STILL AMAZING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

Insight Books has just released Matt Singer's Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular, an oversized art book that takes a detailed tour through Spidey's entire history.  I wrote the introduction and you can read it below.  Enjoy!

I was eight or nine years old when someone—I don’t recall who—showed me an early  issue of Amazing Spider-Man by the now-legendary team of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  I was a massive comic book fan—I became addicted to comics as soon as I could read—but my focus was primarily on the pristine, shiny heroes of DC Comics.  One look at Ditko’s art and I knew that this book wasn’t for me:  To my young eyes the style was weird, dark, disturbing—and the alleged hero of the book, with his eerie mask and bizarre, insectoid postures, seemed more like a monster than a man.  In the name of my own mental health, I avoided Spider-Man, and Marvel Comics, for a few more years.

(Contemporary comic book readers can’t possibly understand how different the Marvel books were in the 1960’s.  DC’s comics—for all their imagination and artistic flair—were squeaky clean:  no rough edges, no raw emotions, nothing messy at all.  If you looked at the early Marvels—spearheaded by Lee, Ditko and the brilliant Jack Kirby—it was all mess:  lurid colors.  Captions screaming for your attention.  Artwork so powerful and primitive it was frightening.  Marvel Comics were dangerous.)

In Junior High School, as Marvel exploded across the newsstands—and as my friends began to rave about this new company that was changing the face of comics—I took my first tentative steps into the Marvel Universe.  I remember standing in the local Brooklyn candy store where I bought all my comics and seeing the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #39, which featured the Green Goblin dragging a bound Peter Parker through the skies above New York:  not the costumed hero but his alter ego, his Spider-Man costume exposed beneath his torn street clothes.  I’d never seen anything like it.

I resisted picking it up then—perhaps some residual fear from my first encounter with Spidey stayed my hand—but jumped in the following month for the story’s conclusion:  I was floored.  Stan Lee’s story was so exciting, so nakedly emotional.  And John Romita, Sr’s art—with his dynamic layouts and impeccable storytelling—was irresistible.

Peter Parker entered my life then and, I’m happy to say, he’s never left.

As much as I loved Spider-Man as a reader—those Lee-Romita days
especially—it was as a writer that I really fell in love with the character.  Peter Parker, as I’ve said many times before, is perhaps the most emotionally and psychologically authentic protagonist in any superhero universe.  Underneath that mask, he’s as confused, as flawed, as touchingly human, as the people who read, and write, about him.  The book may be called Spider-Man, but, mask on or off, it’s all about Peter Parker.  Most of us who have written the character for any length of time completely identify with Peter:  He’s just a regular guy who happens to have these extraordinary powers.  He’s always struggling to do the right thing—and sometimes failing spectacularly.  Take away the wall-crawling and you have a pretty good description of what it is to be human.

In my experience, the vast majority of people are decent and compassionate at heart:  we want to be kind, to do what’s right, to treat others fairly and be treated fairly in return.  And, like Spider-Man, we do our share of failing, of not living up to our own ideals. What’s wonderful about Peter Parker is that, no matter how discouraged he may be, he always picks himself up and tries again; and every time Peter triumphs, it’s a triumph for the human spirit, because he’s such a wonderful example of that spirit at its best.  Spider-Man both mirrors our human weaknesses and inspires us to reach for our highest ideals—and that makes for a truly timeless character.

If I could travel back to the 1960s and tell the kid standing in that Brooklyn candy store that one day he’d be writing Spider-Man in both comic books and animation, building on the classic stories created by Lee, Ditko and Romita, Sr., I’m pretty sure that twelve year old boy would faint dead away from sheer delight.

It’s a delight I think you’ll share as you read this book and take a journey through the web-head’s amazing history.

©copyright 2019 J.M. DeMatteis

AS VAST AS SPACE AND AS TIMELESS AS INFINITY

In honor of The Twilight Zone's 60th anniversary month (it premiered October 2, 1959), I once again offer up my list—first presented here back in 2011—of ten favorite Zone episodes.  By the time I was done, I’d included sixteen episodes, but let’s all pretend it’s a top ten list.  It sounds better that way.

“Time Enough At Last” which is first on the list, is probably my all-time favorite, perhaps because it’s the first one I remember seeing; but, really, the numbering doesn't matter:  they all hold an equal place in my heart, continuing—even after all these years—to echo on in the deeps of my psyche and soul.

