Dennis O’Neil is Watching Netflix’s ‘Defenders’

Team-Ups!
by Dennis O’Neil

So it’s a ball boiler inside the Manhattan office building because although I’m pretty sure air conditioning existed it did not become ubiquitous until after the war that the good ol’ US of A was sliding into. What we’re looking at is an open window on an upper floor and somehow (are we pigeons?) we get inside and behold!

Three middle-aged men, suit jackets draped over chairs, ties loosened, discussing the comic books they edit. They have had solid successes with characters a couple of young guys named Bill Everett and Carl Burgos brought in. The topic under discussion: more! More of Burgos’s Human Torch, of Everett’s Sub-Mariner: and yes, of course, more profits, and maybe this year’s Christmas bonus will be worth more than a subway token.

Then one of the three (wise men?) has The Idea: Combine ‘em! Put them in the same issue…no, put ‘em in the same story. read article

Peggy Bechko Wants You to Finish Writing Your Story!

 by Peggy Bechko

Really, just do it.

Seriously.

Okay, that’s all good and stuff for me to say. I’ve been finishing what I began to write for a whole lotta years now. read article

Every Episode of ‘Rick and Morty,’ Ranked

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Rick and Morty is the best-written television show currently running, and this time around we’ll add that it’s probably the best-written since, oh, the first couple of seasons of The Sopranos. (Hi, David! We love you, dood.)

This article steps up to the plate with a ton of reasons why:

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“WHAT-IF” PHENOMENA

by David Perlis

“What-Ifs” are big these days. Maybe they always were. What if we had lost WW2? (Man in the High Castle.) What if plummeting fertility rates threatened our society? (The Handmaid’s Tale.) What if 2% of the human population suddenly vanished. (The Leftovers.) One of my professor’s at UCLA lauded the What-If. “That’s your hook,” he’d say. No arguments here. I’m convinced. But I’ve decided there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Here’s the issue: What-If’s are often about building worlds—but drama is about building characters.

Doing it Wrong read article

Troy DeVolld’s Reality TV Pro Tip Grab Bag

by  Troy DeVolld

Hi, all.  Gee whiz, it’s been a while… I feel like a ghost on my own blog.

Thought I’d pop by with a grab bag of pro tips that aren’t long enough for their own features, but that have been hard-won lessons along the way.  Enjoy. read article