Holy Thursday, Batman!

It’s Holy Thursday, Modern Philosophers!

Being raised by a devout Catholic Evil Step Mother, it makes sense that the first thing the day brings to mind is a reference to Robin, Batman’s trusty sidekick.

Why did he say “Holy” in front of words he wanted to emphasize?  Was that the comics’ sneaky way of allowing the Boy Wonder to curse?

To think like an SAT Verbal question, is it more like “Holy is to Robin as Wicked is to Mainers”?

Regardless, the thought of Robin annoying Batman all day by reminding him it’s Holy Thursday stuck in my mind at work, and I knew I’d have to turn it into a blog post when I returned to The House on the Hill.

Since we’re on the topic of comic books, I’ll share a happy memory from my time in California.  I used to idolize Kevin Smith.  I’m still a huge fan, and watch Comic Book Men religiously (see how I brought the conversation back to religion?), but when I was in my 20s, I wanted to be Silent Bob’s alter ego.

Clerks changed the way I thought of the movie making process.  It taught me that a screenwriter could have much more power if he also directed, produced and starred in his flicks.  I had never even considered this when I was a Film Major at NYU.  Had I’d seen Clerks earlier, I would’ve taken more classes on producing and directing, rather than just focusing on the writing (which is still the most important part of any movie…).

When the Clerks comic books premiered, Smith did a signing at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles.  I waited in line for hours under the blazing California sun, breathing in all that smog, just to meet my idol.

I had my copies of the Clerks and Chasing Amy screenplays, as well as the first issue of the Clerks comic, for him to autograph.

When I finally got to the front of the line and stood face to face with the Fat Man himself, all I could manage to say was “I really liked Clerks”.

I bet he still falls asleep every night thinking of those poignant words.  How embarrassing.

Regardless of being starstruck and tongue tied, I still got to meet the man who changed the way I looked at my writing future.  His style was a major influence on .33 Reverse Gunther, my personal favorite of all the screenplays I’ve written, and also inspired a rarely mentioned screenplay of mine called Modern Philosophers.

Let’s turn the focus back on Holy Thursday, Modern Philosophers.  The good little Catholic school boy who still lives somewhere deep down inside of me, clad in his St. Ephrem’s uniform, knows that The Last Supper took place on Holy Thursday.

That was when Jesus said his goodbye to his Apostles, shortly before Judas’ betrayal.  The Last Supper also inspired Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, the novel that finally taught millions of people to appreciate fine art.

I’m not sure what was served at The Last Supper, but I thought I’d share the Holy Thursday menu at The House on the Hill with you.  There is an appetizer of Doritos, which is being eaten as I write this post (must clean the orange dust from the laptop when I am done).  That will be followed by chicken parmigiana with sides of rice and corn, washed down with Snapple.

I bet that’s just making your mouths water.  It’s making my tummy rumble, so let’s wrap up this post.  Since it started with a reference to superheroes, why not close with some Deep Thoughts on the very first superhero…

Was Jesus a superhero, Modern Philosophers?  He could walk on water, turn water into wine, fill boats with fish.  The list of miracles/super powers goes on and on, and is well documented in a piece of literature that flies off the bookshelves.

Let’s not forget that Jesus also rose from the dead.  So if He’s not the first superhero, He could very well have been the first Zombie…