Author: Mike Gold

Captain America arrested (again)

  • News
  • April 25, 2007

Okay, let’s see if we’ve got all the weird down right:

1) A 54 year old doctor in Melbourne Florida was part of a gaggle of costumed drunks doing a pub crawl. 

2) Dr. Raymond Adamcik was dressed as Captain America.

3) He had a burrito stuffed in his pants. He allegedly groped two women.

4) He got arrested.

5) At the police station, he was caught flushing a bag of marijuana down the toilet.

6) After being charged with battery, disorderly conduct, and pot possession, he was released after posting $2000 bail.

Well, the story is more plausable than 52.  But if you think we’re making this up, the Melbourne police department report is available right here.

(Glenn Hauman contributed mightily to this story)

Spider-Man 3 bootlegs already abound…

  • News
  • April 24, 2007

spid-6328995If you want to see Spider-Man 3 and you don’t want to wait until May 4th, the inevitable bootleg DVDs are already out and about – in China. And you can get yours for the low, low cost of $1.00 a piece … plus airfare.

According to Reuters, there is even a warning on the back, printed in Chinese, against pirating the product. But, as always, buyer beware: any specific bootleg DVD might not work on your specific player.

China is almost as well known for its bootlegs as it is for its booming economy, Sadly, these sales will not be incorporated into Spidey‘s box office totals.

Batman burns again!

  • News
  • April 24, 2007

18039-streetfire-7108578First, it was stately Wayne Manor, as seen in Batman Begins. Now it’s the Gotham National Bank, to be seen in the forthcoming sequel, The Dark Knight.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the city’s former main post office – a 17-story building with an Interstate expressway running right through it – reported a roof fire late this morning. A crew was setting up for the next shoot; the Warner Bros. picture is once again using downtown Chicago locations to provide the look and feel of Gotham City.

The fire appeared to have started in a 16th-story marchine room and was extinguished within a half-hour. It is not clear if the fire was related to the filming, but local officeworkers who saw the smoke initially dismissed it as part of the shoot.

Just last week it was revealed that after filming was completed the building was going to be converted into quality shops, condos and offices. The bit about the expressway cutting through the building goes back 100 years, when architect Daniel Burnham designed the passage for horse-and-buggy transportation. It was finally built in the late 1950s.

I guess they could have had the Batmobile in mind at the time.

Doctor Who 3 hits Sci-Fi this summer

  • News
  • April 24, 2007

The third season of the new Doctor Who series will hit the U.S. cable channels in July, starting with the 2006 Christmas Special, "The Runaway Bride".

The new series will run on the Sci-Fi Channel, home to the previous two seasons of shows. Ultimately, it will be syndicated and appear alongside its "adult" spin-off show Torchwood on BBC America.

The week following "The Runaway Bride" U.S. fans will meet the Doctor’s new companion Martha Jones in the season’s opening episode "Smith and Jones."

 

MIKE GOLD: Death to Floppy!

  • News
  • April 23, 2007

bucky_beaver_ipana-6184370I was combing through the Diamond catalog, placing my family’s orders for whatever month I’m ordering for. Oh, yeah: it’s April, so I’m looking at the March catalog do order stuff coming out in May, if at all. People who grew up at comic book cover dates have a hard time working a calendar.

As every month, I am struck by the impossible number of “alternate covers” being produced by the publishers. Of course, only a fraction of them are actually solicited: some publishers slap on new covers for subsequent reprintings. This sorta makes you wonder how they knew they’d sell out early enough to commission those new covers.

I don’t have a problem with alternate covers. Whereas I rarely indulge, there are enough collectors out there to make the gimmick work, and that’s fine by me. I collect all sorts of weird stuff myself – I’ve been trying to get Denis Kitchen’s Betty Boop blow-up doll for 30 years. Certainly there’s nothing wrong doing an alternate cover stunt to celebrate a truly significant issue. But it’s being done on damn near everything these days, on routine issues of routine books, just to turn the sucker into a collectible.

