son of a pitch
Once upon a time around March 2007
In distant days I loge to sense it all so clear…
Anyway
The Birthday Massacre starts their tour in August and I hope they play some cool venues in town. VNV Nation still has not posted their second leg of their tour which is supposed to hit my neck of the woods. The Cure are doing something this year too as well as Combichrist. Now, do me a favour and do not, please for the sake of all that is good and affordable, do not play all on the same day or even in the same month- stretch out your tours at least six moths apart. I am financially challenged but I would like to see you guys play and not have to choose who I would rather see (If anyone asks, VNV over everyone else [unless Apoptygma Berzerk does something as I have not seen them live yet] followed by TBM then the Norwegians from Atlanta and then the hair challenged ones who have not played in this town in over twenty years anyway).
Sleep deprivation is a funny thing. You do various things to force your self to stay awake. I pretty much become Snake Eyes when I am half asleep (funky speech, not slurred but almost dyslexic, so I stay mute, but not ninja-like- otherwise I function okay if I stay focused on something). I also slap and pinch myself to stay awake. Or walk up und down ten flights of stairs. Coffee just makes me visit the bathroom quite a bit. Loud music only helps if it is song is not one I heard lately. Short power naps work the best though. And keeping my mind busy.
So here I am trying to stay busy.
…………..………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………………………….
Wha?!
There is a pitch throwing thing going on at Moonstone Books- one of those lesser known comic book companies out there. By pitch throwing I mean you give them ideas for a concept and they either steal your ideas or they hire you to flesh out your concepts. The thing ended a few days ago and I was surprised it was not publicized more; I mean I was lucky to have even heard about it. Or they did not want a billion worthless ideas thrown at them; instead they just got my useless idea.
Moonstone Books is best known for licensing cult properties for their books like the old Kolchak TV show, the Phantom and some books on the White Wolf RPG games if memory serves me right. I am sleep deprived, remember. I read the first Vampire: The Masquerade book they did because of some gorgeous Vince Locke artwork but other than that I steered away from their stuff. I just had no interest.
The pitch thing was for an old toy property known as Captain Action- one of those Mego-type toys where you get a generic toy that you can redress as whatever superhero interests you at the moment. A doll for boys is what it was. But Moonstone Books let you clear the ground and do whatever with the property, you just had to presumably keep the ‘master of disguise’ aspect that comes with the property. So, while I wait for my rejection notice let us take a look at the pitch I threw at them shall we?
Now keep in mind that I put this pitch together in thirty minutes or less and sent it in. Yeah, I know, not very refined- but it is a mental activity I like to do (FYI: my car has had no working radio in it for about ten years now). I stole it from the Neil Gaiman Calliope story in the Sandman where a writer was temporarily cursed with too many ideas and throws out one sentence stories like ‘a guy inherits a library card to the one that was in Alexandria’. I like to come up with the beginning at least for a story based on something like that.
One that I have been trying to get my head around is a murder on the international space station. I know how they did it and who did it, I just cannot place the story in an order that I am satisfied with.
But anyway: Captain Action the Pitch that was born from my head like that God that came from the head of Zeus (watching way too many Xena lately) or a zit. Whatever works. This is © me until I say otherwise or you pay me enough.
The Premise:
A master of disguise, Captain Action is brought back into a world that no longer wants or needs him!
The Character:
Captain Action was the code name for a super secret agent in the sixties and the seventies. ‘Was’ being the operative word. A master of disguise, he retired when the Berlin Wall fell, believing that his work was done. Since then he has observed the world on the sidelines and is content with living a normal life.
The Captain has never taken any credit for his work during the cold war. From time to time, others have claimed to have done the work he did. This does not bother him as some of that was orchestrated by his Masters to protect his cover and to protect the Agency and his country for some of the more heinous things that that was done. Like when the hidden corpse of Hitler was stolen for the formula of New Coke.
It has been a while since he has donned a disguise. He has no need to.
The Story:
Happily ever after never lasts does it? Almost twenty years since his last mission, the Captain watches the news and doesn’t believe his eyes. He sees the identity he took on that last mission wanted for murder!
This should not concern him. It does not, at first. After all, it’s not like he’s the one wanted for murder.
But it nags at him, like an itch he can’t reach.
Begrudgingly, he unpacks his disguise kit and heads out to uncover this mystery. He no longer has any contact with his former Masters; in fact, the Agency he worked for was mothballed at least ten years ago.
On his own, he travels the world searching for clues, encountering old friends who forgot he exists and enemies who no longer hate him. His once reliable ability to disguise himself doesn’t work all the time. And his world wide trip is stretching his budget.
