CWCki:Operation Mailbag

PROTIP: Deadline for submitting your e-mails is 13 December 2009 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Submissions will be posted onto CWCipedia for Chris's mailbag on 14 December 2009.

Post your e-mails to Chris here. Please see CWCki talk:Operation Mailbag for Rules of Engagement and details. --Champthom 00:31, 29 November 2009 (CET)

From: Gabe Syme <honestgabe@gmail.com> Dear Chris, I've been reading your comics for a long time now, and I have to say, your writing style is very unique! I've grown to appreciate it a great deal, and being an avid reader, I would like to enjoy more books like it! I absolutely love books of all forms. Some of my favorite authors include Tim Dorsey, Max Barry, GK Chesterson, Robert W. Chambers, Mark Z. Danielewski, and of course, Christian Weston Chandler!  :) But I'm curious to know what you like, or what you find particularly inspiring. So I gotta ask: 1.) What books or authors would you say influenced your writing the most? I know you're a fan of RL Stine's work, but are there any others? 2.) What books would you recommend to your fans? Again, I know you enjoy the collective works of RL Stine and How to Talk to Girls by Alec Greven. What else do you enjoy? 3.) Have other mediums inspired your writing style? For example, I love the storytelling of Gochi Suda (Who wrote the story for games like Contact and Killer7). Are there any TV, Film, or Video game writers that influenced how you tell your stories? 4.) A little bit off topic, but a lot of great writers crave variety, and like to occasionally take a break from their established work and focus on telling a completely new story that's totally disconnected from their prior work. Do you plan on telling any stories with nothing to do with Sonichu, Rosechu, or anybody else from CWCville VA? Please be as in depth as possible, as I really love your work, and want to know as many of your inspirations as I can! :D Thanks a bunch, and have a great day! --Gabe Syme

From: Jacob N. <jacob_n333@yahoo.com> Hello, Chris! First, let me express my thanks for your interest in my novel. I hope it is to your liking. Second, I am sorry to hear your education in regards to the Cherokee has been sorely lacking. Many Cherokee are in the dark as to the history of their people, even the public history it is convenient to let be known to society at large. You can learn most of the truth at your local library, should you be interested in delving further. It is criminal that someone with such an investment in his history should know so little. I think you'll be amazed. Third, I am quite glad to see you taking a near-daily update schedule to heart. My novel was written in a similar fashion, with at least 1,667 words added per day, so that I hit the total of 56,000 by the end of the month. I'm sure this challenge will help you get your comics out in a more timely fashion; I hope we don't have to get the "spring break" issue in the fall ever again! The waiting was painful... Which leads me to a question. Do you think you'll be moving to a monthly or bi-monthly update schedule for comics? That way you'll be able to knock out 50 comics in less than 5 years, rather than the 9 comics you've done in 5. It will let you really get the story moving instead of keeping most of it locked in your head where we can't see it. I recently read in your mailbag that you are unfamiliar with your peers in the comics medium. I know you have some of the How to Draw Manga books, so you have a clear interest in improving your style; I would recommend looking up a few comics to increase your understanding of the medium--on your own time, of course. Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" is a fine place to start. I would recommend to you the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" series by Alan Moore, the "Nextwave" series by Warren Ellis, and the "Sandman" series by Neil Gaiman... all starting with volume 1, of course. As R.L. Stine said, you should read many different books by many different authors in many different genres, so you are better-equipped to do your own writing and not just work from a limited reference pool. Once again, thank you for the correspondence, and I hope you find my novel sample intriguing. Cthulhu f'taghn! Yours, Jacob Nathaniel Lights-in-the-Sky.

(Note: Excerpt includes lady-homoerotica. Reaction may or may not be volatile if he ever gets around to reading it.)

From: Randi Foulk <sonichuis44@hotmail.com> Chris-chan, Hi! I'm so glad you started drawing the comic again, I thought you'd given up on it, because you didn't write any new pages for a long time! I'm a boyfriend-free girl, but theres this really cute, quiet, shy boy in my class, and I told my friend to tell his friend to ask me out, so maybe I won't be boyfriend free for long ;) I had some questions! 1. I've watched a lot of your videos, and your room looks amazing, there's soo much cool stuff! Can you take some pictures or show us in a video, so we can see all the neat stuff you have? 2. I read about how you think gay boys can be saved if you reprogram them to like women! I think that's really important and God would like that! But why would you have them do it with female prisoners?? if they're in jail they're probably really mean, and they might make things worse, or just refuse to help those poor men out... 3. This is kind of a naughty question, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to ;) Do you wear pajamas to bed, or do you sleep "all natural"? Thanks a lot!!!! --Randi

This would be awesome if the following two emails were next to each other:

From: Harper Steinbeck harpersteinbeck62@gmail.com Chris, My children are huge Sonichu fans and can't wait for the video games to be published. However, they recently showed me a YouTube video showing one of your comics where you shoot a man in the legs in an argument over a woman. I am shocked that you claim to advocate gun control yet you depict yourself taking part in such depraved gun violence. Shooting someone in the legs is no laughing matter. As a physical therapist I work rehabilitating wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Recovering from gunshot wounds is a painful, lengthy process and some victims may never walk again. This is exactly why we have to keep guns out of the hands of sick individuals who think shooting someone is an appropriate means to settle a conflict. You claim to be for gun control yet you draw yourself shooting an unarmed man? You need to explain yourself. -- Harper Steinbeck

From: John Lee nra4ever@gmail.com My children love reading all your Sonichu comics and going through the CWCipedia. However, we are saddened to learn that you are a supporter of gun control. When my wife and I bought our first home I awoke in the middle of the night to find two men crawling through our living room window. Fortunately I had a gun and was able to hold them at gunpoint until the police arrived. To this day I still don't know if they were simply after our belongings or if they wanted to hurt my family. Thankfully I didn't have to shoot them but I easily could have. Chris, how would you defend yourself, your parents, or your future wife and daughter if people decided to break into your home? The police can't be everywhere at once. If I understand correctly you live in a rural area where help could be almost an hour away if you called 911. I'm sure hearing about gun violence in the news makes you sick. It makes me sick, too. But gun control isn't the answer. Criminals won't obey gun control laws. That's why they're criminals. All gun control does is leave law-abiding citizens defenseless against say, crazy people who would shoot someone in a petty squabble over a woman. Please explain yourself. John Lee NRA Lifetime Member

From Jimmy China jimmychina@usa.virginia.com Hey Chris, In my lifetime (of 27 years) I have amassed a large collection of video games and toys, many of which I don't play with very often. Unfortunately, in the same lifetime I have also collected a large credit card debt, and it seems the only way to pay it off is to sell most of my collection because I've done little with my life and own nothing else of value. Naturally, I don't want to do this. What should I do? Jimmy China