SEMI-REGULAR MUSINGS FROM THE SEMI-REGULAR MIND OF WRITER J.M. DeMATTEIS
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Tuesday, May 20, 2025
UNLIMITED
Had a great chat about adapting Alan Moore's "For The Man Who Has Everything"—and lots of other things—with Justice League Unlimited's Wonder Woman herself, Susan Eisenberg, and her charming co-host James Enstall of the Justice League Revisited podcast and you can listen here.
So far, I have four of them finished. So far. I stick by my original statement of them all being good, but Wisdom being the best, followed by Godsend, then Anyman, and finally Layla and the land of After.
The art change on Godsend matched the new chapter's tone as well as it did in the first, even if the change was unplanned.
I actually felt more connected with Anyman tin this chapter.
By the way, bold move ending a comic on a cliffhanger, when there was...what? a two year gap from issue #1? I hope the goal is not a 100 issue run.
Bu, you seem to have made a mistake in LAyala and teh lands of After. Yiou accidently made LAyla the star of this issue, rather than the grandfather.
It is okay, we all mistakes, The comic turned out fine. Just thought you would want this brought to your attention. The grandfather has such star power, you clearly intended him to take the show.
Very glad you're enjoying the books, Jack. And be on the lookout for THE ADVENTURES OF LAYLA'S GRANDFATHER #1—coming soon! (To be followed by THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF BORIS THE CAT!)
I am actually going to have to disagree here Dematteis, there is no great American novel, because the truth is that it is the modern great American Saga, as defined by five books.
Those books are, of course, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, The Man the Grey Flannel Suit, On the Road, and of course To Kill a mocking bird.
The 1920s is considered the first modern decade, so that is where we will have to start. And to back that up, other candidates for the GAN like Huck Finn, Moby Dick, The Red Badge of Courage, and Uncle Tom;s Cabin are certainly well deserved classics. However, the times have changes so much since they we written, it almost feels like novels from other countries. Relevant for their humanity, but still somewhat divorced from the modern American way.
One of the constants in the Great Gatsby is how money fails to buy happiness, and how the wealthy can chew up and use others for their own good, Seen with the man who took Gatsby under his wing, Daisy's treatment of Gatsby, and of course Myrtle. Now, one of the problems I have always had with this book is, while well-written, it seems to hurt these points through the usage of Nick Caraway. Who on one hand seems like his passiveness is as destructive as the rest, but never seems to quite hit the mark.
However, that failing actually is informed by the Grapes of Wrath. This mentality is what ultimately led to the Great Depression, which of course when the Grapes of Wrath takes place. It is about the losers and underdogs of society hold strong even when times are tough, and the world seems like it is falling apart. Of course the famous speech at the end signifies the spirit of humanity as defined by standing with and for others. Showing that these people, when they have nothing else, find there best selves.
The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit and On the Road are rarely considered in the running for Great American Novel, but both show a unique;y American element. With parallel outlooks.
Both books star somewhat stand in characters for the author, who are of similar age to each other, and despite living in the booming time. Both feel unfulfilled, and both have a strange sense of nostalgia.
You a re probably saying, "wait, I am a hippie, I read ON the Road, I don't recall any nostalgia."
The whole Nomad lifestyle was inspired by Dean Mor-i-ar-ty. Who was based off the real life Neal Cassidy. A man who spent his childhood in the Great Depression living in the gutter with his alcoholic father. Kerouac nostalgia for a life he never lived, and from a man who romanticized a kind of messed up childhood.
Kerouac was doing what the Joad;s and millions like them did, except without the desperate need., He knew he would always find work.
In The Man ion the Grey Flannel Suit, the main character is nostalgic WWII. Not the killing, but the excitement of jumping out of a plane as a paratrooper, and how life was more exciting with the specter of no knowing.
Of course, Kerouac eventually became a bitter alcoholic, chasing a non-existent dream, and cosplaying as a hobo. Where as in The Man i the Grey Flannel Suit, he stops yearning the past, AND rejects consumerism, and decides to focus his energies on his family, which if curse leads us to To Kill a Mockingbird.
Going form the focus on family for meaning, at eh end of The Min the Grey Flannel Suit, To Kill a Mockingbird takes that to the next level. It is using one's status to help fix moral ills, to higher concepts than the everyday, even if fruitless. The exact opposite of how status was used in the Great Gatsby.
I would argue that America or Americans are always somewhere on this scale.
I am sure it will be hard for you this time of year.
Not because of a lack of talent, but since summer is getting closer I am sure your mind will be wandering back to your childhood on the farm in Brooklyn. Remembering the old tire swing at the crick. or watching the fields of grain become a wave as the warm summer breeze hit them form the west. or how the fireflies would come out and take control of the empty skies as the sun dropped below the crops.
Classic farm-boy nostalgia. Those vivid rural memories will be hijacking your brain, and slowing your workload for the next month.
By the way, Dematteis, the "Demultiverse" comics arrived in the mail yesterday
ReplyDeleteJack
Enjoy!
