The Nocturne Travel Agency Podcast Episode One: Richard Lee Byers Talks THE IMPOSTER

In association with Tricycle Offense and Burning Talking Points Productions, I've converted my old 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse' series into a podcast called The Nocturne Travel Agency!  Come join me as I talk with Richard Lee Byers about his self-published super-hero prose anthology series The Imposter.  It's  an hour of discussion about pulp, heroes, licensed properties and the creative process.

Listen to the episode here, and check back soon for more visits to The Agency!

The Periodic Update Post

Hey, again, my fellow travelers!  Here's what's going down....

Two more of the three stories for The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume 1 are done.

One is 'Ghosts of Steel,' the Nightbreaker tale, which is going through its polish phase before I send it off to Cap’n Ron at Airship 27.  This has shaped up to be both the most pulp and the most superheroic of the four stories, as our pistol packing protector comes to the aid of a young heiress is the target of a decade-long vendetta.  This is going to be pure action with Isaiah Copper fighting all sorts of mechanical horrors manufactured by the insidious Dr. Creole.  Plus you’ll learn more about the history of vigilantes in Nocturne’s past and see the debut of Nightbreaker’s signature weapon, the Multi-gun!

More importantly, however, is that ‘Ghosts of Steel’ gave me a chance to fill in something I had to leave out of New Roads To Hell.  You’ll learn how Nightbreaker gained control of his powers and developed the fighting style that will become his signature. I originally had scenes addressing this in the initial draft of the novel, but cut them due to flow and time constraints.  Now, through this story, I get to share this angle with you.

The other completed story is ‘The Ascension of Indio Blaque,’ which will be the Black Talon story in this volume.  In this tale you’ll see Talon at the mercy of a cult headed by the titular Indio Blaque.  Talon will find himself without the powers given him by The Circle as he combats the sinister cult leader and his crusade to stave off a disaster by killing off every superhero in Nocturne!

You’ll notice that I’ve not used the original subtitle for the Casebook, Four For Danger.  That’s because I’ve experienced another happy accident.  Namely, I’ve noticed how even though each story can be read on its own, certain elements carry through the stories that will give you a greater sense of the world The Shadow Legion will exist in.  You’ll see the creation of the fifth (and the seeds for the sixth!) member of Nocturne’s heroic community, the introduction of the threats that will plague the Legionnaires in the next two novels, more about the history of the city, and other goodies.  My goal has always been to create a fully realized world which authors--both myself and others--can tell super-hero stories, and a lot of what you’ll learn goes to bringing Nocturne and its environs to vivid life.  But that means that the collection needs a title that ties into the theme a little more.  And once I have it, I’ll announce it right here.

Once I finish the final story in the collection, I’m going to concentrate on a few other things, primarily The Adventures of Tao Jones for Pro Se Press and the new Doc Thunder story for Pulpworks Press.   I do want to write something else before beginning the second Shadow Legion novel.  I don’t want to say much, as it’s still coalescing in my mind, but I will say this...if the Legion is my tip of the hat to The Defenders, then the new project is my way of genuflecting towards another famous Legion.  More as it develops!

I’m now going to go and do my final prep for the first Nocturne Travel Agency podcast, where I sit down and talk with famed fantasy author Richard Lee Byers about his super-hero e-book series, The Imposter!  Talk to you soon!

The Shadow Legion's New Artist!

For those of you who have been waiting for The Shadow Legion: New Roads To Hell, I do have some good news for you--namely, that Captain Ron Fortier has finally signed Chris Kemple to join cover artist Mike Fyles in bringing the world of Nocturne to life!  Kemple will be providing the interior illustrations for the book, adding his visual flair to our quartet of crusaders....oh, and our very, very wicked bad girl.

(Incidentally, it seems that those people who have gotten a glimpse of the Legion have been really taken with Our Murderous Fairy Tale Princess....so much so, I'm beginning to wonder if she should play a bigger part in what is going to be our second full-length novel, The Shadow Legion: The Devil's Toybox!)

Chris is working hard on those illustrations and I hope to share with you some goodies from him--maybe even have him sit down with me here at the Agency--once we're done and we move closer to the release!  Stay tuned!

Elsewhere In The Multiverse Part Four: Lee Houston, Jr.

If you yearn for the Silver Age, when heroes and villains were easily defined, Project: Alpha is for you.  If you miss the old-school space operas where dashing men and beautiful women had two-fisted adventures on strange planets, Project: Alpha is for you.  Lee Houston Jr.'s second series character (The first, Hugh Monn, is a hardboiled detective who plies his trade on a distant planet) is a super-hero/sci-fi mash up that will be a delight for those who want a gentler, less dark adventure for their heroes.  I sat down with Lee to talk about the series, writing and how the face of mainstream comics has changed since we both were younger.

Lee, thank you for stopping by the Agency to talk space opera and super-heroes with us!

Thanks for inviting me. Nice place you have here.

So what inspired you to create Alpha, Aldous, Conalaric and all the characters who appear in PROJECT: ALPHA?

I have been a reader, and I do stress the R word, of many things well back into my earliest childhood memories, and one of the things I have really enjoyed over the years has been comic books. In time, once I discovered what a writer was, I started dreaming of being on "the other side of the page" someday creating the stories that I loved, and the characters developed from that dream.

I found a lot of old school, Julie-Schwartz-style Silver Age DC in the world of Alpha....was that intentional?

Planned? No. Inspired, yes; because my very first comic book was Action Comics #434, circa May 1974, back in the heyday of Schwartz's editorialship at DC.

I thought I saw a lil' Superman in Alpha!  What is it about the silver age that is so inspiring to you?

Not many comic book fans may agree with me, but it was definitely a more inspiring period creatively. Heroes and villains were more defined. Multiple issue stories were rare, and good always triumphed over evil in the end, whether it took 8 or 20 pages to do so.

