Hang in there, baby — I've got some big news!

Sorry about the slow posting lately, guys — there have been some big things going on over here, with more on the way, and boy are my arms tired.

What? Um, sorry. I'm a little frazzled.

Aaaaanyway, I usually try to keep the focus on comics here, but since this will impact Great Caesar's Post I thought I should announce it here, too (this will be old news to Facebook pals). A couple of days ago I gave notice at work, with my last day being a few weeks from now.

There are various reasons for it, but I want to say straight out that the parting is completely amicable. No, really. I've loved the company for the past five-plus years I've been here, and leaving was not an easy decision. Still, for a variety of reasons, it's the right time. So beginning in mid-May I'll be going back to freelance writing, which is what I did for three years before taking the job I have now. (As a matter of fact, if you know of any possible freelance gigs out there, please don't be shy about letting me know!)

And just because I know something like this tends to raise certain questions, here's what I said on Facebook earlier:

Believe me, I enjoy the health insurance and regular paycheck. But sometimes there has to be something more; luckily, we've been able to put ourselves in a position where we can give ourselves a chance at that. We've prepared as well as we can, enough that even if things don't go the way we want them to, we still have the maneuverability to change direction if it comes to that. It's also a matter of over-preparation; when does it feel "OK?" When does it not feel like a risk? If we wait for that, we'll never do it. Just be sure we know what it's like out there, and we know what obstacles there'll be — like I said, we've done it before. And that time we weren't prepared AT ALL, and we survived for three years.

I realize this will probably seem foolish to a lot of people —it's a big part of the reason we've been fairly quiet about it. Maybe that makes it seem as if it's coming out of the blue, but it really isn't. When I say we've been planning it for years, it's not hyperbole or a casual figure of speech. We've literally been planning this for years. We've gone over everything that will be changed in our lives, discussed the things that will have to be dropped or modified, and we've come to a place where we feel good about it. It all looks very risky, but we've actually minimized that risk as much as possible.

Besides, we all need a little risk now and then.

I think there might've been a smiley at the end of that last sentence.

So, what does this mean for Great Caesar's Post? More content, and on a more regular basis! That's something I've been wanting to do for a LONG time, so I'm eager to get to it. There will be even more news soon (I KNOW!), so keep your ears on, good buddies, and thanks for your patience during the transition.

Space Marines vs Arnie's Special Ops: Who ya got?

A few weeks ago my wife and I were having a serious discussion that eventually made its way to my Facebook page, and while there were advocates on both sides of the issue I never really felt like the thing was resolved. The mission was not over.

Nothing is over!

So I put it to you, Internet pals! In the great history of alien-ass kicking soldiers, who's tougher:

the Delta Force squad of Predator,

or the Colonial Marines from Aliens

Any way you look at it, it's a tough call; as someone pointed out to me, the Predator guys not only have Arnold Schwarzenegger at his peak, they've also got the former governor of Minnesota and MF'n Apollo Creed! On the other hand, Aliens features the craziest chola I've seen since La Smurf back in '85.

Do you think one squad has got it all over the other? Let me know in the comments, and vote for your favorite (and freedom) in the handy poll over on the right while you're at it.

Fall in!

MOOOOON ... child?!

Generally speaking, I don't think anyone cares what I'm having for lunch.

So when I'm updating my status on Facebook (clicky-clicky over on the right if you want to be Internet pals), I crib film quotes on a regular basis. Usually they're taken from pop culture icons, obscure B-movies or geek movie touchstones. And normally at least one or two people know what the hell I'm talking about and play along.

Now that I've set the scene, I should tell you the movie I was talking about this time was The Neverending Story.

There was some brief back-and-forth online, and then it was picked up again yesterday at the comic book shop.

"Hey," my friend asked when I walked in, "was the princess' name really 'Moonchild'? Where'd you get that from?"

Yup, I said, that was actually her name; I couldn't remember when I'd figured that out, but it was one of those things rattling around in my melon, like AT-ATs and the Penny Plunderer.

But the seed was planted. Was that her name? Did Wikipedia and IMDb lie to me? They've been know to do it before, the dirty bastards. I've always thought it was Moonchild, but maybe I'd just told myself that for so long that I believed it. And really, "Moonchild?" Even coming from a kid it seems a little silly-pants.

So what do you think? Take a look at this clip and tell me — what the heck is Bastian screaming into the night?



