Thursday, May 16, 2013

Brian Michael Bendis & Spider-Man



The “Castle” Season Three DVD set includes a twenty-minute extra called “Murder They Wrote.”  This roundtable discussion features Andrew Marlowe (who created the TV show), Rob Bowman (who alongside Marlowe, serves as Executive Producer), Michael Connelly (Best-selling mystery writer who has appeared on the show), Nathan Fillion (who plays writer Richard Castle on the show), and Brian Michael Bendis, a comic book writer and artist.  What is Bendis’ connection to “Castle,” you ask?  Well, along with Kelly Sue DeConnick, Lan Medina, and Tom Raney, he created “Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm,” a graphic novel based on the novel written by the fictional Richard Castle.

From Richard Castle's descriptions, I imagined Derek Storm as your typical private investigator.  Bendis envisioned him as a more exciting character, akin to James Bond.  He regarded “Deadly Storm” as a unique challenge: to adapt a novel that doesn’t exist, written by an author who doesn’t exist, and featuring a character that…well, you get the idea. 

"So Michael, tell us about yourself," Nathan asks.

What interested me more was how Bendis became a comic book author and artist.  When he was a child, his mother bought him comic books to read.  By age six, he had decided that he wanted to create his own comic books.  He particularly wanted to write stories about Spider-Man, his favorite superhero.  That dream guided him throughout his life, until he finally ended up at Marvel Comics, where for the past dozen years he’s been creating his own comic books about his favorite characters, including Spider-Man.

"I'm proud to say that I'm a comic book writer,
and I love Spider-Man."

Brian Michael Bendis is a prolific comic book writer and artist.  His numerous awards attest to the quality of his work.  But how did he get there?  He trusted his own judgment, even at the tender age of six.  He never listened to the naysayers who suggested a more reasonable or respectable career.  He never gave in to the fear of failure, or the allure of an easier, more achievable future. He knew what he wanted to do with his life, and worked hard to acquire the skills and abilities to fulfill his dreams.  

He didn't start off as a superhero, but he became one.  Just like his beloved Spider-Man.

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

No comments:

Post a Comment