Monday, March 30, 2015
Comic Book Series Fan Posts Part 49
A very special thank you to all my wonderful friends and fans, I'm truly honored to receive your feedback, posts, responses and shares on the comic book series and I am grateful for everyone's support! Thanks again! You all rock!
Saturday, March 28, 2015
How I develop my Characters and their Personalities
To build a character, I first look at their zodiac signs, and research the negative aspects of each sign. For instance, if one of my characters is an Aries, I look at the worst possible traits of that particular sign.
I also base them on personal experiences and personalities of people I’ve known or met, but I won’t say who, or when. ;-)
Sometimes if I’m especially affected by a personality type, it becomes inspirational and I can develop a whole new character in minutes. It really depends if I’m inspired or not. I write more from feeling than I do from just creating a character for the sake of it. I have to be fully inspired by it.
Some characters are minor players in the background, so I don’t really develop their characteristics fully (since I kill some of them off), but I write about them or include them just enough to make them part of the story. They become the motivational driving forces behind the main characters.
There are days when I really struggle coming up with a new character, and there are times when I could write for days straight about a character and become so focused on them. I have to be in the right mood, with the right music. There are times when I’m so uninspired by my surroundings, it could take a while to come up with a new character. Mood and setting are everything to me when I write.
Much of the characters were developed in my original vampire trilogy novel (“The Guardian, Revenant, and Dominion”—the original novel, not the graphic novel version), the one I turned into a comic book. Gabriel (Book 1) is by far my favorite character because he is so evil, and from there I was able to come up with more characters based on his personality and motivations (He is a serial killer so it was easier to come up with other serial killer Guardian Angels). But their personalities had to be different and distinct. Janos (Book 2) was by far the most complicated character I had to develop, because his personality was so intense. The original novel dealt deeper into his life, and it is much harder to convey all of that into a comic book. Which is why I try to give glimpses of how my characters interact and what motivates them to do what they do in the comic series. It’s hard to fit an entire novel into 24 pages, but I try to include what stands out the most about their personalities and how they came to be who they are.
I also threw myself into the comic book series (Book 3) because of course, I always wanted to be in a comic book series (my character is also part of the original novel). My character is by far the hardest to really write about and develop, because I’m basically writing about myself, so it becomes rather personal. So I tend to develop the other characters around me a lot more. Who says I never put a 100% of myself in my work? lol!
Each comic book is written when I decide where I want the characters to go—whether I want to kill them off so the story can continue in a new direction or as a reason for another character changing or doing something, or I find that I create another character because of a backstory or an incident. it really depends, and if it makes sense in the story. But that’s how my mind works—I am constantly thinking about where I want to story to go, why my characters do what they so, and what’s next for them. It also depends on where I am at any point in my life. Like the time I was taking martial arts, a comic book will have more martial arts in it. If I’m traveling or if I’m in certain atmospheres and places, the story will reflect it, and not only that, it will reflect the people I meet in certain situations. I could meet someone only once and build an entire character around them. It depends on how they make me FEEL.
So that’s my process in a way. I know, I’m rambling. But you all get it.
I also base them on personal experiences and personalities of people I’ve known or met, but I won’t say who, or when. ;-)
Sometimes if I’m especially affected by a personality type, it becomes inspirational and I can develop a whole new character in minutes. It really depends if I’m inspired or not. I write more from feeling than I do from just creating a character for the sake of it. I have to be fully inspired by it.
Some characters are minor players in the background, so I don’t really develop their characteristics fully (since I kill some of them off), but I write about them or include them just enough to make them part of the story. They become the motivational driving forces behind the main characters.
There are days when I really struggle coming up with a new character, and there are times when I could write for days straight about a character and become so focused on them. I have to be in the right mood, with the right music. There are times when I’m so uninspired by my surroundings, it could take a while to come up with a new character. Mood and setting are everything to me when I write.
Much of the characters were developed in my original vampire trilogy novel (“The Guardian, Revenant, and Dominion”—the original novel, not the graphic novel version), the one I turned into a comic book. Gabriel (Book 1) is by far my favorite character because he is so evil, and from there I was able to come up with more characters based on his personality and motivations (He is a serial killer so it was easier to come up with other serial killer Guardian Angels). But their personalities had to be different and distinct. Janos (Book 2) was by far the most complicated character I had to develop, because his personality was so intense. The original novel dealt deeper into his life, and it is much harder to convey all of that into a comic book. Which is why I try to give glimpses of how my characters interact and what motivates them to do what they do in the comic series. It’s hard to fit an entire novel into 24 pages, but I try to include what stands out the most about their personalities and how they came to be who they are.
