In his But I Digress column for Comic Buyer's Guide of January 2006, Peter David talks about an encounter with a seven-year-old claiming to be Spider Man's biggest fan. The fan plays the video game and watches the cartoon every day and has the DVDs of the movies and watches them quite often too, but he fails to see the point in reading the comics. Although it is at least partly about how comics are a doomed hobby because there aren't enough young fans, one of Peter David's other points is that this has happened to other characters before. King Arthur, Scrooge, and James Bond all have literary selves that are largely forgotten in the wake of their popular moving picture shows.
He includes a quiz to drive home the point:
1) a) When was the last time you saw a new James Bond movie?
b) As opposed to: When was the last time you read a new James Bond book?
c) Or even an old James Bond book?
2) a) Do you have plans to see the upcoming Zorro movie?
b) Do you have plans to, or have you already, read the new Zorro novel by Isabel Allende?
c) Or the original Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley, rereleased as The Mark of Zorro?
3) a) Have you seen any recent movies featuring Sherlock holmes or watched the TV series with Jeremy Brett?
b) Have you read any of the many Holmes pastiches?
c) When was the last time you read the original Arthur Conan Doyle short stories?
4) a) Have you vver seen The Wizard of Oz?
b) Have you read the Wizard of Oz?
5) a) Did you see the recent movie of King Arthur?
b) For that matter, have you seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
c) Have you read The Once and Future King or Idylls of the King or even Knight Life?
6) a) Ever see any version of A Christmas Carol or even watch Duck Tales or read any story featuring Uncle Scrooge?
b) Ever read the original Charles Dickens book?
7) a) How familiar are you with Don Qixote?
b) Ever read the book?
I might share my own answers to this later. I found it a little startling actually.
1) a) I've never seen a James Bond Movie when it was new.
b) See A.
c) I've read one. I don't remember which.
2) a) There's a new zorro movie out?
b) Zorro was a novel?
c) sorry.
3) a) Seen one of the movies.
b) pastiches?
c) I've read them all, thank you, and I just finished one of them a few weeks ago.
4) a) of course.
b) of course.
5) a) nope.
b) honestly, that should be a given on these forums.
c) Once and Future king, very good book. I've also read the original legend.
6) a) Muppets. That and the one with Patrick Stewart.
b) yep.
7) a) fairly.
b) it's on my to-do pile.
I'd say I did pretty well considering. Although I agree wholeheartedly with both the poster and the article that literature is experiencing some hardships, especially the classics.
Quote3) a) Have you seen any recent movies featuring Sherlock holmes or watched the TV series with Jeremy Brett?
b) Have you read any of the many Holmes pastiches?
c) When was the last time you read the original Arthur Conan Doyle short stories?
5) a) Did you see the recent movie of King Arthur?
b) For that matter, have you seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
c) Have you read The Once and Future King or Idylss of the King or even Knight Life?
6) a) Ever see any version of A Christmas Carol or even watch Duck Tales or read any story featuring Uncle Scrooge?
b) Ever read the original Charles Dickens book?
7) a) How familiar are you with Don Qixote?
b) Ever read the book?
having read them ALL[/i]. Ditto Wizard of Oz. I'd say i have an awesome point, but really:
anecdotal evidence is crap. I'd be interesting in seeing statistics of sales of some of the classic books over the past few decades--I'd imagine some hold up pretty good and others are sold only to fill reading lists.
I'll openly admit that I'm more familiar with the movies then the books, but that doesn't mean I don't know about the books. For most of those, I've never had the oppurtunity to read the books, and the rest, I have read.
Honestly, all of the books listed, I would love to read (or read again).
Oh, and there was a movie of Don Quixote?
1) a) When was the last time you saw a new James Bond movie?
Tomorrow Never Dies, whenever that came out.
b) As opposed to: When was the last time you read a new James Bond book?
Never.
c) Or even an old James Bond book?
I started reading
Dr. No once in the seventh grade, but I don't think I ever finished it.
2) a) Do you have plans to see the upcoming Zorro movie?
Maybe.
b) Do you have plans to, or have you already, read the new Zorro novel by Isabel Allende?
Probably not.
c) Or the original Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley, rereleased as The Mark of Zorro?
No.
3) a) Have you seen any recent movies featuring Sherlock holmes or watched the TV series with Jeremy Brett?
No.
b) Have you read any of the many Holmes pastiches?
One by Stephen King from his
Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection, but that's about it.
c) When was the last time you read the original Arthur Conan Doyle short stories?
