It's vote for Dan time again!

It's round three, it's getting tight, head on over to the COMIC BOOK IDOL virtual voting booth and make sure BL favourite Dan McDaid gets through. Hurry up!

*Update* Phew, Dan squeaked through by one vote. Good God, y'all.

MAD MAX 4: Just the facts, ma'am.

There's been some strange, inaccurate and downright misleading posting going on around the internet in the wake of the rumours that George Miller has restarted production on MAD MAX 4: FURY ROAD. So here's the facts so far, as verified by a certain regular source for BAD LIBRARIANSHIP, I'm sure you can guess who.

The new Mad Max movie script titled FURY ROAD is based on a screenplay written by George Miller and Brendan McCarthy. And not as reported elsewhere, just by Brendan, who is a well-known British comic book artist and writer and a great fan of the Mad Max films. They spent about two years in Sydney writing and designing the feature. Brendan was initially hired by George to kick-start the fourth installment of the Mad Max series as story artist and designer. This was so fruitful that Brendan went on to co-write the movie with George Miller and also to create a new cgi animated feature to follow HAPPY FEET.

How much the completed MAD MAX 4 movie will resemble this
fully illustrated script remains to be seen. But there are plans to
publish the screenplay, complete with boards and designs, should 
FURY ROAD ever be made and released.

Oi! Monkey boy!

Also on a Gorillaz tip - fancy buying their recording studio?

Herbie goes to Monte Casino.

There's a docu on its way about Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett's ongoing (after a fashion) Gorillaz project. It's called BANANAZ, and NME have a bit on it over here.

Big wheels keep on turnin'.

Fellow Rowling-ophile Ben Caldwell has just sent me this fetching image, of a rather dashing-looking Sirius Black taking Albus Dumbledore for a spin on the back of his flying motorcycle. God only knows what those Order Of The Phoenix guys got up to on their nights off from fighting unnameable evil.

The Search For Spork

Everyone loves Dave "100 BULLETS" Johnson, right? Well, here's the wackiest bit of original art by the devilpig you may ever get the chance to buy. And the proceeds go to a decent cause, too.

Millarworld On The Liffey '07

Dublin City Comic Con '07 website has gone live.

Top Ten Cowbell Songs

No Guns 'N Roses, strangely enough. Or Thin Lizzy.

Careful, Morgan.

Me likee these pictures Empire are hosting from Timor Bekmambetov's adaptation of my second-favourite Mark Millar comic WANTED (after RED SON, natch). Very stylish.

"I always feel like some one is watching me, and I have no privacy"

I signed up the other day with Google Analytics, and it is addictive. For the first few years of this blog, I really didn't give two sh!ts who or how many were reading it. But now I know more about you all than you can possibly imagine. I know what country you're from. I know what browser you use. I have a pie chart telling me what you all had for breakfast. Mwahahahahahah!

COMIC BOOK IDOL update

Get voting for DOCTOR WHO lovin' Brit Dan McDaid in the second round now, over here. You've got to 27-10-2007 at 04:32 AM.

It's your patriotic duty, gosh darn it! Unless you're not from the U.K. In that case, it's just good taste.

T-Shirt news

Boom-boom! See what he's done there? It's a pun - but it's a visual one! High-larious!

"What, Are you DENSE? Are you RETARDED or something? Who The Hell do you THINK I am? I'm the GODDAMN Batman!"

Okay, as a classicist, I liked this news story about the ongoing production of BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT. They're not wasting time giving Joker a, in retrospect, ridiculous origin story ("Oooh, I've been dropped in a vat of chemicals, I've gone a bit mental, fancy that"), and FINALLY! It's only taken sixty four years for Hollywood to figure this bit of authenticity out, the Bat-mask will be getting white lenses, in at least one sequence. It's so obvious, I can hardly believe it took 'em so long to figure it out.

I'm only linking to this because FILM ICK is on hiatus. And yes, I'd pay cash money to hear Adam West reading that line in his sonorous best.

BONUS REDUNDANT COMICS-TO-MOVIE TRANSITION NEWS! More JUSTICE LEAGUE movie rumours here. If accurate, this sounds like a decent actioner. Oh, and if any readers have George Miller's e-mail address, maybe they could tip him off about the necessity of whiting out Batman's eye holes.

Brian Bolland drops an Anderson.

