R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen

British actress Elisabeth Sladen, the real-world alter ego of plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith, one of the best companions to renegade Time Lord known as The Doctor, has passed away at age 63 from cancer.

Sladen joined Doctor Who in the 1973 serial, "The Time Warrior," as the new companion of the Third Doctor, played by John Pertwee. She stayed in that role for three years, tagging along as the Third Doctor became the Fourth (Tom Baker). So beloved by fans - and producers - of Doctor Who, she returned to the franchise numerous times: first in the 1981 spin-off "pilot," K-9 & Company, and then in the same year's anniversary special, The Five Doctors. In 2006, she returned to the revived series in the acclaimed "School Reunion" episode, which led to the BBC green lighting her own show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She was shooting the fifth season of that series when she passed away.

I'm pretty sure that the first full episode of Doctor Who I ever saw was "Robot," on PBS back when I was in art school, around 1983 or 84. Sladen co-starred with Tom Baker in that story, and I think I fell in love with her right then and there. Sarah Jane Smith is still my favorite Doctor Who "companion," and proved herself a formidable heroine in her own right. Smart, brave, cute-as-a-button and prickly as a cactus, Sarah Jane - and by extension, the actress who portrayed her so well - was my kind of woman.

Rest in Peace, Ms. Sladen... and so long, Sarah Jane - the finest companion a time traveler could ever hope for.

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night...

There are at least four comic book-based super-hero movies coming out this Summer: Thor, X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Green Lantern. While I'm not particularly interested in the X-Men prequel, I am looking forward to Thor and Captain America; they look pretty good.

The one I'm really eager to see, though, is Green Lantern.

I've always loved Green Lantern. The costume, the magic ring, the space opera elements -- especially the space opera elements -- the "Silver Age" Green Lantern is just such a cool character/concept. And while I was definitely enthused about the character getting a live-action feature film, I was initially a bit wary. But this new footage not only assuages my fears, but genuinely excites me. It's almost exactly what I think a Green Lantern movie should be. I think Ryan Reynolds brings just the right fighter pilot "Top Gun" cockiness to Hal Jordan, and I love the realization of Oa, the ring, and the major Green Lantern Corps characters like Abin Sur, Sinestro, Tomar Re and Kilowog. I was a bit skeptical about the design of the lantern power battery and the CGI-costume when I first saw the stills, but I love how they look on film. Lantern's uniform is supposed to bea  construct of the ring, after all...

And... when Reynolds recited the Green Lantern oath... I don't mind telling you: I got misty, brother.

I think I'll actually have to go to the theater for this one, after all.

THE BIG BANG!

This upcoming film noir/sci-fi/black comedy looks great! A cool cast  and an really intriguing premise add up to a movie that I'm really looking forward to checking out. Here’s the full official synopsis:

Late one night, Los Angeles private investigator, Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas) gets a visit from a recently paroled Russian boxer with an intriguing job offer: find Lexie, his missing girlfriend—and the 30-million dollar stash of diamonds she’s hiding. As Detective Cruz sets out to find her, the clues send him into the city’s seediest corners, from a Hollywood action star with a dirty little secret (James Van Der Beek), to an enterprising porn producer who takes a personal interest in his own work (Snoop Dogg), and a kinky waitress with an unusual fetish for particle physics (Autumn Reeser). Lexie proves to be as elusive as she is beautiful and Cruz becomes obsessed with finding her. With time running out, Cruz discovers the trail leads to reclusive billionaire (Sam Elliott), and his physicist (Jimmi Simpson), intent on recreating The Big Bang underneath the New Mexico desert. Tailed by a trio of cops also looking to find the missing diamonds, and with the body count piling up, Cruz soon realizes that what appeared to be a standard missing person’s case is anything but, and could quite possibly bring about the end of the world as we know it.

 Judge for yourself - the trailer can be found HERE. Thanks to Zablo for the head's up!

