Outlaw - From L.A to Apocalypse

I was supposed to publish the interview of author Alan Janney today. I know I've already covered his superhero novel, The Outlaw, but that was only after I read the first book.

And honestly, this series has so much more than meets the eye, that I could have an entire blog around it. That's why I think it's smartest to open up something more about these stories, before bringing the man behind the keyboard out...

Notice, that this contains mild spoilers on both The Outlaw and Carmine saga's. So, if they're on your reading list and you want to be surprised by the end (which you will be!), then please stop reading now!

That said, you read right: It has two saga's. The Outlaw, which focuses on our favorite fictional quarterback, Chase Jackson. Carmine is all about his girlfriend Katie Lopez.

This book series is one of my favorite YA series's. It's right up there with Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Though not for the same reasons. Hunger Games and Harry Potter are Hero's Journey, told brilliantly In a way Millennial and Zoomer Kids enjoy them.

Outlaw is character-driven In the same way as these. It starts as a Hero's Journey. Chase has to grow from an amateur vigilante-detective to a celebrity-superhero In contemporary L.A (actually it's the dark not-too-distant future of 2017!).

It turns out, that the reason for his Inhuman reflexes and strength are, because he's In a group, that has been genetically modified, or infected, after birth. This group calls themselves The Infected.

The Infected have enhanced strength and reflexes. Many also have unique powers, like insanely magnetic charisma or ability to read and manipulate minds.

The Infected are lead by two masterminds: Carter and a man known as The Chemist. He’s a Voldemorty villain, with an obsession to Outlaw. Carter is not much better, except his followers don't worship him, like those of The Chemist.

These men hate each others guts and the plot centers around their conflict. Outlaw and his friends, both normal and Infected, fall between these two maniacs. Instead of having to pick a side, they have to do something more basic: survive. And then help others survive as well.

This becomes difficult, as the whole US government is drawn In the conflict, which soon becomes an all-out civil war between normal humans and the Infected. US is torn. Sound familiar?

It's hard to believe, that Alan Janney started this series In 2013 and finished it in 2018. It's so mirror-image of the chaos we're seeing by just tuning on any media. Outlaw starts with racial riots of unsatisfied Spanish communities and then progresses into a point, where The whole Western civilization is torn apart. It's really hard to say, whether to laugh or cry.

This plot could easily become disoriented mess, like Disney Star Wars, but thanks to Alan Janney's passionate urge to drive the story forward and likable characters, it stays enjoyable.

Though I have to admit, that I've only reached to the third act of Carmine. There's still three books to go. Carmine is the second saga of the series, that's post-apocalypse.

Just this progress makes it super interesting. It progresses like Mad Max movies, where The world crumbles more and more between each movie. Imagine if Mad Max had started from Max Rockatansky's time in police academy and then worked its way to end of the world. Hard to imagine, I know. Even harder to imagine, that it just works, like with Outlaw.

Granted, it does over-stay its welcome at times, but then it picks up the pace again and keeps us readers at the edges of our seats.

Outlaw is amazingly energetic and enjoyable series and a welcome addition to a tired superhero genre. Tired? Sure, but only In the mainstream media. There are lots of original superhero stories from passionate writers. Tom Reynolds's Meta and Alan Janney's Outlaw will be classics of this bunch. But there are others, if you know where to look. And there will be more.

How Did you like the Outlaw? What other superhero novels come to your mind? Please comment below. Also, don't forget to share this in your social media. Next week, I'll be interviewing the man behind the Outlaw, Alan Janney himself!

Till then, check out the Outlaw yourself from here! 

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Monique De La Uz - The incredible power of Words

This is a classic article from my old blog, Author Alexander Greenwood.

I know this kind of seems to break my usual topic, mythology. But this is about one persons survival and growth In the modern world. The novel Eight Words is about danger in a modern society. A society that shouldn't have danger. And it's based on real experience my friend went through and was able to mold it into a brilliant thriller. That's what myths are made of. So, without further ado, my friend, Monique De La Uz.

