tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post1206337684661017193..comments2024-03-14T08:38:28.518-04:00Comments on J.M. DeMatteis's CREATION POINT: REMEMBERING SIR GEORGE MARTINUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-66062910473397464992016-03-22T12:22:52.533-04:002016-03-22T12:22:52.533-04:00Billy Preston gets honorable mention, since he act...Billy Preston gets honorable mention, since he actually played with the band and was credited right there on the label for "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down": The Beatles with Billy Preston. (No one else ever received that honor.) And of course Brian Epstein, without whom there might not have been a Beatles at all. But it was George Martin who was in the studio with them, actually creating the music, year after year; so, in my book, he gets first claim to the title.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-7004322507666871612016-03-22T00:11:54.623-04:002016-03-22T00:11:54.623-04:00"A fitting tribute to arguably the most solid..."A fitting tribute to arguably the most solid contender for the title 'the fifth Beatle'"<br /><br />This got me thinking, i wonder what Mr. DeMatteis thinks of Billy Preston and other contenders for that title?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-71444768312037952322016-03-19T15:36:33.189-04:002016-03-19T15:36:33.189-04:00It is indeed!It is indeed!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-75215151215899880802016-03-19T15:26:17.255-04:002016-03-19T15:26:17.255-04:00So Julie Schwartz employed the Roger Corman school...So Julie Schwartz employed the Roger Corman school of film making with comic books? That is awesome!Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-2279544961570847362016-03-16T20:16:56.016-04:002016-03-16T20:16:56.016-04:00It's an affliction I've rarely experienced...It's an affliction I've rarely experienced!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-68097757635931537712016-03-16T20:05:16.202-04:002016-03-16T20:05:16.202-04:00Normal? In my experience it is a sickness that a...Normal? In my experience it is a sickness that afflicts men from time to time. It is important to deal with it quickly before it spreads.<br /><br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-88404056205712543032016-03-16T11:48:13.466-04:002016-03-16T11:48:13.466-04:00LOL! A 'normal' day is a thing I've he...LOL! A 'normal' day is a thing I've heard spoken of in legends of old. <br /><br />Oddly enough, the people who achieve this elusive state often complain of boredom! <br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-2521116554702376342016-03-16T11:35:13.041-04:002016-03-16T11:35:13.041-04:00Normal, David? What is this normal you speak of?Normal, David? What is this normal you speak of?J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-15556382600522883882016-03-16T10:53:42.010-04:002016-03-16T10:53:42.010-04:00In a shocking development, I love JMD and Jack'...In a shocking development, I love JMD and Jack's ideas. <br /><br />Prepare yourselves for cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria, and all that. <br /><br />Or...maybe just a pretty normal Wednesday. <br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-18230396086733668822016-03-14T15:22:17.055-04:002016-03-14T15:22:17.055-04:00Then perhaps with the possible Superman:Silver on ...Then perhaps with the possible Superman:Silver on the horizon, the time has come again.<br /><br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-58223480072587479192016-03-14T10:06:44.959-04:002016-03-14T10:06:44.959-04:00I had a similar idea a few years back and, if I...I had a similar idea a few years back and, if I'm not mistaken, pitched it to DC. They didn't bite. <br /><br />Julie Schwartz used to do this back in the Silver Age: He and the artist would come up with a wild cover idea, show it to the writer who would then go home and write the story based on the image. J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-79918247823433557862016-03-13T18:15:18.973-04:002016-03-13T18:15:18.973-04:00Also a possible interesting idea: Artists come up...Also a possible interesting idea: Artists come up with a cover first, then the writers do a story based around what they come up with just seeing it.<br /><br />I think we may have found two great summer events. Best of all they are more akin to Flashback Month than Civil War.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-83115869280904034942016-03-12T10:15:18.343-05:002016-03-12T10:15:18.343-05:00It'd be great to do a whole series of stories ...It'd be great to do a whole series of stories where writers get their ideas from classic comic book covers.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-38888343617767202922016-03-12T07:06:55.926-05:002016-03-12T07:06:55.926-05:00I wonder how many comic writers wrote classic tale...I wonder how many comic writers wrote classic tales based on what they thought would incorrectly be inside from the cover. Or reading a book's back cover for a book, or whatever.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-3988330637049579202016-03-11T17:12:10.985-05:002016-03-11T17:12:10.985-05:00Smart and insightful, as always, David. I love th...Smart and insightful, as always, David. I love the idea of interpreting actual comic book covers vs. the stories inside! Although this takes us off the track quite a ways, I've always loved covers that can open our imaginations and tell stories like that. <br /><br />I still remember the first time I saw the cover to part one of the original Lee-Kirby Galactus Trilogy. One look and I'd written an entire story in my head...and one of these days I'm actually going to write that story!