J.M DeMatteis, as I begin to list some of the underrated comics from DC, his name comes up several times. As a prolific creator, DeMatteis has a way of communicating with others about how he feels and works. I still remember his crowning achievements with Justice League International with Keith Giffen. As for solo stories he has quite a few including the phenomenal Kraven’s Last Hunt. Even his more recent works like Girl in the Bay capture people’s attention. Is it maybe his background as a musician or is it how he gives characters a fresh perspective on things?
J.M DeMatteis Have You Heard of Graphic Albums?
John Marc DeMatteis is someone who is passionate about two things: comics and music. The music is what John spends the most amount of his time on. Those passions really take him far in Brooklyn, New York with John getting to be the center of attention. He even writes music reviews for a few publications just to show his stuff. Pretty soon though John goes to college until the troubles come knocking. Money and atrophy keeps him from drawing and playing music. So he shifts to writing comics instead.
Going Goth Rock
Like any artist, John gets several rejections until a submission acts as his key into professional comics. His first times are in DC’s horror anthologies Weird War Tales and House of Mystery. I should also bring up that this is during the time of the Comics Code, where comics need approval; these comics are a reactionary anti-authority. This leads DeMatteis to Marvel where he works with the publisher’s outsiders in Defenders. The “non-team” shows how out of place they are in the Marvel Universe. Unlike the Avengers, X-Men, or Spider-Man, all of these characters struggle for their place. Does anybody outside of TV and movies know that the Hulk never stays on one team for long? Might say a lot about a writer who at times struggles to find characters to latch onto.
The Other Half of Heroes and Villains
When DeMatteis becomes the writer for Captain America under a pen name, he wastes no time showing how Steve Rogers fits into a changing world. Most Captain America series focus on political commentary. This series certainly highlights African Americans, Native Americans, and homosexuals getting more exposure than ever before. But even more than that, DeMatteis focuses on how the older values can still fit in stages of enlightenment.
Captain America as the square jaw certainly resembles the old idea of heroic men. These men are practically the things to strive for in America, but no one seems to understand the context. Even Steve Rogers feels like Captain America is becoming a burden. As a soldier from WWII, he was supposed to fight for a better world and future. Anyone with history about the Baby Boomer generation however will go on to explain how things didn’t go quite right. Yet despite this Steve finds meaning in his simple life and friends, even supporting his friend coming out. For Captain America, living life and appreciating the small victories is the American Dream. Because that’s where the real changes happen, it is how DeMatteis gets his job.
Can’t Always Get What We Want
Unlike Captain America’s rivalry with the Red Skull which before and after this is just a generational pissing contest. In DeMatteis’s take however, Johan Schmitt is dying and wants to end his final battle with Rogers to be a form of respect. He even forces Steve to take a means to get him to age. Yet Cap doesn’t actually mind this as he wants to move on with his life. It’s these relationships with supervillains that later come up again in one of the biggest comics of all time. Mostly for how it’s a premise that channels rejections in Kraven’s Last Hunt.
A Deeper Understanding
This idea resonates with so many readers that many fans want to recapture what makes this series so special. But people miss the point of it all like Kraven’s end. For DeMatteis, it’s not about glory but learning to appreciate the little things. Otherwise people get absorbed into the sensationalism. Only a select few including Dan Slott’s Superior Spider-Man truly live up to this legacy.
J.M DeMatteis: How Many Faces Do You Have?
DeMatteis would continue this outlook with B-List characters including some of the Defenders. Namor’s time as a homeless man is one he shows pride in. Even with amnesia, the Prince of the Deep shows his values to better Atlantis. Doctor Strange: Into Shambala is a graphic novel is a deep introspective look at how people develop spiritually. Despite Stephen Strange becoming a better person through his origin, he still has room to develop. Vanity comes and goes in people, and the purging is constant. Because if only outside forces can awaken them to an enlightened state, the choices they make have no meaning.
