HAPPY HALLOWEEN, PILGRIMS!

ITEM! Happy Halloween from all of us here in Soapboxland to all you True Believers, Fearless Face-Fronters, Merry Marvelites, and even the odd Brand Eccher. Be safe, double-check you candy before eating it, and remember to watch out for the occasional rogue super-villain. And be sure to check out Adamant Adam Koford's website for more of his whimsical artwork (like the Galactus cartoon above)! Have a good one, Tigers!

HALLOWEEN HAVOC 2008: STAN LEE READS "THE RAVEN"

ITEM! It seems that both Yours Truly and my bestest biddy-buddy Kevin Smith both have a fondness for the classics, and you don’t get any classier than The Raven! And I don't mean the Red Raven from Rawhide Kid #38 (Feb. 1964 — Studious Stan). No I mean another literary classic, namely Edgar Alan Poe's The Raven (Jan. 1845 — Still Studious and sometimes even Scholarly Stan). Recently, Kevin asked me to tape a reading of The Raven for his QuickStop Entertainment website and I was more than happy to oblige. Be sure and go over there at quickstopentertainment.com and check out all of the other Halloween goodies, not the least of which are some wacky webisodes from his new movie Zack & Miri Make a Porno. Warning: you have to be 18 or over (which thankfully I am, give-or-take-five-or-six-decades) to watch the Zack & Miri webisodes! Meanwhile, enjoy the following daringly dramatic reading (in two parts)... if you dare! Bwhuahahaha!

Excelsior!

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JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #51 OUT AT LAST!

ITEM! Hey there, Heroes! My favorite tabloid-sized doesn’t-fit-in-a-long-box-or-on-any-shelf-in-my-house comics magazine, John “There’s Always To” Morrow’s Jack Kirby Collector #51, finally came out this week. It features on the cover, oddly enough, one of the many character designs that probably would’ve shown up in the Fantastic Four one day if Uncle Marty hadn’t broken so many promises to Jolly Jack back in the day. You’ll note that Jack even left a whole kaboodle of white space above his name so that Yours Truly could sign his name to it, as I was prone to do. But I digress...

Besides the usual assortment of artful articles and articulate art, including Madcap Mark Evanier’s always insightful Jack F.A.Q.s column (all you ever wanted to know and more about Kirby’s falling out with Brand Ecch Editor Jack Schiff over the Sky Masters syndicated strip), JCK has the best letters column this side of the New York Times. This month Kirby correspondent Angel Gabriele (what a great name for a super heroine... I might have to use that some day) writes in to point out that the house ad that ran in Tales To Astonish #59 (Sept. 1964) probably resulted in the destruction of the original cover art for Hulk #1 (May 1962), and sends in a pic of the original house ad art to show what happened (see below). You can easily tell where the figure of Bruce Banner and most of the Hulk’s clothes were whited-out or pasted-over. Yup, True Believers, now you know one of the reasons why so much of Jack’s original art from those days is no longer around. I know what you’re thinking — the original art to the cover of Hulk #1 would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars today. Or make a wonderful anonymous donation to the Library of Congress. But sadly, we just didn’t assign any value to the original art back then once the film had been shot for the individual books.

So, for this and zillions of other Kirby insights and in-fights, go get yourself a copy of the Jack Kirby Collector #51 before your local comic book shop runs out, or you can order both print and digital versions directly from Tomorrows Publishing! Tell ‘em your Uncle Stanley sent yah!

Excelsior!

Smiley

HEROES IN RATINGS SLUMP: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY SUGGESTS SOME FIXES

ITEM! It seems that my favorite TV show this side of Who Wants To Be a Superhero is experiencing a ratings slump of late, and Entertainment Weekly has suggested some solutions in it's cover story Heroes: Five Ways to Fix a Series In Crisis. Everyone’s entitled to their opposing opinion I suppose, but who are we kidding? Monday morning quarterbacking from Entertainment Weekly? I wonder how People Magazine or Tiger Beat would fix the series?Your Uncle Stanley used to go through this same dynamic with my publisher/uncle-in-law Martin Goodman. You know why Uncle Marty never wrote comics? For the same reason the writers of EW aren’t producing quality network TV shows — because they can’t. You know the old saying, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t become Hollywood flacks.” 

