The Dark Knight Returns!

Ahhhh . . . .

DC AD MADNESS

I love this ad campaign - here are three more for Countdown:

Granny Goodness
Eclipso
Red Robin

BRING DA'NOISE!

Luke Cage=Soon to be kicking yo ass, be'yatch!

Oh yeah! Don't forget to head over to FOG! to read my first of a year's worth of weekly columns on the DC comics series Countdown! Read The Countdown Rundown!

ALL TOMORROW'S COUNTDOWNS

Tomorrow DC Comics releases the first issue of their new weekly series, Countdown. As part of my contributor responsibilities to the new and improved FOG!, I will be doing a weekly recap/analysis/investigative report on the series. So get over there on Thursday to catch the first appearance of my new weekly column: The Countdown Rundown!

I AM IRON MAN!

From Man to Iron Man . . .
The Red & Gold as revealed by Entertainment Weekly and obviously based on Adi Granov artwork/conceptions

My Favorite Blogs!

Here's a new semi-regular feature - I will showcase someone else's much better and more entertaining blog/website. That way, those of you who read my blog will actually get something entertaining for your time.

The first of these that I want to point you all too is the Comics Should Be Good blog over at Comic Book Resources. A great blog, but the best feature there is Brian Cronin's weekly "Comic Book Urban Legends," where Cronin debunks or confirms famous, interesting, infamous, and downright bizarre comic book industry lore and rumor.

This week the feature is celebrating its 100th posting, so check out Brian's very first Urban Legend, plus a number of creator-penned legends. Then head back every Friday for more mysterious geekiness revealed as phooey or cold hard fact!

Warren Ellis has 3 Words for You:

Future Science Jesus.

Read the article here.

Hot Comic Pick!

Marvel Comics' NOVA:

Spinning out of the epic (and far better maxi-series than Civil War) Annihilation blockbuster, the new NOVA series stars the original Marvel Nova, Richard Rider. The results of the Annihalation Wave war have left most of the universe in shambles, and planets throughout the universe are still calling for Nova Corps assistance.

Problem is, Rider is the only Corps member. All grown-up, better at his job then ever, and invested not only with the cumulative powers of the Nova Corp, but also bonded to the Xandian Worldmind (the all encompassing historical database of the Corps and the Xandian people), Rider has his plate full.

Great action from writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with explosive artwork from Sean Chen, this series promises to be a sci-fi, space-faring hit. Reminiscent of the classic days of Hal Jordan's Green Lantern Corps days, this is sure to be a winner for any fan of Farscape, Serenity or Battlestar Galactica!

First the Herald and then the Master!

Behold GALACTUS! Laurence Fishburne will voice the gigantic purple world-devouring Kirby Kreation. More Kirby Dots please!

EDIT: FISHBURNE will be voicing the Silver Surfer, not Galactus. Plus that pic's from the Ultimate Alliance videogame, not the movie! My bad . . .

But can Ed Norton do this??

He's going to play the Hulk in the next movie from Marvel Films, but can even Ed Norton do this??

PETA Alert!

Who knew Bizarros were such dicks to their pets!!

Iron Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. in the first picture of himself in the Iron Man duds. This is the original suit that Stark constructed, not the later (and better known) red and yellow armor. Very promising . . .

NYC =Spidey's Be'atch!

Check this out, honkeys!

All-Star Superman #7

Three preview pages and the cover of the upcoming issue (in stores Wednesday) of the best super-hero comic being published:

Marshall Rogers, RIP

Here's a copy of my post from over at
FOG!:

While few details are available at this time, the great comic artist, Marshall Rogers, has passed away. The trained architect turned comics penciller was only 57 years old.

One of the most definitive Batman artists of all time, he is best known for his run on Detective Comics with writer Steve Englehart in the late 1970s. Rogers was also highly-acclaimed for work he did on Mister Miracle, The Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange at Marvel, and most recently, new work with Englehart in the Batman universe with their sequel to their classic 70s run called Dark Detective.

The man just deserves the recognition on two sights.

No Bizarro! Yes!

Bizarro no am in Smallville. Never.

Spoiler-ific!

Elf-driven Albinos for All!

from Heidi MacDonald's great site, The Beat!, here's a quote from 300 director Zach Snyder about the eventual DVD release of his latest masterpiece:

He said there would be some bonus footage on the 300 DVD: “It’s my cut, there is no director’s cut. But there was a sequence we cut out with these giant albino giants that had elfs riding on their backs. When I saw I said that’s too much. Even for me it’s too much! Vince Regan cuts the leg off one of the giants. Someone stabs the midget elf who is on the ground in an elf hat.”

Oh, and this info was revealed at a virtual press conference on 300 that was broadcast on Second Life! Now that's just freaky-deaky!

FOG! Risen from the Beyond!

The Forces of Good are back. Or should I say IS back! The website, which I wrote a few articles for a few years ago, is about to relaunch and creator/mastermind/evil emperor of the site, Stefan Blitz, has started up the FOG! blog again to prepare the masses for the eventual onslaught of the full site.

I will be contributing in some way to both entities and have posted my first entry over at the blog.

Go West , Young Man to read of it!

Holy Moly, Billy!

All I can say is WOW!

