Blood and Brains (10)
Last Updated (Monday, 09 August 2010 21:40) Written by Administrator Monday, 21 June 2010 00:00
I think this is from around 1981. The film was re-released in that year with the 'Episode IV: A New Hope' sub-title above the opening crawl. The artwork looks like 1981 - somewhere between poor and getting better. Also, the glued in newspaper photo might have been related to the re-release.
Art Notes: Hidden Drawing
I suspected there was a drawing in the top panel which was pasted over with that poor quality press clipping. I mustn't have been happy with it. I attempted to extend the rest of the photo in biro. Probably hoped no-one would notice! The photo possibly came from the local Leinster Leader newspaper cinema page. As the true fan knows: any imagery at all - whatever the source - was like gold. Especially in the days before DVD and YouTube. You might have to go for years without seeing the film.
UPDATE: I managed to remove it to see what's underneath with a bit of steam. It was indeed Airfix glue or Bostik - but the steam helped. See the original!
The shadow rendering on the rebel's face is quite adventurous - a later enhancement? In fact this page seems to have been drawn at more than one time. Perhaps drawn sparsely in '77 or 78 in blue biro and augmented in black fine-liner pen in '81.
The Script
"The figure shifted its big rifle around in armored hands - too late. A beam of intense light struck the head, sending pieces of armor, bone, and flesh flying in all directions."
The gore on this page, especially the half-skeletal face on the left is reminiscent of this coming Wednesday's much-worse page. If you think this is extreme stuff (I was quite shocked to see it) you might like to read the 1977 novel which was a major bad influence. It's interesting that Lucas was inclined toward gore - but also toward cuteness. What's odd is that he should put both into one film.
Film Notes
Rod has some interesting alternative images at BMS
Rod Hannah discussed this problem on BlueMilkSpecial.com recently in a comment that I highly recommend you read. One of the problems with the Prequel Trilogy is that they're aimed at all ages. We get excruciatingly slapstick stuff like Jar-Jar Binks' stupid antics for the children, alongside gruesome light-sabre decapitations. Rod maintains that Ben was to decapitate the Cantina Bully in the first film but Lucas was talked out of it: he just lost his arm. Which as I recall, in 1977 at 9 years old was shocking enough!
On Wednesday: Even more gruesome shreddings! Seriously, you'll be shocked.
Comments
"Grisly Strip of Bacon". Excellent description. But NO NO NO you silly thing. Not next week...
TODAY. Whoo-ha-ha-haaa a!!!
We tried to make a Death Star diarrh-ama out of corrugated cardboard for the SW figures. Bloody murder to cut with scissors. Then we were faced with making it all black and grey with a couple of thin felt-tip pens. I think that project might have been shelved! When I look back it's clear how hopelessly inadequate kids' arts and crafts materials tend to be. I encourage Johnny to use quality thick colouring pencils, cross-hatched for big areas instead of pens. We could have used your 'poster paints' (the aroma comes back to me...) but they're tricky though, as they wrinkle paper and card. I didn't discover how to stretch paper until I was about 30. AFTER art college!
Interesting seeing your choices of angle in adaptation of this scene. It's tough effectively storytelling in sequential form. It comes with practice. With only a couple of panels you need to inform the reader where everything is in relation to each other.
Continued in next comment because I keep getting told my comments are TOO long. :-/ grrr...
I think the pasted in newspaper cutting is a more ideal precursor to the large second panel than what you originally had. I say this because it shows the "over the shoulder" angle of the rebels, thereby setting up the front on angle which follows with the impact of the intense blaster fire really hurting them. The bonus is that you get to pack that one panel with the additional information of C3PO and R2D2 and their placement in this scene.
However, I don't really know why you were compelled to hide the original panel as I doubt (no offense meant) that this was part of your consideration at such an young age. The Stormtrooper bursting upon the scene has a lot of impact and strikes me as exactly what a 9 or so year old would want to capture from this scene.
Rod, if you have any other nuggets of wisdom like this, feel free to share them. When I eventually - inevitably - publish the comic that makes me rich I'll give you a percentage.