...can it just stop for a little while?
"With a Heavy Heart I Regret To Inform You" Dept.:
"Donald Westlake's PARKER" as drawn by Darwyn Cooke
Noted crime and "caper" novelist, hardboiled humourist, and (go figure)prize-winning gardener, DONALD WESTLAKE passed away December 31st, 2008. He was 75 years old.
There are not many creators, who, just by being familiar with their work, that you can immediately bond with some of your favourite creative types with, that have had quite the same "pull" for me as Westlake had. EVERYBODY I respected creatively seemed to gravitate to this guy as well, either for PARKER or DORTMUNDER. Darwyn got to talk to him a few times last year when he was doing preliminary work on his PARKER project (Westlake wrote the Parker books in a much harsher style as Richard Stark, and, by so doing, was also the inspiration for the Richard Bachman writing persona used by Stephen King). Wait'll you see who PARKER looks like, based on Westlake's recomendation, for the first book before he sees his plastic surgeon in volume 2.
Any opportunity I can take to preach the POINT BLANK gospel is one I'm gonna take. POINT BLANK was John Boorman's film based on Westlake's first PARKER book. Dig in, and I envy you the pleasure if you haven't ever seen this beautiful, beautiful, ripe plum for the first time yourself.
No more "important" deaths please? Not for another two weeks?
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