Dead Reckoning

George Romero has another zombie flick due to hit movie theaters sometime this year, but unlike his previous zombieverse films (1968's Night of the Living Dead, 1978's Dawn of the Dead, 1985's Day of the Dead and 2005's Land of the Dead) this time he is basically rebooting the franchise. The characters in the upcoming Diary of the Dead will not have any awareness of the zombie plague until they are actually assaulted by the living dead, and they will also have to "painfully" relearn how to properly slay the beasts. In addition the premise has a group of film school students out in the boonies making their own class film, when they opt to document the rise of the newly undead.

I've always appreciated the subtle social, political and cultural undercurrents and satire that Romero infuses into his horror movies with, so I am looking forward to seeing this one.

Maybe it will make it out in time for Halloween (or shortly thereafter).

Trivia: Dead Reckoning was the original working title for 2005's Land of the Dead. In the film, that was the nickname of the tanklike urban assault vehicle that the denizens of Fiddlers Green used to scour the countryside for supplies.

A little "pulp" history ....

It's always nice to how the route by which one travels, so in that spirit, here is a bit of literary (& radio) history that brought us to the earliest days of comic book superheroes:

1835 - Nathaniel Hawthorne creates America's first superhero, as The Grey Champion appears in New England Magazine.

1901 - Baroness Orczy writes the Scarlet Pimpernel, the story of a hero of the French aristocracy during the Revolution who disguises himself as an English fop.

1912 - Edgar Rice Burroughs' Under the Moons of Mars begins in Munseys’ All-Story Magazine (six issues). It features John Carter, a man who gains super powers by traveling to another planet.

1913 - Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes appears in Munseys’ All-Story Magazine.

1914 - Frank L. Packard creates The Grey Seal for Street and Smith's People's Magazine. Jimmie Dale, a wealthy playboy by day, dons a mask and utility belt to commit crime by night.

1918 - Johnston McCulleys’ The Curse of Capistrano appears in All Story Weekly. It is the first adventure of Zorro, a mysterious western champion of the oppressed who disguises himself as a Spanish fop.

1930 - Alfred Knopf publishes a dystopian savage parody of early science fiction pulps by fledgling slick magazine writer Philip Wylie called Gladiator. Wylie often claimed that Gladiator was the inspiration for Siegel's Superman, although Siegel always claimed he'd never read it.

1931 - Street and Smith launches The Shadow pulp magazine, based loosely on their hit radio program. Walter Gibson writes as Maxwell Grant.

1933 - Fran Striker's the Lone Ranger begins on WXYZ radio in Detroit. The success of the program spawns the creation of the Mutual Broadcasting System. Lester Dent's Doc Savage first appears as a pulp magazine from Street and Smith, although he writes under the house name of Kenneth Robeson.

1936 - Fran Striker's The Green Hornet begins on WXYZ radio in Detroit. A spin-off of the Lone Ranger, the Hornet, accompanied by his chauffer Kato, fought crime in a powerful automobile known as the Black Beauty. Lee Falk's the Phantom begins in the newspapers. In the beginning he appears to be an urban crimefighter but the strip quickly refocuses to a mysterious tropical island. The Phantom may be the first character ever to sport the ubiquitous tights and two-tone pants that mystery-men every where would soon don.

1938 – Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster introduce Superman in Action Comics #1.

1939 - Bob Kane is asked to create a new super-hero to capitalize on the success of Superman. With the help of writer Bill Finger, he comes up with Batman who makes his debut in Detective Comics #27.

And thus superheroes started flying out of the woodwork and the ball began rolling ....

1970's Flashback: Karate Kid

Karate Kid (Val Armorr) is a member of DC Comics super-team the Legion of Super-Heroes. He is a master of every form of martial arts to have been developed by the 30th century. The extent of his skill is so great that he can severely damage various types of hard material with a single blow and was briefly able to hold his own against Superboy through the use of what he called "Super Karate". His introduction occurred in Adventure Comics # 346 (July 1966), but for a brief period in the 70's Val traveled back in time to the regular DC Universe as the star of his own series. Val did this in order to prove his worthiness for the hand of his team-mate Princess Projectra (whom he later wed) , so he took a leave of absence and spent about a year in the primitive 20th century. Karate Kid #1 debuted in March 1976 and lasted for fifteen issues.

