Tagged: Green Arrow

DENNIS O’NEIL: On Writing Comics

  • News
  • September 18, 2007

 

I don’t remember a lot about the first time I ever did a cable TV show. It must have been in the 1980s because I know I was working for Marvel, and it was probably on one of those public access channels which still exist but never seem to have anything on them. The evening’s host might have been Carl Gafford. I do recall, to a certainty, that my co-guest was Jo Duffy and we were debating a topic with, surely, international if not cosmic consequence. To wit: which is the better technique for producing comic book scripts, the so-called Marvel method or the full-script method.

Why the networks, or at least the New York Times, did not report this momentous colloquy I know not. Just another example of the ineptitude of American journalism, I suppose.

Jo had the Marvel side of the dialogue and I championed the full-script side. I have no idea what either of us said or did, but it’s now years later and we’re both still alive, so it couldn’t have been too bloody.

Which brings us, via a prolix pre-digression, to this week’s topic. I put it to you, my friend: which is better, Marvel style or full script?

But before you answer, let’s be sure we’re all talking about the same things and that’ll require some definitions. Here we go.

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MICHAEL DAVIS: The Real World

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  • September 14, 2007

michael-davis-100-1317750I am lucky enough to know some pretty influential people in the entertainment world. When I say “influential” I mean people who have positions where they can “green light” work. They can give the “yes” to make your idea a reality or hire you to work on an existing project.

I have been fortunate in my career to “green light” some things. I have tried to give as many talented people as I can opportunities to take their ideas or talent to the next level.

We all know that the comic book community is responsible for some of the greatest creative endeavors in the history of the world. That’s right, I’ll say it again, the comic book community is responsible for some of the greatest creative endeavors in the history of the world… of the world.

I am very proud to have contributed in a small part to the industry and even prouder that my mentor program has produced some amazing talent.

But…

What burns me is the lack of foresight and professionalism by some of the best in the industry and what really burns me is the new guard coming up who have this terrible work ethic. One glaring example of that work ethic: lateness in the comic book industry has become a standard practice.

Blowing deadlines has been a staple of comic book business for decades. I have blown a few myself. When I did ETC for Piranha Press DC’s ‘mature reader” imprint (way back when DC liked me) I was so excited that I got that gig that I was determined to do the best work ever! ETC was a five issue 52-page (per book) mini-series that was to be the first thing out from Piranha. You would think in all my excitement I would have taken it a bit more serious.

I thought I did take it serious. I thought. I was wrong. I was stupid.

I spent way too much time doing “research” and such. So after two months I had no finished pages. Oh, I had done something on all 52 pages. But with a week left on my deadline, I had NO finished pages.

I hated the way that book turned out. The funny thing about ETC is it was almost universally hated… except in France. I’m not kidding. I still get fan mail from France on that book.

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DENNIS O’NEIL: Comics Education

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  • September 11, 2007

If you’re a dedicated reader of movie end credits, the name Michael Uslan might be familiar to you.  If it isn’t…let’s remedy that.

If you know of Mike, it’s probably because he was executive producer of all the recent Batman flicks, including Catwoman and The Dark Knight, coming to a theater near you next June.  He’s also been involved in producing a lot of other stuff for screens both large and small.  And he’s done considerable writing, some of which was for comic books.  I first met him when he was a law student at Indiana State University in Bloomington, where he was teaching the first accredited college course in comics and a related correspondence course; he was nice enough to invite me to meet his class.

Mike’s latest project – and here we come to this week’s real subject – is a documentary movie on comics super heroes to have its world premiere on September 15 at the Montclair Art Museum which is located, no surprise, in a town called Montclair in a state called New Jersey, a short drive or train ride from New York City.  The movie screening is part of a much bigger deal, an exhibit of about 150 examples of comics art and related stuff at the museum that is currently there and is not leaving until January 13th of next year.  The screening is scheduled for 4:30 in the afternoon.

And if you’re still not satisfied, if that isn’t enough…On October 13th the museum will shelter a panel discussion on comics which will put Mr. Uslan, Danny Fingeroth, Tom DeFalco, and me in front of anyone who cares to show up, listen, ask questions.  Genuflecting and flinging rose blossoms at us are optional.

