'Best of TBH Politoons'
Cory!! Strode On Graphic Novels
'The Batman Chronicles'
Batman is due for a new movie this summer, which means that DC Comics is gearing up to flood the bookstores with Batman related product. The bad thing about this is that there are lot of pretty bland Batman books that have been collected from the various Batman comics over the years. There are some I wouldn't read again if it were the only way to avoid an hour of Hannity and Colmes. Just try to read the Big Story from 1994 where Bruce Wayne is replaced by a killer for about 6 months in "Knightfall", I dare you. I Double Dog dare you! And no fair reading it with a pair of robots making smart remarks as you do, since they never made a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" comic book.
However, one of the more interesting projects has hit bookstores this month: The Batman Chronicles.
The Batman Chronicles is the first of a series of trade paperback, reprinting every Batman story ever in chronological order. That's right, starting with the first story from Detective Comics #27 from 1939. The trade paperback collects Detective Comics # 27 - 38 as well as Batman # 1 and has the first appearance of Robin and the Joker, which most long term readers look at as the best Batman stories of the Golden Age, as the character was very close to it's pulp roots.
The stories are crude, the art is slapdash and the lettering can look as if it was done by children, but there is a pure pulp excitement to the stories, showing how well designed the character was from the very beginning. Batman kills with machine guns, fights malformed giants, and generally seems like a costumed version of "The Shadow" or "The Spider", with the plots merely a device to highlight the action sequences.
The strip changed a lot when Robin was added to the mix, and the violence level dropped from Batman killing criminals right and left to the fisticuffs that became the mainstay of comic book superheroes, differentiating them from the killing machines in pulp magazines. Robin's appearance was primarily to appeal to younger readers, and the "blood and thunder" of the stories was toned down, taking Batman from a vengeance obsessed killer to the super-hero archetype most people recognize. The Joker's first appearance is one of few stories that has held up to the test of time, and has a plot that is one of the better ones in the character's history.
The reproduction of these 60 year old stories is amazing, and has been restored to look as much like the original printings as possible. The bottom line is: Are these great Batman stories? It depends. They have aged better than most comic books from the Golden Age, and the early stories move at a breakneck pace, but they are 60-year stories that were thought of as disposable at the time. My verdict is that if you are interested in the first Batman stories and understand their age, you'll love this collection, but if you are looking for Batman stories without the haze of nostalgia, there are better books to get. This trade paperback gets a highly specialized 5 out of 5, but if you aren't familiar with the story of comic books or comic strips of the 30's and 40's, you'd be better off buying "The Dark Knight Returns" or "The Killing Joke" for your Batman fix before the movie comes out.
Cory!! Strode (The Best Dressed Man In Comics) has written comic books, novels, jokes for comedians, Op Ed columns, the on-line comic strip
www.Asylumon5thstreet.com and has all kinds of things on his website
www.solitairerose.com
Reader Comment/Question
Re: Doing something different?
Marty -
I'm not the least bit technical, but I have to wonder if something's different on the page. I tried copying Zen Man's picture and poem, and I could not capture the picture.
Then just to see if there was a pattern, I tried to copy the picture of the Russian cat. Couldn't copy it either.
Are you doing something different when you post material?
Linda >^..^<
Thanks, Linda!
I'm not doing anything different, but the ways of the web are still a mystery to me.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jim Phillips: Historian faults U.S. security efforts for overlooking 'real terrorists' (The Athens NEWS)
Marquette University professor Athan Theoharis said that for decades, the FBI has been shadowing people it thinks might be terrorists or spies, choosing its victims based on their political views rather than on hard evidence that they're actually dangerous.
Paul Krugman: 'The oblivious Right' (New York Times)
According to John Snow, the Treasury secretary, the global economy is in a "sweet spot." Conservative pundits close to the administration talk, without irony, about a "Bush boom."
