And the best character you left out is the undead Elvis Presley from ‘Jesus Mentioned’. (I think raising him from the dead is sufficiently fictionalized to qualify.)

It’s about Marilyn Monroe, isn’t it? Isn’t that what the Norman Mailer joke at the end is about?

“Excitable Boy” is also semi-autobiographical. Zevon actually rubbed a pot roast all over his chest, as I found out when I read the excellent oral history of Zevon “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” last year. I highly recommend it to all Zevon fans.

I think the thing with the Werewolf of London (also a fantasy novel by Brian Stableford) is the fact that, while he’s fully capable of mutilating a little old lady, he’s also fit to be seen walking with the queen, enjoys a nice pina colada (at Trader Vic’s no less), and knows the value of an elegant coiffure… surely the contradictions between such an elegant beast would make for a very compelling character.

Oh, and ‘Desperadoes Under The Eaves’ is semi-autobiographical.

Why do I feel compelled to do a ‘Top Five Stan Ridgway Characters Who Would Make For Good Comic Books’ now? hrm.

“Early in the morning I feel a chill
The factory whistle blows loud and shrill
I’d kill my wife or she’d kill me
But we gotta go to work in the factory
Six days a week at the factory
Up early in the morning at the factory
I’ve been working in the factory
Johnny, I’ve been working in the factory
Kickin’ asbestos in the factory
Punchin’ out Chryslers in the factory
Breathin’ that plastic in the factory
Makin’ polyvinyl chloride in the factory”

He BELLOWS that last line, and polyvinyl chloride sounds like the most sinister substance that ever got made in a factory. Maybe it is…

Apodaca, Lapham would be a great choice for adapting virtually any Zevon song. Maybe Brubaker would do an adaptation of “Play It All Night Long”.

In my studies I also found that “Desperados Under the Eaves” was also made into a text-based computer game by another Zevon fan. You’re right in placing him with Dylan as one of the few rock based singer-songwriters who wrote character studies of heroes, villains, antiheroes, outlaws, tricksters, seducers, gamblers, and overall larger-than-life figures.

I’d also throw Fagen/Becker in that mix, but that might just be me…

And I definitely considered “Mama Couldn’t be Persuaded,” and you’re right that it would make a great biographical story – I thought it was a bit limited in the scope, but upon further thought, it should have at least gotten an honorary mention.

Also, for the indie autobiographical set, “Mama Couldn’t Be Persuaded” would be kick ass…

Mutineer Lyrics
Artist(Band):Warren Zevon
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By Warren Zevon
c. 1995 Zevon Music BMI

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Hoist the mainsail – here I come
Ain’t no room on board for the insincere
You’re my witness
I’m your mutineer

I was born to rock the boat
Some may sink but we will float
Grab your coat – let’s get out of here
You’re my witness
I’m your mutineer

That’s right, a man and woman on the run for a crime they DID commit. Great crime series in my mind whenever I hear that song.

Do I have my chronology mixed up, or did they title a movie after Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead? Pretty good high-profile indie film from the mid-90s IIRC.

Yeah, that was named after the song, although it wasn’t based on the song (the main character was also named after a Springsteen character).

I’m thinking Duke in Doonesbury already establishes the viability of a Mr Bad Example comic.

Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking of for both that and Lawyers, Guns and Money (well, Hunter S. Thompson, really, but that’s the same thing ).