I also threw myself into the comic book series (Book 3) because of course, I always wanted to be in a comic book series (my character is also part of the original novel). My character is by far the hardest to really write about and develop, because I’m basically writing about myself, so it becomes rather personal. So I tend to develop the other characters around me a lot more. Who says I never put a 100% of myself in my work? lol!
Each comic book is written when I decide where I want the characters to go—whether I want to kill them off so the story can continue in a new direction or as a reason for another character changing or doing something, or I find that I create another character because of a backstory or an incident. it really depends, and if it makes sense in the story. But that’s how my mind works—I am constantly thinking about where I want to story to go, why my characters do what they so, and what’s next for them. It also depends on where I am at any point in my life. Like the time I was taking martial arts, a comic book will have more martial arts in it. If I’m traveling or if I’m in certain atmospheres and places, the story will reflect it, and not only that, it will reflect the people I meet in certain situations. I could meet someone only once and build an entire character around them. It depends on how they make me FEEL.
So that’s my process in a way. I know, I’m rambling. But you all get it.
Character Profile: Jeromos
Prince Jeromos Dracon is Janos’s right-hand man and chosen heir because of his royal blood and supposedly loyalty. But Jeromos is rebellious, power-hungry, and an alcoholic, whose hard drinking was caused by his horrible disfigurement by Cameron and his passion for the Author Ms. Price, who he kidnapped to turn into a vampire and who he believes sees him as a hideous monster. Jeromos is lustful, arrogant, fearless, and wanting leadership and power.
Jeromos wants to become leader and has the potential to become a very dangerous contender. He has some very powerful advantages—he is considered the “healer” as he has managed to find a serum for the virus that is killing off the Vampire Guardian Angels, and the reason he kidnapped the Author is that he has found that, as the “creator” and discoverer of the Vampire Guardian Angels (supposedly in biblical texts), her blood has healing and restorative powers, so he is hell-bent on keeping her for himself as she can also heal him. This alone would make him leader, but he feels it is his right to be leader since he is of royal blood, as an ancient Estonian Prince. The Vampire Guardian Angels already see him as stronger and more effective than Janos, and they are slowly abandoning Janos to follow Jeromos. And as long as he has the author, the Vampire Guardian Angels will follow him.
But Jeromos is blinded by passion and alcohol, which can make him reckless. Despite this, he is confident and charismatic and has built up a formidable army and is ready to challenge Janos’s rule. And he does not hesitate in being ruthless to his enemies.
Jeromos wants to become leader and has the potential to become a very dangerous contender. He has some very powerful advantages—he is considered the “healer” as he has managed to find a serum for the virus that is killing off the Vampire Guardian Angels, and the reason he kidnapped the Author is that he has found that, as the “creator” and discoverer of the Vampire Guardian Angels (supposedly in biblical texts), her blood has healing and restorative powers, so he is hell-bent on keeping her for himself as she can also heal him. This alone would make him leader, but he feels it is his right to be leader since he is of royal blood, as an ancient Estonian Prince. The Vampire Guardian Angels already see him as stronger and more effective than Janos, and they are slowly abandoning Janos to follow Jeromos. And as long as he has the author, the Vampire Guardian Angels will follow him.
But Jeromos is blinded by passion and alcohol, which can make him reckless. Despite this, he is confident and charismatic and has built up a formidable army and is ready to challenge Janos’s rule. And he does not hesitate in being ruthless to his enemies.
Character Profile: Detective Costa
Detective Sebastian Costa is a morally-driven human cop with a personality similar to Cameron, determined to do good. At first skeptical about the existence of the Vampire Guardian Angels, he was in the beginning suspicious of Ms. Price, but soon found out they were real and, as he fought to save her from them, he and Ms. Price grew close.
Costa is a brave detective, but he is easily frustrated and impatient, temperamental, and cocky, and at times unsure of how to handle himself in situations involving the Vampire Guardian Angels so he always tends to look to Cameron for guidance and even help. But he cares about doing the right thing as much as Cameron does and wants to protect humans, especially the Author, Ms. Price, who he was dating. He fights to retain his own humanity in a world taken over by Vampire Guardian Angels and finds himself often overwhelmed.
He becomes even more determined when Ms. Price is kidnapped by Jeromos, and he fears the worst for her, which drives him to do anything and everything to find her. He wants to become a better fighter and knows that Cameron may not always be there, and puts pressure on himself to take the initiative and control of situations.
