posted 04-18-2001 09:19 AM               

To my mind, Brian Michael Bendis had a nearly impossible task in writing Fortune & Glory. He had to tell the tale of his first experience trying to sell his writing in Hollywood without sounding whiny, egotistical, or self-absorbed. He had to make an unbelievable story filled with outlandish characters ring true and bring real human emotion to what is a essentially an elaborate fantasy for most aspiring fiction writers. Bottom Line: he had to shatter the Hollywood ideal without pissing off his audience. And he had do it with black and white drawings of himself and little text balloons. But he's Bendis, and that Eisner Award on his shelf ain't just for show. He is one of the funniest writers around and he can make his round-headed, flimsily limbed caricatures seem eerily human.

Brian Michael Bendis, writer of such acclaimed "alternative" comics as Goldfish, Powers, Jinx, and Torso, found himself in an enviable position: Hollywood was calling - literally. Press coverage of his work on Goldfish and Jinx had attracted the attention of major Hollywood studios. He picked up his phone one day and Disney was on the other end. The next day: Miramax. The next thing he knew, he was in meetings with L.A. power brokers, lunching with script doctors, and being ignored in restaurants. Fortune and Glory is his recounting of the absurd and sometimes insulting encounters he had with Hollywood agents, producers, and developers as he tries to finalize the film deal.

There are a few key reasons why this book works as well as it does. First of all, even though he's writing primarily in the first-person, Bendis' talent for dialogue shines through. His is the voice of every guy you've ever met who has written a screenplay. Hell, his is the voice of every really cool guy you've ever met. His occasional anxiety attacks, "I have no talent" crises, and conversations littered with film and TV references drive home the fact that he's just an ordinary guy temporarily stuck in the fantasy world of L.A. Having read Powers, I was familiar with Bendis' way with language but I wasn't prepared for the stark reality of his wit. This isn't just funny, this is “laughing really hard with an old friend" funny.

Secondly, Bendis doesn't trap himself in the narrative. He's perfectly fine to take a break from the story to giver the reader mini Hollywood primers. His primers, however, are unlike any you'll find in screenwriting texts. The round-eyed Bendis character holding a pointer in front of a sign which reads HEAT=BULLS**T is not one you'll likely forget. By the way, "heat" is Hollywood speak for "an idea or concept that studios want just so no one else can have it." I should also mention that Bendis gives a very funny primer on the comics industry for those readers who aren't already familiar with his work. He defines "alternative comics" as anything that “don't have a cape, or claws, or, like really giant, perfectly spherical, chronic back-pain-inducing breasts involved in it."

Thirdly, it takes a great deal of talent to draw characters this simple and have them convey so much emotion. The main character is essentially a round head stuck on a slight body with stick-like limbs. But when Bendis sticks that little character in the corner of a page with just the right shading, you can truly understand how he felt sitting in those big Hollywood offices listening to people say they were fans of his work but had never read a single issue of his books. The other characters are quite endearing too. I'm particularly fond of his wife (Bendis' depiction of her reaction to the big option check is worth the price of this book). However it’s the Hollywood characters that will ultimately have you laughing so hard it hurts. (If you're an aspiring screenwriter, you may be hurting for another reason). Mind-boggling is the best word I've heard to describe this cast of loons, or in Paul (Batman: The Animated Series) Dini's words from the book's introduction, "movers, shakers, and fakers." Without giving too much away, there are two things that will strike you most when you finish this book (which you will in no time flat, I assure you): 1) how Brian Michael Bendis got out of Hollywood with his pride intact and the guts to write about the experience and 2) how we trust Hollywood people with eating utensils let alone the powerful media channels they control.

posted 04-19-2001 04:23 AM               

But see, I love banter. And Bendis writes great banter, like the back and forth between him and and his writing partner on Torso. I love it when a writer reaches out from the page, grabs my heart, and makes me feel what he or she feels. And Bendis can do that, too -- when a studio exec tells him that the studio wants to buy his story and turn it into a Pauly Shore vehicle, you are right there with Bendis, sinking into self-doubt and frustration. I love it a writer makes me go, "Hey, cool!" Bendis' layout does that too, reincorporating previous panels into the narrative at later points as background graphics and using a few other cool tricks. So yeah, Bendis rocks.

posted 04-19-2001 01:21 PM               

One thing I also like that I didn't mention (because the review was already too long) was the "real" elements Bendis incorporated into his backgrounds. I love that the panels of his character drawing in his studio have photo-esque reproductions of his movie poster collection in the background. It was strangely comforting, though I can't imagine why.*

*For those who don't know, notnews.org's homebase is a severely cramped office in which every square inch of wall space is covered by a movie poster of some sort.

posted 05-05-2001 12:37 AM               

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Originally posted by Pattie Gillett:
So what you're saying, is, you like it.

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Whew. I was afraid I was being vague.

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I love that the panels of his character drawing in his studio have photo-esque reproductions of his movie poster collection in the background.

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Oh, absolutely. I love the idea that some comic creators are really incorporating ideas of graphic design and making use of advances in reproduction technologies. It just blows the doors off old conceptions of what comics are.

quote:

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*For those who don't know, notnews.org's homebase is a severely cramped office in which every square inch of wall space is covered by a movie poster of some sort.

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Or a comic, don't forget! (There are a few miscellaneous posters as well, but movie posters and comics all around -- how can that not inspire you?)

posted 10-03-2001 12:42 AM               

However, I'm not here to talk about my desk. I'm here to talk about a set of exclusive web comics that Bendis did in a style very similar to Fortune & Glory for Oni Press' website. You can find them here. I particularly recommend 'McLife Lessons.'