Michael Moreci's Blog

There’s a moment in Noah Isenberg’s terrific We’ll Always Have Casablanca where the author speaks directly to the film’s enduring legacy. Casablanca, after all, is one of Hollywood’s most cherished and celebrated films; as Umberto Eco once perfectly said, “Casablanca is not one movie, it is movies.” What draws people back time and time, in part, the book posits, is nostalgia. But not the kind of nostalgia you’d expect, Isenberg writes. It’s not a longing for what was that brings us back to Casablanca’s nobility, heroism, love, and sacrifice—it’s a longing for what could have been.

 

Peter Bogdanovich, I think it’s safe to say, had a heart filled with both kinds of nostalgia. And each part, in equal measure, made him one of the greatest filmmakers, and film scholars, that ever lived.

 

In so many ways, Peter’s work can be defined by the past. He began his film career interviewing the greats—Hawks and Ford, Hitchcock and Welles—obtaining profound insights into their work, which he absorbed and later used as the foundation of his own artistry. If you read his interviews, you not only get a sense of how sharp Peter’s mind for film was (even in his 20s) but how exuberant he was about these aging masters. Bear in mind, Peter was conducting these interviews in the last 1960s, a time well before the proliferation of resources that make film as accessible as it is now; the knowledge Peter had, and his commitment to film’s history, required true zeal—and that zeal endured throughout Peter’s entire life.

 

Watching Peter’s work, you can see his love of the golden age of Hollywood. What’s Up, Doc is a loving tribute to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and ‘40s, like Bringing Up Baby and It Happened One Night; similarly, At Long Last Love is a homage to musicals of that same era—Peter went even so far as to record the music and singing live and not dub it later, something that no film had in forty years. I heard him talk about how arduous filming that movie was because of that decision, but he has determined to capture the authenticity of that period. Peter was a trailblazer and a rule-breaker. You can’t limit his body of work to a single genre, and you can’t even define his career with a single word. He was a director, an actor, a raconteur, and a scholar. He did it all, and he did it in his own indelible way.

 

You can’t watch Peter’s finest film The Last Picture Show—which I’d argue is one of the best movies ever made—without recognizing the steady camerawork of Howard Hawks and the occasional flourishes of Orson Welles. The same can be said of Paper Moon. But Peter’s work was much, much more than loving tributes to the greats. He had a style all his own, great empathy toward his characters, and a clear, obvious desire to cast the spell over audiences that only cinema can conjure, once that transports us all into a whole new world. As Martin Scorsese said, Peter’s films seemed look forward and backward at the same time, and there’s more magic in that alchemy than I could ever hope to put into words.

 

With Peter’s passing, we lose not only a wonderful human being and a gifted artist, but we lose a bridge to the past. I’m a passionate cinephile; I’m one of those people who not only loves Hollywood’s golden age, but I also believe an appreciation of film’s history is essential to film’s future. Nobody embodied these values better than Peter did. But, unfortunately, we’re living in a time where the word ‘nostalgia’ has become a mindless buzzword that not only has little to no meaning, but it’s exonerated people from engaging with the past. You’ll find people on social media—people who make movies, believe it or not—who are outright hostile to cinema’s history, who scorn movies made in black and white. They actively devalue the medium’s rich and magnificent history, and it feels, at times, like those voices are growing louder and louder every single day.

 

Meanwhile, voices like Peter’s are fading away or leaving us altogether. Peter was a man who celebrated and preserved film history while moving the medium forward, and that should never be forgotten. He made groundbreaking films of unparalleled artistry while also ensuring cinema’s rich history survived for anyone who wanted to appreciate it and learn from it, just as he did. In the past few years alone, Peter salvaged Orson Welles’s lost film The Other Side of the Wind, and he directed The Great Buster, a documentary about the groundbreaking silent star, Buster Keaton. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Peter was known for his generosity of time and spirit; he’d forgotten more about film than even most of us can ever hope to learn, but he seemed always willing—eager, even—to share all the anecdotes, all those stories he’d lived and accumulated, over a lifetime lived in film.

