HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

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

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

HE'S A COOL EXEC WITH A PURSE OF STEEL

ITEM! Speaking of the Golden Avenger, you might remember this story about the Hollywood hubbub regarding precocious paparazzi photog Ronnie Adams — he who managed to sneak on-set during the filming of Iron Man and get away with a shot of ol’ Shellhead in his full red-and-gold regalia. After making the poor schmuck pull the pic off his website and threatening to shut him down forever, someone on the Iron Man production team thought it would be just hilarious to include Adam’s pic in a fake newspaper spread easily seen in the theatrical release of the movie (see pic below). That’s when Ransom-seeking Ronnie sued Paramount and Marvel for, well, let’s face it... stealing his photograph. Jumpin’ Jehosaphat and shades of J. Jonah Jameson!

Now this development: Yours Truly was checking out my preview Iron Man DVD the other day, and what to my wondering eyes should appear... but a completely different photo digitally inserted into the DVD version of the movie! No word on how the lawsuit is going between Marvel, Paramount and Ronnie... but it’s a safe bet that given the choice between giving Ronnie a few hundred grand and giving their entertainment attorneys the same amount, the studio suits have elected to do the latter rather than the former. To quote a certain weapons manufacturing billionaire, "That’s how Dad did it, that’s how America does it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far..."

Excelsior!

Smiley

JON FAVREAU SUITS UP FOR IRON MAN 2

ITEM! Good news, everyone! It looks like David Maisel and Marvel Studios have recovered from their brief case of Rectal-Cranial Dislocation and have closed a deal with Jon “Fan Fave” Favreau to direct Iron Man 2... at least according to Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily. No word yet on my bestest biddy buddy Robert Downey Jr. or if the 2010 date the studio wanted has been pushed back as Jonny-Be-Good wanted. Still, this is great news and methinks a sign that cooler heads at Marvel are prevailing. And of course all you Frantic Ones that rang out your opinions loud and clear on the Intrawebs should take a well-deserved bow as well. Congratulations, pilgrims! The Second Golden Age of Marvel is just around the corner and you helped make it happen! Watch for it!

Excelsior!

Smiley

AN OPEN LETTER TO MARVEL STUDIOS CHAIRMAN DAVID MAISEL

ITEM! You True Believers out there are just gonna have to excuse your Uncle Stan while he gets a little something off his chest today. Frankly, this is part of why I started this under-my-lawyers-radar boisterous blog to begin with — so I could fire one off across the bow every once in awhile without having to hear about it for weeks from corporate Hollywood legal types. And yes, I have my old-man cranky pants on today, so the faint of heart, the incontinent, or those suffering from delicate derrieres should just click away now and come back tomorrow!

An open letter to Marvel Studios Chair David Maisel:

Dear Greed-for-Brains,

Are you out of your ever lovin’ mind? Am I missing something, or did you hire Jon Favreau for a song and he turned around and gave you a $638 million franchise-starting movie when half of Wall Street was betting against you? What is your major malfunction? Are you seriously considering killing the goose that laid the golden armor-plated egg? If Jon Favreau says he needs an actual fair wage for writing and directing Iron Man 2, then your answer is YES. If he and Robert Downey Jr. say that a 2010 date is not enough time to mount a quality sequel, then it’s YOUR JOB as studio head to figure out the scheduling issues and how to solve them. Dear Lord man... do you want another Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on your hands? Stop acting like a parody of the hebetudinous Hollywood half-wits on Entourage and take a good look at the long range gains versus the short term ones. Use some of that $4.1 million dollars you made in 2007 and go buy yourself a clue... cause you need one son.

One more thing: when my people call your people, please return my calls. My attorneys can eat your attorneys for lunch and still have room left for dessert. Bet on it.

Sincerely,

Stan

Thanks for your indulgence, pilgrims. If you want to know the secret to livin’ to the ripe old age of 85, the secret is that sometimes you have to get up and take out the trash! ‘Nuff Said!

Excelsior!

Smiley

SUPPLYING OUR MARVELOUS TROOPS WITH EXCELLENT COMICS!