Changes Afoot

I continue to tweak as I try to teach myself the art of blog-design. Without help of books or a manual. Just tinkering and tinkering until something fits. Tonight I got the posts to move over to the left of the screen.

Also, I will now have the latest episode of PulpSecret broadcasting to the right. Comic Cover Crazy is below that for now until I can figure out how to stucture the layout that I actually want this page to have.

Stay tuned.

And watch PulpSecret before you leave - great new show if a little bit short in time and on content. The heart of the show is in the right place and hopefully future episodes will improve the amount and depth of content.

Two of the Greatest - Hear them SPEAK!

Here is a short interview with Jack "King" Kirby, intro'd by Harlan Ellison:

Kirby!

And here is a link to an interview with Frank Miller:

Miller!

The Most Powerful Weapons Science Could Birth . . .

Why isn't this on DVD?? Maybe I will start a petition.

Science: Coming At'Ya! Crichton-Style!!

While spinning through the halls of Amazon today, I came across this gem!

Man, I liked that movie. And Wolfen too. Albert Finney owns my soul.

That would be a good name for my next record. From my fictional band.

You Say Thor . . . I Say Clor!

following along . . . Sleestak via Beaucoup Kevin!




Keepin' the meme ALIVE!

Paint by Voices

thanks to Drawn! for this head's up! Tobin Sprout paintings.

I like this one:

Reading Desk: The Road

here is a quote from one of my favorite writers on one of my other favorite writers (Cormac McCarthy):

Fundamentally it marks not a departure but a return to McCarthy’s most brilliant genre work, combined in a manner we have not seen since Blood Meridian: adventure and Gothic horror. That book is usually viewed not only as McCarthy’s greatest–a view I passionately share–but as representing a kind of fulcrum [in his career] . . . There are strong echoes of the Jack London—style adventure [and] Robinson Crusoe [in The Road] . . . For naturalism operating at the utmost extremes of the natural world and of human endurance a McCarthy novel has no peer. . . McCarthy has to be accounted as a secret master and the rightful heir to the American Gothic tradition of Poe and Lovecraft . . . I think ultimately it is as a lyrical epic of horror that The Road is best understood . . . The father is visited as poignantly and dreadfully as Odysseus or Aeneas by ghosts . . . Replete both with bleak violence and acute suspense, [this is] a layered, tightly constructed narrative that partakes of the epic virtue it attempts to abnegate . . . What emerges most powerfully as one reads The Road is not a prognosticatory or satirical warning about the future, or a timeless parable of a father’s devotion to his son, or yet another McCarthyesque examination of the violent underpinnings of all social intercourse and the indifference of the cosmic jaw to the bloody morsel of humanity . . . It is a testament to the abyss of a parent’s greatest fears . . . It is in the audacity and single-mindedness with which The Road extends the metaphor of a father’s guilt and heartbreak over abandoning his son to shift for himself in a ruined, friendless world that The Road finds its great power to move and horrify the reader.

–Michael Chabon, New York Review of Books

get The Road

Toy Madness!

As ToyFair kicks off in NYC this week, I will probably feature a few of the thousands of things that catch my eye. First up these DC Direct action figures based on the artwork for DC's first direct-to-DVD movie: Superman vs. Doomsday!!

If this is a true rendition of the artwork from the film, I think we have a lot to look forward to. It's sort of a cross between the Bruce Timm-Justice League Unlimited/Batman style and a more modern, action cartoon look akin to the recent Marvel direct films like the Ultimate Avengers and Iron Man.

Here we have Doomsday himself and a group shot. Hell, even the mullet-sporting, lame-O "Sun Suit" Superman looks decent!

None More Black!

Nice little docu-trailer for Spider-man 3 posted over at the always informative Blog@Newsarama - check it out!

you figure it out!

Visit this site, click enter>trailers>choose the lower of the two (the one with the miniature eyeball man in the soup bowl!) and watch the madness!

Here's a description of Gegege no Kitaro from Jay Stephens' killer Monsterama blog:

Check out the two wicked trailers on the official Gegege no Kitarô site. The screenplay was written by Daisuke Habara, based on the super-awesome manga by Shigeru Mizuki, and it's directed by Katsuhide Motoki (Free & Easy series, Drugstore Girl). For those of you who need to catch up, Kitaro is a young half-yokai (goblin/spectre/monster) who lost his parents at birth. His father's soul lives in one of his eyeballs. Raised within the yokai clan, Kitaro keeps tabs on human society, and fights evil yokai monsters-- protecting virtuous human beings from these threats from the other world. For some reason, the filmakers have invented a human love interest for Kitaro. A high school girl named Mika is rescued by the uncanny Kitaro and gradually falls for him. Her character has been created specially for the film, although Kitaro did have a human girlfriend by the name of Yumeko-chan in the third animated TV series broadcast on the Fuji network from 1985 to 1988. Not that I'm complaining!

D D D

A poster I did for an upcoming show featuring 75orless Records bands in Providence, RI. Be there . . .

The Issue Box

I was always a big fan of the little box at the top left of Marvel Comics that had the issue title and on team books little heads of the roster or some other little drawing. DC in the 80s did a similar thing with non-Direct Market books where they had a slogan (like "Who Watches the Watchmen?" or "DCUniverse is Must Reading") in the ISBN box. In recent years, both of those things have faded away into the realm of nostalgia.

