MARK WHEATLEY GALLERY

Two brothers, mid-thirties.

Danny is a graphic designer whose paying gig isn’t paying. Scott is a formerly successful b-movie producer having troubles of his own. The clock is ticking for them. Danny never pursued his dream of being a comic book artist. And Scott would love to have his Amex card reactivated. Fate consigns both of them to their childhood home in suburban Pittsburgh. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Because a million years ago, when they were kids, this was ground zero for their exhilarating efforts to create amateur comics and movies. And perhaps, together, they can recapture that magic to create something worthy of the promise they feel slipping away. EZ STREET is a sprawling, Harvey Award – nominated graphic novel that follows two men with so much to lose as they work to create a comic book – and find redemption.

The financial and emotional uncertainties every artist faces are very much present here and affect both brothers’ relationships with the women in their lives – and each other. As they struggle to find a story they can each connect with, one that will allow them to reach their potential, old baggage comes to light. The story doesn’t simply get mired down in the brothers’ angst – it also celebrates the process of writing and drawing and explores the ideas the brothers attempt to bring to life: Vampire vigilantes, a reincarnated King Arthur, and a Conan-esque barbarian are among the stories we see spring to life. But it is in a seminal event from their childhood, when their creative imaginations collided with a tragic homeless man, that leads to the story they were meant to create.

EZ STREET has an Entourage quality to it, albeit an authentic one inhabited by real fans of comics and film – not the lip-service, trite stabs at fandom presented by The Big Bang Theory.

EZ STREET strays into fantasy in a Walter Mitty sort-of way. The boys don’t simply talk about their ideas. We see them come to life.

EZ STREET is timely. The reality of the world these days is that creativity – be it in art, music, film, literature – is being consigned to the people lucky enough to have money. Danny and Scott Fletcher do not have money – they come from a family that is just emerging from a blue collar world that used to be able to encourage dreaming. That world is disappearing along with the manufacturing jobs folks like their dad had. If they are to create, they will have to endure many sacrifices – with no guarantee of success.

EZ STREET appeals to women. Because the women in the brothers’ lives are complex characters – each very different, but each very appealing. They represent twin poles in their feelings about the pursuit of art over commerce. As Americans face a series of paradigm shifts in the way we work and live and create there naturally emerges a great deal of new challenges and anxieties. Which in turn lend themselves to dramatic possibilities that not only entertain but provoke, offer insight, and even inspiration. Because we need our popular entertainments to occasionally reflect our struggles, and just maybe, show us how to follow our dreams.

Not everyone is a comic book artist. Or a movie producer.
But everyone has goals. Everyone is
vulnerable in the New Economy.
And everyone has a dream.

Read a sample of EZ STREET:

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