Month: September 2017

Book Reviews: Toxic Romance: A Post-Apocalyptic Love Story by Benjamin Parkour

Trigger Warning: The graphic novel reviewed here contains depictions of violence, drug abuse, abusive relationships, references to rape, and the looming threat of neo-Nazism. If you have had any experience with these issues or otherwise wish to avoid such content, proceed with caution.

Today I’m reviewing another illustrated work. Unlike The Blue Unicorn’s Journey to Osm, this book is a graphic novel composed of four comic books. The subject matter is very adult and perfectly fits the tastes of readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic stories. Namely, this review will focus on Toxic Romance: A Post-Apocalyptic Love Story, written and illustrated by Benjamin Parkour and inked by War.

2099 CE, Post-Apocalyptic Manhattan. Marcus has lived a rough life filled with toxic romances and comedy. He pops handful after handful of painkillers to dull the misery, but he doesn’t need your pity. What he needs—what he thinks he needs—is Faith, the girl he saved and lost all those years ago in high school. Little does he know, their reunion will bring back more than just bittersweet memories.


Image retrieved from Toxic Screen Plays

Marcus soon finds himself on a mission to save the young woman he loves from her forced marriage, her abusive husband, and her husband’s menacing allies, all of whom are bent on creating a genetically-superior race of humans beginning with Faith. He must team up with the Pit Bull of Manhattan, sharpen his fighting skills, and gather all the anger and blind courage in him to make it past the slew of neo-Nazis separating him from his toxic romance. But can he do it? Can Marcus save Faith? Will they escape alive? Most importantly, will Faith let herself be rescued?

Romance, action, the revival of the Nazis, and a morally-questionable Urban Messiah abound in this gripping graphic novel. No more than fourteen pages each, these comic books pack many punches in a very short span. Accompanying the brief, crisp text are gorgeous illustrations worthy of any big-scale comic book franchise.

Parkour’s work reminds me quite a bit of the Original Sins comic book series featuring the notorious John Constantine, which is my all-time favorite comic book (frankly, the only comic book series I wanted to read up until this point). Marcus is a no-bullshit drug addict with a vigilante sense of justice, the sort of character any Constantine fan would appreciate. The moral makeup of the graphic novel is not cut-and-dry, either; while Marcus and his anti-Nazi ally seem to clearly be in the right, there are no pure heroes here, only antiheroes.

Fast-paced with a compelling plot, Toxic Romance makes for a very quick read that leaves you wanting more. Parkour creates a seamless transition between past and present, although the action scenes sometimes become so jumbled that I lost track of who is saying what. Parkour releases most of the background for Marcus and Faith through dialogue, although I never felt as though exposition slowed down the story. The writer manages to slip details about the characters’ past into their conversations in natural ways, from catching up on missed time to sarcastic remarks, which is a very difficult feat for even the most seasoned veteran. Parkour put a lot of thought and creative energy not only into this world but the characters as well, and that is one of the main reasons I was so enamored with these comic books.


Image retrieved from Toxic Screen Plays

Parkour also takes the reader on a rather dizzying whirlwind of events. The action scenes are so frequent and quick that I became a bit disoriented. Most of the time, this effect works in Parkour’s favor. After all, the comic books center on a post-apocalyptic world in which demented viewpoints, violence, and unexpected twists can take both the characters and the reader by surprise; it only makes sense that the reader be left as confused and frustrated as Marcus. Still, the disorientation occasionally forced me to re-read pages in order to ensure that I knew exactly what was going on.

For the most part, the illustrations and text are skillfully balanced and complement each other nicely. However, I ran into an issue with a few of the darker-colored illustrations which grew annoying after the first couple encounters. Some of the darker illustrations bleed over the text, causing some letters and even whole worlds to be all but invisible to the reader. If I stopped and focused, I would be able to make out the covered words. Nevertheless, doing so slowed down my reading a little and, as I am prone to migraine attacks and eyestrain, started to give me headaches. I love the illustrations, mind you, but I think that Parkour and the rest of the team should go back and fix those areas so that all the text can easily be read.

