Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

Just got back into this game a couple nights back. So amazingly good that if you haven’t been playing–and replaying and replaying and replaying–then I feel bad for you.

Aside from the current DLCs: Catwoman, Nightwing, Robin; and all the challenge maps and amazing Batman skins–nevermind the bonus skins that come with Nightwing, Robin and Catwoman–Rocksteady Studios have unleashed the final chapter in the ridiculously awesome game that is Batman: Arkham City.

A Harley Quinn DLC. From the looks of it, it takes place after the main campaign story. Won’t say more in case you haven’t played, but I heard it’s a two-hour campaign and, I’m sure, it’s going to be utterly twisted.

What’s even better is instead of having to buy all the bonus DLCs like before, they ALL come in the Game of the Year Edition of Batman: Arkham City. You also get Batman: Year One, which was pretty good.

Sweet, but, alas, I have the game and the DLCs aside from the Harley one. I suspect that’ll be downloadable via the PS3 store in due time.

Truly can’t wait for the Harley story.

Nope.

Won’t wait.

Here’s the trailer:

Was the inclusion of zombies always a main thrust in your story or did their inclusion occur as an afterthought?

Zombies were always an integral part of my story. They really come to the forefront in my second novel, Zombie Versus Fairy Featuring Albinos. But their worrying existence also defines the frightening world which characters inhabit in Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies.
The characters in NVPFZ attend a high school where they’re doomed to become either zombies or zombie food. One character, Guy Boy Man, sees the terrible way things are, and he takes a stand against the zombies. He tries to rally others to his cause: to end human suffering. Some of Guy’s writings are available at www.howtoendhumansuffering.com

What compelled you to choose zombies over other creatures or monsters?

I chose zombies over other creatures or monsters because I wanted to describe people who go through life blindly accepting the status quo and zombies are famous for being mindless. I guess I use zombies the same way philosophers use robots or automatons.
They’re idiots, basically. The zombies in my book represent good, moral, responsible idiots who, for the most part, have no idea they’ve pretty much ruined the world and keep making it worse for everybody every single day.
Zombies are vital to the world I create because they force others to play by their rules. I mean, if you live somewhere that’s infested with zombies, you can’t really just go about your business. You’ve got to (at least) spend part of your day taking into account all the human-flesh-eating ambling monsters in your midst.
You can’t tear down your barricades. You can’t rebuild your burnt-down buildings. You just have to keep hiding. Stupid zombies.

Discuss the “versus” dynamic.

The “versus” dynamic is key. I wrote Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies because I’d had it with the world. So I decided to take it on. NVPFZ is really me versus the status quo, society at large, God, religion, the novel as a form, language itself, etc. Basically, it’s one big rant. But it’s got hot young girls and gun violence so it’s good.

Why the “ninja” and the “pirate”? What’s cool about them?

I chose the ninja and the pirate because they’re pop culture icons. They’re especially popular on the internet and, as evidenced by character names like Baby Doll15 and Centaur111, there’s a distinct online component to Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies.
The narrator of NVPFZ is a sixteen-year-old spiritual leader and pirate named Guy Boy Man who made a fortune by “pirating” trillions of dollars from various zombie institutions, which may have caused a crisis in the global financial system. The pirate motif allows me to blur the lines between hero and villain; I wanted to do that because, when you’re taking on good, moral, responsible idiots, and trying to shake the very foundations of society, your heroism is slightly questionable.
The ninja allows me to blur the line between hero and villain too. The ninja archetype is so cool because it’s all about stealth and mystery; I wanted to turn that on its head. The ninja in my novel, a handsome teenage African-American boy named Sweetie Honey, goes around introducing himself as a ninja and telling people he’s got his ninja outfit in his backpack. I thought it’d be funny to have a ninja who’s such a bad-ass, he doesn’t care about hiding his identity.
Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies is really zany and different, so if you’re in the mood for something like that, you should definitely check it out!

James Marshall’s short fiction has appeared in numerous Canadian literary magazines: PRISM International, The Malahat Review, Exile, The Literary Quarterly, and PrairieFire. One of his stories was nominated for the National Magazine Award for fiction, the M&S Journey Prize, and it was a finalist in the 22nd Annual Western Magazine Awards, 2004. A collection of his short stories, Let’s Not Let a Little Thing Like the End of the World Come Between Us, was published by Thistledown Press in 2004, and it was shortlisted for both the 2005 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Caribbean and Canada Region) in the ‘Best First Book’ category, and the ReLit Award for short fiction. James lives and writes in BC.

Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies is the first book in the How To End Human Suffering Series.

Are you kidding me? You mean we’re going to get an absolutely killer Spider-Man film? I’m not saying the others were terrible. Spider-Man 2 was my favorite superhero movie of all time until Batman Begins came out. Even the Spider-Man 3 was a decent flick. Its only real flaw was that it was overcrowded which in turn worked against it.

But, man, this trailer, a combo of the previously-seen Amazing Spider-Man trailer and some new footage, just rocked my world.

I’m so there this summer. Dare I say that this flick might give Avengers a run for its money? I dare.

All printer delays taken care of, two boxes of Axiom-man No. 1 landed on the doorstep about a half hour ago.

Here are some pics of the comics. Click for bigger versions.

Those who’ve ordered, they’re going out ASAP so watch your mailbox. Those who wish to order, info can be found below, and please do. Us comic book creators need to eat as well.

The story:

One night Gabriel Garrison was visited by a nameless messenger who bestowed upon him great power, a power intended for good. Once discovering what this power was and what it enabled him to do, Gabriel became Axiom-man, a symbol of hope in a city that had none.

While attempting to simply take inventory of his first year as a superhero, Axiom-man suddenly finds himself standing toe-to-toe with his most dangerous and most powerful enemy–Redsaw. As the two duke it out, events are set in motion that’ll rattle Axiom-man’s world and change his life forever.
24 pgs, black and white, color cover. Published monthly.

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