The Batman - Teaser thoughts

Now that the teaser for upcoming DC blockbuster The Batman came out, I thought I'd share my thoughts on it. I won't go through any deep analysis here. There'll be plenty of those around. Just my initial thoughts. In a nutshell: It looks good.

They're not trying to copy The Dark Knight or go all Marvel on this one. No shared universe stuff. Thank God it seems to lack the social justice element as well. I don't want to see a movie about how evil Donald Trump is. I'm sick of hearing about how everyone except white men are oppressed in the USA. When I want those, I can just open my Twitter. Any film about Batman should be all about Gotham City, just like Lord of the Rings movie should be all about Middle-Earth. The only politics should be about their worlds

The Batman seems to be giving us exactly what we want. That's the same thing any good superhero movie should do: Tell the story. In the end it's an escapist fantasy. Nothing more, nothing less.

THE BATTINSON

I never had problem wit Robert Pattinson as Batman. Maybe, because I didn't care about Twilight one way or another. They're just mindless garbage for teenage girls, the way the Transformers series is to boys. To me he's still Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter. But after this, he's The Batman. In this he looks and sounds really great! Though, I have to wonder: Did he kill a Man??

This version is an angry young version of Batman. It looks like his arc is to beat his own brutal thirst to avenge his parents and rise as the Hero of Gotham. Well, I hope that's the story.

To the familiar question: "What are you?" His answer is a funny twist: "I'm Vengeance". It's a nod to the animated voice Kevin Conroy's legendary proclamation: "I am Vengeance. I am The Night. I am Batman!"

So, if his character arc works, Robert Pattinson will work. The only thing that makes or breaks his character is whether or not he works as Bruce Wayne.

RIDDLES IN THE DARK...

The Riddler really is the right villain for this and seems to finally get the upgrade he deserves. So far Frank Gorshin's iconic portrayal In the 60s TV-show is still my favorite version of Riddler. The Animated Series had an ok version, but compared to all the other villains in this show, though his three episodes were good, they never really stood up.

Jim Carrey was just playing Jim Carrey in Batman Forever. His character worked as an antagonist in the story, but nothing more. The Arkham game series really didn't help either, especially the final installment, The Arkham Knight, which really made me hate him as a character. I bet I'm not the only one!

This movie makes him creepy as Hell! Speaking of Hell, it's interesting, that his color theme is red instead of green. It seems to fit the tone.

FORGETTABLE... OR PURRRRFECT?

Catwoman seems working, but didn't really stick out, the way Michelle Pfeiffer did In Batman Returns. Anne Hathaway from The Dark Knight Rises did her role in the story, but had nothing really memorable. So far, I think the only really iconic Catwoman is the Eartha Kitt version from the 60s TV-show!

But this nameless feline fatale is so far from the modern Catwoman, it might as well be entirely different character. If Zoe Kravitz can fix that and has some memorable moments or lines as Selina Kyle, that will be... Purrrrfect.

WELCOME TO HELL GOTHAM

What really got me is the world. Gotham City seems to be exactly the nightmare I imagined. It's dark, dirty and doesn't try to look too realistic. It's a world where wealthy socialites can't step out of a movie theater without getting shot in front of their son.

A world, where failed comedians turn to crime and vicious gangsters start wearing war paint, before moving from killing for business to killing for fun. It's the world that needs Batman.

And I can't wait to dwell through it!

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Batman - The perfect mythology

He was a grim man under that dark mask, fighting injustice everywhere he faced it. Then In a flap of the leather cape, he was gone. That year he was everywhere.

The year was 1989. I was four years old and spent my days in kindergarten and Saturdays at my grandparents. The two completely different places had only one thing in common: Batman.

In kindergarten I would see my friends wearing Batman masks, before seeing their Faces. Batman was everywhere for one reason: Tim Burton's new blockbuster was out, making millions world wide.

To celebrate that, our TV would air the classic 60s show with Adam West. To me at that time, it wasn’t campy or silly at all. I was just the right audience. I remember just flashes of The Dynamic Duo sitting in The Batmobile, The Joker talking to the camera. I was terrified of clowns, so even Cesar Romero was creepy enough for me. 

These flashes are very blur in my mind. And they mix with clips of the dark and gritty Burton trailers and TV clips. As a result, the bright and silly Adam West show seemed like a creepy horror-noir, as I grew up, after both had faded away. It left me an unforgettable image. And I loved it! 

