Oct 31 2006 09:48 AM
October 31, 2006
Pulpy TV and Soapy Comics Find a Lot to Agree On
By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES
Beth Ehlers, as Harley Davidson Cooper, becomes a superhero who’s named after her series, “Guiding Light.” 
The Guiding Light as she appears
in a Marvel comic book
Comic books and soap operas have a lot in common: never-ending stories, characters with complex histories and a preponderance of long-lost relatives (evil twins or otherwise). Now they will share a superhero.
“Guiding Light” and Marvel Comics have teamed up for an episode of this long-running series, to be shown at 10 a.m. tomorrow on CBS. In the episode, “She’s a Marvel,” Beth Ehlers, as Harley Davidson Cooper, one of the show’s main characters, has an accident that gives her superpowers. To commemorate the occasion, Marvel has produced an eight-page comic.
Ellen Wheeler, the executive producer of “Guiding Light,” said the idea for a collaboration came from another Marvel comic book milestone: the July wedding of the Black Panther and Storm, an X-Men character, whose dress was conceived by Shawn Dudley, the costume designer for “Guiding Light.” After that, it was simple: “Let’s call them to see if there’s anything to talk about,” Ms. Wheeler said.
The decision was made to use one of Wednesday’s “Into the Light” episodes, which were introduced in January as a way to focus on particular characters or plots in the fictional city of Springfield, to tell the story. It certainly helped that David Kreizman, the head writer of “Guiding Light,” is a longtime comics fan.
“I went through a two-year phase of wearing only superhero T-shirts,” he said.
Ms. Wheeler wryly remarked, “That was only last year.”
“It’s amazing how much the genres have in common,” she said, including serial storylines and generations of dedicated fans. “Guiding Light,” a Procter & Gamble production, and Marvel also have a lot of material to produce: about 250 episodes of the soap each year and more than 50 continuing or short-term comic book series each month.
“We both move very fast,” Mr. Kreiszman said. “That was an advantage.”
Those involved said the project had been an opportunity for fun, not a marketing scheme. “We didn’t think of it as a way to get a bunch of Marvel fans to watch the show,” Ms. Wheeler said. The super-power aspect of the story was also not a big stretch for the show. Mr. Kreizman and Ms. Wheeler said past plot developments had included a character’s being cloned and a painting that transported Springfield residents back in time.
“In my mind, we made an episode of ‘Superman’ from the ’50s, with the kitsch and the fun,” Ms. Wheeler said. Working on the episode, however, was a bit stressful for some of the players involved.
“We were starting from zero,” said Mr. Dudley, the costume designer. He and Alyson Hui, the associate designer, came up with several costumes, which he described as ranging from outer space to show girl to Cirque du Soleil.
Ultimately, Mr. Dudley wanted the outfit to reflect the character, called the Guiding Light, whom he described as a “hip and sporty” mother, so he incorporated a hoodie and cargo shorts and exposed her abs.
“I have a very good relationship with our costume designer,” Ms. Ehlers said. The exposed skin did not bother her. “It’s daytime television; I take my clothes off all the time,” she said.
The episode is a mix of slapstick (a thief is shocked by the heroine, and his hair stands on end) and drama (are the powers worth possibly losing her husband?). Transitions between scenes feature comic book panels by Alex Chung.
Mr. Chung is also the artist of “A New Light,” the eight-page story from Marvel that is commemorating the collaboration. The story will be included in several Marvel titles, arriving last week, today and on Nov. 8.
The script for “A New Light” was a balancing act, said Jim McCann, the writer of the comic. He said he had to give readers enough information about “Guiding Light” characters and also fill them in on Marvel superheroes and villains.
“I tried to make it as universal and as accessible as possible for both sides,” Mr. McCann said. “I threw in a couple of little things for ‘Guiding Light’ fans, so they would know I really did my homework on their show.”
The Marvel characters were more familiar, but Mr. McCann still chose heroes who have the most recognition, including Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man, who all have appeared in films or cartoons. Mr. McCann said he had been particularly excited about blowing up a Quinjet, the vehicle that transports the Avengers, and writing the sound effects for Wolverine’s unleashing his claws and Spider-Man’s shooting his webs. He said, “I geeked out typing SNIKT and THWIP.”