While reading this weeks New Joe Fridays Q&A over at Newsarama I came across this:

Q: “ThomHunt”- Any chance we'll ever see the return of the cover corner boxes on Marvel Comics covers?

You remember, the ones that generally depicted a team book's roster or a solo star in some action pose? They are such a rich part of Marvel's history and a truly unique identifier of the "Marvel brand"; I always thought it such a shame when they went away a few years back. What was the reason for their demise? Maybe put it to a fan vote as to whether they should return?

JQ: Of course I remember them, ThomHunt, I dug them too and during my six years we’ve tried to bring them back in several ways. Many years ago, we used a neat little circle window that had the character in the box. Eventually, artistic aesthetics changed and we stopped using them. Most recently we’re using a version of the character box on our X-Men titles.

So, I guess the short answer is that I dig them and I’m sure they’ll keep coming back from time to time but I think the reason you don’t see people artistically going bananas over them is because it’s something that resonates mostly with people in our age group who grew up with it. There is an argument that covers are busy enough and now that comic shops don’t rack their books like the newsstands, it’s not that important. That was the only reason those icons were up there in the first place, so that as the book was racked, you could see the logo but also get an action shot of the hero hopefully enticing you to pull the book out and see what the art on the cover was. Any attempts at doing that now are just warm and cuddly retro moments for we older fans.

Never knew that little marketing reasoning behind the roster box. Even an old dog like me can learn a thing or two every now and again!

The Metamorphosis has begun . . .

Stay tuned for more changes to the look of the Thunderhouse as I get more in depth with the programming.

Venomous Japan

Here is an early and probably unsanctioned look at what Venom will look like in Spider-man 3! This is the action figure from Medicom Toys of Japan that will be coming out in conjunction with the movie. These 12", 1/6 scale figures - the series of them is known as R.A.H. (Real Action Heroes) is well known to collectors as being highly accurate renditions of movie, cartoon, comic and tv characters. I own a number of them, direct from Japan and can attest to their attention to detail and dead-on likenesses. So, this is what Venom will look like in this coming summer's sure-to-be biggest blockbuster!

All About Memories

Over at their new blog, the crew from comics retailer, All About Books, in Phoenix have put up an opportunity for people to talk about their first comic bought. You get some free comics in exchange for your story, and just reading them all is a really great reflection on the industry.

Anyway, I have had this story of my first contact with the collecting addiction that I now suffer for many many years, but have never really shared it. It's not embellished at all, and it really is how I remember it.

So, let me share, children of the night, and read on:

I don't actually remember the first comic that I read, since I read quite a few as a kid - mostly in passing, just looking at the pictures and whatnot at friends and in my uncle's old room when we stayed at my grandmother's house on holidays growing up.

But the first book that made me a collector was on the racks sometime in 1986. I was around 13 or so, at the mall on a Friday night with a bunch of friends. One of our parents had dropped us off and between hanging at the arcade, sneaking into and getting kicked out of movies, and cruising the foodcourt to meet girls (Yeah, like that was going to happen!), we passed an old Waldenbooks. From out on the concourse I could see this really distinct book on a spinner rack near the magazines. We walked by pretty fast, but I couldn't turn my eyes away. I told my friends I saw something and that I would catch up with them at Orange Julius'.

I broke off from the group and made a b-line for the book. It was The Dark Knight Returns, book 4 -- The Dark Knight Falls. It was that sick, mostly black and sunset reds/oranges cover. Batman in silhouette with the big gun and spike-knuckled knife just about to get into it with Superman! It was so striking. I clearly remember thinking "Man! This is what comics are like now! I have to get this!" It was just an incredible cover and had such an immediate effect on me.

I started to reach for it, when suddenly a hand fell on my shoulder. It was one of my friends. He was trying to figure out what I was doing and I made up some excuse about seeing someone I knew. I don't know why but for some reason, I thought comics were just for little kids, but looking at that cover I knew that they weren't (plus I still was a kid!)

Anyway, I never did get the book that night, but I couldn't stop looking at it. The very next week was Thanksgiving and we were off to NY again for a visit to the grandparents. The day after, I begged my dad to bring me and my younger brother to a local 7-11 wannabe store to search out comics. We found a great place and I bought a ton of Batman and Detective comics and even the old History of the DC Universe Portfolio (I still have all of them in my collection.) But I couldn't find that Dark Knight book anywhere. That trip made me an addict, and except for some time in college when I was buying sporadically whenever/wherever I could find them, I haven't missed a Wednesday since. I am now pushing 35 years old.

My dad died 13 years ago this past Sunday. He fed my habit quite a bit those first few years I was collecting, until I got my license. And when I was away in school, he sometimes sent me a book or two, and always put one in my stocking at Christmas. They were usually titles I wasn't collecting, or issues I had, but I always liked those books more. To this day, I can't go to a new comic shop without thinking about him and that first trip he took me and my brother on.

It was about a year later that I finally found a regular comic shop near my home and had educated myself enough from letter columns and ads from places like Mile High Comics that I was able to track down the whole Dark Knight mini. It was worth the wait.
And that cover -- man -- it is still my favorite cover of all time.