I think that the idea of 'decompression' and 'writing for the trade' has damaged comics--you look at those classic ACTIONs, and you get two complete, compact and plot-filled stories in one issue!

True. When I started reading, comic books were 20 pages for 20 cents! Now it's at least $2.99 to get the same 20 pages, and you don't even get a letters column anymore!

I first started reading them when they were 15 cents!

Then you probably got some of those 52 and 48 page issues for a quarter first run. I've managed to acquire some via back issues over the years. Those, along with the 80 and 100 page giants are collectors items today, because E. Nelson Bridwell chose some great reprints to include in each issue!

Yep!  I think I stil have a GREEN LANTERN 25 center, and a JLA one around here somewhere...that's where I was exposed to two  of my favorite comic teams for the first time--the JSA and the Doom Patrol.

Oh, those were great series! Especially pre-Flashpoint!

Now when you started creating Alpha, did you have in mind the idea of expanding the universe down the line to create more of a feel like DC and Marvel back then?  Are there other heroes floating around we might meet in future installments, for example?

Well, I've certainly considered the idea that two or three novels down the road, Alpha's presence in his new home (which will be established when I write his upcoming second book: Wayward Son) inspires other people to attempt following his career path, but he will be the only super powered one. For now?

What motivated you to place Alpha in the stone age for this first book?  Are we going to see him move through time, maybe have adventures in other great epochs of human development?

Who said the first book took place in the stone age on Earth? Seriously, Regardless of what planet Alpha actually hails from, you have to admit that was a great starting point for a superhero. If it's been used before, I can't swear to it off the top of my head.

The only times I can think of it being used is for villains--Vandal Savage in regards to DC, and The Master of The World for Marvel.  This is the first time it's been used for a super-hero.  I have to admit--I also felt a lot of a Saturday Morning Space Opera vibe in the book, especially when we deal with the Shamballan rebellion in the later half.

Knew about Vandal Savage. That Master is a new one on me, but there definitely hasn't been a superhero starting from that point in time. And when I was growing up, back in the pre-cable days, local stations would spend Saturday afternoons with such great stuff as Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and other classics. Of course I've also watched a lot of animation since I've first figured out how to operate a TV set, including all those great shows of my youth like Jonny Quest and Space Ghost.

Why do you think there's such an interest in super-hero prose fiction amongst the New Pulp writers?  So many of us--you and I, Van Allen Plexico, Jeff Deischer, and more--have been finding their ways to telling stories about men and women with extraordinary powers serving justice behind a mask....

The only reason(s) I can think of is that we grew up with the medium, loved the great stories, are not too crazy about some of what is being presented as comic books today, and can't land a writing gig with one of the established houses to begin with, so we're going our own way presenting our own tales the way we remember them and how they should be told. Or at least, all of the above is the situation in my case.

Well, I think that's the great thing about super-hero prose fiction--we get to create our own universes and do the things we've always wanted to see done....do you think that the dissatisfaction with this post-Civil Wars/Post-Flashpoint world is what has brought readers to check out these books?

Definitely. I've been with DC since long before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, but in all honesty, saw no reason for Flashpoint at all; and am reading nowhere near the number of DC titles I used to. But Marvel for me were going down hill long before Civil War, with the mistreatment of Steve Gerber, Jack Kirby, et. al; along with trying to tell me that the Peter Parker I'd been a fan of since Amazing Spiderman #180 was actually the clone when they started all that Scarlet Spdier nonsense. And don't even get me started about One More/Brand New Day!

See, the irony of the Flashpoint mess is that Marv Wolfman wanted to do this same thing after Crisis--and Karen Berger refused to let it happen!  She said it'd be 'too confusing' for the fans!

Well, I had no problem with the multiple Earths to begin with, although I feel the JLA and the JSA should have been on the same one from the very beginning, instead of doing it post Crisis. The one problem with comic books that developed over the decades from their Golden Age beginnings was that no one in the publishing world foresaw long term fans, let alone continuity minded ones. The companies thought there would be a turnover in readership every 10-15 years, which is why stories from one decade echoed events from the previous decade(s) from time to time. Whether or not it would have worked if Wolfman won the argument is left for more more experienced theorists than me to ponder.

Now, as a comic fan....you must enjoy the idea of a larger universe and crossovers....does that mean there might be a possibility of seeing Alpha and Hugh Monn teaming up for an adventure?

I've certainly given it some serious thought, although it will easier for Alpha to visit Hugh than vice versa. But to do any team up, you need a more valid reason for the characters to meet than just "Wouldn't it be neat if..." The why, if it happens, still eludes me at this time.

Are they both in the same 'universe' in your mind?  The Lee houston-verse?

Oh definitely. Different corners of it, but still part of my "verse".

You've done a lot of editing work, both for PRO SE MAGAZINE and THE FREE CHOICE...has being on the other side of the writing life helped you develop to be a better writer?

I like to think so, but that's ultimately the readers' call.

What do you think is the most important thing for an aspiring writer to do to move from 'aspiring' to 'published'?

Don't be afraid to go back over your first draft and correct any mistakes. I've seen too many stories over the years that could have used a little more polish before being submitted. But the moment they type those last words ("The End"), they think they're done and ready to go on to the next project. The published versions of any of my material are far from what they were at their first drafts. The chapter in Project Alpha where Aldous explains to Alpha what he is capable of had eight rewrites before I was happy with it; because I not only wanted to explain the powers, but also make them believable, as well as present a good chapter instead of just a massive, boring "info dump".

How do you make the more fantastical parts believable?  Do you do a lot of research?

I try to research what I can. There were some major acknowledgements at the end of Project Alpha. But any work of (superhero) fiction requires some suspension of disbelief. My (super power) theories may not be practical in real life, but they do sound plausible enough so that the reader will accept the possibilities.

