My good friend Kep sent me this link to the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Creators website. If you scroll down a bit, you might see a familiar name and website there. And Kep is also listed on the site (along with some other small press/indy creators we know)…apparently we’ve done work for Marvel and didn’t even know it. It’s madness, I say…madness!

Anyways, it’s just weird seeing someone give us credit for something we haven’t done (yet). Maybe it’s just the universe giving us a hint…or a sign from the Cosmic Comic Consciousness that we’re destined for greatness (or at least a hair above mediocrity). Let’s consult with the Magic 8 Ball.

Outlook good … Hooyah!

With writing, there’s always something to learn…that’s one of my favorite parts of the job. Last year, I went to the Austin Film Festival with the goal of learning how to write a screenplay. This year, I went with the goal of figuring out what to do with the screenplays after I write them. I got to practice some pitching and realized my public speaking is a bit rusty…it was pretty apparent at times when I would tallk with some people and ramble on and on jumping from subject to subject every couple sentences (I need to take some theater classes or find a local Toastmasters group to get a little more comfortable with speaking again–use it or lose it). I did receive lots of great advice from too many people to list. It seemed like most of the people in attendance were more than happy to help out the newer writers, and that made things a lot of fun. Now, I need to take that advice and put it to good use.

Highlights from the AFF:

… Getting a chance one night to chat with Shane Black (writer of the Lethal Weapon series) and Sean Bridges (an Austin-area screenwriter)
… The Up-Close-And-Personal panel with Bryan Singer (Usual Suspects, X-Men, X2 director)
… Hanging out at the Driskill Bar with Kyle, Trace, Diana, Cathy and Victor
… Chatting briefly with Ted Elliot (writer for Shrek and Pirates of the Carribean)
… Meeting Renee O’Connor, Helena Beaven, and Dawn Higginbotham, who are working on their new movie, Diamonds and Guns
… Meeting lots of other second-rounders as well as semifinalists and finalists from the screenwriting competition
… Having a producer ask me to send them something

And the other side of the fence:

… Seeing Bryan Singer get mobbed by tons of people even when he was trying to leave to go somewhere else (and just walking away without getting a chance to talk to him…didn’t want to add to the mobbage)
… Sobering up for that long drive home after hanging out at the Driskill Bar
… Not having a non-comedy screenplay to send to that producer

Met a lot of people….learned a lot…and had a lot of fun. I’ll write up more about the festival a little later (after I spend some extra time with the family). If you’re not familiar with the Austin Film Festival, you can find out more about it here.

Gearing up for Halloween is fun…especially with all the dark and horror-inspired comics showing up tomorrow. Look at the titles listed from Diamond for this week:

Sword of Dracula
Freakshow
Vampire the Masquerade: Isabel
Drawing On Your Nightmares
Dark Days
R. A. Salvatore’s Demon Wars
DC’s Demon: Driven Out
Frankenstein Mobster
Walking Dead
AP Chillers

And my favorite title from this week’s listing…Little Vampire Does Kung Fu

He did the mash. He did the monster mash.
The monster mash. It was a graveyard smash.
He did the mash. It caught on in a flash.
He did the mash. He did the monster mash.

Coding is mostly complete…I still have a few things to work out, but the H-scope is active. It’s supposed to update daily, but since this is the initial test run of it, I’ll find out tomorrow. I did make a minor change to it…the Hypno-scope was changed to the Haphazard-scope (basically a variety of links to neat places to visit and get lost in…essentially, I could have probably just left the Hypno-scope name). There’s a new Buzzbox on the left of the main page to let you know what I’ve got out there (and I’m hoping to be able to update that with some new stuff in the next month or two). Also new to the site is the Dark Ramblings page where my friend ravendarke and I will ramble on about odds and ends. This is probably where I’ll be posting some interesting parody articles and stories. Next in line for a revamp is my Links section (to get all those categorized and updated with the tons of links I have), and then an update to the Articles and Scripts sections (as well as adding a new Projects section).

Thanks to the talented Annie Rodrigue for letting me use some of her lovely artwork for my new banner. She’s working on an even better banner graphic in her free time, so this is just temporary until her schedule frees up a little.