First Blost of the New Year

three things:

- first week for new comics this year and it is a mama-jama of a week! Tons of stuff, so no time to write, gots to read.

- the Warren Times has an article about my brother's and 2 friends' band Six Star General - they fail to mention the countless laborious hours I put into their show flyers or album covers - thankless suckers!! (just kidding. No really.) Slick's analysis of the article is, as usual, priceless.

- my prediction for 2007 music: Times New Viking will be the shit. I'm in.

The obligatory year end list. Blah. Blah. Blah.

These are my lists, without rhyme or reason as to whether they came out this year or not.

ALBUMs:
Maestro Echoplex - Last Night I saw God on the Dance Floor reissue from Catbird Records

A Passing Feeling - Self-titled EP from 75orless Records (Yes, I know I designed the album cover - I said no reason - I can play favorites!)

Mission of Burma - The Oblitarati from ? I don't have it in front of me

Bonus non-album: The Of Montreal live cover show that my friend Slick gave me - much respect.

Most looked forward to in '07: The new Stooges LP featuring Mike Watt on thunderbroom!

BOOKs:

All three Charlie Huston books I read: Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things, and Already Dead!

Robert Polito's Biography of Author Jim Thompson, Savage Art.

Looking forward to in '07: Huston's two newest novels and finally getting around to reading Miller/Eisner.

DVDs/MOVIEs:

Superman Returns - loved it.

Serenity - solid sci-fi for the first time in what feels like ages.

Veronica Mars: Season 1 - still in the midst of it, but if it maintains or gets better I will be very impressed.

and finally, COMICs:

Infinite Crisis by Various, DC - despite having some big flaws, I still thought this was the comic I was the most excited about and satisfied with in years. Outperformed Identity Crisis and had a much better resolution, in my opinion.

ACME Novelty Library 16 by Chris Ware - Again, I just read it late this year, so that it wouldn't be too far removed from getting number 17. Love Rusty Brown; really really really love Chalky White!

Fell by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith, Image - one of two comics in the "done in one" format on the list. Although its been absent for most of the latter half of the year, the first 6 issues deserve all the praise they get. Creepy, disturbing, scary, compelling, but most of all, moving.

Casanova by Matt Faction, and Gabriel Ba, Image - the other short format book that I can't get enough of. Great art, amazing plots, kick-ass dialogue that consistantly breaks the 4th wall without being cheesy in the least.

52 - by Various, DC - simply the most daunting task in comics for the creators and publishers, this weekly series consistently delivers the goods like no other comic on the racks. Great, week in and week out. 35 weeks in and I can't wait for what's to come!

HONORABLE MENTION: Punisher War Journal, Vol. 2 by Matt Faction and Ariel Olivetti, Marvel; and Immortal Iron Fist by Matt Faction (see a trend here?), Ed Brubaker, and David Aja, Marvel; and finally, Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips, Marvel. All of these books had too few issues in '06 to count as best of the year, but all three are already on the short list for best of 2007.

Most looking forward to in comics in '07: The end of Civil War from Marvel out of morbid curiosity. The limited series has been so eractic that it is really hard to follow what is happening from issue to issue without reading the tie-ins, but the series also has a great baseline story and tons of potential. The artwork by Steve McNiven is phenomenal and cannot be beat. So . . . . we'll see what the last two issues have in store.

That's it for me - see you in the odd numbered year to come.

end transmission.

A link and an image

Here is the new FF movie teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer! Awesome - I was really surprised by the comedy and family feel of the first one, and am definitely looking forward to this 2nd installation in what should be Marvel's biggest franchise . . .

and, an image of one of the FF's greatest covers by co-creator/madman mastermind, Jack Kirby:

Goodnight and Good Luck

This last week and a half saw the passing of:

Jack Burnley (artist of the classic Golden Age Starman)

Martin Nodell (co-creator of the original Golden Age Green Lantern)

And finally . . .

R.I.P. Joe Barbera

a giant of the industry - he'll live forever through his wonderful creations

More Ash/Marvel Synergy

This shall kick all ass! So sayeth the shepard!

The Human Spider??

Ash speaks about his roles in Spider-man and their importance

Gimme some sugar, baby!

Castle Speaks

from CBR.com:

PUNISHER 2

Actor Thomas Jane talked to IGN about what can be expected from the sequel. "It's more of a 'Taxi Driver' kind of a feel which I think we'll go for in the second movie," Jane said. "I think that's where the first one succeeded, where we were doing more realistic type stuff. And if we can, [we should] get away from the lighter aspects of the first film. Because I think that's where the movie failed."


I will be posting more later this week, with a look at the latest relaunch of

Justice Society of America, the first two parts of the origin of Jonah Hex and possible an end of the year round-up!

More Preaching

from Newsarama via IESB

Bevy of Brewings

click here for a look at the Fantisticar that will be showing up in the FF sequel, Fantistic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . . . nice.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Garth Ennis' and Steve Dillon's Preacher has been picked up by HBO as a series to be written, directed and co-produced by Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) and Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink) - not a huge fan of Johnson's previous work, but I have confidence in the HBO track record for shows and production values. I always thought Watchmen would work best in such a format, and think this is the best avenue for Preacher - we'll see.

