Kudos to Iron Man

Yes, again, I am not writing about the actual work of writing for the comic-book industry. Suffice it to say, I’m waiting to hear back on a lot of things. In other words, I have nothing to report.

But … I did see the Iron Man movie with my son over the weekend.

And, I gotta’ say, I may have to revise that list of top comic-book movies I put together last week.

Iron Man certainly deserves all the praise it’s received. First, Robert Downey Jr. makes a great Tony Stark, the perfect Tony Stark, actually. Maybe it’s because of his own well-publicized troubles with various substances, but Downey nails the part of a genius with significant personal problems.

The rest of the cast is good, too. Jeff Bridges, in particular, shines. You know he’s the villain throughout the whole movie. How can you not, if you’re familiar at all with Iron Man from the comics? But still, you could see why Downey’s Stark wouldn’t feel the same way. Bridges is menacing without resorting to the cackling and glowering that most comicbook-movie villains do.

But what makes Iron Man really impressive — especially to this liberal peace-loving guy — is that the movie, besides being pure fun and bubblegum action, actually has a message. It’s a simple one: War sucks. It’s also one that I couldn’t agree with more. It’s surprising to see a summer blockbuster take a stand, basically, against U.S. military intervention. (It’s not an explicit stand, of course, but still a stand, nonetheless.)

Hopefully, Iron Man is a good omen. We still have the new Batman and Hulk movies to look forward to, not to mention the movie version of The Spirit. (Although our theater showed the Hulk trailer. I don’t know. Edward Norton, I’m sure, is great. And it looks like the movie is channeling both the classic Marvel comics and the old Hulk T.V. show. But, I have to say, the Hulk and the Abomination both look pretty stupid to me.)

OK, that’s it. And I promise next time I’ll write something insightful about the comics industry. (Well, maybe not insightful. But something, at least.)

 

And now … for the worst

OK, I already did the easy part: Last week I put together a list of what I thought where the best movies adapted from comics and graphic novels. (Yes, that is what’s known as a cheap and lazy blog post. And today? We get another!)

Now it’s time for the worst movies adapted from comics and graphic novels. Why’s this harder than the previous list? Because there are so, so many terrible comicbook movies.

And here they come:

1. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: No one expected filmmakers to be able to capture the nuances of Alan Moore’s graphic novel. But this thing didn’t even come close. Instead, we got a typical bloated special-effects bomb. At least this thing stunk it up at the box office. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about a sequel based on the Black Dossier.

2. Superman IV: Where to start? How about this: Don’t ever, ever see this movie, under any circumstances.

3. The Fantastic Four: Were the Fantastic Four comics as dumb as this movie? Maybe. But at least the comics weren’t as noisy.

4. Elektra: OK, this movie was so bad, I didn’t even go to see it.

5. Batman Forever and Batman & Robin: Is Joel Schumacher the biggest hack in Hollywood? Probably not, but he certainly ranks. By the way, I’m not sure if Arnold Schwarzenegger was ever really awake during the filming of Batman & Robin.

6. Supergirl: This Helen Slater vehicle would rank higher if anyone actually remembered that it existed.

7. The Crow: Ok, I know a lot of people like this. But I can’t remember any other movie that’s so pretentious for so little reason. The story couldn’t be simpler. The art-house trappings couldn’t be more annoying. And have you listened to that dialogue?

8. Superman Returns: Wow, the Superman family has some heavy representation on this list. Look, this thing was more than a decade in the making. It cost a ton of money. And it was deadly boring. That’s quite an accomplishment.

9. The 1966 Batman: I did have fond memories of this movie — basically an extra-long episode of the campy TV show — from my childhood. Then I rented it for my own son and I couldn’t sit through it. This movie is sloooooow. There must be a dozen scenes simply showing the four villains — the Riddler, Joker, Catwoman and Penquin — standing around cackling. That’s not riveting viewing, folks.

10. The Punisher: Do you remember that they made a movie out of Marvel’s homicidal gunman hero? No. Well, you’re not the only one. John Travolta was in it, by the way. That’s enough reason to hate this thing.

11 Honorable mention: Spider-Man III: Admittedly, this movie is probably better than all the rest of this list. But that isn’t saying much. I’ll never get that scene out of my head of Harry Osborn and May Jane making omelettes in Harry’s kitchen and dancing — if memory serves me right — to “Let’s Twist Again.” Those young adults today sure do love their Chubby Checker.

12. Honorable Mention II: Ghost Rider: Nicholas Cage, though, was certainly old enough to play someone who’s kinda’ dead.