Character Profile: Joseph
Joseph is a selfish, insecure, self-absorbed young man who still suffers from grief and trauma from the death of his mother, and from Cameron turning him into a Vampire after killing his mother when he was a young boy. He is hell-bent on revenge against Cameron, who accidentally killed his mother, Christina, when Cameron suddenly transformed into a Vampire Guardian Angel after being bitten in Heaven and falling back to Earth. But Joseph was not aware that he was a reincarnated Guardian Angel, called "The Killer of Angels" for his power of light that could send Angels to their deaths and resurrection back in Heaven.
Joseph still cannot find himself to forgive Cameron, and his anger is so great that he is contemplating joining forces with whoever can destroy Cameron, even if it means finding an ally in Gabriel, who is still vengeful about what Joseph did to him but he hates Cameron more, or by leading the Vampire Guardian Angels himself. In the process, Joseph finds his desire for power growing. But he knows he is inexperienced and still young and that no one takes him seriously, and he is resentful of that, and it makes him insecure and more determined to prove himself. He also wants to be more powerful than Gabriel and Cameron, and resents Cameron’s pleas for him to “stay good”. Like Janos and Gabriel, Joseph is so traumatized he can no longer feel much human emotion, and Cameron is determined to make Joseph hang on to what little empathy he has left.
Joseph is highly intelligent and unlike Janos and Gabriel, he is not reckless and impulsive. He plans before he acts. He knows he has incredible power that he still needs to learn how to use, but is undecided whether for good or for evil. He is ambitious and intuitive and also very secretive. He watches and learns, and tries to find vulnerability. He finds ways to use people and situations to his advantage. He sees himself as a better leader and no matter how difficult, he is focused on that goal and on gaining the respect of all the Vampire Guardian Angels. He is actually fearless, courageous, and willing to find ways to achieve his goal. He can be stubborn and confrontational, and likes to be in charge and does not want to be told what to do. Deep inside is a brooding passion for a challenge and he seeks to discipline that energy and make it work for him, which makes him a formidable contender for future leadership.
Character Profile: Gregory
But he soon finds that Janos is a reluctant leader, difficult to manage, and, because he is so blindly dedicated to his quest on finding a leader, he goes as far as impregnating Janos’s girlfriend Leah in order to try to make another “heir” and leader. However, she commits suicide before the child is born. Gregory wanders the earth in anger, and decides to try to make a leader out of Joseph, Cameron’s stepson. But Gregory is killed by a mysterious plague that targets vampires which, it turns out, was a virus sent by his own son Janos.
Gregory is a calculating, greedy, lustful character who is blinded by the need for power and by his desire to fulfill the prophecy and find a leader for the Vampire Guardian Angels. He has a laser focus on this goal and will do anything and everything to find, or even create, a leader. He lacks complete empathy and sympathy for humans and sees them as slaves to be used or eaten, and is relentless and manipulative in getting his way. This shows in his unending stalking and harassment of his son, and his brutal taking of Leah.
Character Profile: Janos
But due to his personality, Janos is seen by many of the Vampire Guardian Angels as a leader who is reluctant, pessimistic, and hesitant to make major decisions. Though he finally accepts his role, he does resent it and does his best to stall on things that require his attention, such as finding a way to invade Earth from Heaven. When his girlfriend Leah commits suicide, Janos becomes even more withdrawn and indecisive, completely traumatized and still grieving over her death, unable to get over it. He tends to keep things inside, filled with self-pity, regret, and is too self-absorbed to concentrate on his role, stifling his feelings, and exploding into rare rages that last briefly. He dreads feeling any kind of emotion, and even when his father Gregory is killed later in the series, he shows no grief or emotion, other than the grief he has for Leah, as he thinks he cannot handle any more emotion of any kind.
But when he does “snap out of it” to try and lead, he is brutal, homicidal, and feels the need to make up for being seen as weak by demonstrating savagery on enemies in gory ways. (For instance, by decapitating a victim as a way of sending or emphasizing a message and drinking from the still-bleeding neck). He can also be possessive and jealous and it’s all or nothing for him. He responds by rejecting those who reject him or who do not do what he wants or when things do not go his way., which he struggles to control since he knows he needs allies and he needs the cooperation of his followers, otherwise, he fears, they might rebel.
Character Profile: Ms. Price (“The Author”)
The Author (Ms. Price) is an intellectual, reclusive writer who “discovers” the existence of the Vampire Guardian Angels in biblical texts and is determined to prove their existence. However, in doing so and by acknowledging their existence, she inadvertently “frees” them and they come to life and begin to take over humans and Earth Vampires. So strong is her power to make these Angels real that she is considered the “Creator” and her blood contains healing powers that the Vampire Guardian Angels crave. Jeromos figures this out and kidnaps her, turns her into a vampire to give her immortality, and keeps her prisoner in his fortress/castle in Sweden, using her blood to heal his soldiers.