Note: This article contains spoilers on the novel Eight Words. I highly recommend you to read it first!

Lately I've felt extremely lucky about the people I've met. Ever since I decided to be a professional writer and storyteller, I've found some incredible people in the same situation as me.

One of these is a Floridan author Monique De La Uz, who's just published her debut novel Eight Words. The novel is a drama-thriller based around a teacher Daniella Dean, who gets falsely accused for sexual conduct with her student. The novel is a masterpiece and hopefully, one day, it will be a classic. It's also very much in line with what has actually happened to Monique herself. As she says, the first seventy pages are one on one accurate to what actually happened.

Inspired by mental issues

De La Uz used to work as a teacher in a troubled neighborhood, just like her heroine Daniella. The protagonist is clearly based on Monique, but she's not the only character. During her time as a teacher she encountered several troubled students, some of whom even fell into a life of crime. The book introduces school shooter Jared, who has several traits of troubled youth she met. Monique reminds, that Jared's deed is a cry for help, though not necessary something he'd realize himself, as he is most likely a sociopath or a psychopath.

As it turns out, Eight Words is mostly about mental health issues. Something that's very current in today's America as well as Europe. Monique's state Florida is somewhat diverse and aware of these issues, but there's still work to be done. The characters project all the different stages of mental problems, with Jared being among the worst cases.

Daniella's thirteen year old brother John is bi-polar and has all variations of treatments from institutions to group therapy and medication. His family also suffers as they try to support him for the best they can. This is something Monique tried to include in Eight Words the best she could: The impact on family.

This and the other problems have given Daniella a situational depression, which might be the easiest of these problems. But it's still Something she has to fight to get out of. I won't spoil the story of Eight Words anymore, as you absolutely should read it. But seeing as Monique has clearly fought her way out of it and into success, it's safe to presume that Daniella can survive it too.

After survival

Currently Monique De La Uz lives a peaceful life with her family in Florida. It's been years since she worked as a teacher and had to deal with the false accusation, that started from nothing but eight words. When I asked, if she thought she would ever get back to teaching, the answer was clear "NO"

It might have taken eight words to try and ruin Monique's career as a teacher. But it's Eight Words that will give a strong start to her writing career. Nevertheless, it took years before she decided to write the book. But when she did, it took four and a half months to finish the draft.

After this it was time for beta-readers to have their say. And they certainly did. Monique had to learn to leave her ego at the door and just listen. Especially tough was one beta reader who had Monique rework almost entire book. But she was also right about 95% of what she said and thus gave Monique an opportunity to give us the best possible story.

Although the story of Eight Words is fictional, it's as true as the authoress herself. The characters too are also based on real people De La Uz has encountered during her journey. Some are directly inspired by an actual person, while others are a mix of different people.

What next?

Monique hints in both the book and our conversation, that this won't be the last we hear about these characters. She hinted about something revolving around John, Daniella's bi-polar little brother, who would arguably make a great protagonist in his own story. But right now, Monique is focusing on the marketing of the Eight Words. And well deserved rest. So, only time will tell what we'll get next.

Monique De La Uz is a living example of the eternal wisdom of storytelling: The story is absolutely the best, when it tells the truth. Monique has managed to tell that of both her life and those of her readers. And their numbers will grow in the future.

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to get your copy of Eight Words. It won't fail you!

-Alex

Borne, Derek Borne - Ultimate Author

Attention! The following information is top secret and meant for your eyes only! If anyone else sees this post, the Mission will be aborted. Be prepared to destroy your devices and flee the country!

Now that I got your attention, it's time I share my knowledge on Ultimate Agent - A novel trilogy from Canadian author Derek Borne.

With the sweet aroma of the best Finnish pizza, I managed to lure him to reveal some highly confidential information on his series and life as a storyteller.

Before that, it's time I share my classified information on this saga. This message will self-destruct In five seconds, so read quickly.