Personally, Yours Truly still enjoys Heroes as must-see-Monday-night-TV. If the Smilin’ One was going to offer up any constructive criticism to show runner Tim Kring — from one sense-shattering serial scripter to another — it would just be to do some more stunt-casting cross-overs with A-list television and movie stars, like... I dunno... say the creator of the Marvel Universe and the elder statesman of all things hip, slick and cool?A certain bus-driving guest star from season one, episode 16 comes to mind. He could be revealed to actually be Grandfather Petrelli, the long-lost patriarch of the clan who has the ability of rapid ratings regeneration! He would need to have a couple of really hot, super-powered younger girlfriends, though, as back-up. Hey! I think I'm onto something here! I’ll have my people call your people! We’ll do lunch, okay?

Excelsior!

Smiley

MARVEL TEAM-UP: SPIDER-MAN AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD

ITEM! Ah, the 70s. For an era that was supposed to be the “Me Generation” was there ever a delirious decade when more folks strived to be as socially-relevant as humanly possible? Most well-read Marvelites already know about the time when the Nixon administration’s Department of Health, Education and Welfare asked me to do a comic featuring the pitfalls of drug addiction — resulting in a series of Spidey stories that caused the Comics Code Authority to be reformed. But didja know that in 1976 we were approached by the Planned Parenthood organization to produce a comic for inclusion in their information packets to teenagers? Yup, and we did it too! And now that li’l 5” x 6.5” mini-comic has become a much sought-after collectors item of its own! Featuring a script by Ann Robinson and art by then-Spidey artist, the late-great Ross Andru, this essentially earnest effort may read a little bit corny today, but it was jam-packed with info that kids in the swingin’ 70s needed to know, like “Dreams, thoughts and wishes about sex are natural. Masturbation won’t make you insane or harm you in any way...”

Here are a few pages from this immemorial intercourse on... well, intercourse, straight from the Disco Era to you! Or, you can grab your own copy fresh off the ebays here! Enjoy! 

Excelsior!

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MADCAP MARK EVANIER TALKS KIRBY AT GOOGLE

ITEM! In case you didn’t already catch this one on the Intrawebs, pilgrims, MMMS member-in-good-standing Madcap Mark Evanier recently gave his Jack Kirby talk for the famous Authors@Google series! If you’ve never been able to attend one of the Comi-Cons at which Mark often speaks, then this is your chance to hear him wax eloquently for over 45 minutes about the King of Comics. Your Uncle Stanley always enjoys his Kirby keynotes because they help kick-start my memory-impaired medulla oblongata on what just did happen back in Ye Olden Days. After watching this vid, my only critical comment to the Madcap One is a desperate plea — please give me a call as soon as possible, Mark. I can tell yah exactly who to go see about the perilously un-plentiful pelage! Trust me on this one, Tiger. I know whereof I speak!

Excelsior!

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GALACTUS — DOWN AND OUT ON PLANET EARTH

ITEM! More troubling news and a further update on the sad state of affairs with everyone’s favorite consumer of after-dinner breath mints, Galactus. It seems that Hollywood wags have spotted the Big G coming and going from auditions to join next season’s cast of Dr, Drew’s Celebrity Rehab. We here in Soapboxland wish the World Devourer well with his recovery from addiction to the Power Cosmic and Coors Light. It’s been a long, strange trip from those heady hey-days in the mid-60s when ol’ Purple Boots first showed up in our Merry Marvel books. 

Reports recently reached me that not only was the G-Man fired from the cast of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (replaced by a CGI-animated cloud), but he’s run out of money and is flat broke as well. Apparently Galactus signed the standard Marvel work-for-hire contract that all free-lancers were required to sign back in the day, and thus he receives absolutely no royalties from the pulse-pounding plethora of Galactus-themed merchandise Marvel licenses — like this nifty Galactus coffee mug (ideal for sipping your morning cup o’ elemental energy) or this cute li’l Galactus Teddy (see pics). Let’s all do our part pilgrims, and keep the World Devourer in our thoughts! ‘Nuff Said!

