Super Animation #2

See more Super animations on Aaron Dietz's YouTube channel.

Super Animation #1

See more Super animations on Aaron Dietz's YouTube channel.

A Superhero Meeting

In Super, there's a chapter that consists of the minutes from a regular ol' Superhero meeting. During the TNBLE Seattle reading, I wanted to present this chapter, and instead of just reading the minutes, I ran a live meeting similar to the one that transpired in the book, including the audience as Superhero attendees of the meeting.

Thanks to Arianne Garden Vazquez for videotaping the reading, and thanks to Priya Keefe and Chris Hammersley for playing the parts of Moonclaw and Auslander!

Become a Superhero: The Video

My novel, Super, is a very interactive novel, and even a year or so ago, I was experimenting with ways to demonstrate what the book was like in a live setting.

The following is one such experiment, attempted in December of 2009, well before I even had a complete Superhero costume.

Thanks to Arianne Garden Vazquez and Kymberlee della Luce for volunteering, and thanks to Arianne for filming!

Become a Superhero!

At the Book Release Party for Super on Tuesday night, guests will walk in and be transformed into a Superhero with complimentary capes, Superhero logos, masks, and more!

If you're not able to make it to the book release party, there are still many ways in which you, too, can experience a transition into a Superhero lifestyle!

1. Turn your phone into a Super phone by downloading a Super mobile phone background image, designed by Super book designer Charlie Potter.

2. Turn your computer into a Super computer by downloading a Super desktop background, also designed by Charlie Potter.

3. Photoshop images of your own by adding the Super logo and other official designs to your images. Download a set of Super assets here (for personal use only--you may not sell or distribute works made with these assets). Here's a low-resolution preview of the assets:



Just putting the logo on a sign is hilarious enough (see example 1 and example 2), but the following is an example of someone going way overboard (in a delightfully positive way):

How Super Came to Be

Charlie Potter is the extraordinarily talented book designer behind the novel Super, from Emergency Press. The novel's storyline is presented as a series of varied county-level government documents, and so the book contains over 40 different layout styles. Potter also produced numerous illustrations that appear in the book, as well as supporting logos and documents that will be used in trailers, costumes for events, and other promotional materials.

In the following interview with Charlie Potter, the designer of Super elaborates on how the book's design came to be.

First of all, how did you come up with the cover concept? It's very catchy!

I love signs. I love danger signs the most, like the one with the truck almost tipping over on a tight corner or that guy being horribly struck by lightning. So the icon is basically taken from the sign that would indicate that there are Superheroes working nearby.

What parts of the inside of the book are you most excited about?

I’m most excited about the bits I had more creative input on. For example, the detective notes (I chose to present them in a visually-connected way, rather than as a straight-forward list of notes), the stick-figure diagram (I can’t look at it without laughing--I really can draw better than that), and the Superhero signage document.



The signage document was originally supposed to be a patrol map that tells Superheroes things like how far of a jump it is between buildings, how high up the roof is, and so on. I told Aaron, the author, that it would be odd for a hero to have a map in their pocket. When a driver first hits the street, the DMV doesn’t give you a map, but they will give you a rule book and a guide to signs. So that’s what we made: a driver’s guide for the Superhero.



But honestly, Aaron had some very visual ideas with clear direction, which is rare when working with a writer. I just had to dress them up mostly. At the same time, I had a lot of freedom with the project so I’m excited about the whole book.

This was obviously a much more complicated book to put together compared to the average novel. How did you manage that complexity, and how did you communicate with the author, Aaron Dietz, to complete the project?

Communication was pretty smooth between us--smoother than any project I’ve worked on. At the beginning, I set up a Google site with file deposit pages for inspirations, design previews, resources, and so on. We’re still using it for promotional stuff. I submitted design ideas through it and he and I commented on them or he would create Word docs with lists of edits.

The site was also good because it versions uploads, so we could revert to an old design easily if need be. At times there were a few print-outs when it was necessary to draw out an idea, but overall the process was very green. We rarely met in person about the project even though we see each other almost every day.

But the thing that helped the most was that we had a clear idea of how the book was going to be, and what it could do. This is something that was established very early and continues even now. It was a very cooperative and supportive process.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in doing this design?

The biggest challenge of this book was that I wanted it to look like an accumulation of government-made documents and logos but still make it look good, trying to ride that line of terrible and awesome.