Finally, I have to give props out to Matt Faction this week. The writer has tipped the scales for great comics work in the last two weeks with three of the best books I have read in the last couple of months. First, Faction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova continues to play havoc with the comics medium and the Nick Fury/James Bond superspy genre. Awesome, and at a $1.99 cover price it ranks at No. 1 for value, tied with Ellis's Fell.

Then, Faction hits with the brand new ongoing from Marvel, Punisher War Journal (Vol. 2) - a book that manages to be funny, disturbing, action-packed and the best Civil War tie-in so far all at the same time. So different from the MAX title Marvel produces with Ennis writing the Punisher, but equally as chilling and dead-on in its approach to Frank Castle. Always one of my favorite characters, it was actually the original War Journal (with art by Jim Lee) series and its first few issues that turned me into a Punisher addict.

And last, but by far least, Faction, with co-writer Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Uncanny X-Men, Criminal) and artist David Aja, bring back part of the 70s best dynamic duo, Iron Fist in The Immortal Iron Fist No.1. This comic literally kicked my ass yesterday. Definitely Wednesday's best release (and that's in the same week that Loeb and Darwyn Cooke's Batman/Spirit one shot came out!)

Do yourself a favor and get to your LCS asap for some truly kick-ass comics.

Just Can't Resist It . . .

Shat-tastic!

Dark Constantine

two announcements went out over the wire today:

the sequel to Batman Begins, simply title The Dark Knight, hits theatres on July 18th, 2008. Boo-yah!!

and, Lauren Shuler Donner has confirmed that there will be a sequel to Constantine again starring Keanu Reeves. While I know there were a ton of complaints from purists, mainly that John wasn't English in the movie, overall, I thought it was well done, with an engaging story and one of the better performances of Reeves' career. I own it and look forward to the sequel.

finally, a bonus: The Punisher comes out in a special edition DVD tomorrow. Has its faults, but Tom Jane is simply deadon as Frank Castle. At least, rent it.

Holy Moly

If this doesn't get you excited, you must be built like Metallo with a Kryptonite heart.

Check it out - this ad has been running in DC comics and this version premiered on the back cover of the latest issue of Action Comics which was the first issue of Richard Donner's run as co-writer/plotter with Geoff Johns. The screen saver I made a few posts back is from the second cover of the run, and should be on stands at your LCS now.

Comics-to-film

Few quick hits:

-New Spidey 3 trailer up at ifilm.com

-Donner's cut of Superman 2 out on 11/28

-Watchman news from Zach Snyder all over the place (try Comicbookresources.com first)

-DC's 52 hit the halfway point last week and just keeps getting better. Weekly comics, man, that rocks.

-Jonah Hex #13 ranks as my comic of the month - finally, the first part of the bounty hunter's origin story - I have been waiting since I was sixteen for this!

Desktop Creator Zone

A Hulk desktop I made using the art of Brian Hitch which was used for promotion in the 2nd Ultimate Avengers direct to DVD movie.

Desktop Creator Zone

Here is a desktop I created this morning, using the cover to an upcoming issue of Action Comics by the team supreme of Johns, Donner & Kubert - feel free to add it to your wallpaper collection! All characters and artwork copyright their respective owners.

Comic Cover Crazy (vol. I, no. 3)

This installation of Comic Cover Crazy is not so much crazy-weird as it is just plain crazy-good (like those damn Pop Tarts!)

Anyway, The King brings us this one and it truly is one of my favorites by him. Kirby just owns me when it comes to covers. His angles; his color schemes; those crazy machines - it all equals pure comic magic. I don't think anyone comes close to do a cover or a splash page like Jack, and I don't know if anyone ever will. There are some great ones out there (you can't go wrong with much by Neal Adams or Brian Bolland - especially on covers) but no one has ever done with so much, well, "Kirby" too it.

Gaze in wonder . . . DC's Mister Miracle No. 1!

Triskaidekaphobia

Appropriately enough, on Friday the 13th (in the same year as 06/06/06! Bwa-ha-ha!) Marvel has posted a new Ghost Rider Exclusive Trailer on Marvel.com!

And, as I stated from the rumor-mill earlier on the terror-blog, actor Terrence Howard has been cast in the Iron Man movie as Jim Rhodes.

Now? Who's gonna be the Mandarin? How 'bout John Lone!

From the Archives

As Terror Central continues its new commitment to web-based activity blogging, tonight we roll out the latest feature, "From the Archives" (to be renamed when I am thinking more creatively).

For the inaugural peak into the tombs of the Terror house, I am posting two picks of the original pencil and inks for a 1985 poster that was used to promote and sell Kenner's Super Powers line of action figures. These are to many collectors, myself included, the greatest of all super-hero action figures. A whole blog could be and are dedicated to these fine plastic masterpieces.



Tonight, though, a glimpse at the artwork I bought about 10 years ago. It is by Paris Cullins and Bob Smith, done on DC Comics, Inc. Bristol board in August, 1985 for Kenner Toys. This original artwork was later partially covered with a paste-up, also drawn by Cullins, to cover the Wonder Woman driven All Terrain Trapper, that was scraped from production.

Truly a unique piece, and the gem of my meager Super Powers collection. Oh, and one other great thing about this line of figures - a lot of the design was by none other than Jack "King" Kirby himself!

Beat That, Hot Wheels!

The Week Gone By . . .