What is, in your mind, the most important thing to take care of to make sure your super-hero feels real and plausible to your readers?

I think the first step is not to make any character too powerful. If there is no problem they can't solve, if there is no villain they can't defeat, then why read that character's adventures to begin with? After all, DC has had to depower Superman a few times over the course of his career. Yet there still has to be challenges to face, whether physical or dramatic. Writers walk a very fine tightrope in regards to superhero characters because of this.

So you're presently working on PROJECT ALPHA BOOK TWO: WAYWARD SON.  What can fans look forward to seeing as our hero's saga unfolds?

Actually, I'm honoring my short story commitments to Pro Se first, so work on Book 2 will begin in earnest this Spring. But when I do turn to Wayward Son, Alpha will be trying to figure out his place and purpose in the universe. At best, you can call his debut mission a draw, considering how things turned out. So now Alpha is trying to basically pick up the pieces of his life and wondering "What's next?" But I do want to assure Alpha's fans that the series is currently plotted through Book Five!

Cool!  What else would you like to tell people at the Agency about?

Well, besides being the editor for the monthly Pro Se Presents magazine, I am also the writer/creator of another series entitled Hugh Monn: Private Detective. I took all the basic trappings of the private detective genre and placed them on another planet in the far flung future. The second book in that series Catch A Rising Star, is due out later this year from Pro Se, and will be Hugh's first full length adventure.

How does writing long form differ from short form for you?

It takes more time obviously. ;) Personally, I prefer to let the story dictate its course and word length whenever possible. In this case, while I was intentionally trying for longer Hugh centerd stories, Catch A Rising Star kept growing and growing on me, until it reached the point where it became a novel unto itself instead of just the opening story within a second anthology of Hugh Monn tales.

Well, Lee...I want to thank you for taking the time to talk shop with us here at the Nocturne Travel Agency.

No problem. Thanks for inviting me.

Project Alpha can be purchased here.

The Periodic Update Post

Hey, pals and gals...I'm sorry for the radio silence. I've been doing some big things in my private life, including making arrangements to finally get the diploma I apparently earned twenty-five years ago but didn't claim, which precluded myself from updating until now.

That doesn't mean I've been lazy. Right now I'm still concentrating on getting the first drafts together for The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume One: Four For Danger so it can quickly follow-up New Roads To Hell. In fact, the first story is already in the can--it's 'A Waltz In Scarlet,' featuring our very own Avenger For The Other Side, Ferryman! Alan Dennings finds himself questioning his own methods when he finds himself protecting a little girl trapped and pursued on the mystical plane where he keeps his mental sanctum. And, like all of the stories I'm working on, this will introduce new characters and concepts that will play out in both The Devil's Toybox and other, future books.

Truth be told, I've been working pretty hard on all the stories in this collection--and I'm over a third of the way done with the book overall. If you can't wait to see one of these tales (and I'm hoping you will after New Roads To Hell is in your hands), the plan is for one of them to appear in Volume Four of Mystery Men and Women, also coming from Airship 27 in 2013.

Speaking of New Roads To Hell, the book continues winding its way through the Airship 27 pipeline. I've been seeing preliminary artwork from Mike Fyles for the cover, and let me tell you it's great. I can't share it with you right now, but trust me, your eyes will pop!

I'm still working in low-impact mode on The Adventures of Tao Jones for Pro Se Press, and should kick into overdrive on that once I get at least one more story for the Casebook done. The one that's coming along the best is 'The Damocles Gun,' which introduces a character who I may have big plans for--but more on that as it develops.

And I'm still going to be doing more 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse' interviews. In the coming months I have Lee Houston, Jr. and Jeff Deischer coming by to discuss their own super-heroic fiction pursuits.

So don't forget to check in on The Agency periodically for more news, commentary and pulpy fun!

Elsewhere In The Multiverse Part Three: Meet Tommy Hancock

Far too often, the phrase 'years in the making' is used in a reflexive way.

Not when it comes to Tommy Hancock's Yesteryear. This is a book that Tommy started working on way back in his fandom days, posting nascent version of his epic super-hero story/conspiracy thriller on his website to little fanfare. Now that he's the head man of Pro Se Press, one of the leading lights in the New Pulp movement, he's managed to perfect this story of a young man who may hold the secrets of the super-heroic world and put it out into the world. And it's not hard to see why it took so long, as Yesteryear is an essential work for fans interested in super-hero prose fiction, as he's managed to fabricate an entire history for a world where the presence of super-heros and villains threaten to warp the very fabric of morality.

Of course, being a busy man, Tommy Hancock's done a whole lot more. He's spearheaded the Pulp Obscura imprint, where modern writers are invited to revive little known characters from the golden age of pulps. And he's also one of the masterminds behind The Sovereign City Project, a shared universe revolving around a fictitious city and the heroes that operate within.

(And if things go well, The Nocturne Travel Agency will soon offer trips to Sovereign City....but you'll learn more about that in the coming months).

So let's learn more about the man who knows where all the paranormal bodies are...Tommy Hancock!

Tommy, thanks for visiting The Agency.

You've worked on Yesteryear for....well, years. How did this novel develop in your head?

Very paradoxically actually. In a lot of ways it swirled out a whole lot of chaotic images, snippets of stories, and general plot lines. But, and here's where the paradox comes in, it also arose out of one simple goal, something a lot of fanpeople have before they grow (I almost said mature, but then again, not sure if I've done that) up and become creators themselves. And that goal was to create my own take on the era of characters I absolutely adored. The Golden Age. And at the time I came up with this initially, the only concept that had really explored the effects of the Golden Age on the modern Era of comics was Roy Thomas' Infinity Inc. So I theorized...what if I went a step further...what it there were heroes....what if there was consistency and even growth of that population over decades..... Using that concept, it became obvious that, unlike the Golden Age of Comics, I couldn't start with spandex and capes. I had to go back a bit farther...The roots of this complex universe had to be in Pulps.