Wouldn't it be great to take this as a hint that Bolland was going to do a full strip for THE MEGAZINE? But I don't really think that for a minute.

Best sound effect ever?

Totally nang.

I've been away from t'puter a couple of days, so I'll bring this to your attention now: a new website for all things SCOTT PILGRIM. It's another one of those things that if you haven't tried, I urge you to. If you like this blog, then you presumably love comics, rock music, and computer games, and SCOTT is the interface where all three meet. With hilarious consequences, etc. Plus, if you already love Scott, there's an eleven page preview of the newie ...GETS IT TOGETHER.

Go there, download this

Eric B and Rakim vs. the White Stripes - Paid in Full vs. My Doorbell

Lovely jubbly - cheers, Sean!

Nanu-Nanu!

Keeping to this week's developing Paul Pope theme, he's recently dropped a load of new original art on the nice folks at The Beguiling. None of which I can really afford - to paraphrase Robin Williams - "buying original art is God's way of telling comics fans they're making too much money".

Alan Moore knows the score: 2-1 to Russia, it seems.

Entertainment Weekly, of all places, have a five page preview of Alan Moore and Kev O'Neill's next League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen book, THE BLACK DOSSIER. I caught this link via the blog of my fellow Keith Giffen fan, Mike Jozic.

The Golden Armies versus The Golden Leggies.

(Via our friends electric Film Ick) Hellboy 2 website is live, with plenty of browse-worthy content. Including -Ah! So that's what happened to Francisco Ruiz Velasco!

Vote early, vote often.

If, like me, Dan McDaid is your favourite in the CBR Comic Book Idol competition, go over to this thread at their forums and vote for him (you may have to register first). And if you don't give two hoots, do it anyway as a favour to me.

Pope's SILVER SURFER cover - now in colour!

Enjoy!

Just out of sight - two thumbs up.

My highest recommendation goes to DOCTOR 13: ARCHITECTURE & MORTALITY, by Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang. I read it last night, had a feeling I'd love it from every preview image I saw from it, unt I did. Really, if you're likely ever to buy a book based on a tip from a guy you've probably never met, make it this one. It's as smart and poetic as anything Azz has ever written before, but unlike most stuff he's written for DC, it's 100% pure fun. For fans of Morrison's ANIMAL MAN, SEAGUY, and FLEX MENTALLO, definitely.

When it's Spring again, we'll sing again...

Paul Pope at Lambiek. Have I mentioned how much I love Amsterdam?

I heart Colonel Tigh.

Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!

Hire An Illustrator

Want to hire an illustrator? Maybe think about hiring a septic - the exchange rate's pretty great.

Neil Young, Monkey God.

I'm liking this guy's work.

Born To Be Wild.

I love the work of Ryan Sook as much as the next guy, but what is going on with Mister Miracle in that top left device? I dare say that'll get fixed up before the final version sees print.

Captain Neo-Con!

Today's the day Marvel pretty much let the cat out of the bag about The Winter Soldier (or Bucky Barnes, to you and me) becoming the new Captain America, and the comics forums burst into heated blather. "But he's carrying a gun and a knife! What sort of example is that!" sulked some. "Hey man, that's just an appropriate and logical update, bringing this iconic character into the reality of the times we live in" said others.

Bullshit, thought I. Firstly, this is the old "Batman: Knightfall"-style switcheroo the Big Two have pulled so many times - give us the heartless, violent Captain America we think we want but don't really, so we're more relieved whenever Marvel bring back the sappy liberal one. But mainly, if this Cap was the "appropriate and logical update", he'd be carrying an M-16, and have a sackful of land mines on his back.

Various bits of Rock'n'Roll Appreciation Society Business.

1. Thanks to a hiatus in the postal strike, I'm listening to Steve Earle's new album as we speak. Report to follow, in all probability.

2. Want to hear a few tracks from Neil Young's new album? 'Course you do. Nip on over to his MySpace page and there's four (likeable) choons set to (awful) photo montage videos.

3. Rab wants you to check out this video. They kinda lost me at the gargling solo, but they recover well all the end.

4. Great cartoon (via Ig).

my new favourite DR WHO artist

Just saw this guy's work in a line-up of Comic Book Resources "Comic Book Idol 2007" finalists. It's great. He's a little bit Paul Rivoche, a little bit Darwyn Cooke. He's Dan McDaid, and if I was a commissioning editor, I'd give him work in an instant. And yes, I totally dig The Doctor's sentiments in that last panel.
*update* Just noticed he's got a blog.

