Tagged: X-Men

Gossip Gal Reports To The World!

  • News
  • April 1, 2013

2498952242_d16205d098Hey ComicMix readers. Gossip Gal here and today’s my biggest news day ever! Thanks to my many sources, I’ve just heard the most delicious tidbits – and what kind of Gossip Gal would I be if I didn’t share them with my loyal devotees? So widen those eyes, prepare to be surprised, and read on.

Marvel Comics Launches The Young 21!

Earlier this morning, a spokesman for Marvel Comics excitedly announced a bold new “initiative” being launched by the company next Wednesday. The “Young 21,” as the revamp of current Marvel comics is being dubbed, will wipe the slate of continuity-laden past comics stories clean and allow for writers and artists to created a fresh and more easily understood “superhero universe” that new readers can enjoy.

“All the guys were sitting around in the office one day,” Marvel spokesman Mr. C. Howe revealed, “and no one could think of any new stories for our beloved flagship characters. I mean, they’ve already Done All The Things, pretty much. So we were stumped. Then one of our marketing consultants had the idea to “throw out” everything that has happened to The Avengers, The X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and all of our other famous characters since the launch of Marvel Comics, and begin their stories again, looking at where each of them was at twenty-one, when many were just starting out on their paths to greatness. It was genius!”

Mr. Howe continued, outlining the way The Young 21 will be structured. “Well, we don’t want to alienate any of our past and present fans,” he said, “so these will still be the characters you know and love. But their stories will be streamlined to get rid of any character development past writers may have attempted that proved generally unpopular, and there will be changes to make them more relatable to today’s readers. For instance, the X-Men will get an all-new costume! And one of the Avengers may now be gay – you never know! A few beloved characters may lose important relationships with parents or long-established significant others to story changes, but the hot new storylines will be more than enough to make up for any sense of betrayal and loss

“The new series will also look at some of our female characters in a different and more exciting light,” Mr. Howe reported. “For instance, what was Sue Storm like at twenty-one? Well, she was a bit more stimulating than her usual motherly place in the Fantastic Four would have us believe. Readers who have come to love her for her caring role in the lives of the FF won’t believe the wild times she had with Victor von Doom and Namor back in the day in this re-launch series.” The whole first issue of the new FF takes place pool-side, and you’d better believe you haven’t seen Sue like this before. We’re also taking a new look at Kitty Pryde, who was, frankly, a bit boring in our past stories. But her updated look and attitude is going to WOW new readers. Our best creators, Dan, Dave, Jason, Scott, Bill, and Joe have all assured us that female readers in particular are really going to identify with this fresh take.”

My sources report that the first issues of The Young 21 will hit comic book stores April 10, ComicMix fans – so be sure to report in at GossipGal.com and let me know what you think. And now for another bit of exciting news…

Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man!

At a press conference outside of his recently-acquired Malibu home, Robert Downey Jr. announced today that he actually is, in real life, the superhero called “Iron Man.” “Yes, it’s true,” he stated, while twirling a pair of purple shades idly between his fingers. “The movies are based on a true story: I am Iron Man. I can’t deny it any more, not after so many people have pointed it out. I mean, they’re always saying how I am Iron Man. How could anyone not believe it, with all that? I really don’t know why I thought I could hide it in the first place. But I’m done hiding now. I’ll say it loud and I’ll say it proud: this country owes its safety to me.”

When questioned as to why, if this was true, no one had ever seen an actual Iron Man flying or walking around except in the movies and at fan conventions, Downey replied, “Well, we had to change things for the movies to make it believable to the unenlightened masses. But in real life, I didn’t go through nearly as many design changes. The suit sprang as if fully formed from the genius that is my intellect, and because I am a futurist (like my fictional counterpart), I looked ahead far enough during my earliest designs to go straight for a stealth suit. So when I’m using the suit, I’m practically invisible if I want to be. Also, I can be wearing the suit, and people will only see me. Like, I’m wearing it right now, but you can’t see it. That’s how stealth my suit is. But really; no one watching a movie would have believed that.”

When further questioned as to why no one had ever heard of a single superheroic deed performed by a real-life Iron Man, Downey replied: “Well obviously it’s a government conspiracy. Like the moon landing.”

