Tuesday, February 13, 2018

MARITAL BLISS

Someone on Twitter brought this page from my Spectacular Spider-Man run to my attention this morning. It's my favorite Peter-MJ scene out of the many I wrote, perhaps because the dialogue came straight from life with my amazing wife.  I even bought, and framed, the original Sal Buscema art.

By the way:  The song that's playing in the background is Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin"—performed, most famously, by Francis Albert Sinatra.  (I suspect it's Mary Jane, not Peter, who's the Sinatra fan.  I'll ask next time I see them!)

43 comments:

  1. Of course its MJ who is the Sinatra fan, we already know Peter is more of an Ella Fitzgerald fan.

    Lets be honest, Pete would be more into, The Yardbirds, They Might Be Giants, Husker Du, MC5, Paul Simon, you know the stuff that is under appreciated in its time, with only nerds a and weirdos caring, but gains a following later. Also, Woody Guthrie... obviously.

    And of course MJ would love the feel of the days when clubs were elegant and glamorous.

    In short MJ would appreciate Old blue eyes style, Pete would be more interested in music with a feeling of alienation.

    In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Pete even resented Sinatra a bit for playing off his good looks (and mob connections).

    Here are two of my favorite Peter and MJ moments

    http://www.4thletter.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/klh-mj-01.jpg

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/darkyugioh85/WebofSpider-Man090-39.jpg

    I have a lot to say about the marriage, but you know that.

    Here is a reminder of my thoughts, until I have more time.

    http://gobacktothepast.com/the-ballad-of-the-marriage-of-peter-parker-and-mary-jane-watson/

    But lets be honest, there are a lot of great Pete and MJ scenes. Only Superman and Lois Lane are more iconic in comics. And Pete and MJ beat them to the alter... well, not the Earth-2 (golden age) but still.


    Jack

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    1. That's a great article, Jack. (Written by you, I believe, using a pseudonym?)

      Writing Pete and MJ was easy for me because I believed in them, in their love, and I believe in the power of marriage, too. Maybe it's not for everyone, but it is for me. And, clearly, for Pete and MJ.

      Re: your music choices. Paul Simon under appreciated in his time? I was there. Simon and Garfunkel were massive. Simon's solo career—in the 70s and 80s—was both commercially successful and critically lauded. Hardly under appreciated.

      I agree with the idea that Pete would like music that radiates alienation. Good insight!

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    2. IN all honesty, I went back and added Paul Simon, without changing the rest of the sentence. It just popped into my head that Pete would dig him after all was set and done.

      So, I knew, I just didn't feel like rewriting a sentence.

      Tony Stark, there is your Sinatra listener. Hal Jordan, there is your Sinatra listener.


      I just found out that there are apparently two twitter campaigns going on right now based around bringing back the marriage. I don't know that is just what I hear.

      You know, most fans are in favor of the marriage. I'm pretty sure it is easier to relate to being married than being a billionaire.

      It is Marvel's character, and they can do what they want, it would just be nice if they said those weren't the real reasons.

      But hope springs eternal.

      I have more to say about teh marriage proper, but I have to go pay off a ticket before the court house close.

      JAck

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    3. Good luck at the court house. Tell 'em you were framed!

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    4. I kind of was, it was a sped trap. And, I have dealt with legal folk where if I said that I was framed would respond with, "yeah, probably."

      The real question is, was it Aunt Anna who hipped MJ to the Sinatra groove?

      And while we are picking apart how I phrase things, They Might Be giants aren't known for overtly singing about alienation, but I think we can all agree Pete would listen to these all day:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOLivyykLqk

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om7IBJf7-fc

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XdqMGBZjGM

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhjSzjoU7OQ

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjutUbgpH8


      I feel like I put too many examples, but I do love that band.
      Here is a question, if Marvel asked you to write Spider-man again, right after they brought the marriage (if ever they do) only for X amount of time, or longer if you want, but minimum 1.5-2 years. To use a liked and respected writer to reset the status quo, would you do it?

      Also, do you have the courage to leave a comment under my article? Come on , do it. do it.

      As for the one of the images I post, from Kraven's Last Hunt. What was his name... J.L. Demotia? The writer. I think he just might make it one day.


      Jack

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    5. Those are great observations about Pete and MJ's musical choices.

      I say Pete is a huge fan of the Cranberries. Especially the acoustic versions of their more popular songs on "Something Else."

      --David



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    6. If I had an idea that excited me, Jack, I'd absolutely go back and write Spidey. But I'd have to have something to dig my teeth into.

      Who's this Demotia guy you're talking about?

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    7. Of course Pete would like the Cranberries, even without hearing the music. They have a female Irish singer.

      His father married Mary FITZPATRICK.

      His Uncle Ben married May REILLY

      And Pete himself? Well, Watson may be a Scottish name, but does anyone look at MJ and not think Irish?

      That whole family has potato fever!

