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Happy Marvel Day!

June 16, 2014

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In literary circles, June 16th is “Bloomsday,” this single day on which James Joyce’s beloved classic Ulysses takes place. Folks take the day to either honor or malign the author and his works. As a thinking person of Irish descent, I’ve made several attempts to conquer the novel, but never completed it.

This year, I’m going to neither praise nor condemn the man. Instead, I’m going to celebrate another significant numeral of 6/16.

In the Marvel comics universe, or rather multiverse, 616 is the number associated with the version of Earth where the stories take place. There are other Earths, where these characters don’t exist, or live radically different lives. Occasionally, readers get a glimpse of these ‘alternate’ realities, but for the most part, our heroes are the ones from Earth-616. So this year on 6/16, rather than celebrate a work I have a complicated history with, or an author who has his own complex history of achievements and failures, I’m going to watch “The Avengers” and enjoy some literary works that may not be as highbrow as Joyce, but still were a force for good in the world.

Captain America was a symbol of hope and encouragement in the darkest days of World War II. Even up until the present, he has served as a reminder of the greatest ideals of my country: Freedom, Equality, Tenacity and Acceptance. The X-Men are icons of the struggle civil rights in every community. Iron Man is a symbol of what we can achieve if we dream big enough and work hard enough, and also of the fact that no matter how high we fly, we can’t outrace our demons. And of course, Spider-Man is an example of the responsibility to use power for the benefit of others.

These characters might not breathe the same rarefied air as literary icon Leopold Bloom, but I learned more from their stories than I ever did from Joyce’s high-barred, punctuation-less tome. But I won’t admonish any literary fans from enjoying today as they see fit. But as for me? Pour me a glass beer, put “The Avengers” in the DVD player, and hand me my “Astonishing X-Men” collection, and make mine Marvel.

How are you celebrating today?

 

Welcome Back to Mario Kart!

June 13, 2014

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Although I’ve had a Wii U console since February, I haven’t seen a game that made me keep the system powered until now. After a soft launch, and a library of ports like “The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD” and sequels like New Super Mario Bros. U, I’ve been ignoring it. Mario Kart 8 is the game my Wii U has been waiting for, though.

To be fair, MK8 is as familiar as Nintendo’s other offerings. It is the next iteration in the beloved kart racer with a few new innovations and enhanced graphics. But man, what polish that enhancement brings.

MK8 returns with a lot of the improvements from Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 intact. Players still race for coins, can control their characters with a variety of control schemes from the Wii U classic controller to the Wiimote racing wheel. Flying and underwater track sections also return, and have never looked or played better.

If there is anything I find disheartening about Mario Kart 8, is that it signifies the final nail in the coffin of the F-Zero series. In the Super Nintendo era, F-Zero was that fast, spectacular racing game, while Mario Kart focused on lower speed, cartoonish battle races. While MK8 still maintains the series’ whimsy, upped its game for spectacle to new heights.

This game is fast! Between the flight sections and the new ability to drive along walls and vertical surfaces, there is a real sense of speed this time around. Even the process for falling off the track has been streamlined. Instead of a lengthy sequence that robs you of precious seconds, Lakitu just takes three coins from your reserve.

The graphics this time around are this most highly polished yet. HD polish agrees with Mario Kart. One of the classic tracks, “Moomoo Meadows,” really showcases the difference between the Wii and the Wii U. The new tracks look great as well, and are filled with dazzling moments, from driving up a waterfall to a track inside of a Mushroom Kingdom Disco.

There are a few nitpicks in all the polish, though. There are fewer customization options for setup, including split-screen multiplayer that is only vertical. Annoying, but not a deal breaker. Also, rather than being set in closed arenas, battles now take place on the racing tracks, which are too big to accommodate a two player match.

Mario Kart 8 is both a return to form and a surprising elevation of the familiar racing franchise. For a console that has been languishing, this is a much-needed “must have’ game.

 

Drabble-Beers in the Night

June 13, 2014

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Here’s the second drabble I wrote for this year’s “Dueling Drabbles” panel at Balticon 48.  The prompts for this one were:  San Francisco, A Private Eye, and a bottle opener.  Enjoy!