Ms. Price is socially awkward, preferring instead to live a reclusive life of research and writing, until she meets Detective Costa, who slowly brings her out of her shell and into the world, despite her being cold, suspicious and resentful of him and his skepticism of her work, which she is stubbornly devoted to. However, she is kidnapped and Costa is determined to find her. Despite her being surrounded by dangerous Vampire Guardian Angels, she manages to stay calm, does not panic, and keeps her wits together.
Character Profile: Cameron
Cameron is also struggling with grief and self-torture for his accidental killing of his girlfriend Christina, Joseph’s mother, and he constantly seeks the forgiveness of Joseph. He is also grieving over the death of his former human detective partner, Kirkland, at the hands of Gabriel. This clouds his judgement and blinds him to the fact that his own son may become evil. Cameron believes that there is still good in the Angels and that they will eventually come around and stop their takeover, and he is unable to realize that this makes him too trusting and vulnerable and willing to give them a chance. Because of this trust, Cameron ends up being betrayed by his own son Joseph, who tries to side with Janos. But Cameron continues his role of good cop and father, protecting Joseph, mankind and anyone who he sees as needing his help. He does kill Vampire Guardian Angels when he needs to, but not without fights that often leave him wounded and damaged. He is still determined to stop Gabriel and still believes he can turn him back to good, but finds that he also needs to find a way to stop not only Janos, but also Prince Jeromos, another Vampire Guardian Angel determined to take over leadership. Cameron, however, is protected by the fact that he can kill any Vampire Guardian Angel as long as he remains “good”. so no matter how many beatings he takes, he manages to recover. Cameron has no desire for power. He still wants to save mankind, his son, and bring the Angels back to good. He later teams up with a human Detective, Sebastian Costa (who later becomes a Vampire), who he hopes will continue to stay on the “good” side.
Cameron’s personality is that of the good cop, constantly trying to do the “right” thing in a fair and just way, which is why he is so traumatized by his killing of Christina, which was not his fault and was the result of transforming into a Vampire, and he fed on her accidentally. So he is obsessed with trying to “make things right” again. Her death haunts him and makes him ever more driven to do the right thing. But Cameron should not be seen as weak. Don’t underestimate him. He is a badass.
Character Profile: Gabriel
Gabriel is the first character in the comic book series. He is a disillusioned Guardian Angel who “snapped” and rebelled against his “job” of answering prayers and helping humans. He becomes a serial killer, responding to the desperate and suicidal humans. He appears to them with promises to “end their pain” and is charming, soothing, and pretends to be helpful. Then he kills them in gruesome ways, taking out his anger and resentment on humans. His main goal is to “shut humans up” so he does not have to listen and respond to prayers, and he no longer wants to help humans.
Gabriel is resentful of humans because, as a young boy, he was sent to his death during the crusades. When he called out to his Guardian Angel to save him from an approaching medieval army, he was not saved. So he feels that is he was not helped, why should he help humans?
He has the power to control weak human minds. At first, he is not able to touch humans or kill them with his hands, because he is still a Guardian Angel and is forbidden to physically harm people. So, he finds a "loophole": he targets the suicidal, the depressed, and hypnotizes them, making them kill themselves. His murders are not suspected because they are ruled out as suicides.
Gabriel later becomes a Vampire when he is killed by Joseph and as he ascends to Heaven, a vampire hitches a ride and bites him, and Gabriel in turn bites all the angels in Heaven. Gabriel actually relishes this new role, because now he can kill with his own hands and not rely on mind control. He feels like a God, but is more of a criminally insane monster. His rage fuels his serial killing.
Gabriel is a sociopath, with a single goal: to get rid of humans who caused him so much pain and anger and who he hates because he thinks he was forced to cater to them and become their therapists. He feels superior to humans and finds it demeaning to have to help them. He lacks complete empathy, and has a cold, calculating, homicidal nature. He is delusional in that he thinks that he will only be free if he destroys all humans and that this is the only way he can be free of the torment of their prayers. He is manipulative and uses his charms to “comfort” humans and take them trust him before he kills them (and, as a vampire, feeds on them). He is one of the most dangerous of the Vampire Guardian Angels, and also the most impulsive, vindictive, and unstable. He mindlessly destroys anything in his path. His personality is more like that of a ten-year-old throwing an endless tantrums. Deep inside, he is insecure, in emotional pain, and suffering from severe trauma.