Well well, ComicMix readers, there’s a bit of news that can hardly be believed; but truth or fiction, we here at Gossip Gal Central wouldn’t object to Mr. Downey using a stealth suit to pay us a visit, if you know what we mean. And now, for a little bit of local oddity to round out your day:

Rare Book Collector Scammed Into Buying ‘Encyclopedia Deadpoolica’!

Ms. Fannie Mae Richards, well-known rare book dealer of West Hollywood, was distressed after her quest to obtain one of the only full sets of actual paper encyclopedias still in existence was thwarted by an unknown vandal who had apparently defaced every page of every book in the set before selling the set via Craigslist.

“Every single cover looks like this,” she said, dismayed, while gesturing to a book cover in which “Britann” had been crossed out and replaced with “Deadpool.” “What does that even mean?”

Ms. Richards was also puzzled by the contents of the books. “All of the pages contain messy, incomprehensible ‘edits,’ she said. The W volume is particularly strange.” She showed this correspondent the entry for “weasel,” over which someone had written, “Skinny nerdy dude with glasses who builds neat gadgets. They go whoosh bang boom,” and drawn a rough sketch of a bespectacled face with short, somewhat spiky hair. Flipping to another page, she displayed the entry for ‘wolverine,’ over which someone had written, in varying sizes and colors, BUB BUB BUB BUB BUB until the entire page was covered. In the bottom right corner, in tiny letters, was written, “SNIKT BOOM BUB!”

“I don’t understand any of this,” Ms. Richards complained, clearly distraught by the damage that had been done to the hallowed texts, “but I really want my five dollars back.”

Sounds like a Craigslist mischief-maker is in our midst, ComicMix fans, so buy cautiously and don’t get scammed!

That’s all the news that’s fit to share today. But knowing this town, I’ll have more for you very, very soon.

So until next time: you know you love me.

XOXO, Gossip Gal.

 

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Comes to DVD in June

  • News
  • March 27, 2013

Blu-ray-Osleeve_Template [Converted]We knew from the trailers Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was either going to be goofy fun or a terrible misfire. Since it wound up a little bit of each, it did surprisingly well during a weak box office period, so much so that Paramount last week said they were developing a sequel. Now comes word that the film is being released on Home Video in June. Here are the formal details:

Fans Can Be the First to Own the Fast-Paced Thrill Ride on Digital Download May 21st

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (March 26, 2013) –  The fabled siblings are all grown up and hell-bent on tracking and killing witches wherever they hide in the no-holds-barred epic of modern action and adventure Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, taking flight on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and On Demand June 11, 2013 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.  The film will also be available early for Digital Download on May 21st.  “Destined for cult status” (Rick Florino, ArtistDirect.com), Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is filled with “super crazy action and mind-blowing thrills” (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV) and stars Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy), Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Famke Janssen (X-Men), Thomas Mann (Beautiful Creatures) and Peter Stormare (The Big Lebowski).  Written and directed by Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow), the film earned more than $200 million at the global box office and a sequel is in development.  The sly and ingeniously wicked movie tells the story of the brother and sister team seeking to avenge their parents’ deaths.  But after a lifetime of hunting witches, Hansel and Gretel now must face an evil greater than anything they’ve seen: a terrifying new threat so massive, it could destroy the world as we know it.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters will be available in both its original theatrical version and an unrated version with never-before-seen footage that was too intense for theaters in a Blu-ray/DVD combo or a three-disc Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo, both with UltraViolet™.  The combo packs boast revealing special features that take audiences behind-the-scenes for a look at the reinvention of the story, an in-depth examination of the gruesome witches and an up close and personal visit with the extraordinary troll, Edward.  The film will also be available as a single-disc DVD that includes the theatrical version of the film.

