TGIF!

TGIF!

Thank God it's Friday!

Alan Moore

Now that we've been introduced to Alan Moore, I'd like to share his rather refreshing view of religious belief and practice.  He believes that spiritual pursuit should be decided by the individual, or that one religion for everybody doesn't make sense.  Everyone is different, and since everyone id different, we each have our own spiritual needs that we should seek to satisfy on our own.  If you don't have much of a spiritual hunger, then just get a salad and a diet coke.  But if you crave exotic tastes, then look into the ancient deities of the Mayans, Inuit, or Roman snake deities.

Moore, as I've said before, is a bit of a weirdo.  As a comic writer he has been incredibly influential on the medium, and has even been called one of the most in important contemporary writers in Britain.  Many of his comics have been turned into films, though you'll notice his name isn't on it.  Why?  Because for him, the movie is something  completely different than the comic, and he wants no part of it and thus, he gives his portion of the royalties to the other contributors.  At least he practices what he preaches.

He supports an open view of reality, religion, and personal values.  He also has some interesting views on the idea of magic and mysticism.  Simply put, magic  is Art.  Magic is manipulation of symbols, words, and ideas in order to change the consciousness of yourself and others.  This is so cool to me.  To think that being a magician is to someone who creates with words, with colors, and with objects what was not before is empowering to me.  I think I will be a magician.

Moore is a fascinating personality because he is at the same time mystical and rational.  He has poetic air bout him that is almost intimidating, yet he has a gentle sense of humor and an open mind that would invite you to join him for tea.  There are many great interviews with him on Youtube and other places, including an 80 minute documentary about him.  Here is a few (10 minutes worth) words from Kevin Smith and friends on the amazing run on Swamp Thing that Moore worked on in the 80s.

 I'll leave you with a quote from the video I linked to in the last article.  As Alan stands on stage a callous version of himself accuses him of having a messiah complex.  He responds:

"Would I have a haircut like this if I didn't?"

See you on the other side

Creators: Alan Moore

Creators

A growing list of influential Artists, Writers, Poets, Filmmakers, and Creatives.

Alan Moore

I like this guy, he's weird.  He's the oddball who cut his name out of the movie adaptations of his works and refused to accept the money for it.  He has weird religious beliefs (more on that Friday), a bizarre dress code, and he thinks comics are the best kind of art (can you guess what I think of him?). Alan Moore is one of my favorite comic writers because he consistantly challenges himself and the medium with complex characters, morally ambiguous stories, and vivid visual storytelling. To keep things brief, I will list off a few of my favorite works by him.

Creators: Mel Brooks

Creators

A growing list of inspirational artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Mel Brooks

Melvin James Kaminsky is one funny guy.  He's the kind of funny guy that I would want to be: someone who can effortlessly put a smile on your face.  And if you google him, it's nearly impossible to find a picture of him where he isn't smiling.  He's won an Emmy, a Tony, a Grammy, and an Oscar through his career.  His life of comedy began in standup, and then like so many others went into comedy writing.  From there, he developed the improv act The 2000 year old man with fellow comedian Carl Riener, and developed the pilot for Get Smart before braking into movies.

Mel has created some of my favorite comedies, and with the amount of awards and honors he's racked up, I'm sure they're some of yours too.

Space Balls (1987):

The beginning of my love affair with Mel came in the year of my birth.  Space Balls was probably the first movie that made me laugh so hard I hurt.  The scene in question, EVERY one with Rick Moranis.  This is the essential send up to Star Wars.  All others are crap in comparison.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Hello Handsome!  Young Frankenstein is certainly a classic in comedy by anyone's standards.  It's one of those movies that people look at you funny if you say you haven't seen it.  As a kid I loved "Put'n on the Ritz" and the catapulted girl to no end.  For the rest of my life, I will expect to hear horses whinny when Frau Blücher is spoken.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

My favorite rendition of the Robin Hood story on film.  It's a hilarious parody of Errol Flynn's The Adventures of Robin hood and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  It has great jokes, Dave Chappelle, Sir Jean Luc Richard, and "Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak in an english accent."

Blazing Saddles (1974)

A beautiful movie about race relations.  "Where all the white women at?"

History of the World Part 1 (1981)

Eagerly awaiting the follow up, History of the World Part 1 is a great excuse to load a movie with anachronisms, sight-gags, and subject specific jokes.  My affection for this movie is likened to my affection for "saucy bernaise," "Count De Money," "nvts," Jesus Jokes, and the greatest dance number inspired by the Spainish Inquisition:

Honorable mention to both versions of The Producers.

He was also Big Weld in Robots.  Class act.

Get to know him if you don't already.

Creators: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Creators

A growing list of inspirational Artists, Writers, Filmmakers, and Poets.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Like spaghetti and meatballs, bacon and eggs, or politics and corruption, the team of Siegel and Shuster is a set of words that just goes together in your head.  And what follows immediately after is there irreplacable contribution to world History in their character: Superman! Not bad for a couple of poor Jewish kids from Cleveland, eh?

Actually Joe was from Toronto originally.  These two guys had a rough go of it starting out in the business because everyone was telling them no.  I'm sure they all felt like the red sox a few years later.

Oh yeah, and originally the idea for superman came from this terrifying comic where a man gets telepathic powers and takes over the world.  Thankfully he gets taken out in the end.  As you might guess, the story was a hard sell, so Jerry kept the name and retooled the concept.

So instead of a Lex Luthor wannabe with telepathy, Siegel made a Samson and Moses hybrid with a Buck Rogers background, and sharp eye looking out for the oppressed.  And then Shuster gave him a circus strongman's tights and briefs with Zorro's cape, and Whammo!  We have the first superhero.  A modern day demi-god with amazing abilities, a secret identity, and a heart of gold.  This was the first step into our modern mythology, which had heaping helpings of the old myths to get it going. 




I love these guys, not only for creating Superman, but for creating a new Mythology for all of us to dream in.  They took the stories they were familiar with, that many of us grew up with, gave it a new context and form, and released it in beautiful 4 color glory.

Thanks Jerry and Joe