tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post134971082172349336..comments2024-03-24T07:53:37.246-04:00Comments on J.M. DeMatteis's CREATION POINT: IT'S LEN WEIN'S BIRTHDAY!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-55401634937789474902014-06-25T16:44:17.026-04:002014-06-25T16:44:17.026-04:00I think there's a point, David, when we reach ...I think there's a point, David, when we reach a certain age and stories tend to melt into stories. Everything echoes something we've seen before.<br />Which makes the book or comic or movie that suddenly spins something fresh all the more precious.<br /><br />Everything builds on what's come before in some way. As creators we have to try to bring our own perspective, our (hopefully) unique POV to bear on the material and make even the oldest story seem new.<br /><br />And, believe me, it's not always easy!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-32887435579000935852014-06-25T15:28:13.767-04:002014-06-25T15:28:13.767-04:00I think when we become aware of the forces at work...I think when we become aware of the forces at work behind the scenes, it's increasingly difficult to surrender wholly to the storytelling experience. You begin to see the creator, creation and audience as forces working in opposition rather than harmony. <br /><br />It begins with that first time you realize that you like the Story, but you wish that one thing had been done differently...and if we're not careful, we can reach a point where we enjoy tearing down what we don't like about stories more than experiencing them. (Incidentally, I don't think it's wrong to break stories down for better and for worse, but there needs to be a balance.)<br /><br />I don't think omnipresence itself is an issue, except that twenty movies that feel the same are more obvious than ten. <br /><br />Just to pull an example off the top of my head, we had quite a few movies within a five year span where a villain getting captured was secretly his plan all along, and they were spread across franchises that should feel very different (AVENGERS, STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, SKYFALL, and THOR: THE DARK WORLD). It didn't ruin the films, but it was an odd connection. You never ran the risk of confusing Hackman's Luthor with Nicholson's Joker. <br /><br />On that front, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY looks very promising, in that I think it will have a different feel than the films falling under the Avengers banner. (Also detect a Giffen/DeMatteis JLI vibe.)<br /><br />Time will tell!<br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-80842681974356695162014-06-24T10:16:48.309-04:002014-06-24T10:16:48.309-04:00Well, there IS that, as well, Rick. In action mov...Well, there IS that, as well, Rick. In action movies, especially, the rise of hi-tech has led to a kind of creeping (and very noisy) soullessness. (I've always maintained that one of the reasons the original TWILIGHT ZONE remains classic is that they didn't have access to these kinds of effects. They had to suggest instead of show and play to the imagination. And that's where the sense of wonder is born.) <br /><br />At the same time, I'd think that kids growing up in this Golden Age of Superhero Movies have had their sense of wonder split wide open. <br /><br />Do you think part of the problem is that the geeks have inherited the earth? Fantasy, science-fiction, superheroes are EVERYWHERE. Have they lost some of their magic because of their omnipresence? J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-28992886001190043032014-06-24T06:27:54.745-04:002014-06-24T06:27:54.745-04:00I think there's something more to it. When my ...I think there's something more to it. When my youngest son saw Star Wars for the first time, he fell in love with it. But, he's been surrounded by tech toys, cartoons and shows since before he broke his first Transformers toy. Star Wars is a great series (well, at least the original 3). It created a sense of wonder. Too much of the new stuff is high on tech (or, out-and-out viciousness) and low on emotional resonance. RickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-49248528549402799792014-06-23T13:09:02.276-04:002014-06-23T13:09:02.276-04:00And very few things in life can every compare.And very few things in life can every compare.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-90161317215105262642014-06-23T12:59:53.359-04:002014-06-23T12:59:53.359-04:00There's that sweet spot somewhere between eigh...There's that sweet spot somewhere between eight and sixteen where everything you discover magically becomes yours and yours alone. <br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-84535086777657173882014-06-23T08:31:16.156-04:002014-06-23T08:31:16.156-04:00I wonder how much of that is, once again, context....I wonder how much of that is, once again, context. You talk about the sense of wonder when you were young and there's something to, again, discovering a comic book or a band for the first time, looking out through those eyes of wonder.<br /><br />I'm suspect there are plenty of readers out there approaching today's comics with that same sense of wonder. Nothing will ever do for me what a Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR did for me when I was twelve; but if I was twelve today, it might be some Grant Morrison comic book blowing my mind wide open.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-70847341038867491522014-06-23T06:21:13.435-04:002014-06-23T06:21:13.435-04:00While I date that era from the Green Lantern/Green...While I date that era from the Green Lantern/Green Arrow books, I think the new X-Men set the pace for what followed. It then shifted into a more ambiguous heroic direction again with Miller's "Dark Knight."<br /><br />While comics may have been revitalized, they have lost the sense of wonder they had when I was young. Perhaps that's a necessity of these times where people can effectively run video games and actually be the characters instead of reading about them. Still, I wish it wasn't so. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-66743620266825907782014-06-22T11:14:51.006-04:002014-06-22T11:14:51.006-04:00Sometimes it's hard, if not impossible, to loo...Sometimes it's hard, if not impossible, to look at work in the context of its time, Rick. Sort of like the difference between experiencing the Beatles in real time and discovering them now. Both experiences yield rewards, but being at ground zero when something new and exciting impacts the culture is an experience that can't be duplicated.<br /><br />You're right about that next generation. There was a wave of amazing work in the 70's that kept me, as a reader, continuing with comics at a time when I might have left them behind: GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW, Kirby's FOURTH WORLD (perhaps the one "old time" creator who kept up with, and often surprised, the new generation), Jim Starlin's evolution of Kirby's cosmic comics with CAPTAIN MARVEL and WARLOCK, Steve Gerber's astounding body of work, Englehart's CAP, DOC STRANGE, BATMAN and JUSTICE LEAGUE, Moench's MASTER OF KUNG FU, Wolfman's TOMB OF DRACULA and on and on. Stan and Jack were the Big Bang of modern comics and the Wein generation created whole galaxies within that whirling mass of creativity.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-3773367852601915952014-06-22T08:39:54.529-04:002014-06-22T08:39:54.529-04:00I remember when Swamp Thing first came out. You na...I remember when Swamp Thing first came out. You nailed it. He was, in a sense, one of several artists and writers who started a new generation of books (like O'Neill, and Byrne, in art). They were much more "real-life emotion" driven than the earlier books where gimmickry was used to drive plot.<br /><br />Your stuff reads the next generation, and it logically follows Wein's work. Terrific stuff. RickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-20595043929225583312014-06-15T08:49:03.471-04:002014-06-15T08:49:03.471-04:00No message required, Ken!
Glad you enjoyed the pi...No message required, Ken!<br /><br />Glad you enjoyed the piece. <br /><br />Hope all's very well...and enjoy GeekFest!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-63609010017349334372014-06-15T01:28:25.108-04:002014-06-15T01:28:25.108-04:00Oh, and as for the Jack Benny line...I tend to ask...Oh, and as for the Jack Benny line...I tend to ask people which anniversary of their 39th Birthday they're celebrating...Ken Frieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03619851624308584756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-27668520849461475052014-06-15T01:27:15.354-04:002014-06-15T01:27:15.354-04:00Very nice piece JM, really makes me appreciate Wei...Very nice piece JM, really makes me appreciate Wein even more. I'm gonna see him at the GeekFest here in Las Vegas next weekend...want me to pass any messages along?Ken Frieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03619851624308584756noreply@blogger.com