On 6 Years of Sobriety
Couple of thoughts on the best decision I've ever made.
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Raiders of Character
How does an Indiana Jones-knockoff outgrow her shoddy beginnings? By embracing fiction’s holy grail: character development.
Dark Midwest | Volume 1 Issue 1
The archive of fictional, sinister and mysterious secrets spreading from the dark center of the country. Human intelligence text.
How’s Your Soft Apocalypse Going?
A Hopeful Note from a Delirious Parent
The Incredible Fantastic Four
Quality in the Face of Quantumania
THE X-MEN # 9, JANUARY 1965
“Giant-Man!! Would you mind modulating your voice to a softer pitch? The resonance from your oversized larynx is virtually deafening!”
Writers Make Choices
Story Design in the Age of AI
THE X-MEN #8, NOVEMBER 1964
“I am in the heart of the Balkans, in Europe… Descending into an almost bottomless pit!”
McDonald’s Milkshakes Are Weak. Brand Is Why I Buy Like 6 a Year.
Twice now, my family and I have spent winter weekends at a local Hyatt Hotel in Oak Brook, Illinois. It’s a sprawling old building hidden in the woods with a pool large enough for the antic gangs of small kids. Its primary function, it seems to me, is to
THE X-MEN #7, SEPTEMBER 1964
“It’s come at last! The moment we’ve been waiting for! We are looking at the uncanny X-Men, accompanied by Professor Xavier as they pose before an automatic camera on their graduation day!” And so issue 7 begins with caps and tassels, scrolled diplomas, and much handshaking and congratulating.
Wrestle Forever
My wrestling coaches used to shout “Many hands make light work!” at the begining and end of every practice. We, the young wrestlers, would gather as one to drag the enormous heavy sheets of wrestling mats across the gym floors. Many hands make light work. A phrase I hadn’t
THE X-MEN #6, MAY 1964
“Never have you, the reading public, been so instantly fascinated by a group of super-powerful villains as last issue, when you met Magneto’s evil mutants!” Central Conflict: Namor VS. The X-Men VS. The Brotherhood of Evil There’s really just no way around the fact that a lot of
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On Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Extreme Ownership by and Jocko Willink is one of the non-fiction books I most frequently recommend and return to myself. The authors are Navy SEALs and founders of , a leadership consultancy. They’re also jacked out of their minds, and they speak and act like the action heroes they are.
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THE X-MEN #5, MAY 1964
“Never have you, the reading public, been so instantly fascinated by a group of super-powerful villains as last issue, when you met Magneto’s evil mutants!” Central Conflict: X-Men vs. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Well, everything is delightfully batshit now. In a handful of colorful pages, the X-Men save
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On Annie Jacobsen’s “Nuclear War: A Scenario”
The only good news is that this hasn’t happened as of yet.
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THE X-MEN #4, MARCH 1964
“I am wiring two bombs! One will be placed at this door, to booby-trap it and destroy them when they enter! As for the other, that one will be a nuclear bomb, capable of blowing up this entire nation!” Up to this point, each issue of The X-Men has been
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Jack Bauer’s 24 Days of Pizza
Day 1: The Thyme Bomb
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The X-Men #3, November, 1963
“Didn’t expect the flying Zamboobas to tackle you this way, did you?” Central conflict: The X-Men vs. The Blob and a cast of circus performers At this point (Issue 3), the X-Men’s central purpose seems to be to detect and locate other mutants and absorb them into their
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On Setting in Horror
Fear’s arena matters. Physiological fear. Fear that bursts through your muscle fibers and floods your chest cavity. The fear you can taste in moments of real physical danger. I’ve only had that a handful of times. Thanks for reading Lane Talbot! Subscribe for free to receive new posts
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The X-Men #2, October, 1963
“Silence! No talking!! Not until I conclude this presentation!” Central conflict: The X-Men vs. The Vanisher Fresh from their initial victory, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman and Angel aren’t short on pride or teenage superheated enthusiasm for everything. Whether they’re bickering, rescuing construction workers from a falling brick
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On Ronin
A Checklist for Writers and Mercenaries
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THE X-MEN #1, SEPTEMBER 1963
“The heat is so intense that even I cannot get close to it! I must walk carefully around it!”
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The X-Men and I are Trying to Work Some Things Out
Like hardcore drug use and street gang membership, the practice of comic book reading is a culthood into which you are inducted, always, by someone close to you.