The Universe Of Super Heroes has been serving Jacksonville, Florida for twenty years this year. We want to stick around for at least 20 more! Come make sure that happens! This Friday from 11 AM to a very late closing time, they will be doing a large sale and fundraiser. Manager Stephen Ezell writes:
We will be having fun at the shop! There will be a full size Tardis, and the best “Doctor Who” ever will be up here fixing things with his wit and sonic screwdriver!
11ish AM We open and will be having a back issue sale! The sale will last all day! All Back issues Buy 4 issues get one free (equal or lesser value of the lowest priced issue bought.)
5:00 to 6:00 PM CASH MOB! Spend more than $20 CASH within this hour and get a prize!
7:00 PM We will have a Raffle so be sure to buy a ticket for only $2.
Prizes will be revealed the day of.
9:30 PM we will start the Show! Jackie Stranger, DigDog, Tuffy, and Ghostwitch will be rocking in the stacks! BYOB, and stick around for some fun!
Ian Randal Strock, publisher of SFScope, needs your help:
I know this is a long shot, but we seem to have no other options at this point. I’m looking for the current owner of a piece of art by George Barr. The painting was done as the cover of Weird Tales #328, Summer 2002. It’s an Egyptian motif. I’ve talked with the artist, and he’s given me permission to use it on a book I’m publishing, but he doesn’t have a copy I can work from, and doesn’t know who has the piece, so I’m trying to track it down.
We have faith in the ComicMix community– you guys probably have some ideas, yes? Add you leads in the comments.
Elizabeth Olsen’s sisters Mary Kate and Ashley can be said to have a cult-like following, who have propelled them from sitcom television stars to formidable fashion trend-setters. They have people who follow their doings without question. Elizabeth’s Martha was similarly following a siren call into a cult setting in the amazing Martha Marcy May Marlene, which was released on disc this week by Twentieth Century Home Entertainment. The fall 2011 release from writer/director Sean Durkin is fascinating in how creepy the overall feel and tone is from beginning to end, even scenes set away from the cult.
Martha got seduced into following a man to the cult and was welcomed by the men and women there and at first, everything in the upstate New York compound seemed so idyllic. There was talk of self-sufficiency, there were communal gatherings as people played music and everyone seemed supportive of one another. They doffed their clothes and swam together. But as you watched, you saw the men ate first, then the women. We watched with horror as Martha was given a drug and was harshly raped as a form of initiation by the leader Patrick (John Hawkes), who renamed her Marcy May. Worse, over time, we saw her more deeply integrated into the society and her ability to question the morality of the society faded to point where she actively participated in the initiation of a new member, telling her “It starts the cleansing”. (more…)
Please take a moment to look at the graphic that accompanies this article. Chances are you seen it before on the net or right here on ComicMix when Glenn posted it a few days ago.
Shit.
I’ll admit it’s clever as shit. It’s interesting as shit. It’s thought provoking as shit.
I came across this on Facebook and I must admit I was mad as shit when I read it. I was even madder when I saw it was a marketing ploy. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a great marketing ploy and I freely admit that shit.
I went to the website and the Facebook page of the person who put it up. After reading some of the stuff on the Facebook page I was disappointed that I was so upset. Why? Because this is the sort of person I should like. We share a great many thing with regards to politics and he seems like a great guy.
Really.
But I know a wee bit about the comic book industry and I know a wee bit more about building franchises and a wee bit more about mentoring talent.
I also know you do not do any of that shit with fear.
In any and I mean any part of the entertainment business you will find incredible success and dismal failure. That’s not the industry’s fault. The industry was not set up for you to be either an incredible success or a dismal failure.
That shit is on you.
Are there barriers to entry?
Yes. Tell me, what profession does not have barriers to entry? There are barriers to entry for everything.
That’s what school is for. That’s what working on your craft is for. That’s what life experience is for. That’s what you go to comic conventions for.
If you want to work in comics, you go to comic book conventions to learn the industry not to hang out with your 20 friends in one hotel room with the sole intention of going to the Twilight panel to kiss the ass of the movie company so they will give you a glimpse of that bullshit movie which is the same movie as the previous 15 but “this time it’s personal.”
Yeah, I called the Twilight movies bullshit. That’s my opinion.
