Refocus

A week of outlines done. The walls of my office are fluttering with post-it notes, perched like basking butterflies. I'm laying out the next arc of my run on Detective Comics. I sent in round 3 of tweaks on an outline draft for THE ECHOVOICE...now awaiting zoom calls and back and forths. Made progress on noodling a few more comics proposals. And somewhere in between all of this I wrote a script.

Even more shocking, I found time to watch Banshees of Inisherin. No, I should say, I made time to watch the film. It's probably the best thing I've seen this year and in an era of CGI driven plot extravaganzas, Banshees stands in stark relief. It is a story largley centering around 3-4 characters. All played out in a sleepy, remote island while civil war rages on the mainland Ireland.

I texted Dan Watters from the theatre bar after the film. He's a fellow Martin Mcdonagh admirer. We talked about the film and then Dan hit on the thing I'd been dancing around in our conversation.

He said, "He's dropped the need for any genre elements." Which is entirely true. Banshees is a wonderfully shot, beautifully written and well paced character piece. That could have just as easily been a play acted out in a small intimate theatre and it would have been every bit as engaging and impactful.

When we chatted about story and developing narratives in the studio, I remember saying that a story should work even if you take out all the genre elements. Even a grand space opera with lasers and death-stars and what not– when you boil it down, should work as a story about people doing people things, creating dramatic tension, messy feelings, unreasonable reactions and hard choices. That's where the emotional impact of a story stems from, regardless of plot, setting, theme and any other preoccupations.

It's a rare and energising feeling to watch a piece of work that reminds you of why stories work in such an impactful way. I left the theatre reforming my own ideas and motivations with storytelling. Recommended.

LAST WEEK

Detective Comics Annual 2022 came out to much debate and discussion. Largely people saying good things about the work. Christopher Mitten's art is beautiful and particularly suitable to this kind of story. Hayden Sherman jumped in to finish off the issue toward the end. And their work is at once tremendous, grand and yet fits in seemlessly with Christopher's. Lee Roughridge on colours and Derron Bennet on Lettering.

RESEARCH

This week I am listening and reading and watching for work. I've been researching art. Particularly stuff adjacent to occult art using geometry in interesting ways.

And suitably I am listening to the haunting music of Opez. I love the retro-border-music aesthetic and yet there is something modern in their voicings seemlessly passing through melancholy and haunting.

In case you've been following my 'Tec run. This will be part of the soundtrack to the arc I'm writing next.

My musical tastes swing wildly, which is why I'd be a terrible DJ. But I'd never be uninteresting.

Alas I must leave you now. There are three pages to write yet and it's 2AM here. I've poured myself a late drink. And I find myself smiling and nodding along to Opez. See, there is joy yet in solitude and quiet! Steal the night. Thieve a little joy.

Until next time.