ITEM! It’s that time of the month again, heroes! Time to hand out another Excelsior Award for Comic Shop Excellence! While the prior winners of the existential Exy award have been West Coast comic book shops, not this time, Tiger! When we started handing these things out, Ol’ Smiley threw out the challenge to any Mid-Western MMMS members-at-large to report back in to Soapbox Central on any comic book shop that met the Merry Marvel standards for excellence. A couple of weeks ago Yours Truly received the following from MMMS member #7892, otherwise-known-as FedEx Eddie:

“If ever there was a comic book shop that deserves the Excelsior Award, it’s the Bookery Fantasy located in Fairborn, Ohio (right next to Wright-Patterson Airforce Base and just outside Dayton. Their store is so big it’s broken into two shops directly across the street from each other — one for comics, pulps and collectibles, the other for games. Besides having one of the best back-issue inventories in the country, the Bookery is huge on old pulp magazines and genre paperbacks. Last time I was there I was able to grab the Twomorrows’ Kirby Unleashed portfolio, a copy of Blake Bell’s "I Have to Live With This Guy," and that Streetwise book with the Kirby story in it. All that and my regular books!

They have a massive selection of graphic novels, trade paperbacks and collectibles. A few weeks ago I walked in and they were conducting an Iron Man costume contest just prior to the movie premiere (see included photos). If you ever need anything there, all you have to do is ask Jessi — she knows her comics! In short, the Bookery seems like the kind of comic shop you’d find in downtown Manhattan, but it’s right here in the middle of Ohio!

Make Mine Marvel,

FedEx Ed, R.F.O., K.O.F."

Well there yah go, pilgrims! That’s how it works. Congratulations to Bookery Fantasy owner Tim Cottrill and his comic-crazed crew for winning the Excelsior Award for Comic Shop Excellence! Stand a little straighter and walk a little taller, Bookery-ites! Your excellence no longer goes unrecognized!

Nearly every city, hamlet and burg has a good comic shop... but do you have an exceptionally excellent comic shop in your vicinity? Is your rascally regional retailer recognition-worthy? Then what are you waiting for? A Skrull invasion? Send your Exy nominations straight to the ol’ Sock It To Stan emailage box, sunshine! You’ll feel better for doing it!

Excelsior!

Smiley

THEY SAY LITIGATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

ITEM! We interrupt your regular Hulk-centric bloggage for the following very important message. In the event of an actual emergency, you’ll be instructed which blog to tune into for real news and information that you can actually use. Probably Occasional Superheroine.

Well, well, well... imagine your Uncle Stanley’s surprise when young Ivr Forbush III brought me a copy of the most recent Mad Magazine, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but an Iron Man “attach a funny word balloon to a photograph” feature (see pic for the only funny joke in the whole spread - there, your Uncle Stan just saved you $4.99. Your welcome, Tiger). We won’t even get into who invented that genre to begin with (hint: Mrs. Lieber’s favorite fair-haired son) or who is currently still it’s present peerless practitioner (hint: go buy your copy of Election Daze now, pilgrim!). What’s gotten my garrulous goat this time is that some uncredited hack from “the usual pack of copy-cats” lifted the idea for this Iron Man feature directly from this erstwhile humble blog, namely my post from way back on April 30 called “Top 10 Unknown Gadgets in Iron Man’s Armor.”

It’s all well and fine to steal an idea from some blog probably only read by four or five aging MMMS members surfing the World Wide Webs from their Lazy-Boys in Retirement-ville (and a big shout out to our one faithful reader in Bonita Springs, Florida! Keep Making Yours Malox, Marvelite!), but to not even give Yours Truly a co-creator credit for the original idea... I know, I know... the Smilin’ One objecting to not receiving credit-where-credit-is-due. The irony is so thick you could slice it with an adamantium claw. Still, this is me, Tiger. I’ve got enough POW! Entertainment lawyers on retainer to sue Doc Doom back to the Stone Age. I guess I just really expected better from a magazine owned by the Distinguished Conglomerate. I thought we had an understanding. John Ficarra, this old man is a callin' you out! Expect to hear from my attorneys first thing Tuesday morning! 

Excelsior!

Smiley

WHEN CAPTAIN AMERICA THROWS HIS MIGHTY SHIELD...