I also noticed a few proofreading errors such as misspellings, as I have frequently seen with small-scale publications lately. They do not detract from the overall quality of the graphic novel and do not occur often, but they are still present.

As far as comic books and short graphic novels go, Toxic Romance by Benjamin Parkour is top-notch, especially for a small-scale publication. While it is very violent and heavy on drug addiction and physical/sexual abuse, Parkour handles these subjects in a way which did not make me uncomfortable. They are crucial to the story line and character development and, although openly depicted, are not overly-explicit. I also find the neo-Nazi and Eugenics angle to be very appropriate for the current political climate in the United States (although I’m certain my conservative readers will disagree, which they are welcome to so long as they remain civil and polite). For me, socio-political commentary always enhances the value of a book, and I think that Parkour uses it very aptly in his work.

Aside from Original Sins and a graphic novelization of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight, I have never been one for comic books or graphic novels. With Toxic Romance, however, I am eager to see where the story goes and hope that Parkour and his team will continue to release issues about Marcus, Faith, and the fight against Neo-Nazism in a post-apocalyptic world.

If you would like to learn more about Parkour and his work, you can follow this link to his website. The website also has free PDF copies of each comic book in Toxic Romance, so please take the time to read them and leave your thoughts on the graphic novel in the comments below.

Do you know any books I should read? Would you like your work reviewed on this blog? Contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or look me up on Fiverr.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

The Pitfalls of Self-Employment

For this Friday Fun-Day, I’ve decided to post a more serious topic alongside the weekly writing prompt. Mainly, I want to talk about my experiences with self-employment and use my mistakes thus far as a horrible warning for those who are looking to work for themselves. Mind you, the experience has been great for me; I’m making some money, meeting new people, and getting to read some interesting books and short stories I otherwise wouldn’t have come across. Still, I’ve made enough mistakes these past 3-5 months to share nuggets of wisdom with my readers.

You can’t take self-employment lightly. Even if it’s just a side gig, there’s a lot to it: pricing, customer service, taxes, schedules, just to name a few. There are many materials across the web and in print about this subject, but none of them can fully prepare you for the reality. Some things you have to learn first-hand.

I don’t have any big “this mistake could’ve ruined my financial life and career” stories. Instead, I have a few smaller, more general pieces of advice that I think can help others looking to start self-employment:

  • Find the appropriate platform to promote your services. When talking about side jobs for struggling writers, I mentioned Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Upwork. I’ve heard that more options exist, but I’ve only tried these. It took trying each one for me to realize that Fiverr is the best option for me. Because customers come to me primarily, I’ve been able to get many more orders at better prices. Fiverr is also more understanding when people make mistakes, usually removing gigs rather than users unless there’s a clear scam, trolling, or abuse. Freelancer.com never yielded any jobs; Upwork gave me one good connection, one unprofessional experience, and multiple scam attempts before I made a mistake and they deactivated my account. You can’t take my word for it, though. Fiverr works best for my freelancing efforts but that won’t be true for everyone. You just have to try each one on for size. Heck, you may find that your best option is to use as many as you can handle.
  • Word your gig postings appropriately. One of the biggest problems I’ve had on Fiverr has been writing the descriptions for each gig. If you’re not careful, one word or phrase can be misinterpreted as breaking a rule and be removed. Fortunately, Fiverr only removes them. Other similar sites aren’t so lenient. You must also make sure to read the site’s rules for gig postings carefully as well as the rules for any other website you may mention within the gig posting. Some don’t actually allow the service you’re offering or otherwise don’t want to be associated with certain gigs. If you’re not sure about your posting, save a draft and ask the website customer service or admin to look it over. They don’t want to spend time removing gigs any more than we want our gigs removed, so they’ll most likely not have a problem with letting you know about any issues.
  • Price your gigs fairly. I’m not only talking about fair prices for your customers; the prices have to work for you, too. I’ve been horrible about underselling my skills. Two different customers have suggested that I raise my prices. When your customers, without consulting each other, tell you that, you should probably listen. You can’t gauge your clients but you can’t rip yourself off, either. Your time and effort are valuable. If your skills are worth paying for, they’re worth paying a fair price.

