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DENNIS O’NEIL: On Arnold Drake

DENNIS O’NEIL: On Arnold Drake

For a lot of years I didn’t know much about Arnold Drake beyond some minimal biography: he was a first-generation comic book writer, he had written a movie or two. Then, last summer, we were thrown together for a public conversation at a small convention and for an hour I found Arnold to be charming, witty, a good raconteur, a treasury of information about the history of our medium, and way younger than his years. When we parted, Arnold gave me his card and we made vague noises about getting together in Manhattan, some time or other. We never did, and last week an email from Danny Fingeroth informed me that Arnold had died.

When I think about guys like Arnold, I’m reminded of the final scene of Herman Wouk’s play The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. You may remember it: Defense lawyer Barney Greenwald, having just cleared his Navy officer client of a charge of mutiny and, in the process, humiliated a career Navy man named Captain Queeg, arrives at the victory party and, bitterly, eloquently, regrets what he has done. Queeg and his ilk, Greenwald says, kept the Navy going during the years between wars, when there was no opportunity for glory, maintained the infrastructure so there was something to build on when the country was threatened.

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MATT RAUB loves being a Turtle

MATT RAUB loves being a Turtle

Cowabunga, Dudes! Matt Raub here, back once again for my review of my pick for “Best Flick of 2007” – TMNT!

Now, before I do my business, a little history. I’m a 100% freak when it comes to anything and everything 80’s. From the music to the wacky neon fashion to the movies, and most important, the TV shows. From The Real Ghostbusters to M.A.S.K., I knew just about everything that needed to be known about cartoons in the 80’s. With that said, I was going into TMNT with roughly 50% excitement and 50% skepticism that we would get a repeat of the first three Turtles movies, which included (in no particular order): Vanilla Ice, time travel, and freckles.

With that said, I was nothing short of blown away by this flick. I caught myself jumping with excitement during the actions scenes and cackling obnoxiously at Michelangelo’s quips. Now, there aren’t a whole lot of CGI films that take my breath away, the exception being The Incredibles of course, mostly due to the need to dumb down the script to appeal to the legion of drooling nine-year-olds. But that wasn’t the case with TMNT. Instead of being a comedy with some action, this flick was all action with some comedy, and I loved it. While it did have some slapstick comedy to keep the toddlers at bay, there were so many more serious elements that I know had to have gone over the heads of the younger audience.

For those of you who aren’t sure where this film stands in comparison to the previous three, I’ll spell it out. This movie pulls a Superman Returns formula, but does it right. The story takes place about a year after the second film, erasing the Turtles in Time escapade completely from continuity (thanks!). With this continuity, we still get Casey Jones, April O’Neil, and a dead Shredder, but the characters all get a revamp, some for better and some not so much: April O’Neil is no longer a reporter, but a glorified Indiana Jones-archeologist type. What?? But like I said, this took the Superman formula and made it work. And no, April doesn’t end up having a half-turtle baby with Leonardo.

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Get your Gatchaman

Get your Gatchaman

Imagi, the Hong Kong based animation house, has had a heck of a weekend, with TMNT opening at #1 in America.

But, as the saying goes, that was yesterday. What have they done for us today?

Wonder no further. Via IESB, we learn that Imagi’s next film project is a full length version of Gatchaman, or as we called it when we watched it on television in the 70’s, Battle of the Planets. Yes, Battle of the Planets! G-Force, five incredible young people with superpowers! And watching over them from Center Neptune, 7-Zark-7! Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies from beyond space! G-Force! Fearless young orphans, protecting Earth’s entire galaxy! Always five, acting as one. Dedicated! Inseparable! Invincible!

Ahem. Sorry.

Some images at the link. No word on voice casting yet (hey, Casey Kasim’s still around) or whether we’re going to see 1-Rover-1.

Marshall Rogers dies

Marshall Rogers dies

Marshall Rogers, the legendary artist of such diverse characters as Batman, Mr. Miracle,  Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer,  and Green Lantern, died this weekend at the age of 57. Details have yet to be disclosed.

Marshall co-created and drew a veriety of creator-owned projects such as Detectives, Inc., Captain Quick and the Foozle, Scorpio Rose, and Coyote. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Steve Englehart. Marshall was also part of Neal Adams’ "Crusty Bunkers" crew at Continuity Studios.

A personal friend, I fondly remember Marshall telling me about the time he was working at Continuity Studios when the ceiling literally fell in. He was finishing a project for Neal, and did not want to leave his drawing table until it was finished. Folks had to work around him, as he wouldn’t budge. He was a great guy, with an awesome sense of humor and a broad smile to match.

Artwork copyright 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Mike Grell and Green Arrow invade Pittsburgh

Mike Grell and Green Arrow invade Pittsburgh

 

Our pal Mike Grell did this awesome history of Green Arrow montage for the cover of the Pittsburgh Comicon program book. Mike, along with ComicMixers Timothy Truman and yours truly (and about a thousand other guests, including Mike Oeming and George Pérez, will be appearing at the show, April 27th  through 29th at the Pittsburgh ExpoMart.

Mike has donated the painting and it will be auctioned off for the benefit of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you haven’t seen Mike Grell’s work as an auctioneer, you’ve been missing something.

