QUESTION 1: How much did the text pages, letter columns, bulletins, and checklists add to your comic collecting enjoyment?
QUESTION 2: What is your favorite movie that is not science fiction, fantasy, or comic book related? (Romances, comedies, musicals, biographies, and dramas are all fair game).
16 comments:
I'm just going to ignore that second question; even if you cut out a few genres, there's still too many movies to list, as I really can't say I have an absolute, single favorite (I'd give a similar response to the question of a favorite book).
As for the first question, it's interesting that back when I was a young comics reader, I recall reading all of the text pages, but not giving them much thought - by that I mean I never really considered how much they were enhancing my enjoyment of the comics. But now I realize that they did really add to the entire reading experience. The Bullpen Bulletins and the Direct Currents newsletter in the DC books of the late '70s were really nice features (in the latter, I especially liked the strips by Hembeck at the bottom, and the "Ask the Answer Man" feature by Bob Rozakis). But nothing beat the letters pages. In fact, I think a real drawback of this golden age of reprints we're living in is that most reprint books don't include these extra text features - I think if nothing else, they should always include the letters pages.
Good Morning. I second Edo on text. I strongly prefer a beater original comic, or a repro like Marvel Tales, to the Archives and Essentals without all the text.
2). Meet John Doe, Casablanca, The original Pink Panther, Saving Private Ryan...
Thanks for asking!
I'll third Edo on the text. While a lot of material can be found through reprints which are reasonably priced, you still have to obtain the originals to get those letter pages particularly if you are doing research on the contemporary reception of the book. I know that Marvel in particular faced some criticism in the past, however, because the bulk of the letters printed seemed to have been overwhelmingly positive, and since the early 90's I think there has been a movement to make that more balanced.
I'm a big fan of Hal Hartley, so I'd have to say "Henry Fool" is my favorite of his films. I grew up in Milwaukee watching the Crusher, the High Flyers, and Nick Bockwinkle, so "The Wrestler" ranks up there, too. Others would be, "Beau Travail," "The Night Porter," "Hombre," "Pandora's Box," and simply as a guilty pleasure, "Red Dawn."
The idea of these creative legends all working in the same "bullpen," joking with and bouncing ideas off of each other, was a huge factor in my enjoyment of the Marvel Universe. Not that much of it was true, sadly! And since $$$ was always an issue, that I could follow the general flow of the MU with the Comic Monthly Descriptions played into that as well.
The letters pages were important in that they made me feel like I was part of a community...very few of my friends read the books and it was encouraging to hear others, even adults (!), taking this artform seriously and also getting off on these adventures.
Yoyo
The letters pages gave me a sense of community in comics. There was a feeling you were part of a club and getting the inside scoop.
There are hundreds of movies, but I'll go with Blast from the Past. Its just a fun watch, plus anything with Christopher Walken is great.
The vintage text pages by the likes of Stan "The Man" Lee and the Marvel staff were instrumental in making me a fan of the genre. The ability to make you feel like you were part of something special was outstanding and his jovial and friendly manner (despite the hype) was infectious. Others tried to make the magic happen but Stan and company were the best. I remember Dick Giordano's approach at Charlton was more direct and he was smart enough not to try to evoke a character he didn't possess and that worked, but nothing ever matched Stan.
As for straight movies the masterpiece I adore most is The Maltese Falcon. I could (and do) watch it at least once a year, maybe more. The craftsmanship in that movie just wows me, not a wasted line, not a wasted shot. Casablanca gets all the love from fans, but I think that The Maltese Falcon is a much better and compelling movie.
Rip Off
Thanks for the eclectic and wide range of movie choices already - I definitely need to add some to my watching list. Any recommendations are appreciated for new or old movies. Many mentioned I have to look up to know what they are - that is great. And I always like the guilty pleasure choices.
Yoyo makes an interesting observation about the checklist and descriptions - for the same reason I disliked when they just listed titles and numbers without the blurb. Even if it was a brief description, quip, or name of the villain - it helped me gauge what was going on in what book. Sometimes the little items were quite funny.
The letter pages to me were kind of like these sites except much less frequent and less immediate... but always a must read.
#1 - A lot! Stan's Soapbox, the Mighty Marvel Checklist, letters pages all contributed a great deal to my enjoyment and a sense of feeling like you were in this neat-o club. I loved some of the names of the Marvel letters pages like "Sock it to Shellhead!"
#2 - Wow, so wide open. I'll just rattle off a bunch that I've always liked. For dramas, Godfather I and II, The Deer Hunter and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. For a while, anything with DeNiro or Nicholson could do no wrong by me.
But, I think I actually prefer comedies. You know, the ones you've seen over and over and know (or at least used to know) every line like Animal House, Risky Business. For a more recent one that my daughters turned me onto when they were teenagers (sheesh, my KIDS are already not teenagers anymore), I recommend Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
But maybe my all-time favorite "discovery", which came back in the day of 3 channels on the TV, is the original Bedazzled with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Just love that British humor.
