Ron Mann's Comic Book Confidential
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CINEMA CAN • A D A dignity to all the illustrators and artists who toil Ron Mann's in the million-dollar business of selling comic books. Comic Book Confidential's biggest omission Comic Book is Carl Barks, the prolific talent behind the Disney comics of the '40s and '50s, Donald Duck, Confidential Mickey Mouse, and especially his brilliant creation, Uncle Scrooge. he art of comic illustration developed Mann frames his documentary with footage almost simultaneously with the art of from a '50s black and white television show the motion picture at the tum of the which is much like the Reefer Madness of comic century. They are inexorably linked by books. An earnest commentator warns parents notions of image-making, storytelling, about their children going blind and committing framingT, movement through time and space, violent acts, concluding that" there ought to be editing, and both are, of course, responsive to a law against them". Scenes are shown of the whims of popular taste. comics being burnt by kids, just like the religious Georges MeJies' comical shorts were little right burned copies ofBeaties albums when John more than magically moving comic strips. made his famous pronouncement about Christ. American Winsor McCay, the innovative Mann has even come up with footage of a illustrator of Little Nemo in Siumberiand, created young, crew-cut William Gaines defending his the first animated film, Gertie The Trained comics during a Senate Committee Hearing on Dinosaur, to accompany his vaudeville act in Juvenile Delinquency. Subsequently a National 1910. Comic strip heros such as Zorro came to Code was adopted which effectively put an end life on film while cinematic creations like to the gory cycle of comics and gave rise to the Chaplin's sublime Tramp became the subject of bland, but approved titles like Archie and Millie popular comic strips. The Model. There is a great film to be made of this Comic Book Confidential is, without question, a symbiotic relationship. Ron Mann's Comic Book slick and well-produced documentary. Mann's Confidential, however, is not that film. Nor, to be thesis that comic books - though they might fair, was it intended to be, which is more the have been a despised form - have had an shame. undisputable impact as popular entertainment Mann has limited his scope to the and satirical commentary, is well taken. He development of the American comic book form, combines the original covers with original from the Famous Funnies of the '30s to the animation and bold graphics, thereby creating a present. The film moves chronologically cinematic equivalent to the style of comics. It, through this narrow frame of reference, placing along with Imagine The Sound (1981 )and Poetry In the greatest amount of emphasis on the most Motion (1982) form what Mann refers to as a contemporary of comic artists working today. trilogy of works on North American culture. !tis This framework not only excludes the that despised but worthy art form, comic books slicker than the previous two, but lighter and contributions made by the Europeans, British less interesting. His historical approach makes and Japanese to this much-maligned form of From the Crypt in secret, away from their parents' selling his own Zap Comix from a baby carriage in the film more accessible to the uninitiated, but popular entertainment, but also completely disapproval, now turned to a dizzying array of the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco leaves too many gaps for the film's best ignores the larger, and arguably more titles with names like Spiderman, The Fantastic during the height of the" psychedelic audience, the fans of great comic art. interesting relationship that has developed Four, Dr. Strange, The Silver Suifer, The Incredible revolution ". He created Mr. Natural and coinec Paul Townend • between the cinematic and comic art forms . Hulk, and many, many more. Comics became the phrase" Keep on truckin'" which the What Mann offers instead is a respectful and acceptable reading for baby-boom college Grateful Dead turned into a generational COMIC BOOK CONFlDENTIALp. Ron Mann lighthearted tribute to a handful of American students. anthem. In fact, the Dead might very well have CO -I'. Martin Harbury exec. 1'. Don Haig d. Ron Mann IJrod. artists who made a difference in their chosen The film then moves to the underground style been the inspiration for Shelton's Freak Brothers, mc. Charles Lippincott ed. Robert Kennedy, Ron Mann field. Comic Book Confidential begins with an of Zap Comix, with its psychedelic graphics and those wonderful, wacky, stoned icons of the asst. top. Sue Len Quon art d. Gerlinde Scharinger d. 0·1'· brilliant satirical talents of Robert Crumb (Felix Robert Fresco, joan Churchilisolllldrrcord. Da,~dJoliat , Tod interview with William F. Gaines, publisher of '60s. However, Mann spends a disproportionate A. Maitland, Brenda Ray filmogrnl'lt drsigll Stevfn Le\\~.s~ the seminal Mad magazine and author of many The Cat), Bill Griffith (Zippy, The Pinhead) and amount of time with the postrnodem artists who Gerlinde Scharinger, john Halfpenny, David McDvaney, of the '50s' most lurid and umestricted comics, Gilbert Shelton (The Fabulous Furry Freak run limited editions of very specialized comics Ellen Besen, Ma~orie Reemeyer, Chris Annstrong such as E. C. 's celebrated Weird Science, Tales Brothers). Mann concludes with a look at the for the collector and connoisseur. These are filmogrnl'lt camrra Meta Media, Film Effects comic book consliitallts bpNichol, Mark AsI(\\~th additional consliitallts ' From The Crypt, and The Vault Of Horror. Nextup postrnodem comics such as Raw and Maus : A generally well out of the range of the average Art Spiegelman, Dennis Kitchen sOllnd cd. Steve Munro is Will Eisner, the celebrated creator of The Spirit, Survivor'sTal e, which is a novel-length comic set pre-teen, who still makes up the greatest ;ul'CI'!lising cds. Bruce McDonald, Gordon McClellan, Peter with his groundbreaking moody, cinematic during the Holocaust. In the words of Sue Coe, readership for comic books. Wintonick asst. cd. Sue Len Quon original mllsic Shadoll}' style. Raw artist and politically committed painter who The film is weakest in covering the so-called Men On AShadowyPlanet , Keith Elliott, Gerard Leckey and Nicholas Stirling of Strange Nursery, Dr. john asst. to From the '4Os and '50s, when the comic book exhibits in galleries, comics now have become "straight" commercial artists of Marvel and tltr d. Robin Brown, Marina jimenez. Eden Ashley; jessica was despised and reviled by parents and " precious art ". D. C. Short shrift is given to Jack Kirby, surely Fomlan, Monika Spudas stock footagc rrscardl Michael educators alike, the film moves into the Comic Book Confidential is strongest with this the most influential comic artist of the '60s, and Tompane, Mary Dore, Aleen Stein, jeffSheftal rock 'nroll breakthrough years of the '60s. The later material. Robert Crumb and the other Zap Neal Adams, whose cinematic style input Elliott Lefko consliitallt Emile de Antonio Ilarrntii'r artists give the film its off-beat humour and captiolls i!'rit ten by bpNichol it'ttrring by Let'er Ring! Graphics hyper-imaginative and prodigious storytelling revolutionized the Batman series for D. c., processing Medallion Labs optical biOi!' "I' Film Effects post abilities of Marvel Comics' Stan Lee, combined insight into the temper of the times when comics receives no mention at all. Indeed, it was Adams prodliCtioll Film House Group ; produced by Sphinx with the distinctive, powerful style of illustrator were an important part of the Underground who forced D. c. , after intensive lobbying, to Productions lI~th financial assistance from The Swann Jack Kirby, attracted a whole new readership to Movement. Crumb, who left a steady but boring Foundation, The Ontario Arts Council, The Canada give credit to Spiegel and Shuster, the original Council, Telefilm Canada, The Ontario Film Development comic books. The kids who had read their Tales job drawing greeting cards in Cleveland, began creators of Superman, an act which brought Corporation, City TV, Cineplex Oden Films. CINEMA CANADA PAG••• DECEMBER I'll .