Elsewhere on the Interweb: DVD Late Show

Just another periodic reminder that I also write and publish reviews of cult, B-movie and genre DVD and Blu-Rays at my DVD Late Show website.

I admit things over there have been a little slow this Winter, but I'm starting to get back into the reviewing groove, and have posted several new reviews over the last couple weeks, including looks at the latest incarnation of the long-running (and apparently, unkillable) Scooby Doo franchise, Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, the popular AMC horror series, The Walking Dead, a low-budget sci-fi flick called Interplanetary, the classic film noir flick Kansas City Confidential (restored in HD), Roger Corman's Sharktopus, and the latest Gamera double-feature disc from Shout! Factory.

My plan is to post at least one review every day this week, so please take a moment and check out the DVD Late Show site if you can. Thanks!

ADDENDUM: Oh, and as it happens, this month marks the SIXTH anniversary of the DVD Late Show reviews. Nearly 600 hundred DVD and Blu-Ray reviews since March of '05. Not too shabby.

Widescreen At Last!

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of months. Aside from simply having too much to do (Kolchak: The Night STalker Files, Gravedigger, Femme Noir, Captain Midnight, etc.), my wife & I also finally purchased a HD television set.

Although I've been enjoying our Blu-Ray player for a couple years (thanks to a generous Christmas gift from my mother-in-law), I haven't actually been getting the full benefits of the technology since I was still viewing the discs on a standard-definition monitor. But about two weeks ago, that 15 year-old TV finally gasped its last breath. It lived a full and meaningful life, but after years of heavy use, it just couldn't go on any longer.

Fortunately, the timing was pretty good for a change. Some automotive repairs we'd been saving for for a while turned out to be much less expensive than we expected (how often does that happen?), and we found a remarkably good deal on a high-end 55" Phillips LED set. (It's even Netflix Instant-ready.)

Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time (too much, actually) over the last month or so, looking at my Blu-Rays and DVDs on the big screen. I've watched tons of Star Trek - both classic episodes and the features - crime and action stuff like Crank 2, Faster, The A-Team movie (which I'm ashamed to admit I thought was pretty good, actually), Machete, and television shows like The Walking Dead and Space: 1999 in HD. I've also been checking out many of my standard-def DVDs to see which ones still look good, blown-up on the big screen. Some look better (Prime Cut) than others (Out Of Sight), obviously, depending on the age of the disc and the bitrate, but overall, I'm thrilled with my new TV set.

Now, all I need is a new surround sound set-up, and the Alien Blu-Ray box sets....

OUTLAW TERRITORY Volume #2

I am informed that the Western anthology, Outlaw Territory, Volume 2, from Image Comics, is now available. The collection is 240 pages and contains 30 stories, in a variety of styles by a horde of talented creators. Most importantly, it contains a story by yours truly, illustrated by Joe Staton & Rick Burchett, and colored by Michael Watkins.

Here's a glimpse at that story:

It should be on sale at most comic book shops now, or you can order it from Amazon here: Outlaw Territory Volume 2 OGN

Wednesday Cover: Kolchak: The Night Stalker Files #2

Here are two alternate covers for Kolchak: The Night Stalker Files #2, which should be in comic shops this week or next, and can be ordered directly from Moonstone now. The cover above (which has nothing to do with the story, although the girl does resemble a character introduced within the issue) is by interior artist Jaime Martinez. The cover below (which also has nothing to do with the story, but certainly is a damned cool illustration) is by Woodrow Hinton III.

Spread 'em!

Here are a couple of double-page "spreads" from two of the comics projects I'm working on. Click on the images for a larger view....

First up are pages 2 & 3 of the Skorpion graphic novel I'm developing with Gravedigger artist Rick Burchett. Skorpion is a 60s international adventure inspired by European super-criminal comics like Diabolik and Kriminal. Skorpion is in that tradition, but also incorporates a lot of other pop culture tropes of the era, with influences including kung fu flicks, Jonny Quest, Eurospy movies, and British TV shows like Danger Man and The Avengers.

