And Finally . . .

You all should be on this like white on rice. One page of Bendis's Powers everyday, for free. Get on it, bitches!

On a Lighter Note

Here are two teaser posters that surfaced at Comic-con over the weekend:

Iron Man to be directed by Jon Favreau



And Transformers by Michael Bay

Sad to say . . .

that it's been reported that legendary actor, Mako, died at home at age 76. He was recently recording voice-overs for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle flick. A true loss.

An Article on Mako's Passing

Miller's Spirit!!

FRANK MILLER TO ADAPT/DIRECT FILM VERSION OF EISNER'S THE SPIRIT
Frank Miller’s next big comic book gig?

Adapting and directing a film version of his late friend Will Eisner’s The Spirit for Odd Lot Entertainment and Michael Uslan’s Batfilm Prods., according to Variety. Miller will talk about the gig at Saturday’s The Spirit movie panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where the announcement will be officially made.

Odd Lot is financing the film, with Deborah Del Prete, Gigi Pritzker, and Uslan serving as producers. Odd Lot’s Linda McDonough and CBM’s FJ DeSanto will co-produce. Benjamin Melniker will executive produce. It will be the second time Miller has sat in the director’s chair – the first being his co-directing gig with Robert Rodriguez on last year’s adaptation of his Sin City. Miller is currently working on the screen play for Sin City 2, while a film version of his 300 is due in theaters next spring from Warner Bros.

"When (Uslan) invited me to do this, first I said I can't do this and then I said I can't let anybody else touch it," Miller told Variety. "I intend to be extremely faithful to the heart and soul of the material, but it won't be nostalgic. It will be much scarier than people expect."

“With his first film, Miller made Sin City live and breathe by capturing the look and style of his source material and expertly guiding an all-star cast,” stated Deborah Del Prete. “We cannot wait to see how he utilizes his endless talents in bringing Eisner’s vision of The Spirit to the screen.”

Uslan: “What makes Frank’s involvement with The Spirit particularly poignant was his special relationship with Will Eisner, captured last year in the book, Eisner-Miller. In it, you have two of the medium's greatest storytellers of sequential art and cinematic comics discussing the ins-and-outs of the compelling and controversial art form.”

Miller told i>Variety that he is working on a treatment that consists in large part of panels from The Spirit strip. Shooting on the film is due to begin late next spring.

The announcement at SDCC will be the second year a movie panel for The Spirit has been held. Last year, the production team hosted a panel at the convention, where it was announced that Jeph Loeb would be adapting the material for film.

Stan Lee's Latest!

Be Your Own Hero

Sci-Fi will be premeiring this reality show next week - go make your own ZERO HERO today!

RIAA loses in file sharing case -- One down, a Thousand to go

The RIAA suffered a legal setback today, as a file-sharing case was dismissed and the defendant awarded attorneys fees.

read more | digg story

Run to the Future

Since my Doc says I have to make a life choice and that I'm at a health cross-roads, I need to get in shape. If I have to, I guess this is on my Christmas Wishlist

Hellboy's Spawn!

Click on the title for a link to the pilot episode of Mike Mignola's Amazing Screw-on Head - it rocks! It captures Mignola's art perfectly and Paul Giamatti as the lead voice actor is spot-on casting.

Screw-On HERE!

Cartoon Network to launch broadband channel for Toonami

Cartoon Network is launching a broadband version of it's anime and action block,Toonami, on July 17th. It's the world's first broadband destination for full-length episodes of the best in action and anime. Kick-ass!

read more | digg story

Pixies say they will never record again

lack told Uncut: "I wish it could go a bit further again and we could make a record. Not all of the band-members are willing to do that. Rather than make a big deal out of it, we've agreed to just continue to play live."

read more | digg story

Queens Of The Stone Age return

"Josh Homme has revealed that Queens Of The Stone Age have started work on their new album."

read more | digg story

New Release = P.A.R.L. Compilation Double Disc! Limited Hand Screenprinted!

Head over to www.75orlessrecords.com for the latest release - 2 discs of Southern New England-based bands all in support of the Providence Animal Rescue League! Hand screenprinted and limited to only 500 copies!

read more | digg story

Super-powered Comicbase becomes world's first Blu-ray PC software

(San Jose, CA) ComicBase, the world's leading comic book collection management software, is the first commercial PC product available in the new Blu-ray format.

read more | digg story

I was a writer for this software company, giving brief synopses of comic book titles. Great company and really good people behind it. Get over to the Digg link and give them some props! Then if you are a mad-geek comic collector like me, give the software a try - it really is the best out there.

Why They Will Rock Your Face OFF!!

Two looks at the phenomenal My Morning Jacket (thanks to my bro for the point out about the B-Pops!)

On Conan O'Brien:




On Letterman:

That's Right, Mother-F'n Snakes!

