Musings of a Punk Rock Father

I read Batman Year One yesterday. I've been meaning to for years. I made it a priority when I heard that Aranovsky was going to adapt it for the first good Batman film since Schumacher ruined the franchise, but then Christopher Nolan did Batman Begins instead.

I liked that Miller's story featured the origins, essentially, for both Batman and Commissioner Gordon. In this book, he is Lieutenant Gordon, then on the last page he is Captain Gordon. Miller cuts back and forth between the two stories, revealing the similarities in the two characters. His storytelling is strong, as is his dialogue. He writes the two characters so well that the reader would be able to figure out which character was speaking without the use of different lettering for each.

I've come to appreciate how comic books can utilize narration in a way that seems lazy in films. Bruce Wayne and James Gordon narrate throughout the book, but it serves the story rather than help the author avoid any real creativity in the storytelling.

Now I need to read The Dark Knight Returns.

Chapter VI is an unsettling work. In it we see a young Rorschach and the violence and abuse to which his mother subjected him. It is essentially a superhero origins tale, but one that is more richly written than most. Gibbons illustrates the violence with unflinching detail.

I don't have much to say, other than that Moore and Gibbons present a dark, disturbing, moving portrait of a vigilante.

I posted once about starting to read Alan Moore's "Watchmen" graphic novel, and had said I would continue with updates as I progressed through the book. Unfortunately, other reading endeavors got in the way at that time. I have, though, once again begun reading it.

I think I noted in my other post how wonderfully Moore subverts the expectations of a superhero story, and how complex he makes the characters. These people are more than masked heroes, they have lives and thoughts and feeling. Reading through chapter 5, I am getting an even better picture of who these people are.

Some thoughts on the book:

In Chapter III, Moore has a really interesting set of panels. In the chapter, Jon is talking to media about himself, but members of an audience begin to get worked up. Meanhile, Laurie and Dan are out for a stroll and find themselves is a street fight with a pack of hooligans. In one panel, Secret service agents, or maybe just bodyguards, push Jon out of the studio saying, "C'mon, let's get out! The mob's getting aroused..." In the next, Laurie and Dan are shown after defeating the gang in an almost post-coital position. They are slumped with the backs against a wall, kind of leaning on one another, breathing heavy. Laurie pulls out a cigarette.

Chapter IV expertly captures Dr. Osterman's ability to exist in all points of his life simultaneously. The use of Jon dropping the photograph into the dust of the moon helps the reader to see how he views time. Moore uses the mixed up chronology to emphasize Jon's feelings as much as he uses it as a cool way to tell the story. In lesser hands, the scenes may not have been placed in such a way as to create maximum impact.

Finally, in Chapter V, Moore shows how deftly he weaves multiple stories and voices in one cohesive thread. Moore and artist Gibbons also reveal a stroke of genius: they utilize mirror reflections (combined with a mirrored panel structure) multiple times to serve the story titled "Fearful Symmetry" (with a quote at the end from Blake's poem). I also thought I saw the word "tiger" spelled "tyger" as it is in the poem, but when I went back through the chapter, I couldn't find it.

I look forward to the next chapter.

Since work was fairly slow this morning, I spent a little time considering what I would put on a top ten of 2005 list. First, I had to consider what categories belonged. Being like Rob Gordon from High Fidelity, I believe my list must include books, films and music that achieved high levels of excellence. I could include personal milestones and highlights, but those probably belong on a different list. So I will, for now, present my Art-Related Top Ten List of 2005. Keep in mind, these are not necessarily things that were released or created in 2005, but things that I discovered in 2005.

10. The Apprentice
OK, so it all can’t be considered high art. I love this show. For whatever reason, I get caught up in the drama and backstabbing and blow-ups and freak-outs. I love to conjecture about who will get fired and why, and I love to play armchair Trump and list my reasons for whom I would fire and why. For the record, I think it was terrible that Randal told Trump there should be only one apprentice, I think it worse that Trump, the self-important blow-hard that he is, listened. He should have told Randal to cram it, and hired Rebecca anyway because he’s Trump, and he doesn’t have to listen to anybody, particularly his most recent employee. Now that they are branching out beyond New York City, I can only hope they bring the series to Chicago soon.

