62. The Marvelous Comic Artists Workshop.

Disclaimer: The story that I have written here takes on the names of real people, but this story is based in an alternate earth with some changes in its timeline.

This story does not intend to represent the celebrities/real people or make any commentary on them whatsoever. This story is entirely fictional, and it should be viewed entirely as such.

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Recap of the Previous Chapter

The crowd gathered at the announcement hall of the E×M booth were treated to a cinematic experience. The animated short film of Halo was an absolute blast and it was only topped off by Mark's special appearance as the Master Chief in his iconic MJOLNIR armor.

After which he gave a short speech about all the different changes at Marvel and Eidolon, from the upcoming Everything Eidolon Store, to the disuse of the CCA seal, to the discontinuation of some less popular, borderline hated Marvel comics storylines.

After the short speech he left telling them to enjoy the 2nd short film they had created. It was of The Doom, which started off with an electronic guitar riff that made the audience's heart race with the heavy metal music and they got to witness the most epic demon massacre they had ever seen in their lives.

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~ Third Person's POV ~

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Date: 6th August, 1990.

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Location: Backstage at Eidolon×Marvel Booth.

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Time: 05:32 pm.

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The DOOM's short film had just ended, the auditorium was still shrouded in darkness but it couldn't stop the excitement of the crowd from overflowing. They were shouting and applauding, begging for an encore, Mark stood waiting patiently, this time in the Praetor Suit of the DOOM SLAYER.

He had another surprise for his fans, this showing was to boost the favorability of the fans towards Marvel and Eidolon Entertainment. So he had really decided to go all the way, so much that he didn't even hesitate to be the presenter himself.

Most people in his position would just hire someone else, a professional, but Mark knew that this would build up a rapport between him and his fans. This was also the best place for him to get his thoughts and ideologies through to them.

This Comic Con was very important because it was going to be the foundation on which Mark was going to create a wave of change that would save if not the entirety of the Hollywood industry then at least his own business - Eidolon Entertainment.

The wait was over, the applause had gone on for over 2 minutes after which the hall fell into silence. There were a few people gossiping amongst themselves, asking each other, "hey why aren't the lights coming on? Isn't the trailer over?."

The dim lights first came on, but the stage wasn't empty anymore; it was occupied by a series of musical instruments with people behind them. Suddenly the side door that Mark used to enter as '117' opened and out walked Mark.

But this time he wasn't just wearing the Praetor Suit, no, he also had a guitar in his hands as he moved forward. This suit didn't give off the heavy and serious tone of the MJOLNIR armor, rather it had a dangerous vibe as if going up against it's wearer would have only one result - Death.

As Mark moved forward onto the stage strumming the guitar, he didn't have the helmet on and hadnt tied up his hair in a manbun and to the surprise of most of the people present. Mark was playing same exact music they just listened to, even if it was just the guitar part of it. There was no mistaking it.

Due to a lot of media attention on Mark and Knives Out, almost everyone that had heard of him, knew how versatile he was as an artist. Being a world renowned author, an illustrator, now an amateur director and even being proficient in many musical instruments.

These were all things people knew about him, but knowing something about a person and witnessing the same first hand is a very different experience. And that's what was going through the audience's mind, watching Mark play such a difficult note on the guitar so effortlessly in a freaking doomslayer armour.

The rest of the band also joined in, and even though the vocalist wasn't really needed for the live performance she was here as well, sitting amongst the audience watching Mark win them over with his non-stop surprises.

Mark sadly hadn't been able to find the original voice artist for the role of Dr. Elena Richardson. But it wasn't because of his lack of trying, its just that she hadn't started her voice acting career yet and wouldn't do so for a few more years.

Instead when he had went through with the open auditions for a voice actress for his unnamed short animated film. He had gotten a request from Ms. Jennifer Connelly to hire her for the role.

When Mark asked, "why would you want to do such a role?"

She simply replied, "hmm because it's something I haven't done before and a senior of mine recently adviced me to try different things, different kind of roles so that I am n-"

"You aren't typecast into just one kind of role. Hmm, thats a good advice. But you should still be careful in the kinds of movies you choose to take part in." Mark replied as a reminder.

"So would you give me the role?" she asked him with doe eyes trying to charm.

She really was very charming as Mark almost felt himself fall in the deep pools of her beautiful eyes. But he shrugged it off with self control and told her nonchalantly, "All I can do is shortlist you for an audition whether you're selected will be on you."

"Here this is the kind of voice you will have to mimic." Mark said, handing her a piece of paper on which he wrote a few words to best describe Dr. Elena Richardson's voice.