I haven’t visited the exhibit yet, but everything I know about it indicates that it’s worth going a bit out of your way to see. If you do – go out of your way to see it, that is, or even if you plan to see it without going out of your way – you might want some info. You can get it by visiting www.montclairartmuseum.org or phoning (973) 746-5555.  And while I’m in reporter mode, one final thing, the museum’s address is 3 South Mountain Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042

I believe that at one time it would have been customary to, at this point, urge you to “be there or be square.”  Aren’t we glad that time is past!

And aren’t we glad that comics have come to a place where respectable institutions promote and host educational efforts on their behalf?  Well, yes, with some qualification.  Producing comics isn’t the informal, loosey-goosey business it once was, and so maybe a little less fun.  And I, for one, am not entirely comfortable with all this respectability.  I’m not happy that pretty young women behind checkout counters call me sir, either.  But better respectability than oblivion and, come to think of it, better being called sir than oblivion, too.

RECOMMENDED READING:  Walden and Civil Disobedience, both by Henry David Thoreau.

Dennis O’Neil is an award-winning editor and writer of comic books like Batman, The Question, Iron Man, Green Lantern and/or Green Arrow, and The Shadow, as well as all kinds of novels, stories and articles.

MICHAEL DAVIS: Reading is Fundamental

  • News
  • September 7, 2007

rif-1245405My friend Tony Isabella has mentioned that I give a good rant, Tony; this is about to be the rant to beat all rants!

I am soooooo pissed. I had two columns ALREADY written so I could get ahead on my ComicMix deadlines. I have a great deal of work to do with my comic book line, a new project called The Adjuster (you will hear about that soon enough) and The Underground from Dark Horse, so I wanted a few S-No-C’s in the can so I could deal with those projects but then…

LAST SATURDAY I WATCHED THE TV SHOW CNN’S NEWSROOM!

I have no idea why they call this show CNN’S Newsroom. News is supposed to be reported fairly. This show was SO biased that it reminded me of the McCarthy witchhunts of the 50s.

The host of any news show should be impartial. The host of this show was about as impartial as a Jewish mother who has the choice between saving her child or Hitler from falling off a cliff.

The show focused on Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) hard-hitting satirical video Read A Book that asks the viewer to (wait for it) read a book. The key word in all of this is satirical, as in satire.

The creators of the video were on the show but were never given a chance to complete a thought. The host kept cutting them off. He would ask them a question and not let them answer. That’s real journalism right? They should change the name of the show from CNN’S Newsroom to Shut up while the host talks.

The “panel” consisted of concerned parents. In another journalistic milestone, there were NO parents on the opposing side. All the parents on the show hated the video. I told Reggie Hudlin when he first showed me Read A Book some months ago that some people would have a issue with this. I said some people.

Little did I know that the chorus CNN choose to sing would only include parents that hated the video? How fair is that? Let’s see, let’s have a new show debating the war in Iraq. Our panel will be George Bush, Dick Cheney and… that’s it! All you will need for CNN’S Newsroom.

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MICHAEL DAVIS: That’s Just Wrong

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  • August 31, 2007

michael-davis-100-6337867For the last two weeks my articles have been light hearted and funny. Well I thought they were funny. I think I’m a funny guy (not in a brokeback way) but in a kind of “That Michael Davis is a funny guy” in a ha-ha kind of way.

Now there are plenty of people who think I’m not funny. That’s fine. There are people who think I’m an idiot. That’s fine. There are even some people who think I’m a genius. That’s fine. In fact that’s my favorite assessment of me.

Notice a trend here? If you don’t think I’m funny, if you don’t like my column, heck if you don’t like or agree with me, that’s just fine.

From day one of this column I have been right up front on where I stand. Actually it has been a staple of my writing. For those who may be new to this site and my column here’s a very small snapshot of some of what I am about.

I am a liberal Democrat, except when it comes to violent crime. In fact if it was up to me I think violent criminals should be put to death during half time at the Super Bowl. So it’s fair to say that I am a conservative when it comes to crime. I think people should be able to worship whoever or whatever they want. I think that people who treat their dogs like members of the family are nuts. I think DC comics are the best in the industry. I don’t think people should insist you believe what they believe. I love hip hop, I hate bluegrass. I think the Beatles are the greatest band in the history of popular music. I think Michael Jackson is the greatest performer ever. I love Frank Sinatra. I hate the TV shows Real World and Sweet 16. I love the TV shows All My Children and Family Guy. I think George Bush is the worst President in the history of America. Lastly, I firmly believe that you CANNOT regulate morality.

