The Red Wedding hurts because it’s real.

We know what should happen.  The Hero’s Journey archetypes have conditioned us into comfort and expectation.

Yet our lives have shown us, too many times, what will happen.

We see the evil in men’s hearts.

We learn that ‘good guys’ rarely win.  That honour no longer holds sway in the world at large.

We face the heavy truth that Love is ill-equipped to ‘conquer all’.

And yet..?

We endure.  We accept.  We transform.

Bad things happen every day.  Terrible things.  And all that we hold dear is eventually taken from us.  Parents.  Lovers.  Friends.  Children.  Beloved pets.  Each are destroyed by the selfish, frightened, power-mad hands of another.  Or the ravages of Time.

It’s how we react to these tragedies that defines us.  How we are shaped by them.  Bettered by them.  Like I’ve said a thousand times, if I’ve said it once:

We are taken to the forge, battered and burned and beaten some more…thrust in the flames to the point of dissolution…

…until we become a Sword.

Do not weep for the Starks on this day.

Do not curse the gods, or abandon all hope in the unseen engines of Fate.

Instead?  Say a prayer for the survivors.  Send them strength, so that they may emerge from their pits of suffering and sadness. With fire in their bellies, courage in their hearts, and minds sharpened like unholy razors.

Winter is coming.

And, may the Seven have mercy on any soul who has been marked for Her wrath.

PLATFORM:  Print / Enhanced E-Books / Adventure Gaming

GENRE:  Children’s Fantasy (ages 8-12+)

PROPOSAL:  An original transmedia IP for readers / players / cat lovers

What if CS Lewis had a firm grasp on the principles of multi-platform storytelling when he was crafting The Chronicles of Narnia?  What if JRR Tolkien had forged the realm of Middle Earth in the age of tablets and videogames?  Imagine JK Rowling releasing serials in the Harry Potter series, knowing full well that readers could also indulge in active adventures and revealing explorations of Harry’s world in parallel to the main story?

Story universes like these endure due to a mix of fascinating characters, masterful world-building, and archetypal narrative arcs that strike deep emotional chords with readers around the world, and across generations.  These tales have shaped the perceptions, value systems, and mythic understandings of millions – almost solely thanks to the power of the written word.

So…what could be possible by crafting a transmedia strategy into the DNA of a traditional narrative from the outset?  Could children go deeper into the emotive, educational, and even moral realms of a story?   Can a compelling multi-platform reader/player/user story design finally break into the mainstream?

HIGH CONCEPT

Steeped in secret mythologies of the feline world, The Shadowland Saga fuses an inspired traditional narrative with a deep episodic adventure-game and character-creation mechanic.  Designed as a multi-platform serial narrative, the primary goal is for the experience to encourage readers to play, players to read, and all users to share in their growth and discoveries!

A little over two years ago, I committed to a ‘work vacation’.  It was to be an exotic change of scene, with the hopes of finishing the first draft of a Telefilm-funded screenplay I had pitched, and getting my physical health in line after years of late nights, table-sized Canadian portions, and ungodly levels of caffeine and sugar.

I would end up choosing Thailand.  And, for two incredible months, I would write…and learn the ways of Muay Thai. 

With the rampant growth of mixed martial arts (ie: UFC), and my own fascination with the ‘warrior’s way’, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to put things into balance.  Yin and Yang.  Thought and action.  Discipline…and creative abandon.  I had a room booked at a respected fight camp in southern Phuket, where the day is laid out for you with brutal simplicity:

1. 6:30AM – wake up for a jungle road run.
2. 7:30AM – stretching, skipping, and warm ups at camp.
3. 8-9:30AM – bag/technique drills, 5+ in-ring pad rounds, and sparring.
4. 10-4PM – RECOVER (ie: food, beach, massage, sleep, weep)
5. 4-6PM – repeat steps 2 and 3.
6. Repeat step 4.  Add booze if brave.

All in all, it looked a little something like this:

I loved making that video.  I hacked away at it every spare minute I wasn’t recovering or slipping out of consciousness from ‘pain management’.   I shot and cut and shot some more – on an iPod Nano, no less – because I couldn’t help myself.  Instead of using that first month to get a jump on drafting the sci-fi project I went there to write, I had taken a new mistress.  I followed her everywhere – a lovesick puppy, desperate to know everything about her mysterious past, her brutal present, and her dreams for the future.

You’re probably thinking weirdo right about now.  I get it.  But, far from being isolated in my adoration, I had become part of a tribe.   Young and old.  Men and women.  Bodies and minds and cultures and dreams of all types converged on this place.   To learn.  To escape.  To fight.

