Not Even Close To The News, by Mike Gold
I did a column a couple weeks ago about the wacky New York Post, spurring a comment from Vinnie Bartilucci about how the rag is merely a return to the glory days of yellow journalism. There’s a lot of truth to that, and I was reminded of statements by the brilliant columnist Jimmy Breslin. He persistently advocates on behalf of the entertainment value of the medium and recently told New York magazine “newspapers are so boring. How can you read a newspaper that starts with a 51-word lead sentence? They’re trying to prove they went to college.”
My first journalism teacher got his start in Chicago’s The Front Page days, and he dazzled me. Here’s a guy who, when he was roughly the age I was at the time, ran with the likes of Ben Hecht and Charlie MacArthur. He worked for William Randolph Hearst’s Chicago American, a paper so yellow they actually printed the front page flat on yellow newsprint – hence the name. He worked in the fabled Madhouse on Madison Street, a building across from the Chicago Civic Opera house (of Citizen Kane fame) that was so ugly that when Hearst saw it, he refused to walk in. Editors would routinely call the wives of murder victims posing as policemen asking the immediately-widowed that she gather a few really “interesting” photos of the deceased for a “detective” who would be showing up at the front door within a few minutes. Within an hour or two, those photos would be on the front page.
I loved that stuff. By the time I was reading newspapers, Hearst died, the American had been sold to the staid Chicago Tribune, and the Madhouse on Madison Street became a commercial office building with a slightly less tacky new façade. Ironically, Hearst’s Midwest advertising sales offices remained headquartered in the facility.
But Hearst and Hecht and MacArthur, and their New York counterparts like Walter Winchell and the amazing Damon Runyon, had nothing on Bernarr Macfaddon. For one thing, back before the Great Depression, Macfaddon invented Photoshop. (more…)
According to 
, the feature film released Friday that is based on the Mark Millar and J.G Jones graphic novel of the same name, is going to have a pretty good opening weekend. In spite of some less-than-stellar reviews, 
We put the wrap on this year’s show with some fan comments on the event, a quick tidbit from Marvel on a new Young Avengers one shot and the story of one group of guys who turned this years trek to Chicago into a new publishing venture.
or 
To some, it may seem unusual to find Max Brooks, the author of the very popular novels The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z at a convention devoted mostly to comic books. But really, it isn’t that hard to understand. Both of Brooks’ books deal with zombies, a very popular creature among comics and pop culture fans.
Previously on ComicMix, we featured galleries of photos from Wizard World 
Day Two of the show began on a somber note, as the 
Reviewing 
, the film based on the Top Cow miniseries by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, is a difficult request. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the film is enjoyable, but solely on a puerile level, and undoubtedly not for the reasons that Bekmambetov intended. This movie is exactly what would happen if a hyperactive 16-year-old was given free range to write a script; it features an Angelina Jolie butt-shot, bullets that don’t travel at normal speed or in a straight line, and the euphoria of telling off your boss and all the jerks at work. But when asked if this film is actually any good, or even a good comic adaptation, the answer is a strong “No.”
During a late-afternoon panel at Wizard World Chicago, Devil’s Due Publishing announced today that it would be producing a Vampire Hunter D miniseries (titled “American Wasteland”) based on the popular anime/manga character. While the full creative team, length of the series and release date haven’t been finalized, DDP president Josh Blaylock will be serving as co-writer for the series, with new DDP staffer Jim Demonakos serving as editor.
Saddened by the 
