As with my early influence in animation, likewise I have JUST as strong an example in comics.
I of course had read and collected tons of comics when I was a kid. .It was a passion that I Still carry to this day. More than any other 'art loves' that I have, nothing else comes close. From Ditko and Kirby, to John Byrne, Lee and Silvestri. From Neal Adams to Arthur Adams. Love it.
But even with as many comics as I had gone through, there was one example in particular that comes to mind that had a MAJOR impact on me. That ensured that I would follow SOME sort of career in the sequential arts field.
Way back in 1982, Christmas day...A little punk kid was laying on the floor reading a present that was given to him by a pal. It was a comic book. That comic book was
"DAREDEVIL" # 181.
Story by Frank Miller
Art by Frank Miller
Inks by Klaus Janson
For anyone that knows anything about comics, they know that it is the death of Matt Murdock’s girlfriend. The death of Electra.
In brief, she is sent to kill Matt Murdock’s business partner Foggy Nelson, but cant bring herself to do it when Nelson brings up matt Murdock’s name to her . Specifically saying : “your Matt’s girl”..
She lets him go...And soon finds herself in a battle with the hitman for hire, Bullseye, who has tracked her and wants to take out the assassin that took his place under the Kingpin.
Yeah...the Daredevil movie tries to follow it, and I give it kudos for trying to follow the spirit of the comic. But it falls very short of capturing the drama and emotion that the comic creators hit you with--- with the effect of a sledgehammer to the noggin.
Up to this point, the creators have shown you both the soft side and cold hard killer side of Electra. You FEEL for her as much as you are stunned by the coldness of her assassin persona.
And they remind you of her inner turmoil all the way up to the part where she tells foggy in the cab that she "has been hired to kill you"... (Cold killer side).
And then.......she lets him go, after hearing Matt’s name...(softened side).
You feel for her. as she hangs her head, leaning on the cab. Torn between the two worlds that she finds herself in .
And then you see Bullseye emerge from the shadows, and the fight ensues.
And its brutal. BRUTAL. Again the movie does its best to follow the comic, but when you compare the movie to the comic, its astonishing how "soft and mushy" the fight scene comes off as opposed to the comic. As Electra holds her own for awhile, only to get the crap kicked out of her!
BULLSEYE :"your good kid, But me.....I'm MAGIC."
Bullseye pulls out a game players card, flings it at her---slashing her throat. Not just nicking it (as in the movie), but slashing it!
Bullseye then picks her up, places an arm around her waist as if he’s dancing with her....he's enjoying the hell out of this. Not in an over the top way that the Irish Bullseye plays it, as in the movie. But in a sly and cool
BULLSEYE: ...."and now...for my next trick."
He takes her own
A big splash of Bullseye as he runs her through with her own sai. With a big, greasy smile on his face.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAH!!!
HARSH!
HARSH!
HAAAAAAAAAAAARSH!!!!
And then he lets her go...he puts on a jacket and hat, and follows her as she stumbles off...dying.
Hoping that the one person that she goes to...in these final moments...will be the ultimate in knowledge. Daredevil.
She Crawls to the door, leaving a trail of blood. Matt answers the door, knows immediately who it is. He holds her as she takes her last breath...
a crowd gathers around...and in that crowd a dark figure lights a match to his cigarette....the flame lights his smiling face....Bullseye.
The rest of the comic was a classic battle between Bullseye and Daredevil. With even more WONDERFULL twists, that I wont give away.
when I finally rolled to the end, I remember closing the comic, And just laying there. Stunned. Stunned at what I had just read. Stunned at what I had just seen…Stunned.
I remember gathering all of the Christmas loot under the tree in an orderly fashion (as we were supposed to do), But the only thing I took immediately back to my bedroom, was that comic book. Where I laid on the bed, and went through it again and again. Drawn into the emotion, Drawn into the rage, drawn into the heartbreak, and drawn into the love. Drawn into the (once again) HEART of the story. And this book had it, in spades!
I still have this same comic book. And I still break it out to go over it again and again. And refer to the pacing whenever I need a reminder of brilliance in pacing. And staging. It is an extraordinary comic. And one that I point to as having a huge impact to my getting into this wonderful field. No one does it better to this day, then the creators in comics.
