I met Michael when he (and I) were just kids in the early 70's...had a mutual friend (Ed Reluiga, I believe)that introduced us at a con at the Detroit Hilton. Very nice person back then, and from all your indications, still the same now. I was happy to see his artwork start popping up in the late 70's. I know he wouldn't remember me, but I have followed his career since then. Good to see he's working on Comic Book Babylon. Eagerly awaiting my copy. Happy Birthday, Michael.
The chief commodity a writer has to sell is his courage. And if he has none, he is more than a coward. He is a sell-out and a fink and a heretic, because writing is a holy chore.--Harlan Ellison
CLIFFORD METH's writings have been teamed with such artists as Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Jeffrey Jones, Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Dave Cockrum and George Perez; praised by The Who's Pete Townsend, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Leonard Cohen, Peppi Marchello, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Pat DiNizzio, Stan Lee, Kurt Vonnegut and Harlan Ellison; and optioned for Hollywood films. The recent Meth, Colan & Other Theologians (Aardwolf Publishing) reprised his Barnes & Noble Horror-Pick-of-the-WeekPerverts, Pedophiles & Other Theologians with artist Gene Colan, while his last hardcover Billboards (IDW Publishing) featured an introduction by science-fiction legend Robert Silverberg.
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Eye of the Beholder
Meth is a dangerous writer. He doesn’t seem to care if you like him. - Neal Adams
Meth’s writing is fresh and absorbing—clever and replete with surprises. - Stan Lee
Anyone who can give Barry Windsor-Smith a pissy fit is okay in my book. - Joe Staton
The only thing about Cliff’s writing that makes me crazy is the demented titles he puts on them. For a guy who writes as well as he does, and who thinks as deeply as he does, I can’t figure it out! - Harlan Ellison
Clifford Meth is one of dark fiction's best-kept secrets. - Barnes and Noble
Clifford Meth has the touch. Fantasy dark humour and ravishing detail to his characters. Isaac Asimov meets C. S. Lewis meets Beelzebub. - Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)
Razor sharp dialogue, wonderfully erotic and beautifully said. The meaty characters appear extremely real in front of me. - Jeffrey Jones
Clifford Meth is one of the most brilliant writers of dark fiction out there today. - Bud Plant Comic Art
The way that Meth carefully controls your expectations,then takes an almost sadistic pleasure in messing withyour mind is, artistically speaking, a beautiful thing. - SilverBulletComicBooks.com
Clifford Meth writes like whiskey bites: Deceptively smooth until you realize he’s put you flat on the floor. - David Gerrold (author of Star Trek's "Trouble With Tribbles" and The Martian Child)
Meth writes in pictures that make me want to draw. This is good stuff! - Joe Kubert
Clifford Meth writes with power and authority. Great stuff and a great read! - Gerry Conway (creator of The Punisher)
What separate Meth from most writers is his courage to take on sensitive issues. I’d read anything he’s ever written. - Gene Colan (creator of Blade)
What can I say that hasn’t been said about Meth’s work except the stories are so interesting and original that I’m looking forward to the next collection! - John Buscema
There isn't a writer in the world I would have preferred to have collaborated with--not even Mr. Ellison. - J.R. (Septimus Orion)
What makes Meth's work special is that it grows out of a unique confluence of outlook, culture, comics and prose. - Walter Simonson
Here's the key: Cliff is actor an audience. - Jim Reeber (Aardwolf Publishing)
Meth is one of the more intriguing writers of short stories to arrive in recent years. A damned fine writer. He does not write the easy stories. - Tony Isabella / The Comic Buyer’s Guide
Meth’s imagination, integrity and insight are touched by a dark, often perverse humor. It’s always exciting to discover new writers on their way up—and Meth’s course is worth charting. - Jim Steranko
I don’t know how much money the Cockrums got, but having a friend like Clifford Meth is worth more than a million dollars. - John Romita
Cliff’s writing has attitude. While his stories are frequently angry or outrageous, they’re all honest insights into the human psyche. - Dave Cockrum (co-creator of The X-Men)
Meth is a unique and exciting voice--funny, twisted, visionary. His insights into character and culture are often startling and his stories, always entertaining. I am a huge fan. - Richard Saperstein, Pres. The Weinstein Company
Clifford Meth sharpens the mundane details of everyday life to a razor's edge. I know of no other experience so simultaneously depressing...and uplifting. - Steve Brown, Chairman IDT Entertainment
You write character dialogue like O'Hara & string words together so effortlessly, kiddo. Kudos to you! Love good writing--the stuff so rare in comics & animation, my two vexing venues...I'm ossified, I'm sure, by actually reading top story work. - Alex Toth
Although they're called dark fiction, there's a "real" quality to Clifford Meth's stories that lifts them up and out of his books. And each successive story remains unique enough to make me start another, wondering what he'll come up with next. - Steve Forbert
Clifford Meth knows things. Dark, dank, nasty things... He doesn't scrape away the barnacles covering the hull of human interaction so much as he lifts up the barnacles, describes what's under them, and then puts the barnacles back and walks away with his hands in his pockets, whistling in the dark. - Peter David
Clifford Meth has done more to make the comic book industry better for its creators than has the collective career of many good people working within it. Those who speak much and do little struggle to fathom how some inspire granduer with few words. To them, Clifford Meth is of the unfathomable. - Michael Netzer
[Meth's] work is about the dark side of life, as if he were sculpting beautifully realistic statues while working exclusively in blood and excrement. And then setting them on fire...I'm a huge fan. I read him mouth open and giggling, stunned, amused and aroused. - Bill Messner-Loebs
I love Clifford. He's a mensch. - Harlan Ellison
Read Meth. He is pure humanity, pure emotion, pure smart... And, the fuckin’ guy made me cry. - Handsome Dick Manitoba / The Dictators
Cliff is a dangerously talented writer. - Pat DiNizio (The Smithreens)
I read Clifford Meth because the guy has a unique niche. He doesn't write fiction--he writes punk fiction! - Andy Shernoff (The Dictators)
Meth's writing is dark, relentless and always in your face. It doesn’t make for easy reading, but it is highly emotional and makes you pay attention, which is the best thing a writer can do... He writes from a place others won’t walk. - Marv Wolfman (creator of Blade)
Every Clifford Meth story is a tale of two balls. - Peppi Marchello (The Good Rats)
If you have missed the true, revealing richness of [Meth's] implications, then consider this an urgent reminder--a rap on the knuckles--to read it again. - Robert Bloch (author of Psycho)
Cliff writes very well about very intimate subjects. - Steve Gerber (creator of Howard the Duck)
It's easy to be your friend when there ain't no shit coming down. It's when the nails are being driven into your wrists that you find out whether somebody is a real friend and a stand-up person. And that's Cliff. - Harlan Ellison
Cliff, on behalf of the creative community, let me be the zillionth to thank you for the great care and Ellisonian-level protectiveness you've shown to the giants. - Mark Waid
Meth can be subtle, beautiful and venal in one sentence. - Howard Chaykin
Saying good things about Clifford Meth is like giving endorsements to Zorro. - Barney Dannelke
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1 comment:
I met Michael when he (and I) were just kids in the early 70's...had a mutual friend (Ed Reluiga, I believe)that introduced us at a con at the Detroit Hilton. Very nice person back then, and from all your indications, still the same now. I was happy to see his artwork start popping up in the late 70's. I know he wouldn't remember me, but I have followed his career since then. Good to see he's working on Comic Book Babylon. Eagerly awaiting my copy.
Happy Birthday, Michael.
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