At first, I felt I had nothing to offer this world.  I was a middle-aged softie from the land of passive-aggressive entitlement, cringing his way through a glorified third-world fat camp, as Thai trainers and fighters alike joked of fitting me for ladyboy gowns and massage oil sponsors.   But I still woke up early every morning.  I still ran ‘til I vomited.  I still slammed my shins into hard leather again and again, hundreds of times a day, until it looked like golf balls had been surgically inserted beneath the skin.  And somehow, through the all-to-real cliché of blood, sweat, and tears…I earned respect.

Somehow, I made friends.

I’m good at making people feel comfortable.  When you’re traveling, as soon as comfort sets in, the stories begin.  And on those distant shores, in a far and fragrant corner of the Land of Smiles?  I heard some doozies.   Tales of drugs and debauchery.  Of crime and punishment.  Of love and sex and familial deathbed regrets.   Of slipping the chains of a weary workaday life, in the hopes of being reborn in the simplicity of a strange, sun-soaked one.   I was given glimmers of so many burning desires and fears, all refracted through the greater prism of Thai fighting culture.   Of what we share at the core of our humanity:

The need to struggle…and the will to overcome.

And so, with another visit last year, with more training, and with these powerful and personal archetypes swirling in a rich creative broth, it’s time to officially add something new to my slate.   The first draft of the screenplay is complete.  The Mondo-inspired one-sheet is coming together (see below!).  The transmedia strategy is in full effect. The business plan, considering the precarious world of film financing, is airtight.  And the potential partners ain’t being shy with their love-bites.

Thanks to SARA MACHAJEWSKI for the vision…

Stay tuned to the PROJECTS section for more as I can announce it.

Let’s dance.

You might’ve noticed a feature I have in development in the PROJECTS section called Risen.  Well, it’s still very much alive;  there’s a third draft of the screenplay nearing completion, a graphic novel ‘package’ with artist attached, and cross-platform strategizing fully in progress.   And now, you can peer behind the proverbial curtain and see some of the lever and pulley action that goes into prepping an original IP for the transmedia stage.

IP LOGLINE

At a remote mountain sanctuary, a disabled orphan receives a revolutionary implant to restore his health.  But when the young man finds himself able to manipulate the digital world with his mind?  Then it’s a race for answers – and for civilization itself – against rogue military, an obsessed scientist, and the terrifying Consciousness awakening within him.

STORY SYNOPSIS

It’s CHRONICLE-meets-THE LAWNMOWER MAN – with a dash sex, religion, and THE INVISIBLES – for the WIFI generation!  Risen introduces us to a crippled orphan (JACOB), who has spent his short life exploring the only world he has ever known – the Internet – thanks to Stephen Hawking-esque eye sensors and panels at this bedside.

Before his 16th birthday, an eccentric scientist (DR BRAHMAN) arrives and informs the boy’s foster family that Jacob will receive of a one-of-a-kind neural implant.  After an intense procedure, Jacob is miraculously walking, talking, and experiencing the physical world for the first time.  But more than this: he can now download data from any computer he encounters wirelessly, directly into his brain.  Soon, Jacob experiences haunting dreams of a God-like being (MAGUS) from the Virtual World.  Shaken by its ominous messages, he runs away with his rebellious foster-sibling EVE, moments before their home explodes in a ball of flame.  The only family Jacob has ever known is destroyed before his eyes…and it’s all because he exists. 

A frightened Boy with nothing left, who has been irrevocably transformed…

A troubled Girl at his side, the only guide to a world gone mad…

The greatest Mind imaginable, on the verge of total enlightenment…

And they’ve all got a serious axe to grind.

 

TRANSMEDIA STRATEGY

The world of RISEN hinges upon very real scientific advancements; they infuse the story with big ideas that inevitably lead to our first encounter with Jacob.  The goal of a proposed transmedia strategy is to focus on the fascinating biotech science – AI, DNA manipulation, stem cell research, quantum computing, etc – at the foundation of RISEN’s story-verse.  The rewards are there for committed readers, genre fans, and science geeks alike:

