Welcome to a very rare Friday edition of the House.
You all know by now that unlike the honest working man and The Beatles, I, Mr.Morbid, prefer to work 4 days a week, instead of the customary 5 or in some cases 8. But with my mind buzzing and working overtime about certain events and topic in the comic world, I felt I couldn't wait until monday to unload my thoughts and opinions on at least one of these topics.
What topic I'm am I talking about?? How about this already hot topic I read from Bleedingcool.com, that's proving to be so hot, it's positively incendiary!
Undercover movie execs apparently went to some random comic book stores to gage fan/store owner interest in what the ideal JLA roster would be for them if and when DC ever finally puts out a JLA movie.
So despite doing a horrible job of trying to pose as random comic fans(go figure), the topic soon took a rather nasty and unexpected turn, when the question was asked "What do you think of Frank Miller doing the JLA?"
Yeah. That was an actual question, by actual movie execs.
Quickly, but not unsurprisingly, many fans and industry professionals alike all had an opinion on this, and also not unsurprisingly, it wasn't all positive.
Take legendary comic artist Kevin Maguire for example.
@Secretoriginz Angry. Miller doesn't love the characters, he shits on them.
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
But I will expand on those thoughts with some proof provided by Miller's own work.
Of course who doesn't already know and love his legendary "The Dark Knight Returns" work right?
Well what were the JLA doing in that story? Anyone?
Nothing, because they were disbanded by order of the US Government. They let themselves, in the story, be told what to do and when to do it by a single government, even if it was our own. As we all know, that's not how the League really works, since they're supposed to be above all that, and not solely employed by or be mandated to any country's government.
On other words, they're the ultimate in independent workers.
But not in Frank Miller's world they weren't, especially Superman, who was reduced to being used as a blindly loyal government lapdog.
What's worse, is that that line of reasoning was used in Darwyn Cooke's excellently written and drawn New Frontier story.
In the very beginning of that one, Superman's used primarily as a tool of the US Government as well. But unlike Miller's Superman, Cooke's Superman quickly realizes he's been duped, and decides from there on, he's nobody's lapdog or tool.
Later on, in the 2005-08 abortion of a series Miller worked on called All-Star Batman and Robin, Miller once again ridicules and belittles the Justice League by choosing to portray them as Stupid, petty, and disorganized gods with power. Basically treating them as nothing more than jokes, as pointed by that series' Batman.
So basically, would you trust this man with DC's biggest franchise outside of Superman and Batman?
Yeah I don't so.
Let's hope enough dissenting fans and comic industry professionals let their voices and opinions be heard, so that this little scenario never, ever becomes reality, no matter how desperate Warner Bros. might be at the moment.
Have a good Friday, and an awesome weekend folks!:)
You guys wanted more skits with word balloons, so here's nice little skit for ya' with them, so enjoy:)
Yeah, I know; how the hell do I come up this type of skit with these types of characters? IDK, but it sure was fun:)
On a much somber note, yesterday famous singer Andy Williams died at the age of 84.
You may or may not remember him, but I'm pretty sure your parents and grandparents do. His heyday was in the 60's, as proven by the fact that he put out hit albums at the time(18 Gold and 3 Platinum to be exact), and was so popular that he even had his very own show, called appropriately enough, "The Andy Williams Show."
As I mentioned on my Facebook page, that while he wasn't my generation's preferred singer, that doesn't make him any less of a legend. He was one hell of a singer to be sure. And while I'm not super-knowledgeable on all of his hits, the one I do know and love is "Moon River." In case you don't know, that was a song written by legendary composer Henry Mancini, you know, the guy who created the music to the original Pink Panther cartoon? Yep, same guy. Moon River was written for the famous film, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", sung in the film by a young Audrey Hepburn.
But for my money, Andy Williams' version is the best. So here it, is Andy Williams' rendition of Moon River:
I just wanted to take a quick second to thank all of you guys(and gals, hey Randomnerd:) that stop by and comment on this mad little experiment that is my blog.
I want you all to know how much I truly appreciate the interest and time you all take out your busy schedules to drop me a line, disagree or agree with me, and so on.
So here's a big thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!:)
Today's post is about another of my favorite rock albums of all time.
Some of you my agree on this week's selection, some of you may not; but there's no denying how influential this week's band has been on rock music in general.
I ain't talkin' 'bout love, I'm talkin' 'bout Van Halen.
If you were there(and I wasn't because I wasn't even born yet) 1977 was a crazy time in rock, and music in general.
You had punk, the new wave of metal(both British and American) rock, and disco all fighting it out for supremacy of the charts.
And in the midst of all that, out came this band from Pasadena, California, Van Halen.