The only time he has ever shown regret was when he met Joseph, the stepson of his rival Cameron. Joseph was able to make Gabriel see what he did was wrong and convinced him to go back to Heaven, and killed him in the process. However, after Gabriel resurrects in Heaven and after being bitten by the Vampire, Gabriel becomes even more angry and more vindictive, seeking vengeance against Joseph and Cameron. Although still retaining his charm and manipulative personality, he becomes more of a mindless killing machine in later issues.
Unlike the other Vampire Guardian Angels in the series, Gabriel does not want to be a leader or rule over Vampires and humans. He prefers to just get rid of the whole humankind and anyone who gets in his way.
Comic Book 5 Final Pages Text and Color to be added
Here are some sneak peeks of the final pages of Comic Book Issue 5, with cleanup of pencil marks still to be done, and text/dialogue and color (blood) to be added.
Limited Appearances
For now I attend one comic book convention per year, mainly Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, here in Los Angeles. Eventually I plan to attend conventions in other cities.
So for now, my booksignings and appearances are local to the Los Angeles/Southern California area. If you want to meet me in person and get signed copies of my comic books, come to Comikaze!
I love meeting my fans in person, but if you can’t catch me at a convention, you may connect with me online.
Facebook
Twitter
My signed comic books are also available at liascottprice.bigcartel.com.
I love meeting my fans in person, but if you can’t catch me at a convention, you may connect with me online.
My signed comic books are also available at liascottprice.bigcartel.com.
Friday, March 27, 2015
The Appeal of the Underground
I love being underground. It appeals to my rather non-conforming, independent underground attitude (in terms of publishing). My comic book is not mainstream, and it is not my goal to appeal and please the pop culture mainstream readers. If it remains "underground" (other than amazon and indie publishers), that’s fine with me. I’m not out to change my writing to appeal to the pop culture masses. This comic book is borderline sacrilegious, (and it’s a vampire comic book. It’s supposed to be disturbing) and atheist. (Which is also why I love underground music such as black metal music—the dark, atmospheric music is quite perfect for my dark, creepy writing and imagery. I find bliss and peace in the darkness. Extreme music for extreme comic book writing.)
I’m not trying to be offensive or culturally transgressive, but I won’t apologize for writing what I write about. What appeals to me, including in music, is that it is totally and uniquely my own and not always influenced by pop culture opinion. I could do a cookie-cutter comic book that conforms to what society thinks should sell, but I don’t want to sacrifice my artistic integrity and vision, which is what makes my comic book so unique. And I don’t want to apologize to anyone who might be offended by my comic book series. If you like it, fine. if you don’t, then don’t read it. There’s nothing subtle about the series. It’s brutal, different, and yes, it’s a horror genre that some people are too afraid of reading. It questions some aspects of religion as well. I’m not anti-religion. I’m writing the way I feel and creating a world all my own from my own traumatic personal experiences, which sometimes pushes the envelope in terms of belief. But everything in life, including what society thinks you should believe in (Guardian Angels or higher powers for instance) is meant to be questioned, explored, even pushed to a certain limit. Writing is creating, and sometimes it does affect and scare people and their deeply entrenched beliefs on what should be acceptable in society.
So welcome to my world. Stay a while. If it freaks you out, then go back into the light. But remember, the light burns as well.
I’m not trying to be offensive or culturally transgressive, but I won’t apologize for writing what I write about. What appeals to me, including in music, is that it is totally and uniquely my own and not always influenced by pop culture opinion. I could do a cookie-cutter comic book that conforms to what society thinks should sell, but I don’t want to sacrifice my artistic integrity and vision, which is what makes my comic book so unique. And I don’t want to apologize to anyone who might be offended by my comic book series. If you like it, fine. if you don’t, then don’t read it. There’s nothing subtle about the series. It’s brutal, different, and yes, it’s a horror genre that some people are too afraid of reading. It questions some aspects of religion as well. I’m not anti-religion. I’m writing the way I feel and creating a world all my own from my own traumatic personal experiences, which sometimes pushes the envelope in terms of belief. But everything in life, including what society thinks you should believe in (Guardian Angels or higher powers for instance) is meant to be questioned, explored, even pushed to a certain limit. Writing is creating, and sometimes it does affect and scare people and their deeply entrenched beliefs on what should be acceptable in society.
So welcome to my world. Stay a while. If it freaks you out, then go back into the light. But remember, the light burns as well.