And while we're at it — what kind of name is Bastian?!

Ride the Lightning

So the last time I saw my nephew he was hard-core excited about a young adult series of books called Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is apparently about the demigod children of classic Greek gods and their misbehaving parents. I'd never heard of it at the time, but it sounded kinda neat and I've been meaning to look into it ever since.

And then suddenly, this starts making the rounds.


Now, I'm not ashamed to admit this: I've had a soft spot for Uma Thurman ever since she ripped the curl on the half-shell as Venus in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. I even forgive her (mostly) for that awful, awful thing she did as Poison Ivy. I won't watch it ever again, but I forgive her. And now that she's playing Medusa in The Lightning Thief? Pretty much guarantees I'll be seeing this in the theater when it comes out.

(And was that Rosario Dawson in there?)

...

(It was!)

Like a lot of kids, I went through a serious mythology phase when I was younger and it's a fascination that's always lingered. Which is probably why I'm also interested in the Clash of the Titans remake.

Zeus help me.

KA-PWING!

As far as I'm concerned, this is still one of the best openings ever.



EVER.

How to get me interested in 'Twilight'

via Dave Campbell, from Josh Krach

Smell my feet

Hoo-boy.

Let me tell you, it ain't easy to get back into the semi-regular posting after a vacation filled with cloudy weather, chowdah and almost no Internet access. And have I mentioned that I visited H.P. Lovecraft's grave? IN THE RAIN?! 'Cause I did.

Aaaaaaanyway, I haven't even really had a chance to catch up on my comic book reading yet ...

(Longish aside: OK, I did read Justice League of America #38 since it was the "jumping on point" with James Robinson taking over the writing and also since I'm a JLA fan from way back, and I was ... unimpressed. I still don't understand DC's insistence on forcing Vixen down reader's throats, and you obviously need to have read other titles to know what the hell's going on. Not exactly reader-friendly. But! I really, really enjoy what Robinson and Greg Rucka have been doing with Superman: World of New Krypton, so I'm going to give it a chance to pull its meandering head out of its stilted ass. That is all.)

... wait. What was I saying? Oh, yeah — I'm still getting caught up on recent comics. I'm also struggling with full-on Halloween fever, so with that in mind here are some tricks 'n' treats for you. I love you, no matter what your mother says.

First, the treat:


Katie Cook is a master of the phenomenally cute illustration, as well as incredibly inventive papercraft. A case in point is this awesome Batman mask (Adam West style, yo) that you can print out and make for yourself! It's pretty great, and you can download the full version — complete with instructions — at her Web site.

And the trick:

I'm not saying it's right, but let's acknowledge for a minute that, once you reach a certain age and temperament, a person might not worry so much about candy as much as wrecking someone else's shit in the name of All Hallow's Eve. I'm not condoning it — VANDALISM IS WRONG — but I won't say I never threw an egg or roll of toilet paper in my day. I may have even spray-painted something on a wall here or there, and I know if the conditions were right I might even be tempted to use this:


Behold the affirmation of all things Fury. Beautiful in its simplicity of image and message, the complete version of this stencil by Joe D! can be found and downloaded in all its flag-wavin', black-ops glory at his site.

Y'know, just in case you run out of candy or something.

And now, a random image of Godzilla with a parasol.

And knowing is half the battle

Just in case you ever find yourself in Providence, R.I., and you happen to find a place with "Comics" in the actual name of the business — IT'S A LIE. Seriously, it's like a Spenser's, a Hot Topic and an FYE had some sort of bizarre three-way and gave birth to this "comic book" store.

If you're looking for CDs, DVDs, posters, tchotchkes, T-shirts, toys, backpacks or magnets for this guy, you'll be in the right place — otherwise, nose around in a lonely corner of the store and you'll be lucky to find a teeny-tiny selection from the week's comics. But probably not the one you're looking for.

And now you know.


I prove things ... with maths!

Image ganked from here (which I'm sure was ripped from somewhere else).

I would have killed for the Spidercopter

As a young Maxo, I was lucky enough to own this:

Click to radioactive spider-size

If you're thinking to yourself, "Wow! That is radically awesome!" you're absolutely right. Of course, being young I was also stupid and abused the hell out of this toy, and I'm not lucky enough to still own Energized Spider-Man today.

