Arachnida – The Specials
Ah, The Specials. “The Specials” is one of my favorite movies. Basically an independent film released in competition with Mystery Men. I don’t know that it ever showed in theatres, but it is one of my favorite DVDs. The Specials are the sixth or seventh greatest superhero team in the world. They have spent many a day fighting natural disasters and battling supervillains. This is not one of those days. Pretty much tells you everything you need to know about them right off the bat. The writer of The Specials, James Gunn, went on to write both Scooby-Doo movies.
I started out writing Scooby-Doo comics, and went on to write for The Specials.
Well, okay, the Scooby-Doo comics weren’t technically Scooby stories, so much as doodles in which certain Scooby characters appeared.
And, it wasn’t the same Specials as Gunn’s septenary super guys. It was a standalone or two, and later a sequence of issues staring The Azure Arachnid. Three of my favorite efforts (what we writers call stuff we’ve written when we’re within earshot of people so we can sound cool) were special issues of The Tick. If I’m correctly informed they’re in the book you are holding right now. If not then you should go buy them and then read this.
It’s okay, go on. I’ll wait. Of course, if you’ve properly prepared, the rest of us wouldn’t have to wait for you. Done? Good, let us continue.
Now that you’ve read The Specials, you see that they were a lot of fun to write. Almost as much fun as they are to read. There’re tales of duels, action, adventure, pirates, cannibals, riches, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love… what more could you want? Oh, yes, of course, The Tick and Arthur, they’re in almost every issue.
Three years I was writing specials. It was a fine time for me. I was learning to fence, fight, anything anyone would teach me. Every day my editor saying, “Good night, Marc. Good work. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.” And then “it” happened.
“What?” you ask.
Well that’s a story for another series. And actually it was led in with a series of specials. You might say a, “Special Series of Specials.” Or you might not, it is kind of a mouthful.