Now What?

Pretty Vacant is a complete story. It was originally written as a one-time movie screenplay, which was then adapted into a 24 page comic book script. There wasn’t a screenplay-to-comic-book problem with my second story, but I had to think in terms of a movie sequel.

Writing a sequel is easy because the characters have already been established, but writing a sequel is hard because there are preconceived notions already placed on the characters from the first story. And just like in everyday life, I followed certain rules when writing Pretty Vacant: Vegas Showcase.

Re-establishing the characters was the highest priority. Gigi, Diane, Mindy and Hans each has a so-that’s-what-he/she-is-doing moment when they are reintroduced. Although in Mindy’s case, she isn’t exactly doing anything when she first appears in the sequel.

Not liking sequels that just rehash the original story, I wanted to make it new. Most of the second adventure is set in a new locale (Las Vegas). New machinery abounds (I especially like the full body image scanner), and two characters -- Barnaby and Irina -- debut in PV: Vegas Showcase.

One of the hardest things to do is to keep it simple. I always try to sum up my stories in a single sentence. It’s no different with a sequel. PV: Vegas Showcase has mad scientists trying to make money to fund their evil experiments after suffering the destruction of their original laboratory.

And I had to plan it out. I’ve stretched out the Pretty Vacant concept for a third story (if I’m lucky enough to do it), much like a so-called movie trilogy. Yet PV: Vegas Showcase is a complete story on its own, not just a Part 2 that will be completed with a third issue.

Sequels let us go deeper into the stories of our favorite characters and discover new things that make us go wow. But there is a fine line in the sequel world and when it is crossed everything comes crashing down. Finding the balance between in two is part of the fun!