Excelsior!

Smiley

THE INCREDIBLE HULK - CAPTAIN AMERICA CAMEO, PART DEAUX

ITEM! Some confused cameo-seeking critics have been pelting the ol’ Sock It To Stan email box with requests for further instructions on how to find the don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it Captain America cameo in the alternate opening to The Incredible Hulk movie (now out on DVD and Blu-Rays). Did Hulk director Louis Leterrier lie to us about this earnest easter egg in earlier interviews? Is Cap really in there? Don’t fret, Frantic One. For those without a 102” plasma TV (like we have at Stately Lee Manor) or an able AV assistant like Irving Forbush III, your Uncle Stanley is here to help yah. Good thing for you Tigers and Tigrettes I am as magnanimous as I am munificent!

First, play the alternate opening (only included on the special 3-DVD set or the Blu-Rays) and watch it all the way to the very end. At about 2:23 or so in, as the ice shelf collapses into the frozen seabed, watch the lower left-hand of frame and get ready to hit the pause button. There’s Cap lying prone with his shield flying past camera embedded in a giant chunk of ice (see pic), all ready and set to float oceanward so he can be be found later by the military, SHIELD, and your local cineplex in 2011! Honest Irv has even concocted a video tutorial for you to help yah out (see below)! 

And before someone asks the quizzical question “how did Cap’s shield get on Tony Stark’s lab bench in the Iron Man movie, if Cap’s got it with him frozen in the arctic ice shelf?"... Cap has his original shield from his WWII days. As dedicated Marvelites everywhere already know, Tony Stark made Cap a new shield stuffed with gizmos and electronics along about Avengers #6 (June 1964, or as we call ‘em, ye olden days). Now go out and get this DVD and see what all the fuss is about for yourself, oh Cameotic One!

Excelsior!

Smiley

I'M A MARVEL... AND I'M A DC

ITEM! Who says that Barack Obama and John McCain get to have all the fun? Not infamous YouToober ItsJustSomeRandomGuy! We’ve featured his “I’m a Marvel... I’m a DC” take-offs on the famous Apple commercials here in Soapboxland before, but in this campaign season and what with all of the summer superhero movies coming out on DVD, it seemed like a good time to show yah some more! Lest anyone accuse Yours Truly of negative Not-Brand-Ecch advertising, let me remind you that these days there’s nothing more American than accusing your opponent of vague, unprovable and ill-defined character defects! So, until Sarah Palin explains to the American public exactly why she shot Bullwinkle J. Moose... enjoy!

Excelsior!

Smiley

HOW TO FIND THE CAPTAIN AMERICA EASTER EGG IN THE INCREDIBLE HULK DVD

ITEM! Yours Truly here with the goods, as per usual, oh Frantic Ones. No need to resort to hair-pulling, purple pants-ripping, or belting yourself with gamma rays to see the excised Captain America cameo in The Incredible Hulk movie (out Oct. 21 on both DVD and Blu-Rays at a retailer near you). Just follow these simple instructions: play the alternate arctic opening to the flick and get ready to hit your pause button at about 2:25 in... and voila! There’s the First Avenger buried in the frozen firma along with his swinging shield, just like your Uncle Stanley told yah he’d be, lo these many moons ago! No fuss, no muss... just some daft decision-making by Marvel Studio Head Isaac Perlmutter when he more-or-less forced director Louis Leterrier to cut this original opening for being too dark for a Merry Marvel Movie. Hey, how can our heroes shine in the light without leaping through a little darkness first, right Faithful Ones? That’s the way Jack and I used to do it, that’s the way Marvel did it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far. Enjoy!

Excelsior!

