If this is the new Wall Street Journal, BRING.IT.ON. The Batman-looking cartoons plunked down in the middle of an A1 article are definitely something we will wholeheartedly get behind. Some suggestion to take things to the next level:
a. Drop the pretense. Lose the text and make it one long comic strip
b. You need a hero god damn it! It might seem like there aren't any in this story but there must be a wronged mortgage trader who tried to alert the higher ups as to the shit that was going down, perhaps? Whatever. Use creative license. Make it revolve around that guy coming back from the dead and seeking vengeance.
c. To clearly delineate the bad guys, put a paunchy Jimmy Cayne in an ill-fitting Riddler Suit (we'd do it but we don't have the budget (/can't draw)).
d. End on a cliff hanger. Riddler Cayne should say something like "This is the last day of our acquaintance. I will meet you later in somebody's office," as inspired by Sinead O'Connor. Maniacal laughter before he jumps out the window, etc. Maybe have his dealer waiting with the engine running on Vanderbilt. Your call.
Lost Opportunities Haunt Final Days of Bear Stearns [WSJ]
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 2:56PM
"Mr. Cayne had just returned from the hospital where he'd been treated for an infection, and he looked thin and drawn"
could someone provide some color on this?
Posted by Anal_yst , May 27, 2008 2:59PM
enough on Bear already, please?
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 3:05PM
Readers should understand that the cartoon shows Alan Schwartz telling Jimmy Cayne it was time to move on. There is a title to the cartoon in the WSJ that reads "Time to Move On."
@2:56pm. It was reported recently by the NY Times that Jimmy Cayne suffered "septic shock" and "nearly died" after his trip to China in August/September of 2007. These details were divulged in the Times reporting about the Greenberg/Cayne feud. (This information is to the best of my recollection.)
Posted by Novice , May 27, 2008 3:11PM
b. Jamie Dimon. He's a perfect regular-Joe-who-runs-a-banking-house thrust into the limelight by the situation and Ben "The Beard" Bernanke (played by Samuel L. Jackson). With the guidance of Ben B, himself tormented by his mentor's mantle, Jamie D moves from his gyro-munching haunts next to the mailroom to become a hero saving the day for almost half of Bear. He cries late into the night as he writes emotional letters on behalf of the employees he couldn't save. I suggest we take some licence and have him write the letters to next of kin rather than potential employers.
c. Follow 2:56 and make Cayne the scarecrow, or a joint-puffing Joker
d. At the finale, Ben/Samuel receives an urgent message from Christopher Cox, and utters one word: "Lehman"
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 3:12PM
Prosate infection
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 3:20PM
@Novice - Get to your sketchpad son. You have the makings of a winner.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 4:39PM
as to point b. posted by Novice, of course Jamie Dimon should be portrayed as standing tall in a field of midgets.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 5:08PM
Where's Alan Schwartz these days?
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 7:35PM
Alan Schwartz got an offer from JP Morgan Chase, but hasn't announced whether he would accept it. He has said publicly he was waiting to see the Bear takeover plans materialize at JP Morgan and for the Bear Stearns' shareholder vote May 29. I believe he continued working on the Microsoft/Yahoo deal while it was still going on.
This is all from what I have read in the media. If anyone knows anything more, or knows better, feel free to contribute.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 7:39PM
Although Jimmy Cayne's face wasn't shown, the proportions of his head and chin don't seem right. Also, don't the Bear execs have some kind of special designer chairs in their offices, not a standard issue 50s-style office chair?