May 5, 2013
Went and saw Iron Man 3 last night. Kathy's choice. I thought it was pretty amazing in terms of sheer production values and set pieces but ultimately kind of boring: the twisty ending is just over the top effects and a complete Comic-Book-Geek-out. What they spent doing it and how they did it is nothing short of off-the-charts incredible. Still, when I go to a movie I want to enjoy an actual story.
Made me realize I need to step up my game in the graphic novel orbit. Came home and whipped out this little study of the Blue Swallow Motel (from a photo Jim Hinckley sent me):
As I mentioned, I promised Kathy I would clean out the garage (my side is completely filled with artwork, art reference and research materials including boxes and boxes of photos filed by category (Gunfighters with guns, Apaches with Guns, Mountain men with guns, horseback riders with guns and, of course, clouds.) I easily filled a big trash container with tons of reference materials and old magazines, but I'm balking at a couple items: A Third Draft screenplay of Batman (1980) by Sam Hamm and a couple other semi-gems. Still debating. Kathy says, "Do you want your kids having to throw it away?" Ha. No, but sheesh. Kind of cool, no?
I have a box of books and mags to go to the library, but there are some items that are, just well, kind of personal:
I found an April, 1980 The Comics Journal which has an ad for the New York Comic Art Convention. Thanks to the generosity of Phil Sueling (who put on the conference and paid for my airfare to come) I attended at the Staler Hilton Hotel over the July fourth weekend that totally changed my life. My first trip on an airplane, first trip to New York, first exposure to big time cartoonists. Stan Lee was there and announced that Batman would be made into a movie (at the time this seemed almost ridiculous, but of course, now Marvel is a movie studio! See, Iron Man reference, above). Anyway, do I save the Comics Journal magazine, or scan the ad and keep it, in the cloud?
Also, in the Comics Journal is this intriguing critique of comics in general:
"Comics are not of any consequence. Basically, what they are is a form of popular illustration that deals in melodramatic adventure and simple humor. Their interest is to the anthropologist, not the art critic. Their aesthetic interest is small because they've ignored modernist theory and because the ideas they express rarely escape the mundane."
It is uncredited, but was most certainly taken from a scathing indictment of the form back in the day. The irony is, the review kind of nails Iron Man 3 and all of the Marvel movies.
"May the 5th be will you."
—Ricky Gervais