ITEM! Yes, it’s true, Tiger. That is Captain America’s shield sitting on Tony Stark’s lab bench in that boffo box-office bonanza, Iron Man. Frantic Ones everywhere have discovered one of Jonny Favreau’s earnest easter eggs serendipitously slipped into the scenery (see pic above). An easter egg that was digitally painted out of the trailers and previews, I might add. Read the whole story here and here.

Fan speculation and Intraweb chatter is running at fever pitch. What does it mean? It’s not really that hard to figure out, pilgrims. Card-carrying Marvelites will remember that Tony Stark actually did make a high-tech shield for Cap all the way back in Avengers #6 (June 1964 — Studious Stan). If you haven’t read these or other Avenging classics, then shame on you, sunshine! You can either turn in your MMMS membership card or go straight to your local comic book shop and get your copious copy of Essential Avengers Vol. 1, Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1, or even the out-of-print but still-to-be-had GIT Corp 40 Years of the Avengers DVD-ROM collection! These titanic tomes may not be as intellectually stimulating as the Complete Works of Shakespeare, but they're a heckuva lot easier to tote around!

Even though your Uncle Stanley hasn’t seen a Captain America movie script yet, it’s pretty obvious where this is going. The Cap movie will no doubt cover his WWII days to introduce both Cap and the Red Skull’s origins, then zip forward to the present day with Cap being thawed-out and outfitted with a Stark-tech shield so he can go he can kick Nazi sleeper agent gluteus maximus and even go Avenging — just like in the comics! Say it with me, Merry Marvel Marchers... “just like in the comics!” Ah, that magic phrase that guarantees both high-fidelity sound and concept, and as often as not, high box office returns. Now that Mighty Marvel is running these mega movie franchises, expect that to be the rule rather than the exception! You read it here first, pussycat. ‘Nuff Said!

Excelsior!

Smiley

BATTLE OF THE BOX OFFICE BILLIONAIRES

ITEM! I was just thinking the other day that if Marvel and the Distinguished Competition ever do another crazy crossover comic, the perfect writer for it would be Dashin’ Dan Slott. Besides a cranium completely crammed with a copious collection of comic book continuity, Danny-Boy’s writing is uncannily comical! Plus the Danster doesn’t go in much for any of that fancy “decompressed (i.e. lazy) storytelling.” 

If Dan Slott were to do an Iron Man/Batman crossover, for example, it would probably go a little something like the video below, which answers the musical question, “Is there room enough this summer for TWO billionaire playboy super-heroes with gadgets, women, a side-kick and a loyal butler?” Enjoy!

Excelsior!

Smiley

IRON MAN CRUSHES BOX OFFICE

ITEM! So last night the Spider-Phone buzzed and sure enough the caller I.D. was the one I was dreading, Avi Arad. I figured Avi was calling to gloat and arrange to collect on the bet we made over Iron Man’s box office take opening weekend. As you’ll recall from our last webispode, your Uncle Stanley bet Avi that Iron Man would break the opening weekend records of Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, taking in $140 million plus. Loser agreed to have Spider-Man’s costume body-painted on his nude body and parade up and down Sunset & Vine. What was I thinking? And even though the Golden Avenger gratuitously garnered the second biggest opening weekend of any non-sequel movie, and placed 10th overall, it’s $104.2 million take didn’t quite put it over the absolute top. Everyone at the studio was celebrating last night except Yours Truly because I had this stupid old-man bet hanging over my humbly harangued head. 

But I decided to suck it up and take the call anyway, only to find out it’s Avi calling to concede the bet! Seems he only remembered betting that Iron Man wouldn’t take in over $140 mil period. Since it took in $104.2 million domestically plus a whopping $96.8 million foreign, that put the total opening weekend at $201 million! You can buy yourself a lotta Repulsor Rays with that much mullah, pilgrims! So Avi conceded the bet and shamefully, Ol’ Smiley let him! This morning at dawn I sent Irving Forbush out with a digital camera to meet the Avaricious One down in Hollywood. Technically they were at the McDonalds on Sunset a little ways down from Vine, but your Uncle Stanley isn’t gonna quibble. Actually... now that I think about it... I more-than-suspect that Avi knew he won the bet and he chose to concede anyway, just so he could go web-swinging in public the whole way, if you know what I mean. Who knows with these Hollywood types. Anyhoo, a win is a win! Enjoy the only PG-13 shot that Honest Irv came back with! ‘Nuff Said!