You probably already guessed what genre Ultimate Agent deals In, if not from my spy clishe's, then from the title.

UA is not only an agent story. It's also a superhero story. Imagine Jason Bourne In the Marvel universe.

Epic, sure. But the very Core of the story is the friendship between the two main characters, Brett and Devon, the two agents In secret service called the Ultimate Agent. And the love triangel between them and the third agent, Jade Hathaway. As if that wasn’t enough, the headaches are offered by Russian terrorist Maximus Romanov. But what's the deal with his sister, Valeriya? You'll have to plug In to find out.

But now it's time to let the Man himself reveal few secrets. His name is Borne, Derek Borne.

When did you first decide to become a writer?

Ever since I was little, I loved writing my own silly little stories. I was about 14 when I got a bit more serious about writing. About 3 years ago, though, I decided to finally make the jump to publish through Amazon and get even more serious as a writer.

How long did the idea brew, before you decided to write it down?

It didn’t take much to brew, actually. I’m a pantser when it comes to writing, so things shaped up as I went along. I like being able to surprise myself with the ideas I come up with! 

How long did it take from idea to published book?

Well, I originally wrote it when I was 14, which is 17 years ago now. Because I'm a pantser, it took me between half a year to a year to write

The UA world seems like a combination of Marvel movies and Jason Bourne. Is there one bigger inspiration for the story?

Those are really the main two inspirations. Other than that, I wanted to tell a story about family, and how anybody who comes along in life can become a part of your extended family too.

These characters have been with me for a while, which is what has made it so hard to end the series.

How did it feel? 

I cried 

Some writers come up with the characters first, some with the story and some with the world. What was the first in the UA?

The first thing was the general idea. I was chatting with a friend and we said “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a superhero who was a spy, or vice versa?” And that’s how the Ultimate Agent was born. I knew I wanted to set it in our world, but still give it enough of a Sci-Fi feel with the tech and abilities.

Would you wish to bring UA in any other form (Movies/TV-show, videogames, etc)? If Yes, what would be your favorite platform?

If UA ever made it to be a movie, that’s the “Ultimate” dream… see what I did there? Anyway, it’s a bit of a toss-up between a feature film or a tv show on a medium like Netflix or Amazon. A show allows you to get even deeper into the story, but either way would be AMAZING! And for video games? Why not? You could play it over and over again just like being able to read the book as much as you want.

Is there a real-world inspiration for Devon and Brett?

Devon and Brett are basically me and the brotherly friendships I have with most of my guy friends. The banter, the teasing, the inside jokes, that all comes from real life buddies of mine.

What about Jade and Valeriya?

Jade is based on a girl I liked when I was 14... but as time went on and the rewrite came, Jade is a lot more like my wife.

Valeriya is just more of the characteristics I love and respect about a lot of my women friends

What about the Romanov siblings? What was their inspiration? Any connection to the czar family?

I’m aware of the Czar family, as I did my research, but there’s no true connection there. When I was younger, I always thought the surname had a certain sinister sound to it and so I ran with it. I knew I wanted to have villains with a Russian background, and it just seemed to fit for Maximus Romanov. When I was younger, before Avengers came out, I originally had Valeriya’s name be Natalia, but then I realized how close it was, so I changed it to Valeriya. As for their dynamic, there’s so much I can’t say without getting into classified territory…

Any classified information you're willing to sell?

Depends on what intel you're looking for 😆 I accept pizza bribes 😜

UA3 just launched. What can we expect from it?

This is an emotionally-driven story with back-against-the-wall tension. This is a story that took a lot out of me to write, and I hope readers will be able to tell how much of my heart I truly poured into this one. When it comes down to it though, when you think you have everything figured out, expect the unexpected!

What can we expect from you next?

Next up, I’m finishing writing a dinosaur/time-rift novel that’s subtly connected to the UA-verse (thanks to a certain cryptid that pops up in the superhero series). It’s my passion project before I move on to other planned spin-offs from the UA-verse. There may or may not be more bigfoot stories to tell 😉

What is your ideal reader?

