Talk:Andrew Vachss

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Added his new novel, "Two Trains Running," plus the 1994 "Predator: Race War" graphic novel and his 1979 textbook "The Life-Style Violent Juvenile: The Secure Treatment Approach." The last of these, I added into the section that was titled "Other novels" and retitled that section "Other Books;" I also marked that textbook as nonfiction so there'd be no confusion (though the title's so different there shouldn't be for anyone familiar with his work).

Contents

[edit] Biafra

It would be nice if someone who knows a bit more about Vachss than I do could add a paragraph on the time he spent in Biafra - it seems to me that that's a reasonably important part of his life that shouldn't go unmentioned. Thanks. :) -- Schnee (cheeks clone) 13:59, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

I added an external link to an article on Vachss' work in Biafra. I agree that this mention should be expanded. I am working on a fuller biographical narrative, with more discussion of his work in child abuse. It should fit nicely with the section Zeroz added on Vachss' work with therapy dogs.Golemarch 06:09, 23 May 2007 (UTC)


I disagree with the handle of "Private investigator" when describing the main character of Burke, Burke is a career criminal who has done time and is to most intents and purposes a fugitive. He does act to some extent as a vigilante who specilizes in the finding and punishment of peadophiles. I think the term private investigator has conotations with law enforcement and gum shoes which is def not true of Burke. "Martinb"

[edit] Could we have a little more criticism of Vachss?

Someone deleted this comment. In the discussion section comments should remain whether we like them or not. Piercetp 06:13, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

An opinion is one thing, but if a person asserts that "Mr. X did this bad thing," then there had better be some proof beyond the bald assertion. If not, "open source" can quickly degenerate into "libel without consequences." Wikipedia has already run up against that situation already.

If the factual value of this site is to be respected, it must guard against obvious planting of libel by individuals with a personal agenda. Libeling someone a "known liar" in a forum, which libel is then available for "citation," is exactly the way lies get perpetrated.

[edit] Inspired a porn star to name herself after him

I don't really think this is worth mentioning on Andrew's main page, but I read recently that American Pornt actress Inari Vachs named herself after Mr. Vachss because he is her favorite author.

I couldn't help but find that strange, considering the subject matter of his publications--71.198.200.222 18:43, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

On the other hand, Vachss is no prude. He's even been interviewed by Playboy, after all. His books have plenty of adult sexual relationships, and he writes with a lot of empathy for adult sex workers, who have made hard choices with their lives. So I’m not at all surprised that a porn actress would find his writing very meaningful to her. Vachss has said in plenty of interviews that he doesn’t oppose adult pornography at all. What he is against is child pornography, which is of course a type of child abuse, and the commercialized picture of a crime. Golemarch

[edit] Eyepatch: correction

Removed false statement concerning Vachss "never wearing eyepatch in court." Statement is "attributed" to an interview on PBS with Terry Gross. First, Terry Gross is an interviewer for the Fresh Air program on National Public Radio, not PBS.

Andrew Vachss does wear his eyepatch in court, and has been observed (and reported as wearing it during different trials) by journalists in publications as disparate as Pursuits (http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/rtcl_prst.html) and The London Guardian (http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/rtcl_wkgd.html). Both those articles were written *after* Mr. Vachss' interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, which was in 1988.Golemarch 00:25, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Anyone know how he lost his eye? It would be interesting, and at least a date should be put in. It's just too mysterious... Es-Won 02:38, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Appointment of Law Guardian in New York

Removed false statement: "The state of New York has an unusual law: in any divorce, child-custody, or other case where the interests of a child are at stake, a separate lawyer must represent the interests of the child. This attorney is not chosen by the adults interested in the case, but is paid by them."

The passage contains several material misstatements. First, the appointment of the "separate lawyer," (who is called a "law guardian") is mandated *only* in cases brought under Article III, VII, or X of the Family Court Act. These are the articles concerning delinquency, abuse/neglect, and related matters (such as removing the child from the home due to imminent danger, extension of foster care, or permanent termination of parental rights, child removed from home under emergency circumstances). Appointment of a law guardian also occurs for certain "family offenses" which may affect a child, for example, intra-family violence between the child's parents. See McKinney's Cons. Laws of NY, Book 29A, Family Ct. Act § 249.