And that's one of the things I've really enjoyed about reading the book, is the sense that this is a fully realized world that was thoroughly changed that one day in 1929. I imagine you had countless stories in this continuum you could have told. How did you end up picking and choosing the stories to highlight in those excerpts from Ramsey Long's manuscript?

I'm glad you enjoyed it...and that's a good question that I've gotten before....but to be honest...there was no other way to tell this other than the stories that Ramsey Long wanted to tell. This whole concept....the novel, the trilogy, the stories that come out of it and grow around it, they all revolve around Ramsey Long and to a large degree his modern counterpoint. This the story of one man....a man who was there at the beginning of quite literally the birth of a brand new era and who fought through his own childhood wonder and amazement and saw the underbelly, yet kept enough of the golden feeling these heroes gave him to actually become one. So the stories that are in Yesteryear and will appear in the future volumes definitely have to be the ones told.

There seems to be this tendency in mainstream comics to deny the richness of The Golden Age--look at how DC has obliterated their heritage with their last reboot, for example. What is it about the Golden Age of Comics that appeals to you?

It's not just the Golden Age of Comics..... It's that era of creativity period. And it actually starts long before the late 20s, it reaches back to the first time Ned Buntline put a pen to paper about the adventures Buffalo Bill never had. There's a period in American culture from about 1870 to 1954 that gave birth to the strongest representations of genre literature, to the best concepts of hero and villain, good and evil, conflict and resolution. If you list the characters that people remember, the ones that inspire the creations of others.... most come from that era. Shelock Holmes (although not American) is a great example of the vibrancy of this period that gave birth to so many homages and even pastiches that still influence creators today. Before Doc Savage there was Wylie's Gladiator and even the near superhuman Nick Carter (who exhibited abilities beyond those of mortal men long before he was ever Killmaster or whatever travesty they turned him into in the 1960s).

So you approached this all as one flowing continuum, as a single entity and opposed to how some people would approach it by separating the mediums (i.e. keeping pulp characters and comic characters as their own separate 'timelines')?

Well sure, because look at how they developed. Pulps didn't give birth to comics, then just simply fade away. Yes, it's true that comics likely contributed to the death of Pulps, but it was a slow death indeed, the final breath escaping long after comic books originally debuted. So these mediums and the characters they ushered in coexisted, fed off each other, and continually reinvented themselves due to the existence of other mediums. Yesteryear deals with all these concepts, not just Pulp and Comics, but it also hints at the influence of Hollywood on the society and particularly the Heroes and Villains of the Era. These characters weren't created to live in separate continuities ever, they never have.

So are there stories that predate 1929 that might be told in future volumes?

Not necessarily. In Yesteryear, it's very clearly stated. Everything changes one day in 1929. Having said that, though, there will be connections to the past, even centuries in the past that that one day in 1929 will bring to the forefront and will have effects on the modern day, particularly of later volumes. But no, almost all, if not all the stories will be firmly centered in the post 1929 era.

When working on Yesteryear, did you have a master document, a timeline or concordance so you could keep what amounts to almost a century of history straight?

I usually don't work with an outline. In the case of Yesteryear, what I did was actually write Who's Who/Handbook type entries. I had a half page to a page on every character (most of who did not even make it into Yesteryear) and of course the entries intertwined and tangled together...but that was really it, no true timeline. I think, for me anyway, plotting out things so specifically hampers what I do as a writer, it takes away from the surprise of the process for me.

Were these Who's Who entries just prose pieces, or did you sketch out some of the characters?

Me...sketch? Uh...no.

There does seem to be a theme of how the nature of super-heroics have changed in the modern era, how they've become less idealized....why do you think this has happened in the comic industry? Do you think a yearning for that more idealistic, moral sort of storytelling is what is causing the interest in New Pulp as a genre and a movement?

Again, this isn't about the comics industry alone. Post modernism has taken ahold of all mediums, particularly since the 1960s, and suddenly every villain has to have something heroic and every hero must really be a dastardly crumbum deep inside. I deal with this in Yesteryear, not because that sort of story appeals to me, because it actually doesn't at all...but it's a part of the timeline that I'm writing within. And yes, there's quite a bit of truth to the idea that New Pulp and other things, like family themed movies and kiddie comics, are seeing a resurgence because some people really do want things to be more clearly defined, more black and white. But there's also an interest in New Pulp and similar things because there are creators who want to push the envelope, who want to take that concept of black and white and push it even farther.

One of the results of the journey we go on in Yesteryear is a character taking on a 'legacy identity.' Legacy identities used to be a big part of mainstream comics--it wasn't that long ago one of the comic houses defined themselves as 'the home of the legacy character'....what is the appeal of a legacy character, of the same identity being handed down from generation to generation?

Hm...I'm not sure that it has anything to do with appeal for me. Legacy characters are in Yesteryear because that is a major aspect of human nature. We pass things on, on to our children, on to those who come after, even on to those who don't want them. Legacy is part of existence and any universe, be it full of super heroes or angsty 1990s stereotypes drinking their lives away at a coffee shop, will have a component of legacy within it.

One of the more modern touches is the conspiracy angle that acts as the MacGuffin that drives much of the novel's plot...conspiracies have always been around in media, but they seem to have exploded in the last twenty years or so, infusing all of our entertainment. Why do you think people are attracted to the idea of conspiracies?

Oh, I think the interest in conspiracies has been around since the first time a caveman saw two of his cavepeers talking in hushed whispers across the cave from him. We are curious creatures, which is not unique to the human race, but combine that with our unique intelligence and suddenly we are curious with purpose. And it's not just to know...it's to know all the angles. Now take that concept and combine it with the growth and personalization of media and communication in the last twenty to forty years and that's why there is such an interest in conspiracies. We know more faster and therefore we can concoct our theories of who done what why and when even quicker than before.