New Yorker Festival goes Biff! Bam! Pow! etc.

Mike Mignola, Grant Morrison, Tim Kring and Jonathan Letham in one room. (Jazz voice) Great.

I heart Brett Ewins.

Disco dancing Rogue Trooper, anyone? And could anyone draw a more disdainful looking Joe Dredd?Thanks to Bellboy for re-awakening mon amour.

What's your favourite 2000AD cover?

Let Tharg know, for a feature he's running in the Christmas issue Prog 2008. Hmm, let me think...

Maybe...

There's something about the Bolland plus Tom Frame equation that just screams 2000AD for me. But is it too obvious? How about krazy Kev O'Neill breaking all the rules (or any other Kev Kover - they're all great - "I operated on my own brain!")...
Or even just a personal favourite...
Or even a newer one, by some other dude called Kev...

Mike Mignola versus the Nazis, pt 217.

Awesome.

Cop a load of this.

Get over to YouTube and wrap your eyes around this. Watching this vintage showreel of Brendan McCarthy's work, produced and unproduced, has done the impossible. It's made me want to go and see CONEHEADS again.

*updated* I emailed Brendan and asked him to switch on the doofer that allows videos to be embedded. Here we go:

Just when I thought Kevin Church had given up on being funny...

There ya go.

Mark's Top Ten, er, Four, okay, Ten, Most Over-Rated Guitarists Of All Time

Ig recently linked to ROLLING STONE's list of The 25 Most Underrated Guitarists, itself a reaction to their own 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time. Which got me thinking - being a negative sod, and a first-rank playa-hater, what would be my top ten list of over-rated guitarists in rock? Try this for size. And yes, I got bored after four and kinda gave up. Life's too short to contemplate bad guitarists for too long.

1. Carlos Santana. Here's a guy who regularly drops names like Hendrix, Miles Davis and John Coltrane in order to subliminally plant the notion that he deserves to be counted among their number. But what is he really? A dude with an annoying mustache who just widdles about within the blues scale endlessly, with a tone that resembles a wasp trapped in a coke can. Who makes records with Rob Thomas.

2. Steve Vai. To me, the guy signifies the "guitarist arms race" nature of bad Eighties metal more than anyone else. Just sacked Yngwie Malmsteen for being an unbearable c*nt? Hire Steve Vai to make incomprehensible bleeping noises over your music. Been sacked by Van Halen? Make a solo record with Steve Vai making his incomprehensible bleeping noises over it. Vivian Campbell left your band on the eve of recording your new album? Hire Steve Vai to make incomprehensible bleeping noises over it. Etcetera, etcetera, bleedin' etcetera. Also - three words. Seven. String. Guitars.

3. Joe Satriani. Bald. Too much legato. As a guitar teacher to others on this list, he was the originator of the post-Eddie Van Halen "arms race" guitar style. Can I blame him for sweep picking and guitars with pointy headstocks, too? Eh, might as well.

4. Slash. I bet Slash is a great guy to hang out with, and unlike the first three names on this list, he's appeared on at least one great record. And god bless 'im, he reinstated the Les Paul as the rocker's guitar of choice at a time when the super-strat was becoming ubiquitous. But think about it - he's just not that good, really. Think of his solo in "November Rain". Annoying isn't it? Now think of the intro to "Sweet Child Of Mine". Irritating, right? So - Slash: likeable but ultimately annoying.

Dishonorable mentions - John Sykes, just for the inaccurate bending during the THUNDER AND LIGHTENING tour film the BBC made. Yngwie Malmsteen - total gobshite. Ritchie Blackmore - for being a prick to his co-workers for four decades, if nothing else. Kirk Hammett, just because I always thought Metallica could have been a better, less orthodox, band without his presence. And for his mustache. The Edge, because he's a Methodist. And Andres Segovia, 'cus he didn't rock hard enough.

That's ten isn't it? Thank fuck for that. Feel free to vent in the comments.

October: so far, so slow.

So, slow news week, eh? How's about this. Reader Peter Orr has emailed, complaining that there's not enough coverage of soul music. Here's a song guaranteed to put some lead in your pencil - "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell. No relation.