Will he find out who did it before they find out he’s back? Or worse, out of money?
And who are the Last of The Famous International Playboys?
How it will all work:
This take on Captain Action takes a page out of the old pulps, the recent Agents of Atlas mini-series and Warren Ellis’ Fell and Tom Defalco’s MC2 works in that each issue being totally accessible to new readers.
The Captain lives in a world of superheroes but not superpowers. In this world, costumed heroes came about during the Depression, fought in World War II, battled the communists and now fight the War against Terror. The difference between them and the Captain is that the Captain worked for the Agency during the Cold War, sometimes taking the identity of a costumed hero as it befitted the mission. Or when he was ordered to.
The Captain returns to the world he thought he left behind with no resources but his old disguise kit. He’s fallen behind the times a bit, technology sometimes seeing through his many guises, other times being to his advantage.
My proposal for Captain Action would be for an initial short mini-series, about four issues in length. The stories I have in mind would be slightly tongue in cheek. Each issue breaks down as follows
Issue 1: Intro to the mystery, journey to Europe to the tombs of the last living Cro-Magnon man who died in 1988 in Paris during a New Wave Concert; the threat of the Last of The Famous International Playboys is found.
Issue 2: Still in Europe, attacked by John Woo Fanatics and a senior citizen lost in Mera Luna, the world’s largest Goth music festival
Issue 3: The Last of The Famous International Playboys Strike! And a journey to Hong Kong and the hidden secret of Cantopop!
Issue 4: Is it magic? Or just good marketing? The mystery solved! A trip to the most dangerous place in the world-TEXAS! And the Last of The Famous International Playboys revealed! Plus, New Coke returns to haunt the world! And the true meaning of ACTION!
Captain Action. The world left him behind. He was content with that. Now, he has to relearn true the meaning of ACTION! After which he will begin kicking you and you will explode.
Okay the last bit I stole from Warren Ellis. And the concepts I threw out were obviously inspired/ripped off from his works. Yes I am unoriginal. Or I am Chuck Austen. Kudos if you know who Chuck is. Now get away from me.
________________________________________________________________________
http://www.myspace.com/catterpillarboy
http://catterpillarboy.blogspot.com/
http://catterpillarboy.livejournal.com
In distant days I loge to sense it all so clear…
Anyway
The Birthday Massacre starts their tour in August and I hope they play some cool venues in town. VNV Nation still has not posted their second leg of their tour which is supposed to hit my neck of the woods. The Cure are doing something this year too as well as Combichrist. Now, do me a favour and do not, please for the sake of all that is good and affordable, do not play all on the same day or even in the same month- stretch out your tours at least six moths apart. I am financially challenged but I would like to see you guys play and not have to choose who I would rather see (If anyone asks, VNV over everyone else [unless Apoptygma Berzerk does something as I have not seen them live yet] followed by TBM then the Norwegians from Atlanta and then the hair challenged ones who have not played in this town in over twenty years anyway).
Sleep deprivation is a funny thing. You do various things to force your self to stay awake. I pretty much become Snake Eyes when I am half asleep (funky speech, not slurred but almost dyslexic, so I stay mute, but not ninja-like- otherwise I function okay if I stay focused on something). I also slap and pinch myself to stay awake. Or walk up und down ten flights of stairs. Coffee just makes me visit the bathroom quite a bit. Loud music only helps if it is song is not one I heard lately. Short power naps work the best though. And keeping my mind busy.
So here I am trying to stay busy.
…………..………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………………………….
Wha?!
There is a pitch throwing thing going on at Moonstone Books- one of those lesser known comic book companies out there. By pitch throwing I mean you give them ideas for a concept and they either steal your ideas or they hire you to flesh out your concepts. The thing ended a few days ago and I was surprised it was not publicized more; I mean I was lucky to have even heard about it. Or they did not want a billion worthless ideas thrown at them; instead they just got my useless idea.
Moonstone Books is best known for licensing cult properties for their books like the old Kolchak TV show, the Phantom and some books on the White Wolf RPG games if memory serves me right. I am sleep deprived, remember. I read the first Vampire: The Masquerade book they did because of some gorgeous Vince Locke artwork but other than that I steered away from their stuff. I just had no interest.
The pitch thing was for an old toy property known as Captain Action- one of those Mego-type toys where you get a generic toy that you can redress as whatever superhero interests you at the moment. A doll for boys is what it was. But Moonstone Books let you clear the ground and do whatever with the property, you just had to presumably keep the ‘master of disguise’ aspect that comes with the property. So, while I wait for my rejection notice let us take a look at the pitch I threw at them shall we?