Smiley

"HEROES" COMIC CREATOR CAMEO CONTEST

ITEM! Hey there Heroes! Speaking of cameos, it's time for a new contest. The name of this one is the “Let’s All Write Tim Kring and Petition Him To Bring Back Yours Truly In Another Acclaimed Cameo Role Contest!” 

Here’s the pitch: whatever happened to that mysterious Greyhound Bus driver in the Season One episode “Unexpected”? Is he secretly Nathan, Peter and Sylar’s grandfather? What’s his power? Is it to transport people via teleportation or diesel-engined mass public transportation? Maybe I could even have Mark Evanier along as my ever-faithful trusty side-kick? Enquiring True Believers want to know! Also my bank account could use the extra boost. It’s gonna be awhile between now and the next Merry Marvel Movie cameo, if you know what I mean. What do you win if you write in? Why you win the ever-lasting joy of seeing your Uncle Stanley giving another Emmy Award-winning performance on the hottest show on network television, natch! So what are you waiting on? A personal invite from Future Hiro?

To enter the contest, send your credible cards and liltin’ letters to:

Tim Kring

Endeavor Agency

9601 Wilshire Blvd. 3rd Floor

Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Excelsior!

Smiley

THE LOST CAPTAIN AMERICA CAMEO

ITEM! And speaking of “lost cameos,” guess who’s finally getting ready to make his first earnest easter-egg appearance in the DVD version of The Incredible Hulk movie? That’s right... the often-mentioned but scoffed and contentioned Captain America cameo will be appearing in the restored original opening to the movie. See your Uncle Stan’s original blog on the subject for where and when to look. Need more? Go here and read what Hulk VF/X supervisor Kurt Williams has to say about the arctic prologue scene being restored to the very beginning of the flick! Sure, ol’ Kurt plays it pretty coy with the Sci-Fi Channel, but read between the dialogue balloons, Frantic Ones. Remember, it all goes down on October 21! Reserve your copy today!

Excelsior!

Smiley

THE LOST IRON MAN CAMEO

ITEM! Hey there, Heroes! It’s my assumption that all of you True Believers out there in Marveldom Assembled have purchased your copy of the Iron Man movie on either DVD or the Blu-Rays by this time (one week after it's release). I base that assumption on Technocrati’s report that the Blu-Rays version has already sold out, making it the best-selling Blu-Rays disc in 2008! Wa-hoo!

But if you haven’t yet picked up your very own copy, then let your Uncle Stanley provide you with a little extra incentive. Besides the usual array of electrifying extras and insightful interviews with director Jon "Fan Fave" Favreau, this one includes my full cameo appearance in the movie that sadly ended up on the cutting room floor. Yes, it’s true. Yours Truly had actual lines and some actually acting that were cut for time in the final print. Now you can own your very own copy of my Lawrence Oliver-style performance along with more making-of bonus goodies than you can shake a repulser ray at! Thanks to Irving Forbush III, there’s a small sampling YouToobed below, just to whet your discerning appetites. So if you don’t already own this movie, go get it now! Tell ‘em that “Hef” sent yah!

Excelsior!

Smiley

DEVOURER OF WORLDS HITS HARD TIMES — STARTS DOING THE CONVENTION CIRCUIT

ITEM! Hard times — it happens to the best of us. Just ask Nick Nolte or my bestest biddy-buddy Robert Downey Jr.. Looks like the Devourer of Worlds and everyone’s least favorite all-you-can-eat buffet companion has finally hit rock bottom! News reached me just this weekend that Galactus was seen signing autographs at Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, Ohio. It just breaks my heart to see the scourge of the Skrull Empire and sentients across the universe squeaking by like this on convention appearance money. Bet they put him up at the local Motel 6, too.

Apparently the Big G’s long-tall fall started back when he was replaced by a CGI cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Director Tim Story later claimed that it was an artistic decision to replace ol’ Purple Boots with computer effects, but the tabloids all reported that it was really because he was constantly showing up late on the set or without his lines memorized. Next thing anyone knew the Big Guy was seen hanging out at Britney Spears’ compound. She’s like what? 1/576,000,000th his age? Even now, with a Silver Surfer movie in pre-production, the studio won’t take his calls. How the mighty have fallen! Gimme a call, G. Maybe it's not too late to get you into Secret Invasion.