Maybe two weeks ago. I was looking for the ones that featured Mycroft Holmes.
4) a) Have you vver seen The Wizard of Oz?
Yes.
b) Have you read the Wizard of Oz?
I'm about halfway through it.
5) a) Did you see the recent movie of King Arthur?
No.
b) For that matter, have you seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
Yes.
c) Have you read The Once and Future King or Idylls of the King or even Knight Life?
Not those named, but I read more than a few aimed at children and also started readin
L'Mort de Artur6) a) Ever see any version of A Christmas Carol or even watch Duck Tales or read any story featuring Uncle Scrooge?
Yes to all of the above.
b) Ever read the original Charles Dickens book?
Yes.
7) a) How familiar are you with Don Qixote?
Not very. Spanish guy, lord of Lamancha, fights a windmill.
b) Ever read the book?
No.
Quote from: CornOh, and there was a movie of Don Quixote?
Not necessarily a movie as such, but I do know there's a musical play called
Man of La Mancha based around it. There was also an episode of
Quantum Leap, where Sam leaps into an actor involved in a production of
Man of La Mancha. There was also an episode of
Wishbone about
Don Qixote, so there's probably a half-dozen other kids-show versions of it.
There is a movie. I saw part of it. It put me off watching the book. :P
Quote from: WensleydaleThere is a movie. I saw part of it. It put me off watching the book. :P
I agree, watching books is an incredibly dull activity :p
Quote from: khyron1144I started reading Dr. No once in the seventh grade, but I don't think I ever finished it.
You should finish it, if only because it ends with the funniest death scene ever: the villain is literally crushed to death under several tons of bird poo. (And no, I'm not making that up.)
Quote from: CornQuote from: WensleydaleThere is a movie. I saw part of it. It put me off watching the book. :P
I agree, watching books is an incredibly dull activity :p
Haha! Reading, even.
1) a) When was the last time you saw a new James Bond movie?
Casino Royale when it came out
b) As opposed to: When was the last time you read a new James Bond book?
I've read a Young James Bond book, it's new.
c) Or even an old James Bond book?
I read Scorpio about a month before Casino Royale came out.
2) a) Do you have plans to see the upcoming Zorro movie?
Upcoming Zorro movie?
b) Do you have plans to, or have you already, read the new Zorro novel by Isabel Allende?
New Zorro novel?
c) Or the original Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley, rereleased as The Mark of Zorro?
Negatory.
3) a) Have you seen any recent movies featuring Sherlock holmes or watched the TV series with Jeremy Brett?
No.
b) Have you read any of the many Holmes pastiches?
Probably not... what's a pastiche?
c) When was the last time you read the original Arthur Conan Doyle short stories?
The last time I read one? Or the last time I read through them all? I reread the original story last fall and I read through the entire Conan Doyle set a couple of years ago.
4) a) Have you ever seen The Wizard of Oz?
Yes.
b) Have you read the Wizard of Oz?
Yes. I also read a bunch of the other Oz books.
5) a) Did you see the recent movie of King Arthur?
No.
b) For that matter, have you seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
Yes.
c) Have you read The Once and Future King or Idylss of the King or even Knight Life?
I've read The Once and Future King, but no others.
6) a) Ever see any version of A Christmas Carol or even watch Duck Tales or read any story featuring Uncle Scrooge?
Yes.
b) Ever read the original Charles Dickens book?
No.
7) a) How familiar are you with Don Qixote?
Not.
b) Ever read the book?
No.
For those who'd like to know what a "pastiche" is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche
Quote from: Darkxarth2) a) Do you have plans to see the upcoming Zorro movie?
Upcoming Zorro movie?
The article this quiz was extracted from was in the January 2006 issue of
Comic Buyer's Guide (the other CBG). That's over a year-and-a-half-ago. I kind of remember last year, seeing a preview for a new Zorro movie, while watching one of the big summer blockbusters. It may have come and gone already.
Quote from: CornFor those who'd like to know what a "pastiche" is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche
This is thorough and exhaustive, but it does not give adequate room to the current, prefferred written meaning of the word pastiche:
a continuation of or sequel to one author's work, frequently after the original author's death, by a different author. For example, Conan books and stories by someone other than Robert E. Howard, Sherlock Holmes books and stories by anyone other than Arthur Conan Doyle, or Cthulhu Mythos Tales by anyone other than H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft may be unique in encouraging pastiches of his work, while he was still alive.