Sex and the Citizens, by John Ostrander
There are those of you out there who don’t regard politics as necessarily pop culture. And then there are those of us born in Chicago.
When you get down to it, is there anything more politically entertaining than a sex scandal? It appeals to our prurient interest; we get to be “shocked, shocked that this sort of thing is going on” while, at the same time, seeking out the really juicy details. They’re death to a politician’s career all around the world except, of course, in France where the lack of a mistress may be cause for impeachment.
The latest sex scandal, of course, is New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s consorting with prostitutes and paying big money to do it. He spent more money for two hours with one “escort” than a lot of us make in a month. (“Shocked, shocked.”) That loses him sympathy points right there, especially with a recession going on. Bill Clinton got his jollies for free from an intern but Spitzer paid big bucks via bank transfer, supposedly to keep from leaving a paper trail. That worked real good, didn’t it, Gov?
You know, of course, that as I write this there has to be a big hunt going on right now for that call girl, Kristen, named as the woman Spitzer spent over four grand for about two hours worth of whoopee. Whatever newspaper or book or magazine publisher that finds her had better have a checkbook because I guarantee she’ll have an agent by then because, damn it, the details she knows are the ones we all really want to hear. She sold her body to a privileged few for some big bucks; she won’t sell the story that everyone wants to hear for chump change. She’s a businesswoman; one high priced call girl in a TV interview called herself a “hofessional.” I like a woman who has a way with. . . words.
In a bit of chilling news for Marvel Entertainment stockholders, industry analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Parters offered up the following assessment this week regarding the impact of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV videogame release on ticket sales for the Iron Man feature film:
If MegaCon 2008 is any indication, anime fans are also huge Heroes fan. I was front and center among the 600-person crowd at Saturday’s Adrian Pasdar Q&A, thanks to ComicMix friend Jimmy Palmiotti, who moderated the discussion with the Heroes actor.
You don’t have to have read superhero comics for any great length of time before you get the message: perseverance plus righteousness will defeat the enemy every time. Despite the “maturation” of commercial comic books, this essential message remains at the core of the superhero concept.
Anyone who thought that MegaCon was a small secondary gathering of Florida area comics and fantasy/anime fans could not have been more mistaken. I was one of about 30,000 people at the Orange County Convention Center (that figure does not include artists, writers and exhibitors).
The Dark Knight is overlooking the city from the ledge of a towering skyscraper when he spies a violent crime occurring in the streets below. Without even the hint of a pause, he jumps off the top of the building and uses his his outstretched cape to swoop down onto the crowd of evil-doers.
One of the best surprises in the stores this week was Mark Evanier’s long-awaited Kirby: King Of Comics biography of Jack Kirby, which is the latest step in his longtime association with the King. Mark gives us the story behind the book in an excerpt from an interview you can read on Monday here at ComicMix, plus:
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Last week, I pulled a muscle in my back. This event, though rare, is not unknown; my back will hurt me every other year or so. I should know the steps by now – hideous, agonizing pain, worse than any other person ever born has ever endured (because it’s happening to me), rest and recuperations, which includes excruciating guilt about suspending my workouts while the muscle recovers. In a week or so, the pain will be gone and I’ll forget about it until the next time.
Here at ComicMix, we can admit when we’ve made a mistake — luckily for us, we don’t make mistakes very often.
in our Jan. 1, 2008, post commemorating 
