Cutter Contest

Here’s your chance to make waves in the Cutterverse!

The Cutter Team has decided to let YOU name one of our most pivotal characters.  This character has major impact on John Cutter and has an important role in the entire series!

Before we start a few rules:

1.       No hate, insults or disrespect

2.       The contest will run for three days

3.       If your entry/name is chosen it will be used for the entire run of the series.

4.       The winner will also receive an original concept sketch of the character.

Ok here we go!

Our character is Transgender (male to female) and performs as a Drag Queen. She also African -American and ABSOLUTELY FIERCE!!! 

No bullshit – straight shooter - Brave, loyal, intelligent, fearless and gorgeous!

We need YOU to give us her STAGE NAME!

GOOD LUCK! www.facebook.com/cutter2012. Competition!

Appetite, Aphrodisia, Covetousness, Craving

There's an amazing book being created by 44 Flood that carries Lust  as its title. I'm a huge fangirl of the artists and writer of this project. This week they were in the midst of ending their kickstarter campaign AND breaking some records. Ben Templesmith, Menton3 and Steve Niles did a wonderful video explaining the premise. Essentially their views on The Vices and foremost Lust. Fascinating stuff.

Due to all of this I've spent a few days contemplating lust myself. As a catalyst for horror it's perfect. Excellent jumping point for conflict also.

Lust and its effects, how prevalent this tiny word to horror creators.

Nothing is quite so horrific as twisting physical love. Taking something so personal and sacred, exposing it - mauling, bleeding and beating it under a bright light.
Feeding this supposed most blissful event to the saliva filled maws of filth crusted monsters.

Most evil is consummated under  the umbrella of GREED OR BREED. Of course these can be broken down into millions of subsections.

If you really sit and think about the horrible atrocities that occur on a hourly basis within the cult of humanity you can trace a line (albeit a long and rambling line) directly to this one word.

Lust is not just about sex. You can have a lust for numerous things, a craving that can't be satisfied.

A lust for blood,a lust to cause harm - see death up close. A lust for power over others, a lust to be adored and to illicit lust in colleagues .

Quite the dynamic for such a tiny word.

Protagonists and their counterparts must have a drive, a conflict, a distraction - a craving to accomplish - essentially they must have lust in all its forms.

There are so many feelings and messages that can be carried on the back of this word. Three days of contemplation wasn't enough for me to explore all the possibilities.

I challenge you to think on lust, to inject it into a project - to experience the turmoil and radical upheaval - to manipulate your surroundings and human interactions with it.

Finally you will have to stare it right in the eye and LEARN from it.

Tim Shay Joins The Cutterverse.

We here in the Cutterverse would like you to meet our newest addition Artist Tim Shay

Tim Shay is an avid freelance artist living in Southern California with his wife and 4 kids. He artwork has been featured in several projects including Breygent Marketing's Dexter Season 4, Deadworld, Red Sonja and Vampirella Sets, Cryptozoic's Tarzan, Batman: The Legend, and The Walking Dead (Seasons 1 and 2) sets, as well as Gary Reed's "Voices from the Deadworld" graphic novel.

He strives to capture a lot of realism and emotion in his artwork. He has some exciting projects lined up for the future and continues to thrive on a steady diet of ink and lead.

For contact information and samples of his work, please visit www.TimShay.com or his Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tim-Shay-Sketch-Art/129818253735791.

Detectives

Come check out some more of his work www.facebook.com/cutter2013


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Redemption

Loving the broken and repellent.

 Why do we care so much for those evil baddies?

Could it be that we recognize the evil in ourselves just under the surface?

Absolution of the worst evil, at least one redeeming quality, something we can identify with. Does it give us hope that we can also be saved?

It’s extremely difficult to write a villain / antagonist that that has nothing within them the populous can identify with.

Even the most horrific characters in fiction have a fan base that adores them.

What is this draw to the unclean?

The urge to redeem - to save - to find something (anything) sympathetic.

Cases in point – pick a legit serial killer and watch his documentary. Cute pictures from childhood, how they volunteered at the ASPCA or a church group. Meanwhile on the weekends they were skinning and eating children.

