Farewell, Moneypenny

I just read the news that Lois Maxwell died this Saturday. Her appearances were always one of my favorite parts of the James Bond series...it just wasn't the same after the character was recast.

Let's raise a martini glass (shaken, not stirred) to her memory...and watch this video I found on YouTube.

Kids' Jokes for Foolio 9-29

Today's assortment of gags from the kids at Uncle Grampa's Hoo-Dilly Storytime:

"Why did the jump rope cross the road?"
"To get to the other slide."

"Why couldn't Bob open the piano?"
"Because the keys were inside."

"Why did the jump rope cross the road and jump into the tree?"
"Because it got hurt and it wanted to get hurt."

"Why couldn't Luigi go to school?"
"He had pizzeria!"

"Why did the chicken go from Paris, France to Kentucky?"
"Because he wanted to be Kentucky Fried Chicken."

"Why did the cookie go to the doctor?"
"To get some candy."

"Why did the chicken get in the way?"
"Because he got in the chicken, not pay."

Oh I'm Sorry, Did I Break Your Concentration?

What I Sang 9/22

From last night at CB South, a real mixed bag of times and styles:

"Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price.
"Dammit" by Blink-182.
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive.

The Return of Foolio!

Hooray! Today marked the start of the new season of Uncle Grampa's Hoo-Dilly Storytime, the kids' show at Dad's Garage...and that means an all-new supply of those sometimes-corny, frequently-non-sequitur jokes from the kids to Foolio. (Not to mention a slight foray into political humor today...) Take it away, kids...

"What did the judge say to the skunk that walked into the courtroom?"
"Odor in the court!"

"Who likes candy?"
"Me!"

"Why did the pool get in the bug?"
"Because it got drowned!"

"Why did the president walk into the jail?"
"Because he wanted to be arrested!"

"What did the people on the ship do when they ran out of food?"
"Foolio on a Bun...but too bad, it stinks!"

"Why did the pickle go to the gym?"
"Because he was arrested, too!"

"What did one eyeball say to the other eyeball?"
"Between the two of us, something smells."

"When does Friday come before Thursday?"
"In the dictionary!"

"What were Batman and Robin called after they were run over by a car?"
"Flatman and Ribbon!"

"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Deez."
"Deez who?"
"Deez jokes are terrible!"

(Needless to say, on that last one there was a moment of anxiety from the adults before the kid delivered the relatively innocent punchline...)

Brett Somers: Blank in Peace

Only a few months on the heels of Charles Nelson Reilly's passing, we've lost his perennial Match Game sparring partner, Brett Somers. Let's remember those happy bickering times:







Good times, good times...

What I Sang 9/15

"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel.
"Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton.
"The Distance" by Cake.
"Train in Vain" by The Clash.
"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury.

When a 'Top 10' Just Isn't Enough...

Well, I missed my chance to vote in Brian Cronin's "Top Ten Marvel & DC Characters" poll...but luckily, Jon over at Facedown in the Gutters is holding a survey of his own, inviting people to send in their 25 favorite characters from each universe. He'll be accepting e-mails until Wednesday the 19th, so send in those lists to Jon (at the e-mail link on his post).

Anyway, here are my lists:

Marvel

1. The Thing
2. Captain America
3. Spider-Man
4. Dr. Doom
5. She-Hulk
6. J. Jonah Jameson
7. Hulk
8. Howard the Duck
9. Squirrel Girl
10. Thor
11. Namor
12. Rick Jones
13. Mary Jane Watson-Parker
14. Invisible Woman
15. The Beast
16. Strong Guy
17. Songbird
18. Sharon Carter
19. Lockjaw
20. Volstagg
21. Fin Fang Foom
22. Ulysses Bloodstone
23. Pip the Troll
24. Angar the Screamer
25. The Elf with a Gun

DC

1. Ambush Bug
2. Batman
3. Guy Gardner
4. Captain Marvel (Billy Batson)
5. Death (of the Endless)
6. Superman
7. Dream (of the Endless)
8. Mary Marvel
9. Flash (Wally West)
10. Big Barda
11. Plastic Man
12. Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr)
13. Oracle
14. Robotman (Cliff Steele)
15. Kilowog
16. Mr. Nobody
17. Power Girl
18. Alfred Pennyworth
19. Atom (Ryan Choi)
20. Crazy Jane
21. Blue Devil
22. Animal Man
23. Cat-Man
24. Deadshot
25. Lady Blackhawk

That's how my lists stood when I sent them in...of course, immediately after I mailed it, I realized "How could I have forgotten Detective Chimp?" Yeah, I know it's pretty heavily-skewed towards the comic-relief characters...that's just the way I roll.