The Blu-ray releases available for purchase will be enabled with UltraViolet, a new way to collect, access and enjoy movies.  With UltraViolet, consumers can add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them – reliably and securely – to a variety of devices.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

The Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The combo pack includes access to a digital copy of the film as well as the following:

Blu-ray

  • Feature film in high definition (Unrated version)
  • Reinventing Hansel & Gretel
  • The Witching Hours
  • Meet Edward the Troll

DVD

  • Feature film in standard definition (Theatrical version)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

The Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo includes all of the above, as well as a Blu-ray 3D in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The Blu-ray 3D includes the theatrical version of the film.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Single-Disc DVD

The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The disc includes the theatrical version of the film in standard definition.

Dennis O’Neil: Touch

O'Neil Art 130321Young and mostly silent Jake, the enigmatic hero of the television program Touch, doesn’t look ancient. Nor does he look particularly Greek. But ah – might he be a reincarnation of Pythagoras? Or at least a fictional character inspired by Pythagoras?

Who?

Okay, for you hordes of non-philosophy majors pit there: Pythagoras was probably the first guy who called himself a “philosopher.” He lived about 2500 years ago and he taught that all things were connected, that what he called the One was at the base of everything and that this One expressed itself in numbers. Or such is my admittedly sketchy understanding of Py’s riff.

And Jake? Well, Jake is this kid, about ten, who doesn’t speak but writes or otherwise communicates numbers to his father and eventually, after exciting adventures, Jake’s numbers tie diverse things/people/events together and provide the solution to that episode’s problem.

How does Jake manage his feats? Well…in short, he seems to be a superhero. No costume, no flamboyant displays of abnormal prowess. But we know that Jake has some kind of metahuman ability – he’s a mutant, maybe? – and that there are others like him, and finally that some person or organization has dispatched a geeky assassin to exterminate them.

Though there are echoes of earlier superhero sagas here – Watchmen and the X-Men titles come immediately to mind – Touch is a novel iteration of the superhero concept, and as original as anything in our story-saturated culture is likely to be. That it’s also well-written and acted is a nice bonus.

But what really pleases me about it is what I understand to be its central metaphor. Unlike most of our televised mind-gum, Touch is not extolling the essentiality of family, though Jake’s relationship to his father is important, nor does it glorify the Individual, nor assure us that right makes might, which is why the good guys inevitably out-bash the bad guys. Instead, it displays a notion common to ol’ Py and modern quantum physicists – the Higgs boson crowd – and Buddhists and feel free to add some examples of your own. That notion: everything is connected.

Which is obvious when you think about it, despite the political howls when our current president observed that, sorry, nobody accomplishes anything without some kind of help. You wouldn’t be reading this without the biosphere and the biosphere depends of interaction of gravity with mass and particle and millions of years ago a lobe fish crawled onto land and began the evolutionary journey toward becoming Justin Bieber and and and…and some thirteen-point-seven billion years ago the Big Bang happened and here we are, watching teevee, and passing the popcorn.

I doubt that Touch’s creators are in the business of teaching us cosmology. Their job is to entertain, and in my living room, they do. But they do so without lading on dramatic tropes whose overuse has given them cliché status, and since you and I are united, maybe you’ll join me in being grateful to them.

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

 

The Point Radio: GRIMM Just Gets Better

PT031813

NBC has given us more episodes of GRIMM, with changes galore including big ones for Bitsi Tulloch and Sasha Ruiz plus newcomer, Claire Coffee. They give us all the latest – plus more with Walton Goggins (yes he IS coming back to SONS OF ANARCHY) and the cast of X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST grows again.

Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

John Ostrander: Revamp, Reinterpret, Regenerate, Reinvigorate

Ostrander Art 130303There’s been a lot of pushing the reset button in pop culture recently and I find the results interesting. J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise a few years back and, while some fans complained, I think it was successful. Certainly it was financially successful, which is what the Hollywood moguls really care about.

At the start of Daniel Craig’s run, the James Bond movies were also rebooted, culminating in the recent spectacular Skyfall, which – again this may be heresy to some – was the best Bond film ever. It’s visually stunning and takes Bond himself to greater depths and heights than I’ve seen up until now.

Sherlock Holmes has been reinterpreted into the modern age with two versions, the BBC’s magnificent Sherlock and Elementary on CBS. Both are true to the basics and it’s amazing how well the classic fictional detective gibes with modern times.