 

There’s a hole in cinema with Peter’s passing, there’s no doubt about that. But, fortunately, Peter left behind the books he’d written about his heroes and countless interviews; he recorded scores of DVD commentary tracks, and while I haven’t heard them all, the ones I have listened to are remarkable. He was also the subject of TCM’s inaugural podcast season, The Plot Thickens, and I urge people to give it a listen—it’s a tremendous look at Peter’s life and work.

 

Peter also leaves behind some of the best movies ever made. And baked within them is his passion for cinema, his knowledge of the past, and his genius that helped reinvent the entire medium. It’s all there, waiting for anyone to pick up, study and learn from, and do what Peter did—continue the legacy of film in ways both old and new.

It’d been a long time since I’ve announced a new comic series—but that changed this week.

If you haven’t seen the news already, allow me to introduce you to BARBARIC, my new series with Vault Comics, illustrated by Nate Gooden, colors by Addison Duke, and lettered by Jim Campbell.

The story goes like this:

BARBARIC follows Owen the Barbarian who has been cursed to do good. His bloodthirsty, drunken weapon, Axe, has become his moral compass. Together they wander an untamed, mythic realm battling supernatural cultists, hungry giants, creatures of the night, and more in their quest to somehow, amidst all this chaos, do the right thing.

Welcome to the skull-cracking, blood-splattering, mayhem-loving comic brave enough to ask: How can a man sworn to do good do so much violence? It’s just…BARBARIC.

Personally, I'm absolutely thrilled about this series. I’ve said that I think of BARBARIC as Conan + Hellboy + a dash of Wasted Space's irreverence. It's big, it's bloody, but it's good a lot of heart underneath all the mayhem. I have big plans for this series, so hopefully we're able to keep this going for a long time. And, the art by Nate and Addison is absolutely stunning.

Find the first issue in stores this June. And please—do be sure to tell your local comic shop to order a copy. It’ll guarantee you have one waiting for you, and the more retailers hear about this series, the more confident they’ll be in putting it on the shelves.

Cover A is above, and here’s our cover B, which homages the great Barry Windsor-Smith:

As the title states, it’s been some time since I posted on my own website. It’s been a busy few months, and I’ve been juggling quite a bit between my workload and having my kids home and e-learning. But it’s a new year, and while I’m not prepared to make any grand resolutions about posting more frequently, I do think an update is in order.

But, more importantly, a happy new year to all of you! I’m sending you my very, very best for a healthy, productive, and loving 2021.

So…what a year 2020. It was a rollercoaster, I can say that much. While there’s some major things that I’m sitting on that I' cannot wait to publicly talk about, there are some exciting things that I can talk about, so let’s dive right in with the latest:

The Clone Wars: Battle Tales

This series wrapped last year—after being delayed alongside so many other comics—and is now being collected into one complete trade. The book gathers all five issues into one neat package, and you can find it in stores/online/digitally on January 20 (for comic shops) and January 27 everywhere else. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge, huge fan of the prequels and The Clone Wars, and I’m really pleased with how this series came together. So, if you’re hungry for some clone action and/or want to put a Star Wars book into a young reader’s hands, you’ve got what you’re looking for right here.

I SOLD A MOVIE

If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably seen me going on and on about this already. But ti’s true—I sold my first screenplay! It’s a horror film, though that’s about all I can say at this time. I’m turning in a new draft—maybe the final draft—soon, so I can also say that. There’s no telling if this thing will ever get made, but here’s to hoping it does. And who knows? Maybe I’ll write another movie and make this a thing…

HEXAGON

Speaking of stuff for young readers, my sci-fi space adventure series Hexagon is currently running on Webtoon, and it’s doing amazingly well. In less than two months since it launched, we’ve accumulated over 11K subscribers, which, to me, is an impressive number. My sincere thanks to everyone who’s supported the series. If you haven’t checked it out, I like to think of Hexagon as The Last Starfighter meets The Goonies. It’s a fun adventure story that you can read for free by clicking on the above link.

