The Comic Art of Cliffdropping, Part 1

*Spoilers, aha, below.*

Once again, DC Comics has demonstrated why it's such a great place to exist: Though the crime rate may suck, (High security asylums can't keep tabs on crooks worth a damn) it still beats the real world. Why, you ask? You don't have to be Jesus to come back from the dead!

Stephanie Brown, aka the Spoiler (and briefly, Robin the 4th); is alive again. According to the lady herself, she was never dead to begin with. That sure is a load off.

So: I'm reminded of a plot device as old as Scheherazade: The cliffhanger. Ms. 1,001 Tales ensured a stay of execution by keeping her captor a captive audience by ending each story in suspense. He couldn't kill her because he wanted to know what happened next. Brilliant. Thomas Hardy published a serial novel and used the same device to ensure readership stayed healthy; literally ending a chapter on a cliffside.

That's great. Suspense is a wonderful thing. But that's not what's happening in comics. They're not using cliffhangers-- they're employing cliffdroppers. That's what makes it so annoying.

How annoying, you ask? Well, I've put together a scale to determine the exact level of egregiousness-- how bad the crime against a consistent, accurate narrative really is.

With a score of 0; we have the time-honored tradition of killing someone off and have someone else take up the mantle. No laws of time and space have been broken. Happened to Captain America, Blue Beetle and Abomination; it happened to Batman (when his back was broken) and Green Lantern (when he went batshit). It's actually respectful, in a way.

Unfortunately it only goes down from there. Down, way down, to the bottom of the cliff. Splat.

The Comic Art of Cliffdropping, Part 2

Okay. This entry's too long not to have paragraph breaks. Otherwise it's an eyesore. So. Picking up where we left off; the negative scale of cliffdropping-- like a cliffhanger; only the character in jeopardy dies and is then resurrected. Lame.

-1: A character is killed and brought back in the following issue. Kill 'em dead gone dead; and the alien / mystic equivalent of CPR delivers them back to the land of the living in no time.
Examples: Cyclops did it. The corpse hasn't even had time to grow cold. Everyone saw it coming. Give 'em a slap on the wrist.

-2: A character is killed, they're acknowledged as dead (it helps when there's a body) and another character goes about the very difficult task of bringing them back to life. Usually takes at least an issue or two. The impossible becomes merely... very tricky.
Examples: The White Queen, as a living diamond (okay) was shattered. Hank McCoy spent several days putting the pieces back together and Jean Grey zapped 'em. Where were they when Humpty Dumpty needed them?

-3: A character (usually a villain) is killed or at least shown not leaving a deathtrap situation and return some time later with a very weak explanation.
Examples: Baron Zemo survived falling into a volcano because he was wearing a magma-proof costume. Doc Ock survived an island-destroying nuclear explosion because his appendages shielded him. Doctor Doom was actually a robot-- a lot.

-4: A character (usually the Joker) is put in a deadly position, shown not leaving and comes back without a scratch or an explanation. They just have nine hundred lives. It's accepted as fact.
Examples: My favorite one? The Joker's fleeing in a helicopter. He's shot in the chest with an automatic rifle, at which point the chopper crashes into the ocean and explodes. A similar exit on a speedboat (that exploded) prompted the Commish to ask Batman, "Do you think he's really gone?" The Dark Knight's reply: "In my heart of hearts, I doubt it." Good call, Bats.

-5: A character is killed and acknowledged as dead, then brought back several months later. It doesn't matter if they're given a reason or not-- the extra negative point is for when they make it An Event. Punctuating the death of the character only to wuss out later... bad form.
Examples: Death of Superman, Death of Green Lantern, Death of Spider-Man. Death of Captain America-- Oh. Wait. He's still dead. For now.

-6: A character is killed and acknowledged as dead (a funeral, the works) and brought back years if not decades later.
Examples: Jason Todd and Bucky... whatever his last name is. What is it about scrappy domino-mask wearing sidekicks that makes them come back from the dead and become bad-asses?

Colossus deserves a special mention-- He was resurrected and he didn't want to be. An otherwise tired plot device finds a little gravitas.

-7: A character is killed and acknowledged as dead and it's later revealed that they never died in the first place.
Examples: Norman Osborn, Stephanie Brown.

Osborn's lame 11th hour 'healing factor' aside, the Spoiler's return goes very much against the grain. The "replaced her with a drug user who overdosed" thing could have worked if not for a few things. Such as, she was dead. Batman identified the body. The world's greatest detective is standing two feet from the body of his partner and he can't tell that it's somebody else? This isn't A Tale of Two Cities. Stephanie appeared in the afterlife. Her ghost appeared to Batgirl on two occasions. A neat trick for someone who's not actually dead.

Oy.

I know I'm complaining. It sounds a lot like whining. But Stephanie's return... breaks the rules. It says "Hey! Ignore what we said before. Look over here at what's shiny. Continuity, schmontinuity." If earlier parts of the story can be dismissed as unimportant or simply wrong; it cheapens what remains. Publishers sell comics by getting you to care about the story. The more they screw with things, the less I care. Quite a stink to raise over a comic book.

Anyway. In poignant opposition to this debacle is Alexandra DeWitt. The original Woman in the Refrigerator. She's dead. She's stayed dead, so far. With all due respect, I hope she stays that way. Rayner's faced temptation from two or three sources that offered to resurrect DeWitt; and he turned them down because he knew it was wrong.

Huh. I think he may be on to something, there.