Trivia: Columbia Pictures had to get permission from DC Comics for usage of the name of the Legion of Super-Heroes comic book character Karate Kid. Although their film version and its sequels (starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita) did not resemble the original comics creation, DC did get acknowledgement during the end credits.

Hispanic Heritage Month (José Luis Salinas)

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month here is a profile of one of the great, largely unheralded comic strip artists..

José Luis Salinas was born in Buenos Aries in 1908, after graduating from school he began a nine year apprenticeship at an advertising agency where he learned his craft. His art-style was heavily influenced by the great American comic artists of the time, notably Harold Foster and Alex Raymond. His first succesful magazine strip was Herman el consario (Herman the Corsair) which appeared in the December 1936 pages of Patoruzu. In 1937 Salinas drew comic adaptations of popular literature for El Hogar, notably Last of the Mohicans, King Solomon's Mines, The Scarlet Pimpernel etc.

In 1949 he immigrated to the United States where he was employed by King Features Syndicate to create a project that they had in mind. The project was a syndicated comic strip version of O. Henry's character The Cisco Kid. King Features had commissioned writer Rod Reed to write the stories and Salinas to draw the strips. The result was magic: Cisco actually kissed the heroine rather than his horse, Salinas' animals looked life-like, his villains mean, his heroines pretty. The Cisco Kid debuted in 1950 and ran without changing editor, writer or artist every weekday for the next eighteen years, during which time it was syndicated all over the world. Salinas died in 1985.

1970's Flashback: Brother Voodoo

Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm) first appeared in Strange Tales #169 (Sept. 1973). Returning to his native Haïti (born in Port-au-Prince) after twelve years of education and practice as a psychologist in America, Jericho Drumm discovered that his twin brother, Daniel, the local houngan, was dying, a victim of a voodoo sorcerer who claimed to be possessed by the spirit of Damballah, the serpent-god. Just before he died, Daniel made his brother vow to visit Papa Jambo. Jericho visited Papa Jambo and became his student. After studying under the aged houngan for several weeks, Jericho gained a greater mastery of voodoo practices than his own brother. Papa Jambo then performed a rite that summoned Daniel Drumm's spirit back from the dead and joined it with Jericho's own. Having fashioned a worthy successor, Papa Jambo died. Taking the name Brother Voodoo, Jericho challenged Damballah and his cult. With the help of his brother's spirit possessing one of the cult members, Damballah's artifact of power was stolen from around his neck. With this lack of power, the Damballah's snakes turned on him. His cult seemingly destroyed. Brother Voodoo became Haïti's houngan supreme and champion.

Brother Voodoo’s powers include: fire manipulation, an ability to generate mystic smoke,superhuman strength, and possession of other beings.

In Memoriam: Lois Maxwell

Canadian-born actress Lois Maxwell, who was the definitive Miss Moneypenny in many James Bond films, has passed away at age 80. She had been battling cancer. Maxwell, was the demure foil to Bond's suave rake in 14 films from 1962's "Dr. No" to 1985's "A View to a Kill." In the Bond films, Moneypenny (as secretary to Bond's chief M in British intelligence) has a flirtatious relationship with the spy, evidently attracted to him but never succumbing to his advances. It was a role to which Maxwell gave a bantering edge that is missing in Ian Fleming's novels. Although officially her character's first name was Jane, Moneypenny is referred to only by her last name or a diminutive of it -- Penny.

Maxwell became close friends with Roger Moore, who succeeded Sean Connery as Bond in 1973. "She was a very fine actress and had a great sense of humor," Moore told BBC television on Sunday.