But how can I talk about British humor with mentioning the Pythons - Holy Grail, Life of Brian, etc.
OK, I'll stop now.
Tom
Question 1: I don't think that Marvel would have become "Marvel" without things like Stan's Soap Box, and the letters pages etc. That is what gave Marvel comics their unique personality made them "cool". So, I think that it is a huge loss (for everyone) to no logger have that kind of interaction in this modern age of "comics".
I agree that is a shame that the letter's pages and such are not included in most reprint volumes, but there are some exceptions. Some of the phonebook sized Omnibus volumes of classic Marvel Comics reprints include the letters pages. (At least I know that the Amazing Spider-Man volume 1 does anyway).
Also, the awesome digital DVD ROM comic collections released a few years back by GitCorp (such as 40 years of The Fantastic Four, 40 Years of X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, Captain America, etc. etc.) include the complete comics from cover to cover. That is the ads, letters pages, editorials and everything else in between. Anyone who is a comic fan (or historian) owes it to themselves to track these down. I own all of them myself, and I find them to be an invaluable resource.
Question 2: I am a huge fan of the Martial Arts film genre, and my favorite movie for many years was "Enter The Dragon". I also love "Legend of Drunken Master", "Fist of Legend", and a little movie called "Chocolate", which features some of the most incredible martial arts scenes, and crazy stunts ever filmed.
Also pretty much anything from Jackie Chan throughout the 80's and 90's were some of my favorite movies ever.
Yep, count me into the letters/Soapbox Fan Club. For all the reasons already given. As someone trending towards punkdom, comics letters psges were an entry point into the idea of a shared cultural community.
Not only that, but as a teen in the early/mid 80s, back issue letters pages were informative about earlier debates bouncing around about Vietnam, The Cold War, different worldviews etc. And all in funny books!
#1: Count me in with the crowd- the bulletins, letters pages, even the house ads all made the comics experience richer. As William said, the Omnibus editions have the letters pages, as well as some house ads. And to give credit where it is due: Ryan North and Erica Henderson produce the wonderful "Squirrel Girl" today. They have a letter column, and include fan photos. It's one of very few current comics I read, and I recommend it highly.
#2: That's a big field to plow, but a couple favorites include:
Comedy- "Murder by Death", "Some Like it Hot", "Airplane", anything Python.
Drama- "Key Largo", "Gandhi", "All the President's Men", "The Butler" (yes, I'm a history buff), "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
I agree about the checklists; I always liked seeing what was going on in the comics I wasn't reading. I liked Stan's column generally, and Shooter's was pretty good too. At DC, I always liked the Answer Man, and Giordano's column was good. Jenette Kahn's stuff always seemed a bit dry to me, more businesslike (which makes sense, I guess, since she was a businessperson first and a writer second).
Favourite non-genre movie? Breakfast Club. I've seen it countless times and for a movie supposedly aimed at teenagers, it seems to resonate more and more with me the older I get.
Mike Wilson
Laurence of Arabia, Big Lebowski, or Apocalypse Now.
...and yeah, me too, anything Python!
m.p.
The loss of the letters pages in nearly all Marvel's titles by the early 00's was an "it'll-never-be-the-same-again" realization for me. In their hey-day the letters pages were a whole extra layer of time/enjoyment spent with the book in-hand. But. . . I'm sure they were finally viewed as wasted, non-revenue-generating pages, and thus had to go when times got tougher.
Favorite non-genre movie? Wow-- that's a tough one. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is indeed a fantasy, so it doesn't make the cut (although it's my favorite film ever). Ones I've seen the most times, and still enjoy? We could start with THE THIN MAN and NORTH BY NORTHWEST--- sure, that'll work for the moment!
HB
I always liked "Ask the Answer Man." Q: How many kinds of Kryptonite are there? A: Five. Q: Is Green Arrow ever gonna get his own comic? A: Not likely. Q: Whatever happened to Signalman? A: He was shanked in a prison fight over a pack of cigarettes.
M.P.
Letters pages and Bullpen advertisements are huge for me. It contributes to the entire 12/15/20 cent early Bronze 'experience' for me. I had a dozen or so Marvel Masterworks editions over the years.., but it's still 'the floppy' that does it for me, both DC and Marvel.
Just to be able to open up that glossy paper cover and 'live the experience' from cover-to-cover says it all, quite frankly. I'd say the letter pages do the most for me. There can be a silly story in the particular issue, but some duds are saved by the letters page, following discussions on climatic events from just 2-3 issues ago. Definitely key.
As for non-geek movies..? There's a plenty. 'Love Actually', some of the Beatle films, 'Apollo 13','A Few Good Men' (the only Cruise movie I'd ever watch again..), Charlie Chan flicks, the 'Thin Man' series, the list goes on.
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