| REVIEWS: MOVIES & DVDs | COMIC BOOKS | VIDEOGAMES | WEB SITES & MORE Please, Mr. Brubaker, Unleash the Hounds by Mike-oh
For the last four issues, I have thrilled to your storytelling. I actually squeeled like a school girl at the end of issue 84 when the Punisher was obviously getting himself arrested just because he wanted to join the fray. That was so cool. And now that I have finished reading issue 85, I have one favor to ask. But first, let me recognize that you are not still in the process of writing issue 86 as I write this letter. I know that it's already been written and drawn and is either being colored or has already moved past that stage and has gone to the printer. Hell, by now it could even be done at the printer and waiting to be shipped for all I know. So I know that what I'm about to ask for might be completely impossible to receive. But what does logic and hope have to do with each other anyway? So this is my request. My hope. My wish. Stretch the action of the upcoming Rykers riot scene out for days. Treat it like the hangar scene in Hard Boiled. Or better yet, like the opening scene in Private Ryan. You know how Spielberg tortured us with 30 minutes of painful flesh penetrating projectiles of hot steel that would whiz past us and into our buddies every second of that excrutiating half hour. Please don't take a shortcut and have the story pick up after the riot, forcing us to fill in the blanks with our imagination. Maybe, if this was a court case, that type of skipping ahead would be merciful, allowing us to miss all of the paint-peeling drama of jury deliberation. But this is a prison riot. Total chaos. Guards getting the shiv. Inmates getting hosed down by machine gun fire. And rooms of people getting blown up by tear gas bombs that accidently land near open gas lines. Correction. Make that a prison riot with Daredevil, Punisher, Kingpin, and Bullseye mixing it up. A prison riot where Kingpin is squishing heads with his giant mitts. Where Frank Castle is snapping necks as fast as he can, afraid that the party could end any second. Where Bullseye gets to take care of business, free from the Houdini-proof shackles that have been holding him back. And where Matt Murdock gets to avenge Foggy Nelson's death and finally settle the score with Fisk once and for all. I'm begging you, Ed. Now that you have masterfully arranged this masterpiece of drama, violence, and strife, please milk it for all the action it is worth. Is it possible that this prison riot could last for two, three or four issues? What if you continue to tell the story of Matt Murdock working to solve the puzzle of Nelson's murder against the backdrop of an unceasing wave of violence between gangs and ganglords. What if you have showdowns between Fisk and Castle, Fisk and Bullseye, and Bullseye and Castle before you ever get around to having a showdown between Bullseye and Murdock or Fisk and Murdock. Those grand finale's can come later. Once we've been sated with the general carnage of all of those lesser hoods trying to take out Murdock and Castle and each other. Please, Ed. Unleash the hounds. Let the fiends out of Pandora's box. Let the genie out of the bottle. As Ray Davies said, "Give the people what they want." Give us the ultimate prison riot with both barrels. We can take it. Resist the urge to gloss over the action in favor of moving your story forward. I know it would be so easy to have Murdock and Fisk facing off in some supply room or something where they exchange an hour of dialogue and a couple of punches get thrown before they finally resolve their age old feud. Meanwhile, the riot has been going on out of sight and out of mind. Murdock walks away from Fisk crumpled in the corner of the supply room and as he walks down the hall, the rest of the prisoners have already been subdued and order has been restored. Noooooooo! It can't happen like that. What a crime that would be. This is my waking nightmare. This is my motivation for writing you this soulful plea.
Teasing comic book readers is a long standing tradition.
Back in the day, comic book covers would always show you a picture of Batman turned into a tiger, or Daredevil being unmasked. Or Rick Jones lying at the foot of Captain America's tombstone. My favorite of these was the continuous ploy of showing Robin being killed on the cover of Batman and Detective Comics. In recent years, this was the favorite approach to covers of JLA -- showing the Justice League all dead, one cover after another. After a while, you get used to the teasing and forgive the fact that the story promise was never fulfilled. But not this time. I have been teased for the last time, Mr. Brubaker. You owe me a prison riot. A roller coaster ride of violence and drama. I know you have it in you. I know you can do it. I'm begging you. Both barrels, please. So,
what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Let us know. All comments welcome. |
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ABOUT OUR WRITERS Disgruntled
Dan Afro
Thunder Mike-oh |