Excelsior!

Smiley

BOUNTEOUS & BULLISH BOX OFFICE BET

ITEM! Hiya Heroes! It’s almost that time... time for an adoring public to embrace the greatest Merry Marvel Movie since Predator vs. Howard the Duck... Iron Man! Your Uncle Stanley saw it last night with an audience, and this thing is bound to be a bombastic box office bonanza! I had tears in my eyes from the audience cheering and leapin’ outta their seats. Well, from that and Gwyneth Paltrows’ perfume...

I made a bet with Avi Arad back when he jumped ship last year that this movie was gonna beat Spider-Man’s opening weekend. Later we upped the ante to include beating Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. That means an opening weekend in excess of $140 million, and I’m stickin’ to that figure like Aunt May’s wheatcakes stick to yer ribs. Word-of-mouth-plate alone on this sucker is going to drive it through the stratosphere! And the best part? The loser of the bet has to hire an artist to body paint Spidey’s costume onto his nude body and parade around Sunset and Vine for at least one hour. During daylight. I know, I know... no one wants to see that, but what do I care at this stage in my life? Besides, it's not Yours Truly who's gonna be treating folks to the Full Spidey! I am totally winning this bet, pilgrims!

Excelsior!

Smiley

TIME TO GET INTO CHARACTER

ITEM! Just a quick note before I make a mad dash to see Iron Man for the first time with a real audience. Be absolutely certain to stay until the very end of the credits, pilgrims. You won't want to miss Samuel L. Jackson's sizzling set-up for a future Favreau flick... and I DON'T mean Iron Man 2! Apparently Jon found an "unlaced with colorful metaphors" version of Jackson's performance as Colonel Nick Fury on the cutting room floor that he could use after all! But what oh what could he be doing or saying at the very end of the credits that would be worth your hard-earned time and attention? Let's just say he may be "assembling" some heroes for a team... Wish I'da thought of that 40 years ago, but the only character I had on hand at the time was Loki! Ah well, as Danny Kaye sang, "Que Sara Sara..."

Excelsior!

Smiley

TONY STARK'S ARMOR MAY NOT BE 18-KARAT GOLD, BUT HIS CELL PHONE SURE IS!

ITEM! Wow, wow and wow! I just wet my thesaurus. Fortunately, I keep my thesauri numbered for just such an occasion. Irving Forbush just called me on the soon-to-be-spending-the-next-5,000-years-in-a-landfill Spider-Phone to hip me to LG’s shiny new 18-karat gold-plated Iron Man Cell Phone! Apparently these babies are not being sold in stores, so I may have to call in a favor or two to get my mobile mits on one. Dammit, I bet Avi Arad already has one of these! I know... I’ll call Robert Downey Jr. and have him use his swingin’ star power to finesse his Uncle Stanley a pro-bono promo phone.

For those without Hollywood connections or Milbourne Drysdale as your banker, you can win one of these fabulous non-ferrous Iron Man phones right here at www.insidethesuit.com!

Excelsior!

Smiley

TOP 10 UNKNOWN GADGETS IN IRON MAN'S ARMOR

ITEM! Way back when, King Kirby and your Uncle Stan used to take turns seeing who could cram the most gadgets into Iron Man’s invincible armor. Jolly Jack usually won those contests, but I held my own. Rocket-powered roller skates? That one was mine. Well, mine and Wile E. Coyote’s. Interestingly, some of these gadget-inventing-contests took place over 3-martini-lunches at the Seawane Club in New York. Things got, shall we say, creative. There’s probably still some waitress there who thinks her name is Pepper Potts.

So last year while enjoying a liquid lunch with Iron Man Director Jon-Boy Favreau, I told him that story and we started the game up again. One pitcher of Long Island Teas later and we’d managed to come up with quite a luminary list. Mind you, at least two of these ingenious go-go-gadgets actually make an appearance in the Iron Man movie! A special Armor-Alled Adamantium-Plated No-Prize to the first Frantic One who correctly guesses which two! So without further ado... Lee-Favreau present:

The Top 10 Unknown Gadgets in Iron Man’s Armor

10. Lycra-Unstable Molecular weave for inner body sock, so that all the important parts can breathe and stretch.

9. Audio-In jack for iPod Nano.

8. On-Star security system with remote boot-jet ignition service.

7. Cellular phone jammer for those annoying people who won’t shut off their cell-phones in movie theaters.

6. Infra-Red Heat-Seeking Mini-Missiles for those same annoying people who bring their screaming one-year-olds to the movies.

