At the Glorya Kaufman Theatre, LIVE TALKS LA Returned Live with Grant Morrison Exploring the Connection Between Drag Queens and Superheroes with Amy Nicholson
By John Lavitt
Santa Monica, CA (The Hollywood Times) 09/14/2022 – Offering the best of brilliant writers and thinkers exploring the themes of their latest works, LIVE TALKS Los Angeles returned to live shows on September 18th to celebrate its 12th Anniversary. The first event at the Glorya Kaufman Theatre featured Scottish comic book writer extraordinaire Grant Morrison (Animal Man, Doom Patrol, The Invisibles, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and many more) discussing their new novel Luda with journalist Amy Nicholson. As a story that mixes themes that readers relate to the classic Better Davis film All About Eve, which Grant Morrison strangely has never seen, with Arthurian legends, Luda is another true innovation from this ultra-talented creator.
If you were not able to make it to the Glorya Kaufman Theatre to see Grant Morrison and Amy Nicholson live, you can still catch this amazing night of LIVE TALKS Los Angeles. As a part of the series moving forward, all the talks will be presented virtually as well.
For information on the virtual event that airs on Sep 18 visit https://livetalksla.org/
With a background as a teenage drag enthusiast, Grant Morrison defines themselves as a non-binary, cross-dressing, genderqueer. However, at LIVE TALKS Los Angeles, they showed up in what they described as their “Don Johnson in Miami Vice from the Negative Universe” outfit and looked sharp as hell. Married to a woman, they live in Scotland with their wife and dozens of cats. Indeed, beyond being a comic book writer and novelist, Morrison is described as “an award-winning playwright, a musician, an occult practitioner, and a stray-cat magnet.” Known for nonlinear narratives, countercultural somersaults, and deep humanism, Grant Morrison’s work truly reflects who they are as a human being.
Grant Morrison and Queen Elizabeth II
Given the insight of this creative soul, it was fascinating to catch this event several days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Not wanting to offend when asked about what her passing meant, Grant Morrison points out that they come from a colonized people. Are they supposed to mourn when the latest ruler of the colonizers leaves this earth?
Indeed, Grant Morrison’s delicate discussion of the topic reminded us of the rant in Trainspotting about the terrifying reality of being Scottish: “Some people hate the English, I don’t! They’re just wankers! We, on the other hand, are colonized by wankers! Can’t even find a decent culture to be colonized by! We’re ruled by effete assholes!”
The Connection Between Drag Queens and Superheroes
When asked why they had chosen to switch from comic books to novels, Grant Morrison discussed how interiority is the power of the novel as a form. Rather than run with an omniscient narrator, Grant Morrison embraces the one-person storytelling model in Luda. You cannot quite tell if Luci LaBang, the old drag queen narrator, is telling the truth all the time, but you have no choice but to trust her perception.
By focusing on drag queens, theatre and pantomime take over, giving the novel contained and controlled themes of fractured identities. Rather than putting on a costume to hide, the characters in Luda become naked when in drag. The connection between drag queens and superheroes is the fracturing of identities in the modern world.
We assume identities reflect the truth, but there has been a collapse of both identity and gender. Perhaps the future reality of structure is reduced to mold and fungi. There is a claustrophobia of identities as characters are framed in stories that a novel reveals in the absolute power of the spoken voice.
Grant Morrison and the Revolutionary Power of the Uncanny
Indeed, in the modern world, what has the power to foster the uncanny? Morrison realizes that glamour, in the beginning, was exclusionary because it was born from grammar. Given the extremity of the illiterate masses, books were exclusionary by nature. The glamour of the drag queen and the secret identity of Batman are both ways to escape the drab reality of a deadened life. By stepping out of banality and into glamour, a drag queen or a superhero embraces the possibility of the revolutionary.
In the end, like most profound investigations where fear is not tied to resolution, more questions were raised than answers provided at LIVE TALKS Los Angeles. During the question-and-answer period, a horrible revelation was revealed. Unlike Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman on Netflix, whose creator participated in the entire project and got full credit, Grant Morrison received nothing for Doom Patrol. The producers credit the comic book to the original creators. However, every storyline in the show is taken from Grant Morrison’s updating and re-envisioning of the work.
Such a realization made us very sad and very angry. It is wrong on so many levels. Grant Morrison deserves credit for that show; it is a shame they have never even seen a work that realizes their vision. Doom Patrol, both the modern comic book and the television show, are 100% products of his genius, and it hurts to see such a vibrant creator violated on such a level. Indeed, the idea that Grant Morrison is not credited with the Doom Patrol vision that led to the heart and soul of that television show makes us sick to our stomachs.
(Photos: John Lavitt)