9. Public Enemy “Bring the Noise 2000”
Never officially released.
With the release of “New Whirl Odor,” which was a contender for a position on this list, my interest in Public Enemy was renewed, which brought me to a website called www.shutemdown.com, which was linked from Public Enemy’s main page. On it I found a cornucopia of PE downloads, including this unreleased album of b-sides and remixes. When you download and burn this to a CD, make sure the songs are burned with no space between tracks because they bleed into one another creating the greatest party mix I’ve ever heard. As Chuck D says, “Welcome to the Terrordome!”

8. Finding Neverland
Theatrical Release Date: September 4, 2004
Video Release Date: March 22, 2005
It is rare for Johnny Depp to make an outright bad movie. Some I didn’t care for (“Chocolat,” “Secret Window”) and some too weird even for me (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “From Hell”), but none of the films on his resume are just plain bad. In fact, most are amazing. “Finding Neverland” falls into that latter category. This film tells the story of the author of Peter Pan, and the story about the story is just as magical and timeless as Peter Pan itself. Now I want to see it again.

7. The Incredibles
Theatrical Release Date: November 5, 2004
Video Release Date: March 15, 2005
As a fan of “The Iron Giant,” I eagerly anticipated Brad Bird’s “The Incredibles.” Of course, now that we have a child, Melanie and I don’t get out to the movies often and so our anticipation of a theatrical release turns into an anticipation of the video release. We both really loved this fun, clever, well-written film. I love kids moves that transcend being a kids movie, and both of Bird’s feature-length films have managed to accomplish that.

6. Douglas Coupland “Eleanor Rigby”
Released September 6, 2004
I’m a huge fan of Coupland’s “Life After God” and “Microserfs.” His writing is full of characters who think deeply without pretension, and with the exception of “Miss Wyoming,” I’ve been unable to put his books down. “Eleanor Rigby” is simply an enjoyable read. So much time has elapsed between the time I read it and now that I find myself unable to come up with examples of what I loved about the novel, so I suppose you’ll just have to read it for yourself.

5. Hotel Rwanda
Theatrical Release Date: December 22, 2004
Video Release Date: April 12, 2005
Don Cheadle is in my top ten list for favorite actors. His work in films like “Out of Sight,” “Traffic,” and “The Assassination of Richard Nixon” is worth the price of admission alone. (And I just looked him up on imdb.com and saw that Elmore Leanord’s “Tishomingo Blues” is in preproduction, with Cheadle cast as Robert Taylor. Funny, because I just read the book and pictured Cheadle as the character as I read it.) “Hotel Rwanda” is a sad, poignant, important film. It is a film that lifts the medium above pure entertainment, even above artistic excellence: it shows that films can share a story that can touch and change lives. I actually ended up seeing the first half of the film twice because I began watching it while Melanie was asleep. When she awoke and wanted to see it from the beginning, I had no problem skipping back to chapter one and starting all over again. If you still haven’t seen this, I urge you to rent it on your next visit to the video store.

4. Harry Potter
This year I decided to read the Harry Potter series. As of this writing, I am almost halfway through “Goblet of Fire,” and I love the series thus far. I tore through the first three, but life has been a little more hectic during the fourth installment. I wanted to read the books as much as a response to the number of Christians I heard talking about how bad and immoral the books are as a genuine desire to read a good story. Admittedly I am troubled by some of the sequences of witchcraft and wizardry, such as the divination classes, but heck if Rowling has written a set of books that aren’t difficult to put down. Melanie and I just watched the first three films as well, and while they didn’t spark my imagination as much as the books, they were fun rides on their own merits.

