Spoiler warning: Don't read this article unless you've already read
QUASAR #11, or you never intend to.
I'm making this up as I go along. A few months back I described to you in
painful detail what it's like to be a freelance writer who does two regular
monthly books for Marvel as well as hold down a day job as an editor. In
other words, what it's like to be me. This time out I'm going to take you step
by step, inch by inch, through an actual comic I'm plotting, so you might see
one writer's way to coax a comic book story into existence.
A note before we begin. I've tried to avoid using this column as a hype box
for my freelance projects-that strikes me as a conflict of interests-but
it is going to be darn near impossible to talk concretely about how I
work on a given story without plugging that story in virtually every
sentence. I beg your indulgence. I won't do this often.
Okay, the comic I'm currently plotting is QUASAR #11. On a new book
like QUASAR, I tend to map out in advance a rough idea of the book's
direction-a rough timetable of what I what to accomplish and by when. On a
book I've been working on for a long time, like CAPTAIN AMERICA (yikes
-a second book plugged!), my directional outline is a lot looser. Unless I
have certain landmarks locked in to plot around-such as extra-length
anniversary issues, bi-weekly series-within-a-series, or crossovers-I keep
the direction real loose and flexible to accommodate whatever character and
plot tangents that may occur to me and my artist as we go along. But a new
book has to be mapped out, I feel, so you can get its groundwork laid solidly.
With QUASAR, I worked out a rough outline of what has to be accomplished
within the series' first year, and while I was at it, an even rougher outline of
what the groundwork of the first year would develop into in the second
year. This doesn't mean I know which villains Quaze is going to fight
issue by issue up till issue #24 (though I do have a rough idea), but I
do know the basic developments in store for his personal and professional
life. Issue #11, the story at hand, is almost at the end of Quay's first
year, the year that establishes everything you need to know
about his status quo: his origin, his powers and how they work, how he
makes a living, who his friends are, what his mission is, how he goes about
his mission (modus operandi, for all you latin buffs), and so on.
So to cold start my mental gears, I consult my Overview, which I'm
constantly revising and updating, and see that I slated to accomplish two
things this ish: introduce two members of the supporting cast, one in
his civilian professional life, one in his super-heroic life, and get
closer to wrapplng up his first year mission: surveying all the
extraterrestrials currently on Earth. How I came up with the two cast
additions is a long process that took place months back, but my
reasoning, in a nutshell, was this. For his professional life, I
wanted to introduce another woman into the book, one whose assertive
no-frills personality would contrast with his secretary Kayla Balantine's
trend-following, Cosmo-girl approach to life. I also wanted Q to have a
super-powered buddy with a personality that would play off his, someone
with a lighter outlook on life than his. After examining numerous
candidates (including some concoctions of my own), I chose Makkari the
Eternal. I had verbally foreshadowed the new female's arrival
last issue. Mak the Ete would be coming onstage cold.
The other thing I planned to do was to have Quaze check out at least one
of the extraterrestrials on Earth he hasn't gotten to yet. According to my
list, the Blood Brothers, Tamara, Phoenix, and possibly Comet Man (if
he's still here) are unaccounted for.
You'll notice I don't know who Q is going to fight yet this issue. I've had
him go up against some of the more belligerent e.t.'s he's checked out in
past issues. I've also had him fight persons who have nothing to do with his
mission on Earth (to secure the planet against some unknown cosmic evil
that will first threaten his mentor Eon) for variety's sake. I'm a firm
believer in variety-in not pitting my hero against the same kind of
opponent two issues in a row. When I started the book, I began a list
of potential vlllains he could fight broken down by type: altered
humans, aliens, omnipotents, scientists, monsters, etc. Besides
keeping track of all these distinctions, I try to rotate in an all-new
villain every thlrd issue or so, and try to throw in an occasional female
villain for variety's sake as well. Last issue, I featured three
villains: all three aliens, two "old" (appeared before) females, one
all-new male. It's definitely time for a non-alien opponent, probably
male, possibly a veteran.