1)  “Time Enough At Last”
Written by Rod Serling.  As noted, the first episode I remember seeing—I think I was five or six—and one that’s never let me go.  Burgess Meredith is brilliant as the bookish Henry Bemis:  a man, abused by the world, who’s never happy unless he’s reading.  The ending is the most tragic, and unfair, in all the Zone; but what touched me as a child, and still does to this day, is Bemis’s love of literature and the strange charms of being the only person left alone in the world.  By becoming a professional writer—someone who spends a good part of his life alone with his own imagination—you could say I became a Henry Bemis myself.

2)  “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”/”Nick of Time”
Written by Richard Matheson.  Two classic episodes starring the incomparable William Shatner.  In “Nightmare...”, Shatner gives a career-defining performance as a passenger fighting for both his life and his sanity on an airplane.  It’s a tribute to Shatner, Matheson and director Richard Donner that the first time I ever got on a plane, the first thing I did was look out the window to check and see if there was anything...strange out there on the wing.  In “Nick of Time,” Shatner is equally terrific in another Matheson story, this one delicately, and brilliantly, walking a fine line between the supernatural and the psychological.  And who could forget that bobbing devil-head?

3)  “Walking Distance”
Written by Rod Serling.  “Walking Distance” owes something to the work of Ray Bradbury—filled as it is with a longing for a simpler age of childhood innocence and merry-go-rounds—but the bittersweet soul of the story is pure Serling.  Gig Young gives a heartfelt—and heartbreaking—performance as a desperate man seeking solace in his own fragile past.  As perfect a TZ as was ever filmed, this is Serling at the very top of his game, using the show’s format to explore the human condition with a power and eloquence rarely seen on television, then or now.

4)  “A Stop At Willoughby”
Written by Rod Serling.  A companion piece to “Walking Distance,” this wonderful episode features James Daley—who went on to appear in one of my favorite Star Trek episodes, “Requiem for Methuselah”—giving a superb performance as a businessman longing for escape from the pressures of his life.  He finds it in a place called Willoughby—which may very well be Heaven itself.  Despite hints of misogyny—there are one too many harpy wives in Serling’s work—this is a deeply moving, and deeply magical story, that manages to transform tragic death into eternal triumph.  Many a time I’ve been on an Amtrak train wondering if the conductor would shout out, “Willoughby!  This stop is Willoughby!”  If he did, would I get off?  Would you?

5)  “A World of Difference”
Written by Richard Matheson.  Another Matheson gem, one of the very best of the Zones that question both personal identity and the nature of reality.  Howard Duff is perfectly cast as a man trying desperately to escape an existence he believes is a lie and return to a life that everyone else claims is a madman’s delusion.   The moment when Duff is sitting in his office at work and an offscreen voice yells, "Cut!"—revealing the world we've been watching to be a movie set—is one of the most thrilling and disturbing in the series.   

6)  “The After Hours”
Written by Rod Serling.  Another challenge to personal identity, perhaps to our humanity itself.  “The After Hours” terrified and fascinated me as a kid.  It also had me wondering, every time I passed a department store mannequin, if there was more to them, and to the universe, than met the eye.  That, to me, was the greatest gift of The Twilight Zone:  it exploded safe assumptions and challenged you to look, really look, and discover the miracles hidden just beneath the skin of the world.

7)  “The Purple Testament”/”A Quality of Mercy”
Written by Rod Serling.  This pair of superb episodes, both inspired by Serling’s experiences fighting in the Pacific during World War II, always seemed of a piece to me.  Both are resonant with sorrow, outrage and compassion—and could only have been created by a man who’d witnessed the horrors of war first hand.  “Mercy’s” ability to shift perspective, to let us see war from the enemy’s POV, was a real eye opener to me as a kid.  It broke apart the simplistic good guy/bad guy paradigm that mass media, and our political culture, had been feeding my young, impressionable mind and helped me to understand that all of us—so-called heroes and so-called villains alike—are united by our humanity.

8)  “King Nine Will Not Return”
Written by Rod Serling.  Only Twilight Zone could give you thirty minutes of Robert Cummings staggering around in the desert alone, speaking primarily through interior monologue, and make it a classic.  Cummings, who learned his craft in movies but became a household name as the star of amiable, unchallenging sitcoms, proved that his dramatic chops were still intact with this wonderful portrayal of a man caught between past and future, guilt and madness.  The sand in the shoe at the end was the icing on the cake.

