The Writing on the Walls
An Interview W/ Daniel Schaffer
MAD- www.nwowatcher.com
1/31/07

“The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why I didn't get more meat, I'll just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where I've hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?”
-Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
-Arthur C. Clark

I’ve got a bad habit. It’s one which I’ve had since a very little child, and first set forth on the voyage of self discovery in my pre-pubescent adolescence. It’s a habit which sometimes made school very difficult as I was often preoccupied at my desk, and would have to go to the nurse’s office or detention just so I could partake in this habit with a little more privacy and comfort. It’s never good when someone walks in on you during the course of your habit, because even if it only takes you five or ten minutes to finish, it can really break the mood and divert your attention. The consuming nature of this infatuation has led to many long nights under the covers, alone in the dark with a flashlight, losing hours of sleep as my devotion to the habit grew, and grew, and grew! In my adult life, my habit has cost me a small fortune, on dark corners and beneath flashing neon signs, but my habit usually repays me in the end if I only promise to take good care of it. Most of the time I put my habit inside a tight, protective sheet of plastic, so I don’t accidentally get anything stained or wrinkled in my clumsy excitement. I’ve spent a good deal of time in hotels entertaining this habit, as they hold conventions for people like me every few months so we can get our dirty, dirty fix. No, I’m not a sexual predator or pervert like you’ll find on Dateline NBC. I’m…. a comic book collector.

While I’ve taken a small deal of criticism from so called “intellectuals” (jocks and pompous egotists) over the course of my years, I’ve been an avid reader of comic books since I was four years old. Starting out, as many children do, with the mainstays like Superman, Spiderman, Green Lantern, and Captain America, and moving up the ladder in my teenage years to such acclaimed works as ‘Swamp Thing’, ‘V-for Vendetta’, and ‘Watchmen’ by Alan Moore. The superb craftsmanship of Frank Miller comes to mind, with his atmospheric and suspenseful crime noir styling, or the awe inspiring dreamscapes of Neil Gaiman and his ‘Sandman’ series (Gaiman even went on to write multiple New York Times best selling books, including one of my favorites, ‘American Gods’).

Oftentimes, graphic storytelling takes both gentle strides, as well as head long plunges into the realms of philosophy and mythology, history and moralism. Still, to many the comic book has received a somewhat unfair reputation in the mainstream over the years as simply being for children, or lazy, irresponsible folks who would rather live in a fantasy world than in “real life”. It’s only with the recent advent of successful films such as ‘The X-Men’, ‘Spiderman’, or the upcoming ‘Ghost Rider’, that comic books have finally crept out from beneath the beds and moved into their exalted place in the pop-culture spotlight. While film versions of ‘Superman’, ‘Batman’, or even ‘The Crow’ had huge success in the 80’s and 90’s, it wasn’t until wide-spread “industrial magic” came along that Hollywood was finally able to do justice to the unlimited landscape and possibility required from the standard comic book format. X-Men didn’t just happen overnight, it was a process of negotiations and timing which took over a decade before finally becoming a reality. In many ways, the universe(s) of the comic book was just waiting for the technology to catch up, so that the stories could finally be brought to life on the big screen. Computer animation and other advancements in film making might at last begin realizing the unlimited budgets, characters, and situations of the epic Superhero adventure. Like the slow march of the ZOMBIE film, the vast ensemble of characters readily available in the world of comic books and graphic novels are now gaining new ground in the territory of Hollywood film making. Only time will tell if the popularity of these films will be self-perpetuating or if they are ultimately destined to burn-out because of over-saturation.

To those people who still think comics are nothing but mental garbage and childish diversion, I tell them to go turn off ‘American Idol’, put down their Big Mac, and maybe try reading something from Alan Moore, or Grant Morrison. Put down your cell-phone and the new P-Diddy CD you bought at Wal-Mart, and become immersed in some of the works of John Byrne, Eric Larson, Robert Kirkman, Bill Willingham, Mike Allred, Warren Ellis, or Daniel Schaffer, creator of the cult-classic series DOGWITCH. Because, sometimes you’ll find that the best books are not always confined to letters alone.

INTERVIEW BEGINS AT LINK:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=7378.0