But why do others love it? What is it with this superpowerless man in a mask, that still holds so well after over eighty years? Let's find out! 

Seeking originality

What really fascinates me is that the original Batman doesn’t have one single... well, original, idea. His looks and style combine noir characters of the thirties, such as The Shadow and The Phantom. The suit is pretty close to that of Phantom's, with cape and ears added. The whole gothic noir thing is from The Shadow. Also, a rich heir, who spends his nights wearing a mask and protecting the innocent is the very concept of Zorro.

On Batman’s case none of these matter. It steals and combines elements from movies, books, other comics, creating its own unique thing. Some of the elements are also straight rip-offs. The big inspiration was the 20's silent movie “The Bat”, which was also remade in 1930, as “The Bat Whispers.” 

The film followed group of people being hunted down by a serial killer dressed up as a bat. He used much of the gadgets, such as the bat rope and the bat signal, which in the movie was a flashlight with very familiar bat symbol. When this light creeped through the room, you knew there would be trouble.

The Bat is what Batman gets his looks and style. But instead of killing innocents he uses his scare tactics to protect them and to scare criminals. Batman is exact opposite of his original inspiration. There's at least one character in his universe that's also the exact opposite of the character he took his looks from.

The Man Who Laughs

A certain Clown Prince of Crime got his face from another silent film, called “The Man Who Laughs”. Again, this film based on a novel by Victor Hugo was about a sad clown with an eternal grin on his face. The character, played by Conrad Veidt, was sympathetic and misunderstood clown. I wonder what Veidt would think, when one of the most iconic villains of our time uses his face.

Of course, apart from the grin, The Joker is a total opposite of the goodwilled and sympathetic Gwynplaine. The Joker was a vicious mass murderer since he first appeared in 1940, and though he was toned down in 50’s and 60’s, the combined effort of artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O'Neil brought him back In the 60s and 70s.

Let's not forget Jack Nicholsson’s unforgettable film performance of 1989, which was topped only by Heath Ledger's manic portrayal 19 years later. Last years masterpiece with Joaquin Phoenix seemed to pay some homage to The Man Who Laughs, by showing the character as sympathetic.

Batman and The Joker might owe their faces to earlier characters, but because of their archetypes, they are icons in our pop culture. They're here to stay and they're not the only ones.

The undying archetypes

Batman wouldn’t be anything without his rogues gallery, which are the best examples of characters defying the test of time. Just like Batman and Joker, the original villain's have their various sources too. But why they're so iconic are their archetypes. And these archetypes work, because they all show different sides of our hero.

Batman, in my opinion, has The Single Greatest Arch Nemesis in The Joker, who's his complete opposite in both philosophy and looks.

The biggest problem is, that the Clown Prince of Crime is over used on every media. Batman has The Best villains gallery there is, so it's sad to see iconic characters like Riddler or Two-Face sitting on bench.

His rogues gallery are unique for a reason. They each show one side of Batman himself, making the conflict personal and tough, despite of all that training.

Joker brings chaos to Batman's extreme order and discipline. Scarecrow uses fear, just like Batman, only to terrorize people. Two-Face has two sides, conflicting each others, just like Batman and Bruce Wayne.

These characters deserve deeper examine and I'm thrilled to do that soon. Now I just want to cover the big picture. There's one simple thing why this rogues gallery is so memorable. They're all human. Some of them are sympathetic, some are complete monsters and some are from between. But we understand what makes them tick. That was one of the biggest reasons, why Batman has stayed with me, since I found it again at the age of nine.

The best Batman

It was the mid-90's, the time of dumb superhero movies. Joel Schumacher's neon fests were still ahead. Batman craze of 1989 was far behind. Still, I was lucky enough to notice that the 89 Burton film would air on TV and record it. The next day, after school, I was in a ride of my life.

For two hours I would be delved into nightmarish Gotham City, seeing myself riding that sleak black car, fighting The Joker's goons. For a brief time, my troubles were over. School yard bullies and abusive mother were things of the past. I was free! 

But that was nothing compared to what I saw few days later: Batman The Animated Series aired, making me a regular visitor of Gotham City.

Today, I still think Batman TAS is the best version of The Caped Crusader. It captures the spirit of Batman himself, his enemies and his world. It does it in a mature way that still works for kids.