The Creative Process

I had three days to myself this weekend; as my current employer acknowledges President's Day. I didn't get any work done. Granted, I was sick as a dog-- but still. No dishes were done, the recycling didn't get taken out, and I didn't manage a lick of work on issue 7 of the comic.

Five minutes after I arrive at work, an idea pops into my brain that bears writing down: it's going into that issue. Not only is it funny, but it also answers a long-posed question (in my mind anyway) about secret identities and/or those little domino masks superheroes wear that are supposed to hide who they are. Anyway. You want to hear the idea, you'll have to pick up the issue whenever it actually gets published.

I had a three-day weekend. Other than raging nausea, why did no real work get done? Why only now, when it's inappropriate to be dividing my attention; do the juices start to flow? It makes no sense.

Oh well. That's writing for ya.

An Interesting Turn

I've been working on my comic book for quite a while now. The idea first came to me nearly two years ago. It was only after signing the contracts (pat myself on the back, why not) that the thing really started to flesh itself out. Oh, I had plot and characters and so forth, but the real twists didn't come 'til later.

Anyway. I am somewhat entrenched in issue seven; and happy to be there. Pacing-wise, things are about to pick up considerably, but in working out a scene I've been anticipating for months, today it finally solved itself. Violently.

A character that has been involved since the beginning meets his/her end in issue seven. I killed a character dead. No coming back.

It's funny how things work out. I had future plans for the character in question; and in the breadth of two pages his/her whole fate has turned around and been abbreviated-- and punctuated. I kind of like it.

It's nice to be working on creative projects in addition to preparing for work, which will start any day now...

Cheers, folks.

The Week Is Looking Up

*Yawn!* Goodness. Last night was a late one, but for entirely good reasons. Since I started this temp job, piece after piece of All Fall Down has clicked soundly into place. Scribbling notes on my lunch break, jotting down ideas between assignments; it's good to have the creative part of the brain going on all cylinders. It's been a while since that's been the case.

Last night, I was in the zone. I'd planned a scene for the start of issue seven (of twelve), and my fingers had barely touched the keys when I realized the same scene would be dramatically stronger at the start of issue six.

This led to issue six getting an overhaul; trimming a scene that can wait until later; as well as sharpening up a formerly-okay-but-now-quite-good exchange between my heroine and her best friend.

I don't know how it is for other writers; but that moment of clarity where the rest of the room disappears and it's just you and your hands and the keyboard and the screen... last night was the first time I've been able to develop material that wasn't just plodding along, one page after another. This stuff was practically pounding on the inside of my head to get out and onto a page where it could do some good. And it will, boy howdy.

I'm looking forward to what my friend Bill has to say about the new issue six. He's a fair and honest editor, and he 'gets' this stuff implicitly. I think he's gonna be pleased.

I have to attribute this new surge in productivity to finding a (temporary) day job. Having a set schedule, having my time sliced neatly up into compartments between work and home and whatever else has redefined my week. The last month, scrambling around looking for work; I hardly got any writing of substance done. And even when I did, it didn't flow anything like what came out last night.

I'm still looking for permanent work; but this will do fine for now. I'm not saying everything is fine and dandy; but at least my creative juices aren't going to waste. So there's that.

Ciao for now, folks.

Stray, Random Thoughts

I'm re-reading Kingdom Come for the fourth time at least. A few months back I treated myself to the Absolute edition, which made a delightful difference. I've likewise acquired the Absolute Watchmen. I hands-down, flat-out, no-holds-barred love these books. These stories. They're remarkable. (And it's worth mentioning that Watchmen influenced Kingdom Come. Hell, it influenced comics in general. Yay Alan Moore. YAY.)

I'm writing a comic. It's a miniseries. It's self-contained. I won't lie, my influences are largely Alan Moore and Joss Whedon. I just want to write something with some meaning. Something with staying power. For all accounts, this could be it. It could work. It helps strongly that this is going to be published. I know it. The contracts have been signed. Can't wait for that day.

Anyway. That, among other things, is on my mind. So there ya go. Be well.

Cat's Outta The Bag

It is official: My comic book, All Fall Down, is going to be published. I have an artist, I have a publisher, Arcana Studios, with whom I've signed a contract. (My thanks go to Jeff for his help in that department.)

In a few weeks' time, the first issue will be hot off the presses. In the meantime, I'll continue writing the series. Already halfway through issue Four.

I didn't want to keep it to myself any longer, news this good is too good to keep quiet. Shazam.

This Just In-- News That Won't Matter For Very Long

**Marvel Comics' Civil War Spoilers below. Y'all have been warned.**

Well. Turns out that the title-wide fight between Marvel Characters isn't going to be without its major casualties. Captain America is dead. Killed with mundane bullets on courthouse steps.

For about a minute and a half, I'll wager.

Superman? Died. Batman? Crippled. Green Lantern? Went batshit, then died. Jason Todd? Beaten to a pulp then blown up. Bucky, Cap's sidekick? Blown up. Spider-Man? Beaten to death. Magneto? Beheaded. Doomsday? Died, came back, thrown into the end of time. Colossus? Died. Cyclops? Died. Phoenix? Died more times than I can count.

Every single one has made at least one dramatic resurrection.

No major character in the history of comics has ever stayed dead. Certainly none of its heroes. As for the rest? Gwen Stacy died. She was later cloned. Uncle Ben got dragged over from an alternate universe. Foggy Nelson died in a prison stabbing, then showed up in witness protection a few issues later.

Given the trends, I have zero faith in the notion that Captain America will 'stay' dead. It's only a matter of time. I would bet solid money. Any takers on this?