The Crow
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The Crow is a comic book series created by James O'Barr. The series was originally written by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. It was later published by Caliber Comics in 1989, and became an underground success, with some movie studios seeking the rights. It was adapted into a film in 1994. Three film sequels, a television series, and numerous books and comic books have also been produced.
The character has since become a cult icon of modern Goth culture, mostly fueled by the success of the first film.
Plot Synopsis
The story revolves around an unfortunate young man named Eric. He and his fiancée, Shelly, are assaulted by a gang of street thugs after their car breaks down. Eric is shot in the head and is paralyzed, and can only watch as Shelly is savagely beaten and raped until she dies at the scene. Eric survives and is taken to a hospital, but while surgeons are trying to save him, he has a vision of a crow and is declared dead.
One year later, Eric seeks out vengeance on the murderers, methodically stalking and killing them. When not on the hunt, Eric stays in the house he shared with Shelly, spending most of his time there lost in memories of Shelly; her absence is torture for him, and he is in emotional pain, even engaging in self-mutilation.
The Crow acts as both guide and goad for Eric, giving him information that helps him in his quest but also chastising him for dwelling on Shelly's death, seeing his pining as useless self-indulgence that distracts him from his purpose.
The book is filled with supernatural imagery, but it's left up to the reader to decide whether the events are truly supernatural.
Characters
The main character, Eric, is modeled after three musical influences on O'Barr's life. Firstly, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, whose melancholic lyrics and spastic onstage dance movements inspired Eric's somber dialogue and pained convulsions when remembering his and Shelly's deaths. Secondly, Bauhaus lead singer Peter Murphy inspired his imposing physical presence, ghostly makeup, and sharp, high cheek bones. Finally, Eric's physicality/anatomy is based on punk legend Iggy Pop. Additionally, the names of Officer Albrecht and Captain Hook are allusions to Joy Division members Bernard (Albrecht) Sumner and Peter Hook.
Other influences on The Crow range from the Gothic imagery of Arthur Rimbaud's poetry to the bleakness of the Cure's early albums. All these characteristics were carried over to the movie.
Supporting characters
- Sherri: A young girl that Eric gives Shelly's engagement ring to when he returns for revenge.
- T-Bird: The head of the gang that murders Shelly and Eric.
- Funboy: T-Bird's right-hand man, a morphine addict who is sleeping with Sarah's mother.
- Top Dollar: A low-level drug dealer.
- Tin-Tin: The first of T-Bird's gang to be eliminated by Eric.
- Tom-Tom: One of T-Bird's soldiers and one of Shelly's rapists.
- Gideon: A pawnbroker who is used by T-Bird's lackeys to fence Shelly's engagement ring.
- Officer Albrecht: A beat cop who confronts Eric outside Gideon's pawnshop.
- Captain Hook: The detective who originally handled Eric and Shelly's case. Eric sends him his regards through Albrecht.
Author's Edition
Since 1998, O'Barr has spoken of "The Crow: Author's Edition",[citation needed] stating in a 2004 interview that it would contain at least "60 pages of new material that no one has ever seen. Half of that are pages that had to be removed for space reasons". O'Barr describes the additions as including "more romance flashback scenes between Eric and Shelly", as well as sequences which will make the work "more visually interesting".[1]
On January 12, 2008, O'Barr revealed at the Dallas Comic Con that Pocket Books currently owns publication rights to the book, and as such, the Author's Edition has been postponed until their sales drop below 25,000 copies per year. However, based on the numbers for 2007, O'Barr speculated the new version could possibly see print in 2009.[citation needed] That year also marks The Crow's 20th anniversary.
Album
In 1994, the album Trust Obey: Fear and Bullets was released. It was created through a collaboration between James O'Barr and longtime friend John Bergin as a soundtrack to O'Barr's graphic novel.
Adaptations
In 1994, a film based on the comic (simply titled The Crow) was released to theaters by Miramax Films. The film was both a critical and commercial success and gained a cult following, in part due to the tragic accidental death of its star Brandon Lee. Three sequels have been made so far: The Crow: City of Angels (1996), starring Vincent Perez (as The Crow), Mia Kirshner, Richard Brooks and Iggy Pop; The Crow: Salvation (2000), starring Eric Mabius (as The Crow), Kirsten Dunst and Fred Ward; and The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), starring Edward Furlong (as The Crow), David Boreanaz and Tara Reid. All of the sequels have been critical and commercial flops; the latter two movies have been relegated to direct-to-video release. A short-lived TV series, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998), was based on the first movie with Mark Dacascos reprising the role of Eric Draven.
From 1996-1998, Kitchen Sink Press published five mini-series and a one-shot based on The Crow concept with a new avatar in each series.
Following the Kitchen Sink series, London Night Studios published The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain in 1998, with Eric Draven again in the role and paired with Everette Hartsoe's bad girl character Razor.
Also in 1998, O'Barr and editor Ed Kramer asked an array of fiction writers, poets and artists (including Gene Wolfe, Alan Dean Foster, Charles de Lint, Jack Dann, Jane Yolen, Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop) to interpret this gothic fiction phenomenon. The Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams was released by Random House on Halloween, and a year later, in a limited signed and numbered volume, by Donald M. Grant Publishing.
In 1999, Image Comics released a new comic series of The Crow, based on the original comic book. It ran for ten issues, ending in November of that year.
See also
- The Raven
- Devil's Night
- List of comic books
- List of fictional birds
- The Crow (film)
- The Crow (character)
References
- ^ Epstein, Daniel Robert (May 21, 2004). "James O'Barr, creator of The Crow". Suicide Girls. Retrieved 2008-04-24. Archived on 2008-04-24.