And we can get them out into the aether a whole lot quicker to a whole lot more people than we ever did!

So you're planning this story to be carried into a trilogy at this point?

Actually, it will go far beyond a trilogy. The initial three books, Yesteryear being the first, are setting the stage for what will follow and that will be a combination of tales from the rich vibrant Heroic Era told free and independently of Long's viewpoint as well as a totally new direction for the modern era of this universe that many creators, though they say they want to go there, won't do so in a modern setting. But I intend to.

Now you used real-life cities in constructing the world of Yesteryear...in another project you've been concocting over at Pro Se Press, The Sovereign City Project, you've created a fictitious city for the heroes to operate in. What prompted you to create this new background from whole cloth? What are the strengths and/or weakenesses of coming up with your own city?

I don't see any weaknesses with it at all. The joy in creating your own city is that it can have everything a real city has in it or doesn't have to have any of it. Sovereign City has the Statue of Liberty in its history, even though it may or may not be there now....And as for the prompt for Sovereign City... it basically came from the concept of having one city that in some way or another has every aspect that a city would need to have for storytelling purposes. It's got mountains on one side, a rich green countryside on the other, a Harbor, a few lakes in and about the area, a bowery, a rich section of town, etc. and so on and so forth. If a city has it, then it's a part of Sovereign.

And hopefully, it'll have a chinatown soon...chuckles

It does already. There's...two actually....and that's all I'll say about that.

That's the thing about Sovereign City...these attributes of the city aren't simply thrown in there because we want them there. There's a reason there's two Chinatowns in the city. There's a reason that Barry can write about the dark dreary streets of Sovereign in Lazarus Gray while I focus on some of the shinier parts of the city in my upcoming Doc Daye tales.

How did you decide upon this mosaic nature, with each author you've invited being asked to donate a character to the ciity?

You won't like this answer, but I just did.... It came to me that way and I asked the two writers who fit that concept the best at that point.

Can you tell us a bit about Doc Daye? Some fun facts to know and tell?

Nope.

Can you tell us what to expect from the sequel to Yesteryear? From Pro Se Press in general?

The sequel to Yesteryear is entitled Nomorrow and it literally picks up within days of the end of Yesteryear. There'll be a whole slew of new characters introduced, but also quite a bit of what was set up in the first one will be built on and even resolved in some way.

As far as what to expect from Pro Se, that's hard to do and it has nothing to do with being mysterious. We set out with Pro Se Press to literally put the monthly back into Pulp and we've done that in spades. We have so much coming soon, including continuations of a lot of the great work done in the last two years as well as some stunning new things....like Pulse Fiction.... Black Pulp.... A Savage Western... and so much more.

Any last words you'd like to share with the deinizens of The Agency?

I write to tell stories. I write to see the characters in my head become more than errant voices and walk around and do their thing. I write because people read. For those who have read Yesteryear, other things I've written, or books and magazines I've published, a tip of the fedora and a whole tommy gun of thanks.

Tommy, thank you to spending time with us here at the Agency...hopefully, you can come visit us again when Nomorrow reaches fruition!

Most definitely!

To purchase Yesteryear, The Sovereign City books or any Pro Se Press product, visit the Pro Se Press site!

Meet The Shadow Legion Part Four: Ferryman

So while I'm now in this strange limbo where New Roads To Hell is now delivered and being hammered into shape for release, I've started slowing getting into the mindset for the follow-up to the debut novel in The Shadow Legion series....

No, it's not The Devil's Toybox, the second part of my initial trilogy set in the City of Nocturne. It's something I'm thinking of as the first Shadow Legion 'Casebook', a quartet of short stories focusing on the individual heroes who are sworn to protect The City That Lives By Night. Each of our four heroes will get a tale all their own, each set at key points in the twenty five years between the two novels. I'm hoping that reading these tales won't be necessary...but if you do read them, you'll have a better insight into who these guys are and what makes them tick.

Of the four, the one that I'm finding the most intriguing to write is 'A Waltz In Scarlet,' the story showcasing the next member of The Shadow Legion I'd like to introduce to you....Alan Dennings, the mysterious Ferryman!

This is a preliminary sketch my wonderful partner in this venture, Michelle Scuito, made while we were talking about the characters. She's hard at work on, among other things, our Domino Lady story for All Star Pulp Comics #2, but we'll have more new artwork soon!

Ferryman, like Nightbreaker (who we met here), is the other hero whose origin takes place in New Roads To Hell. He also has a connection with Nightbreaker even before the fateful Halloween night you're going to witness in the first novel. Alan is a friend and patron to Isaiah Copper, a man whose position in Nocturne society allows him to do so much good....until he loses his sight.

There are tons of literature about how the shutting down of one sense opens up access to other ones. One of my favorite comic book characters, Daredevil, uses this concept as the basis for his super-power. Many films, like Blink and both the Asian and American version of The Eye, posit that the restoration of sight attracts the attention of the other side. Ferryman represents my take on this concept.

When Alan's eyes are burned out as a result of an act of courage, he finds himself blind, but with the ability to perceive magical energies....and it has not gone unnoticed by a certain type of denizen of the other side. He finds himself a receptacle for the newly dead, and is compelled to act as their agent in the real world to gain them the rest they deserve. Of course, as his transformation continues, Alan Dennings may find there's something else he lost...

Ferryman is shaping up to be the darkest of the founding members of The Shadow Legion. He may be the one hero in the first novel who may not end up being on the side of virtue when we get to the third. And I hope that the readers may be repelled by him and his actions, but will find him too compelling to abandon.

