Work continues to develop regarding some OOTW interactive media. One thing is for sure though, these things do take time. Contacts continue to be made and ideas continue to be thrown around. There are definitely plenty of new and innovative counseling tools on the horizon, both OOTW related and not.
As a side note, I am also excited to talk about a new venture that I have taken on. I am currently writing a fictional comedy graphic novel to be drawn by Manuel Aguilera. This story is much different than the OOTW series, as it’s simply a fictional work for fiction sake. The story is set in the 1960’s during the “Race to the Moon”. The main character, Ted, one of the most gifted rocket scientists in the nation, has been fired from NASA. Ted, you see, feels that NASA should be using a different propellant for launching vessels for space exploration. He was in charge of the division that was studying the probability of using an ethyl alcohol propellant instead of the highly volatile liquid hydrogen propellant NASA eventually used for successful space exploration. But you see, Ted didn’t have the benefit of history and hindsight on his side. He ended up on the wrong side of the fence.
Since rocket science had been his life mission since he accidentally blew up the science lab in elementary school, Ted begins some experiments on his own, and nearly gets himself killed literally hundreds of times. As the experiments continue, and the explosions increase, Ted is told by NASA and the FBI that if he continues with his unsanctioned experiments he will be arrested and face charges against the state.
For one, the race to space was on, and even though the nation didn’t want to come in second place to the Soviet Union, it really didn’t want to come in second place to Ted Wortmann. Second, not just anyone can try to launch something into orbit. It’s a good thing, I assume, that the federal government regulates when and where someone launches a 30-ton machine into the air above our heads (with the potential, of course, of it crashing back to earth).
But this is Ted’s life mission and he is determined to see it through, even if that means losing his marriage, facing federal charges, and having to ditch the FBI tail every time he leaves the house.
The story, although it seems serious, is written as a comedy and it won’t be taking itself too seriously at all. In fact, I just got done writing the first 12 pages last night and I was laughing my backside off thinking of all the hilarious opportunities that I could explore. What a great period of time the 60’s were. The black op helicopters, conspiracies, the styles, the innocence that was about to end, and the race to space. I mean, we were going to the moon…the moon! We look back on that now and it seems like it was no big deal. But in reality, it was one of the greatest accomplishments man has ever made.
That’s been my other recent passion lately…reading about our voyage into space. You read through some of those books (I’ll have to post my book list someday) and you realize these guys were heroes. But I digress…
So the story of Ted will get him in a variety of humorous situations as he tries to cobble together a working launch mechanism to get into orbit. Will he succeed? Will he be the first man on the moon? I doubt it. But I’m thinking rationally. Ted, your neighbor with enough rocket fuel in his garage to take out five city blocks, is not.
The first scene is complete and ready for Manny to begin drawing, which he will start this weekend. I will post images as they come through and keep you up to date on my little side project. If I can do 3 pages of scripting a day I will be good, and I will still be able to focus on OOTW duties that call. Overall, it’s been nice to take my writing brain down a different path for a change.
Here's a quick look at our hapless loser....
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