Marvel Boycott Diary: Top Ten Songs The Jack Kirby Petition Would Be

So I had a few drinks and listened to some hurtin' songs. Then I wondered about the soundtrack that would play when Jack Kirby finally gets his due.

Please sign the Kirby petition.

#10. Waylon Jennings, Mental Revenge. "I hope that the friend that you find yourself with gets drunk and loses his job/and that the road that you're traveling on gets rough, rocky and hard/you never really loved me, you only made me blue/and all in all if the curtain should fall, I hope it falls on you."

#9 Blondie, One Way Or Another. I like to picture Kirby listening to Blondie records while penciling The Eternals. Thena and Kro teaming up against The Celestials? Totally a Debbie Harry moment.

#8. Destiny's Child, Survivor. Maybe Beyonce could be one of Kirby's zaftig amazons?

#7. Big Maybelle, One Monkey Don't Stop the Show. Blues diva Big Maybelle (1924-1972) had a storied career and many hits, the last in 1967. Born in Jackson, Tenessee, she toured the entire U.S., including the Apollo Theater in New York City. She recorded "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" two years before Jerry Lee Lewis. This rendition of the Rose McCoy-penned classic "fuck you" song is a great hard-boiled jilted lover tune.

#6. Kate Bush, The Wedding List. A song based on the 'La Mariee Etait En Noir' or 'The Bride Wore Black' by Francois Truffaut. Revenge melodrama. Kirby could have seen it in a matinee in 1969 or so.

#5. Rocky Racoon by Lena Horne. I like to think that Jack could have heard this version of the Beatles country-blues themed murder ballad, originally presented on Charles Manson's favourite record, here recorded by that most classy of dames, Miss Lena Horne, sometime in the 1960s or 70s on a late-night FM broadcast or maybe on some 80s variety show with jokes written by Mark Evanier.

#4. Nazi Rock by Serge Gainsbourg. Born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris, France, the son of Russian Jewish emigrants, Serge Gainsburg survived the Nazi occupation to become once of France's biggest pop stars and sex symbols. Cartoonist Joann Sfar has recently directed a film of his career, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.

#3. Magnetic Fields, Yeah Oh Yeah. I love this song and decided to throw it in here since it seems to be an oblique criticism of an incompetent "lesser" artist. It kind of has a quirkiness and enunciation that I associate with Kirby.

#2. The Clash, Ghetto Defendant. As seen in his classic "Street Code" comic book short story, Kirby was the original ghetto defendant. Here, Alan Ginsberg updates the Kirby experience to the 1970s.

#1 what else?

Woody Guthrie Tear the Fascists Down. Kirby as Depression-era scrabbler, Captain America creator, World War II veteran.

Marvel Boycott Diary: Local comic fan petitions Marvel to recognize Avengers creator

So, I was interviewed by my local newspaper about the Jack Kirby petition. I tried to stick to some basic facts about Kirby's life and what we are trying to accomplish with the letter to Marvel/Disney. I encourage others who are interested in this cause to contact their local media. Email. Phone. Send a press release. Please help to get the word out!

The article appeared today. Here's how it came out:

Local comic fan petitions Marvel to recognize Avengers creator
by Thana Dharmarajah, Mercury staff
Wed Feb 15 2012

GUELPH — When you watch The Avengers movie or read a Captain America comic, Bryan Munn wants you to know the man who created those characters is Jack Kirby.

The Guelph resident has begun an online petition to advocate that Marvel Entertainment ensures that Kirby gets credit for any future film, book, toy or product featuring Kirby’s creations such as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and The Avengers.

“The artists and writers who create (these comics) are generally not paid very much and have to fight to get any sort of recognition,” Munn said.

Marvel does state by whom the comic is written and drawn, but it doesn’t acknowledge the creator, Munn said.

Marvel declined to offer any comment for this story.

Munn added that he grew up with these comics and they put him on a path to making comics a lifetime hobby and interest.

Marvel just announced this week that it is updating Fantastic Four to be more modern in the Season One editions. It has been reported that the characters will be more hip and carry cellphones.

