Last week DC announced that I’ll be co-writing the Batwoman ongoing series with J.H. Williams III, who’ll also be doing the art for the first arc. Jim and I will continue writing the series with Amy Reeder Hadley (Madame Xanadu) taking over art for the second arc.
The announcement of an ongoing Batwoman series has been picked up by a diverse number of outlets ranging from IGN to Change.Org, Comi Girl, and even the New York Times. A few days after the initial announcement, Jim and I did an interview with First Comic News discussing some of our upcoming plans. Not much more we can reveal yet, but tonight I spent 60 minutes on the phone with Jim talking about our new villains, some visual themes we want to explore, Batwoman’s love life, how she’ll fit into Gotham City, her relationship to some of the other heroes in the DC Universe, and why she often grins when she’s about to get into a fight (among other things).
Meanwhile, a few more reviews for Star Wars: Purge — The Hidden Blade have hit, and the response to the story and art continues to be great. Comics Bulletin says:
“Purge is a fantastic one-shot that will no doubt appeal to Star Wars fans of all ages and, regardless of your investment to the universe that has captivated millions, will leave a smile on your face if even solely for the artwork.”
And check out the flattering 4.5 Star Review at Major Spoilers.
Finally, Hidden Blade artist Chris Scalf has posted a short teaser trailer on YouTube. While you’re there, check out his tutorials and other work.
If you haven’t picked up The Hidden Blade yet, you can order it here.
LucasArts debuted a trailer for The Force Unleashed II – a game I’m currently working on, alongside a ridiculously talented team – this past Saturday on the Spike TV VGA 09 broadcast. The announcement was followed by a press release and the launch of the official web site, where you can find the trailer and a powerful piece of key art. I can only confirm what’s in the press release and the trailer: Starkiller, the tortured protagonist from the original game, is back… And I’m thrilled to see him in action again.
A few months ago, I did an interview with X360 Magazine about the experience writing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and storytelling in games in general. The material is being used for two separate articles on scriptwriting and storytelling, but the full transcript of the interview has been posted in two parts on the X360 site. Follow the links for Part One and Part Two. Thanks to Sam Roberts for providing some great questions!
The "goodbye kiss" between Juno and the Apprentice was one of the most difficult to write and produce.
I recently had the privilege of writing a short “Ask the Expert” <looks over shoulder> piece for Storylink. While you’re there, be sure to read the more insightful Q&A with Simon Kinberg, screenwriter for X-Men: Last Stand, Jumper, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes flick. His writing process is especially interesting, but my favorite quote covers the heart of story:
I really believe all good stories start from the same place: interesting characters in an emotionally charged situation. For me, the difference between drama and genre is this: in dramas, you have relatable characters in a relatable situation, whereas in genre films you have relatable characters in an unrelatable situation (fighting ghosts or robots or giant sharks, etc…). But you have to relate to the characters.
And then read the interview with non-stop Jimmy Palmiotti!
“It’s as simple as having a planet of fire … and you want to keep the characters from burning.”
There’s an interview with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote Transformers and the recent Star Trek reboot (along with a ton of other stuff), over at Storylink. One bit of advice I’d pull out and add to the techniques for unwrapping the dead fish:
Here’s one trick we use sometimes with writers block. You can get so critical of yourself, thinking you have to write the scene perfectly the first time, but actually you don’t. You are going to write it many times… Sometimes it’s a fun mental exercise when you are stuck to actually try and write the worst version of a scene you can think of. That way, it takes the critic off your shoulder and … you get something down on paper. Then you can go back and make it better and better.