VAULT COMICS

As always, I’m busy as can be with my Vault family. The final issue of The Plot is set to be released very soon, and there’s just seven more issues remaining in Wasted Space (issue #18, of 25, came out last week). Not only that, but I have a brand-new series coming later this year. I have to be hush-hush about it, but I can say Nate Gooden is drawing the living daylights out of this book, and the series is unlike anything I’ve done before, in a way. But in another way, it’s very similar to what I’ve done before. Hmmm.

(And I might have another secret project with Vault in the works.. Double hmmm….)

ARCHANGEL 8

If you missed this, my Punisher-meets-Hellblazer series came out last year, and the trade is in stores now. If you’re into gritty, dark, supernatural crime drama that’s packed with plenty of twists and turns while harkening to Mr. Garth Ennis, you’ll love this series. Find it wherever books are sold!

2021!

Lots of things to come. Big announcements, new work, big surprises. Can’t wait for you all to see what I’ve got in store. Until then!

Some news out of SDCC (well, stay-at-home SDCC):

I’m writing STRANGER THINGS! Yep, I wrote a Halloween special, and it’s coming out, appropriately, this October from Dark Horse. I can’t say much, other than 1. You’re going to love it; 2. It takes place just days before the start of Season One; and 3. I’m an enormous ST fan—here’s my dressed as the Byers’ wall for Halloween, 2017:

We’ve got a great team on this issue—Todor Hristov is just tremendous on art, Chris O’Halloran is a fantastic colorist, and Nate Piekos is one of the best letterers going.

Can’t wait for you all to read it!

Hello everyone, and greetings from isolation.

First and more certainly foremost, I hope you all doing well out there. I hope you're healthy, safe, and staying occupied. What a time we're in. Most days, I find it a challenge just to wrap my head around what's happening now, and what may happen next. That said, know I'm sending you all my very best. 

Since we're all either in shelter at home situations, or at least our communities are experiencing social distancing policies, I decided to utilize some of my time to create some video tutorials, based on a Genre Writing course I recently taught. In a nutshell: these are free, and casual, writing workshops. I'm going to post one or two a week, and in each video I'll tackle a new topic. In the first video I talk about world-building; in the second, I discuss how you know when to transition from the outlining/planning stage to the actual writing stage. They're fairly brief and meant to motivate you to get writing or at least thinking about writing (plus, I just love talking about the craft). 

That said, I'm posting the two videos below (and direct links here and here). You can subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on social media to continue to get these videos, if you're interested. 

Again, I hope you all are doing well. Take care out there.

Heya, everyone, and welcome to my year-in-review. I’ve been delinquent with posts (I kinda always am), but in this post—which is rather long—I’ll be giving a recap of the year that was, look at what’s to come in 2020, and, as always, share some writer goodies to make this whole thing worthwhile. In this edition, I’m going to be sharing a kind of director’s audio commentary for the first issue of Wasted Space as well as providing the first issue script (if you aren’t aware, a few weeks back I took a Twitter poll and asked what script of mine people would like to see, and Wasted Space #1 won by an overwhelming majority).

All right, then, I’ve got my glass of bourbon, my notes are prepared, so let’s dive in.

THE YEAR THAT WAS

Holy hell, this year was something. Personally, it was one of the most challenging, difficult, and painful years of my life. I’m not a very candid kind of person; that’s just not my way, so I’m not going to go into specifics. Those who know me, know. I will say, though, that it’s been hard. I don’t want to sound alarms and cause anyone undue concern—my family and I are healthy, thank goodness, and I’m profoundly grateful for that. But this year has pushed my heart and soul to the limit, and I don’t recall a time where I so eagerly anticipated the calendar turning over to January.

What’s strange is how, professionally, this was one of the most—if not the most—satisfying and exhilarating years of my career. The year began with the paperback release of my debut novel, Black Star Renegades, which has been doing really, really well. The book was nominated for an Audie Award for best sci-fi novel of the year, and it—and its sequel, We Are Mayhem (released in April of 2019)—have already become profitable for St. Martin’s. That’s no small task, and I’m tremendously grateful for all of you who’ve supported this venture of mine. Believe me, there’s more novels to come, and soon.