5. Stark International’s complimentary wine and beer service.

4. The Playboy Channel, for those long, lonely intercontinental flights.

3. Two words: “oil can.”

2. Teeny-tiny fuzzy dice miniaturized with Pym Particles that swing in front of eye slits.



1. There’s no pretty way to say this — so we won’t — but when you gotta go, you gotta go! Yah, that’s built in too.

Excelsior!

Smiley

CENTERFOLDS, COCKTAILS AND CAMEOS — OH MY!

ITEM! For those Frantic Ones who can’t wait any longer for the Thursday, 8:00 pm first showing of Iron Man, here’s a sneaky-peek at the very best thing in the whole fershlugginer movie: Yours Truly!

Just like my last two cameos in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Spider-Man 3, the creative team on Iron Man decided that the best bang-for-the-box-office-buck would be to have the Smiln’ One play his own indomitable self in the movie! Why settle for anything else but the Real Thing, right Tiger? Why waste acting chops that put the rest of the invidious Screen Actors Guild to shame? Why pay for a real actor when I’ll work for scale? 

But wait — there’s a tantalizing twist to this cameo! Even though I play myself, I’m surrounded by a bevy of beautiful blondes (much as in real life) and because of this, Tony Stark mistakes me for Hugh Hefner! Kinda like the old “heroes mistake each other for villains and 22-pages of property damage ensue” schtick, only with less punching and more drinking. Not much of a resemblance if you ask me, by-the-way, but I guess arm-loads of hot young blondes + speckled turkey wattle = “The Hef.” Either way, it’s cinematic gold, pilgrims! See yah at the movies on Thursday!

Excelsior!

Smiley

A BLAZING POWER, THAT'S IRON MAN

ITEM! Welcome to Iron Man Week here at Everything’s Sunny in Soapbox-Land! As we all count down to Shellhead’s sizzling cinematic debut, your Uncle Stanley is gonna hit yah with more invincible insider insights that you can shake a transisitor-powered suit of steel mesh at! All that, and sentences that end in prepositions too! Who could ask for more?

For starters, the Smilin’ One isn’t ashamed to admit that it took nominal nudges from both Irving Forbush and Mark Evanier to remind me that seminal Shellhead artist extraordinaire Georgous George Tuska turned 92 yesterday! 92! That’s older than Yours Truly, pilgrims, and I remember when milk still came in glass bottles and drinking water came from a faucet. Georgey-Boy’s been around so long he was born the year BEFORE Jolly Jack Kirby!

George was a Golden-Age vet from the earliest days of the comic book biz. Most of you probably remember the Tusk from his incredible 10-year run on The Invincible Iron Man (most of Iron Man's #5 through #108 - Compleatist Stan). But George started out assisting on the syndicated AP strip Scorchy Smith and later worked in that frantic finishing school for future famous fine artists, the Eisner & Iger shop. The House of Ideas managed to snag him back into the fold in 1964, at which point I was so thrilled to have someone to draw books besides Kirby, Ditko and Heck that I featured his return on the splash page of his first story (Tales of the Watcher, Tales of Suspense #58 - Even-More Compleatist Stan)! Heck, gettin’ Gorgeous George in the bullpen let me cut Jack back to under 100 pages-a-month!

Then George went on to work for the Distinguished Corporation and had a fabulous 15-year run drawing their daily Superman syndicated strip (...should I mention that everyone's favorite whipping-boy, Vince Colletta, inked most of this 1978-1993 run? - Ridiculously Compleat Stan), finally retiring from full-time comics work, though he continues to do commissioned work to this very day! I hope I’m still that active when I’m his age... mainly because that’s only seven years from now and I have contracts going out over the next 20 years! So Happy Birthday, George, and keep on truckin’! We youngsters will keep tryin' to follow your exemplary example!

Excelsior!

