Today's Views is an irregular weblog updated when there are new fun things to report. Keep checking in.

8/3/03

Okay! I give up! So many people have, over the years, asked me about my "solution" for bringing back Barry (The Flash) Allen, that I alluded to in my introduction to the Crisis On Infinite Earths collection, that I finally put it on this website rather than have to explain it every time. But, being sneaky, I didn't tell anyone where it was. The idea was to get people to look around the site. So now I get emails saying they've spent hours searching for it and still can't find it, so I have to tell them where to look. So, I give up. The solution is now on my Q&A page. This was the solution I came up with during the Crisis that I gave to the editor of The Flash if he decided to bring Barry back.

I haven't heard from anyone about keeping the message board or not. If nobody cares, I'll be taking it down some time in the next few weeks. If you want it to stay up speak now or forever hold your peace.

8/2/03

Mark Evanier, Caroline Kelly, Len Wein, Wendy Pini, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and I had lunch yesterday at Los Angeles' famed Magic Castle, home to many to the world's greatest magicians. The Castle is usually only open for dinner, and to eat there you need to either be a member or go there with one. The Castle, which, by the way, really is a castle, also has a dress code that requires the whole suit and tie riff for men, while women must be in a dress. Jeans are verbotten. Sneakers are not accepted. A tie is a must. But on Fridays, the Castle relaxes its rigorous dress code and opens for lunch. Len and I drove in from the Valley and attended the first magic show for the day in their famous Close-Up room where we were regaled with some truly amazing magic. The thing about magic is you know up front that you're watching a trick, and you're close enough to the magician so you should be able to spot what he's doing, but Jerry Andrus, the magician who, amazingly is in his 80s, an age when your fingers shouldn't be able to move let alone hide 3 inch balls of solid steel, was so damn good we couldn't spot where he palmed his props. Some magicians work with giant machine props that do the magic for them. In fact, it's usually the Magician's assistant who is doing the 'magic,' while the Magician merely takes the bows. But the Close-Up room is different. The Magicians who perform here have incredible skills that take years to perfect. To read about the Castle, and to take a virtual tour of its premises, click on this link here.

Mark established our little kaffeeklatch and we meet every few weeks, gabbing about the business, telling each other what we're up to, and planning a very secret fun project that should be announced some time soon. We also heard about some fascinating comics news which should be breaking any time now, so pay attention to the rumor columns.

7/29/03

I've been getting a lot of emails lately wondering what I think of the new Teen Titans animated series on the Cartoon Network. Rather than repeat myself, I just posted my answer on my Q&A page. If you've got any other Q's, I'll be happy to give some A's in response.

Do writers and producers know how to end movies these days? I've seen every major summer release and 99% of them, starting with the otherwise excellent X-2, have absolutely no idea how to resolve their story in a satisfying manner. Why the hell did Jean Grey have to stay outside the X-jet? Just to get killed so she could become Dark Phoenix? Why didn't Storm, who caused multiple tornadoes a few scenes earlier, create an updraft to lift the jet away? Why did the dam have to break in the first place? How the hell was that set up logically? And didn't Superman do that back in the 70s? Even Seabiscuit, which is a truly wonderful film, falls apart at the very end where, rather than being inspiring, forcing one to jump out of their seat cheering for what's going on, it settles for a very quiet finale that is more of a let down than a lifting of spirits. Yesterday, I saw Tomb Raider 2. It was surprisingly good and much, much better than #1, but then a sharp stick to an eye would be better than the first movie which made absolutely no sense at all. In fact, all Lara had to do in the first film to beat the bad guys was never to get involved with the story. And that's not a joke! But TR-2 fails at the end because viewer expectations are let down by never showing us what we came to see (and I'm not talking Angelina Jolie naked). Still, TR-2 is good. Go see it. A half dozen other major summer releases have also fallen way, way down at the end. Back in the 80s, I used to joke about starting a company called "Ends Of Movies, Inc." where a producer looking for an end to his film would come to me. I'd look over his film and point out what they were trying to do and how their story should actually end so it not only made sense, but came out of what had come before. Maybe I need to start that company today as it's obvious nobody has a clue what their stories are about any more.

7/28/03

As I mentioned earlier, since I do this website myself, I've spent the past week fixing it up, making certain links work, pages are all uniform, and that this is a site I can be proud of, even as I continue to expand on it. I thought this might be a good time to mention to some newbies and some of the more seasoned fans out there what's on the different pages listed directly to the right.

Obviously, Email Marv means what it says. If you want to write to me, ask a question that can be put up on the Q&A page, or even send one that requires a personal answer, click on Email Marv.

Marvwolfman.com is our first page. I do change it, rewrite stuff, add stuff, etc. from time to time, but it serves as a general introduction to the entire site.

If you don't know what Today's Views is, umm, you obviously are on the wrong site. Type "porn" on your Google search engine and have fun.

The Man Called A•X actually has more than a half dozen pages. A•X was a comic I really enjoyed writing back in the 90s along with artist Shawn McManus. It was first published by Malibu Comics and then went over to DC Comics. This series of pages reviews all our issues as well as lets you see a sample page from a TV script I wrote featuring A-X, but as a woman! Finally, we feature a map of A•X's home town, The City of Bedlam.

From A•X we move onto Mighty Mites. Like the above, there is more than one MM page. The Mites is an idea I came up with for an animated cartoon series. Artist Scott Sava supplied not only the art but did a two minute fully animated CGI cartoon which we are shopping around to various studios. Voices on the tape are by Sonny Straight, who does voices on YugiOh as well as Lupin 3 and Wendy Pini, she of Elfquest fame.

Once you go through the Mighty Mites pages, you can take an Office Tour. I don't know why people enjoy seeing other people's offices, but there it is with art and toys galore.

Moving on, we have my Q&A page where you can ask questions and I'll, umm, answer them. Hence Q&A. Duh.

Next, Teen Titans fans can see the long lost original typed page I wrote that began the process I used to create the New Teen Titans. You can also see the first sketches I made of Titans Tower. This page had been lost in my files since 1980 and just unearthed.

Continuing, you can go to the What Th--? intro page. What Th--? is a weekly internet column I write for silverbulletcomicbooks.com. I reprint it here and by next week you'll be able to see the first 52 columns I wrote, with many more to come. At the moment, however, only the first 40+ columns have been posted. What Th--? features articles on many subjects, but year one focused on how to write. It also features much praised interviews with top comic book, animation and TV/movie writers. The writing columns and interviews are clearly marked for anyone who is interested in our craft.

After that, curious folk can see my Resume. It pretty well summarizes my work life until now in somewhat complete detail. This doesn't go into issue by issue work, but pretty much covers most everything I remember that I've done. Looking at it now makes me wonder how I ever had the energy to do all that stuff.

Lastly, you can buy copies of some of the Scripts I've written over the years, both comics and animated. Learn to be a writer! See how the pros do it! or just send money and I'll send you an autographed script suitable for framing or wrapping fish in. That's it! Enjoy the site and keep checking in as I'll be adding new pages when you least expect it.

Speaking of my column (see above) the third in a series of three articles on what's wrong with Marvel has just been put on line over at silverbulletcomicbooks.com. I've been getting a lot of good mail on these and wanted to provide a link. The last article is up but you can hit their archives button and read them all. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Today's Views Archives:
1: December 2002
2: January 2003
3: February 2003
4: March 2003
5: April 2003
6: May 2003
7: June 2003
8: August 2003

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Email Marv

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Today's Views

The Man Called A-X

Mighty Mites

Office Tour

Q&A

Teen Titans

What Th--?

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