I launched the second and third volumes of my space opera comic series Wasted Space, and somehow, this book just keeps on surprising me. When I pitched this book, I never thought it would get published; it’s existential Star Wars, filled with filthy cynical humor, Fuq bots, and enough nihilism to make Nietzsche blanche. But here we are, on the cusp of releasing the thirteenth issue (of a planned 25), and Wasted Space is stronger than ever. Graphic Audio adapted the first volume for a dramatic presentation (and, believe me, it’s awesome), and it’s appeared on numerous “Best of 2019” lists—it even was named one of the best books of the decade by Panel Platter. It’s truly something, what this series has become, and I love writing every single panel of it and watching Hayden Sherman and Jason Wordie display their artistic mastery bringing my words to life. Also, there’s some special things brewing in the background that hopefully we can start talking about in 2020…

Sticking with Vault Comics, I launched two new series: Mall (co-written with It screenwriter Gary Dauberman) and The Plot. The latter title is probably the most personal series I’ve ever written, and it’s certainly me (and my co-writer, Tim Daniel) at my most confident. Josh Hixson and Jordan Boyd bring a level of artistry that’s as good—if not better—than any artist and colorist working today—they’re that good. And the series has blown away even my ambitious expectations, become Vault’s bestselling book upon release and appearing on at least a dozen “Best of 2019” lists.

I continued to play in the Star Wars sandbox, which, to me, is one of the most gratifying things I can hope to achieve. I’ve said it a million times, but writing Star Wars has been my greatest dream since I was a kid growing up on Tatooin—I mean, the South Side of Chicago, having lightsaber battles with my older brother, playing with my Star Wars action figures so much the paint wore off, and dreaming that I, too, could be like one of my idols, Timothy Zahn, and add to the greatest myth of our time. The Star Wars story, to me, is my youth; the prequels are my adolescence; and, now, the sequels are my fatherhood, and the joy it brings me to share this galaxy with my two sons—including stories that I’ve written—is immeasurable. This year, my Flight of the Falcon story was collected into a single volume, and I also had the unique distinction of writing part of the stories leading up to The Rise of Skywalker. When The Force Awakens came out, I promised myself that I’d write canonical Star Wars, and I pursued that goal with the fire of hades in my guts. Which goes to show, and I know it’s cliché as hell, but dreams are meant to be lived. Go after yours, and never stop until what you see in your mind is what you hold in your hands.

Speaking of dream fulfillment: I also wrote my very first Marvel comic! The first comic I ever bought off a spinner rack was a Web of Spider-Man with Hobgoblin on the cover (I forget the issue, and I’m too tired to go digging through my long box now). I believe the year was 1986, which means I’ve been following the House of Ideas for over three decades. And, of course, my favorite part of the Marvel universe is the cosmic stuff—I mean, c’mon. So, when the opportunity to not only write for Marvel was presented to me but to also write cosmic Marvel, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Just a few weeks ago, that issue was published—a Beta Ray Bill one-shot (featuring Lockjaw!!!) that tied into an updated version of one of the best Marvel crossover events of all-time—Annihilation. So now, to my very last day, I can say I wrote the Norse horse, and that’ll always bring a smile to my face.

Also in the mix: I wrote a Battlestar Galactica series, introducing all-new characters into canon (the story takes place between season 2 and 3, when the colonists are basically enslaved on New Caprica). It’s a dark war story—kind of like Rogue One—that I can’t believe the powers that be let me tell, but I’m thrilled they did. The collected story is in stores now. Also, I’m currently writing a new Vampironica series, alongside Frank Tieri. We’re crafting this super cool and fun coming-of-age Lost Boys-inspired vampire story, and it’s been a blast. The art from Audrey Mok is just tremendous.

So, it’s been a busy year. But nothing compared to…

THE YEAR TO COME

Well, there’s not much I can talk about. What I can talk about I will, below, but first, here’s a look at what I’m working on (and anything not mentioned, if announced, is written):

Wasted Space

About to start writing issue #16. Just ten more issues to go! 

The Plot

I’ve got the outline for issue #6 done, and I’m writing my half in January. Just two more issue remain after that, so writing should be completed in February.

