Author: Mike Gold

Kahn Fired From Daily Planet

Kahn Fired From Daily Planet

"Pauline" Kahn, a.k.a. Carrie Fisher, is no longer editor of The Daily Planet. Oh, Pauline, we hardly knew ye.

She’s being replaced on the Smallville series by Hidden Palms / The O.C.‘s Michael Cassidy. According to TV Guide.com, Cassidy will appear in at least six episodes and will be the next love interest of Lois Lane, doubtlessly leaving Oliver Queen all a-quiver.

Don’t know if he’ll be playing Perry White. The character was previously on Smallville a couple seasons ago, as played by 60 year-old Michael McKean, who just happens to be married to Martha Kent herself, Annette O’Toole. Since Cassidy is a mere 24 years old, such casting will look a little bizarre.

Hmmmm. Bizarr-o?

Artwork copyright DC Comics and/or Warner Bros. Animation. All Rights Reserved.

Too Many Bat-Baddies

Too Many Bat-Baddies

Reports have been surfacing all weekend that both Two-Face and The Riddler will be joining The Joker in The Dark Knight, sequel to Batman Begins. If so, I hasten to point out that this is the sort of thing that killed the last round of Bat-films: too many villains.

One can hope that, at worst, we will see these guys in their pre-presumed identities.  Then the movie will choke on an overdose of foreshadowing, but  that beats the camera having to pick favorites for each shot. Nothing would beat two hours of Batman taking on The Joker, pure and simple.

Damn. And I really liked Batman Begins.

MIKE GOLD: Insanity, Thy Name is the Law

MIKE GOLD: Insanity, Thy Name is the Law

Outside of the sheer enthusiasm bubbling out of the building, one of the coolest things about going to the annual MoCCA (Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art) ArtFest is the ability to be turned on to non-corporate-owned comics that you probably wouldn’t see otherwise. Each year I come away with a stack of stuff and, being smack dab in the middle of the horrors of convention season, it takes a bit of time to get to the good stuff.

Of all the stuff I schlepped back from MoCCA, by far the best (and a tip o’ the hat to our own Martha Thomases) was The Salon, by Nick Bertozzi (Griffin Books, just released as such). The description, from Nick’s own website:

When someone starts tearing the heads off modernist painters around Paris, Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo realize that they may be next on the killer’s list. Enlisting the help of their closest friends and colleagues: Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Alice B. Toklas, Erik Satie, and Guillaume Apollinaire, they set out to put a stop to the ghastly murders–only to discover that an addictive absinthe that painters around Paris have been using to enter famous paintings may in fact be responsible for all their troubles. Filled with danger, art history, and daring escapes, this is a wildly ingenious murder-mystery ride through the origins of modern art.

Wow. Sounds intellectual and classy. Not the sort of thing that might trigger arrest, legal action, tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills, and put a man’s life and vocation on the line.

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Dennis Hopper Is Doing What?

Dennis Hopper Is Doing What?

Approximately several hundred websites are reporting Dennis Hopper might be guest-villaining in Doctor Who next season. ComicMix is now officially number several hundred and one. It’s also being reported by the London Sun and the British magazine TV Times.

Evidently, the one-time Easy Rider star and two-time G. W. Bush supporter is a big Whoer. When the BBC discovered this, they moved with uncommon speed to get at least a cameo out of the noted actor.

… Or Is It Donna The Bride?

Donna says According to the BBC, Runaway Bride star Catherine Tate is set to return to the TARDIS for the complete 13 week run of series four (a.k.a. season 30) of Doctor Who, reprising her role as Donna the runaway bride from last year’s Christmas special.

Previously, British media (including the BBC) reported Tom Ellis was going to stay on with the series, possibly in his season-ending role as Doctor Thomas Milligan. These reports have not been discounted – and, of course, it’s also possible that he would visit Torchwood, along with Martha Jones.

In any event, neither Donna the Runaway Bride, Dr. Milligan nor Dr. Jones are expected to be placed between The Doctor and the Titanic this year’s Christmas special. But, to quote Fats Waller, "one never knows, do one?"

Thanks and a tip o’the hat to our pal Lisa Sullivan.

 

The Doctor’s New Companion?

The Doctor’s New Companion?

And, again I state, there’s a spoiler or two here.

British media are reporting the new companion next season on Doctor Who will be played by Tom Ellis, who was the handsome Doctor Thomas Milligan on the season finale, The Last of the Time Lords. Ellis is perhaps best known for playing the handsome Doctor Oliver Cousins on the long-running (except by Doctor Who standards) soap opera and PBS money-sucker Eastenders.

