The Black Vortex Road Trip

My wife and I have been reading a series called "Legendary Star-Lord," but we were a few issues behind. We were really enjoying it until Issue 9, when suddenly we found ourselves in the midst of a story we hadn't been reading called "The Black Vortex." This is a thirteen issue series that runs through several Marvel titles, and we wondered if we really wanted to read it. But then we perused the checklist, and found that we had picked up a couple damaged issues from other Marvel series in the discount box that also belonged to The Black Vortex sequence. So we headed off to our normal comics store to find the missing issues. We purchased the two issues we were missing, and a few of the middle chapters that linked the "Legendary Star-Lord" issues we had previously bought, and then got down to some serious reading.

"The Black Vortex" is a series about an artifact discovered on an alien planet that imbues the volunteer with a huge amount of power. The long-term effects of wielding huge amounts of power bring to mind the old adage "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," but our heroes, including Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy, are faced by super villains who have already been powered-up by the Black Vortex. So it's a real test for them. Do they risk taking on the power, knowing what it can do to them? Can they trust themselves to only use such power for good?

On a subsequent visit, we found our local shop didn't have two of the remaining issues we needed. As we would shortly be heading off to England, we decided to call around and see if any other shops had them, and if so collect them now, rather than wait until after our return, when we might only find the back issue boxes marked up at a much higher cost. So it was time to get on the phone, and then head off on our Black Vortex Road Trip.

Our first stop, at a store about ten miles away, netted us one comic, "Captain Marvel " Issue 14. It's a story written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, who cowrote the second Richard Castle/Derek Storm graphic novel with Brian Michael Bendis. I've never read any Captain Marvel comics before, but she's involved in the series, so maybe I'll emerge with a greater knowledge of her. 

A few blocks later, we wondered if we had taken a wrong turn and ended up in England. For there was a British telephone box on the corner. Or at least it looked like a telephone box, only it was a little small. Hm. You don't suppose someone was having a little fun with a utility box, do you?

About twenty miles from home, we found the other issue we needed: "Cyclops" Issue 12. For the longest time, I wondered what the title might refer to. Images from science and Greek mythology sprang to mind, but nothing else. Then my wife reminded me that Cyclops was a member of the X-Men, and he was also part of the group being tested by the Black Vortex.

Oh well, I guess I'm not into Mutants.

As we were in the neighborhood, we stopped into my favorite place for fish and chips. It's not exactly British fish and chips, but it's a special treat, and whetted my appetite until we get to the United Kingdom.

The second comics store also offered us another surprise: a Jo Grant action figure. Plucky, pretty, and loyal, she accompanied the third Doctor across time and space for three years. I wasn't expecting to find her in the second comics shop, but then, you never know what'll happen when you pick up a comic book, and where it may take you. Especially when you're dealing with a source of immense power such as the Black Vortex. 

I'm guessing she found our car a little different from the TARDIS, but hopefully she enjoyed the twenty mile drive home. We'll have to find her a comfortable place to live. Perhaps next to a Dalek? I wonder if she'd like that?

All stories have the power to transport us to faraway realms, don't they? Our love for English stories certainly keeps us returning to England, where we hope to make many fascinating discoveries this year. What will we do with the power we gain from the discoveries we make this year? Time will tell if we can handle the power we glean from them in a responsible manner.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to pick up the next issue, and utter these important words. "I submit to the Black Vortex..."

Dragon Dave

Our Evolving Morality in Castle and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Society's ethics, and our own sense of right or wrong, is constantly influenced by what we experience, and those with whom we interact. Each generation embraces its own values, and casts aside ones they believe no longer serve their needs. We always believe we're making the right choices, the necessary choices for us, but our decisions define us, and our evolving sense of morality.

In the recent episode "T.A.H.I.T.I." on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Agent Skye lays dying. So Agent May bursts into their plane's detention room and wails away at Quinn, the man who shot Skye.

Their superior agent Coulson calls her off, so she returns to the cockpit. Agent Ward, who witnessed her assault on their prisoner, says, "It was good to see you wail on Quinn like that."

