Friday, September 10, 2010

How do comics, Mickey Rourke, Steve Ditko & me connect?

Back in 2007, I was hired by Marvel Comics to write an essay for their reprint collection Amazing Fantasy Omnibus. It featured mainly reprints of stories by artist Steve Ditko and writer/editor Stan Lee, mere months before they would co-create the Amazing Spider-Man in 1962. These were 5-page stories, mainly with Twilight Zone twist endings. One of my earliest memories of collecting comics is coming across the story "They Won't Believe Me!" from issue 7 (of what was then titled Amazing Adult Fantasy). It featured a story very similar to the "shock ending" in Mickey Rourke's 1987 movie, Angel Heart. So, in my essay, I referenced his name and the movie. Mickey also starred in the movie Sin City, the original graphic novel being written by Frank Miller, who adores Steve Ditko (when I met Frank back in 2003 for the first time and he learned I was writing a book on Ditko, he shook my hand and said I was "doing the work of angels"). Steve Ditko was also the creator of Iron Man's consummate gold and red armour, and Mickey Rourke starred in Iron Man 2, coming out next month on DVD. Makes sense? Sitting in line now, about 20 deep for Mickey Rourke's latest movie, debuting at TIFF, called Passion Play, also starring Bill Murray and Megan Fox.

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