The BBC has not confirmed these reports, several of which ran this morning on the BBC. Freema Agyema’s character of Martha Jones will be appearing on three episodes of the adult Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, and will be rejoining the Doctor Who cast mid-season. We don’t know if the new companion will stay around, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time (is that a pun?) there were two companions. Or even three.

We also don’t know if Ellis would be repeating his Doctor Milligan role; we recall that Martha Jones was revealed to be the identical cousin to the character Freema Agyeman played in the previous season.

 

 

MIKE GOLD: My All-Time Favorite Comic Book Cover

MIKE GOLD: My All-Time Favorite Comic Book Cover

They don’t draw comic book covers like this any more. And, well, that might be a good thing.

These days, we’re in a phase where covers are particularly boring. When it comes to the great American staple, the heroic fantasy comic, most are over art directed and too posh for their own good. Few actually have anything to do with the story inside; they are simply generic poster shots. When I stare at the big Wall-O-Comics at most shops, my eyes quickly glaze over. They generate little enthusiasm and manage to completely ignore the sense of wonder that makes comics magic. At best, I walk away from the Wall thinking “gee, that Captain America cover sure would make a swell statue.”

Yes, I still use the word “swell.” I’m trying to bring it back.

Look at a few of the really great covers. If you’re at all interested in the genre, how can you pass ‘em up? They are exciting, intriguing and most of all, they appeal to the sense of wonder.

 

Yeah, they’re all ancient. But don’t try to tell me they’re childish. Putting on a mask and fighting crime and/or evil as the result of some event that wouldn’t even cut it in Greek tragedy is childish. We’re simply negotiating the price.

However, some covers were simply wonderfully absurd. They are so far over the top you’ve just got to check them out. In fact, there are so many of them that there’s an entire website devoted to the topic, run by cartoonist Scott Shaw!. It’s called Oddball Comics and you’ve got to check it out. He’s got about a trillion such covers there. But I don’t know if he’s got my all-time favorite comic book cover.

 

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People Are Pissed About…

People Are Pissed About…

  • News
  • June 30, 2007

Popeye by Bud Sagendorf, reprinted in newspapers last Wednesday but originally published a couple decades ago. In fact, Bud Sagendorf has been dead for 12 years. No, it wasn’t a suicide.

About a dozen years ago, Popeye cartoonist Bobby London got fired for a storyline that set-up a minor, passing joke reference to abortion, without even employing the word. It was so subtle it didn’t offend King Features editors at the time; they dutifully sent it along to subscribing newspapers. When somebody objected, London got aborted from the strip.

Olive survived both gags. She will be appearing later this year in a commercial for Prego pasta sauce.

Yep. "Prego."

Artwork copyright King Features Syndicate. All Rights Reserved.

 

Harlan Ellison, Fantagraphics Kiss And Make Up

Harlan Ellison, Fantagraphics Kiss And Make Up

  • News
  • June 30, 2007

According to Dirk Deppey at The Comics Journal’s ¡Journalista! website, and Dirk should know, the Harlan Ellison vs. Fantagraphics Books lawsuit has been "resolved."

Deppey received the following e-mail from his boss, Gary Groth:

THE LITIGATION BETWEEN THE PARTIES HAS BEEN RESOLVED.

THE PARTIES ARE NOT AT LIBERTY TO DISCUSS THE TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION AT THIS TIME.

Congratuations to all involved.

For background, our interview with Harlan, and our interview with Gary.

More as it develops. If.

Hamas Kills Mickey Mouse!

Hamas Kills Mickey Mouse!

  • News
  • June 29, 2007

I can’t make this stuff up. Well, I mean, I can, but why the hell would I want to?

You may have heard things have been getting a little hot over in the Gaza Strip, even by local standards. The Associated Press reported Friday that a Mickey Mouse lookalike who preached Islamic domination on a Hamas-affiliated children’s television program was beaten to death in the show’s final episode Friday.

Go back and re-read that paragraph. Now look at the photo.

Yep, that’s right. Hamas killed Mickey Mouse – and blamed the Israelis.

The way the story goes, an Israeli official was trying to buy the land of the show’s hero, Farfour the Mouse, who looks and sounds exactly like Mickey. The mouse called the Israeli a "terrorist" and the Israeli killed him. According to the AP: "Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

This was the last episode of Farfour. Israeli officials have denounced the program.
 
Artwork copyright Disney. Or Hamas. You pick ’em. All Rights Reserved.

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