Lords of Justice: A New Take on Super Hero Fiction
© Eric S Brown
On November 30 th , 2008, Cyberwizard Productions will be releasing a new anthology entitled Lords of Justice. This isn't just another SF or horror book being tossed into the marketplace. This is an anthology of super heroes taken to the next level. Lords of Justice is a brilliant collection of four prose novellas which take a more literary, though still action packed, look at the super hero genre. Some of its authors include Kevin G. Summers, Robert Orme, and Bryan Hitchcock. Recently I had a chance to chat with these talented writers about the upcoming book.
What hopes do you have for Lords of Justice in terms of how it's received?
Robert: Naturally, my ideal is that it will be the beginning of a surge of popularity in original superhero prose, going into ten printings; that anthology publishers will clamor to pay pro rates for the latest stories of the Paladin, the Frostwich, Manny Miracle, and the Termite because they know they'll more than make up the money from the thousands of fans of those heroes; and that three decades from now everyone who was ever involved in the book will still be getting requests for interviews and public talks.
More realistically, I hope that everyone who buys the book will find some fresh and different element that we've brought to the superhero genre.
Bryan: I hope it reaches fans of the super hero genre and adventure fiction. Is it too much to hope for "cult phenomenon" status? lol Really, it would be nice just to get some good reviews and maybe do well enough to warrant another round. Lords of Justice II anyone?
Kevin: I can't speak for the other writers, but personally, I'd love to be able to tell more stories with the Paladin. If there are readers out there that want it, then I would be more than willing to deliver.
How did you become involved with the book?
Robert: Original editor Daniel Blackstone posted the invitation to submit on the SFReader.com discussion forums, where I am a regular. I saw the chance of getting a superhero novelette actually published as unique, and while that had the downside that it would be hard to place my novelette if it was rejected, it was too good an opportunity to not reach for it.
Bryan: I was working on getting a story published in Flashing Swords magazine. The editor at the time was also putting together this anthology. When I read about it, I just knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. My story, Cold Snap, is a total labor of love and I was so thrilled when it was accepted for the anthology. It was my first sale. Incidentally, my second sale will be in the November issue of Flashing Swords magazine.
Kevin: Someone in my writing group, the Paneranormal Society, sent me a link to Pitch Black Books, the original publisher. He wanted to put together an anthology of super hero fiction, and as an avid comic book fan, it sounded right up my alley.
Who are your favorite super heroes?
Robert: Eternity Smith, Daredevil, and the Black Panther. Eternity Smith's unwavering devotion to his ethics may well have influenced the Termite's personality. At any rate, he was an influence in one way: I gave the Termite the name of Ethan McCarthy as a tip of the hat to Eternity Smith(real name Dr. Ethan Caldwell Smith).
Bryan: Batman and Spider-Man have been my faves since I was a kid. I always loved how Spidey managed to draw strength from his family and friends to overcome the odds. That's a strong theme in Cold Snap. Batman is just the coolest, because he's such a smart guy--the detective super hero. He draws a lot of strength from his background as well. Even without super powers, I think there's something inspiring about rising above our pain, standing on the shoulders of giants and doing the best we can to make things better and fight against injustice.
Kevin: Nightwing and Superman are right at the top of my list. I've been following Nightwing since he wore short pants, and Superman nearly as long. In particular, I enjoy the rare moments they share together. They had one in Peter Tomasi's current story line, and it was a classic moment for both characters. I'm mostly a DC guy, but I've been following Captain America and Thor over at Marvel, and they've been consistently good as well. And while he isn't quite your average super hero, I'd also like to mention my other favorite comic character... Jonah Hex. His book is AWESOME!
Would you write super hero fiction again if the chance arose?
Robert: Way ahead of you. I've already had a flash fiction staring the Termite appear in Flashshot, and at the moment I'm finishing up a Termite short story. I'm hoping that I'll keep getting ideas for the character so that I can make him a serialized success, but if not, I can certainly come up with another character.
Bryan: Absolutley! It really is a genre of its own, with elements of fantasy and science fiction, but with its own style. I'd love to write more stories in the world of Cold Snap, where most supers use their powers for greed or fame. While Cold Snap does tell a complete story, it definitely leaves the door open for more stories. I already have a few in mind.
Kevin: Absolutely. I love the genre and I make no apologies for that. I'd love to write more stories focusing on the Paladin, a different character, or even something more mainstream (just in case Dan Didio is reading this).
How do you think super hero fiction in prose form differs from super hero comics?
