On 6 Years of Sobriety
Couple of thoughts on the best decision I've ever made.
Raiders of Character
How does an Indiana Jones-knockoff outgrow her shoddy beginnings? By embracing fiction’s holy grail: character development.
Dark Midwest | Volume 1 Issue 1
The archive of fictional, sinister and mysterious secrets spreading from the dark center of the country. Human intelligence text.
How’s Your Soft Apocalypse Going?
A Hopeful Note from a Delirious Parent
The Incredible Fantastic Four
Quality in the Face of Quantumania
THE X-MEN # 9, JANUARY 1965
“Giant-Man!! Would you mind modulating your voice to a softer pitch? The resonance from your oversized larynx is virtually deafening!”
Writers Make Choices
Story Design in the Age of AI
THE X-MEN #8, NOVEMBER 1964
“I am in the heart of the Balkans, in Europe… Descending into an almost bottomless pit!”
McDonald’s Milkshakes Are Weak. Brand Is Why I Buy Like 6 a Year.
Twice now, my family and I have spent winter weekends at a local Hyatt Hotel in Oak Brook, Illinois. It’s a sprawling old building hidden in the woods with a pool large enough for the antic gangs of small kids. Its primary function, it seems to me, is to
THE X-MEN #7, SEPTEMBER 1964
“It’s come at last! The moment we’ve been waiting for! We are looking at the uncanny X-Men, accompanied by Professor Xavier as they pose before an automatic camera on their graduation day!” And so issue 7 begins with caps and tassels, scrolled diplomas, and much handshaking and congratulating.
Wrestle Forever
My wrestling coaches used to shout “Many hands make light work!” at the begining and end of every practice. We, the young wrestlers, would gather as one to drag the enormous heavy sheets of wrestling mats across the gym floors. Many hands make light work. A phrase I hadn’t
THE X-MEN #6, MAY 1964
“Never have you, the reading public, been so instantly fascinated by a group of super-powerful villains as last issue, when you met Magneto’s evil mutants!” Central Conflict: Namor VS. The X-Men VS. The Brotherhood of Evil There’s really just no way around the fact that a lot of