Day: April 2, 2018

One Whacky Crazy Way to be Happy!

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Okay. it's not that whacky.

It's a graphic novel called "Happy!" written by Grant Morrison(Batman, The Invisibles) with art by Darick Robertson.

I bought it off Amazon because I really wanted to read it.

You've probably heard of "Happy!" the TV series, Season 1, with that actor from "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" episodes--Yeah, that guy.

When I was younger growing up in Brooklyn in the 1980s I really liked buying comic books.  Not DC and Marvel, but independent ones.

I used to go to a comic book store in Park Slope and stay there for hours. The DC and Marvel comics were in boxes in the middle of the room, but I'd go around the walls and look at the many indie comic books up there on the shelves.

Some were not for children, but I was 5' 10" and had a mustache by the sixth and seventh grade, so I bought any I fancied.

I would usually only buy ones with great artwork that pulled me in.

Recently, I ordered the graphic novel "Happy!" off Amazon, a physical copy.  No digital.

It's by a publisher called Image Comics.

It's rated M for Mature.

It's about a dirty cop turned hit-man who sees a little girl's invisible friend, a cartoon horse.

I won't tell you anything else about it.

Go buy a copy for yourself and enjoy.

Rollerball


Rollerball the movie was originally a short story written by William Harrison in the 70s called "Roller Ball Murder."

The movie was made in 1975 and Harrison is credited as writing the screenplay, too.

The short story got published in Esquire and a director read it and eventually talked to Harrison to make "Rollerball" the movie.

There was a remake in the 2000's but apparently it does not live up to James Cann's version where he plays the character Johnathan E.

I ordered the old paperback off Amazon recently and sat down to read Roller Ball Murder. It is 20 pages and is done in 1st person present tense.

It's creatively done with a certain sparseness and you can clearly see how the movie is way different, with more details, but after I read the short story it's obvious why it was picked up as a film.

It's genius.

The rest of Harrison's stories are also done in 1st person and it feels like a lost treasure when I hold it in my hand and read them.

If you like reading origination stories of popular movies like I do you can order a copy on Amazon for yourself.

Next Blog Post:  Amazon owns everything so why not your TV, too?