This is NOT a “Religious Comic Book”
I’ve noticed (and been told that) that some people who see the title of my comic book series are under the impression that this is a comic book about Guardian Angels — the traditional holy, “good” angels who "save" us, and that it is a religious comic book filled with loving angels with white wings who save humans. This is definitely NOT that kind of comic book. And it is definitely NOT the “Vampires as romantic saviors and guardian angels that become a hero and protector” type of comic book.
People may get misled by the title, but I think the bloody covers say it all.
There is one thing this comic book totally IS: It is bloody. It is brutal. it is about the classic, vicious, violent, scary vampires who are nightmarish, horrific, and evil. It’s a horror comic book series filled with darkness and despair, WTF characters, psychotic, narcissistic and psychopathic vampires, dismemberment, sharp objects, slicing, dicing and screaming. And sorry, not much romance. So if you’re looking for the stereotypical angels with white wings strumming harps and hugging people, dammit you got the wrong comic book. \m/
Oh, and there is NO harp music either—just metal: death metal, black metal, and more metal (band cameos, that is.)
Toxicity and Guilt Trips as Writing Motivators
I’ve had a lot of toxic people in my life: Whiners, users, people who just wanted to use me as their personal, 24/7 therapist regardless of my time, energy or feelings, and who just complained about their problems constantly with no desire to solve their own issues or find a solution. They wanted me to devote all my time and attention to their “me! me! me!” needs and their problems. They were always playing the victim and trying to get attention by constantly whining about the worst things in their life that they wanted someone to always fix. And sometimes it would always be the same things they complained about. They wanted solutions, a “savior”, and someone who would always be there to vent to. If I refused or had something else to do, they became desperate, depressed, hard-to-please, always unhappy with everything, pessimistic, clingy, helpless, panicky, draining, angry, and accused me of not being a good friend, and if something went wrong, they blamed me for not “being there”, and treated me like I just did the worst thing in the world to them. Or they became manipulative, as in they would do something to themselves if I didn’t appease them right away. It was exhausting and I hated the way these people made me feel like I was “abandoning” them.
I bet that’s how Guardian Angels feel when people cry to them for help, and feel they don’t “answer”. And they were tired of humans feeling “abandoned”. And it can feel too much to keep up with.
The way I got these people out of my life was through writing. They were great character studies. There were whiny, desperate characters that my Vampire Guardian Angels fed on. My Vampire Guardian Angels were tired of being therapists and their methods were to put whiners out of their misery instead of saving them, so that they did not have to play therapist anymore. In a way, it was therapeutic. Now I avoid toxic, overly emotionally needy people like the plague.
Then there were the judgmental, fault-finding, close-minded, overly criticizing, suffocating, guilt-tripping, holier-then-thou-I’m better-than-you-you-are-a-sinner people I grew up with who used their religion to abuse me psychologically and physically, and treated me with contempt and anger because they feared divine retribution if I “sinned” in any way (and abused their own religion in the process, which made them, and their religion, look bad). I was always told to “pray for salvation” and beg for mercy from a higher power, and punished with fear if I didn’t. Today, I'm respectful to the positive aspects of religion even if I am now an atheist. But back then, I was supposed to be the “toxic whiner” and the Guardian Angel was supposed to be my “savior” and my “therapist”. I had to imagine what a Guardian Angel would feel like when constantly faced with demands from a toxic human. Then I turned these Guardian Angels into serial killers who only targeted toxic whiners, and, as vampires, fed on them. That’s why my Guardian Angels rebelled and went against mankind and welcomed becoming vampires—because they were tired of being slaves to these toxic humans. (But on the upside, they did make a great meal.)
So in a way, my own comic books turned out to be, well, therapeutic for me.
I bet that’s how Guardian Angels feel when people cry to them for help, and feel they don’t “answer”. And they were tired of humans feeling “abandoned”. And it can feel too much to keep up with.
The way I got these people out of my life was through writing. They were great character studies. There were whiny, desperate characters that my Vampire Guardian Angels fed on. My Vampire Guardian Angels were tired of being therapists and their methods were to put whiners out of their misery instead of saving them, so that they did not have to play therapist anymore. In a way, it was therapeutic. Now I avoid toxic, overly emotionally needy people like the plague.