Two major stories that broke this week in comics. One is mildly interesting, but still big news; the other is not really big news, but really became the talk of the messageboards for most of the week.

The former (which was the later breaking story) was the casting of Robert Downey, Jr. in the role of Tony Stark for Jon Favreau's Iron Man movie, coming from Marvel Films sometime in 2008. This is a nice piece of casting. Downey is one of his generations most adept and versatile actors, and can easily pull off the sometimes smarmy, often belligerant, and always smarter-than-the-average-bear Stark. If the rumors hold, and Terrence Howard has been cast as Jim Rhodes, this movie will have two powerhouse actors to push it through. Looking better and better.

The latter story, which broke on Thursday - the day after the week's comics came out, - should have been a fairly obscure piece of news, with little or no reaction. At least, that's how the news would have been received about 10 years ago. But in the day and age of the messageboard and instant news-feedback, the story of DC Editor Steven Wacker - the lead editor on DC's ambitious weekly comic, 52 - leaving the company for Marvel only a little more than halfway through the yearly series, hit the intraweb like wildfire. Mere minutes after the posting of the story on Newsarama.com, the messageboard was buzzing with fans' comments. Most of which were maligning Wacker, calling him un-professional and in some cases just cussing at him.

Unlike most books' editors, Wacker has been more visible with this series because of the Herculean production task of this undertaking and his weekly recap/question and answer period on Newsarama.com with their editor, Matt Brady. But even still, ten years ago, most fans wouldn't even know who the editor was on a given book, never mind care so much about one leaving.

That's not to say that I (or many other fans) aren't critical of or supportive of other editors now or in the past - I for one credit Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin and Denny O'Neil with giving me some of the best comics I ever read - but I don't think the amount of vitriol that was hurled at Wacker was in any way comparable to the reaction that fans may have had to some of the crazier things Jim Shooter did at Marvel in the 70s, for example.

A little over 3 hours after Newsarama posted the story, there were 12 - that's right 12 - pages of messageboard posts. Even the writers behind the series got involved and eventually Wacker had to post a sort of explanation/mea culpa for why he was leaving the Distinguished Competition for the Marvelous Men downtown. Pretty much unheard of.

Personally, I don't know the reasons for Wacker leaving, but I am sure they are both financial, creative and personal in other ways I can't even imagine. A creator (and let's face it, as much as they are often maligned, editors are creators) has every right to move on to new and different things. He was not the writer of this comic and he was not by any means (not to lessen his mammoth contribution) the only one holding this book together and getting it on the stands. Honestly, before 52 who even knew who Steve Wacker was? Not me.

He's done a great job with getting 52 to the market on time and in great shape. I beleive that the book will eventually go down as one of the finest examples of comic output - top notch writers, amazing collaboration and redefining 70 year old characters in a non-jarring and simply entertaining manner - but it is the product of many hands and visions, not just editorial, and especially no just one editor.

I hope Wacker does great things at Marvel and the competition between the two companies keeps up. The more these two are competing for us and our dollars, the more great product will be out there.

The big thing about this story that strikes me as wild, is the state that fandom is in. So much is the fan involved directly with the creators of the books we love, that the feelings of personal hurt are hard to put aside. While a lot of people out there are calling the negative commentors immature and idiotic (which, of course, some of them are), I think the main thing is that we all love this medium so much and we are so dedicated to it, that these so-called "creator betrayals" do hurt fans personally. And while some might see that as a bad thing, I see it as a positive force for a medium that is one of only a few truly American artforms and one that I love dearly.

It's good to be passionate about something. Let's just remember that it's not all about us and the books all the time, and a man's personal decisions are his own to make. Try not to aim your anger at someone who is doing what is right and best for him, his family and maybe in the long run the books he is involved with. We have a unique medium where the creators of the things we love actually listen to us sometimes and for the most part respect our opinions. Let's not destroy that.

In other words, don't shit where you eat.

Good Luck, Mr. Wacker. And good night . . .

read about Iron Man here.

read the original story reporting Wacker leaving and the acommpanying messageboards here.

read Wacker's Goodbye here.

Make Mine Retractable

Just a quick post before the weekend and tons of upgrading (ie yard work) here at Terror Central (my suburban ranch)

Credit to Boing Boing and Make Zine for this!

Snikt, bub!

Comic Cover Crazy (vol. I, no. 2)

Silver Age Flash comics from DC Comics had some of the best and craziest cover's of all. Under the watchful eye of Julius Schwartz, stories sometimes were spawned simply from a cover sketch that he created.

Here's a classic, and one of my all time favorites: from Flash #177, "the Big Head Flash!"

Superboy and the Legion! Re-dux!

That's right, Superboy and the Legion are back! Maybe not in the comics, or with Giffen and Levitz and Shooter at the helm, but The Legion of Super-heroes is back in animated form! Debuting tomorrow morning (saturday.sept.23.2006) on KidsWB . . . uh . . . I mean . . . uh KidsCW (the CW), a whole new series of 30th century adventures begin. Featuring the Boy of Steel himself, Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, and more, this looks like it is really going to do wonders for the classic Legion.

Now if they just have an episode with Karate Kid! That would be killer . . .