(Oh, and one other thing....remember how I mentioned that all four of the heroes started out as DC characters I reworked as part of a fanfic 'DC New 52' event? Of all of them, this is the character closest to the DC character I started out with. A clue for when I announce the upcoming contest!)

As always, please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about Alan or any of the other denizens of Nocturne...and join me next week for another episode of 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse'!

Some Updates

Since my planned update this weekend for The Agency--another 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse' where I talk Jack Kirby, world building and writing the opposite sex with Ian A. Watson--is going to be delayed until Monday for reasons that will become apparant when you read it, I wanted to update you on the progress of The Shadow Legion and other things.

The manuscript for New Roads To Hell has been delivered and edited, and it's now being enhanced with ten new illustration by my partner on this journey, Michelle Scuito. A new teaser for the book has started to surface on blogs around the internet....to wit:

There has always been something strange about Nocturne, Florida.

Built over some of the most dangerous swamp land in the 18th century, Nocturne has become known as The City That Lives By Night due to its multitude of night clubs, music venues and other sources of entertainment. But it has another reputation, one spoke of whispers in places the revelers and tourists don't go. That reputation is one of dark doings, of violence and hate and eldritch evil.

Luckily, The City That Lives By Night....has a darker shade of protector.

Nightbreaker

He spent his life hiding who he was...and now he fights to prove that he exists!

Dreamcatcher

There is magic all around us....and she can bend it all to her will!

Ferryman

He's the conduit to the other side...and its instrument of revenge!

Black Talon

He is the embodiment of the unfettered fury of the African Veldt...stalking a jungle of concrete and glass!

Together they are The Shadow Legion, a secret alliance of mystery men who battle the fantastic threats that can tear apart the metropolis they call home--and beyond!

The saga of The Shadow Legion begins with New Roads To Hell, which reveals the secret origins of Nightbreaker and Ferrymen, and features the menace of Rose Red, the crimson tressed devil with a magical talent for murder--available soon from Airship 27 (airship27.com) and the mind of Thomas Deja!

For further information, including exclusive artwork from Michelle Scuito (character designer for the series) please visit the Nocturne Travel Agency at welcometonocturne.blogspot.com.

Now New Roads is not the end of The Shadow Legion's story. I'm already over a third of the way done with "The Tick Tock Men," a Nightbreaker story that will appear in a future volume of Airship 27's Mystery Men And Women. The present plan is for this story to act as one fourth of a collection I'm working on. Each story will showcase each of our initial quartet of Legionnaires, helping to fill in more about each character and serve as the bridge between New Roads and Book Two, The Devil's Toybox.

In addition to the Shadow Legion stuff, there are two other items I'm involved with for Airship 27. The script for Bad Faith Healer, the Domino Lady comic book adventure destined for All Star Pulp Comics #2, has been turned in...and I've been asked to work on a new adventure for the Greatest Sailor Of All--no, not Popeye, but Sinbad--for an upcoming volume of Sinbad: The New Voyages.

As all these projects continue to progress, I will let you know. Until then, join me in a few days for my talk with Ian Watson!

　

Elsewhere In The Multiverse Part One: Meet Van Allen Plexico

While you're all waiting for New Roads To Hell to near release, I thought I'd take some time to introduce you to some of the other superstars of the burgeoning genre of super-hero prose fiction. And who better to start out with than one of its leading lights--the man behind the cosmic super-hero series of novels published under the Sentinels banner. Check out our discussion of super-heroics, Jim Starlin, and e-books below....

I'm sitting here via the wonders of Skype with one of the Big Names in Super-Hero Prose Fiction, Van Allen Plexico. Van went from founding the Definitve Avengers site, Avengers Assemble, to writing his own team of super-heroes, The Sentinels, whose adventures are chronicled in a series of novels from White Rocket Books. Van, thanks for joining me.

Thank you! That's a mighty kind introduction.

Dude--there was a time when I visited Avengers Assemble several times a day...it was a great resource for Avengers fans! And now you've got a number of collections gathering up articles and such from the site and beyond, right?

Yep-- Assembled! and Assembled 2 are the books. Nearly everything in them is original, separate from the AA site. Vol 1 looks at the Avengers through the years-- the "Eras of the Avengers"--and Vol 2 focuses primarily on Iron Man, Thor, and Cap. Plus Kang and Ultron. They're both now on Kindle!! And we're working on Vol. 3 now, which will cover all the other eight zillion Avengers!

And both are also available through White Rocket?

Yep, or through any comics store (they're both in the Diamond catalog), or Amazon, or wherever.

Anyway, what led you to decide 'I'm going to write my own super-hero adventures?", and what made you decide to pursue the creation of the Sentinels through prose and not conventional comics?

Heh-- probably the number one question I've received over the years about the Sentinels is, "Why aren't these being done as comic books?" But, honestly--that would make them just like almost any other superhero comic. By writing them as a series of novels, I'm able to both cover a LOT of ground, time-wise-- more than a year's worth of story in just one book--and go more in-depth with the characters, the way a novel allows you to do.

As for why do it at all, I had plenty of story ideas in my head after a lifetime of reading comics and SF novels, and I wanted to sort of merge those two fields together-- a superhero team that operates in an "SF novel" / Space Opera environment.

See--that's something I find about writing prose--it gives you a greater window into the inner life of each character. There are certain things, like interior monologues, where prose works

better than comics....

Absolutely right.

So you were always looking toward the stars when it came to your heroes?

Yes-- the Sentinels do operate out of Esro Brachis's mansion in northern Virginia, near DC, but they spend a lot of time in space, dealing with menaces on the order of, say, the Kree/Skrull/Shi'ar, or Galactus.

I do mix in some "street-level" action, especially in the first three books (the 'Grand Design' trilogy), but the second trilogy is more space-based.