The Twilight franchise?
Brilliant.
I don’t have to love a thing to respect a thing and I respect the shit out of the Twilight franchise. When it comes to how they run that shit I’m Team Edward all the way.
Instead of going to a portfolio review or a small press panel the young creators who will fall for that “call me” ploy from the comic industry poster spend their time trying to catch a glimpse of Jim Lee at the DC Comics panel. Jim is not there to talk to you about getting into DC he’s there to sell you the books you are already buying.
So, how does any of the above help your career?
It doesn’t.
The graphic depicts the comic book industry as an industry of people who will try and stab you in the back. Really? You think Jim Lee wants to stab you in the back so he can steal your idea? That great idea that you drew with a ballpoint pen, inked with a magic marker, colored with Photoshop 0.1 in tones of nothing but blue?
No.
You know why Jim Lee does not want your great idea, which all your family and friends have convinced you will be bigger than Superman?
I’ll tell you why, because if you have been reading comics and using that as your only education and attending Twilight like and not career oriented panels at comics conventions then most likely your idea is shit.
Why would all your family and friends tell you had created the greatest thing since Star Wars? I’ll tell you why; your family and friends love you. They are bias as shit.
Think of what you say to that fat ass 300-pound girlfriend when she’s asking you if she looks fat in that dress.
Fat 300-pound girlfriend: Do I look fat in this dress?
You: No.
You lie. You lie because you want to tap some of that fat ass. Guess what? She knows you are lying. She’s 300 pounds, dude. She would look fat in stranded in the middle of the ocean.
Your family and friends are yourfamily and friends; they are supposed to lie to you. Your family and friends they don’t know shit about what makes a concept a good idea.
Secondly, your “bigger than Superman” concept was drawn with a ball point pen, inked with a magic marker, colored with Photoshop 0.1 in tones of nothing but blue and your can’t spell so your lettering sucks also.
Is the comic book industry fair?
No.
Does some projects that suck get published?
Yes.
Is there an “old boy” network at many publishers?
Yes.
Are there people who don’t want you to succeed?
Yes.
Welcome to Earth, motherfucker. Or more specifically, welcome to the real world of grown-up business.
In every single business on the planet there are unfair policies, projects that suck that get green lit, cliques of people who won’t let you in and people who do not want you to succeed.
Fuck that shit and fuck them.
Learn the game before you hook up with somebody who claims he can help you with your “franchise.”
Franchise?
Give me a fucking break. Learn to write, learn to draw. Ask Jim Lee for advice not an autograph. Stand in line to hear Marv Wolfman or Harlan Ellison talk about writing. Stop standing in line to see clips from a movie you are going to see anyway.
Comic creators like giving advice. You will be surprised to see how much you can learn from an conversation about that creators craft. Set realistic goals for yourself. Seek criticism from people that know what they are talking about.
Here’s a hint. Make appointments with people you would like to talk to. All they can say is “no” but would not a “yes” make your day and help you?
Take classes, go to school make an effort to learn the industry.
Yes, think about your own Franchise!
Yes, build, your own Franchise!
But before you call someone to help you do something that they have not done, do the work that’s needed to achieve your goal. Yours – not someone else’s.
When you do all of that and more, when you have gotten to a place of excellence in your craft and still don’t succeed, try again and again and then again.
Frankly, if you are that good you won’t have to keep trying because you will succeed.
Anything less, anything quick, anything that does not involve the kind of commitment to your the craft is just bullshit.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. Every asshole has lots of opinions. What comes out of assholes frequently is a load of shit. Check the GOP Presidential debates for verification.
I say this, of course, in the middle of an opinion column sitting in the middle of lots of other opinion columns here at ComicMix. ComicMix, of course, sits in the middle of the Internet which, of course, is comprised mostly of opinion. So – which opinion matters? Outside of mine, of course. How can you tell?
I encountered a fan (well, not really a fan of mine) who wanted to tell me why I sucked. My basic response was: I should care because –? This offended the would-be critic; s/he had bought a book of mine and had a right to his/her opinion. I didn’t dispute that; the real question was – why should it matter to me? The fan got huffy; he/she/it thought I should want to hear that opinion.