The ideal reader… I would say is someone who loves action, some sweet romance, loves to laugh, and is super into Sci-Fi. I’ve had 12-year-olds read my work and love it (because I write clean, no sex, swearing, etc.)

What advice would you give to aspiring storytellers?

Write what you know, and be genuine with your storytelling. Write with your heart, because readers can tell when you’re putting books out with a stale story with no heart.

Don’t write for the dollar signs. Write to change someone’s life.

"Write to change someone's life". Could it be said any better? That's not only the dream of every storyteller. It's the power of every story.

I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did. I also hope you got the same vision of Derek as I did: He's just like his text. Funny and likable.

Be sure to get the Ultimate trilogy and the anthology of short adventures, Helios Files while you still can. This post will self-destruct In five seconds.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Oh...

Bummer! A dud! At least the book's aren't. Please comment, what did you think of them. Also, be sure to share this so any Ultimate Agent can get their share of information!

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Hero's Journey - Episode III: The Return

Once the Hero has gone through his initiation, found his treasure or defeated the villain, he still has to return.

Just like Bilbo had a challenge of dragging the dragon Smaug's treasure back home. It wasn't a simple task and the worst challenges, such as The Battle of Five Armies, were still ahead.

The Return from Hero's Journey can be as tough for the audience as to the Hero. It's not a coincidence that third parts of movie trilogies are usually concidered the worst.

The story must come to a conclusion as the Hero must return from his Journey. Though the Hero is now a master of his trade, so are his opponents. He still must overcome them, to return triumphant.

So no rest for the wicked. It's time to Return

1: Refusal of the Return

Just like with call to Adventure, the Hero, who has now grown to his full potential, has a hard time getting out of his comfort zone.

The Dark Knight Rises showed us a broken man, who used to be Batman. Now he was neither Batman or Bruce Wayne. Though a new threat lurked Gotham City, he refused to return before Bane showed himself by attacking Wall Street (or whatever it's called In this version of Gotham).

2: The Magic Flight

As said, the Hero has now all his powers. But so does the Villain. The Hero has to flee or fight.

There are many literally example, like Frodo's Rescue from Mount Doom, as well as Bastian's flight on the back of Falkor. Both of these examples are In the next phase.

Harry Potter also got out of Gringotts, the most secure bank of The Wizarding World, on the back of the dragon that was guarding its vaults.

3: Rescue from Without

Once again, the Hero needs to outside help, when all the odds are against him.

Like Frodo, who after successfully destroyed The Ring In Mount Doom, needed to be saved by the Eagles.

The movie Neverending Story showed an interesting version of the Hero's Journey, where The actual Journey was taken by the warrior Atreyu, but the actual Hero was a boy reading his quest.

As Atreyu failed his Mission of stopping the Nothingness wiping his world from existing, it was this boy, Bastian, who had To save the world of Fantasia. This was literally Rescue from Without. 

4: The Crossing of the Return Treshold

As he had To begin his Journey by Crossing the first Treshold into unknown, the Hero now has to cross the final one into the old world, where he left from.

The challenge is to fit his wisdom and powers to the normal world.

It was fitting that Luke Skywalker returned to his home planet of Tatooine as a fully skilled Jedi Knight, to save his friend Han Solo, whose Hero's Journey now needed resquing from Without.

In Lord of The Rings book, Frodo and his Hobbits friends returned to The Shire very changed, only to see that the old Shire was changed beyond recognition by Saruman.

5: Master of the two worlds

As The Hero has finally overcome all his obstacles and has reached balance with his powers and the normal world.

Luke Skywalker is once more the best example, as he was fully powered Jedi Knight In the end, but also shared the world with his friends.

Katniss Everdeen had To live with her pain after surviving Hunger Games and killing president Coin, before she became a full tyrant.

