Day: April 26, 2004

How many comic books I’ve written?

Seriously, I was wondering, ’cause I realize I’ve no idea. How many actual comic books I’ve produced in my writing lifetime.

PAD

Anyone following “Gasoline Alley?”

In the April 19 strip, 100+ year old Walt Wallet settles into bed with long-time spouse Phyllis. On April 20, Walt’s adopted son Skeezix is awaken by a late night phone call.

It’s obvious someone’s died.

But it’s unclear who.

Skeezix gasps “Uncle Walt!” into the phone, but it could be that Walt died, or it could be that Walt’s on the other end giving the bad news.

Now I don’t mind suspense in just about anything. And I don’t mind knocking off a long time character in a comic strip. But it’s a week later and they’re still having the characters reacting with shock and mourning and grief and we still don’t frickin’ know who died. To me, the strip has passed beyond the bounds of honest suspense into the range of…I don’t know…tastelessness.

If you’re going to portray a tragedy in a comic strip, or anywhere, then do it honestly. Trudeau did it right. He did it with the classic formula of “three.” The first strip introduced a tragedy involving BD (my God, is he dead?), the second reinforced it and heightened the concern (okay, he’s not dead, but something really bad has happened), and the third was the reveal (holy crap, his leg *and* his helmet are gone).

In this day and age of tons of genuine sad deaths, it’s exploitational to milk death for artificial suspense…even fictional death. Which is what “Gasoline Alley” is doing. It’s bad writing. And it’s kinda tacky.

PAD

Congratulations to David Mack, Star Trek author (including the Zak Kebron story “Waiting For G’Doh, or, How I Learned to Stop Moving and Hate People” in the New Frontiers anthology No Limits) on his marriage this weekend to the lovely and talented Kara Bain, a real Supergirl if ever there was one.

In his honor, we have arranged to have the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees like Neal Peart’s drum set.