Munn started the online petition Jan. 31 on change.org asking Marvel to give credit and royalties to Kirby’s family.

Kirby, who died in 1994, was born in New York’s Lower East Side and became one of America’s most influential comic book creators. He worked for a number of comic book publishers before teaming up with writer Joe Simon and creating Captain America for Timely Publications, which is now Marvel in 1940.

He left the company after dispute over royalties.

In 2010, his family sued Marvel to terminate copyrights and get royalties for his comic creations. The family lost the court battle and is in the process of appealing the court decision.

Munn wants to send a message with his petition.

“It will send a message that these characters are valued and deserve compensation for what they do,” he said.

Kirby has had a lifelong struggle to retain control over his creations, Munn said, but with a large supporter of fans behind him, there could be some impact.

He said he is also launching the petition now since the movie, The Avengers, is to be released this spring.

Marvel Boycott Diary: Ghost Rider, Walking Dead, and Jack Kirby

A big week for comics legal news and the fight for creator rights.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Some highlights (or low-lights, as the case may be):

1. Today it was revealed that Marvel is demanding Gary Friedrich, the creator of Ghost Rider, to pay $17,000 for prints of his creation he has sold over the last decade. This is ridiculous and cruel. Friedrich is broke and ill. Not only has Marvel won the legal claim to creating the character under the work-for-hire legal loophole, they are pouring salt on the wounds by seeking these extra damages. Fans are upset, espehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcially with the new Ghost Rider movie about to open in theaters. There is a facebook page with tons of resources that you can like here. Both Forbes magazine, Hollywood Reporter, and the usually pro-Marvel website MTV-Geek have mentioned the news. People are even asking the movie's star, comics fan Nic Cage, to help cover the 17 grand. It might be a good idea to write to the various talk shows Cage might be appearing on asking them to mention Friedrich's plight. In the meantime, Steve Niles has started a page where you can donate to help him out.

2. Co-creator of smash comics and tv hit The Walkinhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifg Dead, Tony Moore, is suing his former partner and the face of the franchise, Robert Kirkman for 60% of the profits.

3. Earlier this week, James Sturm joined the Marvel boycott family in a big way with an article in Slate explaining the history of Jack Kirby's contributions to Marvel and the reasons will be boycotting the Avengers movie.

4. The Jack Kirby petition at change.org now has over 800 signatures asking Marvel to credit Jack Kirby with the creations that will make up the bulk of the upcoming Avengers movie. It's great to read all of the comments people are leaving about the importance of Kirby and Marvel's ethical duty to do right by The King and his family. Please check it out.

Jack Kirby Died on This Day, 1994

Long Live the King.

Jack Kirby Died on February 6 1994, 18 years ago.

What better way to honour the King of Comics by
Maybe by signing this petition asking Marvel to credit Kirby with co-creating the Marvel superhero universe and pahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifying royalties to his heirs?

Read about Kirby's life and work in this biography by Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman at the Jack Kirby museum, where we find this Stan Lee quote about how he worked with Kirby:

"Some artists, of course, need a more detailed plot than others. Some artists, such as Jack Kirby, need no plot at all. I mean, I'll just say to Jack, "Let's let the next villain be Dr. Doom'... or I may not even say that. He may tell me... he just about makes up the plots for these stories. All I do is a little editing."

Marvel Boycott Diary: Please Sign the Jack Kirby Petition

Hey,

I just signed the petition "Marvel Entertainment: Give credit and royalties to Jack Kirby and his family" and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.

Our goal is to reach 100 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/marvel-entertainment-give-credit-and-royalties-to-jack-kirby-and-his-familhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gify


Thanks!

Bryan

-----
here's the petition:

Give credit and royalties to Jack Kirby and his family.

Jack Kirby is one of the most important and influential artists in the history of U.S. comic books and popular culture. Along with writers Joe Simon, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby created the characters and stories on which Marvel Comics has built a very successful business over the past 60 years. Kirby created or co-created Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and many more. For his efforts, Kirby was paid a few dollars a page and never shared in the billions of dollars in profits his characters have made in various media, including print, film, and video games.