So, there you have it. There are certainly some awful comicbook movies I’ve forgotten. You have your own list? Share it with me … if you can stand the memories.

 

A summer of comicbook movies?

I guess you could say the summer movie season opens May 3. That’s when the movie version of Iron Man hits theaters. I usually try to stay away from the movie theaters in the summer — most Hollywood blockbusters are awful — but this year, I might have to venture to our local overpriced multiplex a few more times than usual.

Of course, I’ll see Iron Man. Depending on the reviews, I might even take my son. I’m also looking forward to the new Batman movie, though I know for certain I won’t be taking my son to that one. Then there’s the new Hulk film with Edward Norton, that looks to be a big improvement over Ang Lee’s dull version.

As if that’s not enough, we’ll soon be getting movies based on The Spririt and Hellboy.

So, of all these movies, which, if any, will be good? We all know that the majority of comicbook movies turn out truly awful. Spider-Man 3, anyone? Mystery Men? Superman Returns? Heck, any Superman movie after part 2.

It made me wonder, what are my favorite movies based on comics. Well, here’s what I came up with:

1. Ghost World: This easily tops my list. Steve Buscemi is, as always, terrific.

2. Spider-Man 2: Spider-Man was always my favorite superhero when I was a kid. I guess I have a soft spot for him.

3. Batman Begins: Easily the best Batman movie ever made. (At least, I’m hoping, until this summer’s edition.)

4. Superman 2: Yes, I liked the sequel better than the original. What can I say? It had more action. A lot more. And it was nice to see some villains who weren’t Lex Luthor.

5. Spider-Man 1: Again, I have this soft spot for Spider-Man.

6. Art School Confidential: This one’s based on a graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, just like Ghost World was. If you haven’t seen it, check it out: The first two-thirds are great.

7. Persepolis: The animation is enough to recommend this one, but the story by Marjane Satrapi really makes this one sing.

8. Superman: This is the film that made all of today’s big-budget comicbook movies possible. It was a bit creaky, but my pre-teen self thought it was amazing.

9. Batman Returns: I know a lot of people didn’t like this, the second Batman film directed by Tim Burton. But I liked its creepy, fairy tale vibe. I thought this was a whole lot better than Burton’s first crack at Batman.

10. Daredevil: Yes, I know, a lot of you are going to consider this lame. But, really, I did like this movie. I didn’t like it enough to watch more than once, but I didn’t fall asleep the only time I watched it. That’s more than I can say for a lot of comicbook-inspired movies.

In fact, I think I’ll rank the worst comicbook movies in my next post. That list, I think, could be a lot longer.

The thrill of impending publication

It’s easy to complain about writing for the comics industry. Comic publishers don’t care about writers new to their industry; Unless they’re already a big-name pro, writers wanting to break into comics are treated as the lowest of the low.

There’s no money to be had, at least for new writers. It’s a chore to find artists to work with. Self-publishing costs a fortune.

But, there are times when writing for comics is nothing less than a complete thrill. That came yesterday, when Bluewater Comics sent me the lettered pages of the first issue of GEARZ, the first comic mini-series that I’ve written professionally. My job was to edit the pages, make sure all the dialogue balloons and caption boxes were needed, all the text made sense and that there were no embarrasing typos.

It was work, but it didn’t feel like it. It was a great feeling to cross out dialogue and eliminate entire caption boxes that suddenly felt redundant. It was a great feeling because this was a comic book! And it wasn’t just any comic book; It was one I wrote.

GEARZ, by the way, will debut with its first issue on June 25, just one day before Wizard World Chicago, the big local comic convention being held in Rosemont, Ill., at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Not only will the Bluewater team be at the convention, the powers that be at the publisher asked me to attend, too, for a signing of GEARZ. And to think, most of the times I’ve hung out at the Donald E. Stephens Center it’s been to cover the conferences of the Illinois Association of Mortgage Brokers. That, as you can tell, is not nearly as much fun as writing for comics. Of course, writing about residential real estate does pay the bills that comics writing doesn’t — which, of course, is all of the bills.

So that’s a lot of excitment, no? But it gets better. Bluewater also is now sending me fully drawn pages from the second four-issue miniseries I wrote for them for me to look over. I can’t say anything about this series — only that it’s a mystery with a touch of horror — yet. But as we get closer to its publication, I’ll post some art from it.

Anyway, to all other aspiring comic writers out there, keep plugging away. Most days, yes, it’s nothing but frustration. But some days, it’s great.

