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In Memory of Steve Gerber, 1947-2008

  • News
  • February 12, 2008

As we reported yesterday, comics legend Steve Gerber passed away Sunday. Anyone looking for proof of the impact his work had on generations of comic readers need only take a quick look around the ‘Net.

Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter provides a long, detailed look at Gerber’s career and a wonderful assessment of Steve Gerber’s legacy:

His Howard the Duck comics remain amusing when read today, perhaps more poignant now, laying into their broad targets in a way that communicated a kind of critical consciousness into the minds of many devoted superhero comics readers, fans that simply wouldn’t have been exposed to those kinds of ideas any other way, the concept that media might lie to you, the notion of absolute self-worth in the face of a world that seems dead-set against it. Steve Gerber’s superhero books were a tonic to the over-seriousness of most of their cousins, and his horror-adventure books were frequently classy and reserved in a genre that tends to reward the blunt and ugly. No creator save Jack Kirby has as a cautionary tale and a living example saved so many creators the grief of turning over their creations without reward or without realizing what they had done. Few creators in the American mainstream were as consistently fascinating as Steve Gerber. Even fewer have been as outspoken and forthright, or in that way, as admirable.

(more…)

On This Day: Barbie and Ken Break Up

  • News
  • February 12, 2008

Today in 2004, Mattel announced that Barbie and Ken were breaking up.

Mattel was reluctant to give further information on the details of this tragic break up, but only too soon was Barbara Millicent Roberts seen cavorting around town with Blaine. The two were caught playing Rebound® together, whilst Ken was at home tending to Skipper’s growing needs.

However, Ms. Roberts’ relationship with Blaine seemed short lived, as after a few weeks she was often seen alone, sipping a cappucino whilst playing UNO®.

Thankfully, America’s favorite genital-free couple finally admitted that they just couldn’t stay away from each other, and got back together in 2006.

They are currently doing very well under the care of Disney Princesses® couples therapy.

Former Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston Joins ‘G.I. Joe’

  • News
  • February 12, 2008

Chris Eccleston, who played Doctor Who in the first season of the recently relaunched series, will play a villain, Destro, in the upcoming "G.I. Joe" film.

The role was originally slated for Irish-born actor David Murray, but "visa issues" forced his withdrawal.

"G.I. Joe" is scheduled for an Aug. 7, 2009, release and currently stars  Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Ray Park, Rachel Nichols, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Marlon Wayans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Arnold Vosloo.

(via HR)

Fox Sues Warner Bros. Over ‘Watchmen’

  • News
  • February 12, 2008

Yesterday we reported that a lawsuit filed by J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate and publisher HarperCollins against New Line Cinema could impede production of "The Hobbit" films, and now another much anticipated film could become mired in legal limbo.

20th Century Fox filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over "Watchmen," the big-screen adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel currently in production. According to Fox, Warner Bros. does not own the rights to produce such a film, with Fox citing a complicated string of ownership conditions that the studio alledges were never secured by Warner Bros.

According to the Hollywood Reporter:

Fox seeks to enjoin Warners from going forward with the project, saying in the lawsuit that it seeks to "restrain (Warner Bros. Pictures) from taking actions that violate Fox’s copyrights and which stand to forever impair Fox’s rights to control the distribution and development of this unique work."

 

Danny Fingeroth on ‘Disguised As Clark Kent’

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

disguisedasclarkkent-2176487Former Spider-Man Group Editor Danny Fingeroth has a new book out titled Disguised As Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero, in which he examines the "cultural origins of the superhero" with special attention to the way Jewish creators and their experiences influenced the early years of the industry.

Over at CBR, Fingeroth explains how the book came about and provides a few examples of the Jewish influence in comics that forms the basis for the book:

“My favorite involves Marvel’s Mighty Thor, who I’d never seen in a Jewish light before. And why would I, or anyone? He’s a Norse deity! But in his early stories, covering the first several years of the character’s existence, a recurring subplot–that eventually became a main plot–was Thor’s love for his alter ego Dr. Blake’s nurse, Jane Foster. Odin, ruler of the Norse Gods, and Thor’s father, forbade him to marry her because she was a mortal and he was an immortal god.”

Fingeroth noted there are often prohibitions in Jewish and other ethnic communities against marrying outside the group, and that the modern tension of breaking away from this system can be seen in the story of Marvel’s thunder god.  “Stan Lee and Jack Kirby could arguably be interpreted as having been using Thor and Jane to work out their own feelings about the taboos around intermarriage they had grown up with,” Fingeroth said. “I’m not saying they did this consciously–just the opposite. But in retrospect, I found it fascinating and worthwhile to discuss that kind of topic in ‘Disguised as Clark Kent.’”

