Fare thee well, LoKor

As you can tell from both what we've said and the aesthetic and content-based changes we've made to the site recently, The League is undergoing a period of great change. Most of that change is good, for the best. However, some of it was also unwanted and sad, albeit predictable.

LoKor, after being there in the beginning and helping to create The League, has left the group. While I won't go into much detail on why here, as I'm sure if he wants to, he will do so, I will say that he has gone on to pursue something else, career-wise, which he is much more invested in at the moment. Though those of us still in the League do not want to give up trying to write professionally, we understand that one's heart must be in it 100% to do that. LoKor's just wasn't anymore, and we, as his friends and fellow Leaguers, understood that.

LoKor, we'll avenge you if it's the last thing we do. Writers Block will pay for this!

Bye, Onyx

BYE, ONYX!

See you in a few days!

And so was invented the reverse post-card, where, upon going on vacation, travelers receive picturesque well-wishes from those back at home.

Thanksgiving Aftermath

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!

I'll tell you, it's been hectic these past few weeks. We haven't gotten much new writing done recently, but we've been pushing one another to get re-writes of earlier things done. It's actually been quite helpful for me. There's a project I've really enjoyed working on in the past (and is the thing I've spent the most time on, over a year and a half).

Still, it's not something that I felt I was ready to jump back into yet. I believe I posted back in March about having listened to a particular song, which put me in the mood to attack this script again (if I didn't write that, then I felt it nonetheless). Despite that motivation, I never got back to the script.

However, Onyx and others pushed me back into it. I wouldn't say that I was reluctant, but it wasn't first on my mind. They put it there, and I have to say, I'm very grateful to them for that. I'm pleased with the end result (as much as I can call it the "end" for now) and am still psyched up about it.

Sometimes, I guess others know what's best when you're stuck. I'm not saying that's something we should go by all the time, or that I plan to do that. But I wasn't sure what I was going to write; The League suggested strongly that I work on this particular thing, and I think it turned out well.

...Oh, and enjoy the comic.

Strike!

I'm sure you're wondering--I like to think we have readers who think about our opinions on things--what we think of the strike.

Frankly, we find it complicated. At least I do.

The Guild is an incredibly valuable union for writers. It is nearly essential for people who plan on making their living doing what we want to do.

But, there are so many regulations and stipulations that I cannot even begin to explain or fully understand that the issue, for someone in my situation, is difficult to completely and honestly wrap one's head around.

I support the Guild, of course. I support anything that gives writers more of what they're due, anything that reminds people how important writers are.

As a non-member, it is difficult to figure out exactly where I fall or how I am affected, if at all. I do not want to cross the picket lines or work against the Guild. However, the logistics of it all are such that I would have to sit and think much longer (and at an earlier hour) to be able to formulate a more concrete position on and understanding of the matter.

So until then, the picture holds a thousand words...

Oh no! Look out, Cakeman!

In lieu of an actual post, which will come later. There's much to say. I hope everyone's writing. And don't forget to send us emails with any questions/comments/death threats. We like reading things.

The League meets it's first foe. Introducing...

WRITER'S BLOCK!

Sorry we've all been so M.I.A. recently. Not to go into it here, but this (Writer's Block) is what it looks like happened to us and the blog. But on behalf of the League, I can assure you two things:

1) We've been writing and meeting regularly

-and-

2) We're back!

Steady Employment

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How It Really Goes

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Before Spider-Man Fades into Oblivion....

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Compromises

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But Craft is Fun!

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In the screenwriting class I just finished taking, my teacher introduced us to an aspect of craft known (to him, anyway) as "Emotional Resonance." Basically, it's a way of creatively giving insight into the feelings of the characters without coming right out and saying it. A great example can be found in the script for Casablanca. It's happens in the scene where Rick is first meeting Lazlo and reuniting with Ilsa. I don't remember the line, but it looks something like this:

RICK
(but why is he looking at Ilsa?)
Blah blah blah, poorly delivered line.

It actually does make a world of difference in a screenplay, but as it was the first time I was introduced to the technique, I...well, struggled with it. While I can't destroy buildings like my superhero counterpart, believe me, the frustration was definitely there. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Cake Man

It's belated, but we try our best...

And So It Begins, Part 2

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Motherly Love

While I assure you that the conversation that influenced the comic was not nearly this...um, annoying, while recently speaking to my mother, the questions regarding my life's current course inevitably came up. It's becoming a tradition as tried and true as the change of the seasons. The simple act of nature showing some kind of progress, albeit cyclical, is a reminder to those with something invested in my future to ask just what, exactly, my progress has been. I suppose blogging, drawing crappy comics, and writing movies is not quite the answer they're looking for, but then I could probably be rescuing babies from alligators in China and some naysayer would still find trouble with the fact that there was no ultimate point. It seems even the most heroic, even superheroes, are bound to this criticism.

So where then does that leave the indebted yet artistic twenty-somethings?

I shudder at the thought.

FYI: The 2nd part of "And So It Begins" will be posted this week. I'm not too sure there are people out there squirming with baited breath, but it never hurts to inflate one's importance.


Write On...

And So It Begins (Part 1)

Part one of our four-part opening revolves around LoKor's arrival on Earth and, more importantly, his discovery by Cake Man. If nothing else, it seems fitting. Blogger, for all it's perks, is a bit faulty when it comes to posting pictures. Unfortunately, to see the strip in its full visual glory, you will have to click on it. Needless to say, I hope that you do so.

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(All that being said, please, if you haven't done so, take the time to read Cake Man's earlier post. While I've made an attempt to stay away from the sentimentality involved with the formation of this group, he nails it, and touchingly so. Save it, bookmark it, and come back to it when being an artist is a little harder than you expected.)

Write on...