We strongly urge Marvel Entertainment and is owner Disney to acknowledge Jack Kirby's authorship and primary role in the creation of these characters. As well, we urge Marvel to pay Kirby's family royalties for the use of these characters and stories.

Until such a time as Marvel can make things right with Kirby's legacy and Kirby's family and heirs, we will refuse to purchase any Marvel product, including comic books, movies, toys, or games. We ask Marvel, Disney, and its shareholders to act ethically and morally in this situation, just as their characters would.

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

Marvel Boycott Diary: SOPA de Gran Pena

It's been a heady few weeks in Marvel Boycott land, ever since information about the supporters behind the U.S. online piracy bill were revealed. The Stop Online Piracy bill or the HR 3261 bill (also known as SOPA) is intended to give sweeping powers to law enforcement and copyright holders to curtail the illegal use of copyrighted material online. Opponents of the proposed law say in infringes on freedom of speech and the ideal of the internet as a boundless source of information and critical thought (as Eddie Campbell explains here, the threat of the bill is already having a chilling effect). One of the initial corporations to back the bill, domain name registrar Go Daddy, pulled its support after a user backlash and threatened boycott. Now that Marvel Entertainment and parent company Disney, as well as DC Comics owner Warner Bros, have been revealed as supporters, many people have been calling for similar boycotts of these companies, with Marvel coming in for special scrutiny.

I might remark at this point that while it is heartening to see such support for First Amendment rights, fair use, and a free and democratic web, it is a source of continuous heartbreak that the same forces of independent thought and moral righteousness have not been arrayed against Marvel/Disney on the issue of doing right by way of Jack Kirby's legacy in terms of giving credit, copyright, and royalties for his creations to the family of Jack Kirby, but to do so would be to confuse two different issues. Why quibble? I support both Marvel Boycotts. Down with SOPA! Justice for Jack Kirby!

If you don't agree with SOPA, and as of this writing, many, many people, including internet trendsetter Al Gore and Google's Sergey Brin, do not, you could do worse than write a "Dear Marvel" letter at this site.

Follow SOPA news on twitter.

(image: detail from "Ecce Homo" by Gilbert Hernandez)

Marvel Boycott Diary: Gary Friedrich Loses Claim to Ghost Rider Copyright

Sad news in New York City today as the creator of Ghost Rider Gary Friedrich lost his latest bid to reclaim the rights to the character from Marvel.

Friedrich created a character named Hell-Rider for Skywald in 1971 before taking the Ghost Rider idea to Marvel in 1972 with an assist from Roy Thomas and Mike Ploog. When the Nic Cage GR movie came out in 2007 crediting "Marvel" as the creator (how can an inhuman corporate entity "create" anything? Ask U.S. copyright law.), Friedrich sued for rights and compensation.

Friedrich is in a similar situation as the Kirby legacy since the matter revolves around a judge's interpretation of the work-for-hire law under which Friedrich was paid for the stories he wrote for Marvel comics. There is another Ghost Rider coming out in 2012 from Marvel Entertainment and it will be subject to the Marvel Boycott just like the upcoming Avengers film.

from the Associated Press story:

Comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment owns the rights to the Ghost Rider character in the fiery form that originated in the early 1970s, a federal judge ruled Wednesday as she rejected the claims of a former Marvel writer seeking to cash in on lucrative movie rights.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest tossed out 4-year-old claims brought by Gary Friedrich, who said he created the motorcycle-driving Ghost Rider with the skeletal head that sometimes had fire blazing from it. A Ghost Rider of the 1950s and '60s was a Western character who rode a horse.

The judge said Friedrich gave up all ownership rights when he signed checks containing language relinquishing all rights to the predecessor companies of Marvel Entertainment LLC.

"The law is clear that when an individual endorses a check subject to a condition, he accepts that condition," the judge wrote.

Forrest said her finding made it unnecessary to "travel down the rabbit hole" to decide whether the character was created separate and apart from Marvel, whether the company hired Friedrich to create the character and whether he had thoughts about what rights he wanted to retain from the outset.