 

Steve Gerber, R.I.P.

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

Mark Evanier has announced the death of comics legend Steve Gerber on his website.

Gerber was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and had been in and out of hospitals for quite a while — an experience he had been chronicling on his website. Gerber’s career in comics included work with a variety of publishers, most notably as an editor at Marvel, during which he co-created the character of Howard the Duck.

Howard, born in Steve’s amazing mind and obviously autobiographical to a large degree, took the industry by storm. The creation was in many ways a mixed blessing to his creator. It led to an ugly and costly legal battle over ownership, which Steve settled out of court. It led to the occasional pains when he occasionally returned to the character and, due to reasons external and internal, found that he could not go home again. It also led to the sheer annoyance of watching the 1986 motion picture of Howard (produced with minimal involvement on Steve’s part) open to withering reviews and dreadful business. Still, the issues he did are widely regarded as classics…and Howard is often cited as a character who only Steve could make work.

Gerber’s work also included the development of the popular cartoon series “Thundarr the Barbarian.” Gerber had recently been working on the DC series Countdown to Mystery: Doctor Fate.

Tolkien Estate, Publisher Sue New Line Over ‘Lord of the Rings’

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

Variety reports that publisher HarperCollins and the British charity that oversees the estate of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien have filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema, the studio responsible for the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy.

The suit was filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court and alledges that New Line Cinema neglected to provide either plaintiff with contractually obligated "gross profit participation" payment for the phenomenally successful films. The claim seeks $150 million from New Line, as well as a variety of other damages, including the right to terminate New Line’s license to the Tolkien properties.

If the studio loses the Tolkien license, it could end fans’ hopes for a Guillermo del Toro-helmed film based on The Hobbit, a widely speculated possibility.

 

Alex Cox on ‘Repo Man’ Sequel: ‘Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday’

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

Alex Cox, the man behind the cult-classic film "Repo Man", is planning a sequel. And yes, that strange feeling you just experienced was the world becoming significantly weirder.

Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday is the graphic novel that will serve as the sequel to Cox’ bizarre-beyond-words 1984 film, and it’s scheduled to hit shelves on March 31. The story is set a decade after the end of "Repo Man" and features the return of the film’s main character, Otto, who has no idea where he’s been for the past ten years and insists upon everyone calling him Waldo.

That’s about as much sense as I can make of the plot, but EW has an interview with Cox about Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday that might clear things up.

ALEX COX: He’s been away on a journey in a car for 10 years and just returned. He thinks he’s only been gone for the evening. Now, he may indeed be Otto. He may have been transmogrified on the way back into Waldo. Or that may have happened to several people at the same time. Like, how Lee Harvey Oswald and all these other U.S. Marines defected to Russia at the same time. And then they all came back a couple of years later. So, maybe a whole bunch of people were picked up by aliens in a similar way and made prisoners on Mars, and then released 10 years later when they were of no further use.

Okay, maybe not.

Well, they also have a five-page preview of Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday, featuring the art of Chris Bones. You can check it out while you’re waiting for your head to stop hurting.

 

Common Cast as Green Lantern in ‘Justice League’ Film

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

Hip-hop musician Common recently confirmed to MTV that he will be playing the role of Green Lantern John Stewart in the upcoming "Justice League" film.

"It’s a blessing really, to know that I could potentially be this superhero,” he enthused. “Justice League itself is an honor, and Green Lantern is an incredible character to play. It’s a blessing to be associated with it.”

As previously reported, "Justice League" production was initially delayed by the WGA strike, but now could begin again this year. The film is tentaively scheduled for a 2010 release, but nothing is certain at this point.

 

Roundup: Cartoonists of Color Sit-In

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

The Daily Cartoonist has a great roundup of yesterday’s Cartoonists of Color Sit-In, with links to participating strips and mainstream coverage of the event, as well as some interesting statistics related to the issues at the heart of the sit-in.

In case you missed our mention of the Cartoonists of Color Sit-In a while back, the event was organized as a protest of what participating cartoonists perceive as limits newspapers set on the number of comic strips with primarily non-white casts of characters. Each of the participating cartoonists used the same script for the day’s comic, written by Watch Your Head creator Cory Thomas.

Among other coverage of the event, Thomas appeared on lastnight’s CBS Evening News to discuss the event (links provided in Daily Cartoonist article).

 

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