Cinema Purgatorio #2

[laughing_tree]

"I’m aware that a large majority of the current comic book audience are pathologically averse to anthologies, and you can certainly see their point. After all, when has anything memorable in the comic book medium ever emerged from an anthology? Except, obviously, Action Comics. Oh, and Detective Comics. And Sensation Comics and All Star and Adventure Comics. And Will Eisner’s work. And Jack Cole’s. And Mad and the entire E.C. line. And Amazing Adult Fantasy. And Tales of Suspense. And Strange Tales. And Journey into Mystery. And Creepy, and Eerie. And Zap. And the rest of the Undergrounds. And Comics Arcade. And 2000AD. And Warrior. And Viz. And almost all English and European comics. And almost all American comics, even single-character titles, until the 1960s. But other than that, what has the comic book anthology, or the Roman Empire for that matter, ever done for us?" -- Alan Moore

Comments

[shakalooloo]

Do we actually get to see any of the visions these guys are describing? Yay for anthology comics and all, but aren't visuals part of the whole point of comics?

[fungo_squiggly]

I think the point is that the "visions" frightening the characters are, to us, very mundane things. Like "drinking hot black water as though from the Styx" is just drinking coffee.

I guess you could draw a really scary-looking picture of two actors in costume drinking their coffee, showing that we're seeing it from the terrified character's eyes? There's a pretty big risk of that just coming off as unintentionally humorous, though.

It's like in Lovecraft. It's more disturbing if we only imagine what these "strange" visions must look like to the men.

[lieut_kettch]

The dim figure holding a "monstrous hairy grub" on a pole:

[kamino_neko]

We'd just be seeing a movie being filmed if it showed the 'visions', instead of the characters reactions. The reactions are the point, not the revealing mistakes. (OTOH, note the Centurion's watch is there from the start.)

[captainbellman]

A man realises the magnificent beard he thought he grew is actually false; this is the tipping point that makes him beg for death.

I wonder if this is an actual nightmare Moore has had.

[bruinsfan]

Possibly it's one his beard has had...

[lieut_kettch]

Soooo... two actors that went overboard with the method acting and lost themselves in their characters?

[angelophile]

Seems like it. I note one of them's wearing a watch.

[tcampbell1000]

Alan's still Alan (and Kevin's still Kevin): the tricks are all recognizable at this point, but he can still spend an enjoyable, textured ball of yarn without hardly trying.

That said, pointing out that anthologies were immensely popular until about fifty years ago is, surprisingly, not that persuasive an argument to check out a new one in 2016.