Miriam Axel-Lute: The First Pill's Free (Metroland)
Who's responsible when big pharma feels free to push addictive drugs in direct-to-consumer advertising?
Miriam Axel-Lute: Reuse, Reuse, and Reuse (Metroland)
Freecycle phenomenon puts the Internet to work redistributing the surplus of a consumer society
Tristan Taormino: F**k Abstinence (Village Voice)
How Bush's faith-based say-no-to-sex sex education is failing our kids
Rachel Kramer Bussel: Teens' Sexual Rights (Village Voice)
Educators argue that adolescent sexuality is healthy and vital
Malinda Lo: Interview with Julie Anne Peters (afterellen.com)
Young adult author Julie Anne Peters was shocked when her novel Luna (2004), a story about a transgender teen, was nominated for a National Book Award.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Conductors (The Athens NEWS)
The conductor Artur Nikisch was very popular and received many letters from women who asked him for a lock of his hair. A friend told him that he would soon go bald because he always responded to these letters. Maestro Nikisch smiled, then said, "I won't go bald -- but my dog might."
Sex Ed for Teens (Planned Parenthood)
Purple Gene #1
'The Interpreter'
I sent this letter to Mick LaSalle, the esteemed movie reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle in response to his "little man clapping" review of the movie "The Interpreter".
Purple Gene
From: Purple Gene
Subject: your review of the "interpreter"
To: mick lasalle
Dear Mick
Let me start off by saying, for the most part, I have enjoyed your movie reviews immensely. I went over to the Grand Lake yesterday and saw "The Interpreter"....then I read your review !
I think you're in love with Nicole Kidman and it is blinding your ability to be unbiased......."Her God given porcelain radiance" ...what were you thinking....maybe you've seen "Eyes Wide Shut" too many times!
Here are some of my problems with the movie:
Nicole.....Close the goddam curtains at night if you think somebody is spying on you!
Never ride a Vespa in New York City if you want to remain unobtrusive!
Sean.......Nobody can be that sour with Nicole Kidman that close!
No wonder his wife left him...he had the passion of a PRUNE!
Sydney....So what if he used the REAL U.N. building...where was SECURITY ?
Stop putting yourself in your own movies...you're not Alfred Hitchcock !
Mick...keep up the good work
Purple Gene
P.S. I think Ebert and Roper blew this one too!
Purple Gene #2
'The Interpreter'
Micks' first response and my second salvo !
From: Purple Gene
Subject: Re: your review of the "interpreter"
To: mick lasalle
Mick Mick Mick
I have a brother in Nashville who happens to love Nicole Kidman and when he saw "eyes Wide Shut" ( with a naked and truly EYE OPENING Nicole Kidman) his vision of the merits of the movie were, shall I say, blinded for a bit !!!
I also think she is gorgeous and I love her "God given porcelain radiance".....but this movie, "The Interpreter", and her performance had me sitting and staring from my chair, not clapping !!!
Purple Gene
From: mick lasalle
Subject: Re: your review of the "interpreter"
To: Purple Gene
I think you're in love with Nicole Kidman and it is blinding your ability to be unbiased......."Her God given porcelain radiance" ...what were you thinking....maybe you've seen "Eyes Wide Shut" too many times!
What a silly thing to say. And assume. And on the basis of one review. You have no idea what I thought of EYES WIDE SHUT or her other movies.
Purple Gene #3
'The Interpreter'
Micks' final response!
I encourage people to read Mick LaSalles' review of the movie "The Interpreter" at sfgate.com
I also encourage people to read Purple Genes' review of the movie "The Interpreter at BartCopE
From: mick lasalle
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:48:00 EDT
Subject: Re: your review of the "interpreter"
To: Purple Gene
Yeah, but your brother didn't review THE INTERPRETER. I find her a little tall and skinny and not my type, and I disliked EYES WIDE SHUT. So to each his own.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Some sun, some clouds.
The Alaskan grandmother's flight to John Wayne was cancelled this morning.
