January 18, 2005
Jumping right in this week…
PROOF OF CONCEPT
Written by Larry Young and Drawn by Various
Published by Ait/Planetlar
I’ve been intrigued by this project since I first heard about it. AiT mastermind Young first started discussing it in an online column early in 2004: he would provide twelve pages of script for a project, and artists were welcome to draw them. The best efforts selected by Young got a contract to have their work appear in this book. Plus, the book would serve as an introduction for not only possible full graphic novels based on the story concepts, but also it could be used as part of a pitch to Hollywood producers looking for material. In short: proving the concept. I read the scripts, printed them off, and waited, curious.
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There were five new concepts in Young’s scripts and one old one: “Hemogoblin,” about the last vampire in the world trying to avoid extinction; “Emancipating Lincoln,” a private eye story set in a futuristic world where everyone is a basic clone of the former President; “The Camera,” wherein a group of kids find a small wormhole through time and space in their backyard; “The Time Being,” which sets up a conflict with a group of time explorers find themselves facing a threat from their former commander who has mastered time itself without a ship or equipment; the best one without a doubt, “Zombie Dinosaur,” which starts exactly how you’re guessing- an expedition discovers a frozen T-Rex in a bizarre place, and it comes back to life zombie-style, starting a chain of very bad events; and a reprint of one of Young’s earliest comics stories, “The Bod,” about a young woman seduced by the Hollywood life after she’s accidentally rendered permanently invisible and becomes famous for being a floating dress.
On the script page, I thought that “Hemogoblin” read the weakest by far. Nothing inspired me about it, and it felt derivative. However, it improves distinctly in graphic form. Seeing it play out, and reading Young’s description of it as “Anne Rice meets The Fugitive,” the potential is much clearer. “Emancipating Lincoln” was a story that I loved in script form and like just as well in this book; there’s something visually overwhelming about every character being a version of the man. I’m not sure how well it would play in getting an artist to draw 96 pages of it, though. You’d need someone with a really thorough attention span, or the book would be screwed. “The Camera” was a charming script, and the story plays out well, but the art in the book just doesn’t work for me. I also get the sense that Young is the least invested in this one, because there’s no obvious direction for it to go in longer form, drawn or otherwise. “The Time Being” left me feeling mezzo-mezzo in script, and I’m not much past that after reading it here; I love time travel stories and the headache they create, but nothing about any of the characters left me excited and happy. For it to be successful in any format, we definitely need more time spent with the people and getting invested in who they are. Even the villain. “Zombie Dinosaur” springs full-force from both script and graphic page. The idea is so ridiculously obvious you can’t help but wonder why no one has spent $120 million on getting it to the screen already. “The Bod” wasn’t part of the script series, as it was completed years ago, but I always thought it was the least interesting work of Young’s career. It hits too many familiar notes in trying to satirize the L.A. lifestyle, and it gets a little hammy along the way as well. In retrospect, it feels like Young, in his early career, was looking for a populist hit, one that he could maybe get adapted quicker and bring more focus to his superior ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE with.
Veteran artist John Heebink draws “The Bod,” so it’s no stretch to say that’s the story that looks the best. Heebink’s never been a “superstar” guy, but he has a nice versatility that allows him to pull off stuff like “The Bod” and yet have still done the cosmic adventures of QUASAR and the wacky supernatural hijinx of Peter David’s SOULSEARCHERS. Young’s new artist finds are a bit of a mixed bag. Damon Couceiro does a pretty good job of helping make “Hemogoblin” look like a better bet; Steven Sanders and Jeff Johns get the best story in “Zombie Dinosaur” and make the most of it, showing some real spark; “The Camera’s” Paul Tucker left me feeling a bit disappointed- his sort of sketchy, Schulz-esque take on the material left me asking where the sense of wonder was; Jeff Johns returned solo on “The Time Being” and does a decent job of demonstrating that he was ready for publication- if I wasn’t thrilled with the story it at least looked nice; and John Flynn’s work on “Emancipating Lincoln” really impressed me- he did a terrific job of setting up the world and in slightly distincting each of the Lincoln clones.
The book is held together in a clever way, as Young is drawn (by the terrific Kieron Dwyer) talking on the phone to his entertainment lawyer Ken Levin and pitching these properties to him. It presents a sense of honesty to the collection that it needs, I think, because Levin asks questions that smart readers are going to ask after they read the book. Such as: should we really take Young at face value on any of these stories?
You can’t help but wonder if Larry really loves any of these stories, or if your sense of cynicism should come into play. After all, Young didn’t finish these stories or tell the full tale. Maybe PROOF OF CONCEPT is a cash grab, you ask yourself? But I don’t think so.
I do think there’s a lack of interest or investment on Young’s part with “The Camera” and “The Bod,” and that’s fine. I don’t expect every idea that pops out of someone’s head and onto the printed page to be a work of fucking genius, you know? Every once in a while, a writer gets to the end of a story and realizes that they’ve written themselves into a corner or that what they’ve done doesn’t work. But the rest of the material in this book is worthy, some even truly inspired, and I think that’s all you can really ask. There’s a wealth of potential just sitting here waiting for Young or some other creative talent to grab the ball and start running. It isn’t like we haven’t seen that it can be done. Grade taking all factors into account, including original scripts and their execution: B
SIBAM?
One by one:
“Hemogoblin” is a concept built for the small screen, both in size and execution on the page. Remove the “future” element from the story and set it in the modern day, and the budget gets into an acceptable range. Sci-Fi Channel should take a look, or it would also work well in syndication.
“The Camera” lacks an edge or story hook to propel it over the long haul. As mentioned in the book, you’d need more characters and a contrivance, leaving the potential for ugliness boiling on the surface. A likely pass.
“The Time Being” is best structured for episodic television, which is the only way we’d really have a chance to get to know the characters and develop an interest in them. Pitch it as “Star Trek meets Quantum Leap” to make it catchier.
“Emancipating Lincoln” would be a tough adaptation in any form other than graphic novel. The expense and time needed for the camera work would get ugly in a hurry. This seems uniquely destined for comics. I hope Larry finishes it.
“The Bod” just never cut it for me, so I’ll just pass it by.
“Zombie Dinosaur” should be picked up immediately. Immediately. This is a summer tentpole franchise waiting to happen. The main character is even drawn somewhat like Bruce Willis. Scarlett Johanssen would be a perfect female lead as the young paleontologist riding along with Willis’ soldiers. I’d be in line on the first day for tickets… and so would a Hell of a lot of other people.
I normally would have a few more books this week, but I’m having both family and back problems. I’ll be back in seven days trying to catch up. Sorry.
Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ 85285. You can also find me at Happy Nonsense and The Comics Waiting Room
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