Originally published May 1, 1998, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1276
Assorted stuff…
Okay. Here’s the scene. Identify it.
Some puzzled people scratching their heads, saying, “I know we forgot something… what was it… lemme think… it’s something just nagging at the back of my mind…”
And suddenly one of them shrieks with alarm, “KEVIN!”
Is it:
A) Catherine O’Hara in an airplane in Home Alone?
B) Matt Damon and Ben Affleck after the Oscars?
Either answer is acceptable, but in this case I was specifically referring to (B). As the two winners for the screenplay of Good Will Hunting thanked a whole buncha folks for their Oscar win, they became naggingly aware that they were forgetting someone. And I was sitting there saying to the screen, “Kevin Smith. You’re forgetting Kevin Smith.”
The Clerks writer/director, you see, was responsible for taking the film to the head of Miramax when low-level readers had already passed on the material (because that’s what low level readers are paid to do. They’re not paid actually to assess marketability or even really read if they don’t feel like it. A couple of studio readers passed on Sachs & Violens claiming that it “was just like Barb Wire“… indicating that they hadn’t even bothered to open the comic book since the two series are nothing alike.) With Smith, Good Will Hunting doesn’t get made… or at least doesn’t get made at this particular point in time.
You’d think that, since they were up for writing, they might have actually written something to have in front of them.
* * *
I received the following question, passed on to me by Michael Doran of the online news service “Newsarama.”
My question is: What do writers owe to their fans? I have followed Aquaman and The Hulk for as long as Peter David has been writing them. I have put hundreds of dollars and a bunch of hours into following Mr. David’s work, only to have him leave both titles abruptly, without explanation, save a flimsy “creative differences”. I feel let down and disappointed. Now I understand that these are comics and business sometimes goes this way, but aren’t the fans entitled to some kind of decent explanation?
Thanks,
George P.
Michael asked me to respond. I did so, with the following which I decided was worth reproducing here as well in the event that George’s sentiments were shared by others. And what I wrote was:
Wow. What an insensitive question.
No, in point of fact, fans are not entitled to “some kind of decent explanation.” For the money that fans invest in my stories, they are entitled to me giving it 100% every time out and the best possible stories I can tell. There ends the obligation to the fans. Everything beyond that is my business, and how much I choose to say or not say hinges on my desires, not the interest of the fans in finding out what’s going on.
Jack Kirby, a man who was synonymous with Marvel, went to DC, and the entirety of the explanation we received was that it was something that Jack wanted to do, and that was that. Disagreements with Stan Lee, behind the scenes arguments, creative frustrations, none of these were for public dissemination. And we, as fans, accepted that without question.
The timing of Aquaman and Hulk is unfortunate, I agree, but the bottom line is that I worked for four years on Aquaman (longer than any writer I can think of offhand) and I spent half my adult life writing Hulk. And I would have stayed with either or both if circumstances would have allowed me to tell, as stated above, the best stories that I could tell. But in both instances I was getting editorial directions that were self-contradicting and confusing, or downright (I felt) wrong. I did, in my column in CBG, give a more detailed explanation as to my leaving the Hulk, and I did so because I felt that not doing so would be remiss. If the reader chooses to read more about it so that he can perhaps sate his curiosity, he’s welcome to do so.
In the meantime, if fans want to avoid such problems, then I suggest they rally behind Supergirl and Young Justice, because the bottom line is that if sales are strong, you’re left alone.
* * *
Since it’s Passover as of this writing, I decided to kick back with the kids and watch The Ten Commandments. Been quite a while since I’ve seen this three and a half hour film. Sheesh. Give me a pair of scissors and I could whack that sucker down to two, two and a quarter hours without breaking sweat.
Now if you want to see a true, quality Passover film, the best one I can recommend is Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Yes, Thunderdome, the third and (currently) last Mad Max film, is basically a retelling of the story of the Jews’ liberation from Egypt. Consider the fundamental parallels (and we should note that I’m giving away the ending of the film, but it’s been out a while so it’s hardly a major calamity):
(Can’t recall if I’ve discussed this before; I might have. If I have, so what. It’s the season for it.)