    Image retrieved from surelyjobs.com
  • Set a schedule. It’s so easy for your personal life to invade your work life and vice versa, even more so when you’re self-employed. Setting a schedule helps to separate these aspects a little better. The line still blurs but at least you can tell your loved ones that you have to work and then you can tell yourself that you’re off the clock with minimal guilt. I’m still working on this lesson, along with fair pricing. Modern culture, at least in the U.S., encourages people to take their work home with them and essentially become workaholics. Writers and other freelancers know this all too well, especially since we usually love our work. For our mental health, we have to force the separation. Writers often have to separate regular work from writing as well, and that’s what I’m most struggling with right now.
  • Remember it’s a learning process. As a perfectionist, I have a hard time accepting this fact. Self-employment is a matter of trial and error. You learn something new every day and you can’t beat yourself up for every tiny mistake. Learn from it and move on. Don’t stop the process at your own experiences, either; search out resources talking about self-employment and learn some tricks from seasoned veterans. It may seem like a lot of extra work but you’ll be glad you did it.

Writing and self-employment can be very similar. They can both take over other aspects of your life and require a lot of trial-and-error before you feel comfortable with your work. You have to remain resilient and never give up. You know what they say: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

What are your experiences with self-employment, both as a writer and in other areas? Any advice I forgot to mention? Leave your thoughts in the comments so others may benefit from your wisdom.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Friday Fun-Day Writing Prompt: Painting a Picture

Hello writers! Join me in ushering in a long-awaited Friday and an even more welcomed weekend. For my American readers, it’s Labor Day weekend, another long weekend which normally calls for celebration. Instead of all the drinking and salutes to the last days of summer, might I suggest a writing prompt? Today’s prompt involves visual stimulation and a famous painting.

Yesterday I gave you my thoughts on the tightly-knit nature of writing and other forms of art. Now I want to put that relationship into action. In particular, I want to focus on writing and painting.

One of the oldest tricks in the book, as far as jump-starting one’s writing goes, is to immerse oneself in art. Usually this includes visiting a museum or something of the like. For this prompt, you only need access to your favorite painting (the Internet is a wonderful thing).

Find an image of your favorite painting. Meditate on it for about five minutes; write notes, jot down whatever thoughts come to mind. Don’t put too much conscious thought into it. Just let the painting wash over you.

After five minutes, take a short break. Five minutes, ten, whatever you want or need, so long as you remember to come back to your notes. When you come back, get the image of the painting out of your sight and focus on your notes. Using your notes as a springboard, write a scene, short story, or poem inspired by the painting.

I haven’t done this exercise in this exact form but I have written pieces based on other art forms, from a painting to a statue and even an old photograph. Here’s one from about six years ago, based on Van Gogh’s The Starry Night:

SWEET DREAMS

Each inch of sight,

a smooth stroke

painted by gentle angels,

or perhaps a mad man

with perfectionist behaviors

and a steady hand;

All blues and greens

and blacks and browns

and muted yellows;

No screaming kids

or barking dogs

or yelling teens

or roaring motorcycles,

Just silence,

not even a whisper of wind;

Neither hot

nor cold,

Perfectly warm

and perfectly cool.

If only I could remain asleep.


The Starry Night by Van Gogh, retrieved from Wallpapers Wide

As I’ve said before, I’m no poet. Nevertheless, you can see the sort of work that can come from an exercise like this.

Don’t take this prompt too seriously. Just have fun with it. That’s why these are called “Friday Fun-Day” writing prompts, after all.

What did you get from this exercise? Care to share your piece or an excerpt? Share your work and experiences in the comments below.

 


Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011