It was Batman TAS, that got me interested in psychology, mythology and storytelling. I still watch the show on blu-ray. When I have kids, I'll show it to them and let the legacy continue. So does Batman.

The Story we deserve

Batman has gone through the perfect evolution: From dark and serious (In 30's standards anyway) to bright and silly, to again dark and gritty. It survived the near destruction of flashy and ridiculous Joel Schumacher films of the 90's, to the adult oriented overtly serious The Dark Knight trilogy by Christopher Nolan.

This trilogy is a small wonder, even with all its flaws (anyone who ever used a gun knows, that you can't take finger print from a shot bullet, even if you're Batman. Stop underestimating your audience!). It's a wonder, because it does, what Hollywood today seems to have forgotten: It tells a complete story.

It sets Bruce Wayne on a Hero's Journey for the first time in big screen. The Dark Knight trilogy is not worried about establishing the franchise. It's not busy on trying to build hype for Superman. It remembers its one purpose: To tell Batman's story and make it great.

By doing this, Nolan's trilogy did all this other stuff. The God awful Superman film The Man of Steel became a hit, because The Dark Knight paved a way to it. With the rest of the upcoming DC films, we got wiser and voted with our wallets. We wanted more stories, but they gave us soulless products.

The Stories We Need

What we lost In movies, we gained In videogames. Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy are some of the best games ever made and finally brought everything that is Batman to our living rooms. Too bad the movie industry doesn't understand videogames. But it's catching up too, slow and steady. 

Finally we got what In 2017's excellent Wonder Woman and 2019s breath taking Joker. Unfortunately these still seem like exceptions in a sea of mediocrity.

We still get bombarded by movies like last years Birds of Prey, that put stuff like social justice (a horrible invention) ahead of storytelling. But the audience still votes with their wallets. Harley Quinn's first solo flick got what it deserved: oblivion.

Only time will tell, what the future of Batman will be. But we the fans haven't forgotten The reason, why we love it is because it's grown with us. Every generation has their own Batman, whether it's the 60s laughter fest, the 80's and 90's dark fantasy or post 9/11 thriller. It speaks to each age group, telling us to be the best ourselves.

Batman is a perfect example of a prime human being we all should strive for. Good storytellers know this. So one thing is as certain as it was back In 1989: In one form or another, Batman is here to stay.

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

The Outlaw

Welcome to Los Angeles...

After the fantastic Meta series by Tom Reynolds, it was refreshing to get something more real-world heroics to read. The Outlaw series by Alan Janning offers exactly that.

Set In contemporary Los Angeles, it's a very different and fresh take on colorful and fun superhero stuff. If Tom Reynolds's Meta is the new Superman, Outlaw would be the new Batman.

Chase and chased

The main character Chase Jackson is a familiar YA protagonist. A college student In his seventeens, who has a huge talent In one field: football. He’s also clumsily untalented in other field: relationships.

As if crush with a childhood friend, hot latina Katie and a formal relationship with a rich cheerleader Hanna wasn’t enough, Chase has to mess up his life by going after muggers who robbed him and Katie.

To hide his identity he puts on a ski mask, hiding his lower face. What started as a simple quest to retrieve stolen cellphone becomes suddenly complex, when he stumbles on another mugging and saves a girl from thugs.

She's not just another girl. She's Natalie North, a Hollywood superstar, who's bigger than Jennifer Lawrence, Aniston and Connelly together. Naturally she has to brag in interview about a sexy masked superhero rescuing her, backed up with a CCTV footage of it. Thus, a new real life superhero The Outlaw is born.

This is our world!

The world of Outlaw is refreshing. As I mentioned, it's set In contemporary Los Angeles. More precisely 2017 L.A.

A city that's torn by crime and rioting latino communities, afraid of Trump's new laws and wall building. To a person following US politics from outside and who is neutral to Trump, it's great that this series doesn't have politics In it.

Outlaw is what a good superhero story should be: fun and inspiring. It offers the Hero's Journey In fun and refreshing way. It also shows Los Angeles in a way, that makes me both want to see it and avoid it at the same time. 

Once you pick up this book... 

Alan Janning's Outlaw saga is super addictive reading. Although I'm only half way through second book, I'm so hooked I can't wait to find out, what happens next.

I'm still tossing coin, whether this or Meta by Tom Reynolds are my favorite superhero novels. I suppose it all goes down on how each series ends. Next installation on Meta series is still on the way, so hopefully I've managed to read the whole Outlaw series by then.

