Mark Rouleau sent me this question…

Ok, so as the kids these days say, "unpopular opinion!" I don't care for any of the inkers who inked Kirby, including Kirby. I've come to this conclusion after seeing so many of his uninked pencils in various locations. 10 out of 10 times I prefer the uninked pencils. There's so much detail, texture, and finesse in the pencils that I cringe whenever I see it compared to the final, inked versions. Also, it seems like any inker who inked Kirby always used a heavy hand. Not sure if it was just the style of the time, or if something else was going on.

So I guess my question is, is it even possible for DC or Marvel or whomever to publish uninked Kirby issues? I'd love to see (for example) The Demon done entirely in pencil, especially as the hardcover version has several teaser pages of just that. I realize that, the comic book biz being the way it is, my odds of seeing such a thing are about the same as you appearing in a nationwide cole slaw ad, but is it possible? Thanks for any insights you have, thanks for the blog.

Yes, it's possible but not with a whole lot of stuff. Most of the work that Jack did prior to around March of 1971 was never copied in the pencil stage. He did not own a copier and even if he'd wanted to spring for one, it was nigh impossible (or maybe even just impossible) to find one that could copy pages the size of comic book original art.

DC and Marvel had big photostat cameras and with great trouble and expense, they could make copies of artwork if, for example, Jack needed a copy of a page from one issue as reference before he could draw the next issue. Any time you see a copy of a pencil page by Kirby or anyone from this period, it was probably made on one of those stat cameras for such a reason. And it was a rare survivor because most of those stats were thrown away when they'd served their immediate purpose.

So when Jack (or anyone) mailed pages into the office, if those pages were lost in the mail, there was no backup. Or if the office mailed them to an inker. Or if the inker mailed them back. It was a source of constant worry for publishers and every so often, something did disappear.

When I was working for Gold Key Comics, an entire completed issue of Bugs Bunny that I wrote vanished en route to the printer because, I suspect, some mailman should have turned left at Albuquerque. Fortunately, the company then worked so far ahead of publication that there was time enough to wait a few weeks to see if it would turn up.

And then when it didn't, I had Xeroxes of my scripts and they were able to have the whole thing redrawn. Interestingly, the artist who'd drawn those scripts the first time asked if someone else could do the redrawing, even though he'd be paid in full again. He just thought it would be too boring to draw the same scripts twice. I was kinda flattered by the implication that it wasn't boring to draw my scripts once.

Anyway, I'm rambling here. The fear of something getting lost in the mail lessened a bit for Kirby in early 1971 when his son Neal was working for a company that sold copiers that could copy pages up to 11" by 17", which was the size DC and Marvel comics were drawn then. It would not have worked before 1968 when the art was larger.

Jack got his copier about the same time Mike Royer took over as his main inker from Vince Colletta, though there was no connection to that change. When Jack finished an issue, his penciled pages would be fed into the copier in his studio, one by one, and copied onto 11" by 17" copier paper. Jack might do it. His wife Roz might do it. One of his kids might do it. Steve Sherman, who assisted Jack along with me might do it. I might do it.

I was always nervous doing it. The pages did not lie on a flatbed for copying. You fed them into a slot and they traveled through the machine, bending around rollers and — 99% of the time — they were ejected from another slot while the copy came out of yet another slot. The penciled pages were curled a bit but they could easily be flattened.

1% of the time, they jammed and it was necessary to open the machine and do delicate surgery to extract the page, hopefully intact. A few times, they were not intact and Jack had to redraw a ruined page. That never happened when I made the copies but that was just dumb luck. I know I would not have been blamed if it had happened but I was still jittery whenever I had to feed Jack's pages into the beast. Some time later, he got another copier that was more reliable.

A lot of those copies no longer exist. Some were thrown away. Some were given away. Some were stolen. No one attached a great value to them at the time because, well, even Jack with the greatest imagination in the world never imagined anyone would want to publish them.

They were just tossed in a box and if Jack later needed to refer to a page, he'd fish around in the box until he found it or have someone else do it. As far as I know, no copies were ever needed to help reconstruct a page that had gotten lost. All the ones we know of have been entrusted to the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center which scans and restores what can be restored.