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-85920375519043385352016-03-11T16:10:40.523-05:002016-03-11T16:10:40.523-05:00You bring up an interesting point, JMD. I do wonde...You bring up an interesting point, JMD. I do wonder if being "open to individual interpretation" is less a quality thing and more a character one, if that makes any sense. Less "this version is so perfect that it can never be improved on" and more "this song is so much itself it could hardly be anything else, warts and all." <br /><br />To put it in comics terms, some songs are like actual covers (inviting more possibilities than the product itself can offer) and others are like the stories themselves (delving into specifics in such a way as to frustrate re-tellings). <br /><br />For instance, I can imagine a lot of different stories that could emerge from the image of Spider-Man rising from his grave on WOS 32, but I can only conceive of one KLH. <br /><br />And bringing this back around to Martin, maybe his production work is so detailed that it defies reinvention. <br /><br />I don't have any strong feelings about Beatles covers one way or the other, but I can see similar patterns emerge in storytelling. You think about Superman's origins over the years, for instance, and there's a pretty big difference between even more modern versions like Waid's BIRTHRIGHT and the New 52. <br /><br />But with Spider-Man, creators tend to not just stick to the basics, but the details themselves. The biggest tweaks involve mixing in some of the Romita stuff with Ditko, like having Harry and Gwen in high school with Peter instead of meeting at college. <br /><br />Best,<br /><br />DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-67920577886699018122016-03-11T08:02:59.234-05:002016-03-11T08:02:59.234-05:00I love a great cover as much as anyone else. I pl...I love a great cover as much as anyone else. I played in bands for years and we did plenty of covers along with our originals and the goal was always to bring something fresh to the table, to interpret and expand, not just parrot a favorite song. (And, yes, we did Beatles songs.)<br /><br />I also think it depends on the song or artist in question. You can find versions of Dylan songs that transcend, or at least equal, the original because (for me, anyway) the songs are so open to individual interpretation. The Beatles (for me, anyway) are on another plane. Every once in a while you come across a killer cover, but I've rarely heard one that could touch the original.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-55143884437829690592016-03-10T20:07:47.079-05:002016-03-10T20:07:47.079-05:00The key to a cover is not improving, but rather gi...The key to a cover is not improving, but rather giving one's own spin on it. Johnny Cash had several albums that were nothing but covers, and they were great. They were great because he knew how to pick songs that reflected his own life.<br /><br />Another good example is the song "New York City" by Cub that was covered and made famous by They Might Be Giants. The original was great, but TMBG added a new flair as a group whose history was tied to the city, opposed to the Vancouver based group who wrote it.<br /><br />What's more think about this, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, came as close to perfecting superheroes as possible, then add Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin, Steve Englehart, Roy Thomas, Doug Moench, and Chris Claremont, it would seem everything that could be said with Marvel heroes was... yet you pushed on there. Greatness shouldn't inhibit, it should inspire.<br /><br />You work in comics a realm of taking ideas and adding a spin all your own.<br /><br />And for God's sake, it's the Beatles.. it's not like we're talking the Rolling Stones or the Yardbirds. pffft<br /><br />Jack<br /><br />PS dare to compare.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iteq4e03rj4<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSS_ty5o7x4<br /><br /><br />or <br /><br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4IiP__5ck<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5rVmXyZP5sAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-59108554200902791282016-03-10T16:24:32.334-05:002016-03-10T16:24:32.334-05:00Sounds like a plan, Mike! Thanks!Sounds like a plan, Mike! Thanks!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-86658446626406229772016-03-10T15:56:32.776-05:002016-03-10T15:56:32.776-05:00It's not about matching them. It's about t...It's not about matching them. It's about the crazy joy of being a little toddler singing along with the tunes coming out of Mom and Dad's radio (not that you're musically a toddler, by any means). However, I can understand that while you may joyfully cover them live (whether in public or your living room), the cost and realities of releasing a commercial product has to take into account that anyone who wants to spend money on the Beatles is most likely going to spend it on the actual Beatles. Oh well, I shall keep listening to the delight that is your disc and pop in the lads when I'm in the mood for "Rocky Raccoon."Mike https://www.blogger.com/profile/16694537568347592469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-36626502583660688642016-03-10T15:33:52.612-05:002016-03-10T15:33:52.612-05:00The problem with covering the Beatles, Mike, is th...The problem with covering the Beatles, Mike, is that the originals are so perfect that no one can really match them. Although I DO have a killer arrangement of "With A Little Help From My Friends" that I've been doing for years!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-66267563650685442402016-03-10T15:15:22.490-05:002016-03-10T15:15:22.490-05:00A fitting tribute to arguably the most solid conte...A fitting tribute to arguably the most solid contender for the title "the fifth Beatle." (And I will cherish the joy that is "Strawberry Fields Forever" ...well, forever. And I appreciate your beautiful description of the song, as well).<br /><br />So... when do we get the J.M. DeMatteis Beatles covers CD? :-)<br />Mike https://www.blogger.com/profile/16694537568347592469noreply@blogger.com