3. mewithoutYou “Catch For Us the Foxes”
Original release date: October 5, 2004
I had only heard an EP and seen the band once before. The EP was good, and live I really enjoyed them. They wore their Fugazi influences on their sleeves, and their set was compelling. Still, I didn’t feel the need to buy an album. Recently, though, it seems I couldn’t avoid seeing amazing reviews of their 2004 release, “Catch For Us the Foxes.” My pastor even mentioned the passage in Song of Solomon 2:15, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” Then I found a sale, and I got the CD for $7.50. Now I’m sorry I didn’t get it earlier, especially being a fan of mid-to-late-90’s punk rock. The album sounds like Steve Albini (frontman of seminal punk rock bands Big Black and Shellac and producer of seminal albums like “Nevermind” and “Surfer Rosa”) fronting a band made up of the Jesus Lizard, Tar, and Seam. Thrilled, I picked up the CD to look a the credits, where I noticed that the album was produced by none other that Brad Wood, who had produced the Jesus Lizard and Seam, along with many other notable Chicago bands. This is one of the most exciting new albums I have heard in 2005, and is one that I find myself recommending to anyone who will give me half an ear.

2. Project 86 “…And the Rest Will Follow”
Original release date: September 27, 2005
Since the New Bomb Turks have essentially broken up, Project 86 has taken on the mantel of my favorite band. Lyrically, the band is leaps and bounds beyond its peers in the mostly uninspired realm of next-generation metal. I actually have no idea what genre to put them in, though. To me, they sound more post-hardcore than anything, but others have called them anything from rap-rock and nu-metal (both of which, to me, equal talentless, soulless genres) alternative and punk. This latest album further distinguishes the band from other hard-rocking outfits, as they veer from the catchy but heavy riffs of “Cavity King” to the quiet title track to a bombastic arena-rock western anthem called “My Will Be A Dead Man.” The band’s more accessible side is seen in songs like “All of Me” and “Subject to Change,” where they prove they don’t have to make a lot noise to make great songs. I also had the chance to see the band tour in support of this album, and the guys brought these songs a terrific amount of energy and passion. “…And the Rest Will Follow” is not only the most artistically exceptional piece of music that they have created, but it is also the most spiritual and thoughtful of their five albums.

1. Nirvana “With the Lights Out”
Original release date: November 23, 2004
This boxed set is a treasure trove for Nirvana fans. The expansive track list covers every phase of the band’s career, from early songs that I have never heard like “Pen Cap Chew” and “Help Me I’m Hungry” to a reworking of “You Know You’re Right.” I was particularly fond of a rocking version of “Stay Away” called “Pay to Play,” a somber hymn “They Hung Him On a Cross,” and various reworkings of “Verse Chorus Verse,” among others. Not only are the CDs pretty all-inclusive (although I would’ve like to have some of the final recordings of songs like “I Hate Myself and Want to Die,” but I guess since they already appear on legit releases they were not considered), but the accompanying DVD covers a lot of ground as well, with some great footage of the band that I’ve never seen before. I wasn’t able to get this set until my birthday in March of this year, so it is number one on my personal best of 2005 list.

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I just started reading Watchmen, mostly on Kyle's recommendation. I've known for a while that I would do well to read some of Alan Moore's work, but, quite frankly, I haven't really felt much like reading comics. Sin City sort of re-awakened my desire to read some good graphic novels, mostly because as faithful the film was to the source material, and as well-filmed and breathtaking it was, the stories seemed better served on the pages in black and white (and the occasional red).

I just discovered where my library keeps its graphic novels, so I sought out the "M"s for Alan Moore, and there on the shelf sat "Watchmen". Sidenote: the graphic novels are kept in the juvenile section, which makes no sense because this is hardly juvenile material.

I'm only 30 pages or so into the story, and already Moore is aiming high. The set-up reminds me of movies like "Lethal Weapon", but it soon takes some turns and fleshes out characters in ways rarely seen in action films or superhero stories. I enjoy how the story subverts the superhero genre, down to the characters mocking the way they used to don costumes before heading out to battle.

The relationships are already complex; Moore uses flashback skillfully to navigate from present to past and back again, and sets his scenes up in such a way that the juxtaposition creates more dramatic tension than the scenes would on their own.

As far as the art, Dave Gibbons uses the panels to full effect. As all great comics do, they tell the story the way great films do. There is as much information in the composition of the pages and the individual panels as there is in the dialogue and narration. I am struck by the timelessness of the art. It does not look dated as I would have expected it to, since it was drawn nearly 20 years ago.

I look forward to the way the story plays out.