J.M DeMatteis’ Love-Hate Relationships
DeMatteis finds himself in a similar position as editor-in-chief of a company under ownership of IDW. But rather than let entitlement get the better of him, DeMatteis recreates a Captain America story idea. All in reaction towards Ed Brubaker’s iconic turning points in his Captain America run. The Life and Times of Savior 28 is a look at how superheroes stay in connection with the world. Needless to say, most of them are not that great at it and most politicians supporting them are objectivists. So the title character tries to advocate for peaceful solutions only for people to question his authenticity.
The entire series premise is a product of rejection and self-reflection about comic books, superheroes, and their publishers. Savior 28 has been around for decades with the times weighing heavy on him. Later issues reveal that he’s more or less a product of his sponsor; unaware of his origin, changing costumes per era, and a conflict that is easily marketable. All to the point that Savior 28’s former sidekick Dennis McNulty finds himself jaded by superheroes. With the series told from McNulty’s cynical point-of-view, it shows how oversaturation can warp perspectives. To that end, McNulty can only see his mentor’s attempts at altruism as feeding his ego. Thankfully, DeMatteis still finds things to enjoy with superheroes.
Misfits Unite!
DeMatteis seems to really like writing for the little guys in mainstream comics. After his brief stint in the Justice League of America, DeMatteis and Keith Giffen bring out Justice League International. The ever changing rosters make for several points of view and adventures. With Batman spearheading the group, it becomes a platform to go into more depth of these C-Listers. While Giffen is the one who brings the humor, DeMatteis develops the cast as people. It’s actually a shame how Maxwell Lord does a Face-Heel turn some series later.
The series is so popular that DeMatteis always wants a chance to come back to it. Justice League Europe spins out from all of the success. How does a team like the Justice League function in Europe anyway? And who can forget the Prince tribute that is Formerly Known as the Justice League? The main takeaway with fans however is the bromance that defines Booster Gold and Ted Kord. Those characters find their place in DC alright. Is it any wonder these leaguers win an Eisner? Or that DeMatteis gets another shot in Justice League 3000 (and 3001)? Having a little recognition and people at your side can mean a whole lot. It’s one of the reason DeMatteis’ Justice League Dark run gets the animation treatment; to the point of co-writing it. This even leads to working with Constantine in City of Demons.
J.M DeMatteis: Fairy Tale Satire
But it can’t all be fun and games, DeMatteis also has subversive fairy tales on his resume. The first of which is Moonshadow; the publishing of this series comes from how DeMatteis earns his worth at Marvel. Yet this series stands in contrast to the wish fulfillment journey. The titular character is a boy of unique heritage escaping his semi-comfortable life as a zoo exhibit at the age of 15. But life on the outside is far from easy. With a companion like Ira, a cynical outlook is what he gets. Yet it’s those same exposures to harsh realities that allows the Moonshadow to develop into adulthood. He accepts that things are bleak but still continues on with hope. Life is full of disappointments, DeMatteis himself has plenty of those before his writing career. Yet it’s also what propels him into his own awakening.
Storytelling vs. Memory
Brooklyn Dreams really nails down the message of just living. In it the main character has a lot of woes; some of them turn out to be not true. Stories and memory collide here as one of those overtake the other by pure emotion. In times of personal crises, stories have the power to help people get through life. But living in these fantasies without context can trick vulnerable people into making up context.
Observe These Examples
Just look at Abadazad, a series about traveling to a fantasy world and how it interacts with others. Fiction may be universal but the focus on cosmetics is what puts barriers between others. One of the characters in the story the lead characters reads was a white redhead; in reality she is an African American. This eventually has the lead character going into Abadazad, tired of depression from her brother’s disappearance. Now fully aware of her potential, she vows to help those in her quest to find her brother. Unfortunately with the series’ publisher’s bankruptcy this story never finishes.
