Self-Promotion Dept. - I was a fan of the great American art of the
comic book before I could even read the books myself (and I could read
before most kids my age could even identify all of their letters).
Frustrated by a string of setbacks with my movie projects--the story of
my life--I've launched a pair of comic-related Facebook groups in the
last few days.
Prolific and pulpy, unapologetically eccentric, wildly
imaginative and, frequently, gloriously mad is the work of Bob Haney,
writer of comic books. In a career that spanned over 50 years, Haney
wrote an astonishing array of tales in nearly every genre, their quality
ranging from madcap masterpieces to hacked-out-for-pay mush. He put in a
very long run on "The Brave & The Bold," including the bulk of its
particularly fine incarnation as a team-up-with-the-Batman book, when it
was a key work in returning the Caped Crusader to his darker
crime-fighter roots. He's a co-creator of the Teen Titans, Metamorpho
the Element Man and many others. His work touched nearly every major DC
Comics character. And he is spectacularly underappreciated for all of
this. So I've set up "Haneyverse: The Brave & Bold Worlds of Bob Haney," something of an effort to give the Haney his due.
Last week, Marvel launched AGENT CARTER, their first female-led
screen adaptation. In the midst of the current boom in comic book
movies, I've frequently griped about the sparcity of superheroines who
have made the leap from page to screen (including here), and parallel
with the new show, I launched "Supergals: Heroines & Villainesses of Page & Screen." Not just those who go from
page to screen, by any means. Besides just being a great, rich subject
and a place people can use to rave about it, I have some more personal
reasons for starting it--nieces, cousins, girls and women in general and
others in particular.
If either interest you, come by and join in. The more the merrier.
--j.
