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Category Archives: writers

August 31, 2010 · 2:32 am

Interview: Brian Wood

Brian Wood is an amazing graphic novelist, known for his ability to tap into the psyche of his often youthful and rebellious characters. Some of his best known work is “Local,” “Demo,” “DMZ” and “Northlanders.”

After learning that Brian Wood gained inspiration for his current run of “DV8” from the great John Huston film, starring Micheal Caine and Sean Connery, I had to go check it out for myself. If you’re like me, you enjoy those added layers of understanding, so go enjoy the movie and check out this brief interview:

Henry Chamberlain: Throughout history, all the great powers have tried and failed to conquer Afghanistan. Whatever one’s politics, that is a pretty amazing fact, isn’t it? I ask this considering your inspiration for your DV8 run comes from “The Man Who Would Be King,” about two guys who try to “take over” Afghanistan. Is the war embedded in the background of DV8?

Brian Wood: Not so much war in the shooting-bombing sense, and I don’t think the word “Afghanistan” entered my mind once while writing DV8, but what always struck me about that film… and this goes back to when I was rather young, since I first saw it when I was twelve, was the disparity in cultural development and sophistication, and how ruthlessly Daniel exploits that. And how carelessly they both enter into the whole enterprise.

I think the twelve year-old me was pretty impressed by it, I must admit.

Anyway, that film’s stuck in the background of my mind ever since. I’d probably put it on my Top 10 list, if I had one. I think DV8 was born from that, with equal parts Demo and Northlanders, two of my other books.

HC: You’ve really created quite a mashup of the original DV8 and the John Huston film. It’s like you’ve taken some deep issues and brought them down to an accessible level among youth. Is that what you had in mind?

BW: Maybe. Maybe subconsciously. I think I’m being a little ruthless and careless myself with the natives in that story, and I have to watch myself since I don’t want to spoil anything. My main goal with this book is to reintroduce and further develop bits of the DV8 characters, and do a little bit of Demo, provide a little bit of superhero social commentary that I could never get away with in that other book. The setting of DV8, and the natives relationship to them is utterly crucial to that. But in all honestly I am not really making it my mission to tell their story in the same way or with the same complexity as I am the DV8 kids.

HC: Can you give us your own review of “The Man Who Would Be King”? Or any suggestions on other great films that you’ve found inspiring?

Anything else in film that might make its way into your comics?

BW: There is another film, one that is certainly in my Top Five, that could be interesting to people who know my work… and that’s “Local Hero”, an eighties film set in Scotland. I’ve used that for inspiration in so many ways and at some many different times (and will again in the near future) that I’ve taken to re-purchasing new copies each time. Seems like the least I could do. It’s a terrific film and hugely overlooked.

As far as “The Man Who Would Be King”, it’s hard to review that properly, to do it justice. I can say that its a must-see if anyone is even halfway interested in current events i.e. the war, or the politics of war in general.

Harlan Ellison: Dreams with Sharp Teeth

Harlan Ellison: Dreams With Sharp Teeth is a wonderful look at the man and his work and, as Ellison agrees himself, is the closest you’ll get to know what it’s like to hang out with him. Whatever you may have heard about Harlan Ellison, this is a documentary you need to see. Harlan Ellison has filed numerous lawsuits and I don’t begin to take sides. The documentary doesn’t judge either. But, you most definitely can say, that the overriding legal concern is the rights of the artist and, for that, we can salute Ellison. “Don’t work for free, you should get paid,” is the central message here and it’s a damn good one.

Along with exploring what has contributed to the image of an adversarial loud mouth, the documentary keeps coming back to the work. Each time we get an snippet or expert of something Ellison wrote, like a classic work from “Star Trek” or “The Outer Limits,” we are given reason to want to learn more about the man. And the footage of him speaking with students back in the ’60s about social justice and global warming is insightful. There are hints too as to why Ellison may not have fully secured his place among writers. Some speculate that his personality has gotten in the way. Others worry that, along with his massive number of short stories and longer works, he should have written at least one big sweeping novel.

Any writer that has reached a point of looking back on a body of work is concerned about posterity and so is Harlan Ellison. This documentary goes a long way in clearing the air. Luckily, the DVD also has special features that round things out even further. We have a short movie that lets us see first hand Ellison interacting with an audience that has just seen the documentary and we see a lot of love and there’s another short movie with Ellison and Neil Gaiman. It turns out, these guys go way back to when Gaiman was a journalist and aspiring comics writer. Ellison looks over Gaiman and jokingly says, “You know, there’s something just a little creepy about a guy your age dressing like he’s still in his twenties.” Gaiman gives out a sigh, “I know.”

But the best extra feature is a collection of short movies that has Ellison reading from his work. I will close out with some brief observations about each:

The Glass Teat: This sounds great as a spoken word performance and offers insights similar to Marshall McLuhan, if he was really really angry.

Prince Myshkin, And Hold The Relish: What a delightful mixture of found art and literary criticism. Who knew you could find so many insights into Doestoyevsky and the human condition in the middle of the night at a hot dog stand?

All The Lies That Are My Life: What do you call writers who happen to write science fiction? “Sci Fi writer”? “Fantasy writer”? How about just say, “writer”?

The Silence: From a book of stories to accompany the art of Jacek Yerka. “Your spirit will kneel on the broken glass at the pews.”

The Resurgence Of Miss Ankle-strap Wedgie: A look at old Hollywood being gobbled up by new Hollywood.

The Prowler In The City At The Edge Of The World: A very bloody Jack The Ripper tale to accompany a similar short story by Robert Bloch, writer of “Psycho.” This one is a fine way to end Harlan Ellison’s performance art and leaves you, of course, wanting more.