The Tallahassee Democrat reports that a documentary on the life and work of Jack T. Chick, the creator and publisher of pocket-sized "Chick Tracts" comics, will begin screening tonight in Tallahassee, FL.

The tiny comics, published since the 1960s and now collectors’ items around the underground comics scene, contain religious-themed criticisms of homosexuality, Judaism, Harry Potter, Dungeons & Dragons and a variety of other topics.

Why does any of that merit a documentary, you might ask? Here’s your answer:

Chick tracts are free, handed out in bus stations, flea markets, college campuses and malls. He has published more than 1 billion, making him the most widely distributed underground cartoonist on the planet. Yet, Chick himself remains a reclusive, shadowy and controversial figure who exists on the fringes of popular culture and organized religion.

Yup. This could be an interesting one, folks.

By the way, the accompanying image is from "Doom Town," a Chick Tract that explains the horrors of homosexuality and the carnage God will unleash if mankind tolerates same-sex relationships. Fun stuff!

Oh, and if you’re in the mood to pile on some ol’ fashioned religious guilt, there are links to full Chick Tracts on Jack Chick’s wikipedia page.

I don’t care what you say – the best parties are always on the West Coast. And tonight’s "Y: The Last Party" bash is no exception.

Hosted by MySpace Comics and Los Angeles comics mecca Meltdown, the party kicks off at 7 PM (PST) and will feature appearances by Joss Whedon and other comics and pop-culture celebs toasting the work of Y: The Last Man creators Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, who will also be in attendance.

And if that wasn’t enough to get you looking up flights and hotel reservations, there will also be an auction of Y-inspired art from comics artists such as Cameron Stewart, Massimo Carnevale, Jill Thompson, Eduardo Risso, Cliff Chiang, Darick Robertson, Dan Goldman, Jim Mahfood, Jeffrey Brown, Goran Sudzuka, Mike Dawson, Niko Henrichon, Goran Parlov, Dean Haspiel, Nikki Cook, Jeremy Love, Mike Davis and Moritat. MySpace Comics has posted a gallery of some of the art that will be auctioned off over on the event’s official homepage.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund – which completes the trifecta of good reasons to attend.

From the official event press release:

Whedon, the famed creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, will kick off the festivities in Meltdown’s Hollywood gallery space with a keynote speech in appreciation of the series. Following the speech will be a live Q&A with guests of honor Vaughan & Guerra. There will also be a VIP Reception prior to the event, with Whedon, Vaughan & Guerra, that will include the unveiling of a never-before-seen print by Pia Guerra. …

… Capacity for this event is strictly limited to 140 people. VIP reserved seating tickets are sold out. 70 general admission "standing room only" tickets for the event will be $25, and are available on a first-come, first served basis on the day of the event.

Oh, and if you’re attending the event and trying to think of something to bring back for me, go ahead and bid on the Darick Robertson piece with Ampersand and the skull. I dig it immensely.

Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Disney and current CNBC host, announced on a recent episode of "Fast Money" that the major media companies have reached an agreement with the Writers Guild of America that effectively ends the strike.

Eisner claimed that an announcement will likely happen this weekend regarding the strike’s conclusion.

According to Eisner:

“They’ve made a deal, they shook hands on a deal,” he replies. "The deal is going on Saturday to the constituents (for a vote)… I think it’s impossible that they turn it down. A deal has been made and (the writers) will be back to work reasonably soon!”

As Eisner mentioned, however, any agreement must still be ratified by members of the WGA, whose West Coast and East Coast branches will meet tomorrow for a briefing on the strike. No confirmation of the "done deal" has been issued by the WGA thus far.

On the subject of how striking writers will be received once the strike is over, Eisner added:

“I think a lot of writers lost their deals and they won’t be reinstated," Eisner replies. "One of the reasons these media companies don’t have economic problems is that they cut back on these big (writer) deals….Of course the talented writers will get new deals but in the short term I think the strike was a mistake (because) it was fairly ill-timed," he says. "If there was going to be a strike I think it should have been 3 years from now when (the writers) really understood the definition of the online business and where the revenues are coming from."

Spoken like the a true former CEO of a major media company, eh?

Nikki Finke, the award-winning L.A. Weekly media columnist, claimed on her site that talks of an end to the strike are premature, and had this to say about the online buzz generated by Eisner’s announcement:

Earth To Web: Eisner hasn’t mattered since 2004-2005 when he was kicked to the curb by Disney and its shareholders. Or was Eisner trying to manipulate the price of all that Disney stock he owns?

Umm… Owch.

Joss Whedon recently spoke with IESB on the picket line and discussed some of the projects he’s been working on solo, as well as some of the projects he’s had to curtail due to the strike, including the television series "Dollhouse" he had planned to produce with former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Eliza Dushku.

Along with a brief recap of his current comics work, IESB provided this bit about the project he plans to work on with "Firefly" and "Sarah Connor Chronicles" actress Summer Glau:

“There’s a few things I’m trying to do without the studios,” said Whedon, “either for the internet or shorts and there’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time which is a ballet with Summer Glau. We’ve been talking about it for years and I’ve been doing most of the talking and none of the doing. I finally finished the score and we have a choreographer working with us. We’re hoping that sometime in the late spring/early summer we will actually get to shoot it.”

Well, here’s one that flew entirely under my radar: Kim Krizan, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter for "Before Sunset", will be one of several writers contributing stories to Zombie Tales from Boom! Studios, which is being relaunched as a monthly anthology series in April.

Krizan will join horror veterans Steve Niles and Joe R. Lansdale in the first issue of the series. Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading conducted a brief interview with Krizan that explains the jump from film to comics and brings up another aspect of the story that passed me by completely: the "Dazed and Confused" connection!

(That last bit will probably only appeal to IMDB "trivia" section obsessives like me, but it’s worth noting.)

How have you changed your style and/or process for comics?

It felt to me that in writing a comic my process became wild, fast, and sharp — while in a script or book I would be slow, laborious, and careful. The medium did seem to dictate another approach, and it was fun to write. Both film scripts and comic scripts are written for visual media, but I had to consider the importance of things like the turning of a page as an opportunity to add tension. I very easily and naturally put in violent imagery which was rather satisfying. Chip read it and said, “Wow, this gives me the creeps!” and said I was good with horror. Well, I don’t watch horror films. Driving in LA is enough horror for me.

Hmmm… I wonder if she’s ever been driving in Jersey. shudder