But so far it's been stimulating read. Check it out yourself!

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

We need superheroes

I've probably made clear by now that I love superheroes. I don't love them all. For example, I'm pretty indifferent about Marvel movies. In my opinion a very few movies get the idea about superheroes.

That's a pity, because we live In a world, that seems to get darker each day. In fact, the Western world In 2020 seems eerily like Germany In the 1920's. And we all know how that ended...

We're just recovering from a world wide pandemic. Not a month goes by and violent mobs burn down cities and businesses, anarchy reigns and there's even talk about a civil war in America. And what happens in the USA reflects to the rest of the world, especially Europe.

The world is a mess. Although it would be sweet to see Superman flying to save us or Wonder Woman bringing Peace to our divided hearts, but that's not what I'm talking about.

We need stories about saviours, because we need their inspiration. We need to become Heroes in our own lives. Whatever we've chosen to do, we need to be excellent. No matter, whether it's teaching, nursing, construction work, writing or driving a cab, we need to be excellent. That's where we need stories and Heroes. They inspire us in this excellency.

Another reason, why we need them is because we've lost touch to our spirituality. That's just as dangerous as if a whole nation lost its ability to read all of a sudden. When that would happen, the whole infrastructure would collapse. We wouldn't be able to exchange information in longer distance. We could only duplicate what the closest people around us do.

The same way as reading, spirituality is important. I'm not talking about religion, although that is part of it. Spirituality is being in touch with ones soul. Knowing what the soul needs.

The consequence of losing our spiritual life is just what we see, when we turn on the news. Raging mobs destroying everything in their way, like angry cartoon termites. People killing each others for saying the wrong things. Kain and Abel reborn again and again.

When we lose touch with our spirituality, we need to compensate with something else, such as mindless ideologies that aren't meant to work the way they promise. That's just one way of filling that gab. 

Other ways would be hurting our children, bullying our pairs, getting bullied, because of low self-worth. Even mindless consumerism is part of this. Buing, what we don't really need, even if we never use it.

I'm guilty of a lot of these, just like we all are. But there is hope In the horizon. We can be inspired again. We can just look up In the sky. And imagine. We need to read and get inspired. Superheroes are no longer just saving our planet from extra-terrestrial menace. Or our city from homicidal maniacs trying to poison our water supply.

They're saving our souls, by showing examples of virtue. They're showing us a better way. They offer us guidance we need right now. There's never been bigger need for characters like Hercules, Jason, King Arthur. And Superman.

Be virtuous. Be inspired. Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Tina Morlock - The Power of Expression

This is an older post from my previous blog, which suits the current one perfectly. It's about a year since I wrote this, in which time Tina has gone incredible amount forward. She just finished a novel in the middle of moving and on top of all this, she's writing a movie script based on Where The Bad Seeds Grow. So, if I had to sum Tina in one word, it would be: Inspiring. Enjoy!

When I had my novel's first draft done, I soon started searching for editors, even though I knew it would take some time and effort to get it out for them. That's how I ran into Tina Morlock. By a pure stroke of luck. Tina is a freelance book editor, but that's not all she is.

She's also a talented author, who just had her debut novel, Where The Bad Seeds Grow out. I'll review the book once I've read it, but now I can only say that it's brilliant. At the first glance it looked like another overtly dark and anxiety driven teen drama, but once you dive into the books world you'll realize the brilliant concept: Where Bad Seeds Grow is a noir detective story, set in the dark world of 90's high school. Think about "Mean Girls" set in the world of David Fincher's "Seven"

Instead of a cynical, seen-it-all detective with gambling and drinking problem it stars ”The Most Popular Girl In School”. But the personal struggle she dives in is the level of any larger-than-life mysteries we've seen in the best noir-films. And considering Morlock's influences, it's not that huge surprise.

So, even without finishing the book, I already recommend Where Bad Seeds Grow (Now that I've read it, even more so!), but before that, it's my pleasure to introduce Tina Morlock in her own words.

What inspired Where the Bad Seeds Grow?

Oh, wow! That idea goes back at least 20 years—back before I ever thought I’d want to write a novel. In my 20's, I was fascinated by films and screenwriting, and I even attended film school for a bit. This story originally started as a screenplay about a girl who had lost her parents, and it chronicled the last 24 hours of her life as she moved from being suicidal to embracing her life, then ultimately being murdered in the end.

