Happy New Year! TERROR GOING TO PRINT
Going to keep giving you the best in indie comics in 2023!
Happy New Year Fiends!
With the coming year ahead RISE AGAIN COMICS plans to bring you the best in indie stories and even more posts, so get ready. We’re starting this ride with a BANG!
TERROR IN THE TRENCHES hits 80K GOAL!
Every physical backer gets a BONUS Dan Lawlis Print! Hells to the yeah! Here’s a peek!
I will be soon offering a download of TERROR IN THE TRENCHES to all my paid subscribers. Be ready!
Tell everyone so they can get a copy cause we’re going to be fulfilling this book pretty soon!
PSYCHO-KILLERS ASH CAN IS DONE
22 Pages of my next book Psycho-Killers (PK) are done! Art by Paul Gori and edited and lettered by Adam Lawson. This book slaps like no other! I turned in a 132 page script for BOOK 1 of PK (that’s 6 issues of story, baby!) and I can say without ego that it’s me writing at my best. Do NOT MISS this! It’s psychic assassins in a James Bond setting taking each other down after having grown up together! Nothing out there is like this. Here’s a look at the WRAP-AROUND Cover, baby!
LET’S STUDY: CHAINSAW MAN
What makes it work? What gives it dimension?
It’s a classic monster hunter tale but it’s set up with great characters and just enough unanswered questions to keep it interesting. It also uses simple yet bold imagery to hit us, making us feel the weight of it’s brutal unforgiving world. It also utilizes the stylistic rule of cool, such as the Devil Hunters wearing black suits and ties, ala Tarintino’s Reservoir Dogs. What makes Chainsaw man not just another cool anime kids fighting monsters tale is its characters. That’s what really gives it dimension and keeps the conflicts interesting.
Main character - DENJI is an average guy with simple aspirations to touch boob before he dies in a world of death. He questions things and is outward and honest with his emotions and motivations. Doesn’t follow rules and while he may appear dumb and easily manipulated as a human, as chainsaw man he always surprises and surpasses a monster to save the day. Zero who’s a hero type.
Wild Card - The crazy violence loving hybrid - A fiend named POWER, was the devil of blood but has possessed a corpse ( I think?) that works to kill other devils now. So with Power we get a hilarious side of how devils see the world - through chaos and violence which is leaned into with all kinds of humorous moments. A true wild card which makes her fun.
Boss - His Boss MAKIMA, is the mysterious woman he’s falling in love with. She’s a powerful force, sending him on missions while being the object of his desire. She uses her sensuality to add another dimension to this story. She uses it to get him to kill a Devil for her. This world is violent but its also sensual, sexual. Human. Maybe because Devils are always out killing in this unforgiving world sexuality with humans has changed and become more overt and common? We don’t know for sure but it’s made her character more interesting. She’s not some rando hot bimbo boss. She’s in control.
The Competition - AKI, the rule abiding hard ass guy. Instant conflict with the hero’s devil may care attitude. Starts off kicking the heroes ass but then he turns it around. Great stuff.
Now you take all of these characters and you put them in the same room. Now what do we have? We have cogs that fit into each other and move. It’s like a machine that perpetuates itself. We have his boss holding power over our hero but giving us the tension of wondering if they will ever hook up. We have his rule abiding rival, adding tension, causing problems. We have a chaos devil friend adding to the action and problems to solve. Just standing in a room and they are completely grinding against each other.
Yes, like grinding steel, GRIND your characters against each other in interesting ways that reveal them or make them more interesting to us. Use conflict but also use their DESIRES to grind them. The hero and his his competition don’t just fight because they’re the odd couple. The rule abider also wants the favor of their sexy boss and she seems to be giving it more to Chainsaw man as he saves the day. This adds dimension to the overall conflict in the story and makes it interesting.
So from here we can take what Chainsaw Man did and formulate our own cast for our own story. Fill these in for your own cast:
THE AVERAGE UNDERDOG HERO -
THE SEXY BOSS -
THE WILD CARD -
THE COMPETITION -
Or take a story with a cast you like that you think works well together and break them down. Write down what their characters are and what their conflicts are and see about using that to create your own cast for your story. Characters that grind together make things more interesting as your action plays out. Maybe this method could help get you that added dimension your story might be missing. BEST OF LUCK!
Your fiend in comincs,
- Vonster
