John Ostrander: Great Horny Toads!

John Ostrander

John Ostrander started his career as a professional writer as a playwright. His best known effort, Bloody Bess, was directed by Stuart Gordon, and starred Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, William J. Norris, Meshach Taylor and Joe Mantegna. He has written some of the most important influential comic books of the past 25 years, including Batman, The Spectre, Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Suicide Squad, Wasteland, X-Men, and The Punisher, as well as Star Wars comics for Dark Horse. New episodes of his creator-owned series, GrimJack, which was first published by First Comics in the 1980s, appear every week on ComicMix.

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12 Responses

  1. mike weber says:

    Then, of course, there were the word combinations you could never use in comics because the cheap printing might turn “LI” into “U”.

    I remember someone speculating that when Hawkeye finally got a civilian name, he was named “Clint” just as a “flick you” gesture.

    (And, in line with Carlin’s comments about “fuck you”, i just happened to think of the British term for a switchblade, “flick knife”, and what similar printing error could make of that…)

    • Mike Gold says:

      The fact is, euphemisms are as hypocritical as they are completely stupid. You can say frak, flick, fudge, or fug (hiya, Ed Sanders!) straight from the pulpit and everybody five to ninety-five will know EXACTLY the word you meant. So if you’re going to implant the word “Fuck” into somebody’s brain anyway — in school they call that “communication” — it’s hypocritical to use any other word. You’re not protecting anybody’s sensitivities, and there isn’t a single confirmed case of anybody’s head exploding when they’ve been told to go fuck themselves.

      Indeed, some of my acquaintances consider that an amusing challenge.

  2. In our comics (strictly unComic-Coded) we make a distinction between the naughty and the all ages. And I’ve always been a fan of being smarter, not dirtier.

    As much a pinko liberal I am about free speech, etc… I don’t like when a writer uses cursing as a crutch. Words like lines in a drawing, need to be carefully considered. Otherwise, it just looks sloppy.

    • Sean D. Martin says:

      Agreed. Biggest gripe I have about “mature” comics is when they consider themselves mature because the characters say “fuck” or show their tits.

      Swearing and a bare breast don’t make stories mature. Actually, on their own, included just because they can be, they actually show how juvenile the storytelling is.

      • Mike Gold says:

        Wait. What? Comic books have tits? Where? I think maybe you misunderstand the phrase “double-bag.”

        O.K. I’m sorry for that one. As a joke, it was a little flat.

  3. Mindy Newell says:

    John, did you know that the first married couple to share a bed on TV was Samantha and Darrin Stevens? (Elizabeth Montgomery & Dick York from BEWITCHED, of course.) EM and William Asher (her husband and the Exec Producer) INSISTED on this. I think the reason they got it through was because BEWITCHED was a “fantasy” show.

    Mindy

    P.S.: Throwing in a couple FUCKS just for the hell of it!: FUCK FUCK FUCK. :-)

    • Mike Gold says:

      Mindy, are you aware you just undid years of John’s Jesuit schooling?

      I’m sure he’ll thank you, after he recovers.

    • Mike Gold says:

      Mindy, are you aware you just undid years of John’s Jesuit schooling?

      I’m sure he’ll thank you, after he recovers.

  4. Mindy Newell says:

    @ Mike Gold:

    SPINNER racks? Is that like going aound the world? :-)

    M

    • Mike Gold says:

      I think it is for most of us.

      (We’re about a hair away from a NOT SAFE FOR WORK tag.)