Did you do any research to help you prepare for creating these "government-made documents"?

People can tell if you are drawing from memory or if you’re drawing from real life. So, I did a ton of research for this to make this look believable. But this wasn't too difficult and I had a lot of help and suggestions on where to look. There is just so much! In fact, I have enough material now that if there were a second book I wouldn't be drawing from any of the same sources.

What other things are you creating to help with the book's release?

Currently, I’m designing a series of posters that would encourage Superheroes from other counties to move to and work in Pike County, the setting of the novel. Most Superheroes think it’s more dangerous in Pike County and would rather live and work where their average life expectancy is higher.

Also, I created some stickers that we'll use to turn people's outfits into Superhero costumes during the book release party (this November).

What other kinds of work do you do, and is there a specific focus in your art?

I have no focus, but there are some things I’m better at than others.

I enjoy illustrating and have done a few books for a friend of the family. I would love to do more of that.

At my day job, though, I work as an instructional graphic designer; which is not too far off from what I was for this book.

Quotes From Super

Quotes from my novel are up on the Super page of my Web site. I'm also printing a few here. Exclusive content, some of it!

"That's the bad thing about cable--it takes longer to decide nothing's on because you have to flip through more channels." -Alabaster Wight

"You'd think time travel would be a pretty cool power to have but it's not. Most of the time, you're told what to do by various versions of yourself who are from some future time in which you've really messed things up." -Apostolos

"Anti-Terrorist Bomb Squad is highly entertaining to play, but it fails miserable as a socially responsible video game." -Jerboa

"I know Superheroes aren't supposed to drink so much, but lately that's the only way I can get out of the costume." -Alabaster Wight

"That's funny. I usually keep the rock slab in the closet." -Auslander



Oh, and if you're interested, ask me about the Super Action Team--it's an opportunity for you to receive my undying gratitude for doing very little work to help me promote my book.

I'm just like that Scott Pilgrim character!

Recently, I saw Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a movie in which the main character dreams about someone he loves, then meets that person in real life.

This happened to me. Twice, actually. The first time, I woke up from the dream and couldn't remember what she looked like but I remembered her name. My friends looked her up in the school directory, and there she was. She existed. I was too shy to ever pursue it, and so that's that.

The second time it happened to me was even more strange.

During my senior year of high school, I had a dream with A__ in it (this time it was a girl I did know existed--she was in my Creative Writing class). I think we were at a baseball game or something, hanging out in a totally ordinary way. But in the dream I absolutely loved her. It was wonderful.

The next morning, I picked up my ex-girlfriend on the way to school, and I told her about the dream. She told me that she, too, had had a dream the previous night. In her dream, she absolutely loved M___, who happened to be A__'s ex-boyfriend.

Strange enough.

I went to class. In Creative Writing, we had an assignment due and that meant that during the class, we passed around our assignment for comments from our peers before turning it in. When it was my turn to read and comment on A__'s piece, I wrote, without signing my name, "You were in my dream last night."

I watched the comment sheet go around the room, and when it got to A__, she read about halfway down (where my comment was), and then immediately turned to her friend, pointing at the paper.

Her friend looked, and then turned straight toward me and stared.

Literature Is Science

In an age where we are generating more content than we can possibly consume, it's desirable to pursue artistic endeavors that can produce measurable results, and to use these results to guide future artistic inquiries.

Every artistic creation that has no measurable impact contributes to a glut of immeasurable content and distracts people from a scientific development of artistic knowledge.

In 1893, Émile Zola pointed out that so little was understood about medicine that some still considered it an art.

Today, this is the state in which literature resides.

Top Time-Travel Movies of All Time

This list is, of course, final. If you were thinking of making one of the best movies about time travel in the near future, you're too late, unless it's autobiographical. Because then you’d be a time traveler. So you could change time and stuff. Get it? Never mind.

1. Timecrimes. When you watch this, at first you're all, that's some freaky stuff! Then, you're all, Soylent Green is people (except people is me)! And finally you start to figure everything out, and it’s still interesting. Even without time travel ability, I can already tell it's better than the Tom Cruise knock-off version that's scheduled to come out in 2012.