I do have fond memories, though. Energized Spidey ran on a big ol' C battery, heavy enough that Charles Bronson could have put it in a sock and cleaned up the neighborhood, no problem. As a result, the toy was heavy. Wait, I need more type styles to properly convey the weight: It was heavy. And, as you might guess by looking at it, articulation was not a big selling point. The arms went up and down (or not — that could be just wishful thinking), and the legs were rigidly frozen in place. And the whole thing was made of a hard, shiny plastic.

That motorized "Pull! Lift! Climb!" bit, by the way? It did work, in the way a string attached to a slowly grinding miniature motor works, glacially dragging an action figure across the floor or laboriously moving Spider-Man himself from floor to door knob.

As you might've guessed, batteries didn't last long.

But, oh, man, did I love this toy. It was a giant among puny Han Solos and Ben Kenobis, and it actually did something. The only thing missing was the highly coveted Green Goblin toy, which I would have put on the bookshelf right next to his heroic nemesis, where he, too, could have pitched forward into battle at the slightest bump thanks to that top-heavy battery.

Sadness

Hey, look everybody — it's Wednesday Comics Superman!

Does Google have a booth number?

So you might've heard there's this little get-together going on in San Diego right now, and in case you haven't — well, Google's here to help.


I thought this was kind of neat, actually, and I wouldn't mind seeing a larger version of it. I have to admit, though, to being surprised that Comic-Con got the kind of Google shout-out usually reserved for dead artists and major holidays. It's a nerd miracle!

EDIT to add: Whoops! I just saw Robot 6 beat me to it!

From deep space ...

I'm still recovering from a long weekend (wah, wah, waaaahh!) so it seems like a good time to share this ad for Invasion of the Body Snatchers.


One of the interesting things about reading back issues is poring over the cultural baggage that older comics carry with them. There are the usual half-page advertisements crammed with tiny images of X-ray specs and stink bombs, but every now and then you might come across something like this. Isn't that a gorgeously designed movie poster? It's about 30 years later and that image still makes me want to see that movie.

And what the hell, Leonard Nimoy?!

One shop, two worlds

It may surprise you to learn this, but I'm a huge nerd.

My love for comics might be the most obvious evidence, but my capacity for nerdity knows no bounds so I'm a pretty active gamer, too. And when I say "gamer" I don't mean the semi-cool console gaming. Oh, no. I'm talking about the old-school paper-and-pencil, character sheet-filling, buying yet another set of funny looking dice kind of gaming.

(And 'cause I can tell you're dying to know; a half-orc warden, thank you very much.)

There have been a few superhero role-playing games that have floated around, and I wish I could've played this one:


Doesn't that look awesome, in a kinda cheesy way?

But coming across this ad reminded me of something I noticed while working at a comic shop a few years ago. The shop was equal parts comics and gaming supplies, complete with dice, miniatures and sourcebooks for a ton of RPGs, as well as comics, trades and manga. It was like heaven ... siiiigggh ...

Ahem. Anyway. After a while something was obvious; the gamers had no time for the comic book geeks, and the comic readers sneered at the gamers. It was a Cold Geek War, with both factions tolerating each other but rarely interacting. Depending on what side of the store you were on determined what kind of snotty remarks you would hear. You would think two groups whose hobbies are based largely on imagination and over-the-top adventures would be like blood brothers — especially considering all the comics based on games available — but that wasn't usually the case.

What made this weirder was the fact that most of the employees read comics and gamed, and did both fanatically. Personally, I could never understand the riff and scorned both equally (I kid because I love!).

Has anyone else ever experienced this? Was it some sort of goofy peer pressure, with Ponyboy peering over the racks and sharing meaningful looks with Cherry Valance over in miniatures? Was it all my imagination? And how many of you fellow comic book readers are also gamers?

The Monday Fly: Who is the Human Fly, anyway?

From the very beginning, The Human Fly was a mystery.

As a character, the Fly was never referred to by anything other than his stage name, and like the Mexican wrestlers he somewhat resembled, he never removed his mask. His backstory went something like this:

After breaking nearly every bone in his body in the same car accident that killed his family, the Human Fly was told he would never walk again. Indeed, it was considered a miracle he had survived at all. But after enduring hundred of hours of reconstructive surgery that ended up replacing most of his bones with a steel skeleton, the Fly began to exercise and push himself in secret through sheer will. First he retaught himself to stand, and then walk, finally training himself to the point where he had the agility and strength (aided by that steel frame) to become a world-famous stuntman who's mission in life was to bring hope to those whose lives might seem hopeless.