Life of The Mocking Jay wasn’t easy, but neither was motherhood. All it took was survival. And that's what Katniss was master of. Balance of these two were what brought Katniss to the next, and final phase.

6: Freedom to Live

Now The Hero has reached balance and learned to live In the now. The Journey has reached its end

Just as Katniss had learned to live with her traumas and provide a better world to her children, Luke had To burn Darth Vader's armor to fully free his father Anakin Skywalker.

Sam Gamgee earned perfectly his freedom, after saying farewell to Frodo, who continued to the Gray Havens. Sam on the other hand returned home, living happily ever after with his family. There he edited Frodo's memoir of their Journey, called Lord of The Rings.

In Conclusion...

Now that this three-part Journey has come to an end, I really hope you've enjoyed reading it. There are countless more examples, as Hero's Journey has been around for thousands of years and will be around for thousands more.

Stories and Heroes either become legends or fade into oblivion, as times change, but their Journey remains the same. It's the perfect story. The stuff myths are made of.

If you enjoyed this, please share. Also, whatever examples you have In mind, Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Hero's Journey - Episode II: The Initiation

The Hero's Journey continues with The Initiation. This part is where The Empire Strikes Back and the Hero's true challenges start. If you missed the previous one, the Call to Adventure, check it out here.

Now, let's get on with the Initiation

1: The Road of Trials

In the road of Trials, the Hero really gets to test the tools he got from Supernatural aid.

That was Luke's encounter with the snow monster In Hoth. When he lifted his lightsaber with the Force, we saw what Obi-Wan had really given him.

Of course his encounter with the ghost of Obi-Wan is literally another Supernatural aid. There's no reason, why the elements couldn’t be used more than once, as long as they serve the story.

Trials are what mold the Hero towards what he will become, or what he would become if he fell

2: The Meeting with the Goddess

When the Hero has won his Adventure, he meets with a "Goddess", that could be a reward or a marriage.

Katniss hooking up with Peeta, after winning her first Hunger Game (Although their actual happiness came after all three books, over a decade later) is a reminder, that "The Goddess" doesn't have to be a female. It doesn't have to be a character either.

The treasure Bilbo finds In The Hobbit is just part of his Journey. He has to get it home too.

3: Woman as the temptress

We all know Syreens, at least as a concept. The same thing with Circe the witch. The Odyssee is ingrained to our back ones since primary school. 

The Hero is lured off the trails by something sweet and tempting. Noir trophe Femme Fatale is a Modern equivalent of a Syreen

Like with all, this doesn't have to be a Woman. It's temptation, like Luke had with the Dark Side, when he met Emperor Palpatine, almost striking him down.

The same thing happened in The Dark Knight, when the Joker lured Batman nearly breaking his one rule: No killing

4: Atonement with the Father

As The Hero moves on, he encounters the Father figured, that he must either defeat or ally with.

Just like Luke Skywalker left his Jedi training and went to Cloud City to save his friends, only to encounter his enemy and literal father.

Despite of his wrecklessness, his decicion Led him on the Journey to save his father a long with winning the Empire.

The same way Katniss had to encounter her figurative Father figured, as She met President Snow in Catching Fire. Together these sworn enemies agreed on not to lie to each others. A promise she kept until the end In The Mocking Jay, when Snow made her understand, that he wasn’t the only, or worst, enemy of Katniss.

5: Apotheosis

As The name suggests, Apotheosis is the climax of Hero's Journey. He has gained full wisdom and knowledge. Now he just has to use it in his final battle.

One of my all time favorite games, Batman: Arkham Knight had an excellent example (the plot of this game is really intense, so if you haven't played it, but want to, skip this part! It has some heavy spoilers!).

At the end of the game, Scarecrow finally had Batman at his mercy. He finally had To show the world, who was behind his mask. But little did Scarecrow know, that throughout the story, Bruce Wayne had been fighting with demons In his head, In the form of the late Joker.