Secret Star Wars Project

Writing has begun and, because of necessity, is wrapping soon. And this project, it’s coming out in 2020. That’s all I can say.

Secret Lucasfilm-inspired YA Graphic Novel

Writing should begin on this in early 2020. It’s with a publisher I’ve never worked with before, but have always wanted to.

Another (Secret) YA Graphic Novel

I’m very excited about this project and love the people I’m working with. I should start writing this in February.

Massive Ongoing Fantasy Series

I may have already said too much. But this is going to be awesome and huge and I cannot, cannot wait. I’ve been working on this, no joke, for years. And now it’s coming to life, with the best people possible, and I’m so damn excited.

Superhero Projects 

There’s two in the works. All I can say is [REDACTED]. I’m working on one the first half of the year; the other the second half.

A New Novel

It’s happening. It is. I have the idea, and I’m already writing it. I just need to refine what I have, craft an outline, and I’ll be there.  

Movie/TV Projects

I have pitches out for both an original TV series and an original horror film. Both are in very, very good hands; the latter, in fact, seems like it might be concretizing. Cross those fingers!

Now, as for what’s scheduled to be released:

Starting in January, I’m taking the lead in Star Wars Adventures for the very first time, for issues 30-32. The stories, respectively, focus on Kylo and Hux, Rey and Poe, and Finn and [secretsecretsecret]. Here’s one of the covers, for issue #30 (out in February):

 

March is going to be very busy month, as I’m launching two new titles: Archangel 8 and Hexagon.

Archangel 8 is part of the line of books that are launching AWA/Upshot, the new publishing venture from Bill Jemas and Alex Alonso. I’ve worked very closely with Axel, and I’ve learned a ton from him. I mean, he’s one of the greatest editors in comics, ever. And he’s shepherded  this book from day one, and I think we’ve managed to craft something special. Think of it as Hellblazer meets Punisher, with a little biblical stuff thrown in. It’s new territory for me, but I’m glad I took the creative plunge. Here’s what issue #1 looks like (that Jeff Dekal cover is amazing—though wait until you see CP Smith’s and Snakebite Cortez’s interiors):

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is Hexagon, a book designed for younger readers. I suppose you can call it all-ages since anyone can read it, but I wrote this series with 12-year-old kids (and 12-year-old me) in mind. I like to think of it as a modern-day The Last Starfighter; more intimate and personal, but every bit as fun. I was able to collaborate with international superstar musician Don Diablo, which was an adventure onto itself. He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met, in the best way possible. Check out this cover from Jorge Corona (who happens to be illustrating a series I adore, Middlewest):

And then, in April, my DC YA graphic novel comes out and, gang, I’m so excited for this one. It’s called The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Story, and I’m in love with this book. The art from Sas Milledge alone is to die for, but Dick/Nightwing is one of my all-time favorite characters, and I think both longtime and new readers alike are going to love this book. I mean, this cover alone:

WRITING MATERIALS

This whole post has gone on long enough, right? So I’ll just get to it:

Here’s a link to my audio commentary on Wasted Space #1:

https://app.box.com/s/o34ddiesuexf1mm4i50b8ydnt6sjj6rq

And here’s a link for for the Wasted Space issue #1 script:

https://app.box.com/s/b2ytfcl19zyvixq...

I think that covers everything! I hope you’re all enjoying this journey. I know I am, and I’m so grateful (I know I keep saying that word, but I mean it) for every moment. Thank you, truly, for another year of being able to do the thing I love. I wish you all the same and more.

All the best,

Michael

Hey all! I’ve got a pretty big New York Comic Con this year, loaded with signings, exclusives, and more. Let’s get to it!

WEDNESDAY

12:00-1:00 Signing at Vault with Tim Daniel and Josh Hixson—Here’s your chance to get the creative team behind the sold out, critically acclaimed THE PLOT to sign issue #1! Vault will have copies of the book at the booth, including the $100 variant, which is already nearly sold out (only 100 copies will be printed, ever). Check out the cover art below!

2:00-3:00: Star Wars Adventures signing with IDW. Come get your Flight of the Falcon autographed, or just talk Star Wars with me!