Thankfully, that story changed drastically when I turned it into a novel, so there’s no spoiler alert necessary there. From what I can remember, Erica’s story was sparked by watching American Beauty—and also my love for Twin Peaks. I was so fascinated about being able to tell a story about a girl everyone thought they knew—the popular girl, the cheerleader. I wanted to make her real, to make her fragile—to show that we are all connected by the pain that sometimes comes from just being alive.

There are so many stories out there that demonize the popular girl and make her into a stereotype, but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to give the world a raw and unfiltered view of what it might be like to live with the world’s expectation of perfection. I wanted to use her as a way to show high school kids everywhere that in many ways, we are all the same. We are all human.

Though the story is entirely fictional, how much is inspired by your own life?

I would say that in a superficial way that some aspects of Erica were figments of my own imagination about some of the nicer cheerleaders at my own high school. And when I was much younger and fighting against being different, I’d always looked up to the cheerleaders, and I even practiced cheers when no one was looking.

I think this is something that so many young girls do because they think the beautiful girls have everything, so they want to know what it’s like to have a life that’s perceived as being perfect. So, maybe in a way, I wrote this for the girl I was in elementary school—the girl who idolized the girls everyone else did. I’d like to think that I wrote this to prove to little girls everywhere that you don’t have to be the most popular or the most beautiful to actually be beautiful and loved. Beauty isn’t something you can paint on with makeup.

Also, in many ways, she represents a lot of the things I learned later in life when I began to struggle with my own search for identity. Erica’s struggles are not only the problems of youth. I think we all struggle with discovering who we really are and trying to line that up with who the world thinks we are.

So many of us are bullied for what people think we are, but they do this because they can’t possibly understand what’s going on underneath the mask we present on the outside. And sometimes, it seems like no matter what we do, it’s a battle we can’t win. So, I suppose she’s a combination of multiple phases of my life: all the awkward teenage years, the discovery as a young adult, the toxic relationships throughout adulthood, and learning later in life that it’s all bullshit in a way.

Where the Bad Seeds Grow is practically a Noir story. Did you think of that when writing?

I did not! To be honest, I hadn’t really read much mystery, but many of my stories involved a bit of mystery to them because I do enjoy writing about the darker parts of the human experience. When I first published it, I considered it a young adult coming of age mystery romance. That’s kind of a mouthful.

Unfortunately, I didn’t write it with a particular reader in mind. I just needed to get the story out. I’ve had some pretty good reviews and feedback recently, so I hope it eventually finds its place in indie publishing world. Though, marketing is not currently my strong suit. I’m working on that!

What’s your favorite genre and why?

Oh man! That’s such a hard question. Though it’s not really a genre, I love reading and writing young adult. Ever since I discovered Harry Potter as a young adult, I’ve loved seeing the growth that young adult literature has been through. I do have a soft spot for dystopian—with novels like Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and Animal Farm. I’m also currently re-reading The Hunger Games novels, and I just started reading Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series. Somewhere on my bookshelf, I also have Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale waiting to be read—she’s one of my favorite storytellers.

Dystopian literature feels magical to me because it allows us to explore our deepest and darkest fears about government and the society we live in. It shows us that the monsters hiding in these things aren’t so far off, and it allows us to fantasize about what a revolution might do for our lives. Or at least, that’s what it does for me.

It allows us to destroy those systems we feel are evil and gives us the freedom to explore how delightful it would feel to overthrow the government. Jello Biafra once said that creative crime was not only good for the soul, but that it was also necessary in this day and age. And I wholeheartedly agree with that idea.

What made you first want to be a storyteller? Remember when?

As far back as I can remember, I’ve been writing. I remember a relative giving me a typewriter as a gift when I was 12—computers weren’t in every household back in the 80's—and I started typing up my own romance novel. From there, it progressed into poetry and journalism when I got onto my high school and college newspaper staffs.

Though I don’t remember the exact moment, I know that writing and storytelling has always been about escaping my little piece of the world. I was abused by a family member as a child, and as I got older, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I started to get more and more depressed.

Writing gave me the power of expression and the feeling that somebody was listening to me, even if it wasn’t always shared with the world. Now, of course, my writing is intentional, but back then, it was a coping mechanism.

How do you work through that anxiety?

Working, in general, helps keep my mind focused on straying from toxic or negative thoughts that sometimes come from depression. And with much of what I write, I try to include themes that advocate for depression, trauma, suicide, substance abuse, and mental illness. So, it's another way to work through the things I've experienced and observed throughout my life.