Later, agent Garrett boards the plane mid-flight. He believes Quinn has information that might save Skye's life. So he tells Quinn that he'd better answer his questions now…or he'll rip out his tongue.

In case Quinn doesn't believe him, Garrett shows him how that might feel.

The way Batman wailed away at the Joker's face in "The Dark Knight," while in police custody, turned me off that movie franchise. In "Star Trek Into Darkness," the way Captain Kirk wailed away at Khan, after Khan surrendered to him, left me disgusted. I know our world is full of villains who would do us harm, and embracing reasonable measures of protection is prudent. But as for taking out our anger on others, and employing torture to get the information we need to secure our safety…when did that become okay? 

In season four of "Castle," Captain Gates becomes Detective Beckett's commanding officer. As a former Internal Affairs officer, one of her overriding concerns is public officials who abuse their authority. In the episode "Dial M for Mayor," she asks Beckett, "As for the sergeant who abused my patrol partner under the mantle of authority, who holds him accountable?"

Last year, in the fifth season, boyish, nonviolent Richard Castle is thrown for a loop when his daughter Alexis is kidnapped in the two episodes "Target" and "Hunt." When the police can't find her fast enough, he asks Detective Beckett to leave him in a room, alone, and not come in, while he aggressively questions a man as to his daughter's whereabouts. 

So, naturally, she agrees.

It's easy to love those who love you and show you kindness. It's more difficult to love those whose words and actions annoy or anger you. But isn't the highest test of our morality--both as individuals and as a society--defined how we treat those in our care, whether they be subordinates or prisoners, and whether we approve of their actions or not?

Or does our safety, and that of those we love, trump all other concerns? 

Dragon Dave

No More Crying

A guest blog (and product review) by Dragon Dave’s wife.

Does the sight of an onion make you want to cry?  Do you end up throwing out your onions, because they went bad waiting to be chopped?  I understand completely, as chopping onions always makes me weep.  Last time, it got so bad that Dragon Dave finished the chopping for me as I escaped out to the yard.

I wondered why is that the onions make us cry, so I did a little research and found when you cut an onion, you break cells, releasing their contents which are enzymes and Amino acid sulfoxides in the form of sulfenic acids. Enzymes that were kept separate now are free to mix with the sulfenic acids to produce propanethiol S-oxide, a volatile sulfur compound that wafts upward toward your eyes. This gas reacts with the water in your tears to form sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid burns, stimulating your eyes to release more tears to wash the irritant away. 

I found several folk remedies to keep the gases from getting into my eyes.  These included burning candles or matches nearby while slicing the onion, cooling or freezing the onion before cutting, and even slicing the onion underwater.  No matter what I tried, I always ended up crying.  Then one night, while watching "Castle" (one of our favorite TV shows), I noticed that Richard Castle and his daughter Alexis were wearing goggles while chopping onion.  This got me thinking,  “I need a pair of those!”

With two onions awaiting my attention, I decided the goggles were worth a try.  So I dug out a coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond, and off Dragon Dave and I went.  The first sales clerk had never heard of Onion Goggles, but the second led us to where the goggles were displayed amid a vast selection of kitchen gadgets.  They only had pink in stock, but I was thinking, “Yeah, they have the goggles!”  Then we headed home.  It was time to face the onions.

Gearing-up For Hazardous Duty

At home, I got out the onion, chopping board, and knife.  Donning the goggles I got started chopping.  What a great experience it was: no tearing up, no crying, and zero pain.  I can now chop onions anytime I need to.  The only drawback is that the goggles don’t fit over my glasses, so I have to be a little more careful when chopping so I do not chop off any fingers.

Mission Accomplished!

The next test will come when I harvest the dozen or so onions out in the garden.

Dragon Dave’s Wife

Related Internet Links

Why Do Onions Make You Cry?

Castle and Alexis sport Protective Goggles

Still Leaning on Steven Brust

Yesterday I seemed to have lost the plot again.  I’m not sure why.  The week started off promisingly enough.  I primed the mental pump by reading a scene from Steven Brust’s novel Teckla, and soon found myself bubbling over with enthusiasm.  I grew almost shaky as I wrote.  My characters emerged quickly; their dialogue flowed.  Their desperate—yet regal--clash of wills defied me to release my pen.  