3:00-5:00: Hexagonia signing with Impact Theory. Just announced on Monday, I’m writing a comic series with world-famous DJ Don Diablo! Hexagonia is an all-ages adventure that’s part Star Wars, past The Last Starfighter, and a ton of fun. Impact Theory is offering issue #1 (see the covers below) way ahead of its 2020 street release!

THURSDAY

11:00-12:00 Vault Comics signing

1:00-2:00: Tor signing. Hey, remember that I write novels, too? I do! And I’m going to be signing Black Star Renegades and We Are Mayhem, and I hear there’s going to be a BSR paperback giveaway as well…

2:00-300: AWA signing—another exclusive! AWA is offering their debut preview magazine, Upshot Now (seen below), which includes the entire first issue, in black and white, of my upcoming series Archangel 8. And it’s free, so come by the booth!

3:00-4:00: Vault Comics signing

7:45-8:45: Panel, “Innovation in the Comics Industry,” featuring Damian Wassel, Tom Bilyeu, Dave Hedgcock, Tze Chun, Sebastian Girnier, and me! Room 1A18

SATURDAY

12:00-1:15: Impact Theory signing.

Then, I’m out! Off to a wedding back home!

Well…it’s that time of year again. Time to enter the mouth of madnes—I mean, SDCC!

I’m more or less booked solid from Monday morning (I go to L.A. before trekking down to San Diego) until I leave on Sunday with meetings and lunches and all that, so it’s going to be a busy, busy week for me. But a fun one!

Here’s my schedule for the show:

THURSDAY

11:00 - 12:00, SIGNING, Vault Comics booth*

4:00 - 5:00, SIGNING, Heavy Metal booth

FRIDAY

2:00-3:00, SIGNING, Star Wars Adventures, IDW booth

4:30-5:30, SIGNING, Vault Comics booth

6:00 - 7:00, PANEL, Super-powered YA, DC Graphic Novels, Room 23ABC

SATURDAY

11:00 - 12:00 SIGNING, Vault Comics booth—with Gary Dauberman!

*And, in case you missed it, Vault is going to have an exclusive copy of MALL #1, my wild post-apocalyptic horror series co-written with Gary Dauberman (writer/director of Annabelle Comes Home, writer of the IT adaptations, amongst other awesome things). The preview book will contain the entire first issue of MALL as well as an exclusive first-look preview of my upcoming haunted house series, THE PLOT. It looks like this:

Hey all!

So, I usually don’t share content that’s exclusive to my newsletter, either at all or at least until a good amount of time has passed. And for those of you who don’t know, I write a monthly newsletter where I discuss my latest work, what i’m reading/watching, and, most importantly, I share an essay, podcast, or interview that dives into writing—the craft, the industry, the life.

But, I really love this essay on Hill House and Hereditary, and I want to not only share it, but use it for two purposes: First, to talk about my newsletter, which I just did. If you’d like to sign up for it, there’s two ways: Enter your email in the subscribe box on the right side of my homepage), or follow this link.

Second, because this particular essay is centered around horror, I wanted to briefly discuss my own horror work—specifically, my upcoming Vault Comics series (which is part of my new deal, discussed here): THE PLOT.

Let me be really candid: THE PLOT is the most personal, emotional book I’ve ever written, and it might just be my best. Josh Hixon's art is a revelation (take a look for yourself below), and Jordan Boyd's colors are simply gorgeous. My co-writer, Tim Daniel (yep, we're teaming up again, after bringing you two other horror series, Curse and Burning Fields!) and I are writing our hearts out, and I really think it shows.

THE PLOT #1 is described like this:

In order to receive... First you must give. When Chase Blaine's estranged brother and sister-in-law are murdered, he becomes guardian to McKenzie and Zach, the niece and nephew he hardly knows. Seeking stability for the children, Chase moves his newly formed family to his ancestral home in Cape Augusta... which overlooks a deep, black bogland teeming with family secrets.

Here's a few looks early looks at the first issue, which releases in September.