Some of them have been printed in various places — mainly The Jack Kirby Collector magazine and in two books…

They are Captain Victory: The Graphite Edition from TwoMorrows and Jack Kirby: Pencils and Inks from IDW. There may be others in the future but keep in mind that full books do not exist in pencil of many of the comics Jack drew. When he drew double-page spreads on one sheet of paper, as he usually did, those pieces of paper did not fit into his copier.

Like you, I'm an enormous fan of Jack's art in pencil and have been since I first saw it in his studio in July of 1969. I think most of his inkers have done as fine a job as humanly possible but, yeah, there's something amazing about the raw pencil art. I wish more of it had been preserved but we should be glad we have as much of it as we do.

New York Times obit for Joye Murchison Kelly. I'm so happy we got this woman to Comic-Con to receive the Bill Finger Award.

Another rendition of the "Meet the Flintstones" theme. This one is by the FMU Jazz Ensemble at Francis Marion University in South Carolina…

• I just set up a webcam in an empty room in my home so I can do ZOOM conferences with my imaginary friend.

What the hell has just happened with Afghanistan and why? Read this and Fred Kaplan will tell you what the hell has just happened and why.

And you know who just came out against "endless wars" like the one we've been waging in Afghanistan? The American Legion, that's who.

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Changing Subjects: Not this weekend but next, we're probably going to see something historic…the lowest-rated, least-cared-about Academy Awards ceremony in history. And while this will be blamed on The Pandemic and how few of the nominated movies anyone has seen, I hope Show Business perceives what seems to me another important reason. I think America has finally gotten bored watching wealthy/successful people give awards and excessive praise to each other.

Awards will never cease as long as there are people in the world who dream of winning them. But maybe we can stop acting as if they're really, really important.

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Last Topic: Someone wrote to ask me what I'm watching these days in Late Night. My TiVo captures Bill Maher, John Oliver and Stephen Colbert, though I rarely watch more than the opening and closing of Maher's show and the opening of Colbert's. I may watch more of Colbert if I like a guest, which I do about a third of the time.

I watch highlights of Meyers, Kimmel, Corden and Fallon on YouTube, especially Seth's "A Closer Look" segments. I'm liking Kimmel's monologues more and more…and the other night, he capped his off with an interview with James Adomian doing a hilarious Mike Lindell impression. If Saturday Night Live did that, they would have gotten someone who had a big hit movie out instead of Adomian and it would have been a third as effective.

Back in August of 2010, we wrote here about how the venerable Hotel Pennsylvania in New York might be going away. It didn't. But it might now.

The building, which was once the largest hotel on the planet, opened in 1919. It had a special sentimental attachment for the comic book community because so many comic conventions were held there, including the first one I attended, back in 1970. But it survived and part of it even became a TV studio. Jordan Klepper did one of his short-lived programs for Comedy Central there and many others have, as well.

But it looks like its time has come. This piece will tell you about the current plans for it. Maybe it will survive again.

Another rendition of the "Meet the Flintstones" theme. This one is by Jacob Collier, Jacob Collier, Jacob Collier, Jacob Collier, Jacob Collier, Jacob Collier and Jacob Collier. In that order…

Someplace back on this blog, there may be a real old comment in which I wrote something nice about Tucker Carlson. If there is, I should have retracted it some time ago. He said something wise and reasonable every once in a while back when he was the Conservative Voice on the old CNN series, Crossfire.

I once thought that was evidence he had some smarts and decency but in hindsight, he probably hadn't learned yet how to pander to the kind of folks who watch Fox News. Or maybe it was that he wasn't on Fox then or maybe they just weren't as bad then.

He's been out there speculating — "just asking questions" as folks often say when they want to spread fibs but be able to deny culpability later — that the vaccines are a big hoax. And here is the sane response to that, much of it from Dr. Fauci.

There are people in the media who say insane things and seem to actually believe them. There are also folks who say insane things and don't necessarily believe them but, you sure get the feeling, believe that saying those things is good for their careers. The size of the audience and therefore the paycheck is all the justification they need.

There are also people who start in the second category but something in them steers them into the first. I remember when I worked with the famed wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Offstage, out of the ring, Roddy was a very nice, smart guy who would tell you frankly that he was out there talking trash and participating in scripted events because for him, the alternative was working on a loading dock somewhere for minimum wage. Apart from a lot of physical abuse, he lived quite well.

