MattBrady
11-14-2002, 04:57 PM
<img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Creators/Cleese.jpg" width="175" height="204" align="right" alt="Cleese as Q in Die Another Day - a little more serious than his Python days...">Why did the Python cross the pond? Apparently, to write Superman.
As <a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000048" target="_blank"> revealed</a> at last weekend’s RRP meeting, Monty Python alum (and current Q in the Bond films) John Cleese will co-write a Superman Elseworlds one-shot for DC Comics entitled Superman: True Brit
The project originated with Kim Howard Johnson, someone well known on the ‘other’ side of comics, that is, the editorial and administrative. Throughout his career, Johnson has worked as a newspaper journalist, performed improve comedy with Del Close, written for Starlog and Comics Scene, was the marketing director of Event Comics and later Moondog Comics.
Oh yeah – and he knows the Pythons – something which is why other comics editors and pros hold him in a mix of awe and trepidation. After all, those Python guys are a little…off. One such editor who knew of Johnson’s connections with the Pythons was DC Executive Editor, Mike Carlin.
”About 15 years ago, my old pal Mike said to me, ‘If any of 'those guys' ever want to do anything with Superman, let me know,’” Johnson said. “Last year, I mentioned this to John, expecting the answer ‘No.’ To my astonishment, he said, ‘That sounds interesting.’ And we began discussing it...”
For readers who may not know, Johnson was one of the first American Python fans, and first met Terry Jones and Graham Chapman in 1975, and his attachment to the British comedy group grew from there. “I went on to do a three-issue Python fanzine, about which the guys frightened me with their enthusiasm,” Johnson said. “In the days before such negative connotations were attached to stalking, I hitchhiked to Tunisia from Ottawa, Illinois, and was taken under their wing, working with the group during the filming of Life of Brian. I was young and enthusiastic, I worked cheap, and I spoke English, an irresistible combination to the boys.
"I went on to play 18 roles in the film, three more than John Cleese. I also appeared in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl as a Pantomime Goose. We remained friends throughout the years, and in 1989, the first of my four Python books, The First 200 Years of Monty Python, was released by St. Martin's Press. I'm now in my third year of indentured servitude to John Cleese, and…are your readers really going to care about all this?”
For Carlin, the special has a sense of destiny about it…“Since seeing John in his Superman costume in the Bicycle-Repairman sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus... I knew it was just a matter of time,” Carlin said. “So yeah, about about 15 years ago when I first met Howard, I knew of his affiliation with the Pythons, and I floated the idea that if any Python ever wanted to do something with Superman, as I was the Superman editor at the time, to please let me know about it. Secretly I hoped, at best, we'd get a Terry Gilliam doodle or something for a cover.
<img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Creators/cleese2.jpg" width="175" height="219" alt="maybe this John Cleese is one you're more familair with? " align="left">“15 years later Howard called and reminded me of my request... and it was that he and John Cleese had an idea to do a Superman Elseworlds. The rest is history... though still in the future... um... well... you know what I mean!”
Carlin described the project as mostly a “satirical Elseworlds,” that will, at the same time, be a straight DC book, an Elseworlds, and a project that will make wry commentary on super-heroes and the world we live in. From Carlin's comments at the RRP: “It’s ‘What if Superman’s rocketship lands in England and the tabloids chase him away?’ I have an offer out to an artist; I don’t have him confirmed yet, but I think it’ll happen.”
Hey – you expected anything less, story-wise from John Cleese?
While Cleese is familiar to most American audience members as “the tall one” of the Monty Python group, Johnson pointed out that, like the rest of the troupe, Cleese has many credits beyond walking in a silly fashion and being attacked by a rabbit, and True Brit will play into his other strengths.
”Although John has written humorous scripts and screenplays - Python, Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda, documentaries - The Human Face, and co-written best-selling books - Families and How to Survive Them, Life and How to Survive It, Superman: True Brit may be most derivative of a film he wrote for Video Arts titled Balance Sheet Barrier: the Basics of Business Finance.”
Carlin agreed with Johnson’s praise for Cleese’s writing. “For my money, A Fish Called Wanda is one of the tightest, best dramatic comedies I've seen,” Carlin said. “And Fawlty Towers is arguably the best structured sit-com ever...”
