came in a split second at a Cirque du Soleil show. I can distinctly remember the visual — a glowing air balloon as it sailed above the crowd — that brought the lightning and possibilities. I can recall the inspiration for the sequel a few months ago — on the bus with a particular song in my earphones and the light, weather, people and construction appearing just right in the city in Pittsburgh.

The catch? Inspiration won’t do the job for you. And it might cause more problems than it solves, at least at first. But if you can uncover how the pieces fit together, it’s worth it. So paint that masterpiece one brush stroke at a time, write that novel (now’s the time, after all) a word, a sentence, a page at a time; conquer the world the way you know how and don’t get discouraged. The spark might come in a rush, but making it into something tangible, something that works, takes time and effort.

On a different, but not unrelated note: I saw the trailer for The Golden Compass last night on television and it pretty much rocked my socks clean off. It’s not the same preview I’ve linked above, but they’re both AWESOME. I regret that it’s got a big, butt-kicking polar bear (since SOD’s got one too, if very briefly), but I still can’t wait to see it. The actors… the voices… the effects… Like I said: AWESOME.

There are three days left to read the end of The Sum of David. On Thursday, I’ll be pulling the conclusion off of the site and leaving only the first three chapters for preview purposes. Originally, the story was slated to wrap up the last week of 2007, and I intended to leave the site up indefinitely for anyone that was interested. Recently, however, I decided that I might as well give my best effort at trying to get it published. It’s the beginning of a trilogy, and I’m going to be writing the whole series anyway… and since my main muse hasn’t read my last two books (go easy on him, he’s sixteen — I hope he’s got better things to do than read his sister’s stories), I need another audience to write for. So how about… everybody else?

There are a lot of things going on right now. Since I haven’t blogged for a while, I’ll lay them down here, if for no other reason than to keep myself organized.

I’m getting caught up on the three most recent Heroes episodes tonight. I have to say from the first three: I don’t feel that it’s as good as last season’s. I’m intrigued, yes, but not in a crazed, omg I-have-to-know way. Seeing a show like that does make me want to write, though, and I’ll take inspiration anywhere I can get it. And I know I’m three weeks late, but: Lt. Uhura?! Are they tapping the whole original Star Trek cast? If so, William Shatner needs to be Syler’s dad. Please do not mistake this for complaining. I think it’s awesome.

Tuesday is a meet-up at the Creative Treehouse to talk about improving Bellevue, and more specifically, Bellevue’s best coffee shop: Affogato. I’m interested in what’s going on there and how to improve the area, since any benefits for Bellevue will mean upsides for Aff and the Creative Treehouse.

Wednesday is Halloween and I’d love to pass out candy, but I’ve had to work late the last three years… hopefully that trend will end this year, but we’ll see. Trick or Treating seems to get earlier and earlier every year — I think last year it was 4 to 6pm or something, and I can’t get home until 5:30, earliest. Josh doesn’t even get out of work until 6. It’s a shame, because I pretty much melt at every costume. Cartoon character? aw. Pirate? AW. Dinosaur? Take my candy. All of it.

And, on the remaining evenings? Oh my. I’ve got Halloween decorations to prepare, purchase and/or create for the Creative Treehouse’s Haunted Treehouse party on Saturday night. I’ve got another pumpkin to carve and three art pieces to finish for the night’s gallery… plus I need to create signage for the event. Not to mention my costume isn’t close to finished… All of which has to be complete by Friday night, because I’ve got a family dinner on Saturday afternoon in Hundred, WV — and I won’t be back in Pgh in time to decorate the place during the day. whew!

Two worlds collide in a rush of lightning, tusk and claw.

Well, here we are, kids. If you’re interested, a mouse click will deliver you to the final 13 chapters of The Sum of David, complete and available for your perusal. I hope readers will find the end logical and satisfactory, and I’d love to hear any comments regarding the story. I’m going to leave these remaining chapters up until Nov. 1.