[Link] Stan Lee’s 10 Superpowered Writing Tips

Storytelling advice from the man who gave us Spider-Man, Iron Man, and a universe of unforgettable dialogue.

by Vishal Wagh

Stan Lee rewrote the rules of what heroism could look like.

For decades, his pen stitched together flawed characters with cosmic destinies, grounded in everyday problems and elevated by snappy dialogue. He built a supercool universe.

Whether it was Peter Parker sweating over rent or the X-Men grappling with discrimination, Stan Lee’s stories worked because they punched with style and landed with heart.

Writers still quote him and study him because he transformed comic books into a storytelling bible that teaches you how to convey more by showing less, and how to navigate big ideas without ever losing sight of the human beneath the mask.

This article breaks down ten writing principles Stan Lee lived by—just a good old-fashioned advice from the man who turned radioactive accidents into character arcs.

1. Make Your Characters Relatable

Stan Lee wrote larger-than-life people with human problems. Spider-Man could stick to walls and dodge bullets, but he couldn’t dodge guilt or homework. Tony Stark built a suit of armor to protect himself, but couldn’t protect his relationships.

Read the full article: https://nofilmschool.com/stan-lee-writing-tips

[Link] Why I Write: Let Me See About Getting the Words Right

by Gary Phillips

I write because I can’t draw. Growing up in South Central back in the day, me and the fellas read and traded Marvel comics. You might sneak in a DC book now and then—say, an issue of Green Lantern rendered in the fluid style of Gil Kane. But certainly not a goofy Batman book. This was before writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams brought back the hardcore Batman, the template for The Dark Knight.

Marvel, however, was different. Beneath Spider-Man’s mask, the teenage angst was plain on Peter Parker’s face. The Hulk’s internal struggle was unending, involving both his horror at reverting to “puny” Bruce Banner and Banner’s own at becoming the man-monster. In the pages of Fantastic Four, meanwhile, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Black Panther and the scientifically advanced kingdom of  Wakanda. Mesmerized by those monthly adventures, made vivid by the art of Kirby and Steve Ditko, my younger self desperately wanted to write and draw my own comic books.

Harrowing real-life occurrences also captivated me. In my neighborhood barbershop, as well as other barber shops and beauty parlors in the hood, various kinds of stories were told by patrons and haircutters. Often, they involved brothers who had run afoul of the cops out of 77th Division, which patrolled our area. The comics and the community: this would be the transmutable clay out of which I’d later mold my novels.

The desire to tell stories led me to reach out as a teenager. Before the internet, like-minded youngsters would get together to produce comics with their own characters. Maybe a hundred copies would be reproduced on a desktop Gestetner duplicator. Or, if enough money was raised, offset printed. Trying to get my work into those fanzines, I stumbled across mystery and crime mass-market paperbacks, as well as science fiction, all of it available on the spinner racks at the Thrifty drugstore. Dashiell Hammett, Chester Himes, Andre Norton, and those Bantam reprints of 1930s Doc Savage pulps with eye-catching covers by James Bama.

A few more years would go by before it finally sank in that drawing comics wasn’t going to be my vocation. Yet even as I picked up a slew of rejections for my art, a few of the letters I got back did note that the writing wasn’t bad. Well, OK, then, let me see about getting the words right. This period dovetailed with my burgeoning community activism, which focused on the matter of questionable policing in my own and other Black and Brown neighborhoods.

Protesting police abuses led me to the anti-apartheid movement, which in turn fueled my participation in direct actions against the contra war, financed by the Reagan administration. From there, I went on, among other endeavors, to become a labor organizer and the outreach director for a community foundation. I found myself reflecting on these undertakings in nonfiction pieces for newsletters. Somewhere along the line, I started writing weekly op-eds for a community newspaper and a progressive media service. This discipline of writing on deadline proved useful to me when it came time to tackle writing a novel.

To write a book at first felt daunting. But looking back, it was an organic development.

Read the full article: https://www.altaonline.com/california-book-club/a61958649/why-i-write-gary-phillips/

[Link] Penguin Random House Will Distribute Marvel Comics to Comics Stores

by John Maher

In a move that will likely transform the distribution of comics periodicals in North America, Penguin Random House Publisher Services has reached an agreement with Marvel to distribute its periodical comics and graphic novels to the comics shop market, also known as the direct market.

The two companies have signed an exclusive, worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement for Marvel’s comics—including individual issues, trade collections, and graphic novels both newly published and backlist—to the direct market. PRHPS officially begins its distribution to direct market retailers for Marvel titles on October 1. The move marks a major change in the U.S. comics distribution market, which Diamond Comic Distributors has long dominated.

