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MARLON WAYANS TALKS SUPER BAD JAMES DYNOMITE
by Newsarama
“He’s Shaft, Dolomite, Super Fly, Black Belt Jones all rolled up into one, minus all the cool and the black belt,” explained Marlon Wayans about just who Super Bad James Dynomite is. Issue #1 of the new series published by IDW hit earlier this month.
As with many projects where there’s one Wayans, Super Bad is a collaborative effort between the three Wayans Brothers: Marlon, Shawn, and Keenen Ivory, with Xavier Cook and Mitchell Marchand pitching in with the brothers on writing, and Robert Reed and Darren Huang handling the art.
“They actually found us,” IDW’s Kris Oprisko said when asked how they landed the proeprty. “We got a call from one of Marlon's representatives that he had a creative idea that he wanted to explore in comics form. I met with Marlon during E3, which is when I first saw the property and we began working on the deal to work together.”
For Marlon, moving into comics was both a foray into a medium he loves, as well as a chance to continue the Wayans’ conquest of all media.
“My brothers and I have been on a quest to extend our brand in as many different types of media as possible, not only stretching what we do creatively, but also stretching the realm that we work in,” Wayans said. “Creativity is creativity, and I thought that this particular property would work really well as a comic book because, first, it’s funny, and we wanted to use as many visual gags as we could; and also because it’s based on a great central character who has a very unique point of view and can be entertaining and fun – in a MAD Magazine kind of way, which is something we all grew up with. That’s what I was trying to bring to the comic book – a real MAD Magazine feel to both the character and the story. If you look at the comic, we hit that idea right from the cover – MAD Magazine always had a great cover that pulled you right in. The cover of MAD and Super Bad both have that realistic look and imagery, and we went for that and continued it throughout the issues.”
Just from the cover and title, it’s clear that Super Bad isn’t a by the numbers action story.
“In our culture, our generation – the urban generation, which is now multicultural, black exploitation films are classic movies,” Wayans said. “People watch these movies constantly, and still find enjoyment in them whether because they were really, really good, or just because they were really, really bad. It was a whole different time and era in the ‘70s, and everything was cool. Back then, there were laws and there was also a lawlessness – the pimps, the hookers, the drug addicts – that was the community. Now, it’s all changed – 42nd Street it Disneyworld now, but in the ‘70s, it was very different.
“My brothers and I have always been fans of that era of film, and I’d originally written Super Bad as a movie, but have ended up so busy with all the movies we’re doing, I thought that it would make for a great comic book.”
In moving the story to a comic, Wayans said that, from the outset, they wanted to take their time. “Some comics I know, go from idea to execution really fast, but with this, we moved carefully and took our time to get the kind of look we wanted, made sure that Super Bad was the character we wanted him to be, and make the whole story just resonate with a ‘70s-esque kind of feel,” Marlon said. “The kind of artwork we’re doing, being that I’m the lead character in the story, I was able to do a lot of the faces and looks that Super Bad would have that we’d give to Darren and Robert. In a way, we treated it something like a live-actions storyboard when we were making it – and that took some time. But yeah, I’m very impressed with the work that the guys did, and just love looking at the finished work.”
Further expanding on Wayans’ comments about making the faces and treating Super Bad as a live action storyboard, as the back of issue #1 shows, Wayans literally went through the story, frame by frame, acting out the expression and movement of Super Bad, resulting in possibly one of the stranger scripts to be given to comic book artists in a while.
“I’d go through frame by frame, do what Super Bad would do in this scene, and we’d take a picture. Do the next scene, and take a picture. I know the character’s emotion, so it was the easiest way to do it. And Darren and Robert did a great job.”
So, technical aspects aside – who is Super Bad James Dynomite?
“He’s an ex-pimp, who became a cop,” Wayans said. “He was on the wrong side of the street, turned his life around, joined the police, and then figured that he didn’t like that job anymore since the cops were too corrupt. So now, he’s doing his own thing – a black exploitation hero. A vigilante of sorts. They guy you call when there’s trouble in the neighborhood.”
