Monthly Archives: May 2003

Canter's Delicatessen on Fairfax in L.A. is one of my favorite places to dine, especially on Wednesdays when they serve an incredible pea soup. Had dinner there last night with Sergio, in fact. Anyway, since I sometimes cover Vegas on this website, I thought I'd mention that Canter's has now opened its first outlet…at the Treasure Island hotel-casino in Bill Bennett's favorite town. I'm not sure why this is of interest but it felt like something I ought to mention here.

I'm still on the back-up computer so I can't write what I'd like to write about Bob "But I Wanna Tell Ya" Hope, who's celebrating his 100th birthday today…probably not by doing anything the rest of us would associate with the word, "celebrating." I guess when you hit the century mark, just breathing is a kind of celebration.

I have a couple of anecdotes about my exceedingly-brief encounters over the years with Mr. Hope but they seem especially trivial today, as those who knew him well are filling the papers and Internet with tributes and stories. So I'll just direct you to the best possible website to learn about the amazing career of the outstanding comedian of his generation. Here's the link to some online samples of the Bob Hope and American Variety Exhibition in the Library of Congress. Those pictures say more than anything I can write tonight…

…except to answer the oft-asked question I see on comic book discussion boards tonight: Who, apart from Mort Drucker, did the Bob Hope comic book that DC published all those years? Answer: The early issues were drawn by Owen Fitzgerald, who was followed by Mort Drucker and Bob Oksner. Near the end, there were a few issues illustrated by Neal Adams and one by Carmine Infantino. The later issues were primarily written by Arnold Drake. Before him, the main writer was Cal Howard, but it is believed that a few others were authored by Sy Reit, Jack Miller and even Bill Finger. It all made for an odd corner of Mr. Hope's illustrious career — but one that, oddly enough, is included in the above-linked Library of Congress display.

Howard Cruse is one of those artists whose work I've always admired from afar. Never met the man — yes, there are cartoonists I don't know — but always liked it…especially a strip he did a jillion years ago called Barefootz. He has a history of that comic here but only go there after you're browsed the main pages of his website.

For 27 years, Fantagraphics Books has published important magazines (first and foremost, The Comics Journal), important books about comics, and important books of comics. Many of these have been among the most important publications of and/or pertaining to the Art Form. Just go over to their website and browse around. You'lll find some of the best in new comics, some of the best in old comics and even some stuff in-between. Last year, for instance, they issued Greg Sadowski's book on Bernie Krigstein, which was one of the most important (I keep using that adjective but it's appropriate) books ever published in the field.

Lately, everyone who publishes comics — or publications for that marketplace — has been having a tough time of it. Some publishers are gone. Some others are hanging in there because they've been able to augment their publishing income with merchandising deals and/or because they're owned by a conglomerate with Deep Pockets and a willingness to ride out inclement weather. Neither of these has helped Fantagraphics, which makes most of its income simply by putting out publications that people want to purchase. They took a big hit not long ago when their bookstore distributor went belly-up and, as the marketplace evolves into something new and uncharted, they find themselves with tons of inventory — books they've printed and have piled-up in the warehouse. With things tightening up, they've put out the word that they need to convert some of that backstock to cash in order to keep functioning as they have. They've recently tightened belts and laid-off some staffers. I doubt they're in any danger of folding, but I always hate to see an independent publisher have to, for example, sell out to a larger concern, or scuttle plans for anything but the most commercial endeavors.

This is not a call for charity. They simply have books you probably want to buy and if you do that now, you'll be happy and they'll be solvent. This in turn will lead to them putting out more books that you'll want to buy so you can give them more money. In other words, buy now. Buy Sadowski's book, at least — and no, I'm not going to give you a link so you can buy it from Amazon and I'll get a cut. Go to the Fantagraphics website and buy it from them. And buy something else while you're at it, either on the website or from their "800" number, which is (800) 657-1100.

But accurate. I recommend this entry by Joshua Micah Marshall in his excellent political weblog. Just as the Bush Administration will eventually have to answer for all those reports of Weapons of Mass Destruction that now seem to be at least questionable, the Press Corps has to answer for all those charges of provable Clinton wrongdoing that no one was ever able to prove.

Veteran comic book artist Al Hartley died on Tuesday at age 81. Hartley was best known to comic fans for his work on Archie Comics, for Marvel's Patsy Walker, and for one very odd Thor story that ran in Journey Into Mystery #90. For reasons no one can recall, a super-hero story was assigned to a man who drew in a comic/teen style and the result was…interesting. (I'm being charitable here…)

For much of his career, Hartley worked with the Archie company and with an outfit called Spire Christian Comics for which he wrote and drew 59 one-shot Christian comic books — many featuring the Archie characters — liberally laced with Biblical quotes and deeply religious themes. Some folks found this work preachy to the extent of being offensive, but no one doubted his sincerity. The one time I met Mr. Hartley, he explained at some length how he prayed over every page, hoping fervently to reach some lost soul with the messages he was conveying. If you could get past that, some of what he did — particularly non-Archie projects like his comic book adaptation of The Cross and the Switchblade — showed solid storytelling and great passion.

This obituary will tell you more about Mr. Hartley, including something I hadn't known; that his father was the co-sponsor of the famous Taft-Hartley bill. (It will also tell you that he started drawing Spider-Man and the Hulk in 1946. Needless to say, those characters didn't exist until the sixties and if Hartley ever drew them, it was only for a panel or two somewhere.)

Mel Brooks tells you all sorts of stuff about the musical version of The Producers — including the shocking revelation that he likes the new cast.

Do I look any different to you? I should. I'm on my backup computer. My main one sensed that I was under a heavy deadline and decided to go kablooey on me. Postings here will be few until the deadline is met and my main computer rises from the dead. Sorry.

These are all from the same page in the L.A. Times. This one is about Ed Rosenthal, a man who was convicted of trafficking in marijuana — this, despite the fact that he was asked by state government to supply said marijuana for therapeutic use. Federal officials (i.e., John Ashcroft) have taken the position that Federal law trumps State law and that what Rosenthal did was illegal. This is not how the legal system is supposed to work.

Larry Gelbart is a fine screenwriter, as well. Here, from the same newspaper, is a piece he wrote about his former employer, Robert Hope.

Frank Pierson is a fine screenwriter. Here's a piece about what he thinks is wrong with Hollywood. He's right.

Here's a link to an article that interested me. Short summary: Polygraphs are not only worthless but they cause innocent people to be branded as liars.

Interesting article by David D. Perlmutter. The quick summary of it is that we have trivialized words like "hero" and "patriot" by using them to refer to a lot of folks who have sacrificed nothing and risked nothing.

Our pal Stan Sakai took home the National Cartoonists Society award last night in the Comic Book Division. The group's 57th annual award ceremony was held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, and Stan's wonderful Usagi Yojimbo feature was honored, along with work by other top cartoonist-type people. The top trophy — the Reuben for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year — went to Matt (Simpsons) Groening, but we're more excited about Stan's win. Usagi Yojimbo is that rarity in the world of comics: A book conceived, written, lettered and wholly illustrated by one person — and produced not for just a few stories but over an extended period. Tom Luth provides cover coloring but otherwise, it's all Stan, as it has been for around 20 years, ever since the notion of the Samurai Rabbit occurred to him. The character first appeared in the second issue of a limited-run comic called Albedo, which is now very valuable. (As I write this, a copy is being auctioned off on eBay. Bidding is up to $255 and it still has more than three days to run.) Anyway, we couldn't be happier to see Stan's talents and commitment be recognized this way. You can read more about Stan and his bunny at his website.