The above is just the tip of the iceberg on what I believe. You may agree or not. In fact if you don’t agree with anything I said and think I’m an asshole, that’s fine to.

But I’m not wrong.

On the flip side I don’t believe that you should be able to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, smoke cigarettes, climb a mountain, jump out an airplane, hunt deer, eat raw fish. I don’t believe that dogs should see therapists, that Paris Hilton is sexy, that NASCAR is a sport. If you believe any of that then more power to you my friend.

I think some of those things I don’t believe are just stupid. As an example, I think riding a motorcycle without a helmet is your suicide waiting to happen. I ride a motorcycle and I won’t even look at it without my helmet. In fact in over 10 years of ownership I have never been on a highway.

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ELAYNE RIGGS: The Stupid — It Burns!

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  • August 29, 2007

elayne100-7557489I’m sure most readers will agree that we all bring our own unique views to our entertainment experiences, our own desires and prejudices and lifetimes of baggage. And many of us try to partake of those experiences bearing that baggage in mind, allowing for it or disclaiming it or even using it to enhance our POVs.

For the average consumer, baggage is something you try not to let get in the way. But a certain subset clings to it like a badge of honor. That’s the portion of the crowd that brags of specialized knowledge, and will accept nothing less than that same level of specialization in their entertainment. Which is silly, in my opinion. You may be a rocket scientist, or a medical intern, or a lawyer, or even a secretary, but the people who write movies and comics and whatnot, well, they’re just storytellers.

This is not to say that a certain verisimilitude isn’t welcome. A story needs to be internally consistent, after all, to keep you involved in its world. But if you’re from Cleveland and the movie you’re watching is supposed to be set in that city and it’s pretty darn clear that it was shot in Vancouver, it can take a bit more effort to stay with that story when you keep going "But that’s not the street I used to walk to school on!" If you’ve just come home from a day in the newsroom, opened up the latest Superman comic and noted that the Daily Planet scenes don’t resemble your job in the least, I can understand the irritation. Many’s the time I’ve watched actors pretend to type or play a musical instrument as just something to do with their hands, not as though they were actually performing the task at hand. (By the way, how things have changed on the typing front since the advent of PCs and laptops; one of the things I love about the TV show The Office is how the actors actually type IMs to each other during filming; they look like they’re at their desks doing actual office work, just like me!)

But obsessing on these comparatively minor things to the point where they ruin your enjoyment of the story is, to my mind, just silly. It’s not seeing the forest for the trees. Even if they’re palm trees and the story’s set in a northern climate.

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MICHAEL DAVIS: It’s a real mad mad mad world part 2

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  • August 24, 2007

michael-davis100-2162058Last week my article started with what I see is an obvious trend among comic book companies. That trend was the ‘mad angry look” that many comic book superheroes spout when they are looking out from a cover or poster. While writing the piece I came upon an idea to create some “Happy Heroes.”

So I created a super group called Happy Heroes! (Happy Heroes tm & copyright Michael Davis 2007 any unauthorized use will result in a harsh letter from the firm of Starve And Die, Attorneys-at-Law.)

When last we left the Happy Heroes, The Grin, Smiley and Gay-Man were being attacked. By the way that’s Gay as in:

1.    Full of light-heartedness and merriment

2.    Brightly colored

3.    Having or showing a carefree spirit

4.    Gives great dinner parties

As I was saying, when last we left the Happy Heroes The Grin, Smiley and Gay-Man were being attacked by their archenemy Dark Comedy. He had already blasted The Grin in the chest and had turned his attention and ray gun to Smiley. Gay-Man was hiding…eh, I mean seeking refuge in a closet so he could plan his next move.  

Page 4.

Panel 1.

Dark Comedy is now pointing his weapon at Smiley. Smiley is looking around for Gay-Man and by Gay I mean:

1.    Full of light-heartedness and merriment

2.    Brightly colored

3.    Having or showing a carefree spirit

4.    Likes Dick…Tracy

Dark Comedy: Where’s Gay-Man?

Smiley: I’ll never tell.

Panel 2.

Dark Comedy shoots Smiley in the kneecap.

Smiley: AHHHHHHHHHGGGG! GAY-MAN IS IN THE CLOSET!!!

Panel 3.

Dark Comedy is standing above Smiley who is rolling around on the floor holding his knee.

