I recently decided to have some of my Marvel comic books out on my shelf where I can see them. I found The New Mutants title to be the only one that still resonated with me in some way. The focus on young adults dealing with their special abilities and oddities as a metaphor for puberty and rites of passage fulfills the fantastic reality. Without clear-cut villains The New Mutants dealt with psychological problems, usually battling inner demons.
The Bill Sienkiewicz drawings ,are unlike any other comic at the time, filled with emotion and transcending panel conventions. The drawing after Seinkiewicz leaves the team gets almost as bad as the torrent of recent Marvel Hollywood debacles.
So much to be said of a nation by what its cinema portrays during wartime. Naturally days like these find us all sincerely contemplating the attributes of the true hero and the qualities of rightful modern leaders.
For one example of a true American hero check out William Klein’s Mr. Freedom. Made in France in 1968 on a budget that seems to have taken pay from the sound guy and given it to the art direction, resulting in a truly unique visual experience vividly emerging from the era to later inspire music videos by New Order and Beck. Unlike the typical superhero, Mr. Freedom is opinionated and honest without a secret identity crisis. It appears Mr. Freedom has no specific superpower and his costume is a baggy ad-hoc assortment of sports wear. Nonetheless he follows through with the mission keeping only one thing on his mind: FREED-DOM!
Sunday May 4th Thomas Pynchon turns 71 celebration at FreeBird Bookstore in Red Hook
Brooklyn Backyard barbeque and fax-a-thon celebrating America's greatest literary cipher. We'll dine on foodstuffs famously vomited by Gravity's Rainbow's Tyrone Slothrop: burgers, homefries, chef's salad with French dressing, Moxie, after-dinner mints, Clark bars, saltedpeanuts, and "the cherry from some Radcliffe girl's old-fashioned." And yes, we'll be faxing birthday greetings to the great elusive one via the miracle of outmoded technology.
Younger Brother of Republican Hopeful Dennis Kucinich. Perry was plagued by a life of difficulties after a mental breakdown in the late 70's where he attempted a bank robbery. Perry was found dead in his apartment in December of 2007. This is some of his artwork.