Robert: The differences are manifold, and huge - they're two different art mediums. But just to name one, good dialogue is much more vital in comics, especially in fight scenes. I mention this because, sadly, a lot of current super hero comics writers seem to think they're writing prose, where dialogue can be completely absent from fight scenes. In comics this results in fight scenes that are shallow, meaningless, and unnaturally silent. A good fight scene isn't just two or more people pounding on each other; it's a clash of ideals and personalities. Sometimes it's simple: Bad Guy is a low life who wants to rob a bank, Good Guy is a brave hero who wants to see that people keep the money they've earned. Sometimes it's a lot more complex, with no clear good guys or bad guys. Either way, that clash of ideals needs to be felt for the fight to have any meaning or intensity, and in comics the only way to do that is through dialogue(or, more rarely, through narrative). In prose you can explain that clash of ideals beforehand and just let the fight happen. I actually chose to give the fight scenes in my Lords of Justice entry a fair amount of dialogue, even though it is prose. I felt that the dialogue gave the fight scenes more "punch".
Bryan: Comics are a visual medium. They benefit from great writing and characters, but I think the plot and the artwork are the main attraction. Where fiction excels is in showing you what is going on inside the characters' heads and how they think and feel about what is going on around them. As writers, this gives us an opportunity to let the reader inside the hero. The challenge is to develop a character that readers can really relate to. The other big difference, at least in the case of Lords of Justice, is that there is no second season, no issue #2. The stories are complete, and each one really takes you for a ride. Sometimes I hate having to wait a month to see the next itty-bitty piece of the story in a comic book.
Kevin: Obviously, it's less visual, but it can be more textured in certain ways. When you're working in prose, you can take more time to describe smells and sounds, not to mention all the thoughts that are rattling around in your character's head. I suppose you could do all that in a comic, but it would kill your pacing.
How did you come up with the idea for your hero in Lords of Justice?
Robert: I've been a superhero fan most of my life, and this was the first time I actually set out to create a fully realized one of my own, so the Termite was pulled together from a bunch of different things that I'd always wanted to see in a superhero. For one, I wanted to have a hero who was very close to his family, since most superheroes are focused entirely on their friends, without so much as a phone to the brother on Christmas. And because I keep hearing that it's a bad idea to give a character original powers, I deliberately came up with superpowers that(so far as I know) have never appeared in any other character. I also wanted a superhero who has a strong respect for life but is willing to kill if there is no other way to protect innocent lives.
Bryan: The hero I focused on is the Frostwitch. The submissions guidelines for Lords of Justice asked for stories that dealt with modern issues. At the time I wrote the story, I was consuming a lot of news about the experiences of women in the military during our current conflict in Iraq. Some of it is pretty disturbing, and I wanted to explore some of that without getting preachy. So I decided my heroine would be a vet, a kind of comic book idelaized mix of Suzanne Swift and Jessica Lynch. Next, I looked around at the existing supers pantheons, and read a great book called The Physics of Super Heroes. A cold hero seemed to be one of the least used concepts, and one that would allow me to inject a bit of science. Lastly, I decided to set the story in Sacramento, where I live because it provided a unique setting and made more sense for me as a writer, than trying to fake familiarity with a huge metropolis. Since Sac is the capitol of California, this developed in an interesting way, where Frostwitch is not so much the guardian of just one city, but of the golden state itself.
Kevin: I hate to admit this, but I have absolutely no idea where my ideas come from. There's a little bit of me at 14 in the Paladin, but he's mostly his own man (or boy). I can tell you that the idea came to me during a revival at my church (maybe God gave me the idea), and that I wrote it mostly during the middle of the night and finished it on Halloween.
Thank you all for taking the time to be a part of this interview and share with Static Movement's readers. I hope everyone out there decides to drop by www.cyberwizardproductions.com
Eric S Brown is a zombie writer and comic columnist, living in NC. He is the author of the upcoming Season of Rot (from Permuted Press) and Unabridged, Unabashed, and Undead: The Best of Eric S Brown (from Library of the Living Dead Books), both due out in 2009. His book Zombies Inhuman will also be released in a special second edition from Black River Publishing as well. Some of his past books include Cobble, The Queen, The Wave, Waking Nightmares, Dying Days, Space Stations and Graveyards, Madmen's Dreams, and Portals of Terror and the chapbooks Bad Mojo, Zombies: The War Stories, Flashes of Death, Still Dead, Viruses and Vamps, and Blood Rain among others. His short fiction has been published hundreds of times in markets like The Undead anthology series, Where have all the Good Zombies Gone, Zombology, and in magazines like Dark Wisdom, Story House, The Eternal Night, and many others. He is a staff writer for The Hacker's Source and The Horror Writer magazines and writes ongoing comic book columns for his local entertainment paper and Abandoned Towers magazine.