9)  “The Eye of the Beholder”
Written by Rod Serling.  Okay, go to the mirror, pull down your bottom eyelids, push up your nose and scare the hell out of yourself the same way those doctors and nurses scared the hell of you the first time you saw this episode.  A perfect mix of the aural and the visual, “The Eye of the Beholder” is skillfully directed by Douglas Heyes and beautifully acted by Maxine Stewart, who, hidden as she is beneath bandages, gives what is essentially the greatest radio performance in the history of television.  (When the bandages come off at the end, it’s a little disconcerting to find Elly May Clampett underneath.)  Serling loved to rail against conformity and totalitarianism (among other things)—and sometimes the railing overwhelmed the writing.  Here everything is in perfect balance.  Yes, there’s a point to be made, but it’s the humanity of the story that stays with you. 

10) “The Odyssey of Flight 33”
Written by Rod Serling.  A simple, brilliant premise:  a passenger jet lost in time.  What’s amazing about the show is that—despite a few briefly-seen effects shots, some equally brief stock footage and a handful of passenger reactions—the bulk of the story takes place in the cockpit of the plane.  It’s all talk.  And yet Serling manages to make us believe that we’re trapped on that plane along with the crew and passengers, adrift in the timestream—and that we may never return.  That’s called great writing, folks.

11) “Night of the Meek”
Written by Rod Serling.  The great Art Carney as a down-on-his-luck boozer who, on a snowy December night, finds himself transformed into Santa Claus.  Be forewarned:  this is no Tim Allen Disney comedy.  It’s a genuinely moving tale of redemption:  Serling at his sweetest, but not losing his edge, either.  A show that demands re-watching every 25th of December.

12)  “It’s a Good Life”


Written by Rod Serling.  Billy Mumy wishing people into the cornfield.  What more needs to be said?  Just this:  the moment when Mumy’s six year old terror Anthony Fremont turns Don Keefer’s character, Dan Hollis, into a human jack-in-the-box is one of the most chilling moments ever broadcast on television.  And what makes it work is how little we actually see.  Most of what we get is shadow and suggestion, letting our imaginations fill in the horrifying details. 

13) “To Serve Man”
Written by Rod Serling.  Three little words:  “It’s a cookbook!”  Yes, it’s all a little goofy, and there are some obvious plot holes, but, c’mon, “It’s a cookbook!”

14) “Death Ship”
Written by Richard Matheson.  The best of the hour long episodes, “Death Ship” is another Matheson gem that—as Marc Scott Zicree points out in his wonderful book, The Twilight Zone Companion (still the best TZ book out there, if you ask me)—skillfully straddles the line between science fiction and horror.  The performances by Ross Martin, Fred Beir and Zone repeat offender Jack Klugman are uniformly excellent.  This one sends a chill down your spine and pierces your heart at the same time:  an uncommon feat.  But, then, Matheson is an uncommon writer.

There are so many other episodes I could write about—”A World of His Own, “ “Nothing in the Dark,” “The Midnight Sun, “ “The Trade Ins” and “Number Twelve Looks Just Like You” spring immediately to mind—but I’ve got to stop somewhere.  And, since the entire series is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and a number of streaming platforms, you should have no trouble tracking any of them down and losing yourself in the wonders and terrors of The Twilight Zone.

All that said, I’m compelled to mention one more extraordinary episode that was part of the 1980’s reboot of the series.  (I sold my first television script to the 80’s Zone and I really should blog about that memorable experience one of these days.)  The episode, “Her Pilgrim Soul,” written by the brilliant Alan Brennert, isn’t just one of the finest episodes of any incarnation of the Zone—right up there with the best of Serling, Matheson and Charles Beaumont—it’s one of the finest pieces I’ve ever seen on television.  In fact, it’s so good, you’ve got to click on this link and watch it right now.

©copyright 2019 J.M. DeMatteis

KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS

Warner Brothers just announced a project I've been working on since last year:  Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons features the DC Comics mercenary created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez and will, like Constantine: City of Demons before it, premiere as a twelve episode series on CW Seed in the first quarter of 2020.  (There will eventually be a DVD/Blu-ray feature-length release with fifteen or twenty minutes of extra story.)

The series stars The Shield's Michael Chiklis (who also made a memorable Ben Grimm in the Fantastic Four movies) as Deathstroke and is directed by Sung Jin Ahn.  You can watch the teaser trailer below:

A WEE BIT OF SCOTLAND

I just returned from the MCM Comic Con in Glasgow, Scotland where I was one of four U.S. guests (the others were Ron Marz, Bart Sears and Rick Leonardi).  We all had a great time and I can't say enough nice things about the warm and open-hearted Glaswegians we met.  My wife and I also had a chance to tour the gorgeous Scottish countryside and get a sense of the heart and history of a wonderful country.