And one thing he said that stayed with me was that all too often, he found himself believing his own bullshit. He spent so much time in the ring and in interviews yelling about how much he hated Hulk Hogan that he actually started hating Hulk Hogan.

I dunno if Carlson has gone from the second category into the first yet. I just know he's never convinced me he'd be saying that stuff if he could get more take-home pay somewhere by saying the opposite.

When I wrote the previous message, I typed "I'm not watching the news too closely but I gather that the case against ex-cop Derek Chauvin in Minnesota is pretty weak." As quite a few of you figured out, I meant to type "I'm not watching the news too closely but I gather that the case against ex-cop Derek Chauvin in Minnesota is pretty strong" and I have corrected it.

Thank you to the (so far) eighteen people who knew what I meant and my apologies to the three of you who thought I was nuts to think the case was weak. And my main point, of course, was that the stronger the case seems in the press coverage, the more outraged people will be if this man gets off with a slap on the wrist or less.

One of the reasons for so much unrest on court decisions these days is that, more and more, there is cellphone video footage of the incidents. The Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles back in '92 probably would not have happened — or at least been so severe — had there not been video of the police beating the bejeezus out of Mr. King, thereby making the cops' acquittal seem more like the fix was in.

The New York Times has a good obit up for Frank Jacobs. Take note of the part about how Frank's song parodies for MAD led to a very important Supreme Court decision.

I'm not watching the news too closely but I gather that the case against ex-cop Derek Chauvin in Minnesota is pretty strong. This increases the likelihood that he will be found guilty of something and therefore the fear of massive rioting if he isn't.

It also seems to me that Tucker Carlson is about five broadcasts away from presenting his case that the only people who should be allowed to vote in this country are non-vaccinated White Republicans who donated to the Trump campaign.

Speaking of donating to Trump: Many of you have congratulated me on not doing so in spite of the deluge of e-mails his campaign sent me. Some advertising is pretty easy to resist, people. I am also not donating to the pro-Republican operation that's now deluging me with similarly-worded entreats, obviously sent via the same mailing list.

With each passing day, we're all a little happier to not be Matt Gaetz.

I kinda understand the people who are refusing to be vaccinated because they don't want anything unusual in their bodies…GMO-modified food, eggs from chickens that don't eat worms, anything that has ever been near the Monsanto factory, strangers' body parts, etc. I have a tougher time with the ones who think it's a political statement or strategy as Amanda Marcotte describes.

Lastly for now: The San Diego Convention Center website still says that the "Comic-Con Special Edition" on Thanksgiving Weekend has an expected attendance of 130,000. That's gotta be someone just typing in the usual number for normal Comic-Cons without trying to estimate what this one will be…assuming it happens at all. The convention center has a long list of other cons scheduled beginning August 3 and none of them are listed for more than 40,000. Most are way less. That suggests to me there's still some question as to how much of the convention center will be fully functional and available this year.

Here's my pal Charlie Frye again…and I'll tell you one of the things I love about what Charlie does. There are lots of guys around who can do amazing (to me) physical feats involving strength, balance, coordination, tons o' practice, etc. There are also lots of guys who can do great magic tricks.

Charlie intermingles the two. A lady friend I took to see him once watches these videos and then calls and says to me, "Don't tell me how any magic tricks are done. Just tell me which is a magic trick and which is a feat he actually did!" I love that…and the fact that he always has a punch line. There's always a surprise at the end. Oh — and he's funny, too. That helps.

Another rendition of the "Meet the Flintstones" theme. This one is by Bjørn Jørgensen and his Big Band…

If you want to know what's going on with the threatened recall of California governor Gavin Newsom, read Ed Kilgore. (My Take: Barring some unpredictable calamity, I don't see a chance that Newsom will be removed. He's not much less popular than he was when he was elected and heavily-Democratic California is not going to replace him with a Republican as the backers of the recall fantasize.)

If you want to know what's up with Ted Cruz's threat to remove the anti-trust protections for Major League Baseball, read Jonathan Chait. (My Take: I've long thought M.L.B. should lose those protections but if Cruz is for it, I probably need to rethink this. Anyway, they aren't even pretending that this is about anything other than trying to make it harder for minorities to vote.)

