NOTES FROM JASON
Here we are at page fifteen, halfway through the chapter. Since we’re back with Harker, now’s as good a time as any to talk about his two friends, since I didn’t get to when they first showed up. Those two friends of course are Harker’s most famous movie character, Samson Cole, along with Cole’s nemesis, Wilkie Albatross. With all the other mayhem going on with Harker’s storyline, adding another element to it may seem a bit much, and perhaps it is, but I did it anyway. These scenes with Harker alone in his cell allow a look into his mental state, illustrating the interior battle with his fractured mind being waged alongside the interrogations. I could have just done this via thought balloons, having him essentially monologuing his plight, but that’s just not very visually interesting. Again, visual medium. So, why not have his internal dilemma played out by the hero and villain of his films, the former encouraging him to hold on and focus, the other mocking and belittling him, assuring him that failure is all that remains for him? It definitely made a more fun scene to write, and hopefully it’s just as fun to read. It also works to highlight Harker’s preoccupation with the past that he has lost, that despite his crusade in the present to alter the future, part of him still clings to that former world. And when that past includes being a big shot movie star, perhaps it’s easy to understand that reluctance to let go. But when your eyes are so focused on what’s ahead, holding on to what’s behind might be a detriment.
Before I go, let’s talk a bit about Samson Cole himself. Keen eyed readers will have seen movie posters of it in previous chapters, and multiple characters have referenced him. Clearly in this world, Samson Cole was a pop culture icon, and that legacy lasts even after the State has banned everything and anything associated with Warren Harker. But who is he? Well, Samson Cole is a former commando turned secret agent, who over the course of four films does battle with the evil organization The Collective, led by the elusive and conniving Wilkie Albatross. The last film in the series, The Mjolnir Protocol, shattered box office records and became the biggest and most talked about film that year. And though the film seemingly brought Cole’s crusade to a close, talk soon got out about a fifth installment. Harker himself remained open to it but chose first to take on a personal project that would see him both starring and directing, a film adaptation of the famous literary sleuth, Alvaro Marchet. A longtime fan of the series, Harker aspired to bring Marchet to screen for years, finally able to finance production from the profits of the prior Cole film. It seemed like another sure win for the star, another hit series for him to headline, which would then be followed by a follow up film for Samson Cole. Naturally, things didn’t pan out that way, and neither film ended up being made. And the public sensation eventually became public enemy number one.