Some fans – yes, I do. Others – not so much. One of my primary rules: not everyone’s opinion matters. Not everyone’s opinion should matter. If everyone’s opinion matters, then no one’s opinion matters. How do you tell the difference?
Experience is a good place to start. Has the person giving you the opinion any experience in the field on which they are opining?
Does the opinion expressed have any facts to back it up? Real, verifiable facts, not ones made up to fit the circumstance (again, GOP presidential candidates; hell, all political candidates). Does it have some thought behind it? If they just want to express how they feel – okay, it’s how they feel but there’s no reason I should listen to it because there is no reason in it.
What is your experience with the person giving his/her opinion? Is it your history that you can trust, to a greater or lesser degree, what they’re saying? If I go to a movie and I read a review that mirrors my experience, then I know I can trust that critic’s opinion. It’s not that their perfect or that I am but I know our tastes are similar enough to make it less likely that I’ll waste my money.
Friends, relatives, colleagues – I know who they are and how trustworthy their opinion is on a given subject. We don’t have to agree, but I can listen with confidence. What they feel about it may be important to me but it’s because I know them. A stranger – well, not so much.
Also, just because someone knows something on one subject doesn’t mean they know anything on another. Come to me for an opinion on writing, story, or comics and I may have some thing useful to say. Ask me about NASCAR – well, I saw the Pixar flic Cars. Take anything I have to say on the topic with a lot of salt.
Editors – if I want to stay employed, I’d better listen to their opinions. I may disagree and I may express my disagreement but, in the end, the editor represents those who own the property or the rights so, unless that owner is me, I need to heed their opinions – even when I disagree.
One editor I had said I couldn’t use thought balloons because, after all, movies didn’t have thought balloons. I disagreed – I pointed out that they were different mediums telling stories in similar but different ways. To start with, movies moved. I couldn’t convince the editor; I worked without thought balloons.
Listening to opinions with which I disagree is important in general. I may not change my mind (or change the speaker’s mind) but I often walk away with a better insight into the opposing view and it can hone my own thoughts and opinions; I know better why I have the opinion that I do. These days, fewer and fewer people seem to do that. We look for only those who reflect our opinion, who agree with our dogma. Dogma is easy; no thought required.
We also should consider why we are being gifted with this person’s opinion. It’s the basic question a writer asks of his/her characters – what do they want? What’s the reason behind what they are doing? Does the person giving you their opinion care about you, do they want something from you, both, neither, more?
My mother was always of the opinion that I should get a teaching degree so I would have “something to fall back on” if my theater or (later) writing career didn’t pan out. I loved my Mom and I knew she was trying to look out for me but underlying that suggestion was her opinion that I wouldn’t make it in the field I chose. I knew that if I had something to fall back on, I’d fall back. Sometimes you have to perform without a net.
We are constantly bombarded with opinions these days and it becomes easier to take someone else’s opinion for our own. The issues are so complex and there are so many compelling issues vying for our attention that it’s easier to latch on to some pre-made opinion than to form our own. The times, however, demand we do the thinking necessary or, at the very least, know whose opinions we listen to and why.
Hot off the lips of far better men and women than I (aka all the other ComicMix columnists) comes a little discussion weighing in on all this legal mumbo-jumbo going on in comic-book-land. Not to be outdone (remember when I lit a wee fire under Michael Davis a few weeks back?), I figured I’d let loose a few witticisms on the injustices being faced by far too many comic creators these days. Or just as every week, I’ll bury my foot in my mouth making wild assumptions, and asking dumb questions. Either way, you’re entertained… right?
For those not following the drama, read a few posts (such as here and here) and catch up. Basically Gary Friedrich got torched by Marvel for having the gall to turn a pocket out to them now that Ghost Rider is making them a few greenbacks. Gary isn’t alone in doing this. The creators of Superman did it. The family of Jack Kirby did it. And even over in the land ruled by Robert Kirkman, his longtime friend is doing it. And in all the cases, there seems to be a very simple precedent: When the check was cut to these creators for their initial involvement, signing it waived their rights to own their creation. Before the 1980s these checks had the contract right there on the check. I assume in the Kirkman case there were contracts and papers and lawyers, etc. In any event, for a small-time creator like myself, it’s scary and sad to read. A large part of me is angry. A smaller, more Jewish part of me is saying “Didn’t they know what they were signing?”
