If I made it to the top of the Hollywood heap and directed the highest grossing film of all time, I know exactly what my next move would be: Grimjack. I’ve mused on how it could be done a hundred times — all of them terrible ideas because I’m not a film-maker. But to my amazement, reality is doing a better version than I ever could by dropping it into the ablest of hands. Grimjack‘s the Russo brothers’ newest project — currently in development for an Amazon pilot — and I am 12 years old again with glee.
john ostrander
‘Grimjack’ & Me
or, How a Lunatic Murderer Coached My Teen Years
It’s the smile that makes Grimjack who he is. You might argue his trademark characteristic is the scar on his eye — and it’s true that was the first thing I noticed when I discovered him a lifetime ago — but it’s not, nor the streak in his hair, nor how he dresses like the most militant member of the E Street Band. And though “grim” is right there in his name, it’s not his brooding, a legitimate character trait of his long before it became pointlessly de rigeur in comics’ leather-clad ’90s. It’s not even his moral complexity, brought to comics ahead of Vertigo or Watchmen. All of those are defining traits of the character, but not the definitive one that answers the question: “Who is Grimjack?”
Nah, it’s the molon labe grin that only comes out when someone offers violence. Why, sure, says that mad smile, we can dance. Who is Grimjack? The cheshire cat of bloodshed. As for what is Grimjack? A comic book which, more than any other, made me want to create comics…while also giving me an outlet for my standard-issue teenage aggression, and all the other high emotions now available to me.
Writing tough characters
UPDATE: Hey, go here to read the better version of this column. Last column addressed how to talk tough. The answer, of course, is don’t try, so this one’s about walking the walk that actually sells it. I’d been making pass after pass at a confrontation in the opening chapter of this mob western called … Read more
John Ostrander’s glaucoma surgery
I would not be writing comics if it weren’t for John Ostrander. Comics were a lark, something I bought with friends over one summer, and probably would have faded from my habits had not someone passed me two issues of GRIMJACK. Instantaneous thrill. I was hooked for life. You’ll recollect that I’m in New Mexico … Read more