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Category: 08 Recent Work

Legion of Super Heroes Overview, Part 1

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On May 25, 2011

In 08 Recent Work, 11 Writing

JayJay here. In 2007 Jim returned to DC Comics to write the Legion of Super Heroes again after 31 years. Unfortunately everything didn’t go as planned for the series. But this week, we will serialize Jim’s overview for the story arc that he had planned. Fans of the series may enjoy reading what his original intentions were for the series and those unfamiliar with the series may enjoy reading the plot overview for a 16 issue story arc. What follows has never been seen outside of those working on the series.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
“One Evil”
(Working Title)
A multi-issue (sixteen?) story arc
By Jim ShooterOverview
01/30/07

ISSUE ONE—ROUGH PLOT:

“Evil Adventus”

In steaming, crackling rubble of what, moments ago, had been a mining station on a misshapen ball of rock and ice in the scattered disk region, beyond the Kuiper Belt, Karate Kid is in desperate combat against a monstrous alien thing (to be fully described in the script).  A life-form with some bionics?  A machine with some organics?  Unknown, and to KK, moot.  Several other, similar alien life-forms, henceforth referred to as Alien Destroyers (AD), are in view, lying amid the rubble, disabled?  Dead?

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Legion of Super Heroes Overview, Part 2

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On May 26, 2011

In 08 Recent Work, 11 Writing

JayJay here. In 2007 Jim returned to DC Comics to write the Legion of Super Heroes again after 31 years. Unfortunately everything didn’t go as planned for the series. Here is the second of three parts of the plot overview. Fans of the series may enjoy reading what his original intentions were for the series and those unfamiliar with the series may enjoy reading the plot overview for a 16 issue story arc. What follows has never been seen outside of those working on the series.(Continued from yesterday’s blog)

Meanwhile, on Triton, the ADs charge—but they’re different!  They’ve adapted on the fly into new, dangerous forms, designed, it seems, to cope with the powers of their opponents.  At SG’s urging, Giselle feints a headlong attack, drawing fire, then executes a spectacular leaping somersault to cover.  Star Boy brings down a building on many of the ADs.  TW eviscerates one that escaped.  Giselle also takes out one of the remaining ADs.

The battle rages.  It’s even more difficult and more interesting (I hope) than before.

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Legion of Super Heroes Overview, Part 3

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On May 27, 2011

In 08 Recent Work, 11 Writing

JayJay here. In 2007 Jim returned to DC Comics to write the Legion of Super Heroes again after 31 years. Unfortunately everything didn’t go as planned for the series. Here is the last part of the plot overview. 

Also… More and different stuff will be posted later today!

(Continued from yesterday’s blog)

SG checks the Duty Roster.  PP’s location also does not appear. 

SG tracks PP to her lair, picking up clues from the minds of people who saw her pass.  It’s almost too easy.  Does PP want SG to find her?

SG follows the trail to an ancient building on a lower level of the city.  Once, it was a cathedral.  Long ago it was stripped of religious icons—only the building’s basic architecture identifies its origins.  It has been converted into a palace of sorts for PP by her subjects.  It’s not nearly as posh as her former residence, but it’s a step in the right, royal direction….  

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Super Lad

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On June 1, 2011

In 08 Recent Work, 11 Writing

After I turned in the first draft of my looong outline for my Legion of Super-Heroes mega-arc a few years back, I was called to a meeting with the editor and Dan DiDio.  They asked for a rewrite—not because they didn’t like the story, but because they wanted me to add a part that would introduce a new Super character, a Superboy of sorts.And here’s one reason why:  the Siegel and Shuster estates were suing over the original Superboy, and were likely to prevail.  A new Super young man, cleanly owned by DC, was needed.  The clone-cousin and Prime hadn’t really worked out.

Also, a Super in the LSH would certainly drive sales.

So, I started working on it.  If you read the extra looooong revised series outline, you saw how the character would be introduced.

But, I thought this might be of interest.  It’s a document I wrote early on in the process:

Here are some thoughts regarding Super Lad:

First of all, remember that I’m wicked old….

