Indy comic creator Rich Henn tries his hand at filmmaking, and Randy and Don take a look at his Scenes From the Small Press: Mainstream Raw.
Don:
Randy and I have sampled Rich Henn's efforts in the past, namely his self-published independent book, Timespell. Henn's passed along his latest creative effort, but this time, it's a two-hour documentary featuring interviews with some major creative forces in the field.
Randy:
Henn may not be a familiar name to most of our readers, but I'll bet they'll know most of his interview subjects. Rich Henn's film Scenes from the Small Press: The Road to SPX will premiere in San Diego in a couple weeks, but he had so much interview footage that didn't make the final cut that he decided to put it together here, in a mostly unedited format, as Mainstream Raw. Don and I took a look at the DVD.
Scenes From the Small Press: Mainstream Raw
directed by Rich Henn
featuring interviews with Joe Quesada, Frank Miller, Dave Gibbons, Colleen Doran, Matt Wagner & Bob Schreck
published by Club 408 Graphics
Don:
So what's this film about? Well, it's about creating comics, the business of comics, the seedier side of comics and the politics of comics. And it's about none of those things, and it's definitely not about the small press. Chiefly, this is a series of interviews from the afore-mentioned creators with no clear theme. Henn, in a segment on the DVD itself, proclaims it to be raw (thus the title), unedited footage of his conversations with a diverse array of comics professionals.
Well, Randy and I have been looking at much more than just comics lately. First, we previewed The History Channel's Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked, and now, Mainstream Raw. Sadly, Henn's independent efforts lack the flash and polish of the far-better-funded History Channel effort, and it lacks Unmasked's sense of focus and flow. Henn's interviews are marred by bad sound, bad lighting and often poor choices for locations. For example, Joe Quesada's voice is repeatedly overwhelmed by the sound of wind whistling through the microphone, and Frank Miller's comments are interrupted by some nearby revellers.
Randy:
I'm afraid I have to agree with you on the production quality. It's unfair to expect the slick production quality of the History Channel's effort from one guy trying to make his film, but slightly more judicious choices of locales for interviews would have improved on the quality quite a bit. There's something likably everyman about the Editor-in-Chief of Marvel having his hair blown around and his voice lost to the wind, and certainly Miller's comments resonate more when he's surrounded by the vocal love of comics that is the Expo, but I think those qualities don't make up for the feeling that we're having to strain to hear the conversation that is the whole point.
Don:
That being said, Henn's film boasts strengths that are not to be found in that other recently released comic-book documentary. His interviews are far more in depth. Colleen Doran's now-jocular remembrance of the tenuous scenarios in which lecherous men placed her as a result of her sex, age and appearance is quite compelling. Miller's candid look back at the 1980s shed new light on how books like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen came to pass, and how those creative and commercial successes actually hindered the industry in a way, was fascinating as well.
Randy:
There's something unflinching and sometimes uncomfortable about the unedited style of these interviews. Even the jacket of the DVD notes "ENDURE what is quite possibly the most powerful and emotional interview given by Colleen Doran!" which, while honest, serves notice that these interviews can be exhausting in their length and style. While just about everything being said is interesting, I did find myself having to take breaks between interview segments to keep my interest up. Without a theme linking these people together or some inter-cutting of the interviews to provide changes of scenery, the interviews do tend to feel a bit long. Mind you, I think that Mainstream: Raw is deliberately done in this style, and is perhaps not meant to be watched as a complete film, but instead as a fascinating look at the kind of long-form interviews that stars of other media like TV, film and music get but which comic-book creators rarely experience.
Don:
The highlight of the DVD for me was Miller's notorious 2001 Harvey Awards keynote speech, in which he warns fellow creators of the dangers of Hollywood and Wizard magazine. It's an angry, impassioned call to arms, but it's also wonderfully funny. The problem is that this is just raw footage. Henn provides no context, no background, perhaps assuming his audience is well aware of Miller's famous (or infamous, depending on one's position in the industry, I suppose) comments.
Randy:
I think that's a fair assumption for this DVD, actually. I don't think that Mainstream Raw, unlike Superheroes Unmasked, is really aimed at anyone outside the comics hardcore, or those with at least an interest in the subculture.
It's interesting that you found Frank Miller's keynote speech to be a highlight, as I'd heard enough about that one online, and thought Miller was railing at easy and perhaps not even important targets, that I found it a little tedious. Instead, my favorite aspect of the DVD was the change in context that the interviews offered. Whether it's Joe Quesada extoling the virtues of New Marvel even as the Internet buzz is slowly turning against them lately or, as you noted earlier, Colleen Doran being able to approach some of her early workplace struggles with a sense of humor that would have been impossible at the time, Henn has used film to capture snapshots of moments in comics that viewers can enjoy with a different perspective.
Don:
For those well aware of industry history and goings-on, creative or otherwise, Mainstream Raw definitely will be of interest. Henn has a winning concept on his hands, but he's got to match the production values of the film with the far higher quality of the subject matter with which he is provided.
For more information about Scenes From the Small Press: Mainstream Raw, visit www.timespell.com.