That chit of paper must have really helped as Jennifer easily landed the role and got the job. After hearing samples of her voice, even Mark was left completely satisfied and even had Eva invite her to Comic Con to watch the performance live on stage.

She was a little nervous as this was new to her, for sometime now a doubt that her looks had been carrying her acting career had been eating her up inside. But as a voice actor, no one could really see her, so all they had to judge her was on the basis of her voice, of her true performance.

As the musicians started playing their parts, Mark also made it onto the stage. Seeing him play that huge demonic looking guitar was something else, the way his fingers just effortlessly danced on the strings was beautiful to watch.

Him ending up hiring Jennifer Connelly as the voice of Dr. Elena wasn't really planned, but with just a small help from him. She had won that role on her own capabilities so he didn't really have any problems with it. He still paid what he would have to any other VA they would have hired.

The crowd was going wild with a many teenagers and young adults head banging to the epic electronic intro of the Doom Slayer OST with the guitar riff taking it to the next level. The beats were just the most epic hype music they had ever heard.

Most of the gym rats in the audience had already fallen in love with the song the first time they heard it. It would be the perfect song to listen to while exercising maybe even allow then to finally hit the legendary 215 PR.

If the video of Halo's short film would be available in EE Store there was no reason why the DOOM's music would be left out. The performance was over 6 minutes long with almost no lyrics just a few places were the band shouted "Rip and tear" and soon even the audiences joined in screaming "RIP." "AND." TEAR."

Mark had completely let go of his worries and was just enjoying himself in the moment, playing the electronic guitar and head banging. His long luscious hair were just flying around, enchanting many ladies in the crowd. He didn't know but it was this moment that would bring back the long hair and man bun culture for men.

As the electrifying performance was coming an to end, the entire audience in the hall stood up and screamed "RIP!" "AND!" "TEAR!" the crowd absolutely went wild, the echoes of RIP AND TEAR were reverberating.

Mark watching this smiled, he knew that he had succeeded in his plan. These people would tell their friends, their family, everyone in their circle about what they had experienced today and from them, he would slowly build up a loyal fanbase even in the comic book circles.

After the performance finally ended, Mark and rest of the musicians lined up and bowed thanking the crowd as they were being applauded for the phenomenonal performance.

The rest of the musicians carried their instruments and left, a few staff members came on stage to quickly disassemble the drums and take away the heavier pieces of equipment.

They worked quickly and efficiently as they had already practiced this many times. Mark didn't want there to be too big of a delay between the performance and his speech so had the staff practice it beforehand.

He had been handed his hair tie by one of the staff whom he had given his guitar to, it would later on be auctioned off for charity at the last day of the Comic Con. After tieing up his hair into a bun again and seeing that the staff had cleared the stage.

He once again began his speech. "I hope you guys liked that little performance I put together."

"Hmm, I think I left after talking about the trade volumes. Lets continue from there, so lets continue from there. Do you know the biggest problem of the comic book industry that I found, the one thing that's restricting its growth?"

"And no, its not even the Comic Code Authority. While it is one of the major reasons why this industry has never reached its full potential. It still isn't the biggest reason, the biggest reason is actually you guys."

"The budding Writers, Comic Artists, the Colorists, the Inkers, the Penciller and many other roles. Most of the creative people still in the industry are on the older side, now I mean no disrespect. But it's a fact that not many new people are joining up."

"This is because of the various barriers to entry but also because no one even gives them a chance to show their talent and capabilities."

"The giants like Mr. Moore and Stan Lee won't be there forever to hold up the sky for you. It's time to fill those shoes people, so starting from this year, I am starting the Marvelous Comic Artists Workshop. It will be a competitive learning environment where amateur artists can sign up with Marvel."

"There will be workshops for every job/role in comic book creation and even the art of storytelling and writing. If we want to raise the quality of content that we put out then we will first have to work on raising the quality of the creatives in our field."

"Performing well at this Workshop will open doors for any aspiring artist or writer. They will win cash prizes but also get the opportunity to either become a member of the Immortal Writers Association, be hired for Marvel Comics or Eidolon Publications or even get to start their own line of comics that will be entirely funded by us if they can impress us with their original work/idea."

"I know it's a lot to take in at once. This message will also be spread out through newspapers and articles but I would appreciate it if you can spread the word."

"Oh yeah on that note, I don't know if you have heard about it, but I am releasing my first movie based on my book - Knives Out. It will be coming to theaters in the second week of September so I would really appreciate it if you could give it a try."

"There are no those kinds of "scenes"," he said with air quotes, "so you can even watch it with your family. It's a light hearted comedy mystery thriller, that I am sure some of you would enjoy, if you gave it a try."