Not looking to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, Carlin did admit that Cleese’s name and abilities as a writer played a big part in True Brit happening, but pointed out that this wasn’t a case of a star waltzing in the door of DC, and waltzing back out with a comics gig. “This was solicited story,” Carlin said. “The way any writer gets solicited is for us to be aware of their work. John didn't buck any systems here...oh, and I'm a groupie.
“The story as it stands now is different than the one originally proposed as I wanted John to bring some commentary to the story of Superman, in humorous form that I couldn't get from any other established writer. It was a request for him to ‘write what he knows’...and with Howard's knowledge of Superman and comics... that's a pretty tough project to turn down.”
Johnson’s years with the Pythons showed a little though, when he was asked if star power was behind this project getting off the ground. “Frankly, I resent the implication that John and DC are using my star power to capitalize on this project, despite the occasionally-bitter arguments over whose name should be listed first...”
While both Carlin and Johnson weren’t about to mention what, specifically, the storyline of True Brit would be about, we asked Johnson to explain a little of what the one-shot won’t be – that is, Cleese and Johnson won’t be out to Python-ize Superman, and there won’t be gratuitous scenes with Spam, or a shot of Superman beginning to play an organ, only to have his costume fly off.
Or will it?
“Have you been talking to Carlin? I told him the costume flying off was supposed to be a secret! Unfortunately, John has forgotten all of the old Python sketches, and it soon became more trouble than it was worth,” Johnson said. “Actually, it's the story of a young man, born in a distant land, and an older woman, wise in the ways of love, who takes him softly, gently into her arms one night and teaches him about passion, unbridled lust, guiding his fingers as he probes her every--sorry, that's the sequel.”
And finally, if True Brit goes over well, Johnson and Carlin are of two minds as to how to proceed from there – Johnson favors Just Imagine John Cleese Creating the DC Universe, while, according to Carlin, “There are four more Pythons we can try to ensnare!!”
The project is currently unscheduled, but is tentatively on DC’s 2003 release calendar. No artist has been selected yet, but Carlin reported that the publisher is in talks with an illustrator.
As <a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000048" target="_blank"> revealed</a> at last weekend’s RRP meeting, Monty Python alum (and current Q in the Bond films) John Cleese will co-write a Superman Elseworlds one-shot for DC Comics entitled Superman: True Brit
The project originated with Kim Howard Johnson, someone well known on the ‘other’ side of comics, that is, the editorial and administrative. Throughout his career, Johnson has worked as a newspaper journalist, performed improve comedy with Del Close, written for Starlog and Comics Scene, was the marketing director of Event Comics and later Moondog Comics.
Oh yeah – and he knows the Pythons – something which is why other comics editors and pros hold him in a mix of awe and trepidation. After all, those Python guys are a little…off. One such editor who knew of Johnson’s connections with the Pythons was DC Executive Editor, Mike Carlin.
”About 15 years ago, my old pal Mike said to me, ‘If any of 'those guys' ever want to do anything with Superman, let me know,’” Johnson said. “Last year, I mentioned this to John, expecting the answer ‘No.’ To my astonishment, he said, ‘That sounds interesting.’ And we began discussing it...”
For readers who may not know, Johnson was one of the first American Python fans, and first met Terry Jones and Graham Chapman in 1975, and his attachment to the British comedy group grew from there. “I went on to do a three-issue Python fanzine, about which the guys frightened me with their enthusiasm,” Johnson said. “In the days before such negative connotations were attached to stalking, I hitchhiked to Tunisia from Ottawa, Illinois, and was taken under their wing, working with the group during the filming of Life of Brian. I was young and enthusiastic, I worked cheap, and I spoke English, an irresistible combination to the boys.
"I went on to play 18 roles in the film, three more than John Cleese. I also appeared in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl as a Pantomime Goose. We remained friends throughout the years, and in 1989, the first of my four Python books, The First 200 Years of Monty Python, was released by St. Martin's Press. I'm now in my third year of indentured servitude to John Cleese, and…are your readers really going to care about all this?”