She said he also signed an agreement with Marvel in 1978 relinquishing rights in exchange for the possibility of additional future freelance work. He had worked for Marvel prior to that year as both an employee and as a freelance writer.

Marvel Boycott Diary: Fantagraphics to Publish Secret History

Kind of a Hanukkah gift. Fantagraphics is publishing The Secret History of the Marvel Universe: Jack Kirby and the Moonlighting Artists at Martin Goodman's Empire in 2012. The book is written by Canada's own Blake Bell and Golden Age Marvel scholar Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

The untold story of the House of Ideas.

Marvel Comics is home to such legendary super-heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man, all of whom have spun box office gold in the 21st century. But Marvel Comics has a secret history hidden in the shadows of these well-known franchises.

The Secret History of Marvel Comics digs back to the 1930s when Marvel Comics wasn't just a comic-book producing company. Marvel Comics owner Martin Goodman had tentacles into a publishing world that might have made that era’s conservative American parents lynch him on his front porch. Marvel was but a small part of Goodman’s publishing empire, which had begun years before he published his first comic book. Goodman mostly published lurid and sensationalistic story books (known as “pulps”) and magazines, featuring sexually-charged detective and romance short fiction, and celebrity gossip scandal sheets. And artists like Jack Kirby, who was producing Captain America for eight-year-olds, were simultaneously dipping their toes in both ponds.

The Secret History of Marvel Comics tells this parallel story of 1930s/40s Marvel Comics sharing offices with those Goodman publications not quite fit for children. The book also features a comprehensive display of the artwork produced for Goodman’s other enterprises by Marvel Comics artists such as Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Alex Schomburg, Bill Everett, Al Jaffee, and Dan DeCarlo, plus the very best pulp artists in the field, including Norman Saunders, John Walter Scott, Hans Wesso, L.F. Bjorklund, and Marvel Comics #1 cover artist Frank R. Paul. Goodman’s magazines also featured cover stories on celebrities such as Jackie Gleason, Elizabeth Taylor, Liberace, and Sophia Loren, as well as contributions from famous literary and social figures such as Isaac Asimov, Theodore Sturgeon, and L. Ron Hubbard.

These rare pieces of comic art, pulp and magazine history will open the door to Marvel Comics’ unseen history.

This is your seasonal reminder to Boycott Marvel! Happy Holidays everyone!

RIP Joe Simon, 1913-2011

Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America with Jack Kirby, has died.

Simon was one of the last "Golden Age" U.S. comics creators still living.

Very few of these men nand women are still with us.

A very short list:

Joe Kubert
Carmine Infantino
Stan Lee
Marc Swayze (co-created Mary Marvel)
Steve Ditko
Al Plastino
Fred Kida
Bob Fujitani
Leonard Starr
Ramona Fradon
Shelly Moldoff
Murphy Anderson
Irwin Hasen
John Severin
Jack Davis
Al Feldstein
Jules Feiffer
Allen Bellman (Timely/Capt. America artist)
and Canada's Gerald Lazare

Marvel Boycott Diary: Making a List, Checking it Twice

Door Crasher Special:



Please remember, when compiling your Christmas shopping list, Boycott Marvel!

Canadian Comics Fan Project: AGHEEEE!

Canadian Comics Fan Project



Today's example is excerpted from Conan the King (formerly King Conan) #45, March 1988.

The letter is written by Ted Huang of Weston Ontario. Ted asks the immortal question, "Why in Ymir's name does the victim of an attack always scream "Agheeee"?

Invoking the Frost Giant's name, Ted (Teddy? Theodore?) aka Ted "The Nuke" Huang, makes a good point, based on a close reading of previous Conan issues. The funny thing is, in the very same issue, we have the slightly-modified version of the same victim squeal:





And of course, as usual, the editors got it wrong. The correct response is:



Boycott Marvel! Occupy Conan!

Marvel Boycott Diary #21: Halloween Edition

It's always scary when we delve into the world of the Marvel Boycott. Just remember, in many ways, every day was Halloween for Jack Kirby!