1. ARG:  A collection of ‘nested’ websites (science journal, news story, tech buffs, etc) detailing the worldwide scientific community rallying for and against the ‘activation’ of hyper-advanced AI algorithms in the late 90′s.  We seed these sites through related forums/blogs, real-world science and tech magazines, and conspiracy hubs.  As users begin to dig deeper through the material, they would uncover richer media ‘proof’. (‘published’ papers, University/conference ‘lectures’, news video, etc)  As the campaign evolves, stylized/dated ‘interviews’ with scientists, retired military figures, and fringe/cult ‘researchers’ would add additional layers to the sense of reality surrounding the science.
2. ANOMALIES:  close to film/graphic novel release, we’ll propagate censored stories, op-ed pieces, and meme imagery from bloggers that covered one of the key events from the story:  worldwide communications hijacking.   Low-budget mock newscasts’– covering the strange WWW glitches, global tech problems, and personal ‘miracles’ – would also be unveiled.
3. CONTRARIANISM:  we would enlist skeptics to then come forward en masse with blogs, social media, and YouTube interviews.  They would be united in attempting to explain the strange events/snafus surrounding the biotech of the story as nothing more than paranoid conspiracy.   We’d stir up the usual tribalism surrounding a small group of ‘fringe thinkers’ trying to make drama out of explainable modern phenomena IE: well-documented electrical blackouts, strange weather patterns, UFO sightings, and solar flare activity.
4. ORIGINS:  The crown jewel in the campaign would be the ‘discovery’ of a series of secret medical interviews with women being considered for the procedure that would eventually give birth to Jacob.  These could be presented as a mix of text, audio, and grainy video – an unseen scientist (faithful readers would peg it as BRAHMAN) would interview several women and explain the procedure and its risks/rewards.  The final interviewee would be with Jacob’s birth mother – LILITH – tying beautifully into the truths that Jacob and Eve discover on their journey.
5. GAMIFICATION:  since so much of the main narrative is tied to the parellel mechanics of AI and the WIFI virtual world, it’s imperative that we harness the possibilities of mobile platforms to expand the story via interactive apps.  The end goal would be the release of a classic ‘adventure game’ mechanic (search/solve/communicate) within a novel graphical interface that lets users to experience how Jacob (and, eventually, MAGUS) navigate and control the world of Risen.

Want to learn more?  Of course you do

PLATFORM:  Graphic Novel (96 pages)

GENRE:  Psychological Thriller / Horror

CLIENT:  In-House IP / Arcana Comics

Featuring the pencil and inking talents of hot newcomer Dane Cypel, the rich colour palette of Sara Machajewski, and based on an original concept by rising genre star Curry Hitchborn, BECOMING is my return to graphic novel storytelling after completing the original version of Broken Saints in 2003!

• Digital Edition on COMIXOLOGY (in 3 parts with custom covers!)
• Print Edition on AMAZON.com (also visit my Amazon Author page!)
• PRESS RELEASE (and 5-page Preview!)

SYNOPSIS

When a troubled student at a remote university challenges his professor to share his ‘secret knowledge’, he is drawn into a horrifying game of life and death.  To play, he will learn that the only rule is PAIN, and that the only key to salvation is the desire to KNOW…and the WILL to overcome.  

TRAILER*

(*trailer features original music by yours truly and Tobias Tinker – cut and conceived by BB)

It feels like I’ve been teasing this project forever…

You can get the ‘official poop’ from the press release here, and the publisher page here.  Expect exclusive pics, interviews, and creative revelations in this space soon!

And, if you’re the impatient (and tablet-toting) type, snag Act 1 from COMIXOLOGY!  They’ll be releasing the follow up parts in Sept and Oct before the official print release later in November.

Special thanks to Saintly maestro Tobias Tinker for the chilling trailer tune, which we hammered out together in his family’s idyllic country home last month.  As a result, I’m seriously craving more quality collaboration

• Batman’s multi-platform history!
• A 3-part look at the ins and outs of The Dark Knight’s ingenious viral campaign!
• Racing to assemble TDKR trailer using ‘branded graffiti’ – click the chalky bat!

• The exercise of ‘world building’ for The Dark Knight Rises here, here, and here!
• Doin’ the (Bat) Dew!
• Below:  the Bat in your hands, with award-winning style! (does that sound wrong?)

It’s the end of an era, ladies and gentlemen – a moment of (awed) silence, if you please:

The Ultimate Dark Knight Trilogy Trailer!!!

And when you feel the doubts creeping in, and the gravity of fear tugging at your Chucks, just look in the mirror and remind yourself:

Expect to see me join the raging Twitterverse debate tomorrow around 4PM PST!  #DarkKnightRises

If you’re one of the lucky ‘few’ (ie: 180,000 genre fans and professionals) making the pilgrimage to San Diego this week for Comic Con, be sure to drop by Booth # 2415 and scope out the advance release of my new graphic novel:  BECOMING.

96 Pages.  Two years in the making.  And only 50 copies available!!!

After the big show, Arcana will be releasing the book digitally (for tablets and mobiles) in three acts between August and November, with print versions hitting Amazon and major retailers before Thanksgiving.  So be sure to watch this space for the latest scoops, interviews, and reviews from around the WWW, and spread the good word

SYNOPSIS

You and a host of powerful beings were charged with creating Life on a pristine world.  But something went wrong.  Through negligence and arrogance, your creations quickly evolved into a terrifying demon horde, threatening to scour the fragile Eden.   Outraged, your Master decides to wipe the slate clean, and imprison you (his Architects) and the abominations deep underground.  Now, you must harness your divine energy and scattered technologies to destroy your tainted creations, awaken your fallen Brethren, and escape the prison…or remain trapped in darkness forever!