Scarecrow's fear toxin was supposed to breakdown Batman with his worst fears. Instead it freed the demon In his head, allowing The Joker to break out. In a conflict fought In his mind, Batman finally defeated The Joker for good.

And with his secret out, he no longer had nothing to fear. He was able to beat Scarecrow.

As I mentioned earlier, Katniss Everdeen's final meeting with President Snow In The Mocking Jay opened her mind to see the truth about the Revolution she had been fighting: It was just a coupe by another would-be-tyrant, Alma Coin.

As she was ready to execute the former president Snow, Katniss made her final harsh decision: She turned her arrow towards The New president Coin and fired, hopefully freeing Panem for real this time.

6: The Ultimate Boon

Finally, The Hero has made it! Luke's become a Jedi Knight, Katniss has become The Mocking Jay and Batman's become The Dark Knight.

The Hero has achieved his goal and now it's time to rest. Time for reward. And...

Time for Return

Tune In next time, as it's time to wrap up the Hero's Journey with the return. I really hope you enjoyed this second part. I also hope it helped with your story. If it did, please share the good word in your social media.

Also, if you have something to add, correct or just want to bring out your thoughts, Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

The Hero's Journey: Episode I - The Departure

Storytelling has always been part of humanity and will always be. Stories shape our culture, no matter what the political or economic system is. They're what drive people, despite their religion or creed. The best stories pass through time, while others are just forgotten, as times change.

But one story has endured since Ancient Greece. Well, not so much a story, as a model for one. That's the Hero's Journey. I've been meaning to write about it since starting this blog. If you're familiar with Joseph Campbell's works, you probably guessed that by this blogs name.

I covered Hero's Journey briefly in my previous blog, which I've since terminated, but hopefully, since then, I've gained more wisdom and, maybe, can cover it a bit better.

Either way, it's good to know, whether you're a writer or reader, because this is what our stories are made of. Joseph Campbell covered it throughly in his book, Hero With A Thousand Faces. A bit too throughly, maybe?

I might get all sort of hatred for this opinion, but frankly, I find it boring. Read it and judge yourself. Even better: Listen to the Audible! That's How I prefer

Or you can just take the quick lesson and watch the original Star Wars!

To me, the Hero's Journey is incredibly difficult to grasp in all its simplicity. With this trilogy of posts I hope to dress it throughly, but simply, using modern examples.

I'm learning it myself, so please take it with a grain of salt, but I believe this will make your story better if you're a writer and if you're a reader, it will allow you To enjoy it even more.

Ready for the Journey? Then let's go!

1: Call to Adventure

Every story ever made began from one place: normal world. It could be set in Chicago of 2020, or it could happen "A long time ago In a galaxy far, far away", the point is the same: it's a normal world to the Hero, until he gets the call.

Luke getting Princess Leia's message is one of the best examples. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope" leads him to seek out old Ben Kenobi, who turns out to be more than just the old hermit he seems.

A classic example is from Lord of the Rings, when Frodo gets the ring of his uncle Bilbo and Gandalf tells him it's The One Ring To Rule Them All and it must be destroyed. In its prequel, The Hobbit, the call couldn’t get more literal as Gandalf travels to the door of Bilbo, and simply calls him on an Adventure

2: Refusal of The Call

Hero, as a normal and sensible person, naturally would refuse the call. Nobody leaves the comfort of their home, unless absolutely necessary. The same goes with the Hero.

Hobbit offers also a brilliant example of the refusal, as Bilbo says 'No thank you!' to Gandalf and closes the door in front of him.

Luke wouldn't even dream of fighting The Empire, before he sees the charred bodies of his uncle Owen and aunt Beru. Till then it's all his comfort zone.

Only when the Hero realizes, that everything has changed, and there's no going back, will he take his Journey. With Bruce Wayne, the Journey began, when he kneeled at his parents still warm bodies. This is the same, regardless of the mythos.

3: Supernatural Aid

After setting his feet to the larger world, the Hero needs all the help he can get. Traditionally it's been an old man, possibly the Hero's Guardian or fairy godmother, who offered some item, like a key, that helped the Hero on his Journey.

