Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Inspired by comic books, part 2 by Toi Thomas

Image via Pinterest from the My Geekdom board
I’m so excited to dive right into this second installment of my “Inspired by comic books” series. I mean, I’m a geek and I love to geekout. This is just another opportunity for me to do just that, but don’t fret, I will be tying it all into my writing process in inspiration. In case you hadn’t figured it out, I’ll be talking a bit about D.C. Comics today. (If you missed part one, my intro to this series, please check it out).

In part one of this series, I gave a preview of the My Geekdom board I created on Pinterest. So inspired by the images I curated on this board, I wrote a blog series, over at The ToiBox of Words, called My Geekdom. In that series, I talked about all my geek inspirations, not just comic books. For your convenience and curiosity, I’ll link back to relevant posts in that series when applicable. You can check out the post, My Geekdom 03: D.C. Comics, right here.

Oh, but wait, there’s more. I also did an entire YouTube miniseries, specifically, on the comic book influences for my Eternal Curse Series. Check out episode: D.C. Comic Influences for Eternal Curse & a Yorkie (Influences #1-1) right here. For this installment of the series, however, I’ll be focusing on how D.C. Comics have influenced my writing in more general terms.


So, here's a very brief history of DC Comics for those of you who don't know. If you've ever heard the term the Golden Age of Comics they're talking about DC. The DC actually stands for Detective Comics but it was more than that. It was DC Comics that made comic books popular back in the 1930s. They are the creators of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Like any good entertainment entity, DC Comics has evolved over the years. What we see today in the comic books as a lot darker, a little edgier, and more realistic, even though we are still talking about characters with superpowers.

For me, DC Comics represents “the possibilities”. One thing that I like about the DC Universe is that it's not really real. I mean, yes, you can make a direct correlation between New York City and Metropolis or Gotham City and Detroit or Chicago but these aren't real places. There's a certain fantasy element that exists in the DC Universe that allows you to have a little bit of a disconnect.

When I think in terms of my own writing, I like the idea that I can create a world that's very similar to the world that I live in but it can still be a fantasy. In the universe of the DC Comics, there is a direct reflection of the world that we live in, but there is also this fantastical element that I think makes it a little easier to stomach. For me, I sometimes try to include elements that are very close to reality but are just far enough away so that it doesn't hit too close to home. I attribute that to my love of the DC Comics.


If you want to know more about specific characters that have influenced my Eternal Curse Series, please check out the video above. One thing most people who don't read comic books don't realize is that comic books have always been on the cutting edge. While mainstream Hollywood and TV shows of today are now showing more diversity and portraying hard issues in the recent years, comic books have always done this. Comic books have always found interesting ways to deal with issues of environmental awareness, racism, sexism (though they still have a way to go here), immigration, and more. And all of this has helped inspire me in my own writing.

Find out more about me, my work, and my inspiration at the following links:

Amazon | Goodreads The ToiBox of Words | YouTube | See a list of my other posts here.
COMMENTS

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Rebecca Tran

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great ideas Toi
 
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Thank you.

Rebecca Tran

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Learn how comic books are a source of inspiration for Toi Thomas.
 
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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Inspiration has many sources. Toi Thomas shares how she's been inspirated by DC comics and a bit of its history.
 
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Ruth de Jauregui

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wow. I should look at what's left of my comic book collection. I was more into Dark Horse by the time I was collecting, but I remember all those oldies but goodies. (I think I still have some later Batman graphic novels.) Great post!
 
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You know, I too enjoy several of the Dark Horse staples, but I don't actually own any.

Mary Anne Yarde

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Such an interesting post!!
 
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Thank you.

Toi Thomas via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, I share part two in my "Inspired by comic books" series. Please, check it out.
 
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Grace Au

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Love this. And, I love the look on Batman's face with Superman and Wonder Woman crushing him in a hug! Great post!!!
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I know what you mean. This is one of my favorite images.

Chris Weigand via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
See what Toi has to say about her writing inspiration and DC Comics.
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Chris Weigand

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Although I enjoy DC I am more of a Marvel fan. Interesting post and a little bit of history about DC comics.
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Oh, don't you worry. I'm gonna talk about Marvel too. :D

Nikki McDonagh

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great post Toi. In the UK comics like these weren't readily available when I was young, but my brother used to get them from a market stall in my local town centre and I'd pinch them when he was out and read. I loved them.
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I've been learning more and more about the comic book industry in other countries and it's fascinating how different things are. I've been trying to get into more independent and foreign comics just to expand my mind.

