What Happened to the Short Story?
by Gary Scott Beatty, Owner and Production Manager, Aazurn Publishing
I know many who are bored with long, drawn out plots that plod along to nowhere. Television has forgotten how to tell a good short story. Movie executives are thinking in terms of trilogies and series (What is this, television?). And comic books - well try finding a satisfying chunk of story with a well defined beginning, middle and end in a single comic book today.
Long plots have their place, but with all the genuinely excellent entertainment out there screaming for my dollars, not to mention my limited time, I long for the days when I could buy one comic book - just one - and receive a well told, self contained story.
Early comic book writers grew up in America's golden age of short stories. From the mystery writers of the '20s to the pulp writers of the '30s to the science fiction writers of the '60s, from Faulkner to Poe to Hemingway, magazine publishing spawned a large body of truly excellent work the early comic book writers learned from and admired.
Because of the brevity of their craft, successful short story writers are forced to pay greater attention to character, plot, theme, language and locale. When you don't have a lot of space, every word counts.
It is from this tradition Aazurn Publishing intends to draw. There are no wordless splash pages here - these are books for people who like to read and want a chunk of insight, story and levels of meaning to their purchase.
This means anything can happen and characters can go in directions readers don't expect. Characters can change and grow. History can move quickly. Since we're not going back there with an "issue two," worlds can rise and fall! Science fiction - or more like real life than your average comic book?
The artist for Adam Among the Gods, James Lyle, is a living illustration of the success of comic books for the past 25 years. His "Escape to the Stars" was at the vanguard of the second wave of alternative comics in the 1980s. Since then, as a member of various creative teams, James' work has appeared in countless comic books and graphics projects. Current collaborative enterprises include illustrations for a pirate tale and a science fiction yarn under development, as well as his own lighthearted hero "The Plus."
Wallpaper will be up soon so you can enjoy "Adam Among the Gods" on your desktop. Remember, specially designed "Seductions" pages from Gary and Bill Bryan's computer and pencil story are currently up for wallpaper desktop downloads.
Meanwhile, explore the evolving meanings of beauty and perfection at the "Adam Among the Gods" premiere page.
Thank you for enjoying my ramblings and remember to visit all the artists' sites Comic Artists Direct! If you know anyone who would enjoy hearing from me, send them here. Anyone can join our email list at Comic Artists Direct - just look for the little box that says, "Join the Aazurn Publishing Email List."
We're having a blast telling stories over here! Thanks for your interest.
- Gary
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