Grown Men Playing with Trains

I was talking tonight to an artist about collaborating, and he was asking me about Hawaiian Dick. I started thinking about the origins of the book, and later realized there's an influence there that I don't mention much: John Ford's Donovan's Reef. I think the poster says it all:

"Big" John Wayne, indeed. Also Lee Marvin, Jack Warden and very much punching in a tropical bar.

I don't know when I first saw the movie. Probably in high school. I had a room in our basement during high school (technically from eighth grade through my first couple of years in college, one of which was spent living at home), but I spent most nights sleeping in the large playroom in the basement, where the cable television sat. No windows, so it was always possible to sleep until one or two after staying up until three or four watching old movies or Nick at Nite (back when they primarily showed television shows from the fifties and sixties). Of course, I did the same thing on school nights, too. Organizing comics, drawing, writing, but mainly watching television.

All I know is the first time I saw Donovan's Reef, I knew that one day I'd spend some time in that setting. The feel of that movie definitely informed certain corners of the Hawaiian Dick universe.

So see it if you get a chance.