oz@rlgvax.UUCP (THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ) (03/05/86)
Since I first brought up the comments about CEREBUS and Renegade I have
received some interesting comments in the mail. Most people still enjoy
CEREBUS (something that I encourage by the way) and do find his editorials
to be somewhat annoying. However I haven't received any "letters"
complementary of any of the comics that RENEGADE is currently publishing.
I would like to take this opportunity to comment on that.
Without a doubt the best comic in the A-V line was CEREBUS. I enjoyed
NORMALMAN, I thought JOURNEY was great (but it moved before Deni did) and
liked isolated lines from FLAMING CARROT but was never really able to get
into it. When Dave and Deni decided to split the only thing that she got
of any value (in my humble opinion) was NORMALMAN and that's over now.
On the other hand she has shown a willingness (desperation maybe?) to try
new things and I respect her for that. There is a great difference of opinion
on the merits of WORDSMITH. I happen to enjoy it as a very literary comic
which shows me how a mans enviornment effects his work. The first three
issues moved a little slowly (please, no letters just saying "A LITTLE!!!??)
but issue 4 ties in Clays real world and the world he creates very nicely.
If you enjoy stories about people I encourage you to give issue 4 a chance.
A new entry from RENEGADE is MAXWELL MOUSE FOLLIES. I confess that this comic
has something going for it that will make me try it out that has nothing to do
with the comic itself: I have a THING for New York of the 1930's. If any of
you are familiar with the famous ALGONQUIN ROUND TABLE where the theatrical and
literary wits of the 30's met for lunch and puns (Dorothy Parkers "You can lead
a horticulture but you can't make her think) then maybe you can sympathise with
my compulsion. Be that as it may MAXWELL MOUSE is set in NYC in the 1930's.
Max is a mouse that looks somewhat like Clark Gable and opens a night club in
Times Square. The whole thing reminds me of a Judy Garland, Micky Rooney
movie and I think it is dreadfully wonderful. Remember my mentioning that I
occasionally need comics which can be best described as "fluff?" Well this
has the potential to be one of my top "fluff" comics. Check it out if you are
in the mood for bad lyrics, "the show must go on" mentality and the feel of
the old grade "B" movies.
In the more serious vein Deni also chose to publish a terrible comic called
MANIMAL. I feel that Jerry's comments on it more then surfice to tell you
how bad it is. My family tree was destroyed by the Nazi Germany and as such
I have a tendency to cheer any anti-Nazi comic. This one deserved no cheering.
There was one part of it that was quite thought provolking and that was the
afterthought that Jerry mentioned. I cannot ask you to buy this comic just to
read this afterthought and so I shall (Deni forgive me) reprint it here. In my
opinion it is worth reading. However this is the end of my message, so if you
aren't in the mood for this type of "heavyness" feel free to move on to the
next message.
Thanks for listening,
OZ
===============================================================================
MANIMAL: AFTERTHOUGHT
Surely, if Nazis had not formed themselves, we would have had to invent
them.
Seeing Jack Palance do Atilla the Hun while speaking his unique brand of
English can be amusing and entertaining, but his loping off a burgher's
head depends more on the special effects man than it does on the act itself
to give us that special inner chill of fear.
With the Nazis it's different. There is no symbol more stark than the
swastika. This crooked cross guarantees extra sales simply by occupying
the larger space on a paperback cover. To a diminishing number of our
populace, its meaning is visceral, instinctive. They were there. To
others, it is the fear of the child, who, though untouched by lightning,
reacts to the response of the adult who has been scarred by it.
Nazi memorabilia has seen a brisk international business that has gained in
popularity and diversity since war's end. Memoirs by Luftwaffe pilots,
sub-commanders, and high-ranking party members are published by the
hundreds and avidly consumed.
Fiction abounds with them. Nazi doctors have supplanted mad Frankensteins
in our more innocent escapism.
Movie wardrobes are cluttered with weapons, uniforms, cars, tanks.
Adrift in this contemplative sea of Nazi memory, history fiction,
collectors, neos, quasis, etc., is a small particle of small dimension,
indeed MANIMAL.
Its title is clever. As an opening to, hopefully, more intelligent
consideration. MANIMAL wasn't bad.
As it stands, it is inadequate and obvious. It is simplistic and panders
to the kind of catharsis all revenge-motivated fiction achieves: plenty of
gore and little substance.
But then, perhaps the subject is too big for all of us. The numbers are
too big. Millions killed, displaced, maimed, tormented.
Here, at least, I chose the numbers, the place. Here at least, I chose the
fate. This is not the story of Bishop Trifa, who lived in New Jersey,
respected by his flock and untouched by his past. The murders of thousands
of children deserved something more that that.
In my world, Black blows their Goddamned brains out.
I felt better for that.
But the victims, the ghostly shadows, the backdrops for all this popular
junks, deserve something more that MANIMAL.
I dearly wish I could have given it.