PRHPS will offer Marvel comics to retailers on nonreturnable wholesale terms. The comics shop market is a network of about 2,000 independent retailers around the country that traditionally bought their inventory from Diamond Comics Distributors, the largest distributor of periodical comics in North America. Direct market retailers generally buy most of their stock nonreturnable at wholesale prices. Comics shops sell a mix of periodical comics, graphic novels, prose books and pop culture merchandise.

Marvel’s new agreement with PRHPS follows the unexpected departure of DC from Diamond in 2020. The new distribution agreement means that the Big Two of American superhero comics—Marvel and DC—which are also Diamond’s two biggest accounts as well as pillars of the direct market, have left Diamond Comics Distributors. It is unclear how this will impact Diamond and the comics shop market going  forward but it does mark the end of Diamond's dominance of periodical comics distribution.

Read the full article: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/85890-prhps-will-distribute-marvel-comics-to-comics-stores.html

RIP: Stan Lee Is Dead at 95; Superhero of Marvel Comics

"Under Mr. Lee, Marvel transformed the comic book world by imbuing its characters with the self-doubts and neuroses of average people, as well an awareness of trends and social causes and, often, a sense of humor.

"In humanizing his heroes, giving them character flaws and insecurities that belied their supernatural strengths, Mr. Lee tried “to make them real flesh-and-blood characters with personality,” he told The Washington Post in 1992.

“That’s what any story should have, but comics didn’t have until that point,” he said. “They were all cardboard figures.”

-- from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/obituaries/stan-lee-dead.html

[Link] The “Superhero” Trademark: how the name of a genre came to be owned by DC and Marvel, and how they enforce it

by DG Stewart

Our publication has a category devoted to “superheroes”. It is a genre to which we have paid disproportionate attention, primarily because it is in English (the language of most of our contributors) and because of the sheer volume of superhero-genre material generated primarily by American publishers.

But what does the word “superhero” actually denote? The words “super hero” was first used in 1917, when it was used to describe a “public figure of great accomplishments”

In so far as use of the word “superhero” in the course of commerce is concerned, however, there is a severe limitation. The word “superhero” is jointly owned in many parts of the world by two US publishers, DC Comics and Marvel Characters Inc, an affiliate of Marvel Comics. The road to joint ownership of the word “SUPERHERO” in the United States is well-explained in this link.

But perhaps a more concise explanation comes from both DC Comics and Marvel themselves. The following paragraphs come from a United States trade mark notice of opposition filed by DC Comics and Marvel in May 2015:

Read the full article: http://www.worldcomicbookreview.com/index.php/2017/06/01/superhero-trademark-name-genre-came-owned-dc-marvel-enforce/

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #2 -- Squadron Supreme

2. Squadron Supreme
by Mark Gruenwald and various artists
Published by Marvel Comics

I hear you screaming: "What?! How can you put Squadron Supreme in the list ahead of Watchmen? Are you freakin' crazy?"

No, I'm not. And I'll tell you why.

Both books manage to deconstruct the notion of super-hero teams. Both books manage to follow the "absolute power corrupts absolutely" maxim to its logical conclusion. Both books take the iconic super-hero tropes and types and treat them realistically.

But only one of the books manages to deconstruct its source material without having to reinvent it or distance itself from it.

And that book is Squadron Supreme. It looks and feels like the comics it is laying bare. It feels like the types of comics it is revealing as missing a "real" something. It quacks like the same duck it's aping and raping.

Watchmen, on the other hand, has to modernize the storytelling in order to tell its story. Not that there's anything wrong with modernizing it. Only, it takes far more skill to use the existing feel and style to turn it into something else entirely. (Or so I think.)

And that makes Squadron Supreme the superior book.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #5 -- X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

5. X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson
Published by Marvel Comics

I know. I know. Everybody's favorite X-Men story is SUPPOSED to be The Dark Phoenix Saga. Sue me, I'm not everybody.

This story is exactly what I'm looking in a comic book story. Brains and action and faith.

This story is proof that a comic book can be deeper -- a lot deeper -- than ____________ fights ___________.

This story is proof that social issues and comic books can be combined without sounding like an afterschool special (like the Spider-Man drug addiction issues).

But most important, this is the story that introduced me to Nightcrawler and made him my favorite Marvel character ever, primarly because he was written with depth and a level of reality I'd never seen in comics prior.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #22 -- The Infinity Gauntlet

22. The Infinity Gauntlet
by Jim Starlin, George Perez and Ron Lim
Published by Marvel Comics

I'm going to be honest. I only read The Infinity Gauntlet this year. But to be fair, I've always been more a DC reader than a Marvel reader. Still, when people keep telling me that Infinity Gauntlet is the Crisis on Infinite Earths (in terms of scope, not plot) of the Marvel universe, I really should have listened a lot earlier.