Then there's this - pages 2 &3 of Sinbad: The Coils of the Serpent, drawn by Eduardo Barreto, wherin the dashing Persian mariner and his crew engage in battle with a brutish cyclops. I've previewed a lot of this project here, and expect that Eduardo & I will have the proposal doing the rounds by the end of February.

Both of these projects are currently without publishers, but I'm hopeful that they'll get picked up.

Wednesday Cover: SPACE: 1999

I've been watching the 1975 television series Space: 1999 on Blu-Ray over the last month or so, and it got me reminiscing about the comic book series published by Charlton Comics. The first two issues were drawn by my pal Joe Staton, but the next several were rendered by John Byrne, who would soon move onto superstardom at Marvel Comics, most notably as artist of The Uncanny X-Men.

Anyway, this is the cover to his second issue (#4), which manages to make two guys watching a video monitor look exciting. I'm not sure that putting the character of Victor Bergman's back to the reader is a great artistic choice, but, to be fair, if you're a fan of the show, there's no mistaking that head! Like Byrne's other early covers for Charlton, it also appears to have been hand-colored with markers.

Calling... Joe Staton!

My pal and favorite comics collaborator, Femme Noir co-creator/artist Joe Staton, celebrated his 63rd birthday yesterday. That was also the day that Tribune Media Services announced that long-time Dick Tracy artist Dick Locher would (finally) be hanging up his fedora and that Joe - along with writer Mike Curtis - would be taking over the legendary newspaper detective strip.

It's no secret that I was not a fan of Locher's run on the strip (I never liked his art, and after Max Collins stopped writing Tracy, I thought the writing got terrible, too), so I'm thrilled that not only is the strip continuing (something of a miracle, as the syndicate retired both Brenda Starr and Annie last year), but that it's going to start looking good again!

The art above is from a sample storyline that Mike and Joe did a while back, and presumably, it's what landed them the gig. It appeared last year on a Dick Tracy fansite, and I think it makes it abundantly clear that they're the right team for the job. I could only be happier if I was writing it... but hey, I still get to work with Joe on more Femme Noir, so I'm not really all that disappointed. :)

Wednesday Cover

Cover by my Femme Noir partner Joe Staton (Happy Birthday, Joe!) for Gladstone Publishing's third Dick Tracy album from 1990. He also did at least one other cover that wasn't published... and it's on my wall. If I had a scan, I'd share it.

Another Cute Cartoon

I really like this student film by Megan Tupper. Funny and nicely designed.

The Corpse Wore White Go-Go Boots

This gorgeous paperback cover painting by Lou Feck is one of my most prized possessions. I bought it about ten years ago from a colleague who claimed to have found it - along with some other original paintings by different artists - in a dumpster behind a New York office building.

As a kid growing up, I had admired Feck's art on a number of paperbacks I owned (including a Bantam collection of Robert E. Howard's Kull stories, and at least one of the James Blish Star Trek books), and he was one of the first cover artists that I learned to identify. When I had the opportunity to buy this Feck original - with the added attraction of it being a crime painting - I couldn't resist. It hangs on my office wall next to my desk; this is a digital photo, and isn't quite true to Feck's amazing use of color on the piece.

Oddly, there's very little info out there on the artist, and I wish I knew more about him. He seemed to work a lot for Bantam Books - including several covers for the early Clive Cussler "Dirk Pitt" novels and a fair number of science fiction titles. I believe he passed away in 1981.

On the back of this painting, scrawled in black marker, is "The Assassinater" (sic), which I presume is the title (or an approximation thereof) of the book this painting graced.... but I have not been able to track it down.  From the dead girl's clothing, I'm guessing it was published in the mid-to-late Sixties.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone knows what book this painting appeared on. I'd like to track down a copy since I own the painting. If anyone knows - Bish, maybe? - please drop me a line.