Once, when circumstances necessitated I take a break, I took my notebook with me and kept writing.  (Let’s just say it’s the smallest room in the house, okay?)  By the time I finished the scene I was working on, I had exceeded my target limit, and was proud of what I’d written.  Better, I hadn’t really needed Brust at all: my characters, and perhaps my willpower, had won the day.  I tried to celebrate with a little more of Teckla, but I couldn’t keep my mind on Vlad’s conversation with his Noish-pa (grandfather).  Vlad’s dilemma over how to resolve his problems with his wife should have consumed me, yet my muscles still felt shaky, and my concentration…poof!  

So I did what Vlad does when he’s struggling to resolve the tensions and issues that threaten to tear him apart.  I walked (albeit through the streets of San Diego, not Vlad’s Adrilankha).  Eventually focus and will returned that afternoon, and I gradually cobbled together an entry on Richard Castle’s latest novel.  But that took longer than it should have, and by the time I shaped it into its final form, it was time to retire for the evening.

Yesterday morning, I again found myself staring into space, knowing what I wanted to write, but my pen lying still in my hand.  Had I not prescribed myself a little more of Teckla, I might not have made it through.  “I want to write,” I reprimanded myself yesterday afternoon.  “Why should I need another author’s help?”  Then my mind harkened back to something Robert Silverberg wrote in his introduction to “Born with the Dead.”

“So every day’s work was an ordeal.  Sometimes I managed no more than a couple of paragraphs.  At best I averaged about a page a day.  Writing it required me to do battle with all kinds of internal demons, for the story springs from areas within me that I found it taxing to explore.”

I take heart in knowing that one of the most prolific, celebrated, and bestselling authors the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre has ever produced once struggled so, even after he had matured as a writer.  Likewise, the terrible dilemmas Vlad Taltos confronted in Teckla were drawn from battles Steven Brust waged in real life.  My own battles seem rather small in comparison with those of my literary heroes.  And I am meeting my targets, producing far more than a paragraph or two each day.  So perhaps I shouldn’t feel so bad for (occasionally) relying on another’s experiences, skills, and stories to carry me through my own difficult periods.  

Had Robert Silverberg been able to read Steven Brust, might he have found it easier to battle his own demons?  As he’s a well-read man, no doubt he had others who inspired him to keep writing.  I’m certainly glad he emerged victorious with “Born with the Dead.”  For, like Brust’s novels, the story resonates with me, and I will treasure it always.

Who knows?  One day (assuming I get published), a struggling author might well find sustenance and support in something I’ve written.  

Teckla is available in the omnibus edition The Book of Jhereg by Steven Brust.  “Born with the Dead” can be found in Robert Silverberg’s Phases of the Moon: Six Decades of Masterpieces By The SFWA Grand Master.

Related Dragon Cache entries:

The Yeoman and Number One

When All Hope Seems Lost

Avluela’s Sacrifice

Related Internet Links:

The Writers of the Future 

SFWA: The Craft of Writing

Richard Castle’s Secret Ambitions

Some claim he’s a starship captain, others that he’s the actor Nathan Fillion.  Some even assert that his novels are ghostwritten.  I sympathize with these doubters.  It’s sad that TV executives have replaced so many quality dramas with low-cost reality shows.  But regardless of the conspiracies that surround him, Richard Castle emerges from our TV screens as a witty and vivacious author.  With his latest book, Heat Rises, he not only demonstrates talent worthy of a bestselling novelist, but his growth as a human being.  

When Nikki Heat is summoned to an underground sex club at four in the morning, she discovers the body of a man bound to a Saint Andrew’s cross.  The victim turns out to be a priest: Father Graf of Our Lady of the Holy Innocents.  At the vicarage, the housekeeper tells her that Captain Montrose searched Graf’s belongings earlier, supposedly in response to a missing person’s report she filed.  But why should Captain Montrose search a missing priest’s house, when he’s already spending so much time down at One Police Plaza, making politically correct gestures to fend off an investigation by Internal Affairs?  When she finally talks with him, Montrose insists that she only investigate the priest’s death from the BDSM angle, even after she discovers $150,000 in Father Graf’s attic.  

