Flicker

Flicker may refer to any of the following:

Flicker (novel)

Flicker is a novel by Theodore Roszak published in 1991.

The novel covers approximately 15–20 years of the life of film scholar Jonathan Gates, whose academic investigations draw him into the shadowy world of esoteric conspiracy that underlies the work of fictional B-movie director Max Castle. Director Darren Aronofsky's name has long been associated with a possible film adaptation.

Plot summary

Jonathan Gates is a student at UCLA in the early 1960s, where he begins his love affair with film at The Classic, a rundown independent movie theatre. He begins an affair with the theatre's owner Clarissa "Clare" Swann, who tutors him extensively in the study of film history over the course of their relationship. It is through Clare's pursuit of classic films to show at the theatre that Gates stumbles upon the work of Max Castle, a B-Movie director of German origin whose work uses subliminal imagery and unorthodox symbolism to achieve a powerful effect over the viewer.

Gradually, Gates rises through the academic ranks to achieve a professorial chair, becoming most respected as the rediscoverer and champion of Castle's work. Through Gates' extensive research, the reader learns of Castle's considerable influence over the great films of his time, culminating in a collaboration with Orson Welles to make the acclaimed movie Citizen Kane, followed by a failed attempt to adapt Conrad's Heart of Darkness to the silver screen. Also revealed, however, are his shadowy connections with a religious group known as the Orphans of the Storm, as well as his disappearance in 1941.

Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers are a rock band formed in 1986 in Blackwood, Wales and consisting of James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar), Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion). They are often colloquially known as "The Manics." After the release of their first single, "Suicide Alley", Richey Edwards joined the band as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band proclaimed their debut album Generation Terrorists would be the "greatest rock album ever" and hoped to sell sixteen million copies around the world, "from Bangkok to Senegal", after which they would split up. Despite the album's failure to meet this level of success, the band carried on with their career.

The group later became a trio when Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995. Bradfield, Moore and Wire went on to gain critical and commercial success. The band have released twelve albums and three compilations, Forever Delayed, Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers) and National Treasures – The Complete Singles. Their early combination of androgynous glam imagery, critical social lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" and a furious rock sound gained them a loyal following over the years and assured them a cult status. The band's later albums retained a leftist politicisation and intellectual lyrical style while adopting a broader alternative rock sound. To date, they have sold more than 10 million albums worldwide.

Torso (comics)

Torso, in comics, may refer to:

See also

Torso (disambiguation)

The torso is the central part of the body.

Torso may also refer to:

Torso (Image Comics)

Torso is a winning true crime limited series graphic novel written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, with art and lettering by Brian Michael Bendis. It is based on the true story of the Cleveland Torso Murderer, and the efforts of the famous lawman Eliot Ness and his band of the "Unknowns" to capture him.

Bendis' was initially inspired to write the novel after reading the files about the murders. As a Cleveland native, Bendis wrote the novel to pay homage to his hometown. Together with artist Andreyko, they crafted the comic with various historical photographs and clippings from the era. After its release, the graphic novel was critically well-received by the comic book community and elevated Bendis' career in the industry. Originally published by Image Comics, the graphic novel was soon reprinted under Marvel's Icon imprint years later. Since then, various attempts to adapt the novel into film have been proposed.

Publication history

Torso was originally published as a six-issue limited series by Image Comics. Bendis envisioned the comic as a historical true story which he turned into a graphic novel.Torso was written during Bendis' time as a struggling writer in his hometown Cleveland. His inspiration came while working as a cartoonist in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where his editor gave him access to the Cleveland Torso Murders files. The files contained all of the visual evidences and testimonies, such as photographs, interviews and newspaper excerpts for Bendis to create the novel. His particular inspiration was that of a picture of a coroner examining a dismembered leg with a magnifying glass, which he described as "the opposite of CSI." Besides the archives, Bendis and Mark also took information from Eliot Ness' own written interviews. He surmise their work during an interview: