Thursday 29 March 2012

What is its purpose? What is its destiny?

A few words before we start

March (whats left of it!) is Doubt land issue 2 Month

issue 2 of “Doubt-land” is on sale now for just £1 a copy via eBay to anyone in the world



Just click the link below
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160751571676#ht_574wt_1118

Doubt land is my re-envisaged version of Jim Steranko’s lost / overlooked Outland movie adaptation, which has never been reprinted in English and is very hard to get hold of and is on sale at a bargain price

What is its purpose? What is its destiny?

These are two questions which are asked about "The New Seed" in the final page of Issue 1 of Jack Kirby's 2001:-

But let us to get ahead of ourselves - Lets pick up from Last Week

As the Next stage of Deckers evolution starts and he is reborn

This is another point where comparing the movie to the comic makes for an interesting contrast

In the movie it is very deliberately ambiguous if what appears to be a baby floating in space is what Dave Bowman ended up becoming after growing old

In the comic there is no such ambiguity it is a clear transformation in the art alone and made undeniably concrete by the ever present captions

Which could possibly suggest a link to the movie or at least more properly the kirby comic adaptation of the movie by clearly stating that the visually familiar "baby in space" is not the first of its kind ...

and thus the newly born "new seed" goes off into a very kirby krackled cosmic universe...

Ah - but what does it all mean….?

This is where things become rather unglued…. and the whole premise of the comic effectively centres on just one caption on this very page

"What is its purpose - what is its destiny - they can no more be defined than the alien mind which has made its existence possible"

Taken on its own you think, sure thats exactly what the movie was trying to say by deliberately not defining almost anything

But herein lies the rub

This is the complete opposite of what the comic does

The comic goes out of its was not only just to explain everything, but quite possibly at least in my opinion over explain everything - to the point where it could be said to be detrimental to the art itself

By which I mean you could take the captions and one heck of great audio experience - imagine Morgan Freeman reading that dialogue

I only make light of this in light of brilliantly defined the art is - it does not need such over explanation to make the same points the drawing does a fantastic job of telling the story by itself

But then to say in that self same dialogue that effectively not only was there no definition but also no reason to the actual story itself is another matter entirely

Putting that aside

"He who hunts alone" and Decker are only linked by dint of a caption saying so, there is no other link in their behaviour or even their development - and the things that happen to them don't make any real sense in the context of where the story is going - which is a evolutionary thrust

Unless that is the point is to say that one predicted future of evolution of mankind is that a random guy will just bumble his way into a monolith and get transformed… which i don't think was anything like the actual intention

from this point of view its easy to conclude that it would have worked a whole lot better if large portions of the story was deliberately left ambiguous or enigmatic because as soon as you explain one thing - then you have to explain everything

its a easy trap to fall into and certainly one Arthur C Clarke himself also found himself in with all of the "sequel" novels

So we are clear what i am saying here is its fine to feel the need to explain and clarify but to try and do that in the frame work of a abstract,  illogical and ambiguous plot does not work that well

its like trying to have your cake and eat it - leaving the end result falling between two stools and not pleasing anyone by trying to please everyone

How much of this was a editorial or marvel decision is unknown, but it seems unlikely this is exactly what Jack Kirby himself actually intended

I can easily imagine the friction of the situation on one hand Marvel want to be seen as pushing the boundaries and trying new things but on the other the over riding concern is what is the audience for this and what would that audience want on the basis of existing experience most of which would be within the well established super hero format

All this aside the overall conclusion is simple 2001 as a comic was way ahead of its time. If Kirby did this 10 years later and self published - how much different would the end result have been?

Its an interesting question and one of course unfortunately we will never know the answer to

THE END

Next Week - Its the epilogue to this project - "The Lost Worlds of 2001" sharing for the first time what actually happened when i tried to do the movie adaptation and why this got abandoned - yes a few pages do indeed exist!

Thursday 22 March 2012

To infinity and beyond

A few words before we start

March is Doubt land issue 2 Month

issue 2 of “Doubt-land” is on sale now for just £1 a copy via eBay to anyone in the world




Just click the link below
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160751571676#ht_574wt_1118

Doubt land is my re-envisaged version of Jim Steranko’s lost / overlooked Outland movie adaptation, which has never been reprinted in English and is very hard to get hold of and is on sale at a bargain price

To infinity and beyond

Is where Woodrow Decker finally manages to go in this weeks next completed page of 2001:-
Infinity has itself already been seen and experienced in the the mind shattering journey through the monolith

Now Woody himself makes the slow journey to beyond in a magnificent 9 panel grid

His mysterious companion disappears after the first panel and Decker is left on the journey alone

with the road getting steeper and higher as Decker himself drastically and radially ages

Finally here we see Decker's tenacity and his actual fight for survival as he refuses to give up and keeps on going until it becomes a complete physical impossibility and his body refuses to react

But Decker's mind remains and at last the monolith looms overhead ready to usher Decker through the next stage of transformation

As with the previous page, it is important to note that the entire experience is a artificial reality created precisely to foster Decker's evolution to the next stage of this process and that in the comic, this is something much more recognizably human or a human experience unlike the 2001 movie which could arguably be said to be cold and distant at best

We never get to see what would be at the end of the road that Decker was traveling down, so the message is clear its not about the designation but the journey taken to get there

The journey in question is the story contained within this issue, which now has only one more page in which to unfold and complete

What will the conclusion be?