1970's Flashback: Iron Fist

Iron Fist (Daniel "Danny" Thomas Rand-Kai) was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane, he first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974) to cash in on the popularity of martial arts in the early 1970s. The character originally appeared in nine issues of Marvel Premiere (#15–25) before moving on to this own title. Thomas acknowledged that a 1940's character, Amazing Man, created by Bill Everett served as inspiration for Iron Fist. Iron Fist also ran in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu starting with issue #10 of that series, but as the martial arts craze died down, sales lagged and both titles ended. However with the cancellation of his solo series Iron Fist soon reappeared in Power Man #48–50, where he was partnered with Luke Cage. Power Man was then renamed Power Man and Iron Fist with issue #50, and ran until issue #125 in September 1986.

Daniel Rand was born in New York City, the son of American businessman Wendell Rand, a wealthy entrepreneur who discovered the mystical city of K'un-L'un as a young boy. During his time in K'un L'un, Wendell saved the life of the city's ruler, Lord Tuan, and was adopted as Tuan's son. However, Wendell eventually left K'un L'un and became a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States. He married socialite Heather Duncan and had a child, Daniel. When Daniel was nine, Wendell organized an expedition to again seek out K'un L'un, taking his wife Heather, his business partner Harold Meachum, and Daniel. During the journey up the mountain, Daniel slipped off the path, his tie-rope taking his mother and father with him. Meachum, who also loved Heather, forced Wendell to plunge to his death but offered to rescue Heather and Daniel. She rejected his help, preferring to journey on their own or die.

As explained in Marvel Premiere #15, Heather and Daniel come across a makeshift bridge that appears out of nowhere and are attacked by a pack of wolves. Heather throws herself on the wolves to save Daniel and is killed even as archers from K'un L'un attempt to save her. The archers take the grieving Daniel to see Yü-Ti, the hooded ruler of K'un L'un. When Daniel expresses his desire for vengeance, Yü-Ti apprentices him to Lei Kung, the Thunderer, who teaches him the martial arts.

Daniel proves to be the most gifted of Lei Kung's students. Rand conditions his fists by plunging them into buckets of sand, gravel and rock to toughen them. At 19, Daniel is given the chance to attain the power of the Iron Fist by fighting and defeating the dragon known as Shou-Lao the Undying, which guarded the molten heart that had been torn from its body. During the battle, Daniel throws himself against the scar of Shou-Lao, which burns a dragon tattoo into his chest. Having killed Shou-Lao, he enters its cave and plunges his fists into a brazier containing the creature's molten heart, emerging with the power of the Iron Fist.When K'un L'un reappears after 10 years, Daniel decides to leave and find his father's killer. Returning to New York, Daniel Rand, dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Iron Fist, seeks out Harold Meachum, now head of Meachum Industries. Before Iron Fist can decide whether or not to kill him, Meachum is murdered by a mysterious ninja, and Iron Fist is blamed for the death. Eventually, Iron Fist clears his name and begins a career as a superhero, aided by his friends Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, falling in love with the latter. Danny Rand, as Iron Fist, is a master martial artist. He also has a healing ability and by concentrating his chi in his fist manifests the Iron Fist power.

1970's Flashback: Luke Cage

Can you dig it?

Luke Cage [who later became known as Power Man] was created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). The streetwise young Cage was sent to prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. After his strict law-abiding father died thinking his son a criminal, Luke Cage underwent an experimental procedure that granted him titanium-hard skin and superstrength. Cleared of his crime, he became a “Hero for Hire,” although he was always forced by conscience not to take any money for his deeds.

Luke Cage was one of the first African-American superheroes to headline a comic book series, and therefore was a groundbreaking, but controversial hero. Being Marvel's entry into the 1970s blaxploitation trend, the character sported a stereotypically streetwise tongue, including his famous catch phrase "Sweet Christmas!"

Cage’s powers include: superhuman strength, stamina and durability, and an accelerated healing factor. Cage is also a skilled street fighter.

1970's Flashback: The Shadow

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

The Shadow was created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931 with the first story entitled "The Living Shadow". One of the most famous of the pulp heroes of the 1930s and 1940s, The Shadow achieved even greater fame through a popular radio series where he was originally voiced by actor Orson Welles, The Shadow has been featured in comic books, television, and at least seven motion pictures. However, The Shadow is best regarded for its early radio years, in which pulp crime fiction received its most compelling broadcast interpretation.

