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A review by rui_leite
The Addams Family: An Evilution by Kevin Miserocchi
5.0
So, ever since I first discovered the Addams clan, at the age of 13, I’ve been oddly fascinated by these characters. I’ve never been particularly fond of the cartoon adaptations of the 90’s, but for some reason the film versions took hold of my imagination and never let go. In many ways I think I’ve always felt exactly as it is said in the introductory text of this book: “They might be scary, weird, creepy, and macabre, but The Addams Family is our secret envy. If only our family dinners could be so much fun!” True that.
I’ve only recently got acquainted with the 1960’s TV version of the characters but I loved them all the same, albeit for different reasons (Morticia and Gomez relation and their parenting stile, Ted Cassidy’s Lurch), and now “The Addams Family: An Evilution” finally allowed me to reach the end of this weird backwards time-traveling relationship I seem to have with these boys.
Chas Addams, the artist who came up with this beautiful concept, had a dark and delightful mind. Every panel is like a snapshot of a moment in the lives of these twisted, creepy people and yet you cannot help but feel there is a real bond between them. The Addams house is as warm as it is dark, and not all of it comes from the boiling oil or the human shaped logs burning in the fireplace. From their traditions, like placing little hang-nooses on the Christmas tree, to Gomez teaching the children how to make their own torture-racks, until the very awesome reading time depicting all the family together, including Uncle Fester holding “A Return to Morality”, Gomez, fascinated by “The Total Collapse of The Dollar” and little Wednesday reading “The Comfort of Sex”, every image gives us a strange feeling of defiance and gloom embedded with coziness.
It was also rather interesting to see what changed over time, and what remained. The character that perhaps had the most drastic transformation was Thing, originally depicted as a mysterious peering figure hidden amongst rafters, behind doors or between snow and not a disembodied hand at all. To my mind the closest adaptation to the cartoon version of the character would very well be some sort of silent spidery ghost child-thing creeping from unexpected places.
Gomez also went through a great change, from a slightly greasy man-child (but never the less a clearly lovable parent and husband) depicted in these cartoons to the suave Raul Julia version of the 90’s. The stepping point between the two was probably the TV version, who sometimes feels just as greasy as Chas Addams’s Gomez, but developed to something a bit different along the way. To be honest, even though I really liked the drawn version of Gomez, this evolution might not have been a bad thing.
And there is AT LAST, a very good explanation as to why the 90’s films focused so much on Uncle Fester! Apparently he had always been Chas Addams favorite, and the one he felt REALLY depicted himself (don’t ask…). There is also a fairly decent justification as to why his place within the family keeps changing from adaptation to adaptation, as Fester’s relation to the Addams was never defined, and he was very much a “stand alone” character. (Oh, and he is much more evil here than in any other adaptation)
Finally there are Chas Addams notes to the TV show producers, that are short but rather insightful. One thing I particularly loved was the fact he clearly pointed out Gomez and Morticia, could, in fact, not be married at all (and that was fine). There was something so delightfully subversive in that suggestion alone, given the time that it was written, that it made Mr Addams gain several points in my personal scale of respect.
To sum up, yes, they’re as creepy and as kooky, as mysterious and as spooky, still all together ooky as usual (…snap snap…), but they are also rather smart, remarkably subtle and maybe even more subversive than ever. So, please, do come in and meet the Chas Addams Family (…snap snap…).
I’ve only recently got acquainted with the 1960’s TV version of the characters but I loved them all the same, albeit for different reasons (Morticia and Gomez relation and their parenting stile, Ted Cassidy’s Lurch), and now “The Addams Family: An Evilution” finally allowed me to reach the end of this weird backwards time-traveling relationship I seem to have with these boys.
Chas Addams, the artist who came up with this beautiful concept, had a dark and delightful mind. Every panel is like a snapshot of a moment in the lives of these twisted, creepy people and yet you cannot help but feel there is a real bond between them. The Addams house is as warm as it is dark, and not all of it comes from the boiling oil or the human shaped logs burning in the fireplace. From their traditions, like placing little hang-nooses on the Christmas tree, to Gomez teaching the children how to make their own torture-racks, until the very awesome reading time depicting all the family together, including Uncle Fester holding “A Return to Morality”, Gomez, fascinated by “The Total Collapse of The Dollar” and little Wednesday reading “The Comfort of Sex”, every image gives us a strange feeling of defiance and gloom embedded with coziness.
It was also rather interesting to see what changed over time, and what remained. The character that perhaps had the most drastic transformation was Thing, originally depicted as a mysterious peering figure hidden amongst rafters, behind doors or between snow and not a disembodied hand at all. To my mind the closest adaptation to the cartoon version of the character would very well be some sort of silent spidery ghost child-thing creeping from unexpected places.
Gomez also went through a great change, from a slightly greasy man-child (but never the less a clearly lovable parent and husband) depicted in these cartoons to the suave Raul Julia version of the 90’s. The stepping point between the two was probably the TV version, who sometimes feels just as greasy as Chas Addams’s Gomez, but developed to something a bit different along the way. To be honest, even though I really liked the drawn version of Gomez, this evolution might not have been a bad thing.
And there is AT LAST, a very good explanation as to why the 90’s films focused so much on Uncle Fester! Apparently he had always been Chas Addams favorite, and the one he felt REALLY depicted himself (don’t ask…). There is also a fairly decent justification as to why his place within the family keeps changing from adaptation to adaptation, as Fester’s relation to the Addams was never defined, and he was very much a “stand alone” character. (Oh, and he is much more evil here than in any other adaptation)
Finally there are Chas Addams notes to the TV show producers, that are short but rather insightful. One thing I particularly loved was the fact he clearly pointed out Gomez and Morticia, could, in fact, not be married at all (and that was fine). There was something so delightfully subversive in that suggestion alone, given the time that it was written, that it made Mr Addams gain several points in my personal scale of respect.
To sum up, yes, they’re as creepy and as kooky, as mysterious and as spooky, still all together ooky as usual (…snap snap…), but they are also rather smart, remarkably subtle and maybe even more subversive than ever. So, please, do come in and meet the Chas Addams Family (…snap snap…).