just in case you have absolutely no idea what The Crow is about (which is unliikely cause if you know me - you're bound to have heard about it before - but then again why would you care to remember right?) here's a little sypnosis ...
This is the story of a young man named Eric who along with his fiance, Shelly is murdered on an abandoned road, by a gang of junkies, led by T-Bird. Due to the pain suffered by their souls, Eric is sent back to put the wrong things right. It is very dark and violent, it is recommended for mature readers. The movie was based on this comic book. This story was born out of James O'Barr's personal tragedy.
James O'Barr's own words on Eric, the main character of the story, "I don't believe Eric is a hero. He can be absolutely cold-blooded and ruthless at times. When he goes into a room to get one person, everyone else in the room is probably going to die as well. I think what he's doing is terribly romantic, but I wouln't call him a hero."
The Crow dramatises O'Barr's belief that "an absolute, pure love does exist" and that "there are no boundries between good and evil where love is concerned."
The following extracts are from the Boston Phoenix:
O'Barr on the graphic novel;
"Writing The Crow didn't help at all. I thought it would be cathartic, but as I drew each page, it made me more self-destructive, if anything. There is pure anger on each page, little murders. I was more messed up by the time I was done with the book. There was a rumour going around when there was a delay between the third and fourth issues that I had committed suicide. I was annoyed by that, because God's had his elbow on my nech for this long, I feel I can stick it out. I'm not ready to put a period on that sentence yet."
On the death of Brandon Lee, and referring to Brandon's fiancé, Eliza (Lisa Hutton);
"I relived the same pain and anger as before. I wished I had never written the thing, though if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't be here, having been consumed by my very self-destructive behaviour. I was fueled by rage and fury for years and years. My soul felt like a hurrcane. I was raised in orphanages and foster homes, and I felt, like, "When is God gonna give me a break?" When Brandon died, I felt like, "Is God trying to test my limits or what?" Why let me become best friends with the guy and take him senselessly from me? God is a bastard, if there is one."
"Brandon and Eliza helped me make something positive finally come out of this. The helped me a great deal. And I had a lot of guilt associated with the money I made from this movie. It felt like blood money to me, so I've kept nothing for myself. I used the money to help a lot of people; international children's organisations, and hip replacement surgery for a 10 year old Brazilian girl who thinks I'm some big rock star or something over here - some money to my family."
the book is now a permanent fixture on my bedside table. when i can't stand to look at another law related book. i pick it up. i love the art work. i love the words. good example of both
and 
like this one for instance - Eric (The Crow) goes into a room to kill "Funboy", one of the guys who killed and raped his fiancee, and it was full of Funboy's men ... and he says...
"Seven Blackbirds in a tree, count them and see what they be. ONE for SORROW, TWO for JOY, THREE for a girl and FOUR for a boy. FIVE for SILVER, SIX for GOLD and SEVEN for a secret that's never been told. - (pause) - You're all going to die."
cool.
i love the way the story is laid out in the book. i love the whole concept. and i think i'm gonna fall head-first into a new hobby to collect graphic novels!
in fact, i know what's next! THE CROW - Shattered Lives & Broken Dreams. (my b'day is in July - HINT HINT!) go look at it! remember it! lol.
i digress...anyway...poring through the pages in this book has reinforced my yearning to pick up art classes! i want to learn how to draw. it'll be another way for me to express myself! and who knows? i might be good at it?
and i was immediately inspired to write my own little 'angry poem' after finishing it the 1st time. :)
it's called, "My Gain."
Round and round we go.
Where we stop?
Nobody knows,
Listen to me and listen close,
Pay attention -
It is a rhyme of which you are to be told,
It's time for you to feel the cold,
The chill in the wind and the shiver in the rain,
I present to you the pain, Your death - My Gain.
signing off, the commonjack.
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