Please note, I am Jewish. So, it’s cool for me to go there.
Honestly, I’m torn on the subject. On one hand you’d figure that the person who did the legwork creating something should see the eventual fruit of their labor, when the money starts flowing. Would Marvel or DC be anywhere near as big as they are right now without the hard work and creativity of guys like Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and the rest? The short answer: Hell No!
Creating a character that becomes a cultural icon, even for five minutes, takes real skill. And a suitcase of money doesn’t make Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, or designs Superman’s iconic costume. When the profits from the Spider-Man franchise, or the Nolan Bat-Franchise started rolling in, is it wrong to think that the person who initially created the character be able to see a little cash come their way? Certainly, as a compassionate person, I say of course. I’m not looking to be a communist here, but seriously, are a few shekels sent to the Mr. Friedrich when Nic Cage’s movie sells a few pairs of Underoos really going break Marvel’s bank? I doubt it.
On the other hand… if the paperwork is all signed, these creators are up a creek without a paddle. When I signed on the dotted line for my car, it’s mine. Even if I hate it the second I take the keys from the salesman… I’m stuck with it. Not a perfect metaphor, but I think my point is clear enough, no? When Gary, or any of the aforementioned creators were given their assignments from their editors… was there not a discussion about compensation? Assuming there was, it’s really on the head of said creators to know exactly what they are getting into. At the end of the day, if you sell your soul to the Devil, there’s no way out of Hell. Even if everyone agrees that you got screwed. It’s your name on the dotted line, and it’s your duty to read every word above it.
Face facts, no comic book artist or writer I know is living in a mansion, with extra money flowing out of their pockets. The fact is as I write this very column, I’m scouring Craigslist for freelance gigs in hopes of earning a few more bucks so I don’t have to send my wife back to work, so we can barely pay for daycare for our son (who is only a few weeks old). If Marvel or DC came calling at my door right now and told me they wanted to offer me a book, I’d sign papers so fast they’d need a fire extinguisher to cool my hands off.
Why? Money. I need it. They have it. And I’m safely assuming most anyone working in comics before me was in the same position. And therein lies the problem. The bigwigs behind these publishers have all shared the same evil grin behind their creators’ faces. Having the rights to the characters means raking in all the money from all the avenues open to said characters. Movies, TeeVee, T-shirts, action figures, sippy cups, night lights, toothbrushes, online fan club memberships, cereal, and oh yeah… comics. There’s no doubt in my mind that those with the cash have maintained the mentality that it’s their money, and they’ll hold onto it by any means necessary.
Remember that whole #OccupyWallStreet thing? Well, I’m certain the people behind the people behind the people at both the House of Ideas and the Brothers Warner aren’t in the 99%.
At the root of all this is the human factor. Money doesn’t grow on trees, and when you need to pay a bill, you do what you have to do to pay it. If the check is sitting on your desk, and all that stands between your next meal is your integrity, do you starve with a belly full of pride? Do you go the route of Robert Kirkman or Mike Mignola, and take your million dollar ideas to places where they let you keep your soul? Well, it’s different for everyone in comics. And when the good guys like Paul Levitz (see John’s column) step down, who will be there to fight for the little guys? Cause let’s face it… the second someone turns heels and walks away with their idea, there’s a line out the door and around the block of people waiting for a chance to walk right in.
Officially, I’ve worked in comics since 1983. In all that time I think I’ve only met one black woman who was involved in comics in a decision-making capacity. I’ve known black woman receptionists and assistants but I can only think of one who had a job in which she was part of the comic book hierarchy.
Before I set the wrong tone, this is not a piece on how comics have discriminated against women of color. It just may be that African-American women don’t want to work in comic books, for whatever reason. I have no idea why there are not a lot of black women in comics and I’m not about to speculate. There may be dozens of black woman in the industry that I just haven’t met.
I doubt that, because as you know, all black people know each other. At least that’s what more than a few white people have said to me over my lifetime.
The following conversation from a woman I met at a club last week. A real pretty, but short white girl at the bar was having trouble getting the bartenders attention. I caught his eye and asked her what she wanted to drink.
“That’s so nice of you, thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you know Leroy Washington?”
Really? I swear I almost asked her if she knew Bilbo Baggins. She was that short.