So, yes, writing does still help with that. But it's moved from just being helpful to me to translating those experiences in a way that might be helpful for readers.

I've always thought that as writers, we have our own internal language that doesn't exactly translate 100% for readers, so the challenge is in breaking away from that and making your narratives more accessible to give them the power to transform ways of thinking about certain themes.

I find my anxiety increases when I go through periods of not writing because I know how much more work I have to do to catch up. Then, that feeling of success being further away creeps in, and it just continues to build.

In certain ways, creating productive writing habits is sort of like losing weight or quitting smoking. You have to be diligent and intentional, and you have to have the will power to work through those tougher moments when you're having a hard time reconciling a scene or character.

What’s next for you?

My goal right now is to start writing young adult dystopian novels and building an audience there before I start branching out into other genres I’d love to write. My next book, The Secret Memoirs of Bloody Mary, is the first book in my History of Nightmares series, which is a dystopian series with a horror slant to it.

It follows the protagonist, Veina Kythe, a half-alien/half-human teenage girl, as she travels to the future after her planet has been destroyed. She lands on Earth 200-300 years from now and gets involved with a resistance group that’s fighting against a government that has outlawed literature of all kinds.

This first book finds her and her two friends, Techno Tru and Ska Faulkner, traveling back to the 1960s, where they meet my version of Bloody Mary right before she dies. Future books of the series will explore the legends surrounding the first vampire and other horror legends as the work together to overthrow a future government that has turned writers into outlaws.

It’s been a dream project of mine for nearly ten years. (I wrote a short story for an anthology based on this that can be downloaded for free from Amazon or any other eBook platforms. It’s called 31 Overlook Hotel

Ever thought about any other storytelling platforms? (Movies, plays, video games, etc.?)

Oh, absolutely! I have a mind that wants to conquer everything, but I’m trying to take it one step at a time. Ultimately, I’d love to see all my novels turned into movies because I have such a love for film as well as literature.

One last advice to storytellers?

Don't do what I did and wait until you're almost middle-aged to start pursuing your writing dream. I let so many things get in the way of my dreams, and now I'm having to work much harder to achieve them. Just believe in yourself and write every day, no matter what. Whether it's five minutes or five hours, it all counts.

I really hope you got as inspired by Tina as I did. She truly is a living proof that it's never too late to start creating that one dream project you always wanted. The world is definitely much richer place now, that Tina has started giving her brand to it. It will be so once you start as well!

Definitely check Where The Bad Seeds Grow if you haven't already. It's well worth your time and I bet it will earn its place in the list of future indie classics. Here's hoping we'll see the movie version one day! (I said it, didn't I!)

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Tom Reynolds - Meta Mythology

For the last two years I've been doing the hardest thing I've ever done: Writing a book (Believe me, writing a novel is way harder than making a movie!). One of my problems was the genre. I was writing a superhero YA novel. Superhero novels I knew then I could count with two fingers. Then I started really searching high and low.

Eventually I stumbled upon few great titles and found out that superheroes offer a whole subgenre to the huge variety of YA-novels. Although I have few series's on my Kindle, such as The Outlaw -series by Alan Janney and the Omega -series by Darius Brasher.

Still, my personal favorite is the Meta series by Tom Reynolds. I've already introduced the world of the books, so I won't go repeating it here. They contain all the tropes of the genre, but add some interesting twists. Also, the balance between humour and seriousness is perfect, which is no easy task. Not to mention, it's incredibly easy to read. The language is simple and works even with my slow mind.

I'm proud to say that I had the privilege of interviewing Tom, who has been an active author since 2012. Reading his texts you can see that he gets better part by part, but still manages to keep the wild and free spirit of his books intact.

Hopefully this interview can share some of his wisdom. I know I gained a lot from it! Hope you will too.

How long have you been writing?

It feels like forever. I remember being around 12 and heading to the library determined to figure out how to write and publish a book, even though I was still just a kid. Meta was my first attempt at a full length novel though.

When did you first decide to seriously attempt this?

The idea for Meta had been floating around in my head for a few years, but it wasn’t until 2013 that I decided to finally sit down and start putting the ideas to paper. One of the fun things about the superhero genre is that it’s practically custom-built for serialization. From the earliest days of comic books there has always been a desire for more stories from the same characters. The idea of exploring characters over the course of multiple books is what interested me the most.