 

The detective huddled into his coat and stepped out into the chilly July night. San Francisco winter. He was searching for a needle in a city of haystacks. He passed darkened storefronts and seedy alleys. Dive bars and the kind of places where a man found salvation, and lost his soul. He kept searching. That wasn’t what he was looking for tonight. He thought about his client, a dame with the kind of looks that made a fireman play with matches. She was waiting for him.

Finally, he came back and gave her the bottle opener. “Next time, buy cans.”

Introducing…ME!

June 4, 2014

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It’s about time I introduced myself.

At Balticon last month, I was on a Social Media Promotion panel with the brilliant and talented J. R. Blackwell. Her advice was for authors to introduce themselves once in a while, and while I do have my ‘about’ page, I figured it is about time that I gave it another shot.

Hi, I’m Hugh.

I’m a writer. Mostly the things I write are fantasy or science fiction stories, but sometimes I do other things. I’ve had stories published in Over My Dead Body! The Method to the Madness Anthology, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Every Photo Tells, Air Out My Shorts, and a few other places.

I’ve also published a few short stories electronically.

I’m working on a slightly off-kilter sword and sorcery stories called “The Freelance Hunters.” I have written a handful of novels but I haven’t published any of them because I’m very bad at long form editing.

When I started writing, my goal was to become a SFWA member. I’m not sure what my writing goals are now beyond finishing the next project.

I’m a podcaster. I host and edit The Way of the Buffalo podcast. We read short fiction and interview writers, artists, and podcasters. I meant it to be a showcase for the amazing creative people working in electronic media. I hope that shines through.

I’m in the middle of producing the podcast audio book of The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer. The project is read by Veronica Giguerre. I’ve taken several hiatuses on this project to learn what the hell I’m doing. Creating an audiobook is very different than making an unrelated short fiction podcast. It’s coming back this summer, but I’m not releasing it until I’m done.

I’m gay, and two years ago I was able to legally marry my husband. Neither of us really planned for a marriage, but having that right recognized makes me feel indebted to the world. I’m trying to stand up for my community more. I’m not always sure I succeed.

I’m 32 years old. This makes me older than my parents age when I was born, and I still don’t feel like an adult yet.

But enough about me. Tell me a little about yourself!

 

Drabble: The Goodbye Party

May 31, 2014

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Here’s one of the two drabbles I wrote at this year’s Dueling Drabbles panel at Balticon.  This story’s prompts were:  Antarctica, A Colonel, and A Palm Tree.  Enjoy!

 

The Colonel stared at the banner and frowned.  ‘Bon Voyage’ was scrawled across it in cheerful rainbow letters.  He wasn’t sure, but he suspected the font was comic sans.

“You don’t like it,” his sister said.  She had promised she wasn’t throwing him a surprise party.

“it’s not that,” he said, even though it was.  “But you do remember where they are sending me, right?”

“Oh,” she said.  “I had thought you said Antigua.”  She had decided to make it a beach party.  Plastic palm trees, beach balls, the works.  He tried to relax.  Tomorrow, he was flying to Antarctica.

Balticon and the State of the Hugh-nion

May 28, 2014

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Another Balticon has come and gone, and once again, I’m left with a heady mix of thoughts and feelings. I saw caught up with old friends, some of whom I met for the first time, learned a lot, and of course ate and drank my fill. In a lot of ways Balticon feels like a ‘home’ convention, even though it’s a seven hour drive away.

I think that sense of community was especially true this year. A lot of folks who missed last year’s festivities returned this time, although there were still some absences. Felt and yarn did their best, but I missed seeing Nathan Lowell, The Clockwork Doctor, and Cynical Woman, amongst others. Having a nice, big Flash Mob presence was great, though.

This was my fourth Balticon, and I can track my growth across those years as a podcaster and as a professional writer. My first was in 2011. I came down with my friend Mackenzie Lambert. He was good company, and we did some events together, but we were often at opposite ends of the con. Him there for the indie-horror vibe as I was there to learn to be a better podcaster. I tried to network as well, but that year I was way too overwhelmed by the whole experience. Everyone I did meet was incredibly nice and welcoming, but I mostly hung around and breathed the air around the creative pioneers I saw as giants, unable to think of what to say to the faces behind the voices.