Then there were the judgmental, fault-finding, close-minded, overly criticizing, suffocating, guilt-tripping, holier-then-thou-I’m better-than-you-you-are-a-sinner people I grew up with who used their religion to abuse me psychologically and physically, and treated me with contempt and anger because they feared divine retribution if I “sinned” in any way (and abused their own religion in the process, which made them, and their religion, look bad). I was always told to “pray for salvation” and beg for mercy from a higher power, and punished with fear if I didn’t. Today, I'm respectful to the positive aspects of religion even if I am now an atheist. But back then, I was supposed to be the “toxic whiner” and the Guardian Angel was supposed to be my “savior” and my “therapist”. I had to imagine what a Guardian Angel would feel like when constantly faced with demands from a toxic human. Then I turned these Guardian Angels into serial killers who only targeted toxic whiners, and, as vampires, fed on them. That’s why my Guardian Angels rebelled and went against mankind and welcomed becoming vampires—because they were tired of being slaves to these toxic humans. (But on the upside, they did make a great meal.)
So in a way, my own comic books turned out to be, well, therapeutic for me.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Comic Book Series Fan Posts Part 48
A very special thank you to all my wonderful friends and fans, I'm truly honored to receive your feedback, posts, responses and shares on the comic book series and I am grateful for everyone's support! Thanks again! You all rock!
How I turned Romance into Vampire Slasher
I majored in Journalism in college, and took Creative Writing classes. One of my professors once described my writing as “silly and simplistic”. And as a female writer, I was often encouraged by peers that if I was ever to become an author, there were only two genres I “should” write for: either “Romance” or “Children’s Books”, or even "soap operas". That irked me. That, along with the implication that my ideas were not good enough to be published and that I had to "conform" to certain mainstream ideas and images.
Well I did try writing romance. That was in fact one of my first writing projects, romance as in the hero rescues the heroine in the end. However, I found that ditching the hero and killing off the heroine in a gory, slasher way was actually a lot more, um, fun. I realized I wanted more shock value, more horror, more WTF, more pushing the envelope. I wanted no happy endings, no happily ever after, just a lot of….screaming, where the serial killer is the anti-hero.
I wanted to read more Stephen King novels rather than romance books. I did have nightmares, but I found the world of horror way more appealing. Those nightmares had a profound effect on me. If it was scary, it was inspiring. So I rebelled against the image of a woman writer as having to be a romance or children’s book author (nothing wrong with that—it’s just not my preference) and started writing about vampires. And I wrote vampire stories that were not romantic—they just had “romantic drama” as part of the background story but not as the main theme, but which was way darker and bloodier and disturbing.
So in a way, I’d like to thank the people who pissed me off, who tried to dictate what I should write, and thankfully I rebelled, and never listened to them. \m/
Other Influences on my Writing that were not Vampire-themed
My other influences that were not necessarily vampire-themed but were horror-related were Stephen King novels, X-Files, Twin Peaks and The Twilight Zone.When I first wrote my Vampire Trilogy novel (the novel that I turned into the comic book series), I imagined it as an X-Files - type screenplay, with a film-noir, Twilight Zone feel. And that’s how I also wanted my comic book series to look—that black, white and red film noir look, but with the added bloody horror slasher element. I also imagined the comic book as an anime, which is also one of my influences (I’m a fan of the 1970’s anime robot shows).
History is also another influence on my writing, 15th century, medieval history, the inquisition, the more bloody, brutal side of religious history such as the crusades, “saints” being martyred, and the Catholic church’s more controversial, hidden, bloody history that you don’t read about too often.
History is also another influence on my writing, 15th century, medieval history, the inquisition, the more bloody, brutal side of religious history such as the crusades, “saints” being martyred, and the Catholic church’s more controversial, hidden, bloody history that you don’t read about too often.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
More on my Writing Process
I’m very independent and I enjoy being an underground artist. I even relish and enjoy being alone, as I require solitude when I work or write. I’m social and extroverted, but when it comes to creating and writing, I’m rather introverted, simply because it helps me avoid distractions and keeps me focused on my work. I’m very disciplined when it comes to that, and I guess I sort of have a “laser focus” when it’s time to sit down and write and when I work to meet a goal. I have no problem with seclusion, coffee, a laptop and a playlist of black metal albums (such as Deafest - Alpine Expanse recommended by my friend Alix). I let my mind drift while I write and that’s why I can’t have too many distractions. However, if I'm not listening to music, I do need some ambient background noise such as the TV.
I also find that I have two main methods: I hand write my notes — very short sentences or just a few words— on paper, and then start typing those notes out and I can only complete them if I type them out. I can never fully complete my thoughts when I hand write them, but I expand a lot more on the concepts and ideas when I type. And I can’t seem to do the opposite—I can’t type out simple notes and expand on them by hand writing them. They have to be typed. So, there’s one of the reasons I need solitude to expand on my thoughts.
