A Work-In-Progress
Let me get some pleasantries out of the way.
My name is Jeff, and I'm a writer.
I've been writing (and drawing) comics since I was a little kid. Heck, I knew how to read when I was two. Didn't talk much until I was like five, or so my relatives tell me. I created characters based on things I've read about or imagined in my ever-perculating head.
I wrote this one story back in the summer inbetween second and third grade. I brought it to school and read it to my class. That was weird. Anyway, my third grade teacher took my story and never gave it back to me. By the beginning of the new year, she was gone, never seen again. I guess that she was my first real crush and my first heartbreak too.
(see, if this was TV, this is where the audience would say "Awwwwww.")
But I wrote more and more stories, focusing on superheroes because, well, that's what I dug the most back in those days. Big time Spider-Man and DC Comics fan right here. Created a multiverse, then I created a timeline. Even my class superlative photo back in high school (I was voted Shyest Male Student [I plead the fifth on any discussion about the subject]), I posed with a banner of my heroic characters. After college, I discovered the public domain and originally wanted to use those characters in a separate continuity. However, the more I wrote about them, the more I felt that these heroes of the past should be tied into the omniverse of the present, thus, the reason why I felt I needed to make a story bible for that entire omniverse, one world out of many created by me.
Yes, I'm a cartoonist, graphic designer, and illustrator as well (that's what I got my degree in), but truth be told, I feel that I'm a better writer than an illustrator. I'm not perfect by any means, and to be honest, I have doubts, which is why I've been reluctant to do anything like this before prior to now.
In fact, a lot of people only know me from the ramblings about animation I've been doing on my "real" website for almost eight years. As much pride as I feel, and the accomplishments and some semblance of respect I've gotten as a result of my work on the site, that's not who I really am. That's not the kind of writing I wanted to do, but since people tell me I'm pretty good with it and sound like I know what I'm talking about, I continue to write on. I'm an opinionated guy, that's what I do.
But a long time ago, I actually gotten a chance to write a little fiction in the form of my contributions at C'inyex. It was a fantasy thread which evolved into its own popular forum for some time. I kind of added a bit of humor, chaos, and a bit of steampunk elements into the story as well as a few characters and elements I'm proud of (the couple Arcturus and Carina the Bold and the enigmic Afterthought as well as Xylvan) and will eventually bring them back in one form or another. I've also been working on another story partially inspired by the mecha/anime/rebel shows I've been watching on TV and DVD. That evolved from a simple adventure story into a tale of corruption, religion, insanity, and friendship in the midst of troubling times. I began my story in 2000, but elements from the news began to mirror what I wrote and envisioned.
This "gangster noir" story I'm writing is much different because it isn't something I'd normally do. It's not a tale of clear-cut good versus evil. Characters who are, in our society, deemed "good" will also do some awful things. Those who are categorized as "evil" will also show a bit of nobility, honor, and goodness. It'll probably be one of the most interesting projects I've worked on in a long time. For starters, I don't think I want to turn it into a comic book/graphic novel. It'll work out fine, but I think this is an occasion where the typed word would make more on an impact than an illustration. Plus, I do tire of wordy comic books myself, and this is a dialogue-heavy story.
It's a lot like me, a work-in-progress still in the warm, liquid goo phase.
*bang*
My name is Jeff, and I'm a writer.
I've been writing (and drawing) comics since I was a little kid. Heck, I knew how to read when I was two. Didn't talk much until I was like five, or so my relatives tell me. I created characters based on things I've read about or imagined in my ever-perculating head.
I wrote this one story back in the summer inbetween second and third grade. I brought it to school and read it to my class. That was weird. Anyway, my third grade teacher took my story and never gave it back to me. By the beginning of the new year, she was gone, never seen again. I guess that she was my first real crush and my first heartbreak too.
(see, if this was TV, this is where the audience would say "Awwwwww.")
But I wrote more and more stories, focusing on superheroes because, well, that's what I dug the most back in those days. Big time Spider-Man and DC Comics fan right here. Created a multiverse, then I created a timeline. Even my class superlative photo back in high school (I was voted Shyest Male Student [I plead the fifth on any discussion about the subject]), I posed with a banner of my heroic characters. After college, I discovered the public domain and originally wanted to use those characters in a separate continuity. However, the more I wrote about them, the more I felt that these heroes of the past should be tied into the omniverse of the present, thus, the reason why I felt I needed to make a story bible for that entire omniverse, one world out of many created by me.
Yes, I'm a cartoonist, graphic designer, and illustrator as well (that's what I got my degree in), but truth be told, I feel that I'm a better writer than an illustrator. I'm not perfect by any means, and to be honest, I have doubts, which is why I've been reluctant to do anything like this before prior to now.
In fact, a lot of people only know me from the ramblings about animation I've been doing on my "real" website for almost eight years. As much pride as I feel, and the accomplishments and some semblance of respect I've gotten as a result of my work on the site, that's not who I really am. That's not the kind of writing I wanted to do, but since people tell me I'm pretty good with it and sound like I know what I'm talking about, I continue to write on. I'm an opinionated guy, that's what I do.
But a long time ago, I actually gotten a chance to write a little fiction in the form of my contributions at C'inyex. It was a fantasy thread which evolved into its own popular forum for some time. I kind of added a bit of humor, chaos, and a bit of steampunk elements into the story as well as a few characters and elements I'm proud of (the couple Arcturus and Carina the Bold and the enigmic Afterthought as well as Xylvan) and will eventually bring them back in one form or another. I've also been working on another story partially inspired by the mecha/anime/rebel shows I've been watching on TV and DVD. That evolved from a simple adventure story into a tale of corruption, religion, insanity, and friendship in the midst of troubling times. I began my story in 2000, but elements from the news began to mirror what I wrote and envisioned.
This "gangster noir" story I'm writing is much different because it isn't something I'd normally do. It's not a tale of clear-cut good versus evil. Characters who are, in our society, deemed "good" will also do some awful things. Those who are categorized as "evil" will also show a bit of nobility, honor, and goodness. It'll probably be one of the most interesting projects I've worked on in a long time. For starters, I don't think I want to turn it into a comic book/graphic novel. It'll work out fine, but I think this is an occasion where the typed word would make more on an impact than an illustration. Plus, I do tire of wordy comic books myself, and this is a dialogue-heavy story.
It's a lot like me, a work-in-progress still in the warm, liquid goo phase.
*bang*
posted by Jeff Harris at 10:59 PM
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