Michael Davis: Damage Control
A sad day in comics is coming.
Sad days are in my opinion, the one thing that the comic book business knows better that any other entertainment business. Yes, other media has its share of sad days but those are usually the death of someone.
I wish (and so do you) I had a dollar every time I’ve heard some newscaster, after lowering their voice, state with deep, deep sorrow:
“It’s a sad day in Hollywood, Bart Simpson was shot and killed this morning when he smiled at a man in Florida. After the man shot the famed Simpson he told police he thought the smile was a gun. This was the latest in what has become a wave of ‘colored’ killings. Florida’s ‘Stand your ground ruling’ accomplished what critics of the law thought it was intended for, the elimination of Black kids from the cites of Florida. Once the last Black child was eliminated, killings of other colored youth (including cartoon characters) spiked to new highs.
Film and television have many “bad” days but those always have to do with money. A horrible film which results in 69 suicides because it’s just SO bad will be considered a rousing success and the suicides used in the DVD marketing and Oscar campaigns if the opening weekend outdid projections by thirty cents. That would indeed be a very good day for the studio that released it.
No. I’m not saying 69 people killing themselves will be seen as a good day for all in Hollywood. There are those that will see this as a unforgivable error in judgment and demand someone be made accountable. Someone’s head will have to roll.
That head would no doubt belong to the studio executive of a competing studio who turned down the project. This would also result in the 70th death contributed to the film when said studio executive is found dead in his office. Beheaded by the studio chief who thought the young African American executive was reaching for a gun when he put his hand a mere six feet away from the lime green Jolly Rancher candy on his desk. The case would no doubt revive a change of venue when the attorney for the defendant successfully argues that Black people might indeed be part of the jury.
The “not guilty” verdict handed down from the Florida jury would then be made into a major motion picture staring Michael Richards.
The movie industry sees few “sad” days beyond a star’s death (but not if he died of suicide because he was not cast in that new Michael Richards film.)
Comics on the other hand have many types of “sad” days. Death of a notable creator is always sad but it’s not the death of a person but of comics innocence that’s to me is at times the death that effect far more people.
More often than not the sad days in comics are a blaring example of the continued unsophistication and flat out fucking stupidity of some in my beloved industry.
A week or so ago I received a cease and desist letter from a lawyer. This is my second one. The first one resulted in such a ‘wrong nigga to fuck with’ oblivion from my lawyers that I almost felt sorry for the stupid bitch who sent it to me.
That letter was just dumb. How dumb? So dumb a kiddie porn film festival asking the Vatican to host and the Pope to give it’s welcoming remarks would be considered genius.
The new letter I just got was even worse than that.
It was laughable on so many levels.
The biggest laugh—it’s such complete and utter bullshit. Completely unenforceable even IF what they claimed was true and even IF I was the person who controlled the content they referred to.
I didn’t create it. I make no claim to it. I make not a dime from it. I never used it in any marketing or promotion yet the letter claims I’m doing just that to somehow benefit myself.
Really??
Me? Michael Davis? I’m using something other MY FUCKING RESUME to turn a buck?
Nigga, please.
All I’ve done is say just how wonderful it is.
The fools that sent this silly silly SILLY letter to me must not realize the tremendous amount of damage control they will have to contend with.
Yes. Damage Control.
They have put into play a spotlight that will no doubt end badly for them.
The African American press and thus the African American community will start asking some real hard questions and the blowback will just be horrendous.
They are NO doubt thinking they will then tell the story to the world that they have been telling people privately for years about wrongs done and promises broken.
That would be a very bad idea. Telling a group of like minded friends a tale of repulsive deeds done to you will only get you support.
Telling THAT story to the public will get you a public response and that response comes with verification not from an opinion but documentation.
Mark Fuhrman told the world he NEVER used the word ‘nigger.’ That was believed and why shouldn’t it be? This was a white policeman who was good at his good to serve and protect.
All was good with his world until those tapes showed up. Then, not so much.
I had this big long response half-written about Mark Fuhrman, and the danger of stating absolutes, and the legacy of the OJ case and how it was rather the start of giving the power back to The Word in question, but I realized it had little to do with the column, so I scrapped it. I’ll find a way of using it somewhere. Maybe Fox needs a new columnist.
I can envision the scenario about the project in question in your second C&D (As opposed to a D&C, which is an entirely different kind of process altogether) is something you’ve been complimenting around, and someone referred to it as “that project Michael says is so good” which morphed after a round or two of telephone to “That project Michael is involved with somehow” and by the time it made it back to the people in question, it became “Michael is saying he created that thing you did, and something about a bag of potatoes.”
spam spam spammity spam