Now keep in mind that I put this pitch together in thirty minutes or less and sent it in. Yeah, I know, not very refined- but it is a mental activity I like to do (FYI: my car has had no working radio in it for about ten years now). I stole it from the Neil Gaiman Calliope story in the Sandman where a writer was temporarily cursed with too many ideas and throws out one sentence stories like ‘a guy inherits a library card to the one that was in Alexandria’. I like to come up with the beginning at least for a story based on something like that.
One that I have been trying to get my head around is a murder on the international space station. I know how they did it and who did it, I just cannot place the story in an order that I am satisfied with.
But anyway: Captain Action the Pitch that was born from my head like that God that came from the head of Zeus (watching way too many Xena lately) or a zit. Whatever works. This is © me until I say otherwise or you pay me enough.
The Premise:
A master of disguise, Captain Action is brought back into a world that no longer wants or needs him!
The Character:
Captain Action was the code name for a super secret agent in the sixties and the seventies. ‘Was’ being the operative word. A master of disguise, he retired when the Berlin Wall fell, believing that his work was done. Since then he has observed the world on the sidelines and is content with living a normal life.
The Captain has never taken any credit for his work during the cold war. From time to time, others have claimed to have done the work he did. This does not bother him as some of that was orchestrated by his Masters to protect his cover and to protect the Agency and his country for some of the more heinous things that that was done. Like when the hidden corpse of Hitler was stolen for the formula of New Coke.
It has been a while since he has donned a disguise. He has no need to.
The Story:
Happily ever after never lasts does it? Almost twenty years since his last mission, the Captain watches the news and doesn’t believe his eyes. He sees the identity he took on that last mission wanted for murder!
This should not concern him. It does not, at first. After all, it’s not like he’s the one wanted for murder.
But it nags at him, like an itch he can’t reach.
Begrudgingly, he unpacks his disguise kit and heads out to uncover this mystery. He no longer has any contact with his former Masters; in fact, the Agency he worked for was mothballed at least ten years ago.
On his own, he travels the world searching for clues, encountering old friends who forgot he exists and enemies who no longer hate him. His once reliable ability to disguise himself doesn’t work all the time. And his world wide trip is stretching his budget.
Will he find out who did it before they find out he’s back? Or worse, out of money?
And who are the Last of The Famous International Playboys?
How it will all work:
This take on Captain Action takes a page out of the old pulps, the recent Agents of Atlas mini-series and Warren Ellis’ Fell and Tom Defalco’s MC2 works in that each issue being totally accessible to new readers.
The Captain lives in a world of superheroes but not superpowers. In this world, costumed heroes came about during the Depression, fought in World War II, battled the communists and now fight the War against Terror. The difference between them and the Captain is that the Captain worked for the Agency during the Cold War, sometimes taking the identity of a costumed hero as it befitted the mission. Or when he was ordered to.
The Captain returns to the world he thought he left behind with no resources but his old disguise kit. He’s fallen behind the times a bit, technology sometimes seeing through his many guises, other times being to his advantage.
My proposal for Captain Action would be for an initial short mini-series, about four issues in length. The stories I have in mind would be slightly tongue in cheek. Each issue breaks down as follows
Issue 1: Intro to the mystery, journey to Europe to the tombs of the last living Cro-Magnon man who died in 1988 in Paris during a New Wave Concert; the threat of the Last of The Famous International Playboys is found.
Issue 2: Still in Europe, attacked by John Woo Fanatics and a senior citizen lost in Mera Luna, the world’s largest Goth music festival
Issue 3: The Last of The Famous International Playboys Strike! And a journey to Hong Kong and the hidden secret of Cantopop!
Issue 4: Is it magic? Or just good marketing? The mystery solved! A trip to the most dangerous place in the world-TEXAS! And the Last of The Famous International Playboys revealed! Plus, New Coke returns to haunt the world! And the true meaning of ACTION!
Captain Action. The world left him behind. He was content with that. Now, he has to relearn true the meaning of ACTION! After which he will begin kicking you and you will explode.
Okay the last bit I stole from Warren Ellis. And the concepts I threw out were obviously inspired/ripped off from his works. Yes I am unoriginal. Or I am Chuck Austen. Kudos if you know who Chuck is. Now get away from me.
________________________________________________________________________
http://www.myspace.com/catterpillarboy
http://catterpillarboy.blogspot.com/
http://catterpillarboy.livejournal.com
posted by Catterpillarboy at 3:32 AM
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