What is it about that grand cosmic epic storytelling--the sort of thing Jim Shooter did in the Korvac saga, or Jim Starlin seemingly does every morning as a reflex--that you find so attractive?

Hahaha! You are right about Starlin!

Starlin is definitely a guy who thinks only in grand strokes--and comics is richer for it!

That's a good question. I've always loved the cosmic stories, and the grand, huge sagas with lots of characters. Two of the first comic stories I read as a kid were the Korvac Saga and the Avengers Annual that Starlin did with Thanos. Those just blew me away, and I am trying hard to recapture the magic that I felt when reading those comics. Where everything is huge and dramatic and the fate of the planet and the very universe hangs in the balance!

But you still have to be sure to keep a very "human" storyline going with your main characters. The big stuff doesn't matter if no one cares about your "people" -- your heroes.

And the Korvac saga is one of those things so many people have tried to recapture and never quite got right...I think the closest anyone ever got was when Bob Harras did the Gatherers story....

Well, comics changed very soon after the Korvac story ended, and it became almost impossible to recreate.  Everything became a "themed event," where you knew how many issues it would run and it had a running title, like "Operation Galactic Storm" or whatever, and all the surprises were sort of drained out. With Korvac, you had no idea what was about to happen or how long it would last!

Which is why I think the Gatherers worked so well--it was a veeeeery slow burn, and you didn't realize you were stuck in a massive event until you were knee-deep in it....

That's true.

But getting back to The Sentinels--how did you develop your team? Did you have a central character in mind and build around him/her, have certain types in mind, were these guys always kicking around in your head waiting to be unleashed, etc?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Oh, more?

Yes, please! lol

Okay...

I had a set of archetypes in mind from the very beginning: A young person just starting out, who would become our main POV character. That's Lyn Li, the irrepressible Pulsar, a 19 year old Chinese-American college student who is hiding the fact that she possesses seemingly uncontrollable electromagnetic powers. She's the central character, and most everything we see is centered around her.

Then there's the old hand, the beloved national hero, Ultraa. He becomes Lyn's mentor. But he has issues of his own--not least of which is he has no idea who he really is! His only memories are of being a paranormal agent for the Pentagon, and he has no life and no identity beyond that.

The wealthy inventor guy is Esro Brachis, who longs to be heroic--and gets his chance in a big way!  He's the armored guy.

And lastly of the "Big Four" is Vanadium, who shows up early in the first book. He is possibly a man in armor; possibly an alien; possibly a robot; possibly a robot alien; or who knows what. But he is scarily powerful. Which side is he on??

So I can see that right here, in the early stages, you're setting up character 'hooks' for the reader to become invested in, which you can then return to for future storylines...

Absolutely.

Do you know where those 'hooks' will lead right out the gate, or do you plant them there with the intention of exploring them yourself, and then sharing your discoveries with the readers, in later books?

A little of both. I came up with these (and other) characters in long discussions with Bobby Politte, a good friend who is very sharp at building characters and plots. (He has a co-creator credit on the novels.) We worked out a lot of it at the start, and I've been slowly building toward the various reveals over the course of six books now. But of course new ideas and new developments constantly come along to add more depth and more fun to it all.

So you're always open to 'happy accidents'--little synchronous connections you can make between characters as you're writing the books?

Absolutely! In fact, I was astonished how well both the "planned" and the "unplanned accidents" stuff all came together particularly in the two trilogy/storyline-concluding volumes so far, Apocalypse Rising and Stellarax. Both of those books had to take all those seeds and threads that were set up in two previous volumes and bring everything together to satisfaction--and in both cases it totally exceeded my hopes and expectations. I think if you make your characters "real" enough, that's far more likely to happen.

There are probably eight or nine parallel-running plots in Stellarax, for example, and every one of them "clicked" together just right as I was writing it. It's very pleasant as a writer to have everything work out great, without having to try to restructure or (heaven forbid) "force" anything.

Yeah...my guys, one in particular, seem to have taken on a life of their own. You mentioned working with Bobby; do you find having somebody to bounce ideas off of helps you better realize the stories?

Definitely--Bobby has been great over the years at considering my ideas and saying, "That's cool," or "That's terrible," or "You totally copied that!" or "Here's a better way." And he created characters like Star Knight/Mitch Michaelson entirely himself, and just allows me to play with them in the novels.

I remember a quote from John Bryne, where he said one of the creat things about collaboration is that someone is always there to stop you by saying, 'Dude, being able to turn on computer lights at will is a stupid power'....chuckles

That's true. To point out things that just don't work, where you're forcing it unnaturally.

Getting on to another subject--do you think the popularity of super-hero prose is a reaction to the way mainstream comics have changed in the last ten or so years?

That may be so. I know for a fact that there are a whole lot of people out there who used to love comics and superhero adventures but don't care for much of what's being published today. If we can recreate that classic feeling from the Silver or Bronze Age in our novels and stories, we're definitely providing a service and giving a lot of people something they've missed. That classic Avengers feel is certainly something I strive to recreate.

I have been very honest that The Shadow Legion morphed out of my desire to do something akin to a DC New 52 reboot I could live with....

Yeah.

Isn't it weird that the only place you can find a 'real' Avengers experience these days is in the movie theaters?

Unfortunately so. And of course I blame one person in particular for that. But hey, let's not get negative. Hah.

Well, I see your guy and raise you my guy....we'd be ranting all day...lol

Hahaha!

As someone who loves to do the big cosmic, 'widescreen' events...how do you approach doing something that calls out for visuals in a very non-visual medium?

That's always a challenge. I think my background in reading tons and tons of space opera-ish novels ever since I was a little kid helps a lot. I absorbed the various ways to describe big, giant, cosmic events and characters and structures. Reading a lot of Starlin helped, too, because he uses a lot of dialogue and captions in very poetic ways to describe stuff like that.