Because I waited so long, I really did miss out on on a fairly epic book for a pretty long time.

This one is cosmic drama at its best as Thanos (ol' wrinkled jaw himself) seeks to extinguish all life in the universe -- just to have a good first date with Death. This is the kind of story you can only tell in comics, and it really pays off in this case.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #27 -- Earth X

27. Earth X
by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger
Published by Marvel Comics

I'm came to reading alternate histories by reading alternate futures first, as tends to be the way of comics, particularly in the 80s and 90s.

Earth X has everything that a good -- no, great -- alternate future story needs: a fun story, a quest worth enduring, and the beautifully painted art of Alex Ross.

The other books in the series, Universe X and Paradise X, are also strong reads, but neither quite pack the punch of this opening volume, nor do you need to read the follow-up volumes in order to enjoy this opening volley.

For the "rules" I'm using for graphic novel, check the original post.

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#214) -- Marvel Reboot

With all the information online about the Marvel Comics 

reboot, what would you do if you were editor's chair?

Okay. Here's what I'd do. Cancel all titles, and make a clean break with a hard reboot like DC had between the Golden Age and Silver Age. Sure, longtime fans would hate me at first, but I think we might win them over eventually. 

The Abominable Hulk

The bloodline of Bruce Banner can’t be stopped either, and when the aging daughter of Bruce and Betty Ross dies during childbirth, the baby is a tiny bundle of green. Raised by S.H.E.I.L.D., the child grows up to become one of the agencies top agents. But on his 21^st birthday, everything starts to change as he begins to begin transforming into an even more powerful monster with a terrible rage. Can he control his changes or will he become just another monster to be hunted down by his friends?

The Amazing Scarlet Spider

Andrew Osborne Reilly is the grandson of Harry Osborne and the son of Ben Reilly. Now he’s being trained by Kaine to take over the mantle of the Scarlet Spider so that Kaine can finally die and rest. Or so he’s been told. But the truth could be far more sinister.

Avengers

Marvel’s greatest new heroes band together to battle the foes none of them can handle alone. The Hulk, Nightdevil, Iron Maiden, Marvel 3, Foom, Scarlet Spider, Gorgilla,
Sif and Hammer are the Earth’s mightiest heroes.

Brotherhood of X

When the Legacy virus returned with a vengeance, mutants died. Period. All of them. Now, a full generation later, some teens are having signs of mutations again, and it’s up to Jubilee and Random (thanks to the Scarlet Witch) to train this new generation of mutants and help them learn how to defend and protect not just themselves both all of humanity. Only, other ex-mutants are also tracking them down to build a new army of mutants in the name of the long-dead Magneto.

Deathlock vs. The M.A.C.H.I.N.E. Corps

In a bunker beneath Mt. Rushmore, a computer awakens and runs the Pym Protocol. It brings back to “life” three powerful androids: Vision, X-51 and Jocasta. Their purpose: To hunt down and destroy the human training to become the new nuclear-powered Deathlock.

The Fantastics

While trying to cure their mutations with gamma rays, teen super-scientists Angelique, Hammer, Silk and Bubble trigger a second mutation that traps them in severely mutated forms. Hammer becomes a man of living metal with no sense of touch. Angelique’s arms mutate into wings and her feet become like those of birds. Silk loses her 3^rd dimension and becomes a living flattened figure with the consistence of cloth. Bubble’s body breaks down into a mass of attached spheres, and within each sphere is the power to alter the laws of physics, but only within the space of the sphere.

Goblin Force

Is it a strange coincidence when the twin granddaughters of the original Hobgoblin and the grandson of Flash Thompson meet at college? Or is it the machinations of someone who wants them together for some ulterior purpose? And when they “accidentally” discover a lab filled with Hobgoblin and Green Goblin armor, what then? Will they turn hero, villain, or just college kids out for a wild ride?

Hydra Unhinged

Thomas Martin was just a grunt at Hydra until the day he let it slip that he had doubts. That’s the day Hydra killed his family. Now the former Hydra grunt fights alongside other secret defectors to bring down the organization from the inside.

Iron Maiden

Emily Jarvis knows her grandfather worked for the Avengers back in the day, and she learned a great deal at the side of her godfather Tony Stark, Jr. But when Tony’s life is on the line, Emily must rebuild and upgrade the Iron Man armor to protect Stark from those who would make him a target. 