By the way, this piece will also be used in the special features section of the upcoming Smallville season 6 DVD set – the season featuring Green Arrow, of course.

For more information on the Pittsburgh Comicon: http://www.pittsburghcomicon.com/

(Artwork copyright 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved, so you better watch it!)

Tex Avery’s Droopy is coming

Tex Avery’s Droopy is coming

Many animation fans believe Tex Avery to be the greatest – and, arguably, wackiest – American cartoon director. On May 15, Droopy, his best-known creation, will be released on DVD in all his complete glory.

          

Tex Avery’s Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection will also contain the eight Droopy cartoons produced in letterbox ratio, which have been rarely seen on television. Many of the shorts feature the ultimate slick bad-guy Wolfie, another of Avery’s best-known creations. Episodes include Dumb-Hounded, The Shooting Of Dan McGoo, Wild And Woolfy, Northwest Hounded Police, Señor Droopy, Wags To Riches, Out-Foxed, The Chump Champ, Daredevil Droopy, Droopy’s Good Deed, Droopy’s Double Trouble, Caballero Droopy,  The Three Little Pups, Drag-A-Long Droopy, Homesteader Droopy, Dixieland Droopy, Deputy Droopy, Millionaire Droopy, Grin And Share It, Blackboard Jumble, One Droopy Knight, Sheep Wrecked, Mutts About Racing, and Droopy Leprechaun. Extras include Droopy and Friends: A Laugh Back and an ersatz gag reel.

Droopy’s more recent guest-appearances with Roger Rabbit and The Simpsons are not expected to find their way onto this Warner Bros. two-DVD box set; of course, they were tributes to Tex produced after his death.

It’s raining 300 men

It’s raining 300 men

Via Tom Galloway, we have this little display of… well… oh, just watch, it’s quick and dirty:

Words fail me.

MIKE GOLD: The secret Luddite?

MIKE GOLD: The secret Luddite?

Yesterday, I turned on my cell phone for the first time in about two weeks. I was at I-Con in Long Island New York and was waiting to meet up with some friends. I only turn on my cell when I’m out of town or at a convention, and the fact that I didn’t have to have it on in two weeks had made me happy.

First among my 19 voicemails was a message from Harlan Ellison, admonishing me for misspelling Edgar Allan Poe’s name in a ComicMix news story back when. He’s right, and I should have caught it. I’ve been a fan of Poe’s longer than anybody except maybe Jack Kirby. The problem is, when I’m under deadline pressure (and with the Internet that’s 24/7) I over rely upon my spellchecker. Sadly, those suckers ignore words that are misspelled into other real words. I let it do my thinking for me; my bad.

Mr. Ellison often refers to himself as a Luddite, disparaging our computer-communications society. I sympathize. Coincidentally, the very night before my wife and I had watched the first half of a Doctor Who serial, "The Mark of the Rani", which was set in 1811 at the birthplace of the British Luddite movement. They did a good job of disclosing the reasons behind the movement, except that I don’t think a pair of Gallefreyan Time Lords encouraged the Luddite movement.

For the history-challenged out there, the Luddites were members of a movement of English workers at the dawn of the Industrial Age who destroyed the machinery that they thought was taking their jobs. It is believed the media named the participants after Ned Lud, one of their ilk, although that might be apocryphal.

You can hardly blame them. The ruling classes always instill such fears in their workers as a means of keeping wages low and discipline high. There are always all sorts of odd ramifications to this philosophy – for example, our marijuana laws were imposed under the belief that they would deter Mexican immigration and take jobs away from the “common man.” If this sounds like our current immigration attitudes, well, that’s no coincidence.

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Zombies with good attitude

Zombies with good attitude

Zombie movies are nothing new. Nor are zombie movies with attitude. But there’s been a preview making the rounds of a movie about a bunch of zombie "eliminators" called Z•E•R•O, or Zombie Emergeny Response Operations for long. Possible another section of the Department of Homeland Security that isn’t being talked about.

Unlike most such pre-distribution movie previews, War of the Dead: Z•E•R•O is very character-based. We know there’s a lot of icky monsters around, but the preview focuses on Z•E•R•O and its team-members: a group of ick-fighters that are probably slightly too good for Reno 911 and certainly too good for their patronizing shrink.

What happens to War of the Dead: Z•E•R•O is up to the usual Hollywood forces, but the preview is fun and worth checking out. Kudos to creator / Executive producer Joe Sena and writer / director Michael Disario for jumping into the shark pool; we wish them the best of luck.

Check ’em out at warofthedead.com.

Comic books still rule the movies

Comic books still rule the movies

Comic books continue to lead Hollywood box office business as TMNT, based upon the comics books of the same letters beat out 300 $25,400,000 to a mere $20,500,000 in estimated weekend North American box office receipts.

It was the first weekend for the Turtles’ latest movie venture, and the third for the Frank Miller property. Thus far, 300 has earned nearly a quarter-billion dollars worldwide. Then again, box office totals in Iran are expected to be rather low.

Whereas both movies were released by Warner Bros., neither one is based upon a DC Comics property. DC is a unit of Warner Bros.

Next up: Spider-Man 3, in just a few weeks. ComicMix carried the link to the final movie trailer; scroll down and you’ll find it.