Well... this has been an exciting campaign. There are so many great pitches on this site it's a shame we can't all win. Such is life, though, and only three more will make it today. I can't say that I wouldn't been completely elated and jumping for...
Well... this has been an exciting campaign. There are so many great pitches on this site it's a shame we can't all win. Such is life, though, and only three more will make it today. I can't say that I wouldn't been completely elated and jumping for joy and freaking out if
Inherit the Kingdom or one of my other pitches managed to make the short-list.
Still, barring a Stan's Last Deal leap it looks like we'll just miss it by a hair. 6th place isn't bad, though (well ninth I guess if you count the ones already short-listed). In a way I do sorta feel that I've failed the fans somewhat because it seems we may just be missing that "X factor" needed to pull those last few votes. I wish I fully knew what it was. Maybe lack of art or not enough character bios or maybe the writing wasn't flashy enough or the names not interesting enough or the characters not cool enough or just too little too late.
Nevertheless, I'm proud of the piece. And even more so, that it made it this far. It may not win against the other juggernaut pitches up there, but Greg and I had a lot of fun talking about the idea and coming up with the story and world to back it. For anyone who has read the "World" section of the pitch they know how much detail we put into this pitch. Heck, we could actually have a ton of other comic stories from this world before the pit fights ever even existed.
It's been great and I've appreciated everyone's support and votes along the way. Thank you all so very much! It might seem silly but I thought for the last blog of the Direct 2 Development 2 season I'd talk about how I originally came up with the idea.
Hehehe... and I'll try not to disenfrancise anyone along the way. I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about wrestling. But that's originally where the idea was sparked. I don't actually watch wrestling on TV. Usually don't have the time. However, I always have liked playing the video games. I know. Terrible person. However, what I really liked about the last few WWE video games is the writing. It's the main reason I get them. I didn't care so much about the actual wrestling as I did the storylines and plots that take place and ability to make decisions and alter the storyline and so on and so forth. "Create a character" and then watch your story unfold. In fact, this years was disappointing largely because it was missing most of that.
But back on subject, when I was playing the video games I realized something. Honestly, the storylines would suck you in and have you wondering who did it, or how you'd get the girl back, or who betrayed you, or who was scheming behind your back, and so on and so forth. However, in their basic form they were all so simple. And that, whether you hate the WWE or love it, is the brilliance of the whole thing. You don't always need fancy ploys, crazy gimmicks, fantasy worlds, or other unusual aspects to make a good story.
Think about some of the basic WWE storylines:
David vs Goliath battle between a smaller fighter and one of the
big men
(Underdog)
Cheating girlfriend story between two fighters and the cheating
girlfriend (Temptation, Jealousy, Betrayal, Revenge)
"Beast" vs "Beauty" storyline between two fighters
(Good vs Evil? Underdog possible)
Competition between two fighters to win the heart of a ring
girl
(fighting for what you love)
Trashed locker room/vandalized property of one fighter by
another
(Jealous? Betrayal possible? Mystery/curiosity, revenge)
Sometimes less is more. As writers, we often get so caught up in making things fancy and amazing and cool (not to stay there's anything wrong with those things) that we miss the stories that lie underneath. The reason why the WWE makes so much money and works (outside the gratuitousness there in) is simple but elegant writing. By keeping the basic plots simple, it's the characters/wrestlers/people that carry the story. Furthermore, those storylines all focus on the most simpliest of human emotions. Jealousy, fear, revenge, curiosity, betrayal, love. They even often play off of the whole underdog and good vs evil ideas.
The fact is, that on some level almost all of the audience can related, if for no other reason than being able to put themselves in the shoes of that other person. Everyone knows that the WWE is staged. But that doesn't stop the fans from watching it loyally. Why? Well among other things, it is a show about people and drama.
And that's what I wanted to write. A book about people, their lives, and the decisions they make that get them there. However, I wanted to raise the stakes. In the WWE, at the end of the day it's all just a show so it all comes out in the wash. I wanted a Fight Club (another influence) where the fights, the women, the temptations, the betrayals, the love, the fear, the revenge were all real. In addition, the cool thing about having it be real is that you are able to see the true underbelly of the whole operation from the drugs to the steroids to the woman and the parties and beyond. (In a way I guess it's almost like a Blitz; the League or Playmakers version of the WWE)
But most importantly, I wanted to tell the story of Jonah. An ordinary "kid" in an extraordinary situation. It's a story of revenge and redemption. A tale of family and the ones we love. A parable about the decisions we make and why they make us human. And the "pit" is our stage. The stakes are real. The fighters are real. The moral dilemmas are real. The challenges are real.
In some stories it's the story that drives the characters but I wanted this to be a character-driven story. Having the pit fighting as a backdrop, comic fans will still get the action and "hot babes" they know and love. However, while being able to easily satisfy those more aesthetic aspects, we are able to tell a worthy story. We are able to introduce new characters, new influences, new challenges, and hard decisions. We get to watch Jonah as he gets caught up in it all and grows more and more torn with every step. And most of all, we get to put ourselves and Jonah's shoes and ask ourselves, "If that was me, what would I do?"
Honestly, we put the M rating on this one not solely because it was gritty or violent or "sexy" but also because we never planned on holding any punches. This isn't a powder puff drama or some anime battle fest amped up on steroids. Not to say that this story won't have its humor or bright moments because even during the darkest times there's always something to be thankful about. The thing about this story is that we want it to be nature. Something that you could watch on the TV or Movie screen and find believable... not in the context of a comic book to movie but in the context of real-life.
In real life, it's all about what we hold dear and the relationships we end up making along the way because of those things. That's what Inherit the Kingdom is all about.
Best wishes to all and I'll see you all on the otherside. I couldn't have competed with a group of more worthy opponents than this one right here. Thanks to you all and I wish you all a great finish to a wild, yet wonderful year.
- Titan.Inc Signing Off
and also the inks on the first actual page of the comic also known as Page X. As most of you Z2H blog readers know by now, we always pick a single page of the comic script for the art team to create and complete as the first page of the actual comic. This allows us to come to agreement on how the story will look as a whole, represented by this one page.
and also the inks on the first actual page of the comic also known as Page X. As most of you Z2H blog readers know by now, we always pick a single page of the comic script for the art team to create and complete as the first page of the actual comic. This allows us to come to agreement on how the story will look as a whole, represented by this one page.
