Plotting the Fate of a little Town in Ohio

[neil kleid]

(Cross-posted from the production blog)

As I've said in many places, I've been writing ACTION, OHIO ever since it was old enough to cry. The story's gone through multiple iterations since it's inception, but at it's heart it's always been about hiding the truth and sacrificing freedom in order to save the world.

To me, that's also at the heart of what drives many good superheroes - whether it's abstaining from relationships or wearing masks to protect the ones they love or even setting limits on their fantastic abilities, doing what they can to even blot out their gifts (and curses) for the sake of mankind. But how can you and I, the average Joes and Janes, relate to something like that? We don't have powers to hide. We don't have secret identities. What do we know about sacrificing for the greater good?

That's what I want to explore with our heroine, Andrea Bruce. Andi, a tough-talking Detroit homicide detective, has not always been a tough-talking homicide detective. She's been a reporter, forced to rein in her devotion to the freedom of the press. She was a hero's daughter, keeping herself in exile from town and friends so that she didn't accidentally spill the beans. But all of those seemed forced to me... and when Paul and I sat down to really hammer out our outline, we decided that Andi, our window into a world of amazing people with amazing abilities, not only had to sacrifice beliefs and ideas throughout the story, but also discovers what it means to be a hero in every sense of the word. From the tough decisions to the triumphant victories, Andi - a woman who enters our story without much use for 'heroes' - learns that any one of us can be one - you, me, her, them.

Why Ohio? I'm from Michigan (Detroit, do or die) and have spent most of my life in and around the Upper Midwest states - Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, parts of Pennsylvania. Though I've been a New Yorker since before Y2K, the Midwest sticks with me, flat accent, love for Faygo Pop, Tigers ball cap and all. Though tempted to set our tale in Detroit, I felt using any major city would take away the wonder and the small town aura Action was going to present. I needed - no, craved - screen doors, cut lawns and hidden woods. General stores and schoolhouses that, long ago, only taught a single class. Sure - this is a town that's kept up with the times. They're wireless and up on current events, but they also dig a nice ice cream soda down at the soda shop and pick up their papers from the newsagent (newsagents of s.h.i.e...?). I chose Ohio for this reason alone; it's flat. Ohio, to yours truly... a driver of Interstate 75, I-80 and the like... has always been the longest stretch of highway with nothing but cornfields, wheat, trees and truck stops. When driving from Detroit to New York, I tend to bear down when hitting the Buckeye State and ready myself for a long four hour haul until I hit Pennsylvania's mountains and some ground that isn't PERFECTLY. LEVEL. Miles and miles of country radio stations mixed with identical rest stops featuring Starbucks, gift shops, Boston market and eight vending machines. It's forever. Forever and several miles. And it's the perfect place to hide if you're a superhero because, dear lord, most people just want to drive on through.

Not to say there aren't great parts of Ohio - like Liz Lemon, I love the Cleve. I dig drinking in Berwick when in Columbus and I've been to the Air museum in Dayton (quick Ohio joke - where's Engagement, Ohio? Between Dayton and Marion!) Cedar Point in Sandusky is one of my favorite theme parks but you have to admit - if you're from Bowling Green, Youngstown or even good ol' Cincy - there's a LOT of land and most of it is flat, green and dull.

Quiet town, driven heroine, secret superheroes. Nice mix, right? Well, what about you? What about the folks who aren't central to the story... the folks who discover there are superheroes living nearby? One of the things that really interested me about Action's premise was how the world would react. Obviously, the military would jump at the chance to recruit these superhumans while the government would want to examine them — all the sci-fi cliches and Stephen King horror stories would descend on our little Ohio hamlet. Let's step back further: public relations firms? Hollywood? The comic book companies — especially the companies that have been putting out books BASED on these people's lives?! Wouldn't they claim ownership, to some extent? And most importantly to you and I... how would the comic book FANS react?

Here we are, in a day and age where (who would've ever thought?!) a comic book fan is bombarded by posters, billboards, ads and endorsements featuring their favorite hero or heroine — Batman, Iron Man, Hulk, Spidey, Superman, The Spirit and more. I drive down the West Side Highway and there, big as life and four stories high, is the gleaming mug of the Golden Avenger. blocks away, grinning from the side of the building, is the screaming mad smile of the Joker. Doesn't it feel like superheroes are here? Isn't it slightly surreal?

Imagine if they existed, kids. Imagine if CNN revealed the existence of these men and women, these heroes and heroines, and then moments later one of them streaked across the sky? How would you react? Would you run to the internet or would you read about them in tabloids? And, worse, knowing years of history - of secret crises and world devourers and final nights and insane genocidal clowns - wouldn't you want to run beneath your bed and hide?

THESE are the questions this story will explore. These are questions we'll ask together starting here, in chapter one.

Hang on tight and keep your eyes open.