An awful lot of the Internet the past twenty-four hours has been full of speculation about why the Fox News Channel decided to do without the services of Mr. Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson going forward. There's certainly no shortage of possible reasons being bandied about and this might be a good place for me to restate a position of mine: That in cases like this, we never get the whole story. We may get a story and it may be true as far as it goes but it will not be the whole story.

I have been a witness to a few dozen matters in the TV business — and also in comic books and a few other fields — where Management (in some form) makes a big, planet-shaking decision and everyone asks "Why?" The real, full answer is usually something like "Well, there were about nine reasons" with one functioning as The Last Straw or maybe as the excuse to pull the trigger.

Example: A friend of mine was fired from a very good job because of alleged "sexual improprieties." And "alleged" may not be quite the correct word because what he did was not in dispute. What was arguable was whether what he did rose to the level where dismissal was warranted.  Not being present for the offenses, I am unqualified to make such a judgement.

But I'm pretty certain that, while the sex stuff was the stated reason and possibly a valid one, the bigger picture encompassed a lot of prior misdemeanors unrelated to the charges of sexual misconduct. They kinda wanted to get rid of him and he finally gave them a more solid reason. (And by the way: Don't assume you can guess who I'm talking about here. Sadly, I have a couple of acquaintances who have been dismissed for transgressions in this category.)

Human Beings who ask "Why?" usually want and are satisfied by a very simple one-sentence reason…but it may not be the only reason. And you may never hear about all the others.

Those extrapolating about the decision to oust Carlson are trying to piece together that sentence given what they know…but they may not know everything. Many, many years ago I took a college course in Criminology and its instructor was always ticking off reminders that solving a crime in real life was not like Perry Mason or Miss Jane Marple solving a crime in one of their novels. In a book, the author makes sure you have all the clues necessary to lead you to the right answer. In real life, you may not.

For all we know, Rupert Murdoch or whoever made the decision to cut Tucker loose might know about some pending scandal that hasn't gone public yet…and might not. Or Ol' Rupert might have gotten a call from some major, spends-a-fortune advertiser on Fox saying, "Get rid of that bastard!" Or you and I could sit here all day making up all sorts of possible scenarios. Hey, maybe they found out that Tucker is quietly undergoing gender transformation and they feared outrage among Fox target viewers not unlike the recent Bud Light mess.

And it might have to do with the leaked e-mails and it might have to do with Carlson's "January 6 was just a big Mardi Gras" broadcasts. The timing suggests it had a lot to do with the Dominion settlement — and maybe it did — or the upcoming Smartmatic lawsuit. Or advertisers fleeing. Or Abby Grossberg's lawsuit against the network. Or something Carlson said to Murdoch. Or none of these or all of these. Like I said, there are plenty of possible factors involved.

This post is not really about Tucker Carlson. I don't really care much about the guy, just as I probably won't care much about whoever will take his time slot and tell Fox News viewers, night after night, that they need to be very, very afraid of immigrants and black people and Liberals and rich people being audited by the I.R.S. and "woke" candy but not of COVID or climate change or Donald Trump or Putin or whatever. I'll bet whoever it is will do just as well in the ratings…and that Rupert Murdoch and his lieutenants believe that and it's among the many reasons for Mr. Carlson's sudden ouster.

Or maybe they just realized he was a dick.

Here's something I've never seen discussed in print about comic books or heard mentioned at conventions.  Perhaps it has and I've missed it.  Before I bring it up here, let's clarify some terms.  A single, usually-rectangular image on a comic book page that contains a moment in the story is called a panel and the lines which go around the panel are called the panel borders.  The words like "Later…" or "Meanwhile…" that denote a passage of time, a change of location or some information not conveyed through the drawing or dialogue are called captions.  The dialogue is in a container that is called a word balloon.  And the space between the panels or between the panels and the edge of the page is called the gutter.

Everyone got the terminology straight?  Okay, let's proceed…

There is a theory that has been occasionally followed in comics that word balloons should not touch panel borders; that the balloon should be floated away from them so that color can surround the balloon and you don't have the white of the word balloon meeting the white of the gutters.  This makes for better coloring because the colorist isn't always dealing with this big blob of white that is found in almost every panel.

Floating word balloons away from panel borders is sometimes easier if the word balloons are rectangular — or rectangular with rounded corners — as in this panel from a Yosemite Sam comic book published by Gold Key in the mid-seventies…

See? The word balloons do not touch the panel borders as they do in a panel like this from a Bugs Bunny comic book published around the same time…

I think the second works better than the first. The lettering in the first is more intrusive and it's also too large. Also, the idea of balloons not touching panels was to enable the white of the word balloon to be surrounded by color and the colorist of this first panel didn't do that.  Furthermore, I think the non-rectangular balloons in the second example just feel more organic. (Full Disclosure: The Bugs Bunny panel is from a story I wrote but I had nothing to do with the lettering or its placement or any of the issues discussed in this article.)

