Category: News

Or, if you want a really scary vision, here’s science fiction writer John C. Wright’s view of a horrible future of moral decay because of homosexuality actually being tolerated by people.

Remember, kids: even if it’s your name, you’re not always (W)right.

UPDATE 4:30 PM: Mike Weber notes below that the original link above no longer works. It seems that a lot of people took him to task, but what apparently shamed him into changing was someone pointing out what his recently adopted Catholic Church has to say on the matter:

“It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object
of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves
condemnation from the Church’s pastors wherever it occurs. It reveals a
kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental
principles of a healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person
must always be respected in word, in action and in law.”

– “On The Pastoral Care Of Homosexual Persons”, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Accordingly, Wright has taken down the original post, and I feel no further need to shame him about it, preferring to believe that he’s going to try and reconcile the matter in his heart and with his God.

“The Comix4Sight.com benefit for comics veteran John Ostrander has raised $31,322.00 thus far,” committee co-chairperson Mike Gold revealed today. “And we still have more than 100 great pieces of original art, signed books and prints, and manuscripts to auction off!”

“Contributions are continuing to pour in, even after the benefit at the Chicago Comic-Con,” program coordinator Adriane Nash stated. “In the past several days, we’ve received material from Paul Gulacy, Jason Owen, golden age great Fran Matera, the cast of The Simpsons, and so much more.”

“The auction held last week at the Chicago Comic-Con raised half the current total in about two hours,” Nash continued. “We wouldn’t have had time to present everything if we had all night.

“Details about the upcoming auctions, including a full schedule of sales, will be posted online at www.comix4sight.com beginning Wednesday August 19th. As we’ve stated, we will donate any excess revenue to other comics professionals suffering from major vision issues or to The Hero Initiative, whose help and assistance has been critical to our success,” Nash concluded.

A 27-year veteran of the comics field, Ostrander is undergoing a series of operations and medical treatments to fight off blindness and glaucoma. “The response from the entire comics community has been overwhelming,” Gold noted. “The cost of these John’s procedures has been through the roof and are only partially covered by insurance.”

The Comix4Sight.com committee includes Nash, Gold, writer Gail Simone, and getthepointradio.com’s Mike and Kai Raub. Auctioneers included WGN-AM radio news director Charlie Meyerson, artist Hilary Barta, comics/movie attorney Ken Levin, and yours truly. Monetary contributions are also gratefully accepted by check or through PayPal at Comix4Sight.com. Individuals and corporations interested in making contributions should send them to:

Mike Gold and Adriane Nash
arrogantMGMS
304 Main Avenue, #194
Norwalk, CT 06851

A full list of contributors will be posted at Comix4Sight.com.

(CNN) — Les Paul, whose innovations with the electric guitar and studio technology made him one of the most important figures in recorded music, has died, according to a statement from his publicists. Paul was 94.

Paul died in White Plains, New York, from complications of severe pneumonia, according to the statement.

Paul was a guitar and electronics mastermind whose creations — such as
multitrack recording, tape delay and the solid-body guitar that bears
his name, the Gibson Les Paul — helped give rise to modern popular
music, including rock ‘n’ roll. No slouch on the guitar himself, he
continued playing at clubs into his 90s despite being hampered by
arthritis.

“If you only have two fingers [to work with], you
have to think, how will you play that chord?” he told CNN.com in a 2002
phone interview. “So you think of how to replace that chord with
several notes, and it gives the illusion of sounding like a chord.”

“The world has lost a truly innovative and exceptional human being
today. I cannot imagine life without Les Paul,” said Henry Juszkiewicz,
Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “He would walk into a room and put a
smile on anyone’s face. His musical charm was extraordinary and his
techniques unmatched anywhere in the world.”

I had the privilege of seeing him perform live– he was doing that for years, playing in a jazz club in New York once a week, giving unlabeled and almost unheralded master classes on how to create. Yeah, people would pony up big bucks to see Eddie Van Halen or Jimmy Page or the latest flash in the pan, but here was the guy who had been playing the electric guitar longer than anyone, by definition.