The subject of this Flashback and the most acclaimed comic book depiction of the character was the 1970's The Shadow comic written by Denny O'Neil and drawn initially by Mike Kaluta (issues 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6), which was published by DC Comics. The O'Neal/Kaluta issues have been collected as The Private Files of The Shadow.

Moody, atmospheric and perfectly capturing the look and feel of the 1930's era, The Shadow was a high-water mark for 70's era comics. Issue 11, guest-starred another classic pulp-fiction character The Avenger (whose adventures also appeared from DC Comics for a brief period during the same decade).

The Bottom Line = Nexus

Nexus is a terrific comic by writer Mike Baron and artist Steve Rude about troubled intergalactic assassin Horatio Hellpop, who is driven to execute criminals by a higher power (and somewhat against his will).

The series first appeared in the late 1980's and has jumped from publisher to publisher over the intervening years. Nexus has been justifiably critically acclaimed and earned true cult status among many comics fans.

Now, after a decade long break, Nexus has recently returned with a new issue which was its 99th in chronological order. As of today, the comics world has been informed that the 100th issue will be delayed and resolicited for January 2008.

I'm so sorry, but that is BULLSHIT!

I've been a fan of this series from its inception and followed it on its bouncing ball trajectory existence. The Dude wants to pass off the delay as being due to his "perfectionism" , perhaps a better description would be lack of professionalism.

Steve Rude counts Jack Kirby as one of his artistic idols. Jack turned out tons of work over the course of his career and it was always entertaining. Don't get me wrong, I've met the Dude at cons, I think he's a nice guy, but he's no Jack Kirby and I'm done with Nexus. The latest issue just didn't grab me after the extended hiatus and this latest tactic has eroded my support for the team of Baron, Rude & Hellpop.

That's too,bad!

1970's Flashback: Doc Savage Magazine

Doc Savage was a a popular action hero whose adventures where originally published in pulp-digest format back in the 1930's, but Marvel Comics (capitalizing on Bantam Books popular paperbacks that were reprinting The Man of Bronze's old stories for a new generation) published an 8-issue standard-size comic book series in 1972 that also basically adapted several of Doc Savage's pulp adventures.

However after that short-lived series was cancelled, and in the wake of the George Pal motion picture Doc Savage starring former TV Tarzan Ron Ely, Marvel tried Doc out again - this time in their innovative black & white magazine line. Doc Savage (Vol. 2) began in 1975 by writer Doug Moench and artist Tony DeZuniga; although artists John Buscema, Marie Severin, Val Mayerick and Ernie Chan contributed some work.

This series was truly a tour-de-force effort, featuring all-new Doc stories that were done with a pulp flavor, yet still retained a very modern sensibility.

Issue #1's The Doom on Thunder Isle was particularly poignant in its treatment of one secondary characters fate. Despite the quality of this larger format offering, Doc Savage magazine was also cancelled with its eighth issue, but it was a terrific run while it lasted.

1970's Flashback: Killraven

Killraven was first introduced in Marvel Comics "War of the Worlds" feature which ran in Amazing Adventures, starting with its 18th issue (May 1973), and continuing until the title ended [#39].

Writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams created the first story (loosely based on H.G. Wells science-fiction classic), but others took over the book, with writer Don McGregor and artist P. Craig Russell handling more issues together than any other creative team.

Jonathan Raven, was an Earth man who was raised as a gladiator under Martian rule, and forced to fight against other humans for the Martians' amusement, under the name "Killraven". As punishment for trying to escape, he was handed over to a collaborating human-scientist named Whitman, for experimentation. Unknown to the Martians, Whitman was secretly working against his masters, and his "experiments" greatly enhanced Killraven's physical strength and endurance, and also gave him minor psychic powers to protect him from the Martians. After Killraven escaped for good, he dedicated himself to leading an active resistance and was quickly joined by a group of freedom fighters, who called themselves “The Freemen.”