 

The bookstore: The perfect place to decompress

Whenever I’m stressed, I like to head to either my local public library or the closest bookstore. And, yes, I go to either Barnes & Noble or Border’s. Sorry for my love of these chain-store behemoths, but have you ever tried to read an entire book without paying for it in a cramped independent bookstore?

I digress. The bookstore is my favorite haven when something bugs me. I suppose it’s better than fleeing to a bar. My 40-year-old body can’t handle too much drinking anymore.

So, here are some thoughts from my most recent visit to a bookstore, coming shortly after an editor at a major comics publisher passed on my pitch for my graphic novel Morgan Underground because he thought the art wasn’t strong enough:

1. I hear a lot of people ripping on the Marvel series Ultimate X-Men. I’d never read it, so I picked up the first two trades, written by Mark Millar, and read through them. I have to say, I liked them. I so much more enjoy Marvel’s Ultimate series of books than I do their mainstream ones.

2. Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse by Ben Templesmith is a solid, off-beat independent graphic novel. I’d read this one earlier, but smiled when I saw it again at the bookstore. Check it out if you haven’t read it. The only problem I had? The final victory for our hero seemed to come about a bit too easily. Again, though, as I’ve posted before, a lot of writers, and not just me, seem to have trouble crafting a good ending.

3. I dont’ much like Superman. I find him to be too powerful to be interesting. However, I did enjoy Jake Rossen’s book Superman vs. Hollywood. The book highlights the struggles so many people have gone through to bring Superman to the movie and television screen. Particularly interesting are the stories of the bigger failures in Superman’s filmic career. For instance, why did anyone think Richard Pryor should ever star in a Superman movie? Why was the movie Supergirl should a total piece of junk? And, really, Nicholas Cage as Superman? Really?

4. The music they play over the loudspeakers at my local Barnes & Noble is quite dramatic, all swelling classical stuff played at ear-piercing levels. I think they call it “Get it out of here and quite reading our stuff for free, we’re starting to struggle financially because of people like you” music.

Serious about comics writing? Then you can’t do it on the cheap

You have to pay for quality. That’s what I’ve learned when it comes to working with artists. So I’ve decided to pay out of my own pockets to have the best artist I’ve ever worked with finish my original graphic novel, Morgan Underground.

 

I’ve resisted. I’ve already paid to have an artist create five penciled, inked, colored and lettered pages of my story. My plan was to then find a comics publisher that pays page rates so that I wouldn’t have to pay the artist, the talented Claudia Cangini, to finish the book. Instead, the publisher would handle that chore.

 

Unfortunately, after talking with several independent comic-book professionals – most notably, Frank Dirscherl, writer and creator of the fine independent book The Wraith, I’ve learned a hard lesson: There aren’t many comics publishers out there who will pay page rates for a proposal pitched to them by a complete unknown. And that – a complete unknown – is pretty much what I am.

 

So here’s the plan: If a bigger comics company shows interest in Morgan Underground – and you can figure out what I mean by “bigger” because there aren’t many of them – then I’ll be shelling out my own money to get the book finished.

 

God bless my wife. We talked it over this morning and we both agreed that this is too important for me to file away. I won’t sink a fortune into the book, at least not without some promise that it will prove successful on the market. But if I truly believe in it, I need to be willing to spend some money to bring it before the public.

 

Creating and publishing a creator-owned comic isn’t easy. And it isn’t cheap. But here’s the thing: If it does happen, and Morgan Underground becomes a success, if people talk about it, buy copies of it for their friends … how amazing would that be? That upfront investment won’t seem like much at all.

 

So wish me luck. I’ll be submitting to the bigger independent companies this week. I’m ready to give this my best shot.

Two books to check out

I often hear people complain that comic books will never capture a mass audience because they’re too focused on superheroes, zombies, vampires and women with breasts the size of pumpkins.

Well, there is a lot of that on the shelves of comic stores, and at your local Barnes & Noble. But there’s a lot more to comics, too, if you look.

Here’s two examples: First, check out Percy Gloom by Cathy Malkasian. This is a warmhearted surreal fantasy starring a main character whom you just can’t dislike. When you’re done with that, turn to Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot for something completely different. This is a huge, sprawling story loosely centered on Lewis Carroll, his famous children’s story and the history of the town of Sunderland. It may sound dry, but it’s anything but, and Talbot’s art and page layout is innovative and, at times, breathtaking.

So if you’re tired of spandex, shuffling members of the undead and breasts that put bowling balls to shame, check out some of the work being done by independent companies like Slave Labor Graphics and Fantagraphics Books.