However, New York law DOES NOT require appointment of a law guardian in a divorce/child custody case. The court *may* appoint a law guardian such cases, at its discretion. For example, appointing a law guardian in a contested adoption is common.

Last, NY law is "unusual" ONLY in that it requires appointment in ALL abuse/neglect matters. Many states do not provide lawyers for children in abuse/neglect matters. In contrast, *all* states appoint counsel in delinquency cases. Golemarch 21:49, 1 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Batman: The Ultimate Evil

Removed the following from the Vachss biography, because it reads more like a book review, than pertinent to his biography:

In one novel outside the Burke series, Vachss gives a related spin to the motivations of the comic book hero Batman. Other sources have related that the parents of young Bruce Wayne (who was to become the Batman) had been killed by a criminal; in Batman: The Ultimate Evil, Vachss reveals that the Batman's mother was a social worker investigating — with little help from police agencies — a group of Gotham City pedophiles. She was getting close to having enough evidence to stop them when nameless assassins shot her and her husband. Years later the Batman, as Wayne, signs up for a sex-tourism charter trip run by the same old gang, then Batman swings into action, with local help, when he finds what the gang are up to in Thailand.

This Batman novel came out about the same time as the Don't! Buy! Thai! campaign began, encouraging people to boycott all products of Thailand until the Thai government did something effective to stop the trade in prostituted children — or sex slaves — that has been present in that country for years and involves prosperous foreign tourists. One result of this trade is that a few wealthy tourists and many poor children become HIV-positive; eventually, most develop AIDS. An appendix to the novel discusses the sex trade, the foreign firms that profit from it, and the boycott. In one paragraph, Vachss quotes a sex-tourist in a Lauda Air commercial: "Got to run — the girls from the Bangkok Baby Club are waiting…"

Would fit better at a page for the book.


Moved the Batman material to the stub for Batman: The Ultimate Evil.

[edit] Dogs of the Zero

You don't mention the Vachss's dog program, started by Andrew's wife Alice. The program uses "therapy dogs" to help the victims of child sexual abuse. Children who cannot relate to adults will relate to the dogs. The only dog was Sheba, a retired seeing eye dog who found a second career "guiding children out of a type of darkness far more frightening than blindness." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.252.160.226 (talk) 19:10, 31 March 2007 (UTC).

Sheba may have been the only dog in *that* program, but how many people have dogs named *after* them, dogs who go on to set the standard for child protection in court cases? Go to http://www.vachss.com/dogs/vachss_dog.html for the story of German Shepard "Vachss."
Added material concerning advocacy against dogfighting, training therapy dogs, and opposition to breed-specific bans. Will add references, etc. as you mentioned above ZeroZ 02:32, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Andrew Vachss Underground

Removed incorrect item placed in Graphic Novels/series section that stated that "Andrew Vachss Underground" was an "anthology miniseries with various other writers". "Andrew Vachss Underground" was a Dark Horse series, each volume of which contained one text-only story by Andrew Vachss. Although the series title contains his name and the name of the Underground universe in which many of his sf/fantasy short stories were set, Andrew Vachss had no other input in the series. He did not choose the other stories in each volume, he did not select the illustrators of those stories, he did not collaborate on any of the other stories or illustrations, and he was not consulted on the conformity of the other stories to the "Underground universe" he created. Unlike Batman: The Ultimate Evil, Cross, or Predator: Race War, all of which were graphic adaptations of short stories/novels written by Andrew Vachss, "Andrew Vachss' Underground" contains no graphic adaptation or illustration of any Vachss work. It is for this reason that the item cannot be listed under Graphic Novel/series. The four Vachss stories contained in "Andrew Vachss Underground" have been collected in Born Bad; additional Vachss stories set in the Underground universe are contained in Everybody Pays. Golemarch (talk) 23:44, 28 May 2008 (UTC)