—

You were the First. 

A being of pure Will, infused with unfathomable power, and charged with a sacred Mission.  But you were the first of many.  A legion of beings would soon join you in this new realm.  Together, you would craft incredible technologies, and harness near-limitless energies to engineer the primordial sparks of Life.  And as lightning and otherworldly fire filled the skies, and the first creatures twitched and stirred beneath swirling dark waters, you could feel the growing pride of the One that had set these events in motion.  And it was Good.

But it would not endure.

As time passed, and the web of Life on this young world grew infinitely more complex, a division began to form within the ranks of your Brethren.  The sheer scope of the plan and the energies at your disposal tainted the weaker amongst you. Some went mad with the weight of responsibility.  Some even whispered of rebellion.  But the greatest flaw was harbored in the hearts of those who fell prey to the lure of Ambition.  Fueled by newfound arrogance, these Architects used their powers to veer the course Life far from the intended design – one of harmony and symbiotic balance – and down a path both twisted and profane.  That was when the monsters rose from the mire.  When onyx-horned and cloven-hoofed things clawed their way from molten cracks in the world’s womb.  When creatures of unspeakable horror howled at the sky with blood-soaked teeth and mindless hate.  And that was when you understood what must happen next, for the grand design had been defiled.

You had failed in your sacred Mission.  The punishment was swift.

With thunder and fury, the One shook the foundations of the world.  The oceans drained into bottomless rifts, and towering mountains crumbled to dust. Through a veil of fire, the earth yawned open, and swallowed beast and Brethren alike in jaws of stone.   And there you would remain…for eons.  Trapped in a forgotten chasm beneath the earth, and shackled by otherworldly machines of your own making.  Abandoned in the dark, with nothing but the shrieking demonic hordes, and the cries of your fallen brothers.  Everything had been taken from you…save for your Essence.

And that is the key to your salvation.

Though disembodied, you are still an Architect.  Through sheer force of will, your prison matrix shall become your liberation, as the technologies transform into the armor and weaponry you’ll use to break free and destroy the abominations.  And as you battle through countless chambers beneath the earth, you are sure to find your fallen Brethren – imprisoned, as you were.  Free them, and you’ll become infused with their essence, as well as the unique tools and gifts that they possess.  Call upon them in a moment of despair, and divine Might shall rain down upon your foes!

You will taste defeat – it is inevitable – but each time you fall, you will retain the knowledge of your prison, your foes, and the arcane powers you have acquired.  Thus armed, you embark again on a desperate quest for freedom and redemption.  You were the First.  Now you are the Last.  This is your only Mission…

And you will not fail again.

These days, those ‘in the know’ say that it’s all about establishing your personal brand.  That potential partners and collaborators and clients need to know who you are, what you do, and where you stand professionally.   And this ‘you-ness’ needs to be infused in everything you touch:  your website, logos and imagery, promo materials, and especially your work.

And, as you can see from the shot above (and my url), I’m down with that*.  There’s nothing wrong with a little self-pimping, as long as it’s aligned with the spirit of one’s services and skills.  At the same time, I also believe that it’s okay to blur the lines between business and personality – hence ‘personal brand’.  By exposing different facets of yourself, you improve the chance of connecting on more (and perhaps deeper) levels with potential partners.  Which can only lead to a more satisfying relationship long-term, with fewer creative clashes and unpleasant surprises in the cards.

That’s why I’m not exactly shy with the social media presence.  Do I compartmentalize?  Absolutely.  But it’s not like the Facebook timeline is hidden (even if I do go on regular extended ‘hiatuses’).  And Twitter‘s out there for everyone to see, where I showcase my love of weird film/TV, mixed martial arts, and naughty comedians with wild abandon.  Which ties into a not-so-secret Tumblr feed, chock full of candid pics, short stories, and the occasional NSFW animated GIF.  And that page has been known to feature late-night ‘confessionals’ and small video experiments from my YouTube channel.

We all have so many sides to ourselves.  Combined, these tell our story.  And just like the transmedia principles I work with, I believe that the more we’re willing to share of ourselves – the more facets we cut, polish, and shed light upon – the more we’re able to shine.

* Logo/imagery created by (the Great) Dane Cypel.  MacBook/iPhone skins by Gelaskins.  Bizzy cards by MOO.