Other than that, how was the show, Mr. Rock?

Mar 30, 2022

Everyone simmered down after SlapGate?

One thing that got lost in all the hubbub was the Oscars’ tribute to THE GODFATHER, which happened almost immediately after the “incident.”

(Maybe as strange as the slap itself was hearing hip hop played over clips from a film with one of the greatest scores of all time.)

It’s a real shame, because Francis Ford Coppola, standing alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, made some news himself Sunday night.

First Coppola thanked Mario Puzo, the novelist who also wrote the screenplay (and, for you comics geeks, later went on to write the first two SUPERMAN movies).

No surprise that Puzo would be thanked—without his brilliant source material, these movies wouldn’t exist.

Puzo’s novel was a blockbuster, a violent and tawdry look at the life of a mafia don. Coppola cleaned up some of the seedier elements for the big screen, notably cutting a subplot about an, uh, extra-large vagina.

Sure, you could argue that this was the rare instance where the movie is better than the book, but don’t be fooled. That Puzo guy could write. (If you like Vegas stories, check out his novel FOOL’S DIE.)

But that wasn’t the big news.

No, the biggest surprise was the second man Coppola thanked: producer Robert Evans.

The fights between Coppola and Evans during the making of the first movie were legendary, with each one claiming the lion’s share of the credit for the film’s genius.

(I’ll give the edge to Coppola, since a few years later he sidelined Evans and gave us the possibly even better THE GODFATHER PART II. Not to mention Keanu Reeves in a period piece not named “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.)

Anyway: the whole fight is a lot juicier than two grown-ass men slapping each other, and it’s all chronicled in this epic tome:

The bookseller made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

So, good on Francis for burying an old hatchet (and not in Evans’ back).

Now if only Will and Chris could kiss and make up…

Hey Kids! Free Comic!

Speaking of the mob, if you, like me, enjoy the occasional gangster story, then I hope you’ll like the following:

A short 5-page tale I wrote a couple years back under the guidance of Andy Schmidt at Comics Experience.

Mick Beyers and Julio Rojas, who I collaborated with on “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” for NIGHTMARE THEATER 2—still available here!—brilliantly brought it to life recently, and I finally lettered it as a palate-cleanser between projects.

With no place to share it, I figured why not post it here?

The story is (very) loosely based on a tale I once heard about Bugsy Siegel (AKA “Moe Greene” in THE GODFATHER).

See, Bugsy liked to pal around with Hollywood types. And when he found a map leading to some good old-fashioned buried treasure, well, he and his pals commandeered a boat and… let’s just say hijinks ensued.

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent, as they say. Kudos to anyone who figures out who the other real-life analogues are.)

Happy reading!