Cockrum's Comix

Our pal Dave Cockrum died last year. His lovely spouse Paty is selling off some of Dave's comic book collection and I'm going to direct you to this link so you can get some great comics for good prices and she can make some bucks. Truly a win/win situation.

Today's Video Link

Here's a number from the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, which was a terrific production…one that made clear what a fine, well-crafted show Abe Burrows and Frank Loesser wrote. Before I saw this revival, I'd seen others which had not, especially one in 1980 that was directed by one of the show's original producers, Cy Feuer. Milton Berle starred as Nathan Detroit and mugged his way through the proceedings, winking at the audience and delivering asides that were not in the original text. The reviews said things like, "If you thought it was impossible to ruin Guys and Dolls, this new version will disabuse you of that notion." It played Los Angeles and San Francisco, allegedly to get the bugs out before they took it to Broadway. Instead, it closed in California and seems to have soured the theatrical community on further revivals for years after.

Mr. Feuer reportedly did not like the '92 version but he was just about the only one. I sure enjoyed it and this clip may give you some idea why. The first three actors you'll see on stage have all gone on to considerable success. The gentleman playing Nathan Detroit is, of course, Nathan Lane. The man in the magenta suit is J.K. Simmons, who seems to be in half the movies being made these days, including his role as J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films. And the gent in the blue-green suit is Walter Bobbie, who is now one of the top Broadway directors. Here they are doing Frank Loesser proud…

VIDEO MISSING

Set the TiVo!

Starting next week, GSN (the channel formerly known as Game Show Network) is restoring its old seven-nights-a-week black-and-white game show block. Every night at 3 AM (Midnight on my coast), they'll be running a vintage What's My Line? followed by an old I've Got a Secret. These were all run on GSN a few years ago but it'll be nice to have them back every night instead of once a week.

More Breaking News

Even as I was posting the previous message, I received an e-mail from the Guild that included the following…

Second, this is a full and binding agreement. Worldwide Pants is agreeing to the full MBA, including the new media proposals we have been unable to make progress on at the big bargaining table. This demonstrates the integrity and affordability of our proposals. There are no shortcuts in this deal. Worldwide Pants has accepted the very same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on December 7.

So the terms of the deal are acceptable to us and we're already using it to tell the world we're not asking for anything so unreasonable. Okay, let's see if we can predict the AMPTP press release…

We respect the position of some independent producers to enter into arrangements that will spare them from the damaging, costly strike that the Writers Guild has caused in our industry. However, a company like Worldwide Pants is not engaged in areas such as Animation and Reality Programming that make the WGA demands so unacceptable to most production entities. The WGA demands would harm and cripple any studio engaged in those areas so we cannot and will not entertain them.

Something like that. It should be out any minute now…

This Just In…

Just got back from the market to a whole batch of e-mails asking me what I think of news that David Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants, has made an interim deal with the Writers Guild. I think you'd have to look at the terms of that deal to decide if it's a good thing for the WGA. If it establishes some meaningful gain that advances the ball on the issues that matter in the current strike, it's great. If it just means that CBS gets back one of its major points of profit, then I don't think much of it.

There is a slight potential bit of division possible within the Guild if some writers go back to work while most are hiking about with signs. I don't think it will divide us in any significant way if it seems like the interim contract will help our mission, even a little. Some members will complain but the WGA can't hire a new janitor without someone complaining. Most will see it as a good thing, especially if Letterman's ratings show a clear advantage over his competition, and if Dave's on every night speaking of Network Weasels. If the Guild can field a few more of these, it will do a lot to combat the AMPTP claim that it's impossible to make a deal with us.

Happy Stan Lee Day!

And a happy birthday to Smilin' Stan Lee…from Madcap Mark, as I was once dubbed by him. You're nobody in the comic book business until Stan has assigned you an alliterative adjective.

