. . :. :: :.: ::.::: .:. .: : ::: .. :. .:..: :.. :: ::
|
GHM Online Columnist - Melissa L. aka "Tall Girl" |
|
|
|
|
| LATEST NEWS .: |
.JUNE 2003.
Melissa's Column Debuts! |
| COLUMN PICS & LINKS .: |
.My.Baby.Pic.
|
.The.Holy.Grail.
These Are Hard To Find!
|
.Just.HOW.Tall.Are.You.?.
6'1.. yes, I played basketball..
|
|
|
|
|
Feedback is always appreciated!
E-mail me at makulus_musings@yahoo.com
|
|
|
August 15, 2003
"When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book."
- Elvis Presley in his acceptance speech for the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award.
Elvis Presley is arguably the single most important cultural icon of the 20th century, and Saturday marks the 26th anniversary of his death. In doing research for another story I was doing on Elvis, I came across the above quote and learned something new about The King of Rock and Roll. Elvis was a comics fan.
Many famous people freely admit that they either read or still read comic books. Among them are Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, and Nicholas Cage to name a few. What separates Elvis from everyone else, is the effect his love of comics had on his life.
There was some debate as to which comic book was Elvis' favorite, but after much research and several calls to Graceland's Archive Department, I feel safe in reporting that Elvis was a fan of Fawcett's "Captain Marvel Jr."
In case you are fuzzy on the history of Captain Marvel Jr., here's a bit of background: His real name was Freddy Freeman and he was a teenage newsboy who was crippled and orphaned by Captain Nazi. Captain Marvel gave Freddy some of his superpowers to save his life. Thus, Captain Marvel Jr. was born. The Marvel clan consisted of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Uncle Marvel and of course, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.
All of the Marvels except Jr. wore red and invoked "Shazam!" to gain the powers of the magic lightning. Jr. shouted out "Captain Marvel" to gain his power, and he wore blue while righting wrongs.
Back to Elvis and how this character impacted his life. In his later years Elvis was known for three things: His jet black hair, his jumpsuits and his famed lightning bolt necklace with the letters "TCB," which stood for "Taking Care of Business in a flash."
Oddly enough, Captain Marvel Jr., had hair so jet black it had a blue hue to it, he wore a blue suit with a half cape and he had a prominent lightning bolt on the front of his suit, as well as a scarf around his neck. While in Vegas, Elvis always had his hair dyed blue-black, and he often wore capes with his famed jumpsuits. One in particular was a light blue jumpsuit with a high collar and cape that Elvis favored. And Elvis was famed for throwing white scarves from around his neck out into the audience. It's no small coincidence that Elvis and Captain Marvel Jr. shared the same tastes in fashion.
Elvis' affinity for comic books aside, the King does have a long history in comic books and comic strips. From his early appearances in Romance comics to appearing in Archie Comics, to his appearances in daily strips such as Nancy, and Mike Smith's strip, to the pages of National Lampoon and Cracked, Elvis has been well represented in the world of comics.
Alex Ross and Mark Waid even paid tribute to Elvis in their 1996 saga, Kingdom Come, a tale of the not-so-distant future of the DC Universe. According to Mark Waid the inspiration for King Marvel was " the artist's idea, but I was fully on board and, as a major Elvis fan, saluted his instinct. "King Marvel" was Alex's design for a now-grown-up version of Captain Marvel, Jr., Captain Marvel's junior partner. Allegedly, Elvis really loved Captain Marvel, Jr. comics as a boy and had his trademark capes and glitzy Vegas suits modeled after Jr.'s--hence the artist's homage." Waid goes on to say he actually fancies the "pre-Army Elvis" music as opposed to the later Elvis, which Kingdom Come borrowed from. Speaking of borrowing from Elvis, I asked Waid if there were any legal problems with Elvis Presley Enterprises, the corporation headed by Lisa Marie Presley and famous for strictly enforcing the use of Elvis' likeness. According to Waid, " DC's lawyers gave it the once-over--and, frankly, he only appeared in a panel or two in backgrounds, as part of huge crowds and with no dialogue, so it's not like we were trading off Elvis's looks. Plus, the resemblance to what a grown-up CM, Jr., might look like is probably just as strong as the resemblance to Elvis, so if Priscilla's reading this--don't sue." Forunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Waid says there are no plans to go back and revisit Kingdom Come.
Oddly, there has never been an ongoing comic book series dedicated solely to the King. Sure, there've been mini-series such as Revolutionary Press' The Elvis Experience an 8 part unauthorized biography of the King, to Elvis Shrugged and even Elvis Must Die. And there have been the stand alone single issue comics such as The Elvis Mandible (a favorite of mine) and Music Comics' Elvis issue.
Perhaps that is just as well. Some things are just to big to be confined to the pages of a monthly comic book. Perhaps somewhere in the attic of Graceland or tucked away in a closet there is a treasure trove of comic books a young boy from Tupelo, Mississippi used to read, and dare to dream from. Long live the King.
Special thanks to Bobby Davis in the Graceland Media Office and the Graceland Archives Department. Thanks also go to Mark Waid and Judd from Earth 2 Comics and Cat from Universal Comics for all their help.
All Content ©2003 Melissa L., All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
| . . . THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK © . . . |
|
| :. ABOUT MELISSA |
Melissa came into the world kicking and screaming some 32 years ago on a May day in the sweltering South. Her early plans to become a doctor were derailed in the summer of her 12th year when she discovered movies and decided she wanted to become the next Barbara Walters. Following her dream she graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and set out to make her fame and fortune. Strange as this may seem, fame and fortune did not come immediately. Or at all as of yet.
Making a permanent move to Los Angeles, Melissa soon learned what the term starving artist meant. She also learned that she was not made to starve and quickly entered the regular 9-5 job grind. About this time she began writing for a web site called www.tv-now.com where she still works today covering just about anything entertainment related.
Discovery of the Hawaiian Dick comic sent her snooping around the Hawaiian Dick board on the Image web site. From their she quickly became one of the comic's biggest fans, to the point of being named Tiki Queen of Hawaiian Dick. Other claims to fame include being runner-up on the special TV Trivia edition of The Weakest Link, and discussing female sexual dysfunction on the nationally syndicated Berman&Berman talk show on the Discovery Health Channel.
Melissa makes her home in lovely and scenic Sherman Oaks, CA with her two guinea pigs, Langly and Byers. Her current relationship status is "taken." In addition to writing for TV-Now.com and Gray Haven, she is the movie and DVD reviewer for SouthernIsland.com as well as any other freelance gig that comes along.
|
|
|
|
| :. FUN LINKS |
| :. ABOUT MELISSA ( CONTINUED ) |
Favorite Comics:
HeroBear and the Kid, Route 666, Hawaiian Dick, Scene of the Crime, Any true crime
comic
Favorite TV Shows:
The X-Files, Lois and Clark, Law & Order, anything on CourtTV
5 People I Could Sleep With Guilt Free: Colin FarrellScott Bakula Catherine Crier Julie Newmar Sean
Connery / Ashleigh Banfield
|
|
|
|
|
|
| © 2003 - Gray Haven Magazine & All Authors. |
|
|
|
|
|
|