Journalist. Editor. Your Next Favorite Sci-Fi Writer.

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Jeffrey L. Wilson

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Coney Island History Project

So, I completed my comic book script

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I brain-spilled a post a few months back that detailed my renewed interest in that great American art form known as the comic book.

In the time between then and now, my renewed interest morphed into renewed loved thanks in no small part to covering the digital comics beat for PCMag, and some good friends who are comic book die hards. Another thing happened in that time frame: I completed the first comic book script that I’m proud to share with others.

Note the qualifier. I penned a jumbled mess of a script not too long ago, but the recently completed script is a story that I was meant to tell. I reread the script last night and I think it’s a damn good sci-fi/action piece, but I’m not going to self-high-five myself into false contentment. I’ve shared the pages with select friends, ones who I know will give me the real deal, and eagerly await their opinions.

In the meantime, I’ve been combing over comic book publishers’ submissions guidelines and reaching out to artists who can give visual representation to what’s in my head. This is the part that I fear the most. Not the potential rejection letters, but the Xenogears-like grind. It seems like each publisher has its own specific submissions requirements, and you have to follow them to the letter or get your package skyhooked into the nearest trash bin. Hunting down artists is a stressful, too. But, ‘evs. I’m feeling good, despite some jitters.

I’m not one to believe in divine intervention or the power of star alignment. Not. At. All. Still, a lot of good things have happened recently that’s driving me to get the script published. I turned 40 and gained a fresh perspective on what I want to accomplish in the second half of my life. Two New York Comic Cons were announced for 2014. I interviewed one of my comic book idols. Plus, I’ve come to learn the importance of having Black writers in the comic book industry after mixing and mingling with attendees at New York Comic Con 2013. Part of this is for me, part of this is for the community.

It’ll be an interesting ride; a ride that I’ll appreciate should I succeed or fail.

Image courtesy of Greg Pak.

Nerd Calibur New York Comic Con Minorites in Fandom

Speaking on the ‘Geeks of Color Assemble: Minorities In Fandom’ NYCC panel was an incredible experience

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As seen in a previous post: I was invited to speak at New York City Comic Con 2013.

It was a magical experience.

Honestly, I didn’t think that my panel appearance would be such a good one. That’s not a judgment on the panel’s excellent moderator and panel members; it’s a statement on the absolute insane level of fear that I experienced in the hours leading up to the 6:30 p.m. kick off. I couldn’t sleep. I imagined every possible nightmare scenario, which included stuttering through rehearsed lines, tripping on my way up the stage, tripping on my way down the stage, and being laughed back to the hotel for saying something absolutely nonsensical.

I feel like an idiot now.

The crowd was warm and welcoming, and it connected with the panelists’ tales of hardships/challenges as creators and fans within the geek circle. Yet, it was incredibly positive and acted as a source of strength and camaraderie among the Black, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, female, and other maligned attendee groups. I knew only a handful of the audience members—big ups to Samara, Max, Patrick, Tony, Isaac, and Johnathan—but there was also a shared connection that I never before felt with a group of strangers. I met a lot of cool audience members and exchanged tons of cards.

It would be incredibly easy to let those potential relationships die, but I’ve connected via e-mail or social media with all the people I met. Change is needed in the sci-fi, comic book, cosplay, and video game industries.

Let’s make it happen together.

New York Comic Con

I’m Speaking at New York Comic Con in October

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It’s not every day—or every lifetime if you believe in such things—that a person gets to live a dream.

I’ve had several dreams over my 39 years, many of which that have become reality. I’ve had the opportunity to write professionally, travel the globe, interview artistic visionaries, and even help those with dreams of their own to put one foot in front of the next and begin the march to achieving them.

I won’t say that achieving one dream is more important than achieving the others; in fact, chasing one (becoming a professional writer) opened the door to pursuing other dreams. It’s kind of a snowball effect.

That said, some dreams are slightly more exciting than others.

I’m going to be at New York Comic Con, but not as an attendee. I’ll be a speaker on the Geeks of Color Assemble: Minorities in Fandom at NYCC panel. What’s it about? Here’s a quick synopsis:

“From Community’s Abed and Troy to Miles Morales as Spiderman to Rinko Kikuchi and Idris Elba starring in Pacific Rim, this is obvious: people of color are impacting geek media. What challenges, however, do minorities still face? Discuss being a geek of color in comics, cosplay, videos games, steampunk, and more.”

If you’re not on the Facebooks or can’t view the page for whatever reason, here’s the pertinent information:
Date: 10/12/2013
Time: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: 1A17

Swing by and we’ll chat.

Special shout outs to Diana Pho and K.T. Bradford for making this happening!

This Is The End

‘This Is The End’ is a mix of funnies and head-scratchers

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This Is The End, Seth Rogan’s apocalyptic comedy, had the potential to carry a Superbad level of sincerity between its estranged lead homies, but instead dwelled in a sea of dick jokes, rape jokes, and ad-libbed bits.

I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing (comedy’s always thrived on pushing the envelope to sometimes extreme distances), but I’d hoped for a truly genuine moment like those found in a Judd Apatow flick. Didn’t happen. That said, seeing a coked-out Michael Cera being awkward in an entirely new way was highly entertaining.

I’m no political correctness flag-waver; in fact, I often find that the PC movement sanitizes issues/society to the point where people are vilified for simply making an observation about race/gender/sexuality. But several curious things came to mind after discussing the movie with my date.

I’m entering spoilers-zone, so tread if you dare. (more…)

Asgardian Wars

Four-color funnies are on the brain

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Comic books. I used to love ’em as a kid, but the entire industry seemingly took a walk down a back alley (located on the other side of the tracks) and went mega-dark during the ’90s. Batman had his spine snapped. Shadowhawk broke criminals’ spines while battling H.I.V. Supes bit it. Image was one large gun-and-pouch fest. And who didn’t snarl or angrily drool? It was all very depressing.

My day job, PCMag.com, is what recently magic-lassoed me back into the comics game. I met a friend’s husband while I was out west covering the insanity known as E3. Over a few brews, the good sir gave me a much-needed comic book boot camp that covered not only new titles and hot creators, but the challenges he faced as a Black man in a circle that’s even more homogeneous than the tech field. Upon my return to the office, I pitched three comic book related stories which the editors dug. I’m looking forward to see how it plays out. Could be quite fun.

Asgardian Wars

More importantly, my Los Angeles experience reignited my writing passion. That may be difficult to grasp considering that I write for a living, but creating characters and worlds is something I haven’t done in a very long time. I dreamed of being a comic book writer during my junior high school and high school years. That obviously didn’t pan out (I let an opportunity escape, unfortunately), but I have a script in the works that’s tapping a purely creative side of the brain…and it’s been a marvelous experience. Honestly, I don’t have Marvel or DC desires. Typical capes-and-tights stories aren’t my thing anymore. Dynamite, IDW, Dark Horse, and other publishers have more varied catalogs that would prove a better fit for an action-comedy, methinks.

But I’m getting ahead of myself a bit. Plotting and story structure don’t come naturally to me. I tend to think in dialogue and individual scenes more so than big picture. It’s challenging, but I’m coming around. Still, if I could get away with two characters yapping away in a single scene with no true subplots, I would do just that.

It worked for Clerks.

Images courtesy of Marvel Comics.