Because of his desire to be seen as a symbol of inner-strength and optimism, the Human Fly kept his identity a secret, and also made every death-defying stunt a charity event. Any money he made went to help a charitable organization, usually benefitting kids, with only a small portion being kept to fund the next stunt planned by the Fly and his loyal crew (more about them in future posts!).

So that's the Human Fly as far as the comics are concerned — or is it? One of the most intriguing bits of Marvel marketing can be found right at the top of any issue of The Human Fly:


Real? How could a comic book hero be real? Well, in this case it was true ... sort of.

Back in 1976, a 29-year-old stuntman named Rick Rojatt emerged from Montreal, Quebec, calling himself the Human Fly and already hidden behind the red and white mask. The mid-70s were a high-point for stuntmen, and the Fly distinguished himself by wing-walking on a low-flying DC-8 over the Mojave Desert at about 250 miles per hour. Then he did it again the next day.

The real life Human Fly was a little less modest than the comic book Fly if this article from People magazine is anything to go by, but there was no denying it was a hell of a stunt. And he had a heck of an origin story of his own:

"Rojatt, a Canadian, says he once was a Hollywood stunt man — although the California union has no record of him. He also says he was in an auto accident in North Carolina six years ago which killed his wife and 4-year-old daughter and badly injured him. He had 38 operations in four years, he says, which allowed him to walk again but left him with a body that is '60 percent steel parts.' He says he conditions himself by rising at 3 a.m., running six miles and then plunging into a bathtub full of ice cubes."

Hmm, sounds familiar (well, except for the thing with the ice cubes). Keep in mind that at the time Marvel (which was run by Jim Shooter then) was quick to jump on any trend that surfaced in American pop culture, and that story sounds ready-made for comics. Add the occassional rumor that Evel Knievel had supposedly already rejected a licensing agreement with Marvel to a guy with his own costume and stir the wacky imagination of writer Bill Mantlo into the mix and you've got a real-life superhero!


Of course, there were gray areas. I kind of doubt the real Human Fly ever teamed up with the Marvel U's White Tiger, Daredevil or Ghost Rider. But Rojatt really did wing-walk that jet (as featured in the very first issue) and he really did attempt the rocket-cycle jump over 27 buses (a key point in issue #11). There's even a detailed account about that last stunt straight from the rocket-cycle designer himself right here.

And then there's the question of Rojatt himself. You'll notice that the quote from People mentions how the California union didn't have any record of him, and shortly after the 1977 bus jump Rojatt seemingly fell off the face of the earth. Beyond what came out of the remaining run of the comic (which only published 19 issues in total), there apparently wasn't much to hear about the Human Fly.

There don't seem to be any other headline grabbing stunts after the bus jump, and an online search doesn't turn up any phone or address listings. Even a relunctant dig for an obituary didn't reveal a fate for the Human Fly.

So, who was the Human Fly? Who was the wildest superhero ever? How "real" was he?

Like all good stories, the real answer is still a mystery.

---

Speaking of rumors ...

Besides the whole "Evel Knievel rejected Marvel" rumor (supposedly paving the way for the Human Fly to make the jump from stuntman to superhero), there are a couple of other interesting whispers floating around the Internet:

• According to Mike Sterling at the rocket-powered Progressive Ruin, the Human Fly may have given up stunts to follow a career in music! (And you thought the end of issue #11 came out of nowhere.)

• Was the Human Fly black? Scroll down into the comments for the brief discussion; personally, I think that would be awesome (even though it would make me wonder why he was depicted as white — complete with blue eyes — in the comic).

• The Human Fly never took off his mask — not even at T.G.I. Fridays.

---

EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS: A sort of explanation about the man known as the Human Fly, written by Bill Mantlo!

Godspeed, Captain

I was saddened by the news this morning that Dom DeLuise died last night at the age of 75.

DeLuise was a fantastic comedic actor, especially when he was paired with longtime pal Burt Reynolds, and no where was this more apparent than in the road-race classic, The Cannonball Run. Playing a character with a split personality, DeLuise would go from spineless sidekick to Captain Chaos, a courageous superhero who appeared whenever the need arose. Chaos would often taking on whole gangs singlehandedly while crying out "Daan dan DANNNN!!", swooping down like happy-go-lucky vengeance itself.