Comic Book Issue 5 Final Drawings Sneak Peek Before Coloring
Vampire Guardian Angels comic book Issue 5’s completed drawings by my incredible artist Andrew Setter have all been scanned and sent to me for my review by my awesome art director Chad Hammontree, (thank you Chad!) and I'm downloading the pages now, and they look incredible! So I will be busy this week reviewing the pages, and there's a lot of awesome detail to go through.
This is why it takes a year to make each issue from start to finish (also because my artists and I work full-time jobs, we live in different states and work long distance, and we work on the comic book when we can.) But I always say that the wait is worth it!
The next step is cleaning up the pages and then coloring by Chad and adding the test. Then comes the text edits and story flow which I will be working on after the coloring stages. There are still some final steps to go before publishing but we are almost there! Thank you Andrew and Chad for all your hard work!
Here are some of the finished drawings (no color yet) that my colorist Chad will be working on.
This is why it takes a year to make each issue from start to finish (also because my artists and I work full-time jobs, we live in different states and work long distance, and we work on the comic book when we can.) But I always say that the wait is worth it!
The next step is cleaning up the pages and then coloring by Chad and adding the test. Then comes the text edits and story flow which I will be working on after the coloring stages. There are still some final steps to go before publishing but we are almost there! Thank you Andrew and Chad for all your hard work!
Here are some of the finished drawings (no color yet) that my colorist Chad will be working on.
Music I listen to when Writing and how I got into Metal
If you’ve ever wondered what kind of music I listen to when I write my comic books, it’s death metal or black metal, mostly melodic or instrumental black metal as well. And if you’ve ever wondered what’s with all the metal bands in my comic books, well for starters, I’m a fan of death and thrash metal, and more recently, black metal. And I’m a fan of many local bands in the metal scene here in Los Angeles. So here’s a list that pretty much sums up what got me into metal to begin with:
-My hubby is the guitarist for Los Angeles death metal band Enthraller, and I used to videotape their shows and run their merchandise booth, and I became a fan of their music and of other death metal and metal bands who I saw them play shows with. I’m especially amazed by the technicality of how these bands play and it is amazing to see them perform live. That’s also why I’m a fan of independent local, underground artists. It takes a lot of hard work and talent to play instruments and a live show, promote, put together an event, work on, create, and market a CD etc. (Of course, just like what I do, only with comic books, which is why I respect the metal scene.) Metal influences and inspires me, I feel accepted and energized. I've met many open-minded, wonderful, creative, fun metal heads who have become my "metal family". There's nothing else that has inspired such camaraderie. I could walk into a metal show any where in the world and feel instantly at home.
-Enthraller was the first metal band to do a cameo in my comic book. When I started writing the comic books, I thought it would be fun to put metal bands and friends in scenes that had a band playing on the background or have them featured as vampires in background scenes along with the band logos, kind of like movie extras and product placement. It began as a way to give the band exposure and to promote them, and it’s all for fun. I’m amazed at how my artists draw them in scenes—their likenesses are spot-on! And it’s fun to turn my friends into vampires.
-I was invited as a vendor by local metal promoter Angie Gabriel of Metal Invictus to an event called Maidens of Metal (where I saw some incredible female metal performers) where I could showcase my comic books. I met talented bands and promoters in the local metal scene, including photographer/videographer Adrian Mejia of Metal Warzone. If it wasn't for Enthraller, local metal promoters Angie Gabriel, Jimmy Armenta, and Cesar Escobar of Metal Invictus, Daniel Dismal of Church of the 8th Day, Adrian Mejia's awesome videos and photos of local bands, Anna Hummel of Spirit of Metal, and of course my hubby Mike Naz, I would never have been introduced to many amazing local bands and so many great people and my "metal family". I began to go to more shows and even sponsored a Metal Warzonefest show. I put more of my friends’ bands and promoters in my comic books as a way to help support and help promote the local metal scene. Some of the bands in my comic books include Mesmeric (US), Sacred Ruins, (and in upcoming issues will be Arachnigod, Highland, and Madrost).
-I got into black metal after seeing performances by local black metal bands Highland and Arachnigod, and I became a fan of black metal since then. I’m still new to the music but it’s always great listening to the bands and getting into the music. And many thanks to my friend Alix Vallecillo for introducing me to some great black metal music!
-I try to go to local shows but if I am unable to, I share their flyers and events on social media.
-If I ever turn the series into an anime, I plan to have black or death metal music in the background.
\m/\m/
Friday, March 20, 2015
Comic Book Series Fan Posts Part 47
A very special thank you to all my wonderful friends and fans, I'm truly honored to receive your feedback, posts, responses and shares on the comic book series and I am grateful for everyone's support! Thanks again! You all rock!
Saturday, March 14, 2015
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