Alvamara

My work on The First Fear script has lead me to some interesting places. At this point the story opens with my own Norse myth revolving around an alien mountain lair near the coast of Norway. It involves Loki (AKA The Sky Traveller) and my lead character, who now has a new name. As I said in a prior post, Shakti (from the Indian goddess) is currently being used in the comic book world so I have named her anew.

The vampire protoganist of The First Fear is now called, Alvamara. 'Alva' being the feminine form of elf, which means eternal and 'mara' which translates to 'demon/evil spirit'. The 'eternal demon' works quite nicely for me.

First Fear Script - Thanksgiving Draft

People have been asking where I'm at with the First Fear comic book. Well, I'm actually at a pretty exciting place with it. I have been working on a new draft of the script and a much better story is coming together.

I had written a complete storyline and in looking at the whole I wasn't satisfied. It was a wall of cliches and fun scenes, but not much of a story. An 'interesting premise' entertainment does not make. I also wasn't happy with the lead character and tone of the piece.

A story about monsters can take many routes these days. Is it gothic horror? Buffy the Vampire Slayer - scary/funny/ironic/hip? Hellblazer social commentary/character study/bloody violence? Saw/Hostel/Chainsaw - all gore, all the time? Well, none of those appealed to me nor was I capable of writing one well. What is coming out now is historical science fiction meets Ms. Indiana Jones (as Cthulhu) covered in blood. Think of a bloody immortal running amok through Erich Von Daniken's Chariot of the Gods.

I had originally named my lead character, Shakti, but a new, high profile line of comicbooks with Indian heroines has put a kabosh on that one. Damn.

Writing in a hospital can also put a new spin on a project. My father, who is 89, fell last week and broke his hip. I have been spending about 10 hours a day with him and writing in his room when he sleeps. At least today, on Thanksgiving, I got to feed him pureed turkey and pumpkin pie and still pop home for a great dinner that Julienne slaved over.

Holiday Shopping Has Begun

Over at the Burning City store, we're starting to see some holiday shopping happening. People have bought Alex's t-shirts and also some Ralph the Punk merchandise. And I am pleased to see the Shakespeare Xmas cards are moving, too. They are discounted through this Sunday. Thank you, shoppers!

I am working on getting some more Shakespeare t-shirts back up online. I took them down from before because I wasn't happy with how the first set printed. I have made adjustments to the artwork and they look much better.

Here's a taste of what's currently available at our fine Emporium. Currently featuring work by myself and Alex Wald.

Shakespeare Xmas Cards

I have finally put the improved Shakespeare Xmas cards back up in the Burning City store.



The inscription within is:
"Joy, gentle friends! Joy, and fresh days of love accompany your hearts!"
Wm Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, Scene 3

Get 'em while they're hot.

FTF/TIC Anniversary Party Action Shots

One decade, two decades. A long time for any venture, much less two that were both sort of an afterthought to bigger plans.

FTF started in 1996 as a way to get fellow tortured souls together to discuss the joys of the hell known as entrepreneurship. The bait was free beer and chips. It worked.

TIC (Technology Innovation Center) started as a minor, not-for-profit portion of a huge Research Park project designed to alter the landscape of Evanston and the Midwest. Well, that Research Park is now a Hilton Garden Inn, a Borders, a Chili's, etc. and TIC aka The Incubator is still kicking twenty years later. It has won numerous awards for excellence, housed over 300 companies, and built relationships with Japan and others to teach them how to do this odd thing call entrepreneurship. Happy Birthday TIC and FTF!







The two poster designs I put together for the event are seen in action above.





Ann Reed (IBIO Institute) and John Conrad (IBIO) discover and utilize the free beer.



Mark Achler (serial successful entrepreneur), Thomas Parkinson (Peapod co-founder), and Dennis Director (found Apollo 17 moon rocket when it got lost) still trying to figure out if Mark or Dennis was the first TIC tenant.



The party was held at First Bank and Trust in Evanston, because they too were once a small startup in the Incubator. Who woulda thunk it ten years ago? Our party in a bank. Soo many suits.

FTF 10th Anniversary Poster, Really

Today's the day and I finally finished the commemorative poster for the FTF/TIC anniversary party tonight. The thumbnail above reflectives the current thinking re the poster, but I was off on another tear for awhile. A whole 2001: A Space Odyessy Incubator logo as monolith concept. I like this one better.



And here is the final piece. I'm getting it printed in the Banner section at Kinko's. They're nice enough and the other banners look great. So here goes...