The one black woman I know who has worked in comics on the corporate level is Tammy Brown. I met Tammy sometime in the 80s (yes I was working in comics when I was in grade school, Jean) I don’t remember how we met or where we met. Most likely at DC where she worked.
I do remember that Tammy hated me. Tammy did not like me at all. I mean if looks could kill I’d be dead and random members of my family and my pets would be dead also.
It was not just her looks that clued me in to Tammy’s loathing of me. It was also how she spoke to me. Tammy would talk to me in short and to the point sentences like “I hate you Michael Davis.”
I never heard her say those exact words, but no matter what she said that’s what I heard.
She may not have really hated me but it sure felt that way.
I’m sure Tammy thought of me as a loud mouth, in your face, guy and she had no time for loud mouth in your face people. Tammy was all business and ultra professional.
Me?
I was a loud mouth, in your face, guy.
I know that…now.
I’ve mellowed out considerably since my loud mouth, in your face, days. You may not think so from some of the rants I write on my www.MichaelDavisWorld.com or some of my old ComicMix stuff but I’m so much calmer now.
I’ve always been up front with my readers when it comes to my considerable shortcomings, I admit freely I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career.
A lot.
That said, when it comes to business I’ve learned not to take anything personally. I categorically live by two set of rules the first is: “It’s not personal, it’s business;” the second is “Nothing too good to do for my friends, nothing to bad to do to my enemies.”
It was with that first rule in mine that Tammy’s name came up when I was looking for someone to run the day to day operations at Motown Film & Television where I was President and Chief Executive Officer.
She was on a very short list, and I had my Chief Operating Officer contact her. I thought she would be perfect for the gig and even if she still hated me Tammy was a no-joke professional so she would put any issues with me aside if she were interested in the position. After talking to Tammy my COO, told me she would not be a good fit. I never followed up or even called Tammy.
I realized just the other day that was a mistake.
Motown Records is the most famous record company in the world. Most music superstars are bigger brands than their record company. Motown had (has) some of the biggest superstar artists the world has ever known and they are still identified as Motown artists.
Don’t think so? Without Google tell me what record label Sting is on. Now, without Goggle tell me what record label Stevie Wonder is on.
Hell, name a record label besides Motown.
I’ll wait…
Motown was one of the greatest African-American business success stories. The company has a wonderful history of hiring African-Americans and has (yes, white people have always worked at Motown and still do) become the model for many companies of color even today.
I should have called Tammy.
There may have been something I could have said or found out what my COO’s issue with her was. Maybe there was a way around it. Maybe my COO was threatened by her. That may sound to you like paranoia but I assure you dear reader, paranoia runs wild in Hollywood and I’m not joking.
I’m convinced now; if we could have gotten Tammy to Motown I’m sure she would have been great.
A few days ago Tammy, who is always positive, posted on Facebook that she was having a bad day.
The moment I read that, it hit me like a brick what a terrible mistake I’d made more than a decade ago that I did not call Tammy. Over the last few years Tammy and I have become close. I have not seen her in, I don’t know how many years, but we reconnected on Facebook and I really value her friendship.
I have not thought about Tammy coming to Motown since it happened. Tammy and I have never even spoken about it but for some reason when I read she was having a bad day my mind went right there.
My mind went there and to the realization that there exist very few women of color in the comics industry.
Why I thought about Tammy and Motown now I have no idea. Why that led me to the lack of black women in the industry, again, no idea.
This I do know, having Tammy Brown run anything is a good idea. Having more black women in the industry is a good idea. If I ever get the chance to work with Tammy again I won’t make the same mistake twice.
As far as black women in the industry, I’m working on that. Why I haven’t been working on it before?
No idea.
Like I said, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career but seldom do I make the same mistake twice.
Tammy, I’m sorry you were having a bad day. I’m sorry someone caused that for you. I leave you with these words of wisdom:
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
– Noel Coward
You are the best Tammy. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
Denny O’Neil used to have a T-shirt that proclaimed “Growing old is not for sissies.” As I get older, the hard truth of that keeps coming back to me. Case in point.