What draws you to superheroes?

I think it’s natural to be drawn to the idea of superheroes. In a lot of ways they’re simply updated versions of the types of stories that have been around since ancient times. There’s something we’re innately drawn to about stories featuring characters with abilities outside of what’s possible in reality. There’s also the idea that superhuman abilities would strip back and reveal who a character really is. We want to believe that human beings are ultimately altruistic, and that if superheroes were real that human nature would shine through. But obviously that isn’t always the case, and that’s fun to explore too.

What was the biggest inspiration for meta?

There are obviously a ton of comic book inspirations, but one of the lesser known inspirations I took from is Miracleman, a character that was initially borne out of Shazam (then Captain Marvel.) I’d read Supergods by Grant Morrison and learned about the incredibly strange publishing history of Miracleman and wanted to do something similar with a little bit of a softer edge to it.

Which characters inspired Connor?

He’s very much inspired by characters like Peter Parker, Dick Grayson, Billy Batson, etc. I’ve always liked teenage superheroes who have to deal with real world problems too. There’s something very relatable about them.

Have you ever thought about trying other story forms (movies, videogames, etc)?

I’ve written a few other projects outside of my books, but for the most part they have remained in the proverbial trunk. Making things collaboratively is tough. A lot of it requires luck, timing, etc. One of things I love about the novels I write is that they’re completely on me. I don’t need to rely on others or outside factors like money to get them done. I love collaborative work too, but it can be nice to work on something solo and know that whether it’s good or bad it’s completely on you. 

From the beginning, it seemed like the ”superpowerless” Midnight was inspired by Batman, but in Rise of The Circle he brought up a twist by revealing his origins. Did you plan this from the beginning?

I knew pretty early on more or less what his origin story would be. I wanted a unique explanation for his technological prowess and I thought it wasn’t something I’d really seen done before. I didn’t want to just wave away everything he was capable of with a simple “he’s rich” although his origin does explain how he’s able to acquire a reasonable amount of wealth pretty easily, which might be something I explore in further books.

How much of the later twists did you know from the beginning?

Most of them are ideas I’ve had in mind from the beginning, but I don’t always know exactly how they would unfold until I see where the story naturally leads me. There are some even bigger twists coming up in New Empire that once again change the context of earlier events fairly significantly.

If Meta was adapted, what form would you prefer (Movie, TV-show, videogame, etc)?

Readers tend to suggest they’d like to see it as a movie, but personally I’d be more interested in a TV show or video game. There’s a lot more possibilities there I think. If someone wants to come along and option it for a movie I wouldn’t say no though.

As a writer, are you a planner or a pantser?

I’m a planner for the most part, but if I discover a new idea as I’m writing I don’t necessarily stay beholden to the plan.

If you had metabands, what power would you like?

I’m going to be boring and say flight. I’m terrible at directions so I think it would be easier for me to get around if I could get a bird’s eye view sometimes.

*After Connor’s Journey ends, do you have anything else planned, either In Meta universe or something completely else?*

I’ve been working on a different series for a bit now that I’m hoping will see the light of day later in 2020. I don’t want to give too much away yet, but it won’t be superhero related. I’m sure I’ll be doing other stories in the Meta universe, even if they aren’t Connor’s stories, in the future too. Connor’s story isn’t over yet though.

Is there any other superhero novels that inspired you?

As for superhero novels, the one that I would point out as being influential is the novelization of Batman: No Man's Land by Greg Rucka. I picked it up at a rest stop while on a family vacation 20 years ago and couldn't put it down. It was the first time I'd seen a superhero story done in novel format and it stuck with me.

Final Words of inspiration

Tom Reynolds's Meta hits at a time, when the world craves for a positive inspiration. Exactly the kind of inspiration superheroes used to be.

A time, when we're just recovering of a world wide pandemic, seeing violent riots all over, is a time when we need superheroes the most.

At the same time we see our childhood icons torn to pieces, like America's statues. Today's Batman is a cold blooded killer. Today's Superman is a dark angst ridden human wreckage just one step away from turning into tyrant. It's the world like this, that needs inspiring new characters and stories.

Tom Reynolds has just given us exactly that. Young Connor Connelly is the character, that shows us the light at the end of the tunnel.

