The Crow

 

Since I was a preteen The 1990's film adaption of The Crow has always been among my favorite films. The film always stuck with me because of it's dark references and poetic influences. The Crow is about a young couple, Shelly and Eric, who live in a historical apartment that the city wishes to their down. One night after petitioning the couple is brutally murdered by a gang of druggies,while celebrating. Eric Draven is forced to watch his fiancee Shelly rapped and murdered as he lays dying. One year later the rock artist is brought back from the afterlife by a crow and is set lose to have revenge on the thugs that killed him and Shelly.

I recently was recommended to read J O'barrs graphic novel of The Crow. Like most books I was promised that the graphic novel was a million times better than the film. I found this hard to believe, because I grew up loving the movie so much, but would have to agree the movie really does not do the book justice. Like in the film version, the graphic novel is about a couple that is shot down before their time. The love the couple shairs is so great that Eric refusses death and is brought back by a crow to seek his revenged. The biggist differince between the two is the way that Shelly and Eric die and also that Eric is not this big rock god he is in the movie.

I believe that in the film version actor Brandon Lee plays Eric the rocker due to the heavy song influence O'barr uses in the book. O'barr admits that the majority of his influence for The Crow came from punk legends, Joy Division, The Cure and Robyn Hitchcock. He also modeled Eric Draven from punk "godfather" Iggy Pop. After reading The Crow for the first time I found that O'barr leaves you with a playlist of songs that fit the reading perfectly with the emotions and actions protraid by Eric.

In this video you can clearly see Iggy Pop in Eric. Everything from how he moves and carries his body is reflected the O'barrs character.