New release: Spider-Girl, issue #23

A case of mistaken identity has become a deliberate plan to deceive, as after school girl Liz Allen was kidnapped by Hollywood reject Quentin Beck, AKA Mysterio, together they hatch a plan for Liz to become Spider-Girl. Both of them have quite different agendas, however, and Betty Brant - newly employed as an investigative reporter for the Daily Bugle - is about to get caught in the middle....

Issue #23: The Girl Who Would Be Spider-Girl

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Read it online on Google Drive (no login required)

Yep, it's here. Just over two years since the last issue. Not much more to say, really; read the previous blog post if you have the time.

Issue #24 and #25 to follow in the next few weeks when I have time. I forgot what a pain in the ass it was to get these from my word processor to the wider world.

PS: Yep, I'm 'sharing' these on Google Drive (AKA Google Docs). I am not publishing them as web pages - yet. I may do in the near future. Let me know if you like/prefer that option.

PPS: I've finally disabled anonymous comments. Getting a Gmail account or OpenID that's anonymous is stupidly easy. If you want to comment, please do so in a way that helps me track who said what.

The real reason for a four month gap

Yep, still haven't released the 'missing' SG issues I mentioned last time. I have a pretty good excuse. Excuses, actually.

First the big one. Some time after I wrote the last post, I was laid off from my job. Unexpectedly, as tends to be the case with layoffs. It's not a good feeling and it tends to throw your life into disarray. I was lucky to find another job not too long afterwards, but that came with a lot of life changes. Needless to say I didn't want to sit in front of the keyboard much after that.

Second. The truth is when I dashed off that post in May I wasn't actually done with 25. I was really close. In fact I'm still not done; there's one last scene. It's probably 30 minutes of work. I also need to edit and rewrite 23, 24 and 25 itself, although I'm almost done with that process. So, bit of work still to be done. But why haven't I done it in the last few months?

Ah, excuse the third. Truth is, I have no damn idea what I'm doing any more, and not much of a clue why I'm doing it, either.

The series could run indefinitely. I know that now. I have plotlines that could run forever. I have major arcs, minor arcs and all sorts of crazy ideas. I have long term plans. I could even throw in a 'Brand New Day' or a 'Marvel Knights' style reboot (or even, as I contemplated a while back, a MAX version of the series - AKA 'all the sex, swearing and violence I want').

Here's the problem: right now, I gain nothing from this. Absolutely zero. Allow me to get very 'real' for the rest of this post.

Only took six months or so

Issue 25 is finished. The arc is done, finally. I have no excuses for how long it's taken, but it's done.

I may even release it at some point.

Cracked it... I think

The reason you haven't seen the remaining issues of Spider-Girl? Well it's because my plot tied itself in knots.

I think I just figured it out. That said, I've thought I've had it figured out before. Let's hope.

Time flies

Holy cow - almost a year without a post. Apologies, although I've been busy elsewhere, that's for sure.

The truth is I'm actually writing. In fact, been writing today. Three things are on the go, on and off: the Babysitter (which will definitely not be called that), Housesitting and occasionally Spider-Girl. Don't expect any of them soon, but with patience they'll eventually turn up.

I actually log in to Tumblr more than I do here - I even posted a short piece of fiction, but don't expect that to become a habit.


(Edit - I moved that short piece to the Maskingwriter group, as generally that's where I throw stories.)

Well, not much else to say, I do like to ensure I post on occasion here so people know I'm alive. Watch my Tumblr for, well, usually photos of ladies in fun outfits...!

The 'lost' cover for #21

 Gentlemen (and maybe even ladies), I present this limited edition comic cover for Betty Brant, the Sensational Spider-Girl #21... umm, a little late.

Issue #21 cover: click to enlarge!

Late last year, when for a brief shining moment I thought I was about to be able to start releasing issues regularly again (Ha!), I commissioned DeviantArt user Poserhobbit to create this custom image of Betty. As you might guess from his name, the image was created using Poser 3D.

Poserhobbit was very helpful in letting me get exactly the pose and style of image I wanted, which was really a 'classic comic cover' look. This image is actually cropped a little from the original, which you can see here. I added the cover flash and so on.

And why didn't I post this along with issue #21...? Er, honestly, I just forgot!

New release: Spider-Girl, issue #22

Weeks have passed since Betty Brant's return to her own dimension, and to New York City. As she settles into her new life - one where she is no longer a passive secretary at the Daily Bugle, but a reporter in her own right - new potential threats are appearing from unexpected quarters…

Issue #22: Illusory Enemies

Download from Maskingwriter (Yahoo! Group)

First of all, apologies for the completely unintended delay to the issue. First I had some major personal issues crop up in my life (now, thankfully, resolved), which threw me way off-kilter for a few weeks. Then when I finally got back to looking at the issue, I decided to... well, change the entire arc in a way that won't be obvious until it's actually over.

Suffice to say, this issue was a nightmare. Well, kind of. It wasn't that the issue itself was a nightmare, it was that the endless plotting, re-plotting, editing, re-editing and on and on and on... it just never seemed to end. To give you an idea, several of the sections in here were either conceived or first written in 2008. The bulk was written in 2009... but some pieces were finished, literally, today. (I can't count how many times I wrote and re-wrote that first scene, by the way. That was finally nailed a month ago.)

This is what happens when you let things stew for too long, people. You get more ideas and you think they're better than the initial ones, and then you try to cram everything in and it explodes in your face.

Anyway. I'm now pretty much happy with this issue and with the entire re-jigged arc. I had to make one major change which you probably won't even notice, but when the whole thing is told, hopefully you'll go "Ahhh, I missed that, but there it was, all along." And yeah, sometimes when I've been tearing out my hair over this, I do wonder if anyone cares! So tell me you do!!

To recap on the overall arc again; right now it's probably going to finish in issue #25, it might stretch to #26... I'm not too sure. Issue #23 is done bar some rewriting to accommodate the changes mentioned above. #24 is also pretty much done. #25 is plotted, loosely. I'll probably feel comfortable releasing #23 inside a couple of weeks; at the end of that issue the whole plot takes a serious right-turn....

As I said before... after that we might go on a semi-permanent series hiatus, but never say never. I have some very interesting stuff warming up here, and keep making notes on post-arc stuff... it might just be too fun to ignore. But who knows.

If you've not read the rest of the series I highly recommend you try it via Maskingwriter (membership required). Just like real Marvel Comics I now have far too much continuity for you to jump in 'new'... but I expect you'll enjoy the ride.

And if you do enjoy, please do leave a comment below, and click on an ad - thank you!

New release: Spider-Girl, issue #21

Betty has finally returned from Gotham City, having helped cage the Chameleon once more. In her absence, Susan Storm, AKA the Invisible Girl, 'kept up appearances' as Spider-Girl - and in the process, may have gotten Betty into more trouble than she'd like....

Issue #21: Imaginary Friends

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Unbelievable! A new issue! Only two years after the last one! This is getting to be like real comics with these delays! Seriously, for the one or two of you who still care... thank you for waiting!

The good news for you stalwart fans is that this arc is seriously advanced, with about two, almost three more issues in the can. (It's hard to tell just how many as I'm juggling what goes where right now. Aiming for it to be three more issues but it might stretch to four.) So I'm hoping to release following issues, probably once a fortnight, until this arc is done.

After that - I warn you in advance - the series is probably going to go on hiatus again as I try and switch focus back to my novel-in-progress. This was just an itch I had to scratch and hopefully this will scratch it, at least for a while.

Getting back to this issue; this picks up right where the 'Crossover' arc left off, so if you haven't read that in a while (say, two years) you might want to refresh your memory before diving back in. This issue ties up a few things but also sets the stage for the introduction of a classic villain... you'll see exactly who at the end of the issue.

As usual, all the back issues are available at Maskingwriter (membership required). Going forward I'm not going to be using steekr - I never got any feedback on it, and I have other methods in the works to get the issues to you outside of Yahoo!. (BTW if you've tried to sign up to Maskingwriter and got rejected, it was by me. I assure you it only happens if your age isn't displayed in your profile.)

Last but not least - if you enjoy, please do leave a comment below, and click on an ad - thank you!

Now on Tumblr

Blogger's a little cumbersome for quick and easy "I found this" posts, so I set myself up on Tumblr.

See you there maybe?

Messin' with the blog

I came home ready to write tonight, but for some reason when I hit the keyboard, it wasn't coming. It's not writer's block - I'll get back to it later - but it was a good excuse to spring-clean the blog here, which I'd been meaning to do for a while.

Apart from re-arranging, cleaning out the clutter on the right hand side and giving the whole thing a damn good thrashing (ahem) I added yet another exciting way for you to interact with me here. Under every post now you'll see something called 'Reactions' where you can check a box and leave an opinion on the post. It doesn't require a login or anything, it's totally anonymous... so for all you lurkers, here's a chance to say something. Without... saying something.

Of course, I always love to hear from people via email (ghostlywriter AT g mail DOT com) and in comments - but here's a new alternative. So tick those boxes! (And also let me know if you want alternative... reactions. Like, say, 'Meh'.)

Right, back to the real work.