It’s easy to see how Richard Castle drew inspiration from those he worked with during his first three “seasons.”  All the familiar faces are thinly disguised for our enjoyment.  Richard Castle becomes Jameson Rook, Kevin Ryan becomes Sean Raley, Javier Esposito is renamed Miguel Ochoa, and Lanie Parish renamed Lauren Parry.  Even Captain Montgomery, who sadly died at the end of last year’s “season,” is resurrected as Captain Montrose.  And everyone interacts largely as they do in real life: Lauren counsels Nikki on her lovelife, Raley and Ochoa work so closely together they’re known collectively as Roach, and Nikki’s relationship with her captain, while strained, is still based upon mutual respect and affection. 

Richard Castle also indulges in his love of wordplay.  From Pleasure Bound, the name of the underground sex club, to Father Graf (hidden money = graft) of the “Holy Innocents,” to some of the sex trade workers Nikki investigates along the way, who use such performance names as Marty Python, Hans Alloffur, and The Red Barin’, Castle's clearly writing in full smirk mode.  Raley and Ochoa’s police car becomes the Roach Coach.  And don't even get me started on the double entendres! I’m sure there’s lots more examples I haven’t listed or spotted: I look forward to discovering them during my second read-through.

The only name Castle utterly transforms is Kate Beckett’s.  The reason for this grows clearer with each novel.  While Nikki Heat’s life and past are remarkably similar to Kate’s, her present is very different.  Unlike Kate, Nikki braves having a relationship with Jameson Rook.  She consummates in Fiction what Kate shies away from in real life, and in so doing, becomes everything Richard Castle desires her to be.  

Likewise, Castle uses the novel to explore his secret ambitions.  When misunderstandings arise, Rook lays himself utterly bare before Nikki, and so works through any problem, leaving no room for further miscommunication.  He also changes his career.  Rook works as a serious journalist.  In so doing, Castle imagines what pursuing such Nonfiction stories might entail.  While Jameson Rook might have won two Pulizer prizes, he also winds a dangerous and unglamorous path chasing arms smugglers around the globe.  In exchanging his playboy lifestyle for that of the investigative reporter, Castle envisions paying a steep price: Rook isn’t allowed to help Nikki in any official capacity, as he’s finished the magazine piece he wrote on her during the first novel.  Rook isn’t even present during the first sixty pages of the novel.  I won’t tell you what Rook’s up to, but it’s bound up with the fictional persona that Richard Castle has imagined himself becoming. 

And then there’s the ending, which I won’t spoil for you.  Let’s just say, if you watched Season Three, you’ll understand not only why Castle ends the novel this way, but also how it expresses his innermost desires.

I’ve never read any of the Derek Storm novels.  Come to think of it, I’ve never even seen them in the bookstore.  But I’ve been enjoying his Nikki Heat novels; the stories get better with each installment.  It’s hard to imagine why some can’t accept that he’s a real person.  I’ll admit that Richard Castle and Nathan Fillion share certain facial similarities.  As for the comparison with Captain Malcolm Reynolds of the starship Serenity, well, I’ve seen “Firefly,” and they seem like completely different people to me.  On our TV screens, Richard Castle demonstrates all the qualities that shine so brightly in his writing.  Could someone really ghostwrite his novels, mimic his individuality so perfectly, while crafting such an enjoyable series of novels?  Why should they, when he's so capable?

Others may refuse to believe in him, but I appreciate Richard Castle’s willingness to share his secret ambitions with us through his Fiction.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the next Nikki Heat novel.

Related Dragon Cache entries

Sorry.  Of all my blog entries, I think this one’s pretty unique. (Have fun looking, though).

Related Internet Links

Detective Kevin Ryan’s take on Richard Castle’s novels

A book review of Heat Wave

An example of “Castle” fan fiction

A “Firefly” novel by professional Steven Brust, free for download