Author Archives: Sean Ian Mills
My Next Comic Book Project is Cover Bard
Great news, everybody! At long last I am finally working on a new comic book writing project! All my life I’ve wanted to be a professional fiction writer, but I’ve never really done it all that much. I’ve got this blog, and my first comic book project, Gamer Girl & Vixen, is still in production. But finally, at long last, I’ve started up a whole new, solo project!
Introducing Cover Bard, my new fantasy comic book series!
For the past year, I’ve been taking a comics writing class from Scott Snyder, the guy behind New 52 Batman and a ton of other great comic books and stories. The class has really taught me a lot and helped me to focus on my storytelling. I highly recommend the class on Substack. It’s about to start its second year, still going strong.
That class has finally pushed me to write again. I’ve always had a ton of ideas, but there’s just be some mental block that stopped me from buckling down and just writing. I just wouldn’t get out of my own way. But the time is now, and the story is Cover Bard!
This is going to be a fantasy comic about that very idea, of a creator unable to get out of their own way. Cover Bard will star Langley Stoll, a rather unimpressive young man who’s always dreamed of being a famous bard. But instead of writing and performing his own music, he spends all his time doing cover songs of the far more famous and popular bard, Phoenix Fire.
This isn’t a comic about the greatest bard in the world. This is just a tribute.
Langley — stage name “Phoenix Lyre” — meets up with the elf rogue, Kenzie Fleet, and the gnoll fighter, Bartlesby of the Sharptooth Cackle, to go on an adventure to the upcoming Phoenix Fire concert in the big city. Langley is convinced that if gets a chance to play his tribute songs for his musical idol, then Phoenix Fire will take him along on tour and he’ll finally be famous. Little does he know, Kenzie, the rogue, is playing him for a sucker. She plans to use Langley as both a Trojan Horse and a fall guy in her scheme to rob Phoenix Fire blind. She just has to get Langley to the big concert in one piece.
And that is the basic story, set up in the first issue…which is written, but is far from done. I plan to use this upcoming month to hire an artist and get to work making a new comic! I’m planning for 5 to 6 total issues, with some Kickstarters along the way to help fund it. So expect to see more about Cover Bard on this blog in the future.
I’m finally making my own comics again and I couldn’t be more excited!
—————-
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/3/22
Happy Birthday to me! Not yet, of course. It won’t be until Tuesday — and I’ve got a big announcement to make! — but this is the comics review column ahead of my birthday, so why not say something? Life is fun that way. And comics were fun this week! Including the launch of a new Thunderbolts and another great issue of The Variants.
Comic Book of the Week goes to Ant-Man #2 for how much fun this anniversary series has been, really reaching back into the past and capturing the era-specific magic of guys like Eric O’Grady in his heyday.
Meanwhile, I’m deep into Total War: Warhammer 3 these days, loving the new factions and the giant map. Glad to finally be playing Immortal Empires! I’ve also gotten around to watching Paper Girls on Amazon Prime and it is a real letdown. It feels like an early 2000s Nickelodeon take on the material.
Comic Reviews: Ant-Man #2, Thunderbolts #1 and The Variants #3.
Read the rest of this entryI Custom-Ordered Myself as a LEGO
LEGO is trying out a new thing called the Minifigure Factory, where you can custom-design and buy your own LEGO mini-figures. It’s only in the Beta right now, and I don’t think it’s open to everybody. I got an invite in a recent LEGO newsletter and for sure I was going to try it out! They only had some limited design options, but I managed to make a pretty good version of myself.
They got the design of the shirts I wear, including a little graphic to add a pocket, pen and ink splotch. They got the beard and glasses. They don’t let you pick the color or design of the arms, which is a shame. But perhaps things will get better when it opens for real. For now, I’ve got a LEGO me, and he’s pretty neat. Is adorning my office desk for the time being, because if I take him home, I’m probably gonna dress him up like a Ghostbuster or put him in a mech or something.
At the very least, I definitely recommend LEGO’s Minifigure Factory for a good time.
————-
6 Things I Want to See in Mass Effect 4
Recently, I completed the epic adventure is that is the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, combining the first three Mass Effect games and all of their DLC. Way back when the games first came out, I played through the first two and then never bothered with the third game. There was such a negative backlash that I simply didn’t play it. But time heals all wounds, and a nice sale on the Legendary Edition had me back in the saddle as Commander Shepherd.
What does the future hold for the Mass Effect video game series? Does anybody have any idea? Two years ago, we got a tiny teaser that the game was in the works. It’s been radio silence since. I’m one of the few people who seems to have actually enjoyed Mass Effect: Andromeda, but the developers stopped bothering with that game almost immediately. So this list is just going to be a bunch of random speculation and thoughts about what this hypothetical game might contain.
Join me after the jump as I reflect on my Legendary Edition playthrough and offer some hope for the future.
Read the rest of this entryThe Weird Al Movie Will Save Us All
The geniuses of the world have gotten together to make a Weird Al Yankovic biopic for the Roku…streaming service? Channel? What is The Roku Channel? I have no idea. But that doesn’t matter! We’re getting a biopic parody film starring Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al!
Honestly, part of me wonders if this whole movie can live up to the short and sweet humor of the trailer. How do you take some of those short, snappy parody moments in that trailer and turn them into full scenes of a movie? Maybe it’s only a half hour movie. I dunno. I just love what I’m seeing and can’t wait to watch the whole thing!
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story comes to whatever The Roku Channel is on Nov. 4!
—————–
