WHEN I WAS (BEN) 10…

Turns out, it was all research

In putting together the new BEN 10 monthly comicbook series, we made a very conscious decision to take the lead character back to his humble beginnings as a typical ten-year-old kid forced to deal with extraordinary circumstances. And while there’s a lot of inherent drama there -- which obviously makes for good stories -- there’s also a bit of a challenge involved, purely from a writing standpoint.

Setting the series in the here and now, that means the lead character, good ol’ Ben Tennyson himself, is a ten-year-old kid in the year 2026. Writing a ten-year-old with some sense of authenticity is easier said than done. And there have been plenty of folks -- having now read issue #1 -- who seemed to get a good laugh out of Ben using terms like “ragebaiting” and referencing Freddy Fazbear… but those were deliberate creative choices meant to send a signal to the reader of the kind of kid Ben is. In other words, a modern, ordinary kid.

As a writer, I try to draw on whatever I can to achieve a level of authenticity beyond just the surface stuff. Sure, it’s not Tolstoy, but there’s still a bit of craft involved. Part of it is my recollection of my own experiences as a ten-year-old. I can ask myself, “What kinds of things had I dealt with when I was ten that would’ve influenced my personality?” Luckily, I can track quite a few of them with a fair degree of accuracy simply by the dates involved.

It turns out, a decent amount of significant life events had already happened to me by the time I was ten years old, things that most definitely informed my admittedly limited life perspective. Even being just ten, I wasn’t a blank slate. Far from it. So I figured I’d list a bunch of them and attempt to put them into some sort of context. Buckle up, kids…

* Aside from other family dramas that had occurred by the time I was ten, my maternal grandmother had passed away… and I was old enough to really be aware of it when it happened. In that moment, I was forced to confront the concept of death at quite a young age, which absolutely had an impact on me, both emotionally and intellectually. From that moment forward, death was no longer an abstract notion. It was a real thing. And it’s probably haunted me ever since.

* Also when I was ten years old, I had already read certain milestone comicbooks like Avengers #200 (in which Ms. Marvel gets raped and gives birth to her own baby daddy), Uncanny X-Men #137 (the death-by-suicide of Jean Grey) and Iron Man #128 (the infamous “Demon in a Bottle” issue, in which Tony Stark grimly confronts his own alcoholism). Certainly not your typical kids’ fare. In fact, it was decidedly subversive subject matter, if you stop and think about it, especially considering where the industry was at that time. Meaning, I bought all three of those bizarre comicbooks off the spinner racks at my local convenience stores. And reading them at such a young age… changed me.

* I’d been to my first KISS concert (the first of many) by the time I was ten. I’d been a fan for about two years by that point. It was the Dynasty tour, the last with the original lineup for seventeen years. So, in that sense, I feel really lucky to have experienced it. I’m also proud to say that my dad took me -- and future Stumptown co-creator and comicbook artist, Matthew Southworth, who lived across the street from me -- to see the show, and as you could imagine, it was completely over-the-top.

* Although I’d already logged hundreds of hours in front of the television, watching all manner of programming, here are the major genre films I’d seen -- along with the cursory, subconscious lessons I probably took from them as a naïve ten-year-old:

The original five films of the Planet of the Apes series (thanks to nuclear weapons, we’re going to blow ourselves back to the Stone Age)

2001: A Space Odyssey (the future is a cold, silent place and human ascendancy is both traumatic and bloodless)

Jaws (don’t go in the water)

King Kong (the 1976 remake, and if you subscribe to Tarantino’s analysis that the original 1930’s film is a comment on slavery, then ‘nuff said. Also, corporate greed sucks)

Star Wars (it’s okay to root for the Viet Cong)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (one day, your father will go nuts and abandon his family to live in outer space)

Jaws 2 (teenagers are more likely to get killed via shark attack)

Superman the Movie (you will believe a man can fly… sigh…)

Alien (a snake could burst out of your chest and kill you)

Star Trek the Motion Picture (outer space can be boring)

The Empire Strikes Back (the galaxy’s greatest villain is also your father)

The Shining (if it snows enough, your father will go crazy and try to kill you with an ax)

* Speaking of movies… by the time I was ten, I had already watched my first pornographic film. It was called Inside Jennifer Welles. Released in 1977, I saw it during a sleepover at a friend’s house and someone had discovered a random videotape (back when VHS was new suburban technology) that was clearly part of his father’s private stash. We loaded it up and projected it on what they used to call a “big screen” TV. What quickly followed could only be accurately described as an awakening on my part. In fact, my wide-eyed gaze and slack-jawed shock could only take so much before I had to physically turn away. Unfortunately, we were caught by the parents not long after, but the impression was certainly made. My porn virginity days were over.

* Semi-related to that (hey, it’s a reach, but hang in there…!), when I was ten, I was also laying the groundwork toward securing my first girlfriend (although I wouldn’t make it official until I was 11). By the way, nothing much came from that pre-teen “relationship”. Certainly nothing salacious, but I was on the road to romance.

* Semi-related once again (and slightly more embarrassing, I’ll admit), I attempted to tell a “farmer’s daughter” joke in front of my 5th grade class during show-and-tell. I figured I’d do a little standup comedy. Makes perfect sense, right? Now, the version of the joke I’d heard at that point was pretty blue, with the farmer warning the traveler, “Don’t f**k my daughter” as part of the set-up… so I figured I’d at least clean it up a little for the other kids in the classroom by having the farmer say, “Don’t have sex with my daughter” instead. That’s better, isn’t it? Of course, no sooner had the word “sex” left my lips when the teacher’s head practically exploded. I’m surprised I didn’t get expelled right then and there, but for whatever reason, the teacher opted to show me a little mercy. I got the laugh, though.

I have to imagine that all of these things, put together, paint a certain picture of my psyche as a ten-year-old kid (for better or worse). I’d been exposed to things, sure… I’d had some extreme experiences… but there’s no doubt I must’ve retained a certain innocence through it all. It makes for a potent personality mix.

So, yeah… all of this -- and more -- informs the way I write these characters that are meant to talk, act and react like actual ten-year-olds. Of course, the hope is that they feel real to the reader. I want Ben and Gwen to feel real in their actions and their reactions. Because it’s the realism that sells the fantastic. That’s how it works, as far as I’m concerned.

Speaking of which, here’s your friendly, neighborhood, exclusive BEN 10 art preview for your viewing pleasure. It’s only getting better, I promise you…

Until next time…

Joe Casey

USA