Rich Feitelberg via Google+

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Rich Feitelberg

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
If you are comparing DC comics to say Marvel, it's hard to say which is better. I will say, that DC has stayed true to the original concepts of the character compared to Marvel. When Thor is a goddess and Toni Stark is a woman, I just feel lost in a world I've never seen before.
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I personally don't like to compare D.C. and Marvel. I enjoy them both for different reasons, which I will touch on later. You make a valid point though. I feel these two entities exist for the variety they offer. Some readers want comic books that stick to a set standard or character arc while others want to challenge and change things with the times. I love that both Marvel and D.C. have a signature style that appeals to many, if not all.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Inspiration part four - Art - by Nicola McDonagh




I love art and have done all my life. As a child our family would visit the wonderful Walker Art gallery in Liverpool. It is a truly awesome place. I never wanted to leave. Huge oil paintings by the Masters, giant statues and abstract pictures that blew my child-mind away, lingered in my head for days.

I often wondered what the people were doing in these paintings, and when I saw The Last Judgment by Bosch, I decided perhaps, it was best not to know.


I studied art school and would have gone to art college if it weren’t for the fact that I’m not all that good at drawing, so I did the next best thing, studied to be a photojournalist. That didn’t last long but I continued to be a photographer in my spare time, and my love of the visual image has stayed with me. Only natural then that I should turn to it for inspiration when I can’t think of anything to write about.

My last short story anthology Crow Bones, is entirely made up of art-inspired narratives. I chose some of my favourite artists, Marc Chagall, Edvard Munch, Picasso, and even, Banksy, looked at their work, and used the images to create characters and plot. Sometimes I was fairly literal, as in The Promenade, by Marc Chagall, where the image suggested the plot line, of course I let my imagination take off, but the core of the story came directly from the people in the picture.


He Flew Her Like a Kite

The dress was the colour of a bruised eye.

Agnes wore it like a wound.

Too small for her large frame it ceased to be a fabric robe and became a body hugging second skin. It squeezed and nipped her ribcage, trapping her frustration within its satin grip.

Other times, I saw something beneath the surface of the painting, and drew my inspiration from what I saw behind the image. In the story, Crow Bones, I was intrigued by Munch’s painting of two girls. One is standing on a balcony looking out to sea, the other is facing the same way but at first glance, it looks as if her head is facing the opposite way to her body. She stares at the onlooker with black swirling eyes. Wow. The story became quite complex, and ended up a sci-fi horror tale.


Crow Bones

‘There is a saying that when a twin dies at birth its soul enters the body of the survivor. When that being succumbs to the pull of no more, its dead sibling’s face appears on the back of its head. For a few seconds, the two are reunited in body as well as spirit,’ that’s what the birthing nurse, Reja said when she heard one heartbeat fainter than the other.

Thank you for reading my posts about what inspires me to write. Remember, inspiration comes in many forms, and how authors use it is as unique as the tale they produce as a direct result. May we
always be inspired to write!

You can learn ore about my writing here: 

All images royalty free

Monday, March 19, 2018

Kate Wilhelm – A Powerful Voice in Science Fiction and Mysteries

By Ruth de Jauregui


To be honest, until the passing of Kate Wilhelm on March 8, I didn't know she wrote mysteries. I was only familiar with her science fiction, particularly the amazing post-apocalyptic Where the Sweet Birds Sang (1977).

Wilhelm said herself that she was a housewife with two children and, while reading an anthology, she told herself, "I can do that." And so she did. More than 50 science fiction novels and 30 mysteries followed her first story, "The Pint-Sized Genie," published in Fantastic magazine. Her first novel was More Bitter Than Death (1963), a mystery, followed by her first science fiction novel The Clone (1965).

Wilhelm was a Nebula, Locus and Hugo Award winner. Her last work was published last year, Mirror Mirror was the latest in her Barbara Holloway mystery series.

She and her second husband, author and editor Damon Knight, founded the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop. They also continued Knight's annual Milford Writers' Conference, where many now-famous authors interacted with their peers in a weeklong residential workshop and writers' conference.


Now that I know she also wrote mysteries, my "I have GOT to get that book" list just grew dramatically. If you haven't read Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, I highly recommend that you check it out. And when you're done, reflect on the genius of Wilhelm, one of the few women to write under their own names in the 60s, and her foreshadowing of today's ecological and climate changes. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.


#KateWilhelm  #WomenInSciFi  #OurAuthorGang

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