2. Twelve Monkeys. Possibly the best use for Brad Pitt yet.

3. Primer. Brilliant film, though I still can't figure this one out. That bit about the party confuses me. What exactly happened there?

4. The Sticky Fingers of Time. Like any movie that combines time-travel with bisexual adventures and bionic parts, this movie is a classic.

5. Back to the Future. It's just a very fun movie. It's like the first Matrix, only from a different decade, with different technology, and a totally different plot.

6. Time Bandits. Honestly, I don't remember this movie. I remember enjoying it, but I couldn't tell you what happened. I just included it in this list because I know someone will be all, "Hey, what about Time Bandits?"

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. Technically, not a time travel movie at all, but it's way better than Star Trek IV.

Super: Editor's Comments on the Manuscript

During the writing of Super, I kept track of a few funny, interesting, or odd comments left by my editor from the many edits of my manuscript. And here they are:

This seems like a lot for such a short paragraph.

Costume repair.

Drugs?

Does it have to be Bob? Could it be Gary? Or Frank?

Run like hell

Is this like she's making soup?

Guns shoot bullets, and people load bullets into guns.

Yes, more wild. Wild it.

What other sites would terrorists be smart to attack in the U.S.?

Now the book gets interesting! (p. 153)

Opened 5-gallon pickle buckets.

Yep. NOW, and only NOW are you funny. (p. 161)

Super: How to Create a Glow in the Dark Sign Thing

Step 1: Come up with a nifty logo (this part was done by Charlie Potter,
who is the graphic designer and book designer for the book).

Step 2: Order pizza.

Step 3: While waiting for the pizza, cut the logo out of your stencil.

Step 4: Eat the pizza.

Step 5: Test your stencil using the pizza box. Does it look cool? Oh yes, it looks cool. Good job, you. CAUTION:
Do not vandalize other people's property. It's okay to spray paint your
own pizza box, but don't spray paint anyone else's. Or anyone else's
other stuff. The principle (and law) applies to more than just pizza
boxes.



Step 6: Buy one of those glow-stick things for kids.

Step 7: Crack it and shake.

Step 8: Cut it open using a knife you don't care about, and then drain it
into a plastic cup that you don't care about. Cut slowly and carefully!
CAUTION: Do not actually do this stuff! It could be dangerous! At the
very least, get your publisher to do it while you shield and avert your
eyes! Special note to publishers: Don't do it!

Step 9: Apply glow-in-the-dark mixture to stenciled paper.

Step 10: Stand back, and then say, "What the heck does RBZ mean?"



RBZ Logo by Charlie Potter.

For more info on the book, check here: http://aarondietz.us/super

Ode to Chong Yit Seng

Chong Yit Seng
of Singapore,

You wrote some code once.
And I used it.

I used the code to loop through Word docs
and convert them to XML files tagged according to an EAD specification.

I never thanked you
because I didn't know how.

Now you have a LinkedIn profile
(if that's you).

So anyway,
thanks!

Super: The Failed Book Titles

Sometimes putting a title on a book is more challenging than writing the book itself. Here's a list of titles that weren't quite as good as Super. The book is about Superheroes that work for a county agency, so that's what most of these titles were attempting to express.

Superhero Suckdown
The Right Thing or Whatever
Apocalypse Management
Hostile Work Environment
To Err is Superhuman
Municipal Light and Powers
Superize Me
Rescue This Book
FOIA L-351-ORB-12
Security Blanket
Not a Zombie Book
Super Qualified
I Just Work Here
A Poorly Titled Novel That’s Actually Rather Good
Opportunity Screams
Materials that Stretch
Extra Sensitive

You Are the Hero

Super: The Synopsis

I always have a bit of trouble explaining what my novel is about, so I'm lucky to have a synopsis written by the talented Alex Reed, with a few choice additions from my editor, Bryan Tomasovich.

The Synopsis

Do you need a new job?

Does the world need another superhero?

You see the connection, don’t you? If you had the chance to save lives…could you handle the adventure? The pressure, the risk, the grotesque, the insane? Most of all, could you handle your humanity? Update your resume, ‘cause here we go. Either stick with being sucked down further into your life, or earn the lift-off of the elite.

Aaron Dietz’s debut novel moves with an experimental edge into America’s heroic mythology. Structured as a novel-length job application for a superhero agency, Dietz uses his iron touch to explore themes that go far deeper than the swashbuckling world of comics and costumes. It’s a story about commitment, ability, bureaucracy, possibility, crisis, and heartbreak. Super.

