Pop Culture Roundup: Star Wars; Pvt. Doberman; Jack Kirby; Daleks; Al Jaffee; Superman

From Plaid Stallions: A Message to the Toy Industry from 20th Century Fox.


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Via Four-Color Shadows: DC's Pvt. Doberman, with the great Bob Oksner illustrating tales featuring the Sgt. Bilko character. It's a pity stuff like this doesn't get re-printed along with the superhero titles.


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Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman recall their old boss, Jack Kirby, co-creator of the Marvel Universe.
“Jack was a wonderful guy. He could connect to anybody. He was just interested in people… Always gave people the time.” Here he recalled the time that Evanier and himself were at the second house that Mr. Kirby moved into when he lived in the Thousand Oaks area. “The house had a big section of gravel in front of it. In comes Joe Kubert (a comic book artist who worked at DC) and his family in the largest R.V. that I had ever seen… The next day, Jack had drawn what looked like a huge R.V. with thrusters on the side of it and put it into the comic he was doing at the time… He just could take anything that he found fascinating and incorporate them into his stories.”
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Via Kid Robson: Dalek snow globe.


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Via the Fabuleous Fifties: Al Jaffee's "Tall Tales" comic strip.

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Via Comic Book Resources: How does Superman cut his hair?


7 Reasons to be cheerful April 6, 2017

  1. Bad lip reading.
  2. Disneyland mermaids.
  3. Chocolate bunnies.
  4. We still get a chance to see new stuff from Carrie Fisher. 
  5. Mark Twain's wisdom. 
  6. How to draw a Celtic knot.
  7. Doctor Who: The Master is back.

 

So long, Don Rickles

Being a Jack Kirby fan, I always think of him in this context. One of the weirdest comics ever.





"Catastrophe" season 3 trailer

Love this series.


The new Asterix book is ... Asterix and the Race Through Italy!

Out Oct. 19 in hardcover, and also in two "art book" editions.

This marks the third Asterix adventure by "new" team Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad, who seem to have hit their stride.

While I found their first release, Asterix and the Picts a little uneven (understandable, considering the size of Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny's shoes), it's followup  "Asterix and the Missing Scroll" was beautifully illustrated and very funny, to boot. I'm looking forward to this new one.


Here's the first blurb:
Famous for their extensive travels around the Known World, this time Asterix and Obelix are going to meet the people of the Italian peninsula: the Italics!
To Obelix's delight, the inhabitants of Ancient Italy are not all Romans! Far from it! The Italics want to keep their independence and take a dim view of Julius Caesar and his Legions' plans for total domination.

In Asterix and the Race through Italy, Asterix and Obelix embark upon a great adventure in the extraordinary world of Ancient Italy!
And here is info on the art books:
Deluxe Edition
This large-format edition (26 x 36.5 cm) of the new album will include 128 pages with a square canvas spine and headband. Two different types of paper will be used to provide the most beautiful design for a wide variety of graphic creations.
On the agenda:
  • The album in colour
  • All Didier Conrad's original drawings
  • A 32-page feature to give you exclusive insight into how the album was created, with many previously unseen drawings and working documents by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad.
ArtBook Edition
Calling all collectors! Discover the definitive edition of Asterix and the Race through Italy in a set that includes:
  • A large format (290 x 370 mm), 112-page album printed on Munken Print White 150 g paper, featuring 44 drawn illustrations and 44 inked illustrations by Didier Conrad, and a 16-page graphic notebook with previously unseen drawings, character studies, sketches, and storyboard excerpts by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad. Square canvas spine, headband, 3 mm-thick card
  • A folder containing bookplates, in 295 x 375 mm format, printed on 250 g paper and including one signed by Jean-Yves Ferri and one signed by Didier Conrad.
Numbered limited edition

Pics: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Doctor Who's TARDIS - Where's the toilet?

Now, apparently, we know.
When new companion Bill, shaken after a nerve-wracking ordeal, asks "Can I use the toilet?" the Doctor is at first taken aback.

But when she insists quite reasonably, "I’ve had a fright, I need the toilet", he points out one of the exits from the Tardis console room and tells her:

"It’s down there. First right, second left, past the macaroon dispenser."