If you want to know why the U.S. is withdrawing from Afghanistan and what will likely happen, read Fred Kaplan. (My Take: I agree with Fred.)

Alex J., who I assume is not Alex Jones, writes to ask…

It would seem you've been going to Las Vegas for quite some time. What was it at the time that attracted you to the city then and how has it changed?

Well, it seems to have changed a lot since COVID-19 descended upon this world but I haven't been to Vegas to see what it's like now there because of that. It sure doesn't look enticing from afar and here's one of many reasons: Something I liked about the town was that when you were there, it was like being on a different planet where nothing mattered except gambling, food and entertainment. You could just turn off the part of your brain that might have to even think about anything else.

I doubt I could do that in an environment of who's wearing a mask and who isn't and "What's open?" and "Where do I sit to eat?" and "I just touched that so I need some hand sanitizer" and so on. And I really don't want to fly either.

Going back to before The Pandemic: Las Vegas got more expensive. There were lots of bizarre-sounding shows that one could go to that were nine bucks with a coupon so I'd take a chance. Now, they were thirty or forty bucks so I didn't take that chance.

There were also acts playing Vegas that had been around for years. I love Old Show Biz and when I started going to Vegas, they had plenty of Old Show Biz in their showrooms. My pal Pete Barbutti was playing somewhere. Dave Barry was at The Mint. Jackie Vernon was at the Marina. The last two burlesque comics — Dexter Maitland and Irv Benson — were at the Hacienda…and they were followed in there by Lance Burton. Lance was a (relatively) new guy but he had a wonderfully-intimate and classic magic show that was $15 with a coupon.

I knew a lot of folks who could get me backstage. All the time I've worked in television, I've rarely felt surrounded by "Show Business" the way I felt it backstage at the Union Plaza or the Paddlewheel or the Stardust. It was not just the showgirls walking around naked, though I doubt any male would be indifferent to that. It was the immediacy of what was going on there: Live performances, live audience, live applause…

There's not as much of that anymore. When they replaced the Sands with the Venetian, they kept the gaming but not the history.

Blackjack has even changed…or is changing. When I was playing a lot and counting cards, a "natural" (an Ace plus one card worth 10) got you a 3:2 payout. Now, casinos are increasingly changing it to a 6:5 payout. Doesn't seem like much I know but the old way, the casino only had about a 0.5% advantage over the players. 6:5 gives them more like a 2% advantage and that just kills even the remote possibility that I would ever get back into that game.

Blackjack was the only game in town that interested me. It was not the money. It was that it was a game where skill mattered, especially if you were counting cards. I gave it up once I satisfied myself that I was playing it well enough to give me that microscopic advantage over The House instead of the other way around. I got "ahead" but I was well aware that if I kept playing, I'd eventually hit a streak of bad hands and lose all that I'd won. It was impossible that that would not happen.

Then I'd have a choice: Commit to playing until I got ahead again and then quit…or end my Blackjack binging as a loser. It seemed easier to quit while I was ahead. It was getting to feel like work anyway. The way I played, it took long hours at the tables, much of it surrounded by cigarette smoke which I can't stand. I could have made the same money in that amount of time (and breathed more easily) by going up to my room and writing a comic book script on my laptop.

I quit Blackjack. I lost my access to (and much of my interest in) "going backstage." The ladies I knew there all stopped performing and married and/or moved outta town. Writing in hotel rooms got to seem like a little less fun.

I still like Las Vegas — or at least, pre-Pandemic Vegas — and I'm sure I'll be back there when/if it's like that again. I like exploring the corners of it I've never visited. I like watching the people. I like keeping my own hours and eating when I feel like it…and I know some great places to eat there. I like the air of excitement and the fact that you can wallow in it and then when you've had enough, shut it off by going back to your hotel room.

But I don't like it as much as when I was younger and there was more of what I call "Old Show Biz" and I could go backstage and feel a certain glamour that I rarely felt in television. It went away for me somewhere between the time they imploded the Hacienda and they opened the fifth or sixth Cirque du Soleil show in town.

Another rendition of the "Meet the Flintstones" theme. This one is by a group called Postmodern Jukebox…