Guess since Southwest isn't accustomed to cancelled flights, they're not familiar with the concept of conveying information to people who are waiting for their passengers.
Eventually (measured in hours) she showed up on a later flight, barely in time for a very late lunch & her return flight.
Challenges U.S. Report
Guiliana Sgrena
The Italian journalist rescued from hostage-takers in Iraq last month has denounced a U.S. military probe that reportedly absolves American soldiers of responsibility for killing the man who rescued her.
The report, leaked by an army official in Washington last night, asserts that troops generally followed their rules of engagement and should not therefore face charges of dereliction of duty.
Nicola Calipari, a senior Italian intelligence agent, was shot dead on March 4 when U.S. soldiers fired at his car as he took the reporter, Guiliana Sgrena, to Baghdad airport.
In a front page editorial in the left-wing paper she works for, Il Manifesto, Sgrena called on Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, to respond what she called a "slap in the face for the Italian Government." She claimed that the Americans had not listened to either her testimony or that of another Italian agent: "Obviously, our two testimonies given to the American commission were useless. Or will I be charged with perjury?
Guiliana Sgrena
Expresses Opinion, Wingnutters React
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal has waded into sensitive political waters by raising questions about Sept. 11 and American foreign policy.
The 27-year-old actress, who stars in a new film about the 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center, said in an interview last week that the United States "is responsible in some way" for the attacks.
A fan Web site devoted to Gyllenhaal was overwhelmed with criticism, forcing the site's editor to remove the ability to post messages "because it's gotten too outta hand."
In a statement issued Monday by her publicist, Gyllenhaal said Sept. 11 was "an occasion to be brave enough to ask some serious questions about America's role in the world. Because it is always useful as individuals or nations to ask how we may have knowingly or unknowingly contributed to this conflict.
"Not to have the courage to ask these questions of ourselves is to betray the victims of 9/11."
Maggie Gyllenhaal
350th Episode Milestone
'The Simpsons'
You know that a show has been around a long time when they start measuring milestones in episodic increments of 50. But it's understandable that "The Simpsons" should want to make a big deal out of hitting 350 episodes with this Sunday's installment.
How many episodes is 350? More than the combined total of "Seinfeld" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." "The Simpsons" will pass "Dallas" (357 episodes) on the all-time series list before 2005 is out. Then it takes aim at the only two comedies to have produced more segments: "My Three Sons" at 380 episodes and "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" at a somewhat astounding 435.
'The Simpsons'
Spends 3 Days in Ethiopia
Brad Pitt
Actor Brad Pitt spent three days in Ethiopia meeting with orphans of the AIDS pandemic that is devastating Africa, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Pitt's trip was organized by DATA, a Washington-based lobby group co-founded by rock star Bono, which campaigns to improve trade and debt terms for poor countries and raising awareness about AIDS in poor countries.
It is 41-year-old Pitt's second visit to Ethiopia, where 1.5 million people are infected, making it the fifth highest population in the world living with the HIV virus.
Brad Pitt
Visiting 'The O.C.'
George Lucas
The force is with "The O.C." George Lucas will guest star as himself on the May 12 episode, the Fox network announced Tuesday. The "Star Wars" creator will express interest in the graphic novel of the main character, Seth Cohen (Adam Brody).
Brody's character, an avid "Star Wars" fan, frequently has the good fortune of meeting his heroes. His favorite band, Death Cab for Cutie, recently played on the show.
George Lucas
Says Aliens Likely Our Friends
Steven Spielberg
When the aliens finally arrive, Steven Spielberg expects them to be galactic good Samaritans like E.T. rather than the malevolent marauders of "War of the Worlds."
"I have to certainly believe what my heart tells me. That the first time there is a meeting of the minds between extraterrestrials and human beings, it's going to be friendly," Spielberg told The Associated Press in an interview looking ahead to his "War of the Worlds" saga, starring Tom Cruise.