For Carlin, the special has a sense of destiny about it…“Since seeing John in his Superman costume in the Bicycle-Repairman sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus... I knew it was just a matter of time,” Carlin said. “So yeah, about about 15 years ago when I first met Howard, I knew of his affiliation with the Pythons, and I floated the idea that if any Python ever wanted to do something with Superman, as I was the Superman editor at the time, to please let me know about it. Secretly I hoped, at best, we'd get a Terry Gilliam doodle or something for a cover.
<img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Creators/cleese2.jpg" width="175" height="219" alt="maybe this John Cleese is one you're more familair with? " align="left">“15 years later Howard called and reminded me of my request... and it was that he and John Cleese had an idea to do a Superman Elseworlds. The rest is history... though still in the future... um... well... you know what I mean!”
Carlin described the project as mostly a “satirical Elseworlds,” that will, at the same time, be a straight DC book, an Elseworlds, and a project that will make wry commentary on super-heroes and the world we live in. From Carlin's comments at the RRP: “It’s ‘What if Superman’s rocketship lands in England and the tabloids chase him away?’ I have an offer out to an artist; I don’t have him confirmed yet, but I think it’ll happen.”
Hey – you expected anything less, story-wise from John Cleese?
While Cleese is familiar to most American audience members as “the tall one” of the Monty Python group, Johnson pointed out that, like the rest of the troupe, Cleese has many credits beyond walking in a silly fashion and being attacked by a rabbit, and True Brit will play into his other strengths.
”Although John has written humorous scripts and screenplays - Python, Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda, documentaries - The Human Face, and co-written best-selling books - Families and How to Survive Them, Life and How to Survive It, Superman: True Brit may be most derivative of a film he wrote for Video Arts titled Balance Sheet Barrier: the Basics of Business Finance.”
Carlin agreed with Johnson’s praise for Cleese’s writing. “For my money, A Fish Called Wanda is one of the tightest, best dramatic comedies I've seen,” Carlin said. “And Fawlty Towers is arguably the best structured sit-com ever...”
Not looking to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, Carlin did admit that Cleese’s name and abilities as a writer played a big part in True Brit happening, but pointed out that this wasn’t a case of a star waltzing in the door of DC, and waltzing back out with a comics gig. “This was solicited story,” Carlin said. “The way any writer gets solicited is for us to be aware of their work. John didn't buck any systems here...oh, and I'm a groupie.
“The story as it stands now is different than the one originally proposed as I wanted John to bring some commentary to the story of Superman, in humorous form that I couldn't get from any other established writer. It was a request for him to ‘write what he knows’...and with Howard's knowledge of Superman and comics... that's a pretty tough project to turn down.”
Johnson’s years with the Pythons showed a little though, when he was asked if star power was behind this project getting off the ground. “Frankly, I resent the implication that John and DC are using my star power to capitalize on this project, despite the occasionally-bitter arguments over whose name should be listed first...”
While both Carlin and Johnson weren’t about to mention what, specifically, the storyline of True Brit would be about, we asked Johnson to explain a little of what the one-shot won’t be – that is, Cleese and Johnson won’t be out to Python-ize Superman, and there won’t be gratuitous scenes with Spam, or a shot of Superman beginning to play an organ, only to have his costume fly off.
Or will it?
“Have you been talking to Carlin? I told him the costume flying off was supposed to be a secret! Unfortunately, John has forgotten all of the old Python sketches, and it soon became more trouble than it was worth,” Johnson said. “Actually, it's the story of a young man, born in a distant land, and an older woman, wise in the ways of love, who takes him softly, gently into her arms one night and teaches him about passion, unbridled lust, guiding his fingers as he probes her every--sorry, that's the sequel.”
And finally, if True Brit goes over well, Johnson and Carlin are of two minds as to how to proceed from there – Johnson favors Just Imagine John Cleese Creating the DC Universe, while, according to Carlin, “There are four more Pythons we can try to ensnare!!”
The project is currently unscheduled, but is tentatively on DC’s 2003 release calendar. No artist has been selected yet, but Carlin reported that the publisher is in talks with an illustrator.