The one that Whisper In our ear to take another step, just as we're ready to give up. Those are the Heroes we need right now, to remind and guide us In our own heroics.

Thanks for reading and thank you, Tom, for writing!

Check out the Meta series here and don't forget that the newest installation, New Empire is out now. And don't forget to relax, enjoy and get inspired!

-Alex

Meta - The accidental Heroes and Villains

Superheroes, as we now know them, have been around for nearly 90 years. We all know and love Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. Gotham and Metropolis have become as familiar as our own home towns. Themyscira is as popular dream place as Grand Canary. I bet now, that travel won't be so easy, it will only make it more so.

But not all the Heroes are from four-color cartoons from the 40's or Disney/Warner blockbuster films, thank God. There are lots and lots of independent storytellers, giving us the worlds they want to live in. 

Tom Reynolds is one of these authors. And he's given us Meta.

Welcome to Bay View City!

It's an ordinary world, just like ours. Then in the early 2000's something happened, that changed everything. Something other than what changed our world in September of 2001. Tons of curious metal objects fell from the sky and scattered all over the world.

These objects were Meta bands: Bracers that give their wearers unique super powers, known as Meta Powers. Their catch was, that they bind with the wearers DNA, so no-one else can wear them, once they're on. Naturally, in a small amount of time the world was filled with heroes and villains with God-like powers. In a matter of days, the world was beyond recognition.

What we previously saw only in movies we could now see by tuning on the news. Meta Heroes, such as The Governor emerged and showed us the way of righteousness. Unfortunately, as new Heroes emerged, so did villains. Men and women, as colorful, as their adversaries, appeared. Some to gain money or power, some just to cause mayhem. Then came Jones.

The man, who looked as bland as his name was worst of them all. Nobody knew where he came from or what he wanted. Only thing clear was that he was a nightmare come true. He never spoke a word, but created chaos and death where ever he went. It was normal for supervillains to wear colorful and eccentric "uniforms", just as with superheroes. That made Jones even more terrifying: An ordinary man in a business suit, that was as bland as his name. And was more destructive than an atom bomb.

Eventually The Governor defeated Jones, though it took his own life in the process. After him, everyone named Jones rushed to change their names, so they wouldn't be associated with him. The name became just as popular as the name Hitler.

That wasn't the only thing that happened. It also shut down all the Meta bands on earth until...

The Second Wave

This is where Tom Reynolds's books begin. Ten years after the battle between Governor and Jones. It's a time of hard earned peace. But also of pain and sorrow. The battle took its toll on everyone. Countless lives were lost.

Two of these were the parents of Connor Connolly. The tragedy didn't only turn him an orphan. It also made his 19-year-old brother Derrick Connor's unwilling Guardian. Connor is an unmotivated college student and Derrick is an unsuccesful blogger with obsession on all things Meta.

This all changes, when another wave of Meta bands hit the earth. Connor is the first one to find his own bands, which will change his life completely. Trying them on gives Connor all the powers of Superman: He can fly, he becomes invoulnerable, he can see through Walls. He can even teleport. All of these powers are typical with Meta people, but very rare together.

With all these powers, Connor takes his superhero identity. Omni is born.

Like all the teenage superheroes, Connor's life seems to become better at first. Connor's dream girl takes interested in him. His brother becomes rich with his Meta knowledge, that was earlier just a weird nerd thing. But nothing good lasts forever. As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben said: With great power comes great... Headaches.

As tons of new Meta bands fall from the sky, the world fills with super powers, once again. And, once again, Meta bands work the same for the good, the bad and the ugly. It goes without staying, that Connor, who just happens to be one of the most powerful Meta, has his hands full of problems. As if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough.

The momentum builds

Tom Reynolds's Meta series has advanced in its fifth part, The New Empire. To me, it's a refreshing take on the YA genre and got me addicted from the first chapter of the first book.

Although many scifi elements are a bit out of my alley, Meta has been surprisingly inspiring to me. As I'm getting on final stages in my own novel, Shadow of The Vigil, which is very down-to-earth and superpowerless, but dark, take on the genre, it feels good to fly for a change.

I'm so looking forward to The New Empire, which I've already pre-ordered. Make sure you get the whole series now that it's on sale!

Be sure to Put on your Meta bands, and we'll see you on the pages of history!

Check out Tom Reynold's author page here. Be sure to check In next Sunday, when I'll be interviewing Tom. I'm definitely looking forward to that! 

-Alex