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

The Axiom-man Saga, so far as I know, is the only superhero saga in the world that is a cross-medium storyline done by a single creator. This is why my superhero series spans across books, comics, short stories and, maybe, other platforms in the future. That said, it kind of has a weird publishing model in that regard and isn’t just as simple as reading books 1, 2, 3 and more.

The storyline started in the novel, Axiom-man, the full-length novels meant to be treated like feature films. In between each one are novellas–or “episodes,” like half-hour shows–and short stories and comics. If you’re a prose person, it’s simple: novel, episode novella, novel, episode novella, novel, etc.

For the completist, here is the entire Axiom-man Saga listed in reading order.

Axiom-man
Episode No. 0: First Night Out
Doorway of Darkness
Black Water
Episode No. 1: The Dead Land
There’s Something Rotten Up North
City of Ruin
Axiom-man Comics, Nos. 1-6

Stand-alone Comic: Axiom-man: Of Magic and Men

Here is the thumbnail version of the above. Each thumbnail takes you to its Amazon page for synopsis and purchase details, except for the second last one, which is only available on the Web right now:

The plan with The Axiom-man Saga is to tell a superhero’s life story as realistically as possible, beginning in a world just like ours with no one with superpowers. But what if one day that changes?

The premiere book in my superhero opus, The Axiom-man Saga, is on for just 99 cents until Sunday night/Monday morning. This is the book that kicks off the whole Axiom-man storyline and is, of course, the best place to jump on board the saga and follow Axiom-man on his journey as a superhero.

Axiom-man is available for download to your Kindle here.

This is 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.

One night after a routine patrol, a mysterious black cloud appears over the city. Flying over to investigate it, Axiom-man is stopped short when the cloud’s presence shakes him to the core. An electrifying fear emanates from the cloud and he can barely get near it. Quickly, the cloud takes flight and leads him on a wild goose chase throughout the city, only to flee from him in the end. Almost immediately after the cloud’s appearance, a new hero arises, Redsaw, clad in a black cape and cowl. The people, now enamored with this new super-powered marvel, seem to have forgotten about Axiom-man and all he’s done for them.

Except something’s wrong. That same fear that emanated from the cloud drips off Redsaw like a foul smell and Axiom-man can barely get close to him without feeling ill.

What is Redsaw’s agenda and who is he? And why is it every time Axiom-man gets close to him it feels as if his powers are being sucked away?

As if that wasn’t enough, Gabriel’s day job hasn’t gotten any easier. His co-worker and the woman he adores, Valerie Vaughan, has little interest in him, and his boss has made it clear that one more day late to work will be the day he cleans out his desk. Then there’s the new trainee, Gene Nemek. What is his fascination with Redsaw and why is he never around when Redsaw appears?

From flying over city streets and soaring at dizzying heights, to balancing a secret identity with destiny, Axiom-man must discover what Redsaw’s presence means and how it ties into the messenger’s life-altering visit before the city–and the world–are enamored with an evil that has haunted the cosmos since the dawn of Time.

You know, you read all these different articles on how to properly use Twitter. Some say to tweet a couple of times a day, others to interact with folks regularly, others say a mix of the two . . . . I guess it depends on your goals and why you have your Twitter feed to begin with. In my case, it’s to talk with readers, meet new people, get some news on the topics that interest me, and also to tell people about my books.
It’s also a source of content for this blog as once in a while I’ll post a Twitter capture of what I’m talking about on there, or post a rant about something.

What do you use Twitter for?

Here’s what’s been going on on my feed since the 31, the most recent tweet being the one on top.

@topshelfcomix Any word on when the Bacchus Omnibus will be out? Been excited for it since I heard about it a couple years back. Pls advise.

@guaybrian Thanks for the retweet!

From my wife’s Mom Blog – Easter baking: http://wp.me/p2zeUV-df via @ladybugstuff #mommyblogging #blogs #easter

Disney Pixar’s ‘Nemo’ Sequel ‘Finding Dory’ Arriving in 2015 http://on.mash.to/XVu10K via @mashable

Comic Convention this weekend. Having a table there. Love it. http://www.c4popculture.com #comics #conventions

@seams16 Thanks for shout, Eric!

@CraigBrummer @pajartstudio @SEvanTownsend @marieharbon @AHDeCarrasco @FictionWriter1 @emarxbooks @KathyReinhart Thanks for the shout out!

@templestark Jack of all trades, master of none, basically.

@EcomBuffet You’re welcome!

Mystery. Legend. #Bigfoot. Hairy tales to make your skin crawl. BIGFOOT TERROR TALES VOL. 1 http://amzn.to/RS4KDi #kindle #horror #ebooks

The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media by @EcomBuffet http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seven-deadly-sins-of-social-media/10380/ … via @sejournal

23 Ways for a Comic Artist to Survive and Thrive in any Economy – Optimum Wound http://www.optimumwound.com/23-ways-for-a-comic-artist-to-survive-and-thrive-in-any-economy.htm …

APRIL FOOL • by Paul A. Freeman http://www.everydayfiction.com/april-fool-by-paul-a-freeman/ … via @everydayfiction

Keep up to date with superhero and monster book publisher Coscom Entertainment on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/coscomentertainment … #zombies #superheroes

Undead World Trilogy comes to an end in an epic war between Zombies, Man, Demons & Angels in REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD http://amzn.to/14Az4KV

@templestark Like with comics, Diamond became the only game in town later screwing the little guy. Hope Amazon doesn’t do the same thing.

@templestark The monopoly Amazon holds–and is growing–scares me as a writer and publisher. Too much power to one source.