Item! Ever since the lay-off of several Marvel employees two weeks ago, fans around the web have been calling for a separate boycott of the company. Of course, I feel this is a perfectly valid response. And despite the laid-off folks like artist Damien Lucchese declining to encourage a boycott, I will continue to encourage one, with the reminder that a boycott is not directed at the employees of a company but at its shareholders, board of directors and CEO. Furthermore, we shouldn't think of the comic book industry, comic creators, and least of all Marvel Comics as some sort of charity case that we must support no matter what, despite bad comics and bad behaviour, because someone may or may not lose a dream job working at The House That Jack Built. Also, Marvel has a toilet problem.

Elena Brooklyn has this to say about that:

Comics Beat reports that Marvel has only 1 bathroom for men and 1 for women. For the ENTIRE staff.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires at least 2 bathrooms per gender for a staff that size. Or one bathroom with 5 stalls if it’s unisex. And with NYC’s stronger worker protections and building codes maybe even more.

Maybe Make Mine Marvel should be Make Mine Urinary Track Infection since Comics Beat reports staff having to schedule their lunch shifts to accommodate the limited toilet access. That’s some sweatshop stuff people. Completely unacceptable.

Marvel CEO Perlmutter is the 1% as we say down at Liberty Square. The writers, editors, artists, colorists, admin workers, janitors and distro staff who make Marvel run and create value for the company are part of the 99%. Time for us to stand up for Yancy street against Wall Street.

Item! Nat Gertler has come up with a unique compromise for those who may not support Marvel's position on the Jack Kirby lawsuit but don't want to participate in a boycott or just can't bring themselves to stop buying Marvel comics featuring characters tht Jack Kirby created or co-created. Gertler suggests that every time you spend money on a Kirby-related Marvel movie, send a dollar to the Jack Kirby Museum. Gertler has set up a simple website, abuckforjack.com to help direct donations and explain his position. It's worth checking out. The Kirby Museum is a very good cause and they can use all of the donations you care to send them. And it would be nice if Gertler expanded his project to include all other Kirby-derived Marvel product (ie, buy a Thor Halloween costume? Why not send some money to the Kirby Museum?). However, it is no more than a band-aid solution that, at best, indirectly helps out the pro-Kirby lawsuit forces by supporting the Museum's educational mission. It's a nice way for those who feel guilty about supporting Marvel/Disney through movie and dvd sales to soothe their consciences, but little more. Remember, the money from those films in part goes towards fighting the Kirby heirs in court. Really, should you support both sides?

Item! Speaking of lack of support, Marvel recently cancelled Alpha Flight, the comic about Canadian superheroes. Is it because, as The Beguiling's Chris Butcher suggests, Marvel has something against specific Canadians?

Item! The newest blogger to join the boycott is Matt Springer. You can read Springer's blog here.

Item! Elsewhere in Kirby-land, the scholar Charles Hatfield has announced the upcoming release of his academic study of Jack Kirby, Hand of Fire, which promises to be a fascinating look at why Jack continues to matter today.

Charles Hatfield’s Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby is a book about what Kirby did and why it matters. In particular, it focuses on Kirby’s artistic peak in the 1960s and ’70s. A critical exploration of cartooning, of superheroes, science fiction, and the technological sublime, Hand of Fire is the first academic monograph in English about Kirby’s work. In essence, it’s a book about why Kirby blew off the top of so many readers’ heads, and why he still does.

Hand of Fire is part of the University Press of Mississippi’s “Great Comics Artists” series. Look for it in January 2012.

Happy Halloween and don't forget to Boycott Marvel!

Marvel Boycott Diary #20: Occupy Yancy Street!

Here's my contribution to the Occupy Yancy Street movement/meme.

Make your own!

Nerd notes: Yancy Street was the home neighborhood of Ben Grimm aka The Thing of Fantastic Four fame. It was also home to Ben's old working-class pals, The Yancy St. Gang, who constantly tormented him with practical jokes and poison-pen letters. Yancy Street was apparently based on Delancey Street, the original stomping grounds of Fantastic Four co-creator Jack Kirby!