We have some of Josh's beautiful uncolored work:

Jordan's lush, atmospheric colors:, and the issue #1 cover below that:

Like I said, this book is incredibly important to me. Please, pleasepleaseplease, be sure to tell your retailer to have it in stock. Express your enthusiasm online, with friends--word of mouth is crucial. And, truly, thank you for all of it.

That out of the way, let’s get to the meat of this post—my thoughts on Hill House and Hereditary:

The Haunting of Hill House vs. Hereditary: An Examination of What Gets Satisfied

I adore these both these powerhouse works of horror fiction. What fascinates me, looking at them both, is how both stories are so very similar, broadly speaking, yet remarkably unique at the same time. They’re both wrestling with death, grief, loss, trauma, depression, even madness. What’s worth examining, though, is how both stories go about bringing these heavy topics to a conclusion. And it’s their conclusions that reveal what kind of story they each set out to tell, and their approaches couldn’t be more different.

Every story ends. We know this. And the ending is so crucial to any story. It’s the culmination of so many things—the plot, the themes, the characters’ journeys. It resolves mysteries, defies expectations with a compelling (and hopefully well-earned) twist, and, perhaps most importantly, leaves its audience feeling satisfied. Narratively speaking, there’s two types of endings I want to talk about—meaning and revelation.

When you look at Hill House, it’s evident that the storytellers—Mike Flanagan, the showrunner (he wrote and directed the bulk of the season), in particular—were far more interested with the thematic conclusion than the story conclusion. Flanagan was driving toward the emotional heart of the story and how it deeply affected the characters. In Hereditary, on the other hand, Ari Aster was—and I think it’s safe to say—more interested in focusing on concluding the story in a very particular way, rather than plunging into the themes. Now, the Venn diagram has some overlap, but I can comfortably say Hill House is more about meaning while Hereditary is more about revelation.  

Let’s look at both, starting with Hill House.

Fundamentally, in its final hour, we learn that Hill House isn’t all that concerned with the whys of its story. When the credits roll for the last time, there’s so much we still don’t know. For starters, why was Hill House haunted? What, exactly, makes this house a nexus of life and death—how does that all work? We get a sense of a long and troubled history within the house’s walls (and if you’ve read the novel, you get an even richer sense of that history), but there’s no real concrete reason why the house is haunted and where it draws these otherworldly powers from.

Following on that, we never get a sense of the family’s powers. Like the house itself, we get a vague sense that some of the family has some kind of telekinetic/ESP abilities. Olivia, the family’s matriarch, has this sensitivity, and so does Theo. We get the impression Luke and Nell might, together, as well. But at no point do we really know what these powers are, where they come from, and how they work. We just know that some of the family can do things that aren’t entirely normal, and that helps open them up to the house’s influence.

 

While these are avenues that could have been explored more deeply in Hill House, they weren’t. And that’s not a bad thing—my point isn’t to draw attention to what Hill House (or Hereditary) should have done. This isn’t one of those shitty “How it should have ended” YouTube videos. Those belong in the foulest pits of the Earth. Writing, and I’ll say this forever, is decision-making. That’s roughly 98% of the job. You make story decisions based on the paths that you want to follow based on what interests you most about the story you’re telling. Now, it would be unfair of me to say that Flanagan was uninterested in pursuing this story angle. Maybe he was; I have no idea. What I can say, fairly confidently, was that he was less interested in answering these story questions and more interested in answering his thematic questions. His focus was on these remarkable characters and their journey—their trauma, their healing, and their struggles to remain a family amidst so many secrets, tragedy, loss, and more. The ending was an emotional payoff, providing its audience with a sense of growth and movement; the characters ended in different places—emotionally, in particular—than where they began, and their relationship to the house itself changes dramatically (especially Steven’s).

Now, let’s look at Hereditary and how it concludes story—which represents the opposite approach to Hill House.

