If there's one thing I'll state about myself, it's that I absolutely love a good expression. The only thing better is recognizing the moment to use it properly. (I'm a man with several idiosyncrasies apparently...)
Very recently however, I learned the real meaning behind a potentially ambiguous expression. It's one I've been well familiar with for ages now.
" Life imitates Art. "
Now if you're familiar with the expression, I challenge you to look it up, you will see, that its possible your interpretation of the expression is either not correct, or a variation on the original meaning. IF you guessed properly/knew the actual meaning, then kudos, you get a nod and a smile, friend.
Anyway, this isn't the first time I've encountered a situation where in retrospect I could say " Oh man I guess life really does imitate art ". It was only such a blatant punch in the mouth this time, that I'd be hard pressed NOT to notice right away, let alone in retrospect...
Another reason why I opted to write about this, was also to display the art and story caliber of comics from yesteryear's. If you see the garbage they have now, you'd become crestfallen. Talk about two birds with one stone right?
(Go ahead and observe, my ranting and raving aside, the layout of the comic panels posted in this entry and the dialogue found therein makes it, at the very least curious no? Such is the power of what I considered, heart felt writing, borne of experience, for relating is easy. At least to me-)
Moving on to yesterday. It was late in the night then, clearly sleep wasn't gonna come around for a while, so I opted to pick up where I left off in the "Legends of the Dark Knight" comic series. Heretofore known as LDK.
As of late I've been reading through some of the older comics from DC's Bronze Age. Chief among them have been the epic tales of Batman, stories I've taken a particular liking to. Largely because Batman is still a man, and still suspect to fucking up, apparently in very human ways as I've come to note in roars of laughter. (Partially because some of it is relatable) Some of his reactions I found where almost mirrored from myself.
Or at least that realization that whomever wrote Batman's character for that particular story may have been a person with a similar temperament to myself, and was projecting some of himself into the Batman's reactions to certain happenings in this issue.
In HotHouse, Batman has his first encounter with Poison Ivy in this series. (Not to be confused with her debut encounter! By this point she's been dealt with multiple times, has been submitted to Arkham and is now supposedly cured. Can no longer release... well if you don't know what Poison Ivy can do, maybe its high time you learned?)
There! Can't say I never did nothing nice for ya'll.
Moving on.
At this point in time she is cured of her maladies and randomly appears back in the limelight of Batman's life. I suppose this is the moment I finally grasped the meaning of expression " Life imitates art ".
I still remember reading the page before, learning that the victim had been killed by an organically produced hallucinogenic, I of course expected Ivy to be guilty of the crime SOLELY because of the cover shown earlier, BUT, what I was not expecting was the presentation, and how my mind tied someone else I felt the same way about to Poison Ivy. All that was missing was Poison Ivy saying "Jerico" instead of Batman.
It struck me a blow most interesting to be honest.
The more I learned about how Poison Ivy was portrayed in this issue, the more I came to conclude two things. Her creator must've had some dealings with a meddlesome redhead ( as redheads tend to be I've noticed. I've never met one that wasn't a handful and a headache- ) hence the creation of Poison Ivy, and that life was imitating art through the past experiences of the individual at hand. You know how in Psychology they say some bullshit about association? Who knows, I don't get paid to sound smart.
Point is, I'd be lying if I said when I was reading this comic last night, Poison Ivy didn't totally remind of me of Nikki. Batman's instant aversion with his thoughts on the defense were near identical to mine with her. It was fascinating to see experiences from my past come to life in some capacity in art form. Buried deep in a comic I've only recently gotten really into. Made for some enthralling reading I'd say.
For those that don't know, we were literally birds of a feather at one point. Being so alike in potentially sordid personalities and other bad habits it was no surprise we flocked together. BUT! despite all that, she also embodied many things that, over time I found, were things I hated about myself or didn't understand yet about my person perhaps. However in light of these flaws, her grasp over me was near absolute. A lamentable condition in which I cost myself much once. Much in the same way Poison Ivy has cost Batman in other comic lines (Detective Comics, Brave and the Bold, Shadow of the Bat, etc.) Her grasp over Batman, although powerful, was never absolute, and although she's never defeated him, she has proven more than a handful on every occasion. (Poison Ivy's allure was so strong that it once captivated Superman enough to for her to command him to kill Batman, which Bats barely survives.)
Perhaps you've experienced it with someone before. As not all people affect you the same way, there are those who seem to have a far greater hold on you that you're aware of or care to admit. This was the case the with her, and this is the possibly what Poison Ivy embodies idea wise. The whole plant thing is just an angle on something deeper. Poison Ivy's influence is akin to that one person that has easy and complete access to your innermost person. Although rare, such a person once met, seems to know what to say and how to say things to get behind you enough to stick a knife in should the time come.