New Season Sneak Peek

Remember when you were a kid, and about a week into the new school year, all of the networks would have a TV Special that previewed all of the new cartoons for the Saturday Morning line-ups? You'd get previews of things like Thundarr the Barbarian and Challenge of the Super Friends and be so excited that you could hardly wait to be in front of the tv with a bowl of Coco Puffs and a Crazy straw to drink the transformed-into-chocolate-milk while you watched Ookla the Mok lay a beatdown on some mutant freak!

Well, this is sort of like that. Yahoo has an exclusive look at the pilot episode of Heroes - the new NBC show that has been getting great press, both in and out of the comic/geek world. They are streaming the whole episode prior to it premiering during primetime in its regular time slot, next Monday (9/25) at 8 PM.

Me? Well, I loved the previews, but I have grown to love the anticipation of a new show too. It will be tough to avoid all the spoilers that are going to come out this week, but I'm going to try and just watch in my living room on Monday.

Maybe with a bowl of Coco Puffs.

See it yourself here.

Comic Cover Crazy

New weekly feature: Comic Cover Crazy - a look at a different far-out cover each week!

Week 1, let's start with the book that introduced the super-hero to the world, Action Comics. This is #386 from March of 1970 featuring the lead story: "The Home for Old Super-heroes!" If I had to guess (and I do), I would say it is most likely a Curt Swan cover. Ginchy!

9/11+5

Thought this was worth reprinting today. By comics writer/film director Frank Miller. For the actual article follow this link. Part of a series of NPR This I Believe essays.

That Old Piece of Cloth by Frank Miller:

I was just a boy in the 1960s. My adolescence wasn't infused with the civil rights struggle or the sexual revolution or the Vietnam War, but with their aftermath.

My high school teachers were ex-hippies and Vietnam vets. People who protested the war and people who served as soldiers. I was taught more about John Lennon than I was about Thomas Jefferson.

Both of my parents were World War II veterans. FDR-era patriots. And I was exactly the age to rebel against them.

It all fit together rather neatly. I could never stomach the flower-child twaddle of the '60s crowd and I was ready to believe that our flag was just an old piece of cloth and that patriotism was just some quaint relic, best left behind us.

It was all about the ideas. I schooled myself in the writings of Madison and Franklin and Adams and Jefferson. I came to love those noble, indestructible ideas. They were ideas, to my young mind, of rebellion and independence, not of idolatry.

But not that piece of old cloth. To me, that stood for unthinking patriotism. It meant about as much to me as that insipid peace sign that was everywhere I looked: just another symbol of a generation's sentimentality, of its narcissistic worship of its own past glories.

Then came that sunny September morning when airplanes crashed into towers a very few miles from my home and thousands of my neighbors were ruthlessly incinerated -- reduced to ash. Now, I draw and write comic books. One thing my job involves is making up bad guys. Imagining human villainy in all its forms. Now the real thing had shown up. The real thing murdered my neighbors. In my city. In my country. Breathing in that awful, chalky crap that filled up the lungs of every New Yorker, then coughing it right out, not knowing what I was coughing up.

For the first time in my life, I know how it feels to face an existential menace. They want us to die. All of a sudden I realize what my parents were talking about all those years.

Patriotism, I now believe, isn't some sentimental, old conceit. It's self-preservation. I believe patriotism is central to a nation's survival. Ben Franklin said it: If we don't all hang together, we all hang separately. Just like you have to fight to protect your friends and family, and you count on them to watch your own back.

So you've got to do what you can to help your country survive. That's if you think your country is worth a damn. Warts and all.

So I've gotten rather fond of that old piece of cloth. Now, when I look at it, I see something precious. I see something perishable.

75orless Records NOW AVAILABLE!!

the record label I am a party to and design/art direct for, 75orless Records, now has its entire catalogue available on Interpunk! Of course, you can buy direct from our site, but it is nice to see our work available elsewhere on the intraweb.

Item! The latest release from the aformentioned label, Rome, Italy's Turnpike Glow has a new spaced out cd, rush home. Get it while it's hot!

Item! 75orless Records t-shirts now on sale at the site - in both non- and pocketed-version! White only, great for getting stains!

The King of the Seven Seas, CWB Style!

Finally was able to d/l and watch the Aquaman pilot episode on iTunes this past Labor Day and without having watched it a second time yet -- with a more critical eye -- I was way impressed with it. It had all the emotional punch and modernization that Millar/Gough have brought to Smallville and came off much better than that show's pilot episode.

While Smallville really came into its own in the third season, getting past the villian of the week syndrome, the Aquaman pilot seems to have put the show into the perfect mix of classic DC lore and X-files-esque conspiracy theory with a nice mix of action-adventure thrown in.

Without spoiling too much, the premise follows a twenty-something Arthur Curry, a/k/a AC, a/k/a Aquaman. After losing his mother in a tragic and mysterious accident in the Bermuda Triangle, AC has mostly been a slacker that occasionally dabbles in animal rescue and activism. His Coast Guard stepfather (played by Lou Diamond Philips) is always there to bail his son out of trouble, but is frustrated with the young AC's lack of direction.

When things from the past start showing up to wreak havok in AC's life and mess with his home town, the young hero takes it on himself to discover who he is and where he came from. He's helped along this course by a mysterious figure in the body of Ving Rhames, who turns in a really subtle performance in a role that could have been pure cheese.