I won't get into their whole history, as that would take up way too time, but if you interested, and don't already know, here's the Wikipedia.org link to get you up to speed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_halen
Today, I'm talking about their debut album, and what a blast of fresh air that album was, and what tracks I love(just about all of them!)
At first glance, you may be asking yourself, what's so special about this album? It looks like every other rock album put out around that time period.
And that's where you'd be wrong.
First off, the cover, while not a super revolutionary concept, is one I don't think was used on a lot of covers back then.
Seriously, look at it.
All the band members are in motion, with a wicked time-distorted, blurry effect thing going on.
To me, they all kind of look like Led Zeppelin, especially lead singer David Lee Roth in his "I'm the sexy, cool, lead singer" pose.
But trust me, inside that album, they seriously kick a whole lotta' ass!
Don't believe me? Just hit play and listen to the blistering licks and heavy sounds of the intro song "Eruption".
Yeah, it's like that motherfucker!
I kid you not, that intro was an immediate game-changer for 1977, and put all the other rock bands on notice that this band wasn't to be taken lightly.
To me, it's one of the best intros/lead-ins out there, as it goes from here to a cover of a famous song by The Kinks, "You really got me."
Of course I'd be remiss, if I didn't state that the very first song on the album, "Running with the devil". This song is pretty much a rock anthem if there ever was, you know, since rock music has long been dismissed and labeled as "Devil/Satan music".
If that's the case, sign me up for a long tour of hell. At least they're will be plenty of company:)
Here's "Running with the Devil":
Damn! Now that's rock and roll right there!
Moving on, is the famous "Ain't talkin' 'bout love."
Obviously an ode to one-night stands, this songs rocks while being pretty honest and up-front about what Diamond Dave wants.
Here's some of the lyrics, just to show you how smooth, but up-front Dave is on the subject:
"I heard the news baby All about your disease Yeah, you may have all you want baby But I got somethin' you need. Oh, yeah! Ain't talkin' 'bout love My love is rotten to the core Ain't talkin' 'bout love Just like I told you before. Yeah, before
You know you're semi-good lookin' And on the streets again Ooh yeah, you think you're really cookin' baby You better find yourself a friend, my friend
Ain't talkin' 'bout love My love is rotten to the core Ain't gonna talk about love Just like I told you before! Before! Uh, before! Uh, before! Before!"
Would believe this song was written by guitarist Eddie Van Halen? Yeah, I didn't either until I looked it up.
"I'm the one" is pretty good too, but the next series of songs are better, and much more popular.
Like, how about "Jamie's Cryin" or "Atomic Punk", a very timely song for that era. Its definitely one of my favorites.
"Feel your love tonight" is another pretty good song, but I prefer the next one after that, "Little Dreamer". Again vintage Eddie Van Halen riffs on this one. Well hell, the whole band sells, it, but those opening cords, ohhhh, yeah baby!
Now as for the meaning of the song, I'm not too sure there. By reading and listening to the lyrics, you get a sense this song's about a person that society's kind of given up on, and and written off. The person still dreams and reminisces about the fun times he/she had back in their earlier days, so I guess maybe they used to be on top of the world, and aren't? IDK, but it's still a damn good song nonetheless.
Next to the last song is "Ice Cream Man", another one of my personal favorites, and yes, it's dripping with sexual innuendos. God I miss the days of clever wordplay like that. True there's nothing wrong with being direct and to the point, but it really takes some thought and imagination to come up with ways to say "I want to fuck you" but in coy and sly manner.
Here's the lyrics, and then the song:
"Dedicate one to the ladies...
Now summertime's here babe, need somethin' to keep you cool
Ah, now summertime's here babe, need somethin' to keep you cool
Better look out now though, Dave's got somethin' for you
Tell ya what it is
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
Oh my, my, I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy
Hold on a second baby
I got bim bam banana pops, dixie cups
All flavors and push-ups too
I'm your ice cream man baby, stop me when I'm passin' by
See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy Hold on, one more
Well I'm usually passin' by just about eleven o'clock
Uh huh, I never stop
I'm usually passin' by just around eleven o'clock
And if ya' let me cool you one time, you'll be my regular stop
All right boys!
I got bim bam banana pops, dixie cups
All flavors and push-ups too
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy, yes
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
They say all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy Ah one time
(Guitar Solo)
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by
They say all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy
One time boys!
I'm your ice cream man
I'm your ice cream man
B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Baby!
Ah my my my
All my flavors are guaranteed......to satis-uh-fy
Ow!"
Now how can't you not love that?