If you have been reading regularly there are quite a number of threads I have left hanging the central one being:-

What was the point of the first half of the story - featuring "he who hunts alone" in  relation to the second half featuring Decker here, what is message about evolution

What is the message about mankind his ancestry and his future

In short what was this issue all about

Perhaps by now you will have formed your own opinions

I certainly hope so, One thing I am have definitely been hopeful about is to try to get you all to think a lot more about comics, rather than say just reading n issue in 5 - 10 minutes and then mostly dismissing it (something I have been known to do myself)

My own conclusion will of course come next week following Decker's rebirth…

Of course this weeks blog title is a quote from Toy Story - which was irresistible to use given that Decker is referred to as Woody on the page reproduced!

Thursday 15 March 2012

Home on the range with some southern comfort

A few words before we start

March is Doubt land issue 2 Month

issue 2 of “Doubt-land” is on sale now for just £1 a copy via eBay to anyone in the world



Just click the link below
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160751571676#ht_574wt_1118

Doubt land is my re-envisaged version of Jim Steranko’s lost / overlooked Outland movie adaptation, which has never been reprinted in English and is very hard to get hold of and is on sale at a bargain price

Home on the range with some southern comfort

Is where Woodrow Decker appears to be in this weeks completed page of 2001


This page I think makes a very interesting contrast with what Kubrick decided to portray in the movie

In the movie after Bowman goes through the monolith he arrives in what at least in part resembles a very posh hotel (we find out much later in the book "sequels" this was actually a hotel Bowman stayed at once) but at the same is mistakenly odd

with ultra bright white floors walls and ceilings all of material quite out of place of a hotel

The message being reasonably clear - this is not real

In the page above Decker starts in space suit which just mysteriously vanishes and then is transported back to a place that could be straight out of a book featuring Tom Sawyer - the same message - this is not real applies

Possibly even more so as it kinds of stretches credulity to suggest that what depicted existed recently in the time frame of the Woodrow's part of the story - it could either be his very young childhood or literally just a story he heard as a child being re enacted for him

In both the movie and the comic the intention is for the actual metamorphosis post  the inter galactic travel of vast distances (which is what the journey though the monolith appears to represent) is to offer the comfort of familiarity

The movie one could argue could be said to be rather cold in this aspect, Bowman is left on his own to age rapidly only meeting him self across generations of each age range in transition

Whereas the comic features a true southern character (who reminds me of "Reb" Ralston from Sgt. Fury and his howling commandos) who is warm, welcoming and provides both a focus and a sense of direction for Decker

In the comic one could argue that this sense is showing more interest in Deckers humanity to make this effort and also of course this is more direct and understandable storytelling

The movie is an enigma or if you prefer possible endless enigmas inside each other

What this comic is - i will leave for now as there only a few pages left to go

It is interesting to note - that at least in my eyes this is the first real scene that really gives any deeper definition to Decker himself, circumstances before this point did not allow that space which is a bit of a shame as it would be an interesting character stay to know the character more full both pre and post monolith

Still things are looking up Decker and the mysterious "Bill" are on the long and winding road

or is decker being lead up the garden path

Lets find out - Next week

Postscript

Where egos dare
Yet more detail about something i did appearing in an exhibition appears at the link below and there is a SPOILER ALERT - of what could be the NEXT project on this blog…

maybe… possibly…  you never know…

http://comixstripped.blogspot.com/2012/03/images-degrading-forever.html

Thursday 8 March 2012

Sights that stagger the mind and assault the senses!

 A few words before we start

March is Doubt land issue 2 Month

issue 2 of “Doubt-land” is on sale now for just £1 a copy via eBay to anyone in the world



Just click the link below
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160751571676#ht_574wt_1118

Doubt land is my re-envisaged version of Jim Steranko’s lost / overlooked Outland movie adaptation, which has never been reprinted in English and is very hard to get hold of and is on sale at a bargain price

Images Degrading Monthly
Debuting for the first time, I am proud to present Images Degrading Monthly! In this landmark issue in all new never before seen articles I feature the art of Marcia Mihotich, Sarah Lightman  I review “Tangles” by Sarah Leavitt and for the first time I will reproducing Kirbys 2001 with 4 pages of art and words!



Everyone can have a FREE copy – Images Degrading Monthly Digital Subscriptions are open now, just send me a email to robin.barnard@ymail.com and I will email you back your free copy

Sights that stagger the mind and assault the senses!