The adopted son story of AC searching for his true origin keeps the show from falling into a hokey "origin of" episode and allows the story to play out dramatically instead. Set against the government's interest in the Bermuda Triangle and what lies under the sea, shady G-men roam the landscape of this pilot and set up a future conflict that will have AC caught between his loyalties to his adopted home and that of his true birthright.

Anyone who knows even a little about DC history, knows that Aquaman truly is a King, and that little bit of knowledge -- like the knowledge that Clark Kent and Lex Luthor will one day be mortal enemies -- drives the show with a giddy anticipation.

Too bad the suits at the CW passed on the show. If the fan reaction on iTunes is any indication though (927 Positive Reviews and counting, with an average rating of 4 and 1/2 stars), maybe there is hope for a mid-season pick up or a home at another network.

Someone really needs to adopt this Aquaman!

'Nuff Said

True believers won't want to miss this link to an Earth-Stan version of Moore's and Gibbons's Watchmen remix in the inimitable style of Stan "The Man" Lee. Woah.

Excelsior!

Reports: Katharine McPhee Up for 'Wonder Woman' Role

McPhee, who finished behind Taylor Hicks in last season's "Idol," is being considered for the big-screen version of "Wonder Woman," according to reports.The movie will be directed by "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon

Plus, I just read that Whedon turned in his latest draft of the s/p, so progress could finally be going forward on this!

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New Ones and Twos

After writing a pretty long review of the new DC comic, Justice League of America my computer crashed before I could post it. I was in the middle of giving quick review of two other books when it crashed. So . . . being mightily pissed, I am just going to give a little thumbs up/thumbs down sort of look at last week's books that I bought:

Justice League of America #1 4 out of 5 Batarangs - the new relaunch of the League by Brad Meltzer is looking very promising. Say it with me now . . . Black Lightning!!

Batman and the Mad Monk #1 2.5 out of 5 Batarangs - Matt Wagner's second mini-series under the Dark Moon Rising stable of retellings of classic Batman monster villians from the Golden Age, is well-written, well-drawn and generally enjoyable, but for all that, it's still a little flat. Got the .5 for featuring a recreation of one of my all time favorite covers (Re-doing Neal Adams's tribute to the original cover from, I think, Detective Comics #31).

Wonder Woman #2 2 out of 5 Batarangs - by Heinberg and the Duo Dodsen. Beauty to look at, not so much on the story. I am giving the benefit of the doubt and will get one more issue of this WW relaunch.

Batman #656 4.5 out of 5 Batarangs - not really a number 1 or 2, but it is the second issue of the Son of the Bat storyline by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert. What can I say that hasn't already been said. Simply great on a single, dual, even triple level - there is great popcorn fun here with a masterful meta-text on comics and the state of the "new" Batman, plus it all ties into one of the more classic (and personal favorite) Batman tales that had, for a long time, been written off by the suits at Warners as an Elseworlds tale. Bring me more Ninja Manbats!

Cassanova #2 3 out of 5 Batarangs - this past week, #3 came out, but I just read two, so I can squeeze it under this post, dammit! Fraction's mind-blower of a comic with absolutely stunning one-color art by Gabriel Ba, the second issue does not disappoint. Super-spies, creepy Earth-2 incest overtones, and great back-matter, if you aren't reading this book and Warren Ellis's Fell both for the measily ticket price of $1.99, you should quit reading comics now. Go listen to your old Milli Vanilli tapes in your AMC Pacer. You suck.

Thursday, look for more.

Prison Break Season 2 Premiere Free Video

Watch (Stream) the entire season premiere for free.

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No Price Cuts For Verizon & BellSouth DSL Customers

Verizon Communications' and BellSouth's DSL customers won't see a reduction in their broadband bills, even though a special fee that had been tacked on to bills to pay for a federal program has been eliminated.

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the new House of TERROR

In an effort to keep myself blogging, I am going to try to focus my entries more and concentrate on reviews/commentary/analysis. I haven't done much be re-posted from other sites lately, so, within the next week you can look forward to more comics talks and hopefully a new look - if you are seeing this site with Firefox, it probably looks messed up and I can't seem to fix it.

anyway, more by the end of the weekend.

Kick Ass!! Blacklight Tattoos

Tattoo artist Richie, who lives and works in Colorado, has been offering UV blacklight reactive ink to his clients for most of his 4-year career.

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China's Super Space Seeds

In an effort to feed its ever-growing population, Chinese officials are launching over 2,000 seeds into orbit for a two-week trip designed to force the seeds to mutate. Exposed to special environment such as cosmic radiation and micro-gravity, it is hoped that some seeds will mutate to such an extent that they may produce much higher yields.

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Bill Gates Donates $500 000 000 to AIDS Research

The Bill (and Melinda) Gates Foundation donates half a billion dollars ($100 000 000/year over the next five years)! Whatever evil he may have wrought as the Emperor of Microsoft, this trumps it all.

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Senator Complains That Senator-Only Elevator Getting Too Many Non-Senators

I hesitate to say that it
�s a big problem,� said Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, shaking his head gravely. �There is terrific crowding.� Mr. Lautenberg, a Democrat who has served more than two decades in the Senate, said he had never seen the Capitol so packed with unelected interlopers.

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