Marvel Boycott Diary #19: Vermont Event Features Steve Bissette on Kirby Legal Issues

The Center for Cartoon Studies and Vermont Law School present:

Marvel vs. Jack Kirby: Legal Rights and Ethical Might

Friday, October 21, 2:30, Nina Simon Classroom, CCS, White River Junction, VT

Jack Kirby was a defining cartoonist of his generation. From the 1940s through the 1960s, Kirby created or co-created the foundation that is the Marvel Universe: Captain America, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Thor, and the Avengers.

A billion dollar media empire is built on these superheroes.

Marvel, now owned by Disney, contends that Kirby worked under a work-for-hire agreement and his heirs have no right to the revenue his creations continue to generate for the company. A recent court ruling agreed with Marvel but appeals will surely follow.

Join The Center for Cartoon Studies’ Steve Bissette and Vermont Law School’s Oliver Goodenough as they discuss the legal, ethical, and moral issues of the Kirby decision for Marvel/Disney, the consumers of superhero stories, and the talent that creates them.

Marvel Boycott Diary #18: Happy Birthday Joe Simon!

Happy 98th Birthday Joe Simon!

Along with Jack Kirby, Joe Simon created Captain America.

To date, Marvel Comics and Disney do not acknowledge or credit Simon and Kirby for their creation. They receive no credit in comic book issues of Captain America and related titles (The Avengers, etc) and do not receive any royalties for the character or for reprints of their original stories from the 1940s. They receive no money from the Captain America movie which has grossed $362,584,292 worldwide.



About Joe Simon:

Joseph Simon was born October 11, 1913, in Rochester, New York. He worked as a newspaper artist and cartoonist before turning to the early world of comic books. In the late 1930s he met artist Jack Kirby and began collaborating with him. The pair created Captain America in 1941 and wrote and drew the first 10 issues of the Captain America comic book for Timely Comics (later Marvel).

They later moved to National/DC and created Sandman, the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. Together they also invented romance comics and ran their own publishing companies (Crestwood, Mainline). In the 1960s, Simon moved into advertising, returning to comics briefly in the late-60s and reteaming with Kirby for a short period in the 1970s. As an artist and writer, and creator of several long-running characters and genres, Simon's contribution to American comic books and popular culture is immeasurable.

Please consider boycotting Marvel Comics until Joe Simon and the Jack Kirby heirs are given due credit for their work!

Marvel Boycott Diary #17: Please Support the Jack Kirby "Pop-Up" Museum

One of the ways that we can show our support for the Marvel Boycott to strengthen Jack Kirby's legacy is to provide financial backing to projects that put the genius of Kirby front and center. So, instead of buying Marvel reprints of his comics that don't pay royalties to the Kirby family, or Marvel comics that use characters Jack created without credit, maybe consider buying comics that pay royalties and give credit, like the DC Omnibus editions of Kirby classics, the Titan Books Simon and Kirby Library, or the new Kirby Genesis series of comics based on his creations.

And now there is a new way to keep the Kirby legacy alive: Rand Hoppe, one of the principles behind the registered not-for-profit Jack Kirby Museum, recently announced plans to open a temporary Kirby museum in Jack's old New York City neighborhood. The Kirby Museum has only been a virtual, online organization so far, with scattered archives and volunteers. Hoppe wants to open a physical storefront museum on New York's Lower East Side starting next month and he is asking for donations of $20 or more to get the project realized.

An actual Kirby museum would give fans of the King a place to see his original art and learn about his life, and would be an invaluable tool for presenting Kirby to the world and educating people about his central role in the creation of Marvel and its many characters.

Our intention is to set up a temporary, or “pop-up,” brick-and-mortar location for the Jack Kirby Museum during this November, December and January. The ideal size for this purpose is between 800-1,200-square-feet, and would feature original artwork, artifacts from Jack’s life, prominent guest speakers, educational programs and installation pieces inspired by and celebrating the unique work and life of Jack Kirby.