It was just one hilarious bit in a fun and funny movie, but it was memorable and I'd be lying if I said it didn't inspire me to randomly leap on people shouting out the Captain's battle-cry.

Here's a clip from Cannonball Run, but I'd really recommend just renting the movie to truly soak in the glory:




- Thanks to Johnny Bacardi for being one of the first to mention the news.

Comics in the Wild: Justice comes cheap

Bruce didn't know which was more humiliating — the fact he had been deeply discounted, or the Bunny's clean getaway.


Found in the Target clearance aisle
Austin, TX

We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes ...

As a certain red-headed stranger once said, I'm on the road again, but this time I'm planning on updating as regularly as I can.

No, seriously.

In the meantime, me and the hard-travelin' heroes can also be friended on Facebook and followed on Twitter — it's all the rambling you can handle!

Aw, crap ... I twittered.

Yeah, I finally gave in, so I can now be found on Twitter if you're so inclined. Don't expect constant updates (at least not until my obsessive gene kicks in), but if you're using Twitter it'd be swell to pal around.

Between here and there

I'll be on the road most of today, but regular posting will pick up again tomorrow. So it's a date? Awesome!

As usual, whenever we here at GCP HQ are gearing up for a road trip, we like to remember the words of that highway philosopher and asphalt poet ... Mr. Oliver Queen:


You said it, Ollie ... you said it.

Back tomorrow, kids!

The return of Staple! and other items of interest (plus a question!)

I don't go to a lot of comic book conventions, but Staple! is one I try hard not to miss.

Staple! is an expo for independently produced comics and other self-published literature, art and any other creative endeavor that fits the vibe of a hip mini-con, here in Austin, Texas. I have an unnatural love for Staple!, and though I've said it before, it really does get bigger and better with each year.

This year is the fifth for the expo, and the organizers have some pretty exciting guests lined up. At the top of the bill is Stan Sakai, legendary creator of Usagi Yojimbo (and this year's Staplegator logo). If I can keep from going into a fanboy coma, I'm really looking forward to meeting him. He'll also be joined by Chris Onstad (of Achewood fame) and Jeffrey Brown (Incredible Change-Bots and other great comics) — not to mention a host of other guests and vendors. You can get the latest information on guests and programming at the Web site.

If you're anywhere near the Austin area, I recommend carving out a couple of hours to take in what's ultimately a very cool meeting of the comic book-minded.

---

Speaking of very cool, the Staple! podcasts are being taken care of by the guys over at Dial-A-Stranger, which is itself one of my favorite regular podcasts. The concept is simple; people e-mail or call in with queries on ... well, anything ... and then hosts Mercedes and Zach randomly call someone from a list of other people who have volunteered to take a question.

It sounds simple and it is, but the interaction between the hosts and the person on the other end of the line is frequently hilarious and often poignant.

It's also well worth a listen.

---

So, Scans-Daily was shut down, huh? I only went to the site a few times — usually when someone else's blog linked to it — so I can't pretend to know too much about it. But I do know that a lot of the people who populated S_D tended to skirt the definition of Fair Use and made a lot of noise, both about how creators didn't know how to use their own characters and about how the posters had some sort of right to do whatever they wanted with someone else's work.

Let me say right off that I'm a big free speech and fair use guy. But that doesn't mean that anything created by anyone else is mine to use as I will. It's illegal and it's disprespectful to the creator. And to not only post almost complete (and in some cases, entirely complete) issues online AND THEN crow about it ... well, that just isn't very smart and you deserved to get shut down. No amount of hand-wringing, cries of man-hate (I didn't even realize S_D was supposed to be a "female space" until recently) or claims of comic book evangelism will change that.

Lisa Fortuner and Andrew Weiss have very good points to make about the whole thing, so go check it out. For myself, I'm sorry people will miss their sense of community, but I'm not sorry to see Scans_Daily go. I tend to avoid message boards and the like because they always seem to end up making me depressed and angry; we'll see how long the mods can keep some of the more interesting new boards to pop up in S_D's place from spinning out of control.

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You may have noticed (or not — what am I, a mind-reader?) that there were some strange goings-on here at the blog yesterday. Blogger has been giving me more and more trouble lately, so I ask you, Internet: Is it time to switch to Wordpress? Tell me, Internet, tell me!!