I very much enjoy readers’ interpretations of Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan’s Demo. It’s interesting to me, personally, that most audience members find the various snapshots of Demo so compelling that it seems, to me at least, that many readers are missing the lemon because of the meringue. Many folks who should ostensibly know better get fixated on the what-happens-then or the but-what-about-the or the he-didn’t-take-responsibility or whatever. Me, I think they’re not getting the fact that the story is the story. You’re on the bus, or you’re not. No need to blame the bus.
One of the big dangers of being a writer is that you can’t stop the ideas from coming. The whole BUT WHAT HAPPENED THEN thing we hear from folks who are paying attention to Demo made me think of this thing about my favorite flick. Sometimes, you get an idea you can’t do anything with. This is one of them, so enjoy:
Were I to think overmuch about it, I could detail the adventures of the crew of the first interstellar mapping mission to Alpha Centauri, and the political and personal byplay between the administrators of the American National Space Agency…
…and the headstrong crew of that first mission. How Robert Landon and George Taylor first develop their personal animosity for each other (stemming from jealousy, of course, between the two men for the tender attentions of Catherine Stewart [ship's navigator as well as daughter of the Agency's top administrator, the crusty Bob Stewart]), and how Johnson Dodge joins the crew in the last stages of training when the crew's original mission scientist is killed in a transport accident. Just tell a straightforward tale about the political machinations of the first American interstellar voyage…
BEFORE THE PLANET OF THE APES
…but, you know (besides me), who cares? That’s not the story. The story really starts when the monkeys start shooting people with rifles.
The past is prologue, like the man says. The thing that makes Planet of the Apes so damn cool is not the astronauts-in-trouble aspect of the tale, but the talking-money thing. The astronauts, and their personal relationships just do not matter. The STORY begins when the guys hit the post-apocalyptic nightmare…
And so it is with every Demo. Before and after just does not matter. The story is the story. You are on the bus or you are not. Just deal; it’s OK. We’re here for you.
Demo #7 is in stores now, and Dorian and Mike are getting the word out.
Don MacPherson calls Demo a "landmark series" which just gave me a grin, I can tell you.
"Scurvy Dogs is a necessary injection of manic weirdness into the comics industry, and always a welcome sight on the stands." 10/10 says Randy Lander, and I could not agree more.
I have it on good authority that Tim O'Neil returns to blogging on Monday, so fire up your keyboards.
...and check out Loose Cannon #8 (from March 2, 2001), wherein I tell you what makes a good comic.