"Now I am almost coming to the end of my speech, on the insistence of a friend of mine. We have decided to open this up into a Q&A session and I would be taking questions from people in the crowd."

"If you have a question then please raise your hands, if I select you a mic will be handed over promptly. Now let's begin."

With that more than half the people raised their hands. Mark pointed out to a woman in her 20s and said, "yes, you in the red top."

After she got the mic, she asked, "Mark, hi, my name is Veronica. We saw you earlier in Master Chief's armor and now in the DOOM's suit. What I want to know is, are those biceps real?" she asked, biting her lips, Mark's peak masculinity had really done a number on her.

Mark coughed, trying to hide his blushing face behind his hand before he remembered he still had the mask on. 'Thank god for the mask', he thought and said after composing himself, "Of course they are real Veronica, I workout and exercise almost everyday to keep myself in peak physical condition."

"Next." he said then selected a brown haired man in his 30s.

"Mark, first of all, thanks for putting together that spectacular animation. It was definitely some of the best I have ever seen." he said with gratitude.

"I am glad you enjoyed it." Mark replied happily.

"My question to you is, why buy Marvel? You're just starting out your new journey as a director. Why take that risk, it makes no sense as a businessman." the man finally asked his question.

"Hmm, you're right it doesn't. But not everything in life does." he said wistfully.

"I didn't buy Marvel because I was absolutely sure that I would turn a profit on it. No, it's more of a 50-50 on how it plays out. The real reason why I bought Marvel Comics is because I am a fan." He explained the simple reason why he did so.

"I did so simply because I loved their work and couldn't bear to watch it be ruined into obscurity at the hands of a greedy businessman."

"Or broken up into pieces and sold off to the highest bidder. I am glad I got the chance to save Marvel and my plan is already in the works." he said finishing his reply.

"Next." he called out again and chose a teenager from the crowd.

"Mark, I am a huge fan, thanks for making today happen. I will cherish this memory for years probably. Uh, my question is where can I eat Ichiraku Ramen again after the comic con? I really loved it and the scene where the man invited in Naruto and helped him really made me happy. Also when is the next issue coming out?" the boy asked with goofy smile on his face.

"I am glad you liked it. A close friend of mine and the head chef of the Ramen stand worked on creating that recipe for months. We will be opening up branches of Ichiraku Ramen all over America soon. Obviously LA will be the first location. I would say around a month or so for us to set it up properly and be open for business."

"As for the next issue, hmm it's coming out in 2 weeks." Mark replied and then further explained.

"This is also connected to the change I want to bring to the Comic book industry. Currently the style of story progression in comics is very scattered and isn't cohesive. But I aim to create comics with a singular storyline with multiple perspectives."

"Comics with different genres, and different themes coming out in more frequent releases. With the aim to release one issue every week, so Naruto is already lagging behind. But we lack the talented manpower to make it happen."

"That's why I introduced the Marvelous Comic Artists Workshop. It's to find me the best of the best in the field and hire them to work with me to put out the best content I possibly can."

"Writers can participate in it for the same but for them it's a little different. They must submit at least 3 chapters worth of content. Now I myself don't know how hard it is to write original stories as I always have a ton just floating around my head."

"But I am aware of how difficult it can be for new writers to come up with an original idea. Well I got good news for them, they can submit a fanfiction of any work of mine."

"It has to be a work of mine and if we like it enough it will be made into a spin off and officially become part of the fandom and you will even be hired by us."

"Ah, we should really get back to the Q&A." he said and then said next as he chose a woman this time from the crowd.

"Mark, thanks for trying to save Marvel, my question for you is are you going to regulate what kind of books are sold to kids, teens and adults because if it has graphic gore and killing like in Doom. Then its sale has to be prohibited to children, have you thought of any measures for such?" She finally asked her question.

"Of course, I have ma'am, thanks for bringing it to my attention. I didn't really think it was that important to say it here. But since you asked, let me put your fears to rest." He replied calmly, trying to reassure her.

"At the Everything Eidolon Store, the kind of content one can access is divided in sections with mature content like Doom being kept out of the reach of children."

"It will be much easier if you see it yourself. When one opens up near you please head in check it out for yourself." Mark replied and then moved on to the next question.

"Mark, who's your favorite superhero?" A teenager asked excitedly to just be there.

"Spiderman." Mark replied instantly with no hesitation and moved on to the next.

"Mark, what plans do you have for Halo next? Are you going to make it into a full fledged animated movie?" A middle aged man asked.

"While that would be an interesting path to take, I got a different plan for Halo. For now it will be stuck in the visual novel format but I have big plans for it in the future." he replied cryptically, not wanting to reveal his plans for the Halo games too soon.

