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FORTUNE
AND GLORY
Brian
Michael Bendis gets bitten by the Hollywood bug.
 Writer
and Artist: Brian Michael Bendis
three-issue miniseries
Published by Oni Press, 1999-2000
$4.95 each
Reviewed
by Paul Hanna
Hollywood, for all its insanity, paparazzi, and popularity, inspires
a sense of wonder in the United States. Mind you, this is a completely
different sense of wonder than, say, reading Superman comics as
a kid. In some ways, movies and celebrities are to the rest of
the world what superheroes are to comics’ culture. People argue
over movies and actors like fanboys argue over the victor in a
fight between Superman and the Hulk. And this sense of awe is
not unfounded; movies are entertainment after all, perhaps the
most popular form of entertainment as it requires little literacy.
But what goes on behind the scenes, even before any of that production
stuff, is more entertaining.
Brian Bendis’ latest work, FORTUNE AND GLORY, is an autobiographical
comic documenting the writer/artist’s adventures in Hollywoodland,
making connections, finding an agent, and pitching his previous
comics works, GOLDFISH, JINX, and eventually TORSO
as films.
All the events in the story are narrated by Bendis, with his
uniquely charming yet subtly sarcastic voice. There’s a lot of
Bendis "talking at the camera," bringing readers who are new to
his work up to speed, and making fun of the political oddities
that are unique to Hollywood.
Bendis’ narrative captions are very matter-of-fact; he usually
only indulges in humor outside the narrative. The narrative therefore
tends to dominate less so that the humor of the anecdotes themselves
aren’t outshined. They are more of a device used to set up the
setting of the gag so that the reader isn’t left scratching their
heads about the weird ways of Hollywoodland.
And weird it is.
| "In FORTUNE AND GLORY,
Hollywood is the star." |
The book is very funny and amusing. Bendis handles his own character
with considerable humility. But this isn’t so much a story about
Brian Bendis as it is about Hollywood; Bendis is more like an
observer. In FORTUNE AND GLORY, Hollywood is the star.
And it’s not especially glamorized; if this comic ever got made
into a movie, all but two minutes of it would wind up on the cutting-room
floor.
Bendis’ linework goes a different route than his more detailed,
noirish work of GOLDFISH, JINX, and TORSO.
He opts for a much more simple and cartoony style that is much
better suited to a humor comic. And that’s what FORTUNE AND
GLORY ultimately is, above being autobiographical or anything
else. It’s damn funny.
| "The issue covers are visually
attractive and innovative by way of their sheer simplicity." |
The issue covers are visually attractive and innovative by way
of their sheer simplicity. They are excerpted parts from the story
itself. The potential readers can eye them and at least have some
ambiguous notion of their quality rather than blindly having to
judge a book by its cover. It’s almost like a movie trailer, where
the viewer is shown the more amusing parts of the movie. But in
the case of Bendis’ comic, it’s more like a taste of one of many
amusing scenes held within the pages of each issue.
There is a sense of awe and wonder of the powers that be in Hollywood,
and even Bendis himself gets starry-eyed at the possibility of
a GOLDFISH movie or meeting celebrities. It’s not your
classic, “It’s a bird! It’s a plane!” sense of wonder, either.
It’s something far more glorious, more real. Or more delusional.
It’s hard to tell when you’ve been bitten by the Hollywood bug.
Recommended.
Paul
Hanna is Reviews Editor of PopImage.
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