Of course, we’ve witnessed DC’s rebirth with the New 52. Again, you can argue as to whether it is artistically successful but I don’t think you can argue that it hasn’t been financially successful thus far. This summer will see a movie rebooting of Superman with Man of Steel. The Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy rebooted that cinematic history as The Amazing Spider-man did with that character’s movie version. X-Men: First Class reimagined Marvel’s mutants and so on. The next Star Wars chapter and the announced Star Wars solo films, while they will undoubtedly respect the previous movies, will probably play hob with what is known as the Extended Universe, the complex continuity that has sprung up around the films via novels, comics, games and more. Depending on how they turn out, that may not be a bad idea.

All my professional comic book writing career, I’ve played with and enjoyed continuity. I respect it but I don’t worship it and I don’t think it is cast in stone. Sometimes, continuity becomes like barnacles on the bottom of a boat and need to be scraped off in order to make the boat (or the franchise) sea/see worthy again.

One of the most successful franchises is the BBC’s Doctor Who and part of its longevity (it celebrates 50 years this year) is its ability to change the actor who is playing the Doctor. It’s built into the series; the Doctor is an alien being who regenerates from time to time into virtually a new character, played by a different actor. The new Doctor doesn’t look, act, dress or sound like any of the other incarnations. The re-invention is a part of the continuity and that’s very clever.

I think this is very healthy; characters and concepts can and should be re-examined and re-imagined for the times in which they appear. They have to speak to and reflect concerns that its current public has if they are going to remain vital and alive.

Can it be overdone or badly done? Absolutely. Some remakes get so far from what the character is about that they might as well be a different character altogether. You want to take a look at the essence of the character, what defines them, and then see how you get back to that, interpreting it for current audiences. Some folks revamp something for the sake of revamping or to put their stamp on the character. I don’t think that usually works very well. Change what needs changing, certainly, but be true to the essentials of the character or concept.

Have I always done that? I don’t think so; when I was given Suicide Squad, I didn’t go back to the few stories that were originally published and work from that. I created a new concept for the title. However, I did reference the old stories and kept them a part of continuity, albeit re-interpreting them. I think we played fair with the old stories.

On The Spectre, Tom Mandrake and I took elements from as many past versions of the character as we could while getting down to what we felt were the essentials. Really, our biggest change was not the Spectre himself but his alter-ego, Jim Corrigan. Originally, he was plainclothes detective in the 30s and our version reflected that. I think that was a key to our success.

Even with my own character GrimJack, after a certain point I drop kicked the character at least 100 years down his own timeline into (shades of the Doctor) a new incarnation. I gave him a new supporting cast and the setting changed as well. It made the book and the character fresh again and made me look at it with new eyes.

The old stories will continue to exist somewhere; they just won’t be part of the new continuity. At some point, that new continuity will be changed as well as the concepts and characters are re-interpreted for a newer audience. That way they’ll remain fresh and alive. Otherwise, they’ll just become fossilized and dead. Who wants that?

MONDAY MORNING: Mindy Newell

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

 

Monday Mix-Up: John Byrne’s X-Men and… Popeye?

  • News
  • February 11, 2013

Via Chris Ryall at IDW Publishing, we have this drawing by John Byrne, featuring Popeye and an Uncanny X-team, too.

C’mon, you never once looked at those forearms and thought to yourself, “Stinkin’ mutie”? With forearms that big, to heck with retractable claws– he could have a whole retractable wolverine in there. Nevertheless, this is not how I imagined Byrne returning to the X-Men.

Colors by Leonard O’Grady.

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Clancy Brown to attend Premiere of Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite

LEGO Batman cover artClancy Brown, the quintessential voice of Lex Luthor, will walk the red carpet and take part in the post-screening panel discussion when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and The Paley Center for Media present the World Premiere of LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite in New York on February 11, 2013.

Brown set the benchmark for all Lex Luthor voices with his iteration of the role for Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, and he has reprised the voice in several TV series episodes as well as the DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and now for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite.