SNAKES ON A PLANE #1 & 2
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Gordon Purcell
Photo covers
Issue #1 Variant cover by J.G. Jones
Issue #2 Variant cover by Jerome Moore

You’ve heard the Internet buzz…seen the hair-raising trailer…now experience the comic of the sensational summer movie Snakes on a Plane, written by Chuck Dixon (NIGHTWING) with art by Gordon Purcell and painted covers by J.G. Jones (52) and Jerome K. Moore!
Snakes on a Plane stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent assigned to escort a government witness on a flight to Los Angeles. But when a crimelord sets loose hundreds of deadly snakes during the flight, the agent must band together with the pilot, frightened crew and passengers in a desperate attempt to survive and protect his witness!

There are mother$%#@!! Snakes On The mother$%#@!! Plane!

Retailers please note: Each issue will feature two covers; see order form for details.

Issue #1 on sale August 16; issue #2 on sale August 30 (1 & 2 of 2) 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US MATURE READERS

The Howard Roark of Comics!

Great artist with a will of steel - a man molded from the Ayn Rand school of thought:

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Steve Ditko does not use the original art that Marvel has returned to him, except sometimes as CUTTING BOARDS!

STATUS: True

The beginnings of this situation happened back when Marvel was caught up in the whole “not returning art to the original artists,” using the argument that Marvel not only paid for the production of the art for the comics, but for the art itself. In any event, after some time, Marvel eventually relented, under the following condition - it would give the artists back the art, but it would be as a GIFT due to Marvel’s generosity. They still believe that THEY (Marvel) own the work fair and square, but would allow the artists to have the work itself.

Well, Steve Ditko did not like that arrangement.

As a result of this (and other factors I am sure, like not wanting to look to his past and hell, probably some other stuff, damned if I know), Ditko basically just let the art pile up, and actually used some of his old work as cutting boards!!

The story appeared in an issue of Wizard a few years back (thanks to Linda Burns at Ditkoland, for transcribing this last year):

There’s simply no way to separate the fact from the fiction, no way to determine which Ditko is the real Ditko. One story about him contradicts the next, which-in turn-contradicts the next.

Take for example, one of [Comic publisher and restorer, Greg] Theakston’s last visits to Ditko’s studio. While embroiled in a conversation, the historian noticed a piece of illustration board leaning up against a wall, slashed to pieces.

“He’d been using it as a cutting board,” Theakston said. “I looked a little bit closer and I detected a comics code stamp on it.”

He asked Ditko to turn the board around, a request met with a deadening gaze from the artist.

“I didn’t think he was going to do it,” the historian recounted. “It looked like a ‘Screw you’ look.”

Slowly, however, Ditko reached out and flipped over the board. It was a page of original art from a late 1950s issue of Journey Into Mystery, a splash featuring a hard helmet diver. Theakston couldn’t believe it. Not only was Ditko not displaying, preserving or prizing this piece of original art, he was using it as a cutting board.

Theakston quickly offered Ditko a deal: “Steve, I will go down to the nearest art supply store and buy you a cutting board that will mend itself-a plastic cutting board that’s so smart that when you cut on it, it mends itself-and you’ll have the finest cutting board on the block.” “Nope,” Ditko replied, twisting the artwork-turned-cutting-board back around.

Theakston pleaded. “Steve, geez. That’s worth a fair amount of money. At the very least-damn, Steve-it’s an artifact. It’s an important piece of publishing history in terms of comics.”

The artist turned and pointed to the drapery-obscured window next to Theakston’s chair. “Lift that curtain up,” he said.

The curtain, the historian estimated, was about 18 inches off the floor. He pulled the drape aside and saw a stack of original artwork from Marvel standing roughly a foot-and-a-half high.

“Can I look at these?” Theakston excitedly asked.

“No.”

The writer was dumbfounded. “I was sitting next to a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand dollars, maybe, worth of Ditko artwork and he was cutting it up without letting people look at it.”

For whatever reason-Theakston feels Ditko may have thought Marvel was wrong for returning the pages-the artist seemed to attach no particular affection to his early work.

“He would rather not have people think of Steve Ditko’s best work as being Spider-Man from 30 or 40 years ago,” the historian said. “He wanted to be represented not by what he had done, but by what he’s doing-he wants now to be his best time.

source: Comics Should Be Good blog

GO! GO! AQUABATS, GO!

The latest video from the Masters of Nerd Super Powers:



See them live at Avalon in Boston on 6/9/06!

Another Legend Passes through the 4th Wall . . .

R.I.P. Alex Toth - Creator and designer of such Saturday morning classics as Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and more, plus the lead designer for the look of the classic SuperFriends. Not to mention his stellar career in comics.

According to his son in an online open letter, Toth died at his drawing table on a Saturday morning. Can't ask for more than that . . .

Greatest Film-to-Comic Crossover Ever???!!!! I say thee YES!

Work Work Work

After a busy month of work I have three pieces to show for it. One is for my son's 4th Birthday, with cribbed art from the amazing Darwyn Cooke - seek him out now, like here! The second is the album cover for the upcoming 75orlessrecords release for Western MA's Killing Pablo. And finally, an approval poster for the band A Passing Feeling's summer tour - they are one of the best young bands out of NYC and you can get your copy of their latest EP at the above linked 75orless Records!!