Excelsior!

Smiley

SPORE - SO EASY EVEN AN 85-YEAR-OLD CAN PLAY IT!

ITEM! It’s not often that a computer game comes along that really catches my fancy. Let’s face it — I'm old. As a teenager back in Depression-era New York, the closest thing we had to computer games was a quick pick-up of "kick the soup-kitchen bum." But I gotta tell yah this Spore game by Maxis has me glued to my Dell computer, creating comical creatures and conquering cosmic civilizations when I should be writing scripts for the seven zillion projects I’m signed up to produce. Who says you need any artistic sensibilities to create great characters? Not Yours Truly — not after playing around with Spore. Honest Irv has even embedded one of those YooToobs below so you can see my very own sizzling Spore creation, the Mystical Mister Multi-Limb!

And it’s not just your Uncle Stanley who’s caught up in the Spore craze! Celebs ranging from my main-man Richard Branson to Heroes’ Masi Oka to Ozland's  Flight of the Conchords have created Spore creatures for your electronic edification! I kid you not! So what are you waiting for? Latverain New Year? Go get this game! Where else do you get to play a character that starts as a humble microbe who eventually works his way up to starship captain? The only thing missing from this game? One word — Galactus! Ah well, maybe in Spore II... 

Excelsior!

Smiley

SCI-FI INTERVIEWS YOURS TRULY

ITEM! As regular readers of this bellicose blog already know, no one gives more fabulous face-time than your Fearless Leader. To wit: the Sci-Fi Channel just posted a recent interview with Yours Truly in which I wax elegantly on the recent explosion of super-hero movies! 

One of the many money-quotes from my one-on-one monologue: “You do your best. You have a character, you know the character, the story works and it’s a great one. But then you have to do another story. That’s the problem.” It may have temporarily slipped my memory-impaired mind to mention that the solution to said dilemma is usually finding a fantastic visual storyteller like Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko to collaborate with... but what the hey! That’s what I have this blog for, right pilgrims? To meritoriously mete out credit-where-credit it due! You read it here first! To read the whole blamed interview, go here and, as always, enjoy! 

Excelsior!

Smiley

CAP MOVIE TO BE SET IN WORLD WAR II

ITEM! Good news, everyone! Oh my, yes. Actually, the general idea of The First Avenger: Captain America movie (May, 2011) being mostly set in WWII has been public news for some time... but it’s sure nice to see some confirmation. According to Production Weekly magazine, here is the official plot synopsis:

"Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy's earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the 'Super-Soldier Serum' and bombarded by 'vita-rays.' Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and leader of the Avengers."

Nice, right? Mom, apple pie, and the Red Skull are also believed to be included in the script. Hopefully this is legit, though some blogsters have their doubts. Still, it always bodes well when the studio (even Marvel Studios in this particular case) expresses a genuine desire to stick closely to the comic’s creative concepts. Believe me when I tell yah no one wants another frantic franchise-killer like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on their hands again! According to my sources (feeble though they may be) no director or lead actor have been attached as yet. About the only thing your Uncle Stanley can say with certainty is that Cap won’t be played by Will Smith or Nicholas Cage. And Nicky, you can quit calling my offices. You already had your shot at Merry Marvel Franchise-Building in Ghost Rider, oh Elvis-like One!

Excelsior!

Smiley

SO WHY DID JACK QUIT MARVEL?

ITEM! Here’s another question your Uncle Stanley gets asked just about every time I show my fabulous fawning face in public: Why did Jack Kirby quit Marvel in 1970 and jump ship to the Doubtful Competition? In fact, I was recently asked this very question while visiting Google for one of their Authors@Google Series. And just how did Yours Truly answer that insightful inquiry? Well, it’s Honest Irving Forbush III to the rescue with one of those embedded YooTube dealies so that you, the discriminating Marvel Reader, can see exactly how I responded to this quintessential question! 

Excelsior!

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