Say My Name
There are titles that fit perfectly with their subject, titles that could fit multiple subjects/contexts, and titles that don't work at all.
Recently I've seen several titles referenced that made me say “I HAVE to see that/read that!”.
A title can be handy ...

Points of view - part two - Unreliable
Banes at 12:00AM, March 8, 2018
Last week we talked a little pov basics.
This time, how about we talk the fascinating device called the Unreliable Narrator. For anyone who doesn't know, this type of narration (usually first person in prose, but not necessarily) tells the story in question…but is not necessarily giving an ...
Points of View - part one
Banes at 12:00AM, March 1, 2018
Welcome to March!
I thought I'd try a connected theme of Thursday articles this month. I've had some half-baked ideas floating around on the subject of “Point of View”. They haven't coalesced completely but I think I can figure out four articles on this topic over the ...
Nothing Under the Sun
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 22, 2018
A friend of mine, many years ago, showed me a cartoon that was fascinating, funny, and horrifying. In my memory, it was the first anime I'd ever seen. I'd forgotten most of it over the years, and would try to find it once every so often, without knowing ...
Taking Notes - Music in Comics
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 15, 2018Obviously, comics don't have sound.
But if you want to show music playing, or being performed, how do you indicate it on a comic page?
The first method that comes to mind is just writing the lyrics in a dialogue balloon, and maybe peppering the balloon with a few ...
Love Spells and Love Potions
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 8, 2018
Love spells have been a part of literature for a long, long time. A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to mind, by that William Shakespeare fella, where a love triangle/quadrangle is made more complex when the wrong target is affected. The correction has only one dude under the spell ...
Fandom
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 25, 2018
In a world of adapted comic book characters and stories, reborn old franchises, and endless brand-excavation of old TV shows, toys, and video games, our entertainment culture is something different than we've previously seen.
“I.P.'s” are dug up repurposed endlessly, in order to try and make a ...
Damaged Protagonists
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 18, 2018
A well written protagonist will generally have some flaws, starting out as an underdog of some kind, with lessons to learn and improvements to make over the course of the story.
Granted, some heroes are, well, just heroes, who are pretty much who they need to be from the beginning ...
Easy and Tough
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 11, 2018An old movie called Sullivan's Travels is about Sullivan (natch), a film director who makes successful but shallow comedy movies. He wants to abandon these efforts and do a more serious project about the plight of the downtrodden.
After some wild adventures posing as a hobo, Sullivan experiences some ...