The human need to redeem ever the highest form of filth is fascinating.

This is why I use my main villain / antagonist to deliver some of the most important meanings within my work.  Nothing sticks in the brain better than an excellent bad guy.

 I understand the protagonist IS the most important piece of the puzzle. In certain instances you just can’t pile that much dirt on them. Their journey may contain a completely different message or emotion.

ENTER THE ANTI HERO!

My favorite archetype to write, using this beast you can combine the “I don’t give a fuck,” of the bad guy – with the twisted need to do good shit and be loved.

 What a journey this guy can take you on.

Don’t be afraid to let the story voice take complete control. Don’t forget to pour that hidden vision into the killer/ monster/ evil alien/ serial killer. They can often be the best catalyst for impact.

Fear

Writers take their own fears, views, traumas and turn them into fodder for their fiction.

From childhood we collect impressions and feelings. These are taken and through hard work or a soul selling pact, we place them into our words. We don’t quote – we just extract the feelings created.

The best of us can delve the deepest, re live the worst and slap you in the face with overwhelming clarity.

I take my collected thoughts, experiences, interactions and such and then turn them into monsters.

I then use these metaphors to create a vision / message of the opinion I’m trying to secretly tell my readers.

I guess you could look at these methods as some form of subtle implantation. As a horror writer I find this highly acceptable.

In the course of my writing I tackle several touchy subjects. A re- occurring theme involves religion.  Nothing gets a reaction out of people quicker that poking around with God.  I don’t just write about religion to get a reaction. The subject has confounded and provoked me my entire life. May hap the creation of my work is some kind of self imposed therapy. If so, it’s not working. I come out at the end with more questions and subjects to twist.

Enough rambling for now – UPDATE ON PROJECTS TIME!

Cutter # 0 has started its final decent. We are almost ready to put the whole thing together and disburse it to the masses.  We are still conducting giveaways on our Facebook page so please stop in www.facebook.com/cutter2013.

Gods & Monsters progresses slowly since I added that last story. My editor is most like to kill me before this is over. We look for it to go off to print sometime in January.

Cutter T Shirt Giveaway

When our Cutter fan page hits 200 we will be giving away our brand new Cutter T shirts. Stop in and check out the page. comments and inquiries  are appreciated. www.facebook.com/cutter2013

T-shirt design drawn by Christopher Gibbs

It's a Win.....

 When I first started learning how to transition from a novel / short story writer to a comic book / script writer I asked a few comic professional to read my stuff and tell me what they thought.

The feedback (to my amazement) was very positive. The most interesting thing as far as critique was they thought I should change or shorten (contract) some of the words in my dialogue. They felt that sometimes my protagonist would speak in a stilted manor not used when real people talk.

I had to explain that some people who suffer severe PTSD and realize they could be having an episode or find themselves under extreme stress - often talk themselves through it.

They use clear precise words, NO contractions - almost like some kind of an instructional video. Not all individuals use this coping technique BUT in my script my protagonist does.

This makes me worry a bit about the reception the comic will receive when it hits distribution. I don’t expect everyone to be an expert on PTSD, especially the severe form my protagonist (John Cutter) suffers from.

 Don’t get me wrong, this is not a stereotyping of the disorder. My perspective comes from personal and other contacts with numerous individuals (and myself) that suffer and deal with this issue daily.

PTSD is just one small part of my protagonist. He understands what he’s dealing with and copes the best he can. It doesn't define him and it’s not the only aspect of his personality and background revealed.

It does impact him and it does set conflict and create problems he must overcome.

After much deliberation and self-doubtt I decided to remain true to my vision and leave the dialogue the same.

To me this “coping mechanism” is part of the SOUL of my protagonist. If I modified it because others didn't understand the issue I would be a hypocrite.

The creation of the protagonist and the universe he lives in came from the need to inform.

I can be equally happy with someone that totally understands my vision OR someone that doesn't understand – hates it- BUT is driven to SEE.

 I think I like that one the best.

 Forcing someone to open their eyes to anything, even if it’s uncomfortable – is a win.