Do Not Use Humans as Jet Fuel

You learn something every day.

The Good Thing About People Behaving Like Sheep

Perhaps a comforting thought related to people being relatively easy to manipulate is that people can be heavily influenced by an idea, and so if the world seems too commercialized, too homogenized, or just too stupid due to a general lack of independent thought, then take heart in knowing that the right idea could easily catch on at any moment, and transform the world.

People Are Impressionable Jerks

I've always been kind of nice, so when I'm approaching the same street corner as someone else I tend to stop and let them go ahead, which seems to suit them fine, as they usually make no acknowledgement of my existence whatsoever.

This never surprises me, it being that people are selfish jerks and all.

But no! I've made a frightening discovery! Recently, I've changed jackets from a simple black pea coat to an attention-getting, weird (sort of Sgt. Pepper-y) jacket. Suddenly people wait for ME at street corners!



What a bunch of jerks! Being selfish and ignoring the existence of others is actually fairly reasonable behavior, seeing as how other people are also selfish jerks, but going out of your way just to treat others differently purely based on what they wear is another, far worse kind of idiocy!

The Good Thing About Getting Older

The good thing about getting older is that there is less weirdness and fewer surprises.

Less Weirdness

You hug a friend in a train station in a city where you've never seen each other before. It's not weird, because heck, by this time, you can't even remember where you knew each other from anyway.

Fewer Surprises

There are fewer surprises because your memory is absent.

Oil spill? No surprise there--you're not really sure if it's a new one or the same one from before.

Ear buds not working in one ear? You've probably just gone deaf in one ear and forgot that you went deaf. Clearly nothing to worry about.

Aliens abducting you? For all you know, it happens every night. Why worry?

One Last Unrelated Thing

Go equality.

I can do nothing!

So I saw this guy sitting on some steps the other day, and I was like, "Huh. Wonder what he's doing?"

And then I realized what it was--he was doing nothing!

I totally want to try that someday. It looks awesome!

Super: The Novel

I have a novel coming out this fall called Super. It'll be published by Emergency Press.

Do you want to see the cover? Oh, goodie! It's a rough cover, and could change, but here it is at the moment.



The cover art and book design is by Charlie Potter. More on him later this month or so.

Oh hey, and you know what? It takes an army for a small press to get a book out. If you want to help or have suggestions, let me know. I have an entire insane plan in the works and there is a lot to do. I mean, I've spent over $30 on stickers already.

A Jerk Almost Ran Me Over

I'm walking across the street when a car screeches to a stop, nearly running me over.

"Hey moron," says the driver out the window. "You need some kind of magical way to tell cars when you're crossing or you're going to get flattened!"

I stop in the middle of the road.

"You mean, like a stop sign?" I ask.

I put my hand on my forehead and close my eyes. Concentration! Then, I quickly shoot my other arm in the direction of the corner, where there is a stop sign.

"Better?" I ask.

The driver is not amused.

Avatar: A Summary of the Movie

An ex-Marine is all trying to figure out what to do with his life when he starts hanging out with a bunch of his deceased brother's friends.

Unfortunately for the ex-Marine, all of his brother's friends are into Second Life, so he gets sucked into playing it, too.

He lives on some kind of military base or something where important dramatic things are happening but instead of getting involved, he plays Second Life all day. Then, he moves in to a trailer with his brother's friends so they can play Second Life without any distractions.

He completes a bunch of awesome quests and stuff and even gets a Second Life girlfriend, though the movie never shows her IRL.

In fact, he gets so good at Second Life that his brother's friends pretty much sit around and watch him play and feed him when he's hungry, 'cause he's a superstar.

Meanwhile, there's some kind of war on.

The End.



In this breathtaking scene from Avatar, the ex-Marine and his friends watch what's going on in Second Life.

Poops Embody Life

Some poops are fast, and almost effortless.

Example: A blink.

Some poops are more moderately paced and need an occasional push to keep them going.

Example: A bus ride.

Some poops need a lot of grunting and sweat to make happen.

Example: Passing true health care reform.

Other poops take their time, and no amount of huffing and puffing or sqealing about it will change their pace.

Example: The changing of the season from winter to spring.