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DENNIS O’NEIL: On The Road Again

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  • August 21, 2007

Jack Kerouac’s novel On The Road is 50 years old.

“And this has exactly what to do with comics?” demands the snotty guy in the corner. Well, actually, not much, but maybe if we stretch, a little something. Patience, please.

If you know people my age, or a bit younger, you may have heard On The Road stories. Mine is pretty banal: I was fairly unhappy at school (I was always fairly unhappy at schools, except when I was actively miserable) and I read and had my mind altered by Kerouac’s book which is, among other things, a paean to travel and the highway. So, one morning, I went down to breakfast, borrowed about forty bucks from my father and, blowing off university exam week, got on a bus for New Orleans.

Once there, I didn’t do much: checked into a Y, hung out, walked around, had a friendly lady on Bourbon Street offer to teach me everything about life for only five dollars. I kind of guessed what she was talking about and, being the Good Catholic Boy that I was, politely declined. Then I boarded another Greyhound and went home. No hitchhiking, not that trip, though there was plenty later. (And, by the way, don’t try this at home. Hitchhiking in the 50s and 60s was not without hazards, but not nearly as dangerous as it is now.)

“Did someone mention comic books? This column, this whole dern website, is supposed to be about comics.” The snotty guy in the corner again. Okay, be at peace, brother, and give me another paragraph or two.

Kerouac was, as I’m sure everyone except the guy in the corner knows, the most famous and visible member of a loose confederation of novelists, poets, and musicians that became known as The Beat Generation. I’ve never heard, or read, any of them even evidencing knowledge that comics existed. But they were contrarians that believed that most conventional wisdom was erroneous, that genuine American values involved peace and understanding and, incidentally, that maybe mainstream literary and critical folk – the Establishment – did not own the last word on artistic matters.

Jump ahead a few years to the mid-60s and here we are, on college campuses, and what are the bright rebels reading? Well, a few – those who still wear ties on Sunday – are still delving into Catcher In The Rye, and a few more are grokking Stranger In A Strange Land, but the real nonconformists, the bright ones, are into comics, particularly Marvel comics.

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MICHAEL DAVIS: It’s a real mad mad mad world part 1

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  • August 17, 2007

michael-davis100-4885353What is up with heroes today? I just got back from Wizard World Chicago and as I was walking around the con I took notice of the posters, billboards and other comic company signage. What I observed with little exception is the look on the heroes faces… they all looked mad. I mean they looked pissed.

I ask again, what is up with heroes today?

Do all the comic companies have a template for posters? Stop me if you’re seen this: the hero or heroes are standing with a smoke filled background or battlefield usually the background is an orange or red hue. They stand with this look of utter anger. They all look like the first words they would say to you upon meeting you at a funeral is I will kick your ass!

I remember when Superman would… smile. Wow, what a concept a hero who stands for truth, justice and the American way smiling once in a while. I remember when Superman was a role model and he would stand there with his hands on his hips legs firmly planted on the ground looking out at the reader with a HUGE smile on his face.

Heck, I remember when Bat-Man would smile from time to time. I saw a poster at the DC booth with Wonder Woman looking out at the viewer with that “mad look.” From what she looked like on that poster I am now sure that even comic book characters suffer from PMS.

Hey, I’m sure that there are posters and characters out there that smile or project a more positive attitude. I just don’t see them. Now Marvel and DC know their audience but there seems to me to be an effort out there to make everybody “hard,” as the rappers say. This look is not new to the comic world. In fact it’s ripped off completely from Hip-Hop.

When’s the last time anybody ever saw a rapper smile on an album cover? The “Hard” look is everywhere. Look at high fashion models and that stupid look… football players… baseball players… heck, now opera singers stare out from their posters looking like Biggie Smalls.

As I said before Marvel and DC know their audience and they are the market leaders, so this is what the public must want.

But (as you knew there would be) …

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DENNIS O’NEIL: Spoiler Alert!

  • News
  • August 14, 2007

Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! Danger Will Robinson! Alarums and excursions! Better watch out, better not cry, better not pout…Beware! Mayday! Here there be dragons! Detour, there’s a muddy road ahead…

Okay, enough of that.

What I’m warning you about is the ending of The Bourne Ultimatum, now playing at a multiplex near you, recipient of good reviews, maker of serious bucks and, in the opinion of residents of this house, a pretty good popcorn flick.

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