Happy 80th birthday, Don Heck!
Don Heck. Today would have been his 80th birthday.
I first met Don twenty-seven years ago at his house in Centereach. He and my dad frequented the same bar, the Emerald Pub. My dad knew I was a fan of his on The Flash, and thought I should meet him, and finagled an invite.
It was the first time I’d ever seen a comic artist’s studio– and to this day, the best analogy is the scene in the movie where the young boy visits the wizard’s cave and sees the dimly-lit wonders, or the hacker’s technical sanctum and all the neat knick-knacks, you know the scene.
It was magic.
And like any good magician, he gave a gift to the audience– the page to the right, from The Flash #292, was one of them.
Don still hasn’t gotten the appreciation he deserves– for creating Iron Man, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow; for his runs on Avengers, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Justice League of America; for hundreds of stories without a single costume in them– but there are those of us who still remember.
Thanks for the magic, Don. Happy birthday.
Writer Michael Jelenic makes the leap from animated television to feature-length films with his script for Wonder Woman, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films. Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The film will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.
Actress Teresa Palmer has received good notices for her role in Adam Sandler’s hit film Bedtime Stories but she longs to be a bad girl.
Warner Premier provided us with four new images from March 3’s Wonder Woman animated feature. Wonder Woman will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3.
Criminal investigation meets Greek mythology when current primetime television stars David McCallum and Marg Helgenberger assume the voices of Zeus and Hera, respectively, for Wonder Woman, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films, débuting March 3 in multiple formats.
Drawn to be Wild discussed the changing image of women comic characters on the BBC’s Radio 4.
Alfred Molina voices Ares, God of War, on the Warner Premiere feature Wonder Woman. It’s not his first turn as a villain having made a memorable Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2.
This February, nineteen core titles from the DC Universe will feature “Origins and Omens” backup stories. “Origins and Omens” lays the groundwork for the upcoming Green Lantern: Blackest Night miniseries and more in 2009. 
Animator Bruce Timm has been named a Guest of Honor at the New York Comic-Con in February.
Andrea Romano, arguably the best known casting/dialogue director on the animation scene today, brings the voices of yet another DC Universe animated original film to life with Wonder Woman. The original animated feature will be released by Warner Premiere on March 3, 2009.