May you have 85 more, Stan. Either that or we're going to freeze you inside a glacier so that one day, you can be found and thawed out and resume your amazing career. (If I were you, I'd just keep on living and forego the glacier option. Glaciers don't seem to be doing too well these days…)

Today's Video Link

Everyone knows the Carl Reiner-Mel Brooks routines about the 2000 Year Old Man. What some don't recall is that they did other routines on their first records. Here's one, from what I think is a 1962 Timex All-Star Comedy Special. It's introduced by an obscure comedian named Johnny Carson…

VIDEO MISSING

Today's Most-Asked Question

No, I'm not being paid a damn thing by the makers of Cheerios®.

The Cheery O

I need to get back to work but before I do, I wanted to say something here about Cheerios®. I haven't mentioned much about Cheerios® here lately and that's an oversight I need to correct. Because Cheerios® are important. Cheerios®, I realized not long ago, are truly Nature's Most Perfect Food. They're tasty. They're crunchy. They're healthier than most other things I eat. Did you know that they may help lower Cholesterol? That's not a proven fact but they may, which puts them ahead of all those foods — like bacon and butter and In-and-Out Burgers, that we're pretty certain do not lower Cholesterol. But Cheerios® may and that's good enough for me.

Please note that I am writing here of plain, old-fashioned Cheerios® — the kind in the yellow box. I have never tried Honey Nut Cheerios® and I never will, partly because I'm allergic to almonds and partly because I simply resent the notion that Cheerios® could be improved upon. I also have no use for Berry Burst Cheerios®, Yogurt Burst Cheerios®, Multi Grain Cheerios®, Cheerios® Crunch, Fruity Cheerios®, Frosted Cheerios® or Apple Cinnamon Cheerios®. For obvious reasons.

Over the years, I've occasionally shifted my affection to other cereals but rarely for long. I always come back to Cheerios®. Recently, I went through a brief Corn Flakes flirtation but it faded. When you put them in a bowl with milk and sugar, they're almost as good but Cheerios® are much, much better when you just eat a dry handful right out of the box. Which is how I eat most cereal.

These days, I really only eat two cereals. One, of course, is Cheerios®. The other, which is also quite wonderful, is Barbara's Shredded Oats and I kind of think of it as Designer Cheerios®. Barbara's Shredded Oats is denser and crunchier and a little more expensive. It's kind of like Cheerios® on a higher budget.

This is all I have to say about Cheerios® at the moment but there will be more. I can't say enough about Cheerios®.

Breaking/Baffling News

Like most (all?) of you, I woke up this morn to the news that former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated at a political rally. Like some (most?) of you, I had some knowledge of Bhutto and Pakistan but not enough to really understand the significance of this killing…what it means to Pakistan and, of course, what it means to the United States. It's tough to not look at every bit of news from the standpoint of immediate self-interest. There are times when I feel semi-uncomfortably like an actor friend of mine. If you told him that a volcano went off in Uruguay, all he could think about was, "Does that affect my career in any way?"

Anyway, I started hitting webpages where I thought I might find some explanation and quick analysis of what the assassination means to me and my country. What I found were a lot of theories about what it means to the Iowa Caucus. Apparently, it helps Hillary Clinton because it will send voters towards the candidate who seems more likely to use military force…unless, of course, they're afraid of a President who'll plunge us into another Iraq-like debacle, in which case it will send voters away from Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, it will help Rudy Giuliani because voters will look to the man with experience in Crisis Management…unless, of course, those voters realize that Giuliani has no experience in foreign matters, in which case it will send voters away from Rudy Giuliani.

I love explanations that tell you everything you want to know…unless, of course, they don't tell you a damn thing.

But at least there also seems to be a consensus that, as David Gergen put it, "…Pakistan, like an immense number of other problems, will be awaiting our next president." And then he wrote something about how it will require extraordinary leadership in the Oval Office, like all the other decisions that go through that place don't.

Paul "Zeus" Grant, R.I.P.

Sorry to hear of the death of Paul Grant, who in the world of comic books was a a smart connoisseur and commentator. He was a pioneer of the online comic community, holding forth on the old CompuServe forum at a time when something like 1% of America had ever heard the word, "Internet." His handle, and the name by which most knew him, was Zeus…and when you got to know the guy, as I had the privilege of doing, you saw why the name fit. He not only looked like Zeus, he had a large, expansive manner and a huge, jolly laugh. John Ostrander has more.