As a result, they are incredibly difficult to deal with without becoming emotionally compromised. The same can be said for Poison Ivy who affects the fluids in your brain via airborne pheromones or intoxicating touch or worse yet, her poisonous kiss. All these lead to something similar to mind control or something more undesirable.
ANYWAY- As I read on, I found Batman fucking up the same way I had done before when I was dealing with her tantamount early last year. The panel to the left had some significance too. Reading the page to the left, ( <-- ) I found myself really relating to what Batman was going through. By effect I was understanding more and more the real meaning of " Life imitates Art ". How it was things you've read or seen or things you will read or see will sometimes remind us of an experience that elapsed in that exact fashion. Life is unlimited in its variations, and I'm of the belief the universe has an intelligent guiding force; a God to manage reality if you may. So the expression held a multipurpose meaning to me.
However, experiencing this expression in the form of a comic last night. The panel suddenly bringing to mind a gal I'd to prefer to never think of again, ( although I'd be lying to myself. I tend to think her on more often than not ) and all the while keeping me gripped because its Batman dealing with a situation I've been in (or similar) where emotionally, I barely escaped by the skin of my teeth was something else. To see Batman falter in a similar fashion was a weight unknown, off my heart. (For it appeared, everybody was suspect to follies such as mine)
Life really does imitate art. Once upon a time, many, many moons ago, I had told her the same thing before she moved far away and out of my life. " I won't let you go "
Like the Batman, I too saved Poison Ivy's tantamount a long time ago.
...and like the Batman, I too realized the kind of spell she could wield over a guy like me. Although time changed a lot of things between us, and even though I swore her off, I'd be a liar if I said I'd turn my back on her if she ever needed real help. I'm sure we'll end up meeting again, the same way Batman encounters Poison Ivy time and again.
Such is Batman's nature no? The same man who'd found love in Catwoman, instead of a regular woman the way Clark Kent had done.
This was something most pleasing actually. Maybe this was the reason I couldn't get into them when I was younger, or maybe because I'm older now, I can grasp the emotional subtleties some of these issues have. As a result, my interest in comics has only increased :D (surely you've noticed it when watching cartoons from your early youth. So many jokes that went right over the top of your head then, and now, so very blatant, and sometimes, artistic in subtlety.)
Now, as much as I'd like to post more and more about the comics I read, I was only using what I had at hand to write about something I found of particular interest. The idea that there are things in life that remind one of other things, to put very generally. I had experienced it before of course, but never so in your face.
Alrighty, that concludes this post.
Very recently however, I learned the real meaning behind a potentially ambiguous expression. It's one I've been well familiar with for ages now.
" Life imitates Art. "
Now if you're familiar with the expression, I challenge you to look it up, you will see, that its possible your interpretation of the expression is either not correct, or a variation on the original meaning. IF you guessed properly/knew the actual meaning, then kudos, you get a nod and a smile, friend.
Anyway, this isn't the first time I've encountered a situation where in retrospect I could say " Oh man I guess life really does imitate art ". It was only such a blatant punch in the mouth this time, that I'd be hard pressed NOT to notice right away, let alone in retrospect...
Another reason why I opted to write about this, was also to display the art and story caliber of comics from yesteryear's. If you see the garbage they have now, you'd become crestfallen. Talk about two birds with one stone right?
(Go ahead and observe, my ranting and raving aside, the layout of the comic panels posted in this entry and the dialogue found therein makes it, at the very least curious no? Such is the power of what I considered, heart felt writing, borne of experience, for relating is easy. At least to me-)
Moving on to yesterday. It was late in the night then, clearly sleep wasn't gonna come around for a while, so I opted to pick up where I left off in the "Legends of the Dark Knight" comic series. Heretofore known as LDK.
As of late I've been reading through some of the older comics from DC's Bronze Age. Chief among them have been the epic tales of Batman, stories I've taken a particular liking to. Largely because Batman is still a man, and still suspect to fucking up, apparently in very human ways as I've come to note in roars of laughter. (Partially because some of it is relatable) Some of his reactions I found where almost mirrored from myself.
Or at least that realization that whomever wrote Batman's character for that particular story may have been a person with a similar temperament to myself, and was projecting some of himself into the Batman's reactions to certain happenings in this issue.
In HotHouse, Batman has his first encounter with Poison Ivy in this series. (Not to be confused with her debut encounter! By this point she's been dealt with multiple times, has been submitted to Arkham and is now supposedly cured. Can no longer release... well if you don't know what Poison Ivy can do, maybe its high time you learned?)
There! Can't say I never did nothing nice for ya'll.
Moving on.
At this point in time she is cured of her maladies and randomly appears back in the limelight of Batman's life. I suppose this is the moment I finally grasped the meaning of expression " Life imitates art ".
It struck me a blow most interesting to be honest.
