The other day I was browsing for upcoming movies and was pleasantly surprised to see that 'Wanted' is going to be released later this month. Having enjoyed the comic, I couldn't wait to check out the trailer online. Like most men, I'm always happy to see Angelina Jolie on screen. Something about her holding a gun does a lot for me.
The trailer started off well enough and for a moment I thought the story might actually follow the comic but I was wrong. From what I could make of the trailer, it seems to be just another action flick like Mr and Mrs Smith. While that may make a lot of box office sense, I'm disappointed to see the loss of a great opportunity. Let me attempt to explain.
First, a small introduction for those who haven't read the comic. 'Wanted' is a six-part comic written by Mark Millar. It begins with a frame of a girl stripping in front of a guy with the narration "This is my girlfriend fucking my best friend." in a very matter-of-fact way. This is followed by several other panels describing other aspects of his life. The gist of it is that he establishes that he is a typical blue-collared guy who never takes a stand against anything no matter what life dishes out to him.
One day, at a diner, a girl introduces herself and tells him that he's got to come with her. And before he can offer an opinion, goes on to shoot everyone else in the diner in cold blood. Virtually kidnapped, he's introduced to a cartel of hi-tech, costumed supervillains (some from parallel dimensions) who run the world (as we know it) behind the scenes with a mafia-style understanding between the main 'families' who have split the continents between them (much like The Godfather).
The head honcho (The Professor) tells him that his father (who abandoned him long back) died the previous day and left him fifty million dollars in cash. The catch, however, is that to get it, he must spend the next 6 months getting trained to "be a man" and in control of his life. He accepts and begins training. This involves getting desensitised to morals, ethics and basically everything that modern society rests on. Beginning with 2 weeks in a slaughter house to rapes and killing sprees. With a standard weapons drill thrown in, of course. Sound good so far?
Millar dishes it out over 6 issues. The internal politics. The conspiracy. The betrayal. The mutiny. And an abrupt conclusion. Back comes the narrator. And then comes the ending. And though I wish I could tell you that, I won't spoil the surprise. It needs to be read from start to finish. A violent ballet that mixes two cult movies: Fight Club and The Usual Suspects.
While adapting it directly to a film would almost certainly trivialize it, I feel a manga-style anime akin to 'Ghost in the Shell' is called for.
(un)Wanted
Groo-vy!
Ever heard of Sergio Aragones? No? Well… here's a short bio. Once upon a time, there was a small boy born in the Spain. But because of the Spanish Civil War (called so because it happened in… you guessed it - Spain!) his family moved to Mexico. The boy grew up drawing cartoons (what else is a kid supposed to do in school anyway) and by age 17, was selling his work professionally. Then, in 1962, having accumulated a fortune of $20, he came to New York… where he ended up working for Mad magazine and, unlike dead heroes, is alive and kicking (or drawing, at least). Among other features, he also did the "Marginal Thinking" cartoons which are printed on the page margins.
But no, this article isn't about him… or about Mad. Its about Groo! Who? Groo the Wanderer! The roaming barbarian, who's as dangerous as a "stampede of cattle… and almost as smart". The quoted description is the most accurate one I've heard. Set in medieval times, the cartoons follow the adventures of a well-intentioned barbarian who always leaves behind a stream of destruction and mayhem. Usually, he's not aware of what he's done. Yet, entire cities and even civilizations have fallen to this one-man demolition squad. But this is no fumbling warrior who wins battles by sheer luck. As a spoof on Conan the Barbarbarian, Groo is a good fighter. And even he knows it. With a battle cry of 'Now Groo does what Groo does best', he has single-handedly taken on entire armies.
So far, Aragones has come out with 12 Groo books. The comedy apart, they can be collected if only for the detail in the frames. Aragones takes inspiration from National Geographic photos for his landscapes, and a single frame can have nearly a hundred characters. Apart from Groo, there is a great selection of other characters who make repeat appearances in the series as well. This includes Rufferto, Groo's dog; Captain Ahax, whose ship always sinks by virtue of Groo coming aboard; a pair of witches who keep trying to cast spells on him and several other memorable characters.
Getting your hands on one of these masterpieces, however, isn't easy. Not all bookstores will have them, and even if they do, it'll probably be lost under a huge pile of comics since not too many people know about them. The good news is that you can order them online from Indiaplaza (www.indiaplaza.in). They may be slightly on the expensive side, but they're worth every penny.
Biggles: new writer; old style.