The next year, I was ready to be a bit more involved in the community. After having dipped my toe in the first year, I had become more active, and that year I stayed with two other podcasters, Tony Miller and James Keeling. By this year, my podcast game was improving. I even was able to take part in the reading of a great story for The Drabblecast B-Sides. I was coming out of my shell a bit.

Last year was another crazy Balticon. 2013 saw a lot of the old guard podcasters called away with family commitments and other professional engagements. It was also my first year as a guest. I had never been a guest at a convention before, and I probably overtaxed myself. I was running around all weekend, but I still had an excellent time. That year I celebrated my first semi-pro sales as a writer. I was going places, and Balticon was helping me get there.

Which brings me to this year. After four years, I think I’m starting to get a feel for the rhythm of the convention. I scrambled to get ready for this one, but the social and professional anxiety that had shadowed me in the past was gone. Maybe part of it was having attended the Smoky Writers retreat in Tennessee earlier this year. Working alongside a selection of my favorite writers, and sharing our work at the draft stage helped to dispel a lot of my doubts. I felt ready this year.

If my schedule wasn’t quite as full as it was last year, I still had a lot on my plate this year. I moderated some panels on Podcasting Basics and Drabble-Writing, once again hosted the infamous Podcasters Against Humanity, and I even launched the Freelance Hunters series alongside Paul E. Cooley‘s twisted muppet noir, The Street.

If I listed every memory from this year’s Con, or paused to thank every friend I saw there, this post would be a novel. There will be more content from Balticon coming, both here and in the feed for The Way of the Buffalo. But I’d like to say two things now. My thanks to Patrick Scaffido, and everyone else who keeps the Rube Goldberg device of Balticon running. You oil the gears and feed the boilers. I just show up and party. We all wouldn’t have this without you, so thank you for everything.

And to the readers, and listeners: 2014 is just getting started. And I am, to steal a phrase from Stephen Granade, the most excited I have ever been. Stay tuned, because things are going to get awesome around here.

 

The Freelance Hunters Launch Party!

May 19, 2014

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Are you going to Balticon next weekend?

On Sunday Night, I’ll be teaming up with the Fiendmaster himself, Paul E. Cooley, for a Freelance Hunters/The Street launch party!

I’m not exactly sure what Paul’s got up his sleeve, but it’s going to be epic!  I’ll be announcing some Freelance Hunters news, previewing an upcoming story with the vocal talents of the one and only Lauren ‘Scribe’ Harris, and giving away fabulous prizes:  A one-of-a-kind bookmark and pendant from Black Unicorn Wood, and a hand-crafted medieval board game from The Goblin Parlor!  There might even be snacks!  So come celebrate the release of “Glory’s Gauntlet” with me, and find out where the series is headed!

Hugh Likes Comics: Batman The Long Halloween

May 17, 2014

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Image

 

Written by Jeph Loeb

Drawn by Tim Sale

Published by DC Comics

 

With summer movie season already begun and a host of superhero comic book adaptations leading the pack, it is time for Hugh Likes Comics to embrace the trend and give you some hop on points for Big-2 Superheroes. These characters have long, tangled pasts, and their stories are far too often are an impenetrable soup of references, call backs, and retcons. So for the summer, I’ll be discussing some of my favorite, and most accessible stories from Marvel and DC Comics. Since we just got a lovely image of Ben Afleck moping next to his rocket car for “Batman vs. Superman,” let’s start with the Dark Knight.

In a Gotham City ruled by Organized Crime, a young Batman teams up with Commissioner Gordon and D. A. Harvey Dent. But they aren’t the only trying to bring down the mafia. Criminally insane Freaks like the Joker and Poison Ivy are muscling in, and a serial killer dubbed “Holiday” has begun killing gangsters, each on a major holiday. Can Batman truly complete the task he’s given himself, or is Gotham city doomed to be cut in half by Organized Crime and random violence?

First of all, let me start this review with a confession: I like this graphic novel better than it’s predecessor, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s groundbreaking “Batman: Year One.” “Year One” is a GREAT story, and a wonderfully gritty depiction of the kind of city that made Batman not only possible, but necessary. But “The Long Halloween” is a noir mystery filled references to “The Godfather” that ends with Batman fighting his entire rogues gallery at once, so it wins out.