Is what both we and Decker to get to see on this next completed page of Jack Kirby’s 2001:-

In the second ground breaking 4 panel spread in this issue alone, the scope and breadth of storytelling used in these 4 panels itself is staggering and all contain a real sense of artistic beauty

The drawings alone could be presented on their own without any dialogue and admired by themselves as fantastic works of art

The fact that such power and beauty is poured into the central point (or one could argue the whole entire reason) of the story truly underlines the ability of Jack Kirby as a story teller

Firstly Decker becomes like a comet, blazing its trail towards us in a race with other comets all heading in one direction at a speed that only one can guess

Next we are behind Decker who could be in free-fall above an utterly alien and ravaged landscape as the sun of an unknown planetary system crosses the horizon, Decker heading towards the surface

Then Decker is almost a grain of dust within a dust storm surrounding an impossibly large and totally alien creature

The last panel shows Decker has had his world turned completely inside out not sure where up or down is or even if they apply as his face is locked eyes wide open in a soundless scream

These panels can actually be looked at in almost any order they could even be a different point of view of the same scene, this is clearly not reality after all

It is here where at least I can finally see or understand what was motivating Kirby to work on 2001 in the first place, the question of is there something more than just man, and if so what is the next level

Is it gods like in the fourth world saga?



The eternals


Or something else completely



And if so how does man get to that stage?

All making the message that there is bigger and bolder future for mankind if we can hang in there long enough and refrain from killing each other

This is Kirby’s cosmic works taken to the next logical state that of transfiguration of something that’s clearly a man into …

Well let’s see

There are two infinitely better considerations of this page at the Kirby museum web site – enjoy!

http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2012/03/07/kirbys-technological-sublime/

http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2012/03/08/kirbys-technological-sublime-part-2/

Postscript

The ego has landed
Apparently I might just feature on a podcast  or even in a exhibition  - Though you need sharp eyes and open ears (or is that the other way around) to notice either, hey thats why i am telling you about them!

Honestly thanks to all involved, its certainly more than I deserve!

Thursday 1 March 2012

March Madness/Between a rock and yet more rock

Ah, March – Month of the mad March Hare, and of course I am suitably mad myself (but I don’t have a hat, fortunately)

March is Doubt land issue 2 Month
After a very successful debut at the London Super Comic Con where copies sold like hotcakes, I am pleased to offer issue 2 of “Doubt land” for just £1 a copy via eBay to anyone in the world for the rest of March



Just click the link below
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160751571676#ht_574wt_1118

Doubt land is my re-envisaged version of Jim Steranko’s lost / overlooked Outland movie adaptation, which has never been reprinted in English and is very hard to get hold of and is on sale at a bargain price

Images Degrading Monthly
Also incredibly popular At the London Super Comic Convention (200 copies given away) was the first issue of Images Degrading Monthly!



Well it is FREE, after all – and everyone can have a FREE copy – Digital Subscriptions are open now, just send me a email to robin.barnard@ymail.com and I will email you back your free copy

The first issue of Images Degrading Monthly will be released in 7 days’ time on the 8th March, so get your email sent between now and then to get your copy

Images Degrading Monthly is 16 pages, of which nearly 50% is all brand new and never before seen content, all about comics, art and creativity so get your copy now!

Between a rock and yet more rock
Is exactly where Decker is stuck in this week’s next completed page of 2001:-


Last week Decker narrowly avoided being eaten alive (one presumes) by “The Life on Mars” / BEM who had instead killed his companion Mason

Then all of a sudden there is a rather inexplicable and convient rock slide which stops Decker (or presumably us) from thinking overmuch about his situation and instinct takes over as he runs for dear life

Already we have the third example of emphasis being put on ingrained survival instincts being of more importance than any of the knowledge or the technology developed in all the years in between “he who hunts alone” and Decker

Firstly Decker and Mason decided to carry on despite their Space ship burning into flames, next Decker attacked the “Life on Mars” with a  rock a totally pointless gesture born out of shock and frustration, now Decker is totally blindly running for his life away from a rock slide, with no time to even think about where he is going

And lo, in front of Decker just so happens to be a rather conveniently placed (and active) monolith

Which he completely either ignores or accepts as being safe and continues right into it

But that just does not make sense.  It would be acceptable if the Monolith has just been black and therefore not that visible or just not seen by Decker at all, but even in a blind panic and possibly even more so anyone would change direction from anything that would be in the way of the path of flight.  It is in fact that exact instinct which allows Decker to survive the rock slide which compounds this

Of course the reason why I am fixating on this point is that this particular moment or sequence of events lead to Decker’s entry into the monolith and all these events have been happenstance

If Decker had run the other way there would have been no monolith in that direction, If Decker had been in front of Mason he would not even be alive right now

It’s not just this but also I am struggling to see what in Decker’s personality is worth transcending as was David Bowman’s, Bowman as pointed out last week reawakened his long forgotten survival instinct in a survival of the fitted against machine based artificial intelligence in the form of HAL, whereas there has been no such transformation for Decker, if anything almost the opposite

The credulity is stretched further by seeking a connection, any connection between this part of the story and the first part with Decker being an ancestor of “he who hunts alone” a fact that is reinforced in the last dialogue box

Still we have a few more pages to go maybe we will find out some more answers in those?  One can only hope