DeleteSo far, I have four of them finished. So far. I stick by my original statement of them all being good, but Wisdom being the best, followed by Godsend, then Anyman, and finally Layla and the land of After.
DeleteThe art change on Godsend matched the new chapter's tone as well as it did in the first, even if the change was unplanned.
I actually felt more connected with Anyman tin this chapter.
By the way, bold move ending a comic on a cliffhanger, when there was...what? a two year gap from issue #1? I hope the goal is not a 100 issue run.
Bu, you seem to have made a mistake in LAyala and teh lands of After. Yiou accidently made LAyla the star of this issue, rather than the grandfather.
It is okay, we all mistakes, The comic turned out fine. Just thought you would want this brought to your attention. The grandfather has such star power, you clearly intended him to take the show.
Jack
Very glad you're enjoying the books, Jack. And be on the lookout for THE ADVENTURES OF LAYLA'S GRANDFATHER #1—coming soon! (To be followed by THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF BORIS THE CAT!)
DeleteI am actually going to have to disagree here Dematteis, there is no great American novel, because the truth is that it is the modern great American Saga, as defined by five books.
ReplyDeleteThose books are, of course, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, The Man the Grey Flannel Suit, On the Road, and of course To Kill a mocking bird.
The 1920s is considered the first modern decade, so that is where we will have to start. And to back that up, other candidates for the GAN like Huck Finn, Moby Dick, The Red Badge of Courage, and Uncle Tom;s Cabin are certainly well deserved classics. However, the times have changes so much since they we written, it almost feels like novels from other countries. Relevant for their humanity, but still somewhat divorced from the modern American way.
One of the constants in the Great Gatsby is how money fails to buy happiness, and how the wealthy can chew up and use others for their own good, Seen with the man who took Gatsby under his wing, Daisy's treatment of Gatsby, and of course Myrtle.
Now, one of the problems I have always had with this book is, while well-written, it seems to hurt these points through the usage of Nick Caraway. Who on one hand seems like his passiveness is as destructive as the rest, but never seems to quite hit the mark.
However, that failing actually is informed by the Grapes of Wrath. This mentality is what ultimately led to the Great Depression, which of course when the Grapes of Wrath takes place.
It is about the losers and underdogs of society hold strong even when times are tough, and the world seems like it is falling apart. Of course the famous speech at the end signifies the spirit of humanity as defined by standing with and for others. Showing that these people, when they have nothing else, find there best selves.
Continued (by your hero, Jack)...
The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit and On the Road are rarely considered in the running for Great American Novel, but both show a unique;y American element. With parallel outlooks.
DeleteBoth books star somewhat stand in characters for the author, who are of similar age to each other, and despite living in the booming time. Both feel unfulfilled, and both have a strange sense of nostalgia.
You a re probably saying, "wait, I am a hippie, I read ON the Road, I don't recall any nostalgia."
The whole Nomad lifestyle was inspired by Dean Mor-i-ar-ty. Who was based off the real life Neal Cassidy. A man who spent his childhood in the Great Depression living in the gutter with his alcoholic father. Kerouac nostalgia for a life he never lived, and from a man who romanticized a kind of messed up childhood.
Kerouac was doing what the Joad;s and millions like them did, except without the desperate need., He knew he would always find work.
In The Man ion the Grey Flannel Suit, the main character is nostalgic WWII. Not the killing, but the excitement of jumping out of a plane as a paratrooper, and how life was more exciting with the specter of no knowing.
Of course, Kerouac eventually became a bitter alcoholic, chasing a non-existent dream, and cosplaying as a hobo. Where as in The Man i the Grey Flannel Suit, he stops yearning the past, AND rejects consumerism, and decides to focus his energies on his family, which if curse leads us to To Kill a Mockingbird.
Continued...
Going form the focus on family for meaning, at eh end of The Min the Grey Flannel Suit, To Kill a Mockingbird takes that to the next level.
DeleteIt is using one's status to help fix moral ills, to higher concepts than the everyday, even if fruitless. The exact opposite of how status was used in the Great Gatsby.
I would argue that America or Americans are always somewhere on this scale.
Now you can write "the Great American pulp"
Jack
I'll give it my best shot. ; )
DeleteI am sure it will be hard for you this time of year.
DeleteNot because of a lack of talent, but since summer is getting closer I am sure your mind will be wandering back to your childhood on the farm in Brooklyn. Remembering the old tire swing at the crick. or watching the fields of grain become a wave as the warm summer breeze hit them form the west. or how the fireflies would come out and take control of the empty skies as the sun dropped below the crops.
Classic farm-boy nostalgia. Those vivid rural memories will be hijacking your brain, and slowing your workload for the next month.
Jack
Indeed.
DeleteAnd here I thought this was the Great American Novel...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tedagame.com/zak-site/Great-American-Novel/Great-American-Novel.html
If I remember correctly, I am the one who hipped yo to that groove,
DeleteWhile an interesting idea, when they cut out what is now more than half of an ongoing series it becomes hard to square the circle.
Jack
I just linked to that as a joke.
DeleteAs did I.
DeleteWell...that and to take credit for the refrence. Obviously.
Jack