#21: QUASIMODO

I feel bad putting QUASIMODO in here, cause deep down he's a nice guy.  Just a poor deformed dude who everybody hates, and ultimately wants to kill.  Is it even politically correct to call him a monster?   Why not THE ELEPHANT MAN, or the cast of FREAKS?

Some would argue including RONDO HATTON on the list is bad taste, too.

People are uncomfortable with freaks as monsters.  DISNEY had a helluva time trying to convince kids that QUASIMODO toys would be fun to play with.  Not too many children begging their parents to "buy me that ugly weird guy" that Christmas.  But kids also like The Olsen Twins, so go figure.

That being said, the DISNEY version of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is pretty good, if you ignore the songs and the talking gargoyles.  But the all time best, in my opinion, is the 1939 versione starring CHARLES LAUGHTON.  Though the 1923 original starring Lon Chaney is a must see as well, an considering the time that it was made, a true masterpiece of makeup technology.

The closing scene where Laughton, as Quasimodo, sits with the gargoyles and wishes he, too, were made out of stone, is one of the more touching in film history.

Bizarro Shopping Zone

I highly recommend this great paperback collection of Bizarro stories from Amazon, at $3 off the cover price for $11.95 .  I bought it a year ago and have read it several times already, it's great laugh out loud comedy that hasn't been in comic books for decades.  And the Jaime "Love and Rockets" Hernandez cover is an added treat!