The Geek Beat: The Soon-not-to-be-Secret-Project

You, Me and the the Soon-Not-to-be-Secret-Project

by Dan Cooper @VertigoDC

If it’s okay with you dear reader, this week in The Geek Beat I’m going to get a little meta and write about the process of writing. My writing, in fact. A soon-not-to-be-secret-project if we want to be really specific. Before you utter a snort of utter contempt at my unbridled audacity and return to browsing pictures of dogs dressed like pirates, just please, bear with me for a moment. Geek gold will follow, you have my word – you’ll simply have to dig a little deeper for it this week. Firstly, please understand that I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to write about my own writing; I find it excruciatingly uncomfortable – a lot like watching an episode of Gotham. It’s fair to say though that my levels of blogging enthusiasm have bottomed out to a nadir hitherto unknown.

All of which probably explains why I’ve spent so long staring at The Blank Screen: the mortal nemesis of every writer. The Blank Screen is something akin to Kyle Reese’s description of a T-800 in The Terminator: “It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear.” The Blank Page is like the Moriarty to my Holmes; the Beatles to my Stones; the Daffy to my Bugs.

 An ancient grudge, older than time itse… wait, wtf?

So why am I doing this then? I suppose there are a number of reasons really. Let’s use a big number so it seems more important:

#1

 First up is the nature of criticism itself: It’s widely accepted that reviewing and critiquing the work of others is a breeze when compared to actually creating something of note oneself; George Lucas may regularly be on the sharp end of noxious outpourings of cyberspace hatred so vitriolic that it makes Mel Gibson’s drunken anti-semitic tirades seem like Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speeches - but hey - at least Lucas created something, a universe that for all its missteps and flaws enthralls us to this very day. Put simply, it’s a lot easier to tear stuff down than it is to actually create. As fun as it was last week to poke holes in DC’s doomed Before Watchmen series or explore the legacy of games long gone in the monthly RetrObituary series, that isn’t why I started writing.

I started writing because like many of you, I’m a dreamer – always have been, ever since I was a little kid playing with my cherished Star Wars figures, the worlds and stories spun by the power of my creativity were limitless and even when, years later, with great reluctance I finally retired my beloved plastic ewoks because, you know, my wife for some reason didn’t find it attractive, it never tempered the limits of my imagination.

I suppose it was getting out of hand…

So I began to write: nobody else was going to complete these ideas from inside of my head; I wouldn’t be seeing them on Netflix anytime soon (they haven’t even got the final season of Sons of Anarchy up, so I suppose streaming ideas straight from my mind is a while away yet). So, I figured that if I wanted to see how these stories played out, well then I’d just have to write them myself, wouldn’t I? So here I am, trying to create. To “Make Good Art” as Neil Gaiman puts it.

But that only explains my reasons for writing. Why waste time writing about my writing, about this particular soon-not-to-be-secret-project when I could just be writing the soon-not-to-be-secret-project? (Or rewriting even. Starting with that lousy last sentence.)

#2

This brings me neatly onto reason #2. I’m hoping that by writing about this particular soon-not-to-be-secret-project on a regular basis I can continue to learn about it - and maybe improve it. Learn something myself from writing about it critically perhaps. Maybe learn something from you dear reader should you care enough to have an opinion and come find me on Twitter. I’m hoping that this is one of those scenarios where taking the time to reflect upon it now whilst we’re still in the embryonic stages of the project will result in a greater feeling of satisfaction at the end. That way, I won’t have to go back in and add a few dewbacks just so I can sleep at night.

Look at that smile. Figures that Buzz would be a Special Edition fan.

#3

I miss the boat with everything. Everything. If it something becomes so huge that it spews forth a hot jet of pop cultural lava over everyone present, you can practically guarantee that I stopped watching it/reading it/playing it before it reached epic proportions, or worse, I simply jumped on the bandwagon with every other mook and wished I’d been into it since the start. Breaking Bad was seasons in and Walter White was firmly cue-balled before I finally got my act together and watched it (although UK TV's ridiculous scheduling didn't help with that one), The Walking Dead was on TV by the time I'd picked up the comics and even though I was watching Game of Thrones when it first aired back in April 2011, I was still a noob because everyone else had read the books. Whilst I'd love to consider myself as some sort of pop-cultural trailblazer, in truth I suppose it's just my lot in life to tread the geek trail as part of the massed bandwagon. But to quote The Vampire Lestat (a movie that all my friends saw at the cinema, whereas I somehow missed it until DVD): "I'm going to give you the choice I never had." 

That's right. This is a chance for you to be part of something from the very beginning. This soon-not-to-be-secret-project is so new that the shrink-wrap is still on it. I mean it. I haven't even submitted the climactic scenes of the script to the executive producer yet. I should probably be writing them now actually as I'm past my deadline, but instead here I am procrastinating with you. I do hope you're grateful. Whether you have a genuine interest in seeing creative projects grow to full fruition; whether you want to get involved on some level; perhaps you want to interact with the creative team as the project grows; maybe you just want to watch us crash and burn whilst laughing maniacally with typical super-villain glee from your Death Star or secret base in a remote, hollowed-out volcano whilst somehow fuelling your evil powers with our tears. It may very well be that it's none of the above and you're simply intrigued, that's good too - you'll be very welcome anyway.  

So. There you go. My reason for writing about my own writing: The Project. The the soon-not-to-be-secret-project. The Lead Producer on the project has told me that I'm not allowed to say too much yet: legal stuff to do with copyright as the project is so new. What I can tell you is this: It's a limited run, four issue comic book series entitled ANA. The setting is a bleak near-future Earth; it explores ideas as diverse as the power of memory, fundamentalism and the collective journey that humanity is undertaking as a race. There's also some kick ass fight scenes too. Here though, is where things get really exciting: as an integral part of the project we're also planning to make a short film to act as a bridge between issues #3 and #4. We're looking to do this right, with the highest production values possible. In fact, some of the budgets that are coming in are making my head spin a little but that's okay - the production team I'm working with have successfully found funding for projects before so when they start talking about overseas filming and eye-watering amounts of money, I just nod. They know what they're doing. 

I don't know what else I can tell you at this point dear reader. There's concept art that I'd love to show you but I'm not allowed. I'd like to give you a more detailed synopsis of the plot but I can't do that either. (I haven't even written the final issue yet!) But, because I don't want to leave you completely empty-handed, I can humbly offer you this Pinterest link where you can start to check out some of the visual references that have informed the project's aesthetic thus far. I wish it were more but by next month any copyright issues should be ironed out and I'll have more to show you.

 Executive Producer's board

Costume Designer's board

So that's it for The Geek Beat this week. The cat is out of the bag. If you want to keep up with the ANA project, please follow me on Twitter @vertigoDC for regular updates. I'll be back with more info on the project in four week's time, including a more developed introduction to the world of ANA; a first-look at some of the concept art and an introduction to some of the team behind the project. See you then. Peace.


Thanks for reading folks. A fresh blog on the ANA project will arrive next month but The Geek Beat will be back next week with more content.

Whatever you happen to do in this crazy, crazy world, be sure to follow DC and The Geek Beat on Twitter @vertigoDC for exclusive content. It'll do him the world of good, it really will. He only has 12 followers. What are you waiting for? Go on!