brain out loud

Happy Labor Day! I guess since I actually have a minute to take a breath I should let everyone know what's going on. In the few hours between work and sleep, I have been working on my original concept. Not to let the cat out of the bag, but the series will be a blend of science-fiction, and military action, with layers of mystery and conspiracy swirling around a powerful world-shaping secret society. It has been kicking around in my head for years and I'm excited to get it on paper/screen so you can read it. There is so much going on, with dozens of characters, multiple factions, alternate realities/history, interconnected plot lines, etc. I tend to jump the gun and write as I outline. I did things correctly and outlined my three GI Joe fan-fiction stories as step one. I'm assuming because the character development, relationships, and mythology had already been established over the past 30 plus years.

The final JoeCon took place over the weekend in Chattanooga, TN. That is, the last "official" JoeCon endorsed by Hasbro. At least I think that's how the annual GI Joe convention is organized. The weekend long convention brings fans together to specifically celebrate GI Joe, in all its incarnations. However with this year being the last official JoeCon, it seems as if Hasbro has finally admitted their apathetic attitude toward what was once their top seller. Actually that's not a recent revelation, no new GI Joe action figures or vehicles have been on the retail shelf for years. Retail sales are typically driven by a strong media presence, be it  a cartoon, live-action-show, or in most cases now a movie. Hasbro executives have acknowledged this, yet have no plans to produce a new animated series or live-action-show. The two GI Joe movies were considered disasters both critically and commercially, and rightfully so. Allegedly their are plans to make additional GI Joe

The moment I discovered GI Joe as a kid, I started creating my own characters. I would crudely draw them all in the same unexciting, static pose; straight-on (two dimensional) with their left arm to their side and the right out, bent 90degrees at the elbow and holding a weapon. What can I say, I was a kid and my artistic skills were still developing. Even though they looked similar my characters had their own unique code names, areas of expertise and backgrounds. Arguably my artistic skills have improved since the 80's but writing has always been the fun part. My newest fan-fiction novel, GI Joe: Sandcastle Detente, is loaded with original characters, but some of my favorites are the three new Dreadnoks - Outlaw, Gearhead, and Menace. GI Joe: Sandcastle Detente is the first time I've included all-new, original characters in one of my fan-fiction novels. That is, original characters that are members of GI Joe, Cobra, or the Dreadnoks. In the past Amazon Kindle Worlds h

My third GI Joe novel "Sandcastle Detente" is finished, edited, uploaded and available now. If you read my last post you may remember that Amazon's licensing program Kindle Worlds has been closed and no new submission will be accepted. Luckily I found another platform. Inkitt.com is similar to Kindle Worlds in that aspiring authors can publish stories, reach a large number of readers, and track data. However Inkitt does not have the licensing deals Amazon did, which means authors can not profit when using the copy-written material of someone else. Profiting was not my concern when I wrote my first two books "Into the Clutches of Cobra-La" and "Mindbender Theater." I want to improve as an author. When Amazon began the unprecedented program, it gave me the opportunity to write within a preexisting universe with well established characters. Most of the work had already been finished. I had simply never considered publishing a fan-fiction before, but wh

I just finished formatting my new GI Joe novel, Sandcastle Detente! I was super excited to share it with everyone but when I went to Kindle Worlds to upload the manuscript a message at the top of the page states "Kindle Worlds is now closed to new submissions." I searched the site for answers but found none. I jumped on Facebook and Twitter but have yet to receive a reply. The message continues, directing authors to other Amazon services. This would not be an issue if it was made clear whether or not we could continue to publish fan-fiction without legal ramifications, but it is not clear. I looked over the new services, like Kindle Direct Publishing and couldn't find any helpful information. When I searched for GI Joe licensed Kindle Worlds books on Amazon and sorted them by publication date, trying to find out how long the site has been down it just made things more confusing. Three GI Joe books were published on May 16th. G.I. JOE: Tales from Peregrine Base Volume

My third GI Joe fan-fiction novel is nearly finished! GI Joe: Sandcastle Detente is currently going through the final round of proofreading/editing, and will be available from Amazon Kindle Worlds soon. It has taken far too long to complete the book, especially considering an aspiring author's mantra is "write every day." My first two GI Joe fan-fiction novels (available to the right) lack a major component of The Real American Hero. He was on the cover of seemingly every issue of the Marvel run, his action figure has far more versions than any other character, and I don't even need a third example because you already know who I'm talking about. The fan-favorite ninja/commando Snake Eyes. I include myself as a Snake Eyes fan but in the later issues of the Marvel run, I feel that there was too much emphasis on The Silent Master. It got to the point where the book was renamed "GI Joe Starring Snake Eyes." This had to be an order handed down to Mr.

Looks like Marvel has done it again. Black Panther, the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is breaking records and raking in the cash. Ticket pre-sales have surpassed every other superhero movie ever, beating previous record holder Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice. Black Panther has also outsold all other Marvel movies at IMAX theaters. The film has also shattered the record for a Thursday night opening in February, with an incredible $25.2 Million. Doubling the previous record holder, Deadpool which made $12.6 Million. Black Panther is on track for a $160 - $170 Million opening weekend. Now that the numbers are in Black Panther has officially made $235 Million over the four day President's Day weekend. A massive adjustment from its predicted $90 Million opening. Ranking the film as the fourth most lucrative MCU film to date, following The Avengers, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War. The ratings and reviews are not only stellar, they

  Into The Clutches of Cobra-La, my first GI Joe novel has been available on Amazon's Kindle World for a while now. I can't remember the exact date because I've re-uploaded it, due to technical difficulties. Regardless it has been a couple of years. Although I unabashedly love the critically panned and fan infuriating animated GI Joe The Movie from 1987, Into The Clutches of Cobra-La was actually sparked by the Lt. Falcon vs. Nemesis Immortal comic two-pack. It may be wise to point out at this time I love bad movies. You know, movies so bad they're good like The Room, Manos The Hands of Fate, or Abraxas Guardian of the Universe. Movies so-bad-they're-good are different from your standard "bad" movie like the Michael Bay Transformers franchise or any Adam Sandler schlock.  

Blade Runner is set in 2019, so we have one more year to make that dystopian future a reality. Chances are pretty good that' ll happen. However, we were also promised flying cars. Giant tech companies like Tesla and Google have been working on self-driving vehicles, for a while now. Said companies have also made minor developments with flying cars, but I don't see them becoming commonplace by next year. Hundreds, if not thousands, of sci-fi movie promises, have gone unfulfilled over the course of the genre. If you followed brainoutloud you would know that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has essentially consumed me, but with the multitude of styles used over the course of 17 films (and still counting), and all those films constituting ONE story, I don't consider the MCU as any particular genre. Of course, the Star Wars saga is high on my list, but Blade Runner may be my favorite sci-fi movie of-all-time. Which is why I want my affordable, consumer-available, flying car by t