Moses, falling out of favor with the ruler of Egypt after killing a task master, is sent to wander the desert. Foretold as a savior of the Jews who will bring them to the Promised Land, Moses returns to find himself once again in conflict with the ruler. He brings Egypt to its knees, goes on the run with the Jews, is pursued by the ruler and his minions, winds up parting a sea of water with his staff to escape, and gets his followers to the Promised Land but never gets to it himself. And the story of this is constantly retold as part of oral tradition, called a Seder, so those who had been saved will remember where they came from.
Mad Max (Mel Gibson) falling out of favor with the ruler of Bartertown (Tina Turner as Aunty Entity), after killing Blaster, half of Master-Blaster the task master, is sent to wander the desert. Foretold as a savior of a group of youngsters who will bring them to Tomorrow Land, Max returns to find himself once again in conflict with Aunty Entity. He brings Bartertown to its knees, goes on the run with the youngsters, is pursued by Aunty and her minions, winds up parting a sea of vehicles with his car to escape, and gets his followers to Tomorrow Land but never gets to it himself. And the story of this is constantly retold as part of oral tradition, called a Tell, so those who had been saved will remember where they came from.
If they make another Mad Max film, maybe he can find a way to have a candle burn for eight days.
* * *
DC Comics should be commended for the dignified, and yet not-too-solemn, memorial service held for Archie Goodwin on April 7. Probably the best Archie anecdotes were told by Walt Simonson and Jo Duffy. I was going to repeat them here since I figured that–by telling them in public–they were now public domain. But I’ve since decided that they’re really Jo’s and Walt’s stories to tell, in their own words, and so will not undercut them.
The moment that probably got the most silently startled reaction was when an older man with graying hair walked up to the front to speak. There was momentary puzzlement since most of the folks in my general area clearly had no idea who this guy was. He stepped forward and said in the microphone, “My name is Jim Warren…”
Surprised the hëll out of us. I’ve been in this industry for about fifteen years now, and I’ve never seen the founder of Warren Comics. Gave a very polished presentation.
* * *
Of all the publishers and lines that have collapsed in recent days, the one I mourn the most is Jim Valentino’s Shadowline. A Touch of Silver was a wonderful series and deserved to be up for every award that currently exists. A retailer sent me a newsletter of his in which he raved about the quality of the title and then added, “Too bad I can’t give it away.”
Ultimately, fans wind up getting exactly the comics they deserve. Kind of the same reason why SF films are reaching increase incoherence, as recently evinced in Lost in Space. When fans make illiterate tripe like Independence Day and Stargate into hits, what else should one expect?
* * *
The Green Lantern BBS column seems to have gotten a lot of reaction. Good. However, I should mention one behind-the-scenes aspect of it.
One of the “postings” is from “Hellison.” That posting was actually written by Harlan Ellison. I told him about the column, he thought it was great, and I invited him to come up with a posting as if he were a typical 1959 comics fan. And he came up with the nutty entry, including the totally non-sequitur, “There is only one George Washington. There is only one Abraham Lincoln. There is only one Marx Brother.”
Actually, it’s gotten such a good response, I’m curious: Are there any other suggestions for great moments in comic history, which predate computer boards, that you guys would like to see subjected to the BBS treatment similar to what this column gave the Silver Age Green Lantern? Let me know.
(Peter David, writer of stuff, can be written to at Second Age, Inc., PO Box 239, Bayport, NY 11705).
• 
Kevin Smith has jokingly referred to that moment himself several times over the intervening years, either at QnA’s or on some of his legendary podcasts.
.
When it came to his most recent movie (Red State) Ben Affleck got his hands on a print of the movie, but didn’t send a reply saying he’d seen it or what he’d thought of it. So Mr. Smith fires off an email asking him what was up. Apparently Ben had sent a reply, which got lost in the mail, but could be summed up by Well of course I liked it, I stole half the cast for my own movie, didn’t I? Smith once again brought up the Oscar thing – couldn’t you at least have written something we could stick on a poster, mister oscar-winning writer? Since even Tarantino had done this. (“I love this movie” – Quentin Tarantino)
.
So Affleck fires off his movie quote “I love this movie more than Quentin Tarantino” – Ben Affleck.
I’ve watched THE TEN COMMANDMENTS again last year. As a staunch non-believer, I think my reaction is very different from somebody immersed into Jewish/Christian mythology from an early age.