Therefore, while I see nothing wrong with alternate covers, I do feel they portend the end of the world as we know it. (more…)

Infinite Crisis goes audio

  • News
  • April 23, 2007

Doctor Who fans have been getting all-new full-cast audio adventures for years. Recently, Dark Shadows has been invited into the club. And now, GraphicAudio has signed DC Comics up for the ride.

Purveyors of full cast audio adaptations of such well-known action paperback series as Stony Man, The Destroyer and The Executioner, the Graphic Audio corporation will be releasing DC’s Infinite Crisis miniseries in two box sets, each containing six hours of programming. The first will be released in May, the second in June. They describe the plot thusly:

"Superman, the Man of Steel. Wonder Woman, Amazon Princess. Batman, the Dark Knight. Together, they are the greatest super heroes of all. But they have turned away from each other in Earth”s hour of greatest need. As space is ripped apart, super-villains unite, and four mysterious strangers threaten reality itself. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must put aside their differences to save the world, but even the combined might of all Earth”s heroes might not be enough to stop the coming crisis…"

Actually, the CD sets are an adaptation of Greg Cox’s novelization of Infinite Crisis, buy why quibble. I’m a fan of such original audio shows, and I’m looking forward to reviewing the series. GraphicAudio CDs are widely available at truck stops and Interstate rest areas, and through the manufacturer.

Who’s a Christmas present?

  • Uncategorized
  • April 22, 2007

kylie003-1505205Australian pop star Kylie Minogue will be making her return to acting in this December’s Doctor Who Christmas special… as a Cyberwoman.

According to the British newspaper News Of The World, singer with acting credits as diverse as Moulin Rouge, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Street Fighter: The Movie will be co-starring as a Cyberwoman with rather peculiar designs on The Doctor, David Tennant. Executive producer Russell T. Davies will be writing the episode.

This Doctor is no stranger to working with big-name pop stars, as his first companion was Billie Piper.

Roddenberry, Scott, Emsh, & Wolfe: Hall of Famers

  • Uncategorized
  • April 22, 2007

sfm_headerlogo-3751395Did you know there was a Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle? Maybe it has something to do with the Space Needle, or the underground city, or the fact that you’ve got to do something while on all that coffee.

One of the things you might be able to do on June 16th is attend their annual Hall of Fame awards. This year, Master of Ceremonies and author Neal Stephenson will be inducting artist Ed Emshwiller, teevee / movie producer/writer Gene Roddenberry, director Ridley Scott  and author Gene Wolfe. They will be joining such people as Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, Ursula K. Le Guin, Mary Shelley and Isaac Asimov.

Tickets for the June 16 induction ceremony will be available for purchase on Monday, April 30 for EMP/SFM members ($40) and Monday, May 7 for the general public ($50). The evening will include a seated dessert reception and ceremony.

Say it ain’t so, Spidey!

  • Uncategorized
  • April 20, 2007

spider-man-cake-12a-2322465Remember that Batman musical we were all dreading a couple years ago? The one with Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater dancing in the dark in full costume? Well, the good news is, that ain’t happening.

However, your friendly neighborhood webslinger will be swooping down on Broadway – and, if successful, theaters all over the Real Universe. It’ll be directed by The Lion King‘s own Julie Taymor (that’s The Lion King on Broadway, not to be confused with the even stupider Tarzan on Broadway) and the music will be provided by … wait for it … Bono and The Edge.

No first-night date has been announced, but I’m sure American Idol wannabees are scouring the trades for casting calls.  However, if you can’t wait for Spider-Man The Musical, perhaps a naked Harry Potter will do, as, according to Playbill, the London show is headed for Broadway after its June closing. Hmmm… just in time for the new book. That should scare the horses!

(Oh, I’m kidding about Baldwin and Slater; grow up!)

(more…)

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