Now, some of you might be wondering why one Gold Key comic book based on characters from Warner Brothers cartoons had a rule against word balloons touching panel borders while another, concurrent Gold Key comic book based on characters from Warner Brothers cartoons didn't. Well, let me amend that: If you're like me, fascinated by all the minutiae of comic book creation and production, you might be wondering. If you're not, skip all the subsequent articles in what will be a series of posts here over the next week or so.

But there is a reason. Lately, there seems to be an increased interest in Gold Key Comics among the kind of folks who are interested in comic book history. At least, I'm getting more questions about that company for which I once worked. I will be telling a few little stories about that line of comics and Part Two will be along in a day or two…or three.  Whenever I get to it.  And we'll further discuss word balloons touching panel borders.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEXT PART OF THIS SERIES

Devin "Legal Eagle" Stone breaks down the Fox News/Dominion Voting Machines settlement…

My pal Lee Goldberg is a fine writer of mystery novels and scripts. Once upon a time, he wrote a screenplay that was to star Dame Edna and if you click on over to Lee's site, he'll tell you all about it.

Jordan Klepper hosted The Daily Show last week and I thought he did a really good job. I dunno if the folks at Comedy Central are viewing the new "host-of-the-week" rotation as auditions for a permanent M.C. or it they've decided to go the Saturday Night Live route and change every week from now on. If the former, I don't think they could do better than Mr. Klepper…though they might think he's more valuable out doing field pieces.

Here's something he said to the studio audience during a break or before or after one episode this past week. Seems to me there's an important point in what he says…

It's 86 days until Comic-Con International convenes in San Diego. I'm starting to plan what I'm going to be doing there and if you're going, you shouldn't wait too long. Planning Ahead is key to an enjoyable convention experience. Plan when you're going, how you're going to get there, where you're going to stay and/or park, where you're going to eat, etc. The COVID policy could be changed between now and then but it might be a good idea to read this regarding the current policy. In fact, it's good to keep an eye on the entire convention website which is updated from time to time.

My friends at The San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog also have loads of great information. They're currently reporting that the dates for next year's Comic-Con appear to be Wednesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 21. That hasn't been confirmed but it sounds likely to me.

Friday evening, a lady who was visiting me said she saw a lizard in my kitchen. She was trustworthy so I believed her even though I myself had never seen a lizard in my kitchen. About an hour ago though, I did. I went downstairs for the first time today and there, acting like there was nowhere in the world it would rather be, was this lizard.

I took a photo with my iPhone, then asked the lizard politely to leave my house. It ignored me so I decided to ask more firmly. It again did not comply so I went over and opened the sliding glass door out to my patio. When the lizard in question refused to take that not-so-subtle hint, I circled around behind it and tried to physically intimidate said lizard into going out towards that door.

When it still did not comply with my wishes, I grabbed up the lid to a plastic container that was within reach and began to "scoot" the lizard in the direction I wished it to go. It finally grasped the concept and sprinted out the door without so much as a "goodbye" or even a plug for its new projects.   I then closed the door and, just to be safe, latched it.  I no longer have a lizard in my kitchen and now that I know how to do it, I'm going to use this technique on a few human but equally unwanted visitors.

The other day, I made a wrong turn on YouTube and found myself looking at this video about Russell Myers, the funny, funny man behind the newspaper strip, Broom-Hilda. The video was assembled by his old high school when they inducted him into some sort of Hall of Fame…

Russell Myers is a friend of mine. I'm not certain how long he's been a friend of mine but if it isn't fifty years, it's darn close to that…and somehow, we haven't spoken in the last five or six of those years. So even though I have pressing deadlines, I decided there was nothing more important than reconnecting with my pal Russell. I called him yesterday and we spent a delightful hour or so chatting. I have a few more friends I need to do this with.

I've always loved Broom-Hilda and even though there's no local newspaper in which I can follow it, I make a point of going every so often to this webpage and catching up on it. It was also a joy catching up with Russell…and a question came up which neither of us could answer. Maybe one of you can.

As we all know, some newspaper strips run an awful long time. Gasoline Alley has been appearing since 1918. Barney Google & Snuffy Smith began the following year. Blondie started in 1930, Dick Tracy in 1931 and Prince Valiant in 1937. All of those strips are still running but they've all had several different writers and artists over the years.