Quick, Belated Comments on She-Hulk

Just a few thoughts regarding the end of Dan Slott's run on She-Hulk. Overall, I enjoyed his stories very much, despite Slott's occasional (well, okay, more than occasional) lapses into Roy Thomas Syndrome (stories whose primary purpose is to "fix" other stories). At least Slott did so with wit and style (most of the time--that "oh, by the way" revelation that the villains in Punisher War Journal #4 weren't actually killed was pretty awkward).

And while I enjoyed learning that Stu is still alive, I'm not so thrilled by the declaration that the black & white Howard the Duck magazine's depiction of Duckworld (complete with "Ducktor Strange") is in continuity...Steve Gerber has publicly expressed his disdain for that story, and Gerber's website features an unpublished script in which he does away with it (revealing that the black & white stories were Krylorian "movies," just like the black & white Rampaging Hulk issues). ("Clearly, Duckworld had to die.") Sorry, Dan, but as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to Howard, Gerber has the last word.

Finally, while the "Earth-A" catch-all explanation for continuity glitches is pretty clever, I can't help but point out that the Reed Richard Thing is not Earth-A's only superhuman; way back in that first story (Fantastic Four #118), we saw that world's Ben Grimm as a well-known, high-profile figure with the combined powers of elasticity and flame. (He probably got the invisibility, too, but that was never confirmed...and since he later had Reed take away his powers, it's a moot point.) I just found it mildly amusing that a story that resolves all continuity errors should have a rather significant error of its own.

What I Sang 9/8

Tonight's offerings at CB South: An '80s flashback.

"Love Plus One" by Haircut 100.
"Ashes to Ashes" by David Bowie.
"The Fanatic" by Felony.

And Now, the Sketches

I've finished scanning in the sketches I got at Dragon*Con, and I hope you enjoy them!


First, I got two for my Golden Age sketchbook...Christopher Jones' rendition of the Red Tornado.

And the Red Bee by Jason Yungbluth:

In the musical sketchbook, I got two contributions from Peter Bagge: First, letting him make his own song selection, he did this illustration of Mudhoney's "Here Comes Sickness."

Then, from the sadly defunct and much-missed Weekly World News, here's Bat Boy singing the opening verse from Bat Boy: The Musical.

And finally, I got this beautiful Adam Hughes drawing of Power Girl listening to "I'm Wearing an Orange Tank Top" by Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter:

(Incidentally, ANMD will be playing at the 10 High this Friday night...I'm looking forward to the show!)

Dragon*Con Report

Well, I had a great time at Dragon*Con, as I'd hoped and expected...here's a quick rundown of the highlights:

Ran into some Dad's Garage friends (Z, Tiff, and Tara) in the Dealer's Room/Artist Alley, while I was standing at Christopher Jones' table and browsing through his stuff. (Thank God it wasn't at one of the "naughtier" artists' tables!) I also met a couple of former co-workers and chatted briefly...Will in the dealer's room and Leah while getting in line for the "Meet the Stars of Harry Potter" panel. (I would've liked to talk to Leah more, but I had to move on and take my place in line.)

The Harry Potter panel in question, with James & Oliver Phelps (the Weasley twins) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) was highly entertaining...and the next panel I attended, a Babylon 5 Q&A with Claudia Christian and Julie Caitlin Brown, was even more so. Claudia Christian is always frickin' hilarious...it's worth checking out the DVD of Final Voyage for her participation in the audio commentary (which is infinitely more entertaining than the actual movie). I should have asked her if she'd done any other DVD commentaries...

Saturday morning, Tippi Hedren had a panel discussing her efforts with the Shambala animal preserve...very admirable work!

The highlight of Saturday night, for me, was the screening (and subsequent Q&A) of The Signal, a very suspenseful, disturbing, and yes, even funny thriller with a great cast of Atlanta actors. When this movie gets to your area, I highly recommend it.

Sunday's Adult Swim panel/screening was outstanding...a lot of crazy, hilarious stuff there. (My favorite parts were "The Cat's in Pajamas" music video, and Unknown Hinson's unknown hinson-ness throughout the panel.) Shout-out to MaryK!

Didn't see the Masquerade...I just didn't want to deal with the lines and crowds (which were bad enough at the other events). Instead, I saw "The Monty Python Experience," a unique combination of Python material and improvisation by the "Mr. Frisket" troupe. (For example, they took the traditional improv game of "Story, Story, Die," but had the improvisors tell the tale in the personas of assorted Python characters--Mr. Nudge-Nudge, a Gumby, a Pepperpot, Graham Chapman's Colonel Muriel ("Stop That, It's Silly") Volestrangler, etc.) And there was much rejoicing.

As for the Dealer's Room & Artist Alley, I did manage to pick up a few cool comics (including some old Green Lanterns which would undoubtedly interest SallyP), and got some sketches...including an Adam Hughes piece, which I'd previously given up hope for. Luckily, I just managed to sign up early enough to fit one in. I'll share the sketches as soon as I have a chance to scan them in...but for now, I'm going to call it a night.