Steven Spielberg
Donates Proceeds To Tsunami Victims
Celine Dion
Celine Dion will dedicate the Mother's Day performance of her Las Vegas show, "A New Day," to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami.
Proceeds from the May 8 performance at Caesars Palace will go to UNICEF's Tsunami Recovery Fund to help with relief and reconstruction in the region, Dion's Web site said.
Funds are also being raised through sponsorship packages, a commemorative program book, collection boxes in The Colosseum and a silent auction.
The auction will include a private dinner with Dion and her husband, Rene Angelil, prepared by their personal chef.
Celine Dion
Baby News
Lola Sophia Bonfiglio
It's a girl for Carnie Wilson and husband Rob Bonfiglio.
Lola Sophia was born Friday in Los Angeles and weighed seven pounds, two ounces, Entertainment Tonight reported on its website.
The couple's first child has brown hair and blue eyes. She was born in the company of Wilson's father, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, while the band's Pet Sounds played in background.
Lola Sophia Bonfiglio
Dixie Chick Baby News
Emily Robison
Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks has given birth to twins.
Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin were born April 14, according to the Dixie Chicks' Web site. Julianna weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and Henry weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces.
Robison and her husband, Charlie, also have a 2 1/2-year-old son Gus.
Emily Robison
Exits Rehab
Pat O'Brien
Television host Pat O'Brien has exited the alcohol rehabilitation program he checked himself into a month ago.
The "Insider" anchor left the rehab program Sunday, Manfred Westphal, a spokesman for Paramount Domestic Television, which produces the syndicated program, confirmed to The Associated Press Tuesday.
No further details were available on O'Brien's treatment. A spokesman for "The Insider" has not yet announced plans for the host's return to the program.
The image of the 57-year-old O'Brien has recently taken a beating after obscene phone messages left by what sounds like his voice were distributed widely on the internet.
Pat O'Brien
Hits Low Ratings Mark
'CBS Evening News'
While critics have praised changes made to the "CBS Evening News" since Bob Schieffer (R-Connected) took over for Dan Rather last month, viewers clearly haven't been intrigued.
The show's average of 6.1 million viewers last week was the lowest since Nielsen Media Research began measurement with "people meters" in 1987 - and likely the lowest for many years before that. Evening news viewership was much higher from the 1960s to 1980s than it is now.
The show's average of 6.8 million viewers for the six weeks that Schieffer has anchored is down 7 percent from the 7.3 million from the comparable six weeks during 2004, Nielsen said. It's also down 10 percent from Rather's last six weeks although, to be fair, evening news viewership generally declines when the weather gets warmer.
'CBS Evening News'
Doisneau Photo Sells for $202K
'The Kiss'
The woman in Robert Doisneau's classic photograph of a couple stealing a passionate kiss on a Paris street sold her original print at an auction Monday for more than $200,000 - about 10 times the expected sale price.
"The Kiss at City Hall" was bought by an unidentified Swiss collector, who is expected to pay an additional $38,850 in taxes and other fees in addition to the $202,000 purchase price, according to Artcurial Briest Pulain le Fur auction house, where the sale took place.
Before the auction, the house said the photograph was expected to sell for between $19,600 and $26,000.
'The Kiss'
Russian Rocket Lifts Satellite
DirecTV
A Russian rocket blasted off from a floating Pacific Ocean platform Tuesday, carrying a DirecTV (R-Rupert Murdoch) satellite into orbit, Sea Launch Co. said.
A Zenit-3SL rocket carrying the Spaceway F1 communications satellite, manufactured by Boeing Co., blasted into space at 11:31 a.m. Moscow time (3:31 a.m. EDT). The satellite entered its designated orbit 30 minutes later, the company said.
Sea Launch is a multinational venture owned by Boeing Co., RSC-Energia of Russia, Anglo-Norwegian Kvaerner Group of Norway and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine.