Consulting my villains list, I come up with three possible candidates, a new
Basilisk, Tutinax the Deviant, and Modred the Mystic. I eliminate the
Basilisk because his origin involves a Kree power-object and I just used a
different one of them last issue. I then eliminate Tutinax, because it's
too predictable to have an Eternals villain in the first issue that
introduces an Eternals supporting character. That leaves Modred. One of
the things I'd hoped to establish in Quasar's first twelve issues is the
limitations to his quantum-bands' power. I've shown that he has no
control over energy outside the conventional electromagnetic spectrum,
but I haven't addressed the notion of magic yet. Modred would certainly
allow for that. Okay, next step, figure out what set of circumstances
would put Mody and Quaze at odds. The obvious thing would be to have
Mody want Quaze's power-bands, but I just had somebody after them the last
two issues, and it's time for something different. Hmmm, I'm stumped.
Time to ask my editor, Howard Mackie, for acivice.
I run the problem by him the next day, and while he doesn't actually hand
me the solution gift-wrapped, the discussion yields fruit. Always
thinking to hedge a new book's bets commercially, he advises me to go
for a high-profile guest star. I think about it, mentally listing who
I've already used, and try to figure out who fits logically into the
book's premise. I come up with Phoenix from EXCALIBUR. She's currently
the host of an alien power-organism, and thus on my Aliens on Earth
list. Furthermore, she gives me my Modred solution. How? Well, in
Modred's last appearance five years back, he went up against Captain
America and Captain Britain. Cap Brit is Phoenix's teammate in
Excalibur. What if . . . to get back at Cap Brit, Modred finds a way to
use Phoenix? Howard likes the solution, and I quickly secure permission
from EXCALIBUR editor Terry Kavanagh to use Phoenix.
Okay, I've got my springboard to the story. Now to start working it out
scene by scene, page by page. I like to start at the beginning. I often
skip around, writing other scenes out of order, but I try to nail down my
opening first. When I first thought of introducing Makkari, I had an
idea of how he and Q would meet. Though it wouldn't have a lot to do with
the story that follows, it might make for a reasonably exciting opening.
And for all I know, I can make it thematically relevant. If not, well, who
expects perfection in a monthly comic? Okay, what next? A secret
identity interlude or introduce the villain? I choose the villain,
structuring the scene so it introduces Excalibur at the same time.
Whenever a scene can serve double duty-huzzah!
Time for his civilian life sequence. As quickly as possible, I
introduce H.D. Steckley, the woman who wants to join his firm, establish
her haughty self-assuredness, and set up her situation to be resolved
next month. I then move Quasar into his office to check on his alien
supporting character and mentor, Eon the cosmic couch potato. Critics of
super hero comics often complain that stories are formulaic, that a hack
writer takes items from Columns A, B, C, and D, jams them together in a
typical set-up/build-up/pay-off fashion, and produces the derivative
story of the month. Well, this may be the case for some writers, but for
me it's a matter of selecting elements that I feel a satisfying story
about Quasar should have and juggling them about for maximum possible
dramatic impact. If I could ever figure out this magic formula writers
allegedly use, boy, would it make my monthly struggle easier. Not that I'd
use it as a template for putting stories together, but as a jumping off
point to do something unexpected at each predictable story point. But I
digress.
I put in an Eon scene because he's got a big part to play in defining what
Quasar is, he's an interesting character and visual-a supporting cast
member like no other book has, and also so I can develop his relationship
with Q a tad further. I also decide to make this sequence end with Quasar
getting the piece of information that something strange is going on with
Phoenix, which will propel us into the next scene. Uh, another digression
here. I like to structure every scene in a story to end on some
intriguing note, whether it's an exclamation point or a question mark,
making the reader want to read on to see what's going on. I hate scenes
that don't pay off-that lie there with all the interest of a gum wrapper
on a sidewalk.
So I cut to Phoenix on a rampage, trying to shake Modred's mental/magical
control over her. This will serve to establish that she doesn't take mind
control lying down and give some indication of her power level. I stop to
reread Phoenix's MARVEL UNIVERSE entry and scan her major appearances in
X-MEN to get a better handle on her power. At the end of the sequence, I
have her now enthralled by Modred and forced to join her power with his in
order to bring him to Earth from the dimensional plane upon which he was
last seen trapped. It feels like enough time has elapsed to have Quasar show
up. He does and when Modred senses that Q is there to oppose them, he
sends her into a one-on-one battle with him. Aha-I have my cover scene.