Broom-Hilda started appearing in newspapers on…well, various online sources say it was 4/19/70 but Russell says it was the 20th. Either way, that's 53 years and a couple of days…and all 19,361 (or 19,362) of those strips were drawn by Russell Myers. No one else. And the question is — make that questions are — is that an all-time record? And is there any current strip that's been done for so long by one person?

A couple of places on the Internet say that Charles Schulz drew 17,897 published Peanuts strips and one or two of those sources say that's the all-time record. If that number's right, Russell broke that record some time ago.

"Russell" seems to be a good name for folks who drew comic strips for long periods. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Australian cartoonist Jim Russell drew a strip called The Potts without assistance for 62 years but he did not originate that strip and it was weekly for the first twelve of those years.

And the late comics historian R.C. Harvey wrote once that the longest-running American comic strip was Mister Oswald, which was drawn by Russell Johnson for 62 years…but that was not a newspaper strip and it was not daily. It appeared in a monthly magazine called The Hardware Retailer which I'm sure you all eagerly devoured. By contrast, Broom-Hilda has appeared seven days a week since it started.

Okay, Comic Strip Experts…and I know you're out there. Am I missing something here?

Spectreman was a popular superhero TV show in Japan. Created by a man named Souji Ushio, it debuted on Fuji TV in January of 1971 and ran for 63 episodes. The shows were eventually dubbed into English and syndicated on American television commencing in the fall of 1978.

Omac was a comic book created by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics beginning in 1974. It didn't last long and I have been known to make the case that it, like a lot of comics DC launched between around 1968 and 1976, was a good publication that should have and could have lasted longer if its publisher (a) was better at marketing its wares and (b) hadn't been so quick to cancel anything that wasn't an immediate hit. Omac has since been revived and reprinted many times indicating that some people liked it but its success has nothing to do with this piece.

What do these two properties have in common? There are a few similarities between the characters and their storylines, just as there are some similarities between almost any super-hero comic and almost any other super-hero comic. I'm no expert on Spectreman but the parallels seem to me to be few in number. Still, the other day on Facebook, someone asked if Omac could have in some way been inspired by Spectreman.

I sure don't think so. For one thing, Spectreman was not on American TV — or as far as I can tell, exhibited anywhere in this country — at the time Jack did the first issue of Omac. If it was somewhere, it wasn't in English and Jack did not speak or understand Japanese.

For another thing, Jack told the core idea of Omac to me and my then-partner Steve Sherman in either late 1969 or early 1970. It was an idea he developed while at Marvel a few years earlier…an idea for a Captain America series set in a bizarre future.

It began with the premise that Steve Rogers, the gent who then wore the costume of that star-spangled hero could not live forever. There would come a point — and I thought they'd already passed it — when a guy who was doing superhuman feats in World War II could not be doing superhuman feats a few decades later; not even if he'd been frozen in a block of ice for some of those years.

Ah, but the concept of Captain America could. The series Jack had in mind involved a new guy — or maybe even a gal — going by that name, wearing a futuristic patriotic costume in a very different era. Jack might have done it at Marvel had not the company refused to ever let him have a financial share in, or even a creator credit on any new book he launched or helped launch.

I do not remember every detail of the idea Jack told us then but I remember enough to know some of it formed the basis of Omac a few years later. But this piece is also really not about that.

What it is about is that people who rarely if ever create things for a living often don't get that because a book, movie, TV show or any form of entertainment has one or two things in common with something else, it doesn't mean that one was inspired by or copied from the other.

In Batman #156, which came out in April of 1963, Robin the Boy Wonder encountered a character named Ant-Man. A few years ago on the Internet, a fellow who couldn't seem to read dates kept insisting that Marvel copied its Ant-Man from that Ant-Man — this despite the fact that Marvel's came out close to a year earlier. When he finally grasped the concept of time moving in a forward direction, he became equally certain DC's was plagiarized from Marvel's.

Me, I think it was a coincidence and I have two reasons. One is that while folks in comics do sometimes copy what others have done, they usually wait until something is a smash success — which Ant-Man wasn't back then — to rip it off and they usually don't give their imitation the same name. Makes the crime kinda obvious.

Secondly, in an industry where someone thought of naming characters Batman or Hawkman or Catwoman or Spider-Man, it seems quite possible that two different people could independently think of pairing the word "ant" with the word "man." And the idea of having a teensy human in a normal-sized world had been around in fantasy and science-fiction way before DC launched the tiny version of The Atom (in 1961) or Quality Comics had Doll Man (in 1939).