DirecTV
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Robert Redford
US actor, director and producer Robert Redford is to be one of the star attractions at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, organisers announced.
This year the July 1-9 event, the only Category A film festival in central and eastern Europe, marks its 40th year and will feature 230 films from across the globe.
Redford is to receive the Crystal Globe for his extraordinary artistic contribution to world film.
Robert Redford
Prime-Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of April 18-24. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (1) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 27 million viewers.
2. (2) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 24.1 million viewers.
3. (4) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 23.9 million viewers.
4. (3) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 22.7 million viewers.
5. (5) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 20.1 million viewers.
6. (5) "Survivor: Palau," CBS, 19.3 million viewers.
7. (9) "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 17.9 million viewers.
8. (33) "House," Fox, 17.5 million viewers.
9. (12) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 17.1 million viewers.
10. (20) "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 17.1 million viewers.
11. (11) "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 17 million viewers.
12. (15) "Cold Case," CBS, 16.7 million viewers.
13. (13) "ER," NBC, 16.1 million viewers.
14. (5) "Without a Trace," CBS, 16 million viewers.
15. (20) "Law & Order," NBC, 14.3 million viewers.
16. (19) "Apprentice 3," NBC, 13.9 million viewers.
17. (34) "CBS Sunday Movie: Locusts," CBS, 12.7 million viewers.
18. (17) "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.6 million viewers.
19. (31) "Amazing Race: 7," CBS, 12.3 million viewers.
20. (23) "Revelations," NBC, 11.8 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Jose Melis
Former "Tonight" show bandleader Jose Melis, who led the orchestra for Jack Paar and traded jokes with the talk show host, has died. He was 85.
As bandleader for the "Tonight" show from 1957 to 1962, Melis also became a well-loved personality whose Cuban accent endeared him to many fans, his son said.
Jose Melis Guiu was born in Havana in 1920. He immigrated to the United States when he was 16 to train as a classical pianist at the Cambridge School of Music in Massachusetts. By that time, Melis had already graduated from the Havana Conservatory at age 10. Melis was studying at the Juilliard School in New York when he was drafted into the Army in 1943.
In the military, Melis led an orchestra at U.S.O. shows and met Paar. Their collaboration in television included variety shows on CBS before they landed the "Tonight" show.
Melis went into semiretirement after Paar's "Tonight" show ended, his son said, especially after he lost some of his sight in the mid-'70s and his hearing in the late-'80s.
He is survived by his son, daughter and a brother.
Jose Melis
In Memory
Richard "Rick" Lewis
Richard "Rick" Lewis, a member of the doo-wop group the Silhouettes whose song "Get A Job" soared to the top of the charts in 1958, has died. He was 71.
Lewis, of Southwest Philadelphia, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday at Albert Einstein Medical Center.
Lewis wrote "Get a Job," the group's one big hit. It sold nearly 2 million copies and led to tours and appearances on Philadelphia's "American Bandstand." Years later, the group Sha Na Na took its name from the spirited refrain of the Silhouettes' signature song.
Lewis grew up in the city's Germantown neighborhood in a house with 13 siblings. A tenor, he started singing with the Philadelphia Boys' Choir.
In 1950, he joined the Army and was wounded in Korea. He sang with a gospel group on Armed Forces Radio before being discharged in 1954.
After the war, Lewis joined the Gospel Tornadoes. The quartet - Lewis, Bill Horton, Earl Beal and Raymond Edwards - changed its name to the Silhouettes in 1957. The group signed with Junior Records and recorded a 45 with "Get a Job" on the B side.
The Silhouettes' last performance was in 1993 at North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Mass., where they left the stage to a standing ovation. Lewis was the last surviving member of the original lineup.
Lewis is survived by his wife, Elaine, and eight children from his three marriages. He also is survived by 10 grandchildren, a brother and four sisters.
Richard "Rick" Lewis