Year One is an engaging look at how Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne came to be who they are. The Long Halloween boils that origin down to a single sentence: “I made a promise to my parents that I would rid the city of the evil that took their lives.” It doesn’t get simpler than that. And as reductive as the set-up is, the book is actually a nice character driven piece about the human cost of working towards goals. Relationships get shredded by the weight of these personal quests. Jim Gordon’s relationship with his family. Harvey Dent and his wife Gilda. Even The Roman’s relationship with his children is deeply affected by his work. And then there’s Batman and Catwoman. Their relationship is extremely complicated, both in costume, and out of costume. It lends the noir elements significant weight.

But one thing that this comic does, and does really well, is temper that weight with super-heroic sections. The focus of the book is the Holiday mystery, but Batman still has to contend with The Joker, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy, and the rest of his villains. In a lesser run of comics, the change would be abrupt, and flow breaking. “I can’t look for clues today, The Joker is robbing that bank!” But here, everything flows naturally. The colorful characters are all weaved like brocade into the black fabric of the noir mystery. For example, at one point, Batman chases a fleeing buttonman into the sewers, where he accidental fumbles into the lair of Solomon Grundy. Later, the Falcone family brings in the riddler as a consultant, green suit and all, to help solve the murders. Instead of being asides, these sections lend a depth to Gotham City, and raising the stakes. It evokes the best parts of my introduction to the characters, Batman: The Animated Series.

Sale’s art, and Gregory Wright’s colors, bring the story to life. There’s a rich, velvety darkness to Sale’s Gotham City. The page layouts are also really well done. The book is filled with gorgeous splash pages, and Sale really knows how to guide the eye and build tension. A great deal of imagery from this book was included in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” film.

“Batman: The Long Halloween” is the perfect graphic novel for readers who want to see the World’s Greatest Detective tackle an engaging mystery and fight crazy villains without wading through 75 years of canon.  It can be found at your Local Comics Shop, or purchased digitally through Comixolgy!

Next week: The Astonishing X-Men!

 

Donations For Life

May 13, 2014

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He found a likely corner and put on the little red hat. It was kind of a cliche, but people expected it. He set up the bucket and rang the bell. Somewhere time ticked by. One more coin, he promised himself. Then, he could get out of the cold. Someone tried to dip their hand in the bucket. He couldn’t have that, So he ran out and jumped on the thief’s head. There was a satisfying bop. Somewhere, a chime rang. That made a hundred coins. Which meant an extra life. The Save a Princess Foundation was finally getting somewhere.

Hugh Is Comics

May 12, 2014

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Recently on my Tumblr page, I participated in the We Are Comics project.  This project is to highlight and promote diversity amongst comics fans, creators, and professionals.  As a married gay white middle-class American man, I personally struggle with being a minority. especially since I can ‘pass’ as straight if I wanted to.  Often, that temptation is very great, but I want to show my commitment to diversity in nerd communities.  But tumblr can be an echo chamber for these kinds of campaigns, so I’m reposting my entry here.  Go visit the page and read the stories that others have sent in.  And send in your own.  A chorus of voices can change the status quo, even in the comics industry.  Thanks for supporting this, and thanks to the We Are Comics team for their amazing project.

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I’m Hugh and I Am Comics.

Growing up gay, I was terrified as a teenager.  Terrified that I’d be dragged out of the closet, terrified that I would be disowned, terrified that I’d be the victim of a hate crime, terrified that I would become a statistic.  In hindsight, a lot of these fears were silly, and I have been blessed with a loving family and an ever-growing support network, but as a scared kid, I had superheroes.

The X-Men taught me that I could survive in a world where I was different, even if I wasn’t ready to.  Heroes like Spider-Man and Batman showed me that someone could put ON a mask and become who they really were.  They showed me that a person might be more than who they were during the day.  As a kid living with a secret that frightened him to the core, that was a powerful thing.

As I grew older, and my tastes became more diverse, comics showed me worlds of possibility beyond super-heroics.  Those experiences helped inspire me to become a writer myself.  Comics were a life preserver for me during the most difficult parts of my life, and that’s why I’m Comics.

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