Two days ago, there was an article here in ComicMix about Gary Friedrich who lost his case against Marvel about participation in the monies made from the movie (now movies) of Ghost Rider, which he created at Marvel. Among other reasons cited by the judge, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest, was that Friedrich gave up his rights to the character when he signed checks that had, above the signature line, language requiring him to give up any rights to the character.
I’ve done that, too. You had no choice in the matter in those days. If you wanted to cash the check, you had to endorse it and you had to endorse it beneath the legal crap. There was no negotiation, there was no discussion. It was, to be blunt, coercion.
The name, Ghost Rider, had also already been used at Marvel as one of the Western characters they had – said character, again, being created by Gary Friedrich. Friedrich also had to sign a document giving up all rights – and why wouldn’t he? This was seven years before the first Superman film with Christopher Reeve showed up, six years before George Lucas made Star Wars and showed there was a ton of money to be made off of ancillary rights such as toys et al. You signed those documents because that’s what was necessary to get the work. No movies were being made, no toys were being made, there were no video games – the only money to be made was from the work itself. There was no indie market in those days where you could take your ideas. You made the deal that was there to be made.
The judge had to base her decision on what were the legal facts – and they said that Marvel owed Gary Friedrich nothing. Without Friedrich, however, the property doesn’t exist. From all reports, he’s not in good shape. He could use the money – even a taste.
What is he owed?
Injury to insult department. The judge has not only told Friedrich to stop saying he created Ghost Rider, he was ordered to pay Marvel seventeen grand in damages.
Friedrich owes Marvel $17,000.00!
He’s not the only freelancer in this position. Years ago, I saw Gene Colan and his wife at a convention and I steeled myself up to go say hello to someone I thought (and think) was one of the unique great talents in the industry. He was having eye troubles at the time (with which I would come to completely empathize) and he was, to be honest, a little angry and bitter. Like other old pros, he felt cast aside and forgotten by the industry and he warned me to make sure I had money in the bank or find something else I could do. I wish now I had taken his advice more strongly.
This is not to say there are not groups like the Hero Initiative out there who do tremendous work in helping people who have given to the industry but there are financial limits to what they can do. There is no equivalent to a union or a guild in this industry; if you even think of starting one, you’re gone. John Broome, fabled writer in the Silver Age, found that out.
What is owed to any of those who built a company, built this industry, and then got left behind?
I won’t pretend; I’m more or less in that boat and it scares me. I’m luckier than some; with Amanda Waller, who I created, I’ll see some participation for her use in the Green Lantern movie, just as I did for her use in Smallville and Justice League Unlimited. I think that’s fair and, fortunately, legally binding. Thank you, Paul Levitz.
But what about others, like Gary Friedrich, who worked before there was any such notion? There is, as always, a wide distance between what’s legal and what’s right.
What is owed to those who came before, who did the work on which later, more lucrative, works are built? The contracts, the law, says nothing is owed.
Does that seem right to you?
It doesn’t to me.
If you agree, tell Marvel, tell their parent company, Disney, that they owe the creator something, contract or no contract. Fans can do something and it can be effective. Gary Friedrich isn’t one of the big, great names in comics. But he created Ghost Rider and, legally or not, they owe him.
According to Britian’s Daily Mail , authorities have discovered white cobwebs on nuclear waste at the Savannah River National Laboratory, located at (go figure) the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (did you know we even had a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board?) says “The growth, which resembles a spider web, has yet to be characterized but may be biological in nature.”
Where did it come from? And… where have we heard this story before?
According to the omnipresent “experts,” any living creature inside in the pools of “safety” water would have been exposed to the nuclear fuel and could have evolved into a new species. It turns out there is a bacterium that scientists call Deinococcus radiodurans (normal humans really don’t care – thus far) that is so resistant to radioactivity that it has been reengineered for use in the treatment of radioactive waste. So, I guess it’s possible that the spider that weaved a web, if it indeed is a web, could have survived to… oh, say, bite a wandering science student.
Which, as we all know, could give him the proportionate power of a spider. Then again, it’s probably more likely it would simply kill the poor bastard.
Or… then again… the whole thing simply could be a really nuanced promotion for the upcoming Spider-Man reboot.
Either way, you can’t be too careful and ComicMix recommends our South Carolina readers invest in some bug spray.
