A Look Down Below
What's it like to describe a scene?
Here’s what you get in every issue of Into the Storymaze: writing insights or a work-in-progress; something creative I’m digging; a highlight from my comics-writing credits; plus a quote that’s got me thinking — both about right now and what’s next.
Twisty Little Passages
Working on something new with the fantabulous artist, Karl Waller, and thought it’d be fun to tease out a description of one of the scene locations. This will be a large, 2-page spread in the comic as the main characters (Percy and Virgil) come upon this strange setting. Everyone doesn’t go to this level of detail — and some go for far less — but it works for me. (And I hope it works for Karl!)
Spread across 2 pages is a deeply unsettling introduction to UTA Depot 32, aka Paradise City. Like FedEx’s massive superhub in Memphis, this is a sprawling central waystation — except here it’s a "crossroads of Hells" package system. Unlike the clean efficiency of that Tennessee center, Depot 32 is overrun with shadow and sinister. Its buildings stack and collide and jut up against each other at odd angles. The architectural influence stretches from positively primeval to Mayan sacrificial, from corroded Inquisition to far future sci-fi terrible. Blighted, broken roadways run off from the center in all directions, and a variety of rigs are rumbling toward and away from its countless loading docks. Sammy is visible, kicking up dust on the road in.
But it’s not just the ground that’s host to Hell’s delivery service. In the skies above, large cargo jets are angling in the direction of runways that stretch into the distance — as other cargo planes of all shapes and sizes are lifting off. Other *things* circle in the thick clouds far ahead, with long necks and spiked tails, and reptilian wings.
To one side of the Depot is a Mississippi-sized river, bubbling with filth and stench; it stretches far off into a smoky, foul horizon. Huge cargo ships make their way up and down the river, along with smaller smuggler style boats. Rising out of the fetid, fecal “water” are two enormous MUCKBEASTS: BogHead Bob and BogHead Sue. These blind, mewling slaves are several stories high, a Lovecraft combo-child of the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Cthulhu, Jr. Their eyes are sunken in, milky white and unfocused; what passes for mouths are flaps or multiple wriggling trunks. Gantry cranes stretch out over the river and tanker ships. Glowing red laser lights beam down from the top of the gantries to point into the ships' cargo holds. Each blind BogHead follows the light, hoisting up a large, segmented, Jules Verne- style hose from the river, aiming the vile spew that is being sucked up from the river bottom into the open holds below.
PERCY/CAPTION: Things I like to do for fun:
PERCY/CAPTION: Check out of reality for awhile.
VIRGIL: Welcome to Paradise City.
Treasure Seekers
I’m late to Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth, and admit I came upon it through news that Robert Downey Jr. is backing a Netflix version. But I’m so glad I get to now dig into this tale of survival in a bizarre, original apocalypse where animal-children hybrids are feared and traded. It balances grim and innocence in just the right doses to keep you coming back. Compared to the utter, wearying “misery porn” of many dystopian stories, I preferred the inherent humanity this one keeps returning to across its multiple story arcs.
The Comics Labyrinth
For those not familiar, Nightbreed was Clive Barker’s epic monster movie, where these “dead of night” are the heroes. Horrible/beautiful, ferocious/family, feral/faithful — they represented, to me at least, Mr. Barker’s love of the “other” and his mission to get the rest of us “normals” to see the majesty in the misunderstood. I led the editorial side that adapted the film script to the comic book world, and would then go on to write a couple of good story runs. Most adventures featured the main protagonists from the cinema: the leader Cabal, the hungry Peloquin, the moon-headed Kinski, joined by creature-characters of my own creation.
This 2-issue run of Nightbreed with the awe-inspiring Mark Nelson was written to his interests and strengths, bringing in big elaborate beasts as a new type of Nightbreed: not so humanoid but with plenty of humans around as hapless foils and fodder. It also extended out ways to play with the concept beyond that main cast and characters — something I’m sorry to say we didn’t explore more!
The cray-cray scenes with the South American river tourists riling up the militia was directly inspired by a real-life encounter that artist James Sherman described to me as something he witnessed while jaunting off the grid. It was too good to let go of, so got filed away…until it found its home here with these children of Midian.
Web of Intrigue
“The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” — Eden Phillpotts
Amazing Times
The Storymaze now has 120 wanderers…um, subscribers! Thank you all for signing on and sticking with.
How’d we end up here together? Maybe a detour off the dark web! But I’m hoping it’s because you subscribed to this share-out of projects I’m working on plus things that have me jazzed. I’m D.G. Chichester. Which sounds very pretentious, and tweed jacket and pipe — so feel free to just call me “Dan”, and have a go at the last name as Chai (like the tea) Chester (just like it looks). I earned my word-cred writing comic book titles like Daredevil, Terror Inc., Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, along with all manner of digital widgets and websites in the world wide web of advertising. I keep my storytelling cred by trying new things — this is one of ‘em, with more on the way. I like weird and sometimes creepy tales, so if things here bend that way — now you know why!
Folks seem to like the comic book adventures I’ve written, so if you haven’t checked one out — please do. Many are now available in fab collected editions.
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After calling out Sweet Tooth in this one, Netflix just released their trailer! My timing is finally in line with some part of the universe. I like how this really accents the hopeful aspects of this dystopia, which is something I really responded to in the book. (I'm a bit done with the grim dark…) https://youtu.be/GrBw0pbF11s