I did a little digging to find out it's not a Van Halen original, but was written by famous blues musician John Brim. Well sir, I'd like to thank you for providing us, and Van Halen, with a damn fine song:)
And finally, to close out the album, there's "On fire."
Not a bad song in and off itself really. It just fucking rocks!
Here's the live version to help me sell it for ya':
Interestingly enough, that's exactly what Richard Pryor said when that crack pipe he was smoking exploded and set him........ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!:)
Yeah, I went there. And yes, that's a true story. Look it up kids:)
This is also a song I could easily see the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering, since it has that Flea-like bass riff that the band's so famous for.
So that's their first album in a nut-shell.
Of course all know Van Halen would go on to sell millions....and millions of albums, and became world famous. But it all started somewhere, and it started right here, with their first album.
Now you should already know the band's back together again with Diamond Dave on lead vocals, minus long-time bassist Michael Antony, who was more or less let go or booted out, in favor of Eddie's son Wolfgang.
Yeah I don't get that one either.
But they did release a new album called "A different kind of truth", and are currently touring the US and around the world, so at least there's that.....I think.
And the hits keep coming this week, with more Doom Patrol hilarity on the way, next!
See, true story:)
On the subject of radioactivity, here's a cool song from a very short lived rock power group, called The Firm.
"Who's was on The Firm you may ask?"
Legendary guitarist Jimmy Page(Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Legendary singer Paul Rogers(Free, Bad Company, Queen), ex-Uriah Heep drummer Chris Slade, and Tony Franklin.
While they only stayed together as a band for only two years, it's a testament to the star power of Page and Rogers that a side band like that did so well commercially.
All credit and respect goes to Googum, as the whole Doom Idol thing is his idea, I'm just borrowing it for a bit.
Thanks Goo!:)
And awayyyyyy we go........
extra scenes:
You know me, I just had to try multiple takes on The Clone's thought caption:)
I think Larry's clone is an imperfect one, in the same way that Bizzaro is an imperfect clone of Superman; minus the extreme psoriasis and bad hair.
So that means, his little clone has got to be either retarded, slightly-retarded, extremely autistic, or both. Either way, this guy is a hot mess, but a funny mess for poor Cliff to deal with for now.
As the story goes, I bought this guy last week while on a figure-hunting trip to Florence( a nearby city 30 miles away from where I live).
Well, after striking out @ my go to place, Toys R Us, I went to the local K-Mart in the hopes that I'd at least find something, anything that would justify my trip. Well, I found the Negative Man variant, and with nothing else really standing out worth getting, decided to nap him.
Looking at him, I was reminded of the review of @ Itsalltrue.net, and how the guy reviewing him had managed to unglue the outside mask enough, so that you could see the cool skull face underneath. Knowing my luck, if I tried that, I'd break the damn thing!
Anyhoo, I saw him, and quickly started thinking up skit ideas, like this one. Oh yeah, there will be more. You've been warned:)
I can just imagine the Theme song to "Three's Company" playing while the above skit happens.
Here, take a listen, and see if you don't agree:
A show like that, but based off my skit, would be akin to DC being able to print money I tell you; fucking gold bricks of that shit!
The Creeper: "Dude, what the hell's up with your hair!? My, what a big Mohawk you have grandma, ha ha!"
OMAC: "Hey I'm just a product of my time, which just so happens to be the 1970's."
The Creeper: "Yeah, no shit Sherlock! That look's deader than disco and John Travolta's heterosexuality."
OMAC: "Hey, don't hate on the do. It's business in the front, party in the back."
The Creeper: "You didn't just say that. Tell me you didn't just say that? Ha ha!"
The Creeper: "Seriously though, how the hell can you tell which is which? I can't figure out where the party begins and the business side ends, and vice-versa."
OMAC: "Papa Kirby's vision was always misunderstood, so I don't expect you to understand."
The Creeper: "Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night Mr. T, Ha ha!"
OMAC: "*Sigh*"
Not too bad I think, but I did write this bad boy, so........
Speaking of bad boys, I've recently found a cool new show to watch, as the season of Sons of Anarchy is back on.
I first became aware of the show a few years back, but never really followed up on it, and shame on me for doing that, as this show kicks all kinds of ass!
It's like the Sopranos, but with bikers instead of Mobsters.
Anyhoo, it's good stuff, filled with your daily dose of guns, violence, sex, and more violence. Hmm mm, good!
And if that isn't enticing enough, the show features popular stars like Katie Sagal from Married with children, Jimmy Smits from LA Law and Dexter, and of course, Ron Perelman. You know, that guy from those Hellboy movies? Yeah those people. It's good stuff, and you can check it on FX, Tuesday nights @ 10.
Kevin Maguire
Don 