Fellow ComicMixer Bob Greenberger recently talked about To Kill A Mockingbirda couple days ago as he prepares to teach his class. To Kill A Mockingbird is, as I expect all of you to know, a masterpiece of American literature concerning the racial tensions and bigotries of a small town in Alabama during the Depression – but more important, it is a study of the nature of good and evil, of both the morality and immorality inherent in all of us.
Starring Gregory Peck as the lawyer Atticus Finch who defends the black man accused of raping a white woman, the movie is a landmark picture, and – in my opinion – a touchstone for how to adapt a brilliant novel to the screen. Also my opinion: Peck’s greatest role.
But don’t just watch the movie. Read the book itself. One of the things that just driiivvvess meeee crrrrrazzzzy is when I ask someone, “did you read….” and what I get back in response is, “I saw the movie.”
Aaaaaggghh!
Here’re some books that have been turned into movies. Some good, some bad, some just “eh.” But do yourself a favor – read the book. You might learn something.
Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind: Yes, it’s one of the greatest movies ever made. Yes, adjusted for inflation it’s made more than any other movie. Yes, Vivien Leigh, Olivia DeHavilland, Hattie MacDonald Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, are the living embodiments of Mitchell’s characters. In fact, it’s about the most perfect casting ever, in my opinion. But Scarlett is not just the selfish bitch that the movie portrays.
In fact, as you read Gone With The Wind, you realize that Scarlett Katie O’Hara embodies both the Old and New South, the gentry who will not dirty their hands and the hard-scrabbling immigrant who will. Even her mother and father represent this coming battle, with Ellen O’Hara a symbol of the old landed gentry who live by rituals and rules, and Gerald O’Hara the hard-scrabbling immigrant who will do anything to succeed. And her men are symbols, too, as she clings to Ashley as a representation of an idealized world of chivalry and manners, and of the pampered childhood she has lost, while simultaneously being drawn to Rhett, the realist, the adult, the symbol of the “New South” and the future. Every main character in Gone With The Wind are the embodiments of the Civil War, of the battle between yesterday and today, of what was and what can be. Melanie is not just the selfless and perfect Lady of the antebellum South. Rhett is more than a lusting hedonist who marries Scarlett because he can’t have any other way. Ashley is more than just a beaten Confederate. Mitchell’s characters within the book come alive because they are all, well, alive.
The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Okay, technically this wasn’t a movie; it was a mini-series on TNT starring Julianne Margulies and Angelica Huston. It was promoted as the story of Camelot from the “women’s side.” The mini-series was a disaster. I could understand if no one’s curiosity was piqued enough to read the book. But do it anyway. But it’s so much more.
It’s the story of the introduction of Christianity into Celtic Britain, of how one great religion was usurped and demonized by another. It’s a story, again, of the fall of one civilization and the rise of another. Of choices, of the roles between women and men, of what is good and what is evil and what is in-between. Of what is magic and what is faith, of what is real and what is not. All, as I said, set against the backdrop of one of the most romantic and glorious legend of all, King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgan Le Fay, Mordred, Merlin, and the Round Table.
Giant, by Edna Ferber. Ferber was a brilliant novelist whose historical fictions also criticized the social mores and woes of America. Giant deals with the struggle for power between the great cattle barons and the growing oil industry in Texas from the 1920s to the 1950s. It’s the story of cultures at struggle against themselves and each other: Leslie Lynton Benedict, from the East, against her husband, Jordan “Bick” Benedict, born and bred in the Southwest. It’s about of racism and bigotry, of how both the cattle barons and the oil tycoons built their empires on the back of Mexican-Americans… sadly, still an incredibly relevant story today, as illegal immigration continues to be at the forefront of our politics. (Hello, Arizona!) It’s even about the role of women in a society, as Leslie, raised to think for herself, fights to retain her individuality in a society where women are sidelined and controlled by men. Most of all, it’s a story of generational war, as the old must give way to the young.
Okay, Kelly Clarkson just sang the Star Spangled Banner. I gotta go.
But just in case you think I’m a total book snob, there is one movie that totally exceeds its origins. That’s The Godfather, parts I and II. Read the book. It’s good…but the movies are better.
Kelly’s done. The game is on. Go Big Blue!
TUESDAY: Michael Davis… or Gold writes about hockey. One or the other.