      As for Demotia, well I am just trying my best to recall his real name. He wrote a Spidey story back in the late 80s called Fearful Symmetry, where a villain (Hypno-Hustler, perhaps)buried Spider-man underground, and took over his identity for a while.

      That guy had chops, I can't help but wonder what happened to that guy. Probably just some weirdo going on and on about stuff on his internet blog.

      A shame, he had potential.


      By the way, Keith Giffen is cming to Motor City Comic COn this year. I assume I should just keep the usual rules for him in mind,

      1. Don't feed a Keith Giffen after midnight
      2. Don't get a Keith Giffen wet
      3. Don't expose a Keith Giffen to bright lights.

      Maybe that is something else

      Jack

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    8. The most astonishing thing you will discover is that Keith is a very nice guy and, maybe not a surprise, incredibly entertaining.

      But, yeah, keep him away from water.

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  2. So, there I am watching Bigfoot: The Movie and I like to read all the credits. Something caught my eye in the long list of crowdfunding contributors. 'Jon DeMatteis'. Did you contribute to this hilarious movie? It is really funny and I enjoyed it a lot.

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    1. Not me. I never even heard of it! Must be a very distant relative...or a me from a parallel universe!

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    2. These parallel universes are just a bunch of troublemakers!

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  3. We have Pete and MJ and Superman and Lois, but the most memorable for me is always J’onn and Marsha from Martian Manhunter.

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    1. That's extraordinary...since that story (sadly) never saw print—which means you must be a Martian telepath. Or perhaps...?

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    2. Feel free to drop a line, either telepathically or through the email on my "Workshops," page and say hello.

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    3. Wait was Marsha a martian? Was she Marvin the Martian's oft forgotten daughter or niece, or whatever she was?


      I think that you have your next pitch Dematteis.

      Jack

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    4. It was a story about J'onn meeting a woman and becoming convinced she's the reincarnation of his dead Martian wife. It was supposed to run in JLI QUARTERLY but got lost in the shuffle when our team left the book.

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    5. Well... if it did involve Marcia's protege, it probably would have been published. People love Marvin the Martian.

      Honestly, you never had a Ted Kord Beatles joke, or J'onn talking about a Q-36 exploding space modulator. How did that comic keep going?

      Jack

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    6. Not one Beatle joke in all those years? I'm astonished!

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  4. If I got to pick a character for you to write again it would always be Man-Thing.

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    1. If only Liam Sharp and I would have been able to finish the story we started with MAN-THING back in the 90s. It would have been a great one!

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  5. The latest and last issue of The Defenders has The Gargoyle in it. Thought you would like a heads up.

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    1. Really? Is he an important part of the story or is it just a cameo?

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    2. Just a cameo. They managed to squeeze it pretty much anyone who had been a Defender in the last issue. I'd read another Gargoyle series.

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    3. I kind of wish they would put your Gargoyle miniseries in a collected trade. It's one of my favorites and my issues are getting old and beat up from rereading.

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    4. I'd love to see that, too: it's one of my favorite Marvel projects ever; but, when you consider that my SPEC SPIDEY runs still haven't been collected after all these years, I don't hold out a lot of hope for GARGOYLE. Still, miracles do happen!

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    5. I didn't realize you'd written a GARGOYLE mini-series. Was that from before or after your DEFENDERS run? I recently read your DEFENDERS and Gargoyle was one of the characters who really stood out.

      --David

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    6. It was written during my run, but it may have actually come out after I was done. I'm sure you can find it out there and I'm sure it won't cost you much. But I really would love to see this collected.

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    7. https://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-GARGOYLE-1985-1-4-COMPLETE-SET-LOT-DEFENDERS-94-J-M-DEMATTEIS-MARK-BADGER/271763238705?hash=item3f4659ef31:g:kpYAAOSwk5FU0B-b

      There you go 15 bucks is reasonable.

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  6. Did Dc ever send you that Swamp Thing Winter Special?


    Jack

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    1. I look forward to your views when it does.


      Jack

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    2. I have views on that Special. Good ones and bad ones.

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    3. Still haven't read it, so...shhhh!

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    4. Just a reminder, if test Swamp Thing comic ever does arrive, I am anxious for your head thoughts.

      And always remember this, (and I am absolutely serious) the key to understanding America at any given time is Understanding Spider-man in that moment.

      Jack

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    5. SWAMP THING should be here any day now! I'll let you know!

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  7. It's taken me years to appreciate Sal Buscemi, and I love the linework of his art during this period, which is, incidentally, one I am not too familiar with. One to catch up on I think!
    Mattb

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    1. Working with Sal on SPEC SPIDEY remains a career highlight for me, Matt. He's a masterful storyteller, his drawing is impeccable and, on a personal level, he's a warm, wonderful guy. You can't ask for more in a collaborator!

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    2. Sal draws the straightest possible line from whatever head-space his characters are living in to the reader. He gets the maximum emotional impact out of every scene. If his characters are afraid, you fear for them. If they're angry, you'd best get out of the way! And when they take a punch, it looks like it actually HURTS, and it's not just another day at the office.

      --David

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