Really gotta do more of these.
The other day, I was thinking about how actions have consequences. I'm not entirely sure what got me onto this train of thought, but I did.
Didn't it have something to do with Westboro Baptist Church's Vine shenanigans?
Could be, but that's a barrel of worms I don't want to get into right now.
Anyway, the point is that consequence is a staple of fiction, especially in the Greek Myths, when a simple, almost innocuous act of hubris caused everything to go to metaphorical excrement. From Arachne, whose awesome weaving got her turned into a spider (the most hated creature on the internet after Justin Bieber) or Actaeon who got his perv on with Artemis and was turned into Bambi's great-great-great- great Uncle Jasper and hunted down by his own dogs.
Where is this going, dude?
Just bear with me. The point is that even the actions of the story's hero have consequences. Now, these might not be necessarily an act of pride, but may be one of carelessness or short sightedness.
This is the basis of a lot of comedy. For example, a frazzled mother neglects to close a gate because she's distracted by little Timmy dangling from the weathervane by his underwear, allowing Grandpa Max to escape and cause mischief around town. Hilarity ensues.
Action movies, however often tend to brush over the consequences of actions. Well, ones that aren't directly related to the plot. You rarely see the aftermath and collateral of a All-Guns-Blazing-Badass-Firefight between hero and villain. Who has to clean up all the rubble once Supermook (tm) or Batbob (tm) have left to answer the call of duty elsewhere?
I found an article a while back by the satire/comedy website "Cracked" a while back, which touches on this rather nicely:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18953_6-badass-movie-scenes-with-horrifying-unseen-consequences.html
Okay, now to how this relates to Drake Mandible.
FINALLY!
Shut up.
Now as long time readers of DM are aware, the series is pretty jam packed with action. Lots of shooting and exploding and flying crustaceans. (spoiler?) It's already been established that Drake takes the Superman/Batman stance of not killing and is usually pretty careful when it comes to his firefights. But sometimes accidents happen, even with every possible precaution taken. So what if some previously unknown tragedy from Drake's past comes back to haunt him? Perhaps a flock of Flying Nuns was sucked into a jet turbine as Drake did battle with a madman bent on world domination, or little Fluffykins caught a stray bullet during a particularly acrobatic shoot-out? Fictional characters are sometimes the most interesting (and even sympathetic) when they come face to face with the consequences of their actions, creating a more layered, human character.
So far, the series has been relatively light: Good triumphs over evil, no one dies and Nickelby acts stereotypically British. I revealed near the start of the run that I was going to focus on writing situations inconvenience the hero at best and coming up with cool ways out of said situation. Character development has never been the focus: Drake has always been this uber-confident, hyper-competent, Alpha Male action hero who ALWAYS comes out on top. His only flaw is slightly crooked teeth.
Perhaps it's time for this to change? Yes, I originally to be a "popcorn story" if you will, and stated as much. My audience should expect to be entertained, not thought-provoked or even empathetic, and for 52 issues, this has been the case. I've done that, and can continue to do so in the future, but maybe I should look at moving DM in new, possibly even darker directions.
I guess only time will tell.
As always
Stay Tuned, Ladies and Gents ;)
Nate.