I try very hard to completely visualize a big action scene, the way it would look in a comic book. Then I break it down by each character or situation within the scene. I usually have a notepad file open with all the participants listed out, as well as any notes I need for them.

A sort of 'war diary,' if you will, allowing you to chart the flow of the conflict?

Right. Then I try to think logically as to what each character would do in attack or defense, and how it would all mesh together. Then I try to put together sentences that use vibrant, action-oriented words that make it clear and exciting. And I also use a lot of "color-cues" in the Sentinels books. I think very "four-color" with them. I describe things --especially when action is moving fast-- in basic color concepts-- red energy beams, shimmering golden force fields, blue armor, etc. Make it visual in the reader's mind as best I can.

Color cues... action verbs... clarity. Those are my main tools for an action scene.

How do you handle another potential bugaboo--the dreaded 'exposition'?

In conversation whenever possible. Or spread out over multiple scenes. Anything to break it down into smaller bites. I rely on context a lot. I figure most readers of this kind of story will understand a lot of stuff without having to be spoon-fed.

You've structured the Sentinels' adventures as trilogies...why does that appeal to you?

Yes, the plan has always been to do sets of trilogies, and the first two are done now. (Wahooo!) It really just works well for this kind of material in a number of ways. It lets each individual volume be shorter--otherwise, if I did the entire story as one volume, it would be 600-700 pages or so. It allows for one volume to set up the characters and the conflict, another to make it infinitely more dangerous, and a third for the big climax and resolution. And you get more cover art with three books than with one!

That being said, omnibus paperback volumes of each of the two trilogies will be coming out later this year. The Grand Design (1-3) and The Rivals (4-6)

....and we all know the 'gotta have 'em all' mentality of the comic book fan, right?

Oooh, we certainly hope so!

That seems to be the case with the Kindle editions. Many times it has looked as if someone went in and bought all six at once. To which I reply, THANK YOU.

You mentioned White Rocket at the start, but I have to note also that Swarm Press, an imprint of Permuted Press, the noted zombie publishers, put out the first three volumes originally, in 2008. This summer their rights are expiring, and that's how White Rocket will come to put out the two new omnibus volumes, probably late August or September.

Do you think the increasing use of electronic delivery for prose has helped super hero fiction gain a greater foothold?

Yes, definitely.

1. The folks who read this kind of stuff are often on the leading edge of tech.

2. Having lower prices for e-books is helpful.

3. E-books really are this generation's pulp-- low-cost delivery to all.

The low price certainly makes it easier for a book to act as an 'impulse buy' for a reader who might not commit to an eight dollar paperback or a $25 hardback....

Exactly. And it allows for more writers to reach the public, than back when you had to get a big contract from a big publisher. So more characters, not just the licensed existing Marvel/DC stuff.

...and I imagine it keeps things in print longer than they would be in book form...

Very true.

Have you been working on the next trilogy for The Sentinels?

Yep! The next trilogy will be called "Order Above All," and the first volume is Metalgod. I'm about 25K words into it now. It should come in around 60K, probably. Cover as well as interior illustrations this time are by Chris Kohler, whose Starlin-esque style is just awesome. It deals with a lot of the fallout from the huge huge events of Stellarax.

Any hints you want to share with the readers as to what is forthcoming?

A couple of vague hints:

With the team divided after the events of Stellarax, the ones still at the mansion on Earth have to try to cobble together a new lineup. Think of those fun issues of Avengers where "The Old Order Changeth!"

Meanwhile, in space, those who have gone off on a mission to deal with a growing threat out there will be entering into that sort of "X-Men visit the Shi'ar Empire" territory!

I remember those 'new line-up issues being real events in the 70's and 80's!

And like the Avengers of that era, the membership really has grown over the course of six books into a rather large conglomeration!

So does this mean some new heroes are about to make the scene?

Well, actually--- yes! Remember the superhero tryout scene in Mystery Men movie?

Yes...yes I do.

That will be Lyn's world. Heh. Everyone who thinks they have a shot will show up. Poor Lyn. Poor Otto, expected to serve drinks and whatnot!

And she'll be in a position of more authority than she's used to, being considered an 'old hand' by these new heroes, I'd expect.

Yes. Bingo! She has had to really grow up fast. That is a key moment at the end of Stellarax, where the torch is sort of passed.

Of course, I flashed on that classic Perez cover with Gyrich chewing out the Avengers for being too crowded!

Chris drew that scene of everyone seated around the table. All that was needed was Gyrich. Or Shawarma!

Or Gyrich eating Shawarma?

Hahaha

Otto, by the way, is not the butler but sort of the caretaker-- and he's a relative of one of the members. And he does not like being expected to do anything for anybody, and especially not Lyn! Sort of the anti-Jarvis. Or anti-Alfred.

I think of him as a crewmember from Captain Aubrey's ship in Master and Commander, brought to the US and expected to mop the floors and whatever. He prefers to drink Esro's wine and watch TV. And gripe at Lyn.

And who wouldn't?

Van--thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the readers of the Travel Agency.

Hey, I really appreciate it!

Before we put a pin in this, is there anything else you'd like to shill/share with the good visitors?

Sure...

In addition to the Sentinels novels and the Assembled books, I also have a recently-released novel, Hawk, that is even more cosmic than this. Think Justified meets Green Lantern. And of course there's Blackthorn: Thunder On Mars, which is an anthology I created with some really good writers and artists involved. It's sort of John Carter meets Thundarr the Barbarian, and I think it is just awesome!

And all of these are available through White Rocket Books?

You can visit www.whiterocketbooks.com, or go to Amazon, or presumably to any bookstore, who can order them for you. I have other stuff with other publishers, but nothing new right at the moment.

So everyone go check out Van's work! And Van, once again, thank you for your time.

Thanks very much!!