Smiley

DOC BRUCE BANNER, BELTED BY CGI

ITEM! With two Massive Marvel Movies coming out practically back-to-back, how come all we’re hearing about is the Iron Man Movie? Well for starters, I can tell you after seeing it that Iron Man is going to be a behemoth box office bonanza of Brobdingnagian proportions (see my opening weekend predictions). Everyone at Marvel Entertainment is busy right now pumping and pimping that puppy for all it’s worth. As the first in-house, self-financed release from The House of Ideas, they need Iron Man to be a monsterous money-maker for all kinds of reasons. Luckily, Jon “Fan Fave” Favreau and crew have taken very good care of them on that score.

But what about the June 13 release of The Incredible Hulk? The truth is that the Hulk movie is worrying everyone. It’s had an incredibly troubled production. Sensitive star and stellar screenplay writer Edward Norton and Fancy French Director Louis Leterrier have been getting into it with the studio over the editing of the movie. I also hear that Louie had some trouble keeping party-girl Liv “Walk This Way” Tyler on-set and on-time. Apparently William Hurt wasn’t too happy with the rug they gave him to wear as General Thunderbolt Ross. I know the feeling! When I filmed my cameo for the movie last month, they told me they would “fix” my hairpiece in “post,” whatever-the-hell that means. In other words, typically Hollywood hi-jinks.

But the thing that’s gotten everyone ultra-nervous has been the CGI work of Rhythm and Hues Studios. Leterrier was originally so underwhelmed by the CGI in the prior movie (that which cannot-be-named-out-loud, as we like to call it) that he planned on doing this one with mostly old-school prosthetics and animatronics. From what I’ve heard, he’s still wishing that he’d stuck to his ever lovin’ guns on that one. Your Uncle Stanley was as shocked as everyone else when the trailer came out with visible flaws and seams in the effects work. And don't even get me started on what happened to Gil Kane's fabulously finny freak-ears on the Abomination. Apparently as we speak everyone is scrambling around like mad doing green-screen reshoots with an actor in makeup and and some animatronic puppets. A worried studio exec sent the Smilin’ One a couple of these shots (see top-secret picture above and leaked footage below) along with a piteous plea for me to intercede and help get the movie back on track. I wish I could. The sad thing is that your Uncle Stan is only an executive producer, which as we all know is Hollywood’s way of paying you a lot of money to sit down and shut up.

Maybe the suits are overreacting, anyways. That’s practically what they’re paid to do. Judge for yourself, True Believers! Irving Forbush is embedding one of those linky things to the latest effects reshoot footage below. Enjoy!

Excelsior!

Smiley

NON-RUBBER BABY-BOOMER BUMPER STICKERS

ITEM! For those of you old enough to remember (and please take a much-deserved bow and another lovin' spoonful of Geritol if you are), once upon a tireless time there was a small group of dedicated fans who belonged to a little organization called the Merry Marvel Marching Society. Ah, those were the days. They don’t make frenzied fandom like that anymore, pilgrims. We didn’t have the World Wide Webs way back then, so fans could only express their heartfelt love for all things Marvel by wearing buttons on their bellbottoms and putting stickers on their Volkswagen Buses.

Your Uncle Stan kinda misses those halcyon days of yore, and I’ve decided to do something about it. Announcing all-new versions of the all-time favorite way for Marvelites to stop traffic and generate minor accident reports: MMMS Bumper Stickers, the Next Generation (Marvel Studios Edition). They’re only in the perilous prototype stage right now, pilgrims, but I’ve got my adopted great-grandson, Irving Forbush III, slaving away over his hot l’il laptop producing ready-to-print-out versions even as we blog. Apparently Photoshop will let you Photoshoppingly Photoshop Photoshopish Photoshop files anytime, anywhere. That wasn’t a plug, by the way... Forbushman just bet me I couldn’t use the word Photoshop as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, subject and object, all in the same sentence. You owe me a virgin slo-gin fizz at the airport bar, Irv! See the exemplary examples above for a precious and precocious preview of these must-have auto adornments! As always, your insightful and inspired input is always welcome...

Speaking of Honest Irv, he of the cape and pan-like-helmet and Yours Truly will be flying out for New York later today. He swears that I will be able to use his McBook Pro to keep posting to this blog while we travel, even though I'm all used to the Dell on my desk at home. There’ll be lots to report, so I hope he’s right True Believers! See ya at the show!

Excelsior!

Smiley