Recently, I picked up a 3-in-1 compilation of Biggles at an airport bookstore. Titled 'Sky Wars', I felt the same delight as I had when I saw Commando comics on bookshelves. And yes, it was a Euro Books publication again. In a rush, I bought the book. But as I began reading the first story, 'The 13th Tooth of the Devil', something was amiss. Biggles looked the same. There were plenty of cigarettes and drinks. Lots of planes too… but something was not quite right. I looked at the credits page again and spotted the words 'based on characters created by W.E Johns'.
I was disappointed, but decided that it was unfair to "judge a book by the cover" (so to speak). And I'm glad I did. Picking up Biggles where W.E Johns left him, i.e. after WWI as an investigator for the Scotland Yard's Royal Air Police, Michel Oleffe (the new writer) uses the same settings for a host of new stories and does for Biggles what Marvel Comics writers failed to do with 'The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones'.
Oleffe retains every important aspect of Biggles that endeared him to readers. The classic airplanes, the old-time pilot's uniforms, the romance of the RAF in its heyday, the self-assured way in which the men carry themselves, and of course, his buddies, Algy, Bertie and Ginger. And yes, they're all still single and quite eligible.
The plots are good too. The stories themselves have an order, with references made to past adventures. Oleffe does a good job of following WWII and basing stories in that chronology. There's just one hiccup though, and this was one that W.E Johns had slipped up as well… the ageing of the characters. Biggles seems to have stopped aging since Johns last put a pencil to him. But that can be forgiven. What matters is that Biggles lives on!
Indiana Jones - Then, Now, and Again
Ever since I first saw Harrison Ford being chased by a huge boulder through a cave, I've been a die hard fan of the Indiana Jones series. I was therefore delighted to see 'The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. It'd come after a very long wait. In the interim, which lasted nearly two decades, I satisfied myself by reading every Indian Jones comic I could lay my hands on. I think I got them all.
Apart from the comic versions of 'Raiders of the lost ark', 'Temple of Doom' and 'Last Crusade', Marvel Comics also brought out an original adventure series titled 'The further adventures of Indiana Jones'. This 34 comic series had Dr. Jones rushing across the world after various artifacts with whip and fedora. Back then, I enjoyed reading them. Yesterday, when I dug out a few, I was appalled. How could I have ever liked these, I wondered. The stories were okay, but nothing to write about (pardon the pun). The artwork was sketchy at best (sorry again), and the writing was shifty at best. I realized it was because, as a kid, I had imagined Ford doing it all (being an only child, I had a very active imagination and loads of imaginary friends). I think that's possibly why the series sold at all. Kids like me would have a movie running in their minds as we read them. Otherwise, it was all pretty drab. It was a good thing the movie came out first. If I had flipped though a 'Further adventures…' comic, I probably would never have gone for the movie.
Thankfully, Marvel sold the rights to Dark Horse Comics, who published eight original stories over 3-4 comics each, starting with a four-issue adaptation of the 'Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis' computer game. The artwork was much superior to its predecessors and the writing wasn't staccato. These were comics I probably would have been tempted to pick up even without having previously known the character.
The release of 'The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' has brought about the Indiana Jones fervor once more, and while the comic adaptation of the movie was recently released (I don't have this series… yet), there are talks to take the Indiana Jones comic series ahead once more. This time, however, they will be targeted at kids - ages 8-10 I'd guess. Moreover, I've heard that they're going to model it after the 'Clone Wars' series (a la Star Wars).
I have two problems with this. One; I hate the modern straight line approach to artwork that the Clone Wars series has. Two; the content will definitely take a hit. The writing of the previous series (the ones done by Dark Horse, of course) were of a very high quality. They took into account actual history (with respect to the movement of the Nazis), and included a host of other characters, like Marion Ravenwood, Marcus Brody, Sallah, Katanga and Short Round. They built up Indy's liaisons with Marion Ravenwood and Sophia Hapgood. All in all, they were aimed at a 13-18 age group.
While there may be a lot more 8-10 year olds reading comics today than there are 13-18 year old's but will Indy make the same impact on them? After all, remember that most of them probably haven't seen the older Indiana Jones movies. If Crystal Skull is the first one they saw, then they're going to be wondering what the big deal is over this old guy in a old hat and leather jacket.
Recently, a friend who had never seen an Indiana Jones movie before (and she has my sympathies) went to watch 'The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. She remarked that "it was good, but not as racy as 'The Da Vinci Code'." At first, I was completely thrown. I had no idea what to make of it. But then, think about it. Isn't 'The Da Vinci Code' the latest relic-hunting phenomena? And no, National Treasure and its sequel aren't worth mentioning. If someone hasn't grown up with Indiana Jones, or seen the previous movies, can they be converted to the Indy religion? I doubt it. For now, I'm waiting for the new series to hit the stands. Keeping fingers crossed.