But, as Wayans first comments hinted at – Samuel L. Jackson cool, he’s not.
“He’s Inspector Clouseau in a way, recast as a black exploitation hero,” Wayans said. “I was a huge Pink Panther fan, and we realized that was the perfect model of Super Bad – someone like Inspector Clouseau who would solve crimes in spite of himself. Dynomite is the same way – he has good intentions. His principles are a little screwed up, though. I mean, the first issue shows that he’s got to stop a pimp who’s looking to give hookers benefits. Hey, if the ho’s get benefits, that’s just not right. That messes up the game, and screws with the status quo on the street, and you just can’t be having that. That would give them self esteem, and before you know what happened, we’d have a female president. Oh, you just can’t have that.
“There’s a code on the street – there are certain things you just don’t do. Cutting a junkie’s stash in half with baby powder is not cool – you’re cheating them out of their high. The next thing you know, they’re going to have to deal with their problems, and you just can’t be having that.
“There’s a lot of irony in this, and it’s definitely a little out there, but those who get it are really going to get it and enjoy it. Those that don’t – they need to find someone who understands it, and get them to explain it to them, and then they’ll enjoy it. It’s like everything me and my brothers do – you gotta take your hat off and just enjoy it. If you’re gonna want to come in and sit and judge it…well, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Speaking of those who might not get the flavor the Wayans are going after with Super Bad, Marlon admitted that in writing Super Bad, he did have to pull off some of the limiters of the PC world to get back to the ‘70s dialogue and feel.
“I think that the Bush era we’re in has really tightened things up, and has had an effect on creative expression,” Wayans said. “Look at R rated movies – it had gotten to a point where you couldn’t even do R rated comedy movies anymore – they’re just now starting to come back in with Wedding Crashers and 40 Year Old Virgin, and even then, the news is pointing to them like they’re something new or never seen before.
“I grew up on Bugs Bunny. They were funny, political, edgy, violent, and just didn’t care about the people’s reaction. But they were funny. But now, we’re not allowing that – we’re not allowing the kids to be exposed to that, and we’re not allowing people to think anymore. For me, it’s about the character – who is this person, what am I investing in?”
For Super Bad, Marlon said he went back to his memories of the MAD Magazines of his childhood – the ones where kids would get in trouble if parents found them reading it. “I felt that I could use a Super Bad comic book as an outlet for true creative expression because it’s a throwback of sorts – I could go there with the violence, I could go there with the comedy and really not worry about people coming down on it, because for the last few years, comics have been skewing to a slightly older audience, where, if we did this story as its told as a movie, we’d have all kinds of problems.
“Super Bad is like MAD Magazine back in the day. I’m not saying this is for kids, but I think, in general, kids today want material that is slightly older than what the mass media thinks they should be getting. Ask kids about the stuff that’s out there ‘for kids’ today, and they’ll tell you that they don’t like it. They’re too old for it – for the material that adults think kids should like. Kids want to think, they want to look at and read about what adults think is taboo for them. They want to enjoy what their older brothers and sisters enjoy. It’s been that way for hundreds of years.
“I mean, look at videogames these days – I don’t understand how humor gets an R while violence gets a pass. I’d much rather let my kids see an R-rated comedy than an R-rated violent, bloody movie.”
So – with Super Bad #2 slated for a March release, and future issues roughly spaced out in a similar fashion, what’s the future hold for Super Bad?
“Oh there’s definitely going to be a movie,” Wayans said. “I definitely have plans about a movie, and would hope to be directing,. An animated series – possibly. A videogame – maybe. But for right now, I’m focusing on the comic book and exploring the character and seeing where we can take him. Let’s get the grass roots support for him going and then, we’ll go movie. But for now – it’s all about the comics.”
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