A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 4
This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one:
You can evolve into being a writer-producer.
Let’s face it, you can only write so much. But sitting on your side of the table, all those story meetings you’ve had to endure, you’ve probably developed a pretty good sense of what it takes to be a producer at least on a creative level.
Why not don that hat, too?
A quick way to jump start you producing career: Come up with story ideas. Here’s a great example: “Woogles”, a pitch that sold a while back from writers Nick Antosca and Ned Vizzini. Who is producing the movie? Screenwriter Max Landis (Chronicle) who came up with the story idea for the project that sold.
That could be you.
Today’s story idea: Superman comic worth $100,000 found in walls of abandoned house.
Here’s something that might make you wish you had X-ray vision. A Minnesota man found a rare copy of “Action Comics” №1 in the walls of an abandoned home. Turns out, the Superman comic is worth more than $100,000.
David Gonzalez, 34, paid $10,100 for the dilapidated house with a torn-up roof in Elbow Lake, Minn., aiming to put his decade of construction and remodeling experience to use. While he was gutting the house for renovation, he found a comic book amid old newspapers that had been used to insulate the walls. The comic was from June 1938, and the cover featured Superman lifting a car over his head.
It was “Action Comics” №1, which marked Superman’s first comic book appearance 75 years ago.
“I knew it was worth money,” the father of four told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But I had no idea how much.”
How much turns out to be at least $137,000, the current high bid for the Gonzalez’s find on ComicConnect.com, a New York online auction house. The auction runs through June 11.
So, okay. This just has to be a comedy, right? I mean, it would be one thing to find a briefcase full of cash or a bunch of jewelry or drugs. We could take that into action or action thriller, a crime caper perhaps.
But a comic book? I know people take this stuff seriously, but it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around anything other than a comedy. If you can crack a different genre take, be my guest!
I’m pressed for time, so I’ll go with one take: Dark Comedy. Let’s say there are three brothers. They all live in the aforementioned Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Stuck there their whole lives. We’ll call ’em Aaron, Brian and Charlie. Aaron buys this dilapidated house to fix it up. He borrows the down payment from Charlie. Brian is helping Aaron clean up the place when he (Brian) discovers the comic book.
At first, there joy among the three brothers especially when they discover it’s worth a couple hundred thousand dollars. But then greed steps in, a theme in movies almost as old as the art form itself witness the 1924 Eric Von Stroheim classic Greed:
See, Aaron figures the comic book is his because it’s his name on the deed to the house. Brian thinks he’s the rightful owner because he found it. And Charlie logically concludes he owns it since it was his money that went for the down payment.
Right there, we have a strong central conflict and the possibility for their disagreement to spill over into contentiousness, perhaps even violence.
But what about twist? A Stranger comes to town. He represents a wealthy individual who is a comic book fanatic. Offers even more than what the prized find has been estimated to be worth. To prove he’s serious, he produces a satchel. Inside $300,000.
“Of course, I must inspect the comic book before we can make a deal.”
They show the guy the comic book. At which point, the Stranger — who is one mean son of a bitch — steals the comic book. For fun, let’s say he kills one of the brothers, probably the dumbest, most innocent one. Beats up the other two. Takes off.
Now the surviving two brothers, wracked with guilt over their behavior and the fact their brother is dead, go after the Stranger.
I’d probably want to involve other characters to increase the body count. How does it end? Well, check out this from the original news item:
Gonzalez’s comic would have been worth more if it weren’t for a family tiff; Gonzalez brought his in-laws to see the house, he told the Star Tribune, and his wife’s aunt excitedly grabbed the book. When he grabbed it back, the back cover tore.
“That was a $75,000 tear,” ComicConnect co-owner Stephen Fishler told the Star Tribune.
Oh, yeah. I’m going there. The comic book gets destroyed. Perhaps the last image the lone remaining brother — the other one has been whacked — sees before he lapses into unconsciousness and perhaps death, the comic book going up in flames.
Okay, it’s your turn. What would you do with this story setup?
There you go: My fourth story idea for the month. And it’s yours. Free!
Each day this month, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Gender bend, genre bend, what if. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are all valuable skills for a writer to develop.
See you in comments. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.
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