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Science Fiction vs. Science Fantasy

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On October 15, 2011

In 08 Recent Work, 10 Questions / Answers

Defiant1 Commented:

“I think it’s funny seeing Matt Murdock say “It was nice of Foggy to get me this push button tape recorder”. That would have been a big deal to a kid back then. My dad let me play with one he owned in the 70’s and I know I played with it for hours upon hours. The one pictured above looks like it’s about 3 times as big as the one I used.

One thing that bothers me about modern comics is that in many cases they are still using repulsor rays and outdated or misinterpreted science from 50 years ago. When Stan Lee wrote about transistors in 1961, they had only been invented 2 years earlier. Stan didn’t understand that transistors don’t actually power anything, because they were just a switch…. What’s important to me is that he made an attempt to keep the science and technology relevant. I don’t see any interest by most writers to do that in modern comics. We have scientists on the verge of creating black holes in Europe. We’ve got robots that climb walls using nothing but surface tension. We have scientists out in Arizona melting diamonds and creating heat 60 times hotter than the sun. I liked comics for the imagination and possibilities they introduced. Definitely not just social possibilities they showed us. There was more to it than “Hey, I’m bigger than you… I’ll stick my chest out while I’m hitting you into the next state.”

People are working on Iron Man armors. People are working on suits you can wear to climb walls like Spider-Man. Scientists are working on Invisibility cloaks that can hide objects or entire events. Scientists have made a material 10 times harder than diamonds. Is it any wonder kids have no interest in science related occupations anymore. Mainstream modern literature escapes more into pure science-fantasy than it does science-fiction.

Apologies for derailing the topic, but those images mean more to me than just examples of female stereotypes in the 60’s and 70’s.”

Answer:

RE: Science fiction vs. science fantasy: Some of us are still trying to go the science fiction route. An executive from Intel whose title is “Futurist” was sufficiently impressed by the research and real science underlying the stories my recent Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom and Magnus Robot Fighter comics that he based a lecture he gave at the University of Washington on my stories. He also invited me to appear with him and Craig Engler, senior executive of the SyFy Channel on a panel this Sunday at the NYCC: “Screen Future: Gaming, Comics and TV Around the World and Five Years From Now.”

Made to Order – Part 2

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On February 3, 2012

In 08 Recent Work, 20 Broadway Comics

A Miracle

In terms of unit cost, this must be one of the most expensive comic books ever printed:

Broadway Comics was funded by Broadway Video Entertainment, which was a division (or subsidiary, I forget) of parent Broadway Video. Broadway Video is the co-producer of Saturday Night Live and also a world-class video production house. Each year they give a snazzy holiday gift to their most important video-editing clients. In 1995, BV management asked us at Broadway Comics to create a special, collector’s item comic book as part of a holiday gift package.

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The Doctorow Doctrine and Other Techno-Tectonic Upheavals – Part 3

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On March 12, 2012

In 08 Recent Work, 11 Writing, 17 Freelance and Consulting

Creative Commons

Cory Doctorow opposes technology that limits what one can do with digital content and laws that criminalize people for alleged copyright infringements that he believes are harmless, or even beneficial. I think that’s an accurate assessment. If not, I hope Cory will correct me.

In any case, don’t take my word for it. Check out his position statements for yourself. They’re entertaining reads. The guy writes like the Silver Surfer surfs. Here are the links again:

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2008/11/cory-doctorow-why-i-copyfight.html

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/cory-doctorow/article/49728-cory-doctorow-copyrights-vs-human-rights.html

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The Dramatic Conclusion of the New Business Model Rant

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On March 30, 2012

In 08 Recent Work, 11 Writing, 17 Freelance and Consulting

First This

Cory Doctorow sent me a couple of nice e-mails recently. He said he liked the last three posts, which discussed issues he raised about copyright, DRM and SOPA.You probably noticed from the dates on Cory’s articles and essays I cited (if you followed the links) that some were written a while ago. Cory said that he’s currently working on an updated, comprehensive book on the “big, synthesized whole” of intellectual property in the digital age. He sent me a sneak peek at the work in progress and gloriosky, it’s great. It’s not just for people in the biz or those fascinated by legal issues. Draconian digital copyright protection measures currently in use or being contemplated can affect ordinary, innocuous communications and be used in nefarious—make that really evilways—that never occurred to me. Some of the things Cory brings to light are deeply disturbing.

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