Often the supernatural aid is also a mentor, but not always. His most important role is to provide aid to Hero, to get through his Journey.

Obi-Wan giving Luke his father's lightsaber and teaching the basics of The Force helped him enormously later on, though not before The Empire stroke back. The help usually doesn't, or shouldn't come in handy right away. The Hero needs to grow first.

The supernatural aid doesn't have to be friendly. Gollum tried to eat Bilbo and Bilbo had to cheat him out of his little ring of invisibility (that never caused anyone trouble later, right?)

In Superman, Clark Kent knew his powers for some time, before encountering the projection of his long-dead real father Jor-El. He gave Clark his purpose as Superman, while Clark's foster father Jonathan Kent gave him his values, the love for Truth, Justice and The American Way.

Of course supernatural aid doesn't have to be supernatural. Though James Bond hasn't done Hero's Journey, at least before Graig, the original Q fit the supernatural aide perfectly.

His sole purpose was to provide Bond with the gadgets he needed to defeat the bad guy. Usually Bond didn't even need them before the final scene with the villain.

4: Crossing of The First Treshold

This is, where The Hero has to try his own feet. He usually stumbles, so he can learn to get up. This is the Hero's first real challenge. He often encounters a treshold Guardian, that he has to get through.

The Hobbits stepping out of The Shire in Lord of the Rings and then entering The Old Forest, where the trees lived and moved (the movies understandably cut this whole episode, so you'll find it only from the book).

These trees, as well as the ghost they encountered in the burial mounds offered the treshold Guardian.

Luke met his nightmarish treshold Guardian moment in Dagobah, when he ventured to the cave and encountered Darth Vader - Only to find out it was a vision of what he would become. 

The point is for the Hero to learn to fend himself, so the Guardian doesn't have to be a monster or a living adversary, but it helps. 

In Batman Begins the first treshold would be the prison Bruce Wayne is thrown, with its inmates being the Guardians.

5: Belly of The Whale

As The Hero stumbles through the treshold, he falls to the pit. The belly of the Whale. When I was a kid, I had a little pictured book of Disney's Pinocchio. I remember vividly the terrifying Whale consuming Pinocchio and Gepetto.

In mythologies it's often been quite literal, like with Jonah In The Bible. But Modern mythologies have all variations of it, such as the prison In The Dark Knight Rises.

In the 1978 Superman movie, he found Lex Luthor's underground hideout. Naturally this was a trap set by Luthor, who tricked Supes to open a case of lead, something Superman's X-Ray vision can't see through. Inside the case was a piece of Kryptonite, that immediately rendered Superman helpless, killing him slowly. This was one sort of Whale's belly.

Of course, modern mythologies can also  go literal in times. We all remember Millennium Falcon staying in the asteroid field and hide in the cave from Imperial pursuers, only for Han Solo to realize, that they're in the belly of a giant space slug.

Star Wars is Luke Skywalker's Journey, but Han Solo has a Hero's Journey as well. His Journey is to grow from cynical scoundrel to a loving man, sacrificing himself for his friends.

In the belly of the Whale he first shows protectiveness towards Leia, his one True love.

With Luke, the belly of the Whale was the moment he threw himself down to the shaft, after Darth Vader telling him the truth about his father.

Luke was completely trapped, only to be saved by his intuitive connection to Leia, who would turn out to be his twin sister.

READY FOR INITIATION?

I hope you've enjoyed this Journey so far. Because The departure is only the beginning. It's simply training for the Hero to become a jedi master or learn to defeat six hundred men.

Next week we'll get to the real deal: the initiation. Meanwhile you should study the Hero's Journey by reading or watching your favorite tales. Star Wars, Matrix, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are just the few that comes in mind.

But if you want just one book that sums up the whole thing, read The Hero With A Thousand Faces. That's what myths are made of.

Thanks for reading and see you next week!

-Alex