Tagged By A Meme!

Pillock just tagged me with the Mad Madame Meme. It goes like this...

What creators who are usually associated with a certain company (or, indeed, medium) would you like to see writing someone else’s title? For example, would you want to see JMS on Hellboy? Which DC character should Bendis have a crack at? Should George Pelecanos write Batman? (Answer: Yes)

Let’s get taggy, and remember to get taggy in turn and spread the love like rapidly mutating wildfire. Hell, don’t wait for a tag if you’re up for it, just drop me an email and I’ll pop a link in.

Pillock noted that I've gone off marvel (which is true) but there's nothing in the meme qualifications that say I have to stick with marvel properties, so the game's on! My one perennial caveat: if I'm going to indulge in no-chance-in-Hades-of-this-ever-happening fantasies, I'm allowed to whip out my handy dandy bring-them-back-from-the-dead machine. And with that said...

John Buscema on Groo
Is there anyone in comics who doesn't think Big John kicked ass on Conan back in the day? No, there isn't. John was THE Conan artist. Period.

Sergio Aragones' Groo actually owes a fair amount to Conan. They're both excellent swordsmen, taking on hordes of enemies single-handedly. They're both reliant on sages and wizards for thoughtful recommendations. Both have a great deal of upper body strength. Neither of them wear pants.

So let's see what Big John can do with a different warrior/barbarian. One who's just as likely to attack his enemies as his friends. Yeah, I know John isn't exactly known as a writer, but he's got storytelling skills galore and worked in the "marvel method" for decades, so I'm pretty sure he could handle one Groo story.

Besides, as you can see from the art at the right, Sergio already took a shot at Conan.

Will Eisner on Fantastic Four
Oh, tell me that wouldn't be just the best comic ever! This is the guy that Jack Kirby -- the man who created the FF -- called "boss". The ONLY man to ever give Jack a run for his money as the greatest comic book artist of all time. Even Will's worst work was absolutely incredible.

So you you put this legend of comicdom on one of the seminal concepts in superhero lore. No, you wouldn't get the whacked-out sci-fi concepts thrown left, right and sideways on every other page like Jack used to do, but you're guaranteed that A) it will be frickin' gorgeous and B) it will be a powerful, moving story. How could you not want to see that?

Charles Schulz on Amazing Spider-Man
C'mon! Peter Parker and Charlie Brown are the same character, just a dozen or so years apart in ages. It should be a no-brainer for Schulz to write this. Except instead of battling the Green Goblin, Spidey just winds up trying not get his kite stuck in a tree.

(Actually, the idea is just an excuse to use that art at the left!)

Stephen J. Cannell on Blackstone, Master Magician
I figure this requires a bit more explanation...

Cannell is a TV producer/writer who had a string of successful shows in the 1980s: Hunter, 21 Jump Street, The A-Team, Rockford Files, and The Commish to name a few. I've actually watched a number of his shows fairly recently and the stuff he wrote himself holds up pretty well. Obviously, at this point, the effects and wardrobes are a bit dated -- and he was clearly working on a TV budget, not a movie one. But the stories themselves were solid and enjoyable. That said, I would NOT want him on a superhero comic because he's actually not a big fan of the genre. In fact, The Greatest American Hero was pretty much the ONLY way he felt he could tell a superhero type story.

Harry Blackstone was a real magician that lived from 1885 to 1965. He was fairly popular and well-known in his day and had comic books, radio shows, and a Big Little book chronicling his fictional adventures in the 1940s. The stories were in much the same vein as Mandrake or any of the other magician adventurers of that time, most of whom have remained largely untouched in the decades since their respective cancellations.

I think Cannell would be able to put a decent spin on that type of a character. The magic theme would give a wide range of genres to touch on (from more mundane card sharks to mystical fantasy stories) and having a fairly small cast is something Cannell seems comfortable with. Further, I'd just be plain curious to see how he would do working in a significantly different medium like comics.

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