I sat down and read the three issues in one sitting last night and I
share Ali and Scott's feelings, but think perhaps the let down owes more
to outside issues than the story itself:

* Its long gestation and time in limbo
* The Mini Series and planned Graphic Novel formats
* Status as the last Man-Thing story by Steve

These all built the comic up in my mind so I expected something epic,
instead its a very small, personal story. Brian and Sybil's experiences
aren't earth shattering but they are heart felt and have weight even
with the surreal events that could have undercut my belief in the
humanity of the characters.

As a Man-Thing story it is very much classic Gerber with Manny acting as
a narrative tool to reflect and embody a discussion of human emotions. I
think this a far more imaginative approach than say Jeff Parker's which
has turned Manny into simply another comic character who interacts with
folk on a practical I-do-this, I-say-that level in an adventure story.
(To be fair, I am rather enjoying the adventure story).

If anyone else had written this it would have WTF value; as it came from
Steve it's "just" another example what he did when he had the
opportunity. I wish he was still doing it.

Darren



02/09/2012 15:11, Alistair wrote:

> I too havn't read the three parts together yet, but I do agree that the ending was not very satisfying because , as you seem to say, Steve didn't have anything more significant to say about Brian's life, his childhood for example(hope I'm right about that; I'll have to go home and check).
>
> Ali
>
> --- In howard_the_duck@yahoogroups.com, Scott Andrew Hutchins <scottandrewh@...> wrote:
>>
>> It could be that my roommate at the homeless shelter was haranguing me with egregious small talk, but I thought "Screenplay of the Living Dead Man" was kind of a let down.� I also don't see why they had to make it three issues filled with reprints, but that's another story.� I could tell what the ending was going to be from the second page of the third issue, and surprisingly, Gerber failed to surprise me.� Between the book being in a modern style and remarkably light on text, I'm not sure Steve had anything significant to say about Brian, other than that he failed to change and adapt in the ways that Steve managed to do, in any but the most superficial way.� Perhaps when I have my own place again and can concentrate in a quiet area, I can read the three parts together and see if I make a better assessment of it.� My initial response, though, is that it's not Dracula in the Vatican, but it's not Steve at his best.
>>
>>
>> �
>> Scott Andrew Hutchins
>> http://mywebpages.comcast.net/scottandrewh [currently down; available at archive.org using the Wayback Machine]
>> http://www.everyonesacritic.net/movielist.asp?userid=3394
>> http://cinemopera.dvdaf.com
>>
>>
>> "There are no people that we should just ignore or forget five minutes after we see them."--Mark Romanek
>>
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