Don’t overlook the anthologies

Writers trying to make it in the comics industry have a tough road: They’re competing against a lot of other talented writers who want to make it, too. And if you can’t draw, you have to find an artist with which to collaborate if you hope to get anything published. That’s no easy task.

But there is an outlet that many would-be comic writers overlook: the anthology.

Publishers are putting together these collections of shorter stories all the time. One of the more popular anthologies now is Flight, a critically acclaimed collection of beautifully drawn comic stories.

Of course, as a new writer, your chance of getting involved in any way with a Flight anthology is nill. But, there are a lot of smaller publishers out there working on anthologies right now. Many of them are looking for writers — sometimes even without artists attached — to help fill their pages.

Do a Google search for comics anthologies. Check the Web sites of small publishers; You’ll find that many of them put out a regular anthology.

On a personal note, I just began writing a short story for an anthology coming out late this year by an independent publisher. I won’t spill the beans yet — not, at least, until I’ve written more of my story — but it’s an exciting challenge, and a theme that promises to be fun.

So don’t overlook those anthologies. They can be the novice comic writer’s best friend.

Who wants to be a superhero? A lot of people, I guess

Who wouldn’t want to be a superhero? Sure, today’s comics try to make the life of super-powered crime fighting look like pure drudgery. But who’s fooled by that? It’d be a blast to be able to fly, punch holes in walls or even turn invisible.

Here’s some proof: There’s an active community of people out there who call themselves real-life superheroes. They dress in costumes, run blogs and — the most committed of them — even patrol their streets looking for crimes to stop.

The problem is that these folks, despite their costumes and names, can’t stick to walls, jump over buildings or shoot laser beams from their eyes. So most of them stop crime by phoning the police on their cell phones, which, by the way, is the most sensible way to take a bite out of crime.

I bring up the world of real-life superheroes because it’s been by far one of the most interesting topics I’ve ever covered. If you’ve read the entries on this blog, you’ll know that I work as a freelance writer, mostly writing stories for newspapers and magazines. Last year, I had the thrill of interviewing real-life superheroes for a story I was working on for Phoenix Magazine, a news and lifestyle magazine based, you guesed it, in Phoenix.

These people were undeniably strange. But they were also having the time of their lives. Who wouldn’t think it was cool to dress up in costumes, wear goggles and masks, and drive or walk down your city streets protecting its citizens.

Now, I don’t know how much protecting these folks do. When I asked them what crimes they stopped, most admitted that they weren’t looking to break up robberies but were instead looking to perform good deeds, such as passing out blankets to the homeless. Again, that’s sensible, and a nice thing to do. The strangest of the bunch, though, would only vaguely mention that they knew martial arts and weren’t afraid to use it. They wouldn’t get more specific …

Anyway, I was thinking about the real-life heroes after I stumbled upon the Web site of Citizen Prime, an Arizona-based real-life hero who was one of the stars of my story for Phoenix Magazine. His Web site is here, if you’d like to check it out.

I think the real-life superhero movement, even though it is admittedly a rather small movement, is testament to the enduring power comics have. Ever since Superman burst onto the scene, we’ve all dreamed of being heroes. Some of us just take that dream a bit more seriously.

The importance of keeping busy; A robot named Tin

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I’m pitching a graphic novel called Morgan Underground to publishers. As with all things related to pitching, the process is slow and frustrating. You can read all about it throughout this blog.

To help take my mind off the process, I’ve resumed work on an older comic project, a science fiction comedy called Tin Takes Over. Anyone here remember Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot? It was one of those old Japanese live-action monsters-vs.-robts series. It ran on the old Chicago Channel 44 after school on weekdays when I was a kid. I loved it. You can learn more about this classic show here, a pretty in-depth treatment from Wikipedia.

Anyway, in the series young Johnny Sokko discovers a giant robot that only he can control. He and the robot work with a government agency to protect the world from aliens, monsters and other metal villains. Fun stuff. But I couldn’t help but wonder, what happens to Johnny Sokko when he gets older? When he’s a moody teen will he want to hang out all day with a giant robot?

That’s what Tin Takes Over focuses on. How strained can the relationship between Tin, my giant robot, and Nancy Neptune, the young girl who found him, become when Nancy’s a young adult and, to make matters worse, there hasn’t been an alien invasion in more than 10 years?

I’ve written about 30 pages so far, and I’ve had great fun with this story. I’ve also just found an artist whom I hope is right for this project. Unlike Morgan Underground, the artist and I are treating this story as a collaborative effort.

When I get some art, I’ll be sure to post it here. I may even post a sample or two from the script, once I tighten it up.