The World Premiere will include red carpet media interviews starting at 5:15 p.m. and the first-ever public screening of the film at 6:30 p.m.  Following the screening, cast and filmmakers will discuss the movie. Joining Brown on the panel will be TT Animation’s award-winning director/producer Jon Burton and director of photography Jeremy Pardon, and renowned videogame/animation actors Troy Baker (Bioshock Infinite, Batman: Arkham City) as Batman and Travis Willingham (Avengers Assemble, The Super Hero Squad Show) as Superman.

LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite, an all-new film from TT Animation based on its popular video game, finds Lex Luthor taking jealousy to new heights when fellow billionaire Bruce Wayne wins the Man of the Year Award. To top Wayne’s accomplishment, Lex begins a campaign for President – and to create the atmosphere for his type of fear-based politics, he recruits the Joker to perfect a Black LEGO Destructor Ray. While wreaking havoc on Gotham, Lex successfully destroys Batman’s technology – forcing the Caped Crusader to reluctantly turn to Superman for help.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set May 21, 2013 as its release date for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite on Blu-ray and DVD.

Brown made his very first theatrical appearance opposite Sean Penn in Bad Boys, and then forever sealed his place in fantasy villainy as The Kurgan in Highlander. Before playing an immortal, though, Brown etched his name in cult classic history as Rawhide in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Brown is regularly recognized from his standout performance as Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption, as the centerpiece of HBO’s Carnivale as Brother Justin Crowe, and to fanboys across the planet as gung-ho Sgt. Zim in Starship Troopers.

Having lent his voice to nearly 600 animated episodes and films, Brown is also widely known as Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants. His voice credits, to list just a few, include roles in The Batman, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jackie Chan Adventures, Wolverine and the X-Men, Phineaus and Ferb, Ben 10: Alien Force, Kim Possible, Duck Dodgers, Teen Titans, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Gargoyles.

The Paley Center in New York City is located at 25 West 52nd Street. There is no attached parking, however there is ample parking in numerous structures surrounding the Paley Center.

Amazing Spider-Man 2 Synopsis Unveiled

  • News
  • February 6, 2013

watch-the-amazing-spider-man-super-preview-550x207Sony has released the first formal details on the sequel to last year’s hit reboot, Amazing Spider-Man:

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

The official, announced cast list: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti and Sally Field.

Additionally, the studio said that behind the camera Dan Mindel will be the cinematographer, Mark Friedberg is the production designer and Deborah L. Scott will be the costume designer and Pietro Scalia and Elliot Graham are the editors.

The film is scheduled for production this year, to be released May 2, 2014, one month after Disney’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and two months before Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, scheduled for July 18.

Mindy Newell: Pro Action

Newell Art 130204No, this is not a column about that. Get your minds out of the gutter, people!

I was working in the Special Projects department at Marvel Comics as an assistant editor when my boss, Executive Editor Bob Budiansky, called me into his office.

“I have something for you that will be absolutely perfect,” he said, “because you’re the only one in the department who will really appreciate it. I talked about it with Tom (DeFalco) and he agrees with me.”

“Okay,” I said, a bit apprehensive and yes, curious.

“The NFL approached us about doing a magazine aimed at kids who love football.”

“Okay,” I said, getting excited.

“It’s going to be like Sports Illustrated For Kids, only concentrating on football, of course.”

“Okay,” I said, trying stay dignified and professional.

“Each issue will also feature a full comic, plus news, articles and tidbits about Marvel.” “Okay,” I said, really trying to stay dignified.

“You’re going to be the editor.”

“O-KAY!!!!” I said, totally forgetting about dignity and professionalism and giving Bob a hug.

NFL Pro Action had its debut at Super Bowl XXVIII, January 30, 1993, where the Dallas Cowboys met the Buffalo Bills in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome for the right to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy (Dallas won, 30 – 13). More than 71,000 fans found a copy of the magazine waiting for them in their gift seat cushions packs. Wolverine and Cyclops also distributed copies of NFL Pro Action at the inaugural NFL Experience, a celebration of football that has now become an annual four-day event, starting on the Thursday before the game and ending after the game on Super Bowl Sunday.

It was a true labor of love for me, for, as regular readers of this column know, I am a die-hard Big Blue fan and lover of football, having grown up in a family in which every Sunday during the season revolved around going to the game. My Dad got tickets to the Giants from a buddy of his who worked at the now-defunct Jersey City Herald-Tribune newspaper when he returned stateside from World War II.