R.I.P. Anne Francis

Television's Honey West, the amazing Anne Francis, passed away four days ago from pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Hollywood. She was 80 years old.

I've adored Anne Francis since the night in the late 70s when I first saw Forbidden Planet on the CBS Late Movie. Her Altaira was gorgeous, no doubt, but Anne brought much more to the role than a pretty face and stunning physique. Altaira, as portrayed by the talented young ingenue, was innocent, but not naive, unworldly but not unwise. In short, I believe that Anne brought her own sharp intellect to the potentially shallow, cliche sexpot role, and made the character much more than your usual sci-fi eye candy.

There was something about Anne that was different from other beautiful starlets of the era; maybe it was the obvious intelligence in her eyes, or the voice that, no matter the role, possessed maturity and confidence. Anne was a blonde, but was never dumb.

As Honey West, she was American television's first ass-kicking action heroine, spinning off from a memorable episode of Gene Barry's Burke's Law into her own single-season series. In a long career as a TV guest star, the actress shined in such shows as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (where she portrayed - twice - the criminal mastermind Gervaise Ravel), Mission: Impossible, The Invaders, Kung Fu, Black Sheep Squadron, Dallas, Fantasy Island, Riptide and many more. In 1994, she even reprised the role of Honey on the revived Burke's Law, reunited with Barry.

Just a day before her passing, I watched the first season Twilight Zone episode, "The After Hours," and marveled again at how well she carried the story, spending nearly a third of the show alone on screen.

I feel a profound sense of loss with her passing, but am thankful that I have so many of her performances close at hand on my shelves, and I know that every time I revisit Forbidden Planet or Honey West, I'll fall in love with her all over again.

Rest peacefully, Anne.... and thanks.

Early Morning Musings on New Year's Day

There's no question that the last five years or so have been the roughest of my life, particularly in the realms of health and finances. That these two problem areas have also adversely affected my professional endeavors is also undeniable. Much of the last few years, it's felt like I was mired in quicksand, with my head just above the surface - not quite drowning, but not able to move much, either.

Progress was made on all fronts - health, finance and work - but it was agonizingly slow, with lots of prolonged periods of unintentional and unbearably frustrating inactivity... especially in this last year.

It's also true that my professional reputation has taken some hits over the last half-decade. But I'm working hard to try and repair some of that damage. I am cautiously optimistic that this coming year will see some substantial improvement in my productivity and the quality of my work... and I'm creatively excited about the projects on my plate for 2011.

I hope to continue with Kolchak for Moonstone, and find a way to produce more Captain Midnight adventures for the company, beginning with the long-anticipated (and years-in-the-making) one-shot special.  The new Gravedigger graphic novel/collection is getting close to completion, and I'm hopeful that the Femme Noir webcomics collection will finally come together soon. Joe Staton and I also intend to get to work on an all-new Femme Noir comic book this year... and maybe - just - maybe, I can get Perils on Planet X going again. I just need to find a way (and the time) to resuscitate it.

I have several creator-owned projects cooking, too, that I hope will come to fruition - or at least move forward - in '11.

Sinbad and The Coils of the Serpent with Eduardo Barreto, Skorpion - a 60's international spy/crime caper - with Rick Burchett, a "top secret" super-hero one-shot AND a supernatural Western that I'm putting together with my old pal/writing partner James Chambers (and the ubertalented Rick B. again), and, hopefully, an offbeat project I've wanted to do for years, called Felons In Love.

That's a lot. And when you add in the DVD Late Show site and my goofy blogs, it seems like a ridiculous amount of work. But I'm trying hard to have confidence in myself - trying to live up to the potential that my wife, my closest friends and my collaborators have told me that they believe I possess. I don't like letting those people down, and I'm going to try like hell not to.

So, here's to 2011. Here's hoping it's a great - or, at least, better - year for everyone.