(Crud. Now Whilce is probably going to read this column and hate me. So much for writing Wetworks someday.)

So let's just say a wise man, who may or may not have been Whilce Portacio, once said, "Get to the punchline sooner."

     No. Wait. That was my editor.

     And the crowd calls back, "What editor?"  

Somebody once said that writing is just coming up with a lot of fun stuff and then figuring a way to tie it all together.  

Did I mention that I read this in Wizard? So, yes, I'm sure it's true.

     You're skeptical. Let's review:

A couple months ago, we talked about what makes comics different from all the other media. Comics have their own unique strengths AND weaknesses.

And sometimes one of those weakness will reveal a hidden strength.

For instance: Comics aren't movies. We can suggest a pace in a variety of ways, but there's no projector reeling through eighteen images per second*. We can't force a reader to move from one panel to the next.

Comics are still images. Our readers can linger on a single panel for as long as they like. They can flip back and forth as often as they like.

Because of this, each panel needs to be able to stand up to prolonged scrutiny. Even the quiet moments should be dense and deep. Even the simplest, most fleeting moments should demand re-reading.

Imagine walking through the Louvre, and every painting that you pass tells you another piece of one, enormous, amazing story.

Each panel is a work of art. Each comic book is an entire art gallery of story.

When you think of comics that way--as a series of amazing moments, one after another--the Possibly-Portacio-Perspective doesn't seem so odd.

You're opening a gallery, and you want to fill that gallery with as many spectacular paintings as you can.

The bottom line: PPP is NOT a bad way to start an outline for your comic story. Just start, mind you. There is, as always, hard work ahead.

But you can start by brainstorming as many surprising moments, cool visuals, and clever lines of dialogue as you possibly can.

You'll want the core concept, of course. And at least SOME idea of what your story is going to be. But there's nothing wrong with the occasional, "I really want to fit in a fight scene with a cockney-speaking Tyranosaurus." It keeps you thinking creatively.

In the end, will every stray idea you have fit into whatever project you happen to be working on at that moment? Of course not! But the good idea that doesn't fit in the current project, may fit perfectly into the next one.

Heck, it could even BE the next project, all on its own!

      (Note to self: Trademark "Oy, Rex!" ASAP.)

That's the theory. Now let's get back to application:

As those of you who've been following my column week to week know, I'm developing a one-shot comic about an alien hero who disguises himself as a "mere mortal" to win over the girl of his dreams.

In previous weeks, I nailed down the core concepts and gave some thought to the different characters in the story. I've already touched on some character moments, but I really need to give some thought to plot.

     I need to have some plot thoughts.

In honor of PPP, here's a lot of cool stuff that I'll need to tie together later:

Our hero, Imperious, has his own comic book. And his best friend is the cartoonist who writes and draws the book. Early on in the book, we'll use covers and pages from this comic to reveal Imperious' backstory.

Maybe, when the comic opens, we'll actually be looking at someone holding Imperious' comic. They're reading the origin, and we see their word balloon over the fake-comic's text asking, "Is this how it REALLY happened?"

The answer, of course, is "No." Whatever the crazy comic story turns out to be, the truth will be much more mundane.

Later on, in the cartoonist's studio, we'll see lots of covers to the Imperious comics, depicting some of his biggest adventures and introducing us to some of his enemies.

Maybe the cartoonist has a new girlfriend, but she doesn't know much about Imperious or his comic books. So she's the one asking all these questions. She's the one who provides an "in" for the reader.

I have a vision of her standing around the cartoonist's studio, looking confused. And for some reason, she's wearing her stocking cap in doors, with her jacket off.

     More on her later.

I see a montage sequence, in which the cartoonist and Imperious do "regular guy" stuff. Except Imperious is an arrogant jerk who doesn't laugh, dance, or flirt. This is how things used to be.

Then I see a sequence that highlights Imperious as the third wheel. Maybe they won't be back-to-back montages, but there will definitely be a "before" and "after" feel to these moments.

Imperious brooding in his spaceship.

Imperious standing around awkwardly in the cartoonist's girlfriend's apartment, as he is being set up on a blind-date. With the girlfriend's roommate?

Maybe he picks up something absolutely ordinary and wonders what it is? Maybe he wanders into her bathroom and gets confused?

Later, after he has been rejected, more brooding in his spaceship.

Maybe Imperious stages an impressive rescue to win over the woman he's become smitten with? Too hokey? Not hokey enough?

Imperious, on his spaceship, transforms himself into a mortal man. Maybe he looks TOO much like the cartoonist. "You are the most mortal man I know." "I'm not THAT mortal."

Imperious pretends to be "one of us" and convinces the woman he loves to go to dinner with him. She is, at once, insulted and intrigued.

The Babylonian, Imperious' arch-foe, dashing off an angry letter to Imperious Comics. The Babylonian finds out what Imperious is doing ("That is so... SUB-OPTIMAL!") and decides he has to top him.

A montage of dates with the roommate end abruptly when the Babylonian shows up as "an even more mortal suitor."

Imperious discovers who the Babylonian is, but he can't reveal the truth without exposing his own secret.

She knows, but they don't know she knows.

And at the climax: Two dates, two proposals, a big superhero slugfest.

I could keep going. Notice how each of these ideas suggests a few more. But this is a good start.

Next week, naming characters and (maybe, maybe) a few pages of script!