Today's Video Link

In 1972 and 1973, ABC had a neat little show on Saturday morning called The Saturday Superstar Movie. What it was was an anthology of hour-long cartoon specials, which I suppose were all pilots in someone's eyes, produced by an array of studios. Some were revivals of old characters. There was Yogi's Ark Lark, which brought back Yogi, Huck, Quick Draw and the gang after many years off the screen. (Hanna-Barbera was fighting with Columbia over who owned what.) There was a very strange Popeye special that guest-starred most of the King Features comic strip characters. There was even a show that crossed new characters with old…Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies.

There were also animated versions of live-action TV shows including The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, Lassie, Gidget, The Munsters and That Girl. And there were a few new things, as well. You'll see fast cuts from some of these shows in this, the main title for the series…

Of Possible Interest

There's no way I can embed the videos or link you directly to them…but if you go over to the Disney website right now, they have a video player on the first page that runs little featurettes. You can watch the Donald Duck cartoon, Donald's Snow Fight, and if you hunt just a little bit, there's a nice short about the recent Disney Legends ceremony. It includes a brief soundbite with our pal Floyd Norman and a musical performance by Randy Newman.

Coming Soon…

I get three or four e-mails a day lately asking me when my book on Jack Kirby is coming out, if my book on Jack Kirby is coming out, etc. The answer is that it's off to press and they're telling me I'll have copies to sign at the Wondercon in San Francisco, which is February 22-24. I doubt it'll be available much before those dates and I assume it'll be available everywhere soon after those dates…and you now know as much about this as I do. In fact, knowing you and knowing me, you may know more than I do. You can pre-order it right this second from Amazon where they're currently saying it'll be out February 1. It used to say March 1 on that page so maybe they know something we don't.

If you can't wait, Peter Sanderson is serializing a fairly detailed review over at Quick Stop Entertainment and he has Part One up. I almost wish he wasn't saying such nice things about it because in a day or so, I'm going to be giving a very nice review/plug to a book he worked on and it's going to look like some sort of sneaky trade-off.

Boxing Day Strike Stuff

No news on the strike front, and there may not be any for a while. We're still on strike and the other side is still trying to send out scary messages about not dealing with us for a decade or two. I would advise everyone not to believe rumors that come with no credible name attached…especially the ones that start "I was at a party and this guy said he'd heard that someone at CBS was saying…" It has been my experience that during a strike, a rumor that comes with no identified source has less than a 15% chance of having any basis at all in reality. This applies just as much to anonymous messages posted on Internet forums. Messages with identified sources or real signatures have a slightly better rate of accuracy, sometimes verging on as much as 50%.

The point is that just because someone announces "I just talked to Nick Counter and he said…" does not mean that Nick Counter said it or even that the person actually talked to Nick Counter or to anyone who had ever talked to Nick Counter. Come to think of it, even if Nick Counter really said it, that doesn't mean it's true, either.

(Speaking on Nick Counter: Have you seen his nickel counter?)

Our little labor dispute seems to bring out essayists with views I do not quite comprehend. A couple of them can be explained as just sucking up to (or working for) the studio heads, and I've read a few that seemed to me that the author had emotional issues with his own career and those who he thought were more successful. I'm especially dubious of those that rush to say "the Writers Guild has handled this all wrong" without suggesting any sort of scenario as to what we could/should have done differently. My pal Bob Elisberg penned a nice rebuttal in the L.A. Times to an op-ed piece that didn't make a lot of sense to me, either.

At the moment, the AMPTP is trying to sell the idea that this strike is about the WGA making unreasonable demands in the areas of Animation and "Reality" programming. It's not. It's about New Media and about the fact that the studios are simultaneously saying (a) that there's no money in that area and (b) that they're willing to lose many, many billions to not share that no money with us or any other union.