Amazon Acquires Book Recommendations Site and Social Network Goodreads – WebProNews http://www.webpronews.com/amazon-acquires-book-recommendations-site-goodreads-2013-03 …

Last day for a 99-cent ZOMBIE FIGHT NIGHT! Think UFC meets Night of the Living Dead plus robots, ninjas, vamps & more http://amzn.to/cENxW9

Click Here to Order from Amazon.com

Like Robin Hood, the Iron Monkey robs from the rich and gives to the poor, but instead of wielding a bow and arrow and sword, he wears a mask and uses martial arts weapons instead.

By day, Chinese doctor Yang Tianchun (Rongguang Yu) is a physician caring for the poor and rich alike, but at night he’s the Iron Monkey, a high-kicking do-gooder assisting those in need who are suffering beneath the rule of the corrupt governor.

Meanwhile, Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) and his son Wong Fei-hong (Sze-Man Tsang) come into town. Soon after, Wong Kei-Ying is captured on suspicion of being the Iron Monkey after being observed in battle. His son is arrested as well. In an effort to clear himself, he offers to capture the real Iron Monkey, his son being forced to remain in prison to ensure his compliance.

Soon Wong Kei-Ying and the Iron Monkey meet and, after going toe-to-toe with no victor, form an alliance that will rescue Wong Fei-hong from prison and bring down the evil governor once and for all.

This movie kicks some serious wa-hoo-hoo and I’m not just saying that because of the awesome kung fu sequences, but because of it’s fun presentation of a classic story—Robin Hood—through the lens of Chinese culture, martial arts and fast-paced action.

Quentin Tarantino brought the flick over to the West and I’m glad he did. I’m 99% sure I went to the theatre to check this gem out and it soon got a place in my DVD collection once it hit store shelves.

What can I say? The fight sequences are over-the-top—wire acts, crazy fast kicks—but those are what make kung fu movies great and give the fight performances that supernatural feel that can’t be obtained otherwise.

The superhero fan part of me had never seen a kung fu superhero movie, and when I compare it to the Western version of martial arts techniques that we get in our own superhero flicks, sadly, we come up short every time. I mean, this crazy, fast-paced over-the-top form of fighting is one of the main reasons The Matrix became so popular.

There is lots that goes on in this movie story-wise, everything from the simple rob-from-the-rich-to-feed-the-poor angle to Wong Kei-Ying’s tense relationship with his son, to commentary on oppression and what’s fair and what isn’t, to comedic moments, tear-jerking moments, to adrenaline-fueled action—it’s a full experience, something that Quentin Tarantino said in an interview on the DVD that is common in Chinese cinema but not really over here in the West. I think we need to learn a thing or two about moviemaking from our Chinese friends instead of compartmentalizing everything into genres and niches.

If you love folk heroes like Robin Hood, or are a superhero fan, Iron Monkey should definitely be on your watch list.

Click Here to Order from Amazon.com

It’s World War II and the US Army needs to up its game in its war against the villainous Nazis under the command of Adolf Hitler.

Enter Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a little guy from Brooklyn with all sorts of health problems, but who has possibly the strongest sense of morals and courage than any man on the front line. Unfortunately, due to his fragility, Steve is not allowed to join the American army despite multiple tries. A scientist experimenting in a super soldier serum for the US army notices this and offers him a chance to take part in a dangerous procedure that, if it goes well, will grant Steve superhuman-like abilities and enable him to be an ultimate man, athlete and warrior. Steve accepts and transforms into the world’s first super soldier: Captain America.

Meanwhile, the first test subject of the serum, Johann Schmidt–aka the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving)–has come into possession of the Tesseract cube, a powerful energy source rumored to be from Asgard. His plan? Nothing less than overthrowing Hitler himself and taking over the world.

If only we had a super soldier to stop him. Wait . . . we do.

His name is Captain America.

Like all good fanboys, I saw this movie in the theatre. Having grown up on the cheesy Captain America movies starring Reb Brown and, later, the 1990 version with Matt Salinger, a part of me, I admit, was waiting for a repeat of the 1990 film (in the general sense). I was more interested in how Captain America: The First Avenger would tie into the then upcoming Avengers and this movie didn’t disappoint.

The introduction of the Tesseract–which would be key in Avengers–was real smart on the filmmakers’ part because not only did it point to the forthcoming ensemble film, but also gave a quick link to the Thor movie as well.
Watching Chris Evans as Steve Rogers was fantastic. He really suits the role and played it perfectly. I wasn’t sure how the once Human Torch–all witty and sarcastic–would fare as the famous super soldier, and I’m glad Chris Evans proved he can play a kind of Superman-like character as well. Seeing him play both the small, frail Steve Rogers (facially, anyway, as someone else’s body was used), to playing the suped-up Steve made the film truly a story about how our greatest power lies within as opposed to externally.
Likewise, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull did a great job, especially since playing villains is no strange task to Weaving (Agent Smith, anyone?). Even with the German haircut he looked different never mind later when his red skull visage was revealed.
The story was simple and, like the first Spider-Man movie, I left the theatre underwhelmed. After seeing it a second time, I saw it for what it was and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the end battle was anti-climatic. It didn’t need to be an all-out brawl between Cap and Red Skull, but it felt brief considering these two are the heads and tails of the same coin. Some sort of super soldier/titan clash would have punched up the ending. Speaking of which, the ending of this movie has one of the best last lines to a flick ever. It was the kind of line I try to end my own novels on, one that finishes the tale but also has a punch to it.
As far as superhero stories go, the World War II setting gave the genre a breath of fresh air movie-wise as, thus, far, pretty much every super flick to come out recently is all set in the modern day. Alternate times and/or worlds with a superhero figure are few and far between. The Spirit is the only one that comes to mind in this regard.
After this movie and Avengers, I’m excited to see Captain America: Winter Soldier, which is presently set for 2014.