Ironically years later this story inverts in the Augusta Wind series. The title character is actually from a fairy tale world and for a long time convinced everyone including herself that she was a normal girl. With how chaotic this fantasy is, an ideal mundane life is Augusta’s own escapist fantasy. Unfortunately, she also left behind her bizarre best friend Mr. Snabbit. What’s the point of living in a fantasy when you isolate yourself from people who genuinely care about you?
Anxious Care
Especially when the person who needs your love and care the most is you? The Girl in the Bay is a psychological thriller about DeMatteis’ theme of identity storytelling. The world has forces beyond people’s control; for a seventeen year-old girl, that’s the hardest thing to deal with. Kathy Sartori is a 60s flower child trying to drown out the world’s sorrows in drugs and rock-and-roll. But when a chance encounter ends with her “death”, Kathy meets her future self who has lived a full life. This forces the younger Kathy to consider where her life has or will take her. Unlike the above series where fantasy is something to step away from; when fantasies meet partway with anxieties people find their truest selves. Sometimes it’s meeting the right person, other times it’s finding out that person’s very close.
J.M DeMatteis: The Ties That Bind
DeMatteis has a career built around meeting some of the best people; while it’s unknown if he has ever met someone to settle down with, he does remain close with Keith Giffen. Their Mister Miracle piece, spinning off from JLI, go head first into Scott Free and his wife Big Barda’s relationship. In comparison to Tom King’s award winning series, DeMatteis and Giffen make this couple averagely lovable. Sure they’re superheroes but outside of that, they’re a regular loving couple with lives outside of that. Unlike most A-List heroes who can barely hold a relationship.
Then there’s Dr. Fate, a character with such a complex psychological premise that it requires DeMatteis and Giffen to use different characters. Kent Nelson’s psychedelic role puts a strain on his wife Inza, forcing him to choose a successor. Through Eric Strauss and his step-mother Linda, Doctor Fate’s true power unveils in the form of a love that transcends trauma. Even the (Over) Lord of Order Nabu becomes impressed with these people choosing to feel human after being on his pedestal as an immortal. If only later depictions weren’t so uptight.
Self-Discovery the Best Tool of J.M DeMatteis
Of course for all of DeMatteis’ successes, there are plenty of slip-ups. Most of his other work in Spider-Man and Daredevil just don’t work out. In fact when Marvel gets him back onto the wall crawler after decades, it’s just to recreate the success from Kraven’s Last Hunt. Unfortunately Marvel had him by the contract because DeMatteis got to work directly with the likes of Stan Lee.
Fortunately, Spider-Man and Daredevil put DeMatteis on the path of the Silver Surfer. DeMatteis manages to inject his philosophies into this cosmic wanderer for some major self-discovery in the wake of massive events. This guy doesn’t get much screen time without the Fantastic Four. With them gone, he learns what it means to be more human thanks to fan favorite character, Alicia Masters. The relationships Norrin Radd makes and recreates really bring more depth. If anything, it gives Dan Slott a perfect tribute with his notorious run with Silver Surfer.
Just Don’t Oversell It
Of course some of DeMatteis’ attempts to reach out and show people how to enlighten themselves become hard to read. Mercy and The Last One really display what looks like personal inquiries. Forgiving yourself after a series of mistakes is a powerful universal message; but without any emotional connections people see this as virtue signaling. For example DeMatteis’ does this in Hal Jordan’s story of redemption as the Spectre. Still due to dependence on outside factors, people can get lost on the meaning. All of which ironically made me appreciate the progress I made in my own life. Even a boorish real world can be more lifelike than a children’s storybook.
J.M DeMatteis has made a life for himself through all of the hardships. Comics are just his go-to means to communicate discoveries. At times life gets you down and it’s all too easy to forget why people bother to go through it. Personally, it takes a person several lifetimes to figure it out what they want in life. And with it plenty of frustrations where fantasy might be the only cure. Yet here I am trying to connect fantasy to authenticity. I’ll remember J.M DeMatteis works whenever I have similar feelings.
Thanks for coming and remember to look between the panels.