The more I learned about how Poison Ivy was portrayed in this issue, the more I came to conclude two things. Her creator must've had some dealings with a meddlesome redhead ( as redheads tend to be I've noticed. I've never met one that wasn't a handful and a headache- ) hence the creation of Poison Ivy, and that life was imitating art through the past experiences of the individual at hand. You know how in Psychology they say some bullshit about association? Who knows, I don't get paid to sound smart.
Point is, I'd be lying if I said when I was reading this comic last night, Poison Ivy didn't totally remind of me of Nikki. Batman's instant aversion with his thoughts on the defense were near identical to mine with her. It was fascinating to see experiences from my past come to life in some capacity in art form. Buried deep in a comic I've only recently gotten really into. Made for some enthralling reading I'd say.
For those that don't know, we were literally birds of a feather at one point. Being so alike in potentially sordid personalities and other bad habits it was no surprise we flocked together. BUT! despite all that, she also embodied many things that, over time I found, were things I hated about myself or didn't understand yet about my person perhaps. However in light of these flaws, her grasp over me was near absolute. A lamentable condition in which I cost myself much once. Much in the same way Poison Ivy has cost Batman in other comic lines (Detective Comics, Brave and the Bold, Shadow of the Bat, etc.) Her grasp over Batman, although powerful, was never absolute, and although she's never defeated him, she has proven more than a handful on every occasion. (Poison Ivy's allure was so strong that it once captivated Superman enough to for her to command him to kill Batman, which Bats barely survives.)
Perhaps you've experienced it with someone before. As not all people affect you the same way, there are those who seem to have a far greater hold on you that you're aware of or care to admit. This was the case the with her, and this is the possibly what Poison Ivy embodies idea wise. The whole plant thing is just an angle on something deeper. Poison Ivy's influence is akin to that one person that has easy and complete access to your innermost person. Although rare, such a person once met, seems to know what to say and how to say things to get behind you enough to stick a knife in should the time come.
As a result, they are incredibly difficult to deal with without becoming emotionally compromised. The same can be said for Poison Ivy who affects the fluids in your brain via airborne pheromones or intoxicating touch or worse yet, her poisonous kiss. All these lead to something similar to mind control or something more undesirable.
ANYWAY- As I read on, I found Batman fucking up the same way I had done before when I was dealing with her tantamount early last year. The panel to the left had some significance too. Reading the page to the left, ( <-- ) I found myself really relating to what Batman was going through. By effect I was understanding more and more the real meaning of " Life imitates Art ". How it was things you've read or seen or things you will read or see will sometimes remind us of an experience that elapsed in that exact fashion. Life is unlimited in its variations, and I'm of the belief the universe has an intelligent guiding force; a God to manage reality if you may. So the expression held a multipurpose meaning to me.However, experiencing this expression in the form of a comic last night. The panel suddenly bringing to mind a gal I'd to prefer to never think of again, ( although I'd be lying to myself. I tend to think her on more often than not ) and all the while keeping me gripped because its Batman dealing with a situation I've been in (or similar) where emotionally, I barely escaped by the skin of my teeth was something else. To see Batman falter in a similar fashion was a weight unknown, off my heart. (For it appeared, everybody was suspect to follies such as mine)
I finally understood the meaning of it, and finally accepted that life was like this. It would lend itself to the interpreter when it came to certain art/music/literature/event for nothing more, than to remind an individual of that once upon a time, their life was going through something like this, epic in quality, legendary in recollection.
For Poison Ivy and how her character was portrayed in this comic, and how it reminded me so much of Nikki, I'll end on the same note Batman did when he kept her from falling her to death- (since in all honesty, despite my seeming dislike for her, its born not of hatred, its just complicated I guess.)
But like Batman, I still got a spot for Poison Ivy somewhere in the steel caldron I call a heart. For that, I'll use Batman's inner dialogue as my own to conclude this entry on expressions and associations.
" There's NO MANS LAND between love and hate,
between passion and obsession,
where its easy to lose all sense of reality,
and in doing so, lose yourself,
somewhere in that emotional minefield,
that's where Nikki wanders... "
Like the Batman, I too saved Poison Ivy's tantamount a long time ago.
...and like the Batman, I too realized the kind of spell she could wield over a guy like me. Although time changed a lot of things between us, and even though I swore her off, I'd be a liar if I said I'd turn my back on her if she ever needed real help. I'm sure we'll end up meeting again, the same way Batman encounters Poison Ivy time and again.
Such is Batman's nature no? The same man who'd found love in Catwoman, instead of a regular woman the way Clark Kent had done.
Poison Ivy would never be the same, and neither would comic book reading.
Now, as much as I'd like to post more and more about the comics I read, I was only using what I had at hand to write about something I found of particular interest. The idea that there are things in life that remind one of other things, to put very generally. I had experienced it before of course, but never so in your face.
Alrighty, that concludes this post.
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