It’s hard to thnk of someone in comics who was at the level of Les Paul was for creating new technology and ways to tell stories. Steranko is about as close as I get. Who’s your nominee?

Available in finer comic book stores everywhere, GrimJack: The Manx Cat #1 from John Ostrander, Timothy Truman, John Workman, and Lovern Kindzierski. Only $3.99 for 26 pages of story and art. Remember: the more copies you buy, the sooner we get to work on the next one. (more…)

If you didn’t make it to the Comix4Sight benefit auction for John Ostrander, you missed the added incentive of having the lovely Kathy  displaying the items up for auction, while dressed in a Zatanna costume.

Luckily for you, Gene Ha was there and recorded the activity as only he could.

And before you ask– no, she’s engaged. And if you try anything, I will be forced to hurt you. (For your own good, you understand– her fiancee would kill you.)

Yes, more art will be up for auction soon.

No, she’s only displaying a few pieces that are still up for auction.

UPDATE: No, even we can’t hire her. She has an exclusive contract with Unshaven Comics, who volunteered their time and effort to help out with the auction.

The Chicago Comic-Con ( or The Convention Formerly Known As Wizard World Chicago) was this past weekend, positing that you can never have too many comic conventions in one summer.

It shouldn’t come as a shock that, this soon after San Diego Comic Con, publishers didn’t have much to announce, but here’s a quick roundup of our favorite news to come out of CCC, mostly from Marvel:

• Jeff Parker (Agents of Atlas) will write Thunderbolts starting later this year. (Link)
• “Assault on New Olympus” is the next major Incredible Hercules arc, and sees the Prince of Power leading a team of heroes, including members of both the Mighty and New Avengers, in an assault on Wall Street. A one-shot prologue will herald the start of the arc. (Link)
• Spider-Man and the Secret Wars, an in-continuity retelling of the original Marvel crossover from the perspective of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler, will be a four-issue miniseries written by Paul Tobin (Marvel Adventures Spider-Man) with art by Patrick Scherberger (GeNext).
• From the X-Men Panel: Paul Cornell will be writing a five-issue Dark X-Men miniseries with art by Leonard Kirk, involving the return of Nate Grey, perhaps better known as X-Man. Moreover, Kieron Gillen (Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter, Phonogram) will be writing a S.W.O.R.D. ongoing series about the adventures of Agent Brandt, spinning off from Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men run.
• DC’s only real announcement sounds like a lot of fun: Batman/Doc Savage, written by Brian Azzarello with art by Phil Noto and a cover by J.G. Jones.
• Last, but certainly not least, the Comix4Sight auction was a smashing success, raising over $13,000 towards writer John Ostrander’s glaucoma treatment costs. We’re still waiting for the final tally of cash donations over the weekend, plus new photos of the art that was donated on

Did we miss anything?

Marvel Comics, then Timely Comics, first opened its doors for business on August 11th, 1939, making it a septuagenarian as of today.

To celebrate, Marvel’s sponsoring parties at over 500 specialty retailers nationwide, all starting at 9pm local time tonight. As part of the festivities, they’ll have early copies of Brubaker and Epting’s The Marvels Project for sale.

If that’s not enough, seven Barnes and Noble stores across the country will also be having parties, with Marvel creators and special guests galore. My local Barnes and Noble here in New York City is promising signings and Q&A with Joe Quesada, Klaus Janson, Chris Claremont, Greg Pak, and Fred Van Lente, with special guests Iron Man and Spider-Man.

If this kind of thing floats your boat, face front, True Believer, check this link for full details!

Last night, the annual Hugo awards, given for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy and voted on by the fans, were presented at Anticipation in Montreal, Canada. I could bore you with the history of the awards, notable past winners (and losers), famous acceptance speeches, and so on and so forth. But you know all that (And if you don’t, their website is pretty informative).

What you’re waiting for are the winners, and here they are, straight from the horse’s mouth:

• Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
• Best Novella: “The Erdmann Nexus”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
• Best Novelette: “Shoggoths in Bloom”, Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)
• Best Short Story: “Exhalation”, Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
• Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E
  Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim
  Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)

More awards after the jump. A very hearty congratulations to all the winners! (more…)