COMICS: UNENDING APPROACH TO RANTING

Apparently day before yesterday, I got my first “fan mail”. He stated that like me, he was a rant writer. And he really wants to know where I get my writing influences from… hmmm well my friend, there are three probable ways why I write the way I do:

1.I think like Lord Conwallis. (a lot)
2.My mother dropped me when I was a kid, or most importantly
3.I read a lot of comic and graphical novels

I know what you all are thinking… how does that contribute.. Well gimme a sec to explain:

I can recall the first time I actually bought 1. It was an invincible hulk issue. After reading through it, I could not but marvel at how much a single picture can represent. (I was 10). I started regularly buying other comics and graphical novels. My dad didn’t support this idea. Not because it had gore and violence beyond human understanding, but because it is really expensive in Middle East. Frustrated, I started enjoying tv again as much as I did before. On a monthly quota to buy a comic, one occasion I couldn’t find any of my marvel and dc heroes of which I usually used to reed, I asked the sales man and all he said was “barrah!”(out, of stock). I was a bit old now (13) and thought anti depressant was the only downhill course, until I turned back and saw an extraordinary cover for any comic I had faced till then, it was called “SANDMAN” and that’s when I stopped complaining….

If you actually believe the comic book depiction by Samuel “Shaft, Mace Vendal” Jackson in Unbreakable, your wrong! Comic books do not pass generational information form one set to the other; neither do they actually show the true fight b/w good and evil. What comic books do to you is to show you a world which you (in normal senses) could not have come up with. According to most comic book readers and fanatical bastardo’s, it is exactly what lies between a book and movies, except with a lot of attached creativity. What they mean by this is: for eg. I can become a director; I can even with a bit of extraordinary luck become an Author. But in no hells way will be able to achieve the notion which is a “comic writer/pencils/etc” that’s not the whole point though. Most Mature comics are so deceptive that you will remain astounded by them for a long spell of time. That’s probably why most comic books have no “starting” and “ends”, rather it comes in phases and by gods grace it never does stop. Most comic books which do make it to the international scenes have to be “really good”, even known Comic Writers, have to give into start from “low phase” thus making it impossible for a comical fuck up. Another thing which you will be flabbergasted by is that, even if the same characters are used by a different writer, you will never get the same “feel”. A book makes you use your imagination, a movie/serial/etc uses visual ness. A comic uses your visual imagination….

Over My life 5 OF THE BEST ISSUES I will advice anyone to read are:



Rob Zombies introduction

5.Criminal Macabre by Carl McDonald: in this book you will find where “blade/underworld” originated from. Carl McDonald has a complete diffential approach to sketching work. Must check out shit!



The Journalist of the Decade

4.Transmetropoliton by Warren Ellis: This is about spider Jerusalem. A journalist when the world really does turn shit. Absolute stunning commentary and politically patronising! Recommendation: Tales of the human waste.


IN FLESH!

3. Lucifer by Mike Carey: a lot of Sandman originating have there own series now, but none as good as Lucifer. Carey shows Lucifer how I and a lotta other people will remember him till death. Brilliantly outlaid, unprecedented approach and influenced me on keeping his name. (in Indian subcontinent, you will not find these, try downloading a few)


DREAM
2. Sandman: I actually read the sandman’s ending and lord of the rings book together, at the same span of time. Though I really do like l.o.t.r and think it’s a wonderful piece of work. Dream made Gandalf look like a chester eating cheezshit. Incomparable stuff.




1. Inferno by M.C: I picked this book up as it was written by one of my fav’s. I didn’t bother reading it at first, but when I finally got around it, I coudnt not sleep that night or the next one. This book contains within itself all what makes comics so important to many people. The whole books in black and white.. which really does add to its "hellish" effect.

It would be an understatment to say that what these guys have achieved by writing comics have been just to influence me.. its way much beyond that. To get a flicker of the amount of ceativity that goes into producing a single 23 page comic, or even one page is more than my head can handle. its beyond my reaches.. prob. most of the ppls!