The magazine had a broad mix of pop culture, trends, NFL and Marvel-related topics, including a comic. The kick-off issue of NFL Pro Action featured Troy Aikman about to get sacked by Wolverine, who was tearing through the cover. (Yeah, Wolvie hates the ‘Boys, like any good Giants fan.)  In addition to an Aikman profile and trading card inserts of NFL superstars and Marvel’s super heroes, the magazine also included a look at the “little people” (5’9” and under) of the NFL, including the great Cowboy running back Emmit Smith at 5’9” and Barry Saunders of the Detroit Lions at 5’8”, an article about the Punt, Pass & Kick program which had been recently revived and spotlighted NFL players who had participated in PP&K as kids, an opening day photo shoot of Niners rookie Ted Kelly and – especially poignant yesterday – strength tips from the late, great, 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro-Bowler and member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team Junior Seau – yes, I met him, too, and he was also a wonderful, wonderful man.

Each issue of NFL Pro Action also included a 16-page custom comic and the premier issue starred the X-Men and Howie Long – who held up a copy of NFL Pro Action on FOX NFL Sunday, got a ribbing from Terry Bradshaw, and said that his kids were more impressed with his appearing with the X-Men than anything else he had done. The story, by Ralph Macchio, Chris Maarinin, and Keith Williams, with lettering by Dave Sharpe and colors by Ed Lazzerlli, featured Wolverine getting his ass whooped by Long in the Danger Room – the X-Men’s holographic “gym” – and then, humbled yet inspired by this encounter with the NFL star, Wolverine used what he learned from Long against the evil mutants called Morlocks, who live beneath New York City in forgotten subway tunnels.

It also featured Rogue’s Tailgating Tips. Turns out Rogue “favors baby back ribs smothered in barbecue sauce fresh from San Antonio, dim sum, shrimp dumplings, and sticky sesame rolls from Hong Kong, foot-long hot dogs smothered in ‘craut, peppers, onions, ketchup and mustard from Coney Island, and Cajun crawfish, crab legs, and roast pork from the best restaurants in N’Orleans.” Of course, it helps if you can fly to all these places on the morning of the game.

It was a fun gig, and, yeah, there were perks besides going to Super Bowl XXVIII to make any football fan drool. Going to an absolutely scrumptious 12-course dinner with the guys from NFL Properties on the Friday night before the game at a five-star Atlanta restaurant where waiters in white gloves and tuxedos stood behind you and gave you fresh silverware – and I mean sterling silver – for each new plate, and poured a fresh bottle of wine especially picked to match the new cuisine on each new plate, which included a fine champagne to go with the sherbet offered between the lobster and the filet mignon to “wash my palate” – yeah, I got drunk, and it was fun – while sitting next to and yakking with Peter King from Sports Illustrated, meeting Troy Aikman and Steve Young and Emmit Smith (again) and Sam Huff and Junior Seau (as mentioned) and Alex Karras and Dan Reeves and John Elway…

And then there were the not-so-much-fun things that happened, like missing the bus back to the hotel after the Super Bowl and getting lost in Atlanta on a Sunday night after the game…yes, and getting back to the hotel was an adventure, let me tell you. I wandered into a hotel, where a snooty hotel clerk wouldn’t let me use the phone to call a cab, for one thing. I got back to the hotel about two hours after the game, finally having hailed a cab out in front of the hotel – and a big thank you to those folks from California who let me share that cab with them.

And the big wing-ding, ultra-faaaaabulous Saturday night Super Bowl party, at which I met a member of the Atlanta’s city council, and had an interesting conversation, which went like this:

“So, how y’all like HOTlanta?”

“It’s a beautiful city.”

“Y’know, y’all think we’re a bunch of rednecks, down hyah, but let me tell, sugah, we’all treat our niggers down hyah a hell of a lot bettah than y’all do up there in Hymietown.”

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to tell my rabbi that.”

And the guy who thought I was a hooker, and followed me back to my room expecting to get action.

PRO action.

Yeah.

That kind of action.

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis

 

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