Rick and I did a panel together, discussing the creative process from both the writer's and artist's POV.  You can hear the audio of our talk below.  Enjoy!

AND NOW THE NEWS

Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd share some news updates from across the DeMatteisverse.

Both the Amazon Book Review and Barnes & Noble chose the collected edition of The Girl in the Bay as a top pick for the fall. Girl—with art by brilliant newcomer Corin Howell—is a supernatural murder mystery with a time travel twist, courtesy of Dark Horse/Berger Books.

June 12th saw the release of Moonshadow: The Definitive Edition, a beautiful hardcover from Dark Horse, collecting the original twelve issue series and its sequel, Farewell, Moonshadow, along with a plethora of extras and a new introduction by yours truly. A review in the Library Journal called Moonshadow "a beloved masterpiece" and went on to say that "this new, definitive edition...is sure to enhance its reputation."

June 5th saw the release of the trade paperback of my recent IDW series Impossible Incorporated, which the Comic Crusaders website called "a head tripping tale of cosmic adventure and exploration...an exciting adventure filled with big, bold ideas." Co-creator Mike Cavallaro and I are hoping to tell many more tales of teen genius Number Horowitz and her team as they continue their journeys across time and space.

November will bring Marvel's X-Factor Epic Collection: X-Aminations, which collects the first part of my run on the book (along with the finale of Peter David's run).

In December comes DC's Scooby Apocalypse Volume Six, the grand finale of our recently concluded reimagining of the Scooby-Doo universe.

The same month will see the release of The Defenders Epic Collection: The End of All Songs, which features the entirety of my 1980's Gargoyle mini-series, one of my absolute favorite Marvel projects.
  
I've got several new comics projects in the works, but they're top secret for now.

Warner Brothers just announced the animated adaptation of Superman: Red Son.  Directed and produced by Sam Liu and written by yours truly, this is the first animated treatment of Mark Millar's classic Elseworlds saga.  The voice cast is headed by the great Jason Isaacs as Superman and the equally-great Diedrich Bader as Lex Luthor.

Season Two of Marvel’s Spider-Man has just kicked off, so keep your eye out for my episode "Bring On The Bad Guys." Spring 2020 will bring my Season Three episode, which is part of the “Maximum Venom” arc.

October 22nd will see the release of Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, which features my DC Showcase: Death short. Produced and directed by Sam Liu, Death brings Neil Gaiman's classic Sandman character to animation for the first time.

Coming soon is my DC Showcase: Adam Strange short, produced and directed by Butch Lukic. It's an unconventional take on DC's classic space hero.

IMAGINATION  101

a three day writing workshop

with J.M. DeMatteis

My Imagination 101 writing workshop will be returning to Kingston, N.Y. November 8—10. It’s a fun, intimate weekend discussing the practicalities and metaphysics of writing comics, graphic novels and animation. The class is nearly full so, if you’re interested, email me at imaginationworkshops@gmail.com for more info.

It's been a busy, and very enjoyable, convention year, with Dallas's North Texas Comic Book Show, GalaxyCons in Raleigh and Richmond, Charlotte's HeroesCon and Atlanta's legendary DragonCon. Thanks to all the fans who took the time to stop by and say hello. It's always a genuine pleasure to meet the people who read, and enjoy, my work.

Just a couple of conventions left in 2019: September 28th and 29th I'll be at the MCM Comic Con in Glasgow, Scotland and November will bring my final convention of the year, the Louisville GalaxyCon, which runs from November 22—24.

And that's the latest news!  And now, here's Jimmy Olsen with the weather...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK!

As I've said before, if it wasn't for Jack Kirby—who was born on August 28, 1917—there might not even be a comic book business today.  Kirby's groundbreaking work with Joe Simon, Stan Lee and on his own continually defined, and redefined, what the medium could be.

Those of us working in this business today stand on the shoulders of giants—and Jack was the tallest of them all. 

Happy Birthday to the King!

BRADBURY 99

Today would have been Ray Bradbury's 99th birthday.  (Read this post if you don't already know how exalted a place Ray B holds in my literary pantheon.)  To celebrate, here's one of my absolute favorite audio adaptations of a Bradbury story:  "Kaleidoscope"—from the brilliant public radio series Bradbury 13.

Happy birthday, Ray!  Your art continues to inspire and the strong beat of your open heart echoes on.