In Hereditary, it’s pretty clear that Aster isn’t interested in providing his characters with the same kind of growth and change that Flanagan provides. And I know it’s different, talking about movies and television, particularly because of film’s more limited scope. But emotional character arcs are by no means foreign to cinema. The fact is, Toni Collette’s character, Annie, begins the movie in suffering, and she ends it still suffering. She’s gained some knowledge of the source of her suffering, but there’s no sense of catharsis. If you’ve seen the movie, you know there’s nothing even resembling catharsis, let alone healing. And that’s okay—stories don’t require any amount of boxes to be checked. It’s all about authorial intent, and Flanagan and Aster, while playing in similar narrative sandboxes, each have their own unique intent in their work.  

Aster, again, is focused on revelation. The whys behind Annie’s profound suffering. Again—Hill House wasn’t interested in the whys (why the house was haunted, why Olivia was tormented by its influence), but Hereditary very much is. In the final, pulse-pounding act, we come to learn all about Annie’s suffering—where it comes from, the reason why her mother was such an overwhelming specter in her life, and what it means for her and, just as importantly, her entire family. The revelatory payoff is what ties the story together, not the emotion payoff (which isn’t to say Hereditary is absent of emotion—far from it). The conclusion to the film is utterly shocking, but—and this crucial for Hill House and Hereditary—it makes perfect sense.

Everything in Hereditary points to the film’s final moments. All of Annie’s suffering, her entire life’s trauma, we come to find, is very deliberate and even orchestrated. There’s a reason why her life is what it is, and the knowledge of how those strings being pulled are devastating, for Annie and the audience. Upon rewatching the film, we see all the arrows pointing to exactly what we, and Annie, learn in the end. There’s signs and hints in abundance; the tapestry of the film is the orchestration. Similarly, in Hill House, the tapestry of that story is the characters and their emotional stakes; rewatching that, its clear to see how Flanagan is leading them to their catharsis, thoroughly.

That, right there, is the vital takeaway: having the tapestry of your story fully aligned with the ending. No matter what you want your ending to provide your audience with—meaning, revelation, or something else—it has to work in perfect concert with the everything that’s come before. That’s why something like Lost and its ending doesn’t work; it spent countless hours building and teasing mystery upon mystery upon mystery, only to, in the final hour, abandon those mysteries and claim that the show was all about character. Yes, the show had remarkable characters, but satisfying just that part of the tapestry left so much of the show’s beating heart unfulfilled. Hill House and Hereditary fulfill their narrative promises, and there’s few things more crucial than that.

In case you missed it, I had two pretty big announcements land this week:

First, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that I’ve signed a multi-project, multimedia deal with my Vault Comics family. I seriously could not be more excited, enthusiastic, and eager to make great new stories with some of my favorite people. Here’s what’s been made public in the deal so far:

 -I’m writing a new series alongside an A-list screenwriter (more on this in a bit)

 -Wasted Space has been extended from 20 issues to 25 issues

 -I’m working with the team at Graphic Audio to adapt Wasted Space into an audio drama

-I’ve completed work on Drifters, an upcoming video game and will be working on comics tie-ins with Eliot Rahal and Tim Seeley (this is resultant of a partnership between Blind Squirrel games and Vault)

 So, a lot’s happening—and this is just the tip of the iceberg with my burgeoning relationship with Vault. We’ve got a good number of projects in the pipeline, and they’re all unique and exciting in their own ways. And one of things I like most about Vault is they share my ethic that good isn’t good enough. Adrian Wassel—who is one of the best editors I’ve ever met—challenges me and pushes me to take every aspect of my work to the next level; he’s the reason Wasted Space is what it is. And that book is our standard now. We’re shooting for the stars every single time. Just wait until you see what we have in store.

Speaking of what’s in store, the second announcement, also from The Hollywood Reporter, detailed my first new series under the new Vault agreement:

I’m co-writing MALL with Gary Dauberman, screenwriter of IT, The Nun, ‘Salem’s Lot, and more. Gary’s a great guy and an amazing writer; working with him has been inspiring and instructional, and the book we’re making is so cool. And crazy. I think of it as Escape from New York meets The Purge. It’s bonkers, but it has serious teeth when it comes to taking a no-holds-barred look at our society. Issue #1 releases in August, but here’s an early look at the cover and some pages, courtesy of Zak Hartong (artist) and Addison Duke (colorist):