I am not saying one person's idea might not inspire someone else's…and often you can lay the final work next to what inspired it and not see any similarity whatsoever. I'm just saying that just because one thing reminds you of another, that's not prima facie proof that the creator made the same connection you did.

Jack Kirby was not shy in admitting that the original Captain Marvel (the one who said "Shazam!" a lot) was a major inspiration for the Marvel version of Thor. And now that I mention it, some of you are probably saying, "Oh, yeah! I see the connection!" But that didn't occur to me until I heard Jack say it…and even if he hadn't said it and I noticed a tenuous connection, that wouldn't be proof that the latter was inspired by the former.

Also known sometimes as Australian entertainer Barry Humphries. Never met him or her and I have no stories. But boy, was he/she funny…and the best reason in the world to not outlaw drag.

As you may have heard, Mike "My Pillow" Lindell offered a challenge: He'd pay five million dollars (that's FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!!!) to anyone who could disprove his "proof" that the last presidential election was stolen. Someone did and now that guy's trying to collect…

Here's a disturbing article headlined, "Oklahoma's Top Prosecutor Doesn't Want to Execute an Innocent Man. A Court Is Forcing Him to Do It Anyway."

It's the kind of piece where my first reflex is to think, "There must be some aspect of this matter that the reporter isn't reporting here." But I have a hard time imagining what it could be.

Nathan Lane takes us through the catalog of plays he performed in on Broadway. This runs a little over 26 minutes and I wish it ran a lot longer.

I saw him in five of these shows: Guys and Dolls, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (which I saw twice), The Producers and November. I enjoyed them all but thought that November was a mediocre play made entertaining by Mr. Lane and co-star Laurie Metcalf. There are quite a few other shows covered here that I wish I'd seen but it's nice to hear Lane talk about them…

Every casino in Las Vegas — and probably every casino anywhere — has one or more employees who work the phones to try and lure big gamblers to come play. These employees are referred to by various titles but "Casino Host" is a very common one. An uncommon one I've heard is "Captain Ahab" because a big gambler is often referred to as a "whale" and…well, you understand.

In all my trips to Vegas, even when I was playing (and often winning) Blackjack, I never came close to the level of wagering that would classify me as even a medium-sized gambler, let along a Moby Dick-sized one. Also, those gambling days were long ago and the casino hosts of that era are probably long gone. They did not call me then and offer me free rooms, free flights and free meals to come stay at their hotels.

Despite this, I've had three calls in the last week or so from three different "casino hosts" (maybe) at three different hotels who say that they miss me, want me back and will shower me with freebees to make that happen. One of them made it sound like the entire staff at the New York, New York hotel is wandering about, deeply depressed because they don't see Mark Evanier at their slot machines.

That was my first tip-off that this was a total scam and not just a little one. I've never stayed at that hotel, nor put even one coin into any of their one-armed bandits.

I stayed on the line with the guy long enough to realize he was trying to sell me a vacation package disguised as a high-roller's comp. To get my free flight, free room and free meals, I would have to give them my credit card number for any "incidentals" I incurred above and beyond what their package of gifts would include. I think we can all figure out how things would go after that. That last caller was even offering to put a limousine at my disposal and to arrange comps to any show in town I wanted to see. Yeah, right.

The thing is: I wouldn't have taken this guy up on his offer even if it had been legit. I used to love Las Vegas but I have zero interest in going there now. The Pandemic has killed much of my interest in going anywhere, especially by plane, and so have the problems I've been having with my knees. Also, Vegas has become a beastly-expensive, higher-than-ever-hustle place: No more cheap shows, no more cheap buffets.

The room rates aren't bad on some dates even if you factor in the mandatory, quietly-disclosed Resort Fees…but I don't see anyplace there I want to be or dine. Even if I still remembered how to count cards at Blackjack, I wouldn't play with some of the new rules adjustments.

They're now repaving and reconfiguring most of the streets there to get ready for the Formula One racing event that's going to take place there in November. The cars will do fifty laps around a 3.8-mile circuit up and around The Strip. To get a hotel room and a good seat for the event will cost thousands of dollars per night…which is why I was immediately suspicious when that first "casino host" called me. That town doesn't care about tourists like me anymore.

Further proof: It was announced today that the Oakland Athletics will relocate to Vegas, perhaps as soon as 2027. Ground will soon be broken on a 35,000-seat baseball stadium with a retractable roof. Total estimated price: One billion dollars. Everything in that city just got even more expensive. Gee, that was a wonderful place to visit Once Upon a Time.