Though Phoenix is potentially one of Earth's most powerful
energy-manipulators, Quasar's ability to tap into any power source in the
electromagnetic spectrum, which includes the cosmic energy she utilizes,
enables him to hold his own against her. When it looks like Quasar may
be on the verge of winning, I have Modred get involved, using his magic
on the guy. Magic is definitely outside the electromagnetic spectrum so
Quaze is totally helpless against it. Modred leaves him entangled in a
spell that will slowly kill him.
Okay. I'm at a crossroads. Where should I go from here? Have Quasar
get out of his trap? Check in on Excalibur? Or follow Modred to the
next step in his villainous scheme? Wait, I haven't figured out what
Modred's next step should be yet. Originally, I figured he'd want
revenge on Captain Britain for his role in Mody's last defeat, but
after reviewing CAP #306 again, I reason why would Modred concern
himself with the "underling" of his enemy, when it is his enemy he really
wants revenge upon? This enemy is Merlin, or at least one of the many
entities in the Marvel mythos who've gone by that name. So how would he
get back at Merlin himself? He tried coopting Captain Britain's identity
last time and that didn't work. What could he have Phoenix do that he
couldn't do on his own? I strike upon the idea that he'll now enlist
Phoenix's aid to liberate his own master, the arch-demon Chthon, in the
interest of pitting his master against Captain Britain's master,
Merlin. All right . . .! So I send Mody and Phoenix to Europe where the
dimensional doorway to Chthon's prison is.
Now back to Quasar, who doesn't have much time left before he succumbs to
Modred's magic. Ordinarily I believe that heroes should find their own
ways to save themselves rather than have to be rescued by "the
cavalry." But my editor recently told me that Quasar seems to be coping with
his incredible responsibilities a bit too well so he'd like to me to
emphasize Quasar's insecurities about his job. This fits in well with
what I was trying to do: show that Quasar is out of his element dealing
with magic. So I decide to have Excalibur show up to save him rather
than having him extricate himself. As a bone to throw in the direction
of self-reliance, I have Q working on a plan that just might have enabled him
to free himself had Excalibur not intervened. After all that I have
Quasar and Excalibur combine forces to defeat Modred in as clever a
manner as I can muster, and I'm all out of room.
I wanted to get back to Makkari, but there's no space. I do end the story
with Quasar out over the ocean, so at least I've managed to repeat the
visual motif of water from the opening sequence.
After handing in the plot to my able-minded editor and his trusty assistant,
they read it and tell me to condense the opening sequence since as I just
mentioned it has no real bearing on the rest of the story. The space I
save, they say, can better be used in the final fight
sequence/resolution. Further, they've learned Kitty Pryde won't be in
Excalibur at the time so I have to delete all references to her. As a
professional writer, my motto is "No story's done till my editor likes
it," so I went home that night and revised it according to my editor's
suggestions. The revision takes barely an hour, and makes at least a ten
per cent improvement in the story. (I'm not paid for revisions, of
course-why should I get paid for not getting it right the first time?)
When I hand in the second draft, it gets past Howard's needle-sharp
scrutiny. Ta-daa! Another plot down-time to think about the next one.
You'll notice I didn't know exactly what the ending was when I sat down
to begin. I worked toward it, groping along in the dark. If I came up with
something great that needed a setup earlier on, I would have gone back into
the story and set up just that element. I didn't in this case, though.
As you can see, working on a plot is in certain ways like putting
together a big jigsaw puzzle, except you don't have anything more than a
rough idea what the final picture will look like. One final jot of
information about this particular story. I started it on Sunday,
September 10, 1989, right after finishing the plot before, did the first
six pages that day, and for various reasons didn't get a
chance to work on it again till October 3 when I got midway through page
11. Then, due to being shanghaied to Germany and Wisconsin for the better
part of the next three weeks, I didn't resume working on it until Saturday,
November 4. At that point I finished the last 11 pages in two sessions,
from 10 till 12 in the morning and from 10-12 at night. It is unusual for
me to have such long work stoppages in the midst on a single story, but
since it happened in the midst of this plot I have chosen to dissect, I
figured I should let it be known for the record.
