Steve Gerber, R.I.P.
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.
Have you noticed that whenever there is an article which feature comics, it almost always features a Pow, Zap, or some such idiotic way to describe comic books in the title? If not fight effects then it will begin with Holy, as in Holy Crack Whore! Comics find their way into Rehab!
When’s the last time you got into a fight?
You can tell it’s January by the seed catalogs in the mailbox. No matter how dark and gloomy the day might be, Burpee and other seed spreaders assure you that someday, soon, the sun will shine and plants will grow.
Last Thursday, Alex Rodriguez signed a 10-year contract in excess of a quarter billion dollars that allows him to continue working for the New York Yankees, a team about which, in the interest of full disclosure, I couldn’t care less. A couple hours later, the government indicted San Francisco Giants player Barry Bonds for lying to a grand jury.
No, I haven’t read this book. But really, how can you not love a title like 
We’re in a lull between major comic conventions, and so we’d like to take this time to point you to 
When Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriters for X-2: X-Men United and Superman Returns) stated that they would NOT be writing the new live-action Superman sequel, Warner Bros. Pictures announced they would be looking at new pitches. Mark Millar (Ultimates, Civil War) was immediately vocal in his desire to take on the task. “I want to revamp Superman like Hillary wants thin ankles. Revamping this franchise is what I as given fingers for and so, invited or not, I’m putting my plan together now. I’ve been asked to work on half a dozen screenplays lately, but this is the only one I have ever truly wanted. As most here know, I have literally hundreds of pages of notes and sketches just waiting for this opportunity. This would be my dream gig and, as a fan, I know exactly what this project needs to work. This has to be Superman for the 21st Century, keeping everything we adore, but starting from scratch and making the kids love it as much as the 30-somethings. I would honestly write this thing for free.”
Nikki Finke
Lots of new stuff to see here at ComicMix today, and the Big Broadcast gives you a guided tour of not only the changes NOW but what you WILL see in the days to come!! 