For once, I was struck by own cruel and inhuman God is. Even the Jews, the good guys, seem more scared of God than anything else. And that’s a movie portraying God as a benign force! But God kills innocent children! Yes, He really does. The Egyptians keep slaves, so God’s vengeance will strike their kids. Real logical of God’s.
I remember that I got into an argument online one day with a hardline Christian, because I said God as portrayed in that movie was worse than Cthulhu. Cthulhu is inhuman but remote and uninterested in humanity. He isn’t actively malevolent. The Christian God is a manipulative entity that appears cruel to his followers and positively sadistic against his followers’ enemies.
Here’s another thought: God used terrorism to release the Jews. Yes, I said it, God is a terrorist.
It might be worse than that, Rene. We’re told that Pharoah was prepared to concede that point several times, and that divine will hardened his heart against that decision each time.
It reminds me of Jim Gordon’s comments about FDR in The Dark Knight Returns: “It was too big. He was too big.”
That won’t make the events any more acceptable. It probably doesn’t provide much comfort either.
And moving ahead to a later story in the Bible– Samson could be considered a suicide bomber.
Wow, someone doesn’t like script readers. I can’t speak for others, but when I was doing it, I always read the material carefully and assessed its marketability. I even recommended Howling Mad one time.
Speaking of Thunderdome, I heard “We Don’t Need Another Hero” on the radio the other day, and it struck me how odd that song is when taken out of context, 27 years after the movie came out. What do kids today get from it?
“All the children say, ‘We don’t need another hero.'” Okay, it’s a song about disadvantaged kids or something.
“We don’t need to know the way home.” That’s kind of poetic.
“All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome.” Wait, what?
So, we’ve got Smith to “thank” for unleashing Damon and Baffleck on an unsuspecting public? Add another entry to my list of his crimes against humanity. (Why do I feel like Sheldon with his 5.25″ floppy disk “mortal enemies” list all of a sudden?)
–Daryl
I think the movies Affleck have been directing of late have been outstanding. For that, I guess I have to thank Smith!
No, in point of fact, fans are not entitled to “some kind of decent explanation.”
OK, I get that. But what I read from George P.’s letter is his disappointment at not being able to read your work after following for a while. I don’t recall where things were in Aquaman and Hulk when you left, whether the departure was “abrupt” and/or mid-storyline.
But I can certainly understand the disappointment when a plot thread that’s been being developed clearly isn’t going to be continued by a new writer (“For a year I’ve been following this building sub-plot with Betty and now I don’t get to find out how it ends??”).
So, probably because his comments weren’t aimed at me, I saw it as less a complaint that he didn’t get behind-the-scenes info than an expression of frustration at no longer being able to read your work on those characters (a compliment of sorts).
The part that always bugged me and made ME want to be treated with some sense of obligation from a creator isn’t when a creator leaves but when the new one comes on and basically says “ok, all that stuff you read was a) crap b) wrong or c) both of those”. I get wanting to telly our own stories but there’s no reason to basically come off as insulting those who’ve been fans for years (decades even) for ever liking it.
How bad of me is it that the only thing that struck me about “Good Will Hunting” is that nobody taught Matt Damon how to mop a floor. It reminded me of my first job at a fast-food place when I was sent out to mop the floor after closing and flopped out the wet mop without squeezing out the excess water first and got yelled at by the boss.
Your own memories of that movie may vary.
Oh the irony of considering a Mel Gibson film to be even a bit Jewish.
I hate to contradict you, Peter, BUT…
Max doesn’t fall out of favour with entity after killing Blaster. He falls out of favour with Entity for _failing_ to kill Blaster, as he promised he would do.
This said, before I reead it, I thought this colums would point out the similarity between the ending of the first Mad Max movie, and the story Rorscharch (spelling ? I may have taken that test a few times, but I still don’t know the right spelling of the name) tells to his shrink about the child killer. Note that later on, part of that story was then told by Sipowicéz to his future wife in an episode of NYPD Blues.
And yes, a Mel Gibson film being a bit jewish is as ironic as Charlton Heston doing a movie like Touch of Evil, and later on becoming the head of the NRA. The saying must be true: “Political views are like crossing a street. First you look to the left, then you look to the right.”