Man-Thing and the Monsters

The nexus of all realities is coming apart. And only the Man-Thing can repair the damage. But he’s not exactly himself. And only the monsters of the new Marvel Universe can put him back together in time to save all of well, everything. See The Frankenstein monster, Morbius the Living Vampire, the new Ghost Rider, Gorgilla, Grottu and Werewolf by Night work together (we hope) to restore Man-Thing and save the world.

Marvels

The Warriors were a street gang who was just like any other gang—at least until the day they were captured by Kree and subjected to tests that killed most of the gang. Those who escaped found themselves changed and charged with new powers, and are taking the fight to the far corners of the galaxy to exterminate every Kree they can find. As Marvel Prime and Marvels 2-6, they are torn between the responsibilities of using their new powers for good and getting vengeance.

Nightdevil

Evading the Legacy virus, Nightcrawler escaped into the dimension through which he teleports and remained there until he died. His son, however, born blind from the atmosphere and chemicals in the dimension, ventures to the regular world to search for his mother. Questions abound, the chief one being why did she leave his father for the regular world so many years ago?

The Power of Foom

Isaac Benton is a normal preteen boy. Fin Fang Foom is a dragon. When Foom is sentenced by the celestial courts for his crimes, he is bound to the form of Isaac Benton. Now the two much learn to co-exist and share one life to meet the terms of the sentence, and to protect the boy and his family from Foom’s enemies that see him as an easy target.

Punisher America

When the registration act was re-instated for good, the U.S. Government needed someone to enforce it. That man is Punisher America, judge, jury and executioner. With legal backing. But who is he, or was he? Not even he knows. And when he learns the truth, his vengeance will hit every level of the government.

The Sensational Spider-Woman

Who is the amazing six-armed woman swinging above New York’s skyline in the traditional red and blue costume of the long-dead Spider-Man? And what is her tie to the Parker bloodline? And why do the Fantastics and the Avengers want to capture her?

Sif, Goddess of Thunder Everything

Ragnarok has hit, and it leaves Asgard devastated. The sole survivor of the gods, Sif must master the power of Thor and the other dead gods in order to rebuild that world of the Norse gods. Only, fighting villains is a lot easier than creating a religion based on old warrior gods. But without faith, her world will never return.

Thunderbolts

Having been plucked from an alternate timeline and kept alive in stasis on Murderworld, the T-bolts are back and on the run from Mojo and his cameras. Citizen V, Baron Zemo (What?! Both? Yeah.), Songbird, Mach-12, Atlas, Jolt, Techno, Meterorite and Hawkeye journey through the galaxy to try to return to Earth, even if it’s not the Earth they remember. But when they’re caught in the middle of a galaxy-spanning war, will they be forced to choose sides and delay their journey home?

X-Mutants

A band of former mutants who lost their powers in House of M, led by Marrow and Spike, search the decimated wastelands of what used to be the Australian continent for the lost fragments of the Phoenix Force to repower the mutant race. Along the way, they encounter monsters and mutations brought about not by atomic testing like the old movies, but by the infusion of Phoenix energy in the land ecosystem itself.

[Link] Real-Life Weirdness: Marvel Lawyers Insist Mutants Aren’t Human

This is a strange one. While fictional characters in the Marvel Universe — the heroes at least — typically argue a position that says mutants and humans are not really different, and should be afforded the same rights, in the real world the company’s position is somewhat contrary.

In the non-fictional world, our world, Marvel is taking the position that mutants are not humans at all. But this isn’t an ideological or a moral stance. Instead, it is a financial one. Toys manufactured in other countries and imported into the US are subject to taxes, but those taxes are lower if the toys represent non-human characters. That has led to Marvel lawyers arguing that an action figure representing, say, Wolverine, is actually “representing animals or other non-human creatures (for example, robots and monsters).” This argument leads to a good conversation on the questions of humanity and acceptance that have long been part of the X-Men storyline.

For the full article: http://www.slashfilm.com/reallife-weirdness-marvel-contracticts-mutant-rights-activists-mutants-human/

[Link] CIVIL WAR Kicks off New Marvel Prose Novel Line

New York, NY— December 20th, 2011—The world’s most popular super heroes can be found in the pages of Marvel Comics every week, but now their greatest stories are set to conquer the world of prose fiction! Launching in June 2012 with the adaptation of CIVIL WAR, Marvel will release its most popular stories of all time as prose novels.

It all begins in CIVIL WAR, adapted by author Stuart Moore (Wolverine), with the story that irrevocably altered the Marvel Universe and redefined comic books for an entire generation. In the wake of a tragedy, Capitol Hill proposes the Superhuman Registration Act, requiring all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the government. Divided, the nation’s greatest champions must each decide how to react — but will you side with Iron Man or Captain America? And just which heroes will pay the ultimate price?

For the full article: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/civil-war-prose-novel-111220.html