"Mark, I have read the recent books you put out with the help of the IMA. I must say there isn't any drop in quality or flow, it feels just like your previous books. But the speed at which you're currently publishing books has me asking just how many more ideas do you have in your head?" a lady asked, wanting to know the limits of Mark's creative talent.

"Well currently the list has over 30 stories that need to be worked on. Some of them are one-offs but some of them are huge, like for example that Legends of Runeterra that I recently started working on."

"I have planned for there to be over 65 legends already. So in total around 22 books, even at my fastest speed of publishing 2 books a year. It will take me 11 years just to finish the story of Legends of Runeterra and that is if I don't think of any new legends to add which is highly unlikely."

"Imagine for the rest of the content that is still left out. I only can't carry out works on such a scale, this is why the IMA was created. This is why we are now hosting the Marvelous Comic Artists Workshop, it's to foster better talent so that we put out better content."

Mark explained a part of his plan to conquer hollywood, he didn't really care if they tried to replicate his efforts as he had his system to truly select the best out of the best.

The answer just left the crowd awe struck, they couldn't even dream about such a great epic fantasy whose story would span over a decade. But, Mark just revealed to them that he had several such works just lying around in the pipeline. It made them really feel like Eidolon would be the place to be at to enjoy the best content that just never runs out.

"Hello, Mark, I was an aspiring comic artist before. I went to art school and learned all I could about the trade but it was only later that I found out I wasn't really that good at it. I now work as a freelance illustrator and make a decent living but if you were in my place what would you have done?" asked a middle-aged man who looked like he had gone through a lot in life.

Mark thought about it for a few seconds then replied, "Well, this isn't just for you but for all who dream about working in a creative field. It isn't easy. The competition is brutal, and if this were an idealistic world I would have told you all to dream big and chase after them."

"But we live in the real world, and it is cruel and very demanding and competitive. My advice to everyone here would be to learn a trade or job that would allow them to earn a decent or good income."

"Preferably a job that they at least don't dislike, and then focus all your free time on your passion whether it be writing a book, painting, making music, writing songs, cooking, whatever it may be."

"That way you will always have a backup to fall back on if your passion didn't work out for you unfortunately in the end. I know it will hurt and be painful to accept but that's life."

"Trust me, knowing when to stop and giving up is sometimes the best thing you can do because you don't really want to know the worst that could happen."

A few people in the front rows shouted "tell us please."

Mark chuckled darkly and then said, "well you asked for it. Imagine Halo being made into a live action TV show later on and you, who is a huge fan of this work, is now working as a screenplay writer. You're just average at best, no real talent just somehow existing in the company."

"You apply to work on the show and by some miracle you're accepted to write the script of the show. You do your best and the show is filmed and aired but the audiences hate it, even the critics hate it."

"You want to blame the audiences for not recognising your great work and outwardly you do. But inside how would you lie to yourself? On the inside you know that your bad script is one of the major reasons why the show flopped."

"Halo, a beloved childhood memory, destroyed by your very own hands. How would you feel? Could you live with yourself? With the guilt eating you away on the inside, leading you to perform only worse as you write further on." Mark spoke each word with a grim tone, trying to get them to understand the stakes.

"Sometimes it's better for dreams to remain dreams and hobbies and passion to remain just that." Mark said, sighing wistfully.

But then he grinned with a confident and determined look on his and said, "But if you are still willful and stubborn enough to give it a try then our workshop is definitely the place to be at."

"For free you will be taught by the greats in the industry and if you perform below our standards you will be eliminated. As I said, the entertainment industry is a cut throat competitive space, where only the best survive."

"This is my company, Eidolon - the word means an idealized self. Only those who strive to become their best selves and keep working hard to improve themselves find a place in my company." Mark said ending his speech.

He thanked all of them for coming out there and being a part of their comic con and wished they would have a pleasant day and then he left the stage.

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{Author's Note: Hmm so this was a lengthy Q&A session chapter, lots of topics were touched but the most important one was talked throughout the chapter multiple times it's the new thing that Mark is doing - the Marvelous Comic Artists Workshop.

It's my solution to one of the major problems that plague the Hollywood industry in the current day and age. And if I have Mark wait around till the problem rears its head then it will already be too late to implement the solution. So I have already started on it with the MACW. Now what problem exactly that is will be talked about briefly in my next Author's Note.

Anywhos, moving on, thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. So please leave a comment or review and I will probably write faster.

If you like my work please throw a power stone my way so my book can climb the rankings. Slurp some nice ramen and I hope you all have a beautiful day (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}