A space like this dedicated entirely to the life and work of Jack Kirby would be equally appealing to seasoned art patrons, pop-art connoisseurs, casual fans, tourists, and families. Successful implementation of this pop-up museum will allow us to pursue the ultimate goal of a PERMANENT space for the Museum in the near future.

Again, nothing like this has ever been attempted. And, in order to make this happen, we need funding.

Fast.

[...] We understand that trying to raise significant funds in such a short amount of time is ambitious. Our current estimate is that we'd need more than $30,000 to fund the real estate end of the project (rent, legal, security, insurance, etc.) for ten to twelve weeks. While this sounds like an awful lot of money (and... it is!), it's really just a question of finding 1,000 Jack Kirby fans willing to donate more than $30 each! Simplistic? Perhaps. We prefer "optimistic", though. We don't underestimate Kirby fans....

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read more about donating

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Marvel Boycott Diary #16: Notes on Morrison

Vancouver blogger A Trout in the Milk makes some interesting points and has some advice for people who were baffled or angered about Grant Morrison's recent comments about Siegel and Shuster. It's a longer article but worth reading in full. I think more an more people are coming to realize that our childhood favourites (and current boxoffice champions) are characters who have been unfairly appropriated from their creators. We still love the characters and all those great stories, but don't know what to do about the conflicted feelings we have. Can we still enjoy these comics, films, and videogames when we know the company that produces them is still actively engaged in screwing over the families of the people like Jack Kirby and Jerry Siegel who gave birth to Captain America and Superman? And what about the people who write and draw new stories today. Should their attitude towards Kirby, Siegel and Shuster have any bearing on how we read their current comics?

But here’s the problem: it isn’t right. Not unless we’re prepared to do something about it. I mean: any of it. You know what I mean?
And that doesn’t necessarily mean “boycott”. It doesn’t even necessarily mean “protest”. But it does mean “reaction”. Take me, for example: I’m not engaged in a boycott, and I’m not protesting anything. But I am having a reaction, in that I’ve just stopped buying shit — even good shit — that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. And I’m not saying I’m any better or worse than anyone else because of it, but that’s the reaction that I’m having because I’m having one. Of course there are any number of reactions a person could have to the injustice on display in Marvel’s actions toward the Kirbys, DC’s actions toward the Siegels, if one is not actually predisposed to take the side of the companies. “Not caring” is one of these possible reactions. “Making excuses to oneself for still needing the job/wanting the comics” is another. And personally I’ve got no problem with people in the “making excuses” mode; I make excuses for things I do that don’t sit 100% right with me, just about every day. So I know that it is a reaction, a perfectly valid reaction. And you know it’s a little bit like work, too? It’s a little bit like work…
So you pay for the privilege, of making excuses. And that’s fine. But in my case, I don’t feel I have to pay that way anymore. And, in some way do I have Grant Morrison to thank for it? It was Steve Bissette calling for a boycott on Marvel that made me think of it, but maybe it was Morrison’s comments, and the reaction to Morrison’s comments, that finally made me feel like acting, made me feel like I wasn’t stuck with the situation as it was.

Read more

or

Boycott Marvel!

Marvel Boycott Diary #15: Kirby Link Round-Up

The Marvel Boycott continues. Some more-or-less random links, some only tangentially related to the boycott:  

What Kirby Did: Critic and cartoonist Matt Seneca writes about a Jack Kirby action page, noting that "how much sharper Kirby’s sequencing got after his 1979-80 stint as an animation artist for Ruby-Spears. A few years roughing out stories for a medium in which the audience plays the role of passive receptor rather than active participant had subtly changed Kirby’s comics art once he returned. "
 
Do Boycotts Work? Lots of talk on the internets in reaction to Steve Bissette's call for a boycott of Marvel. Many people say boycotts don't work, or only harm the little guys, like retailers and the current creators of Marvel comics who are working on those Kirby characters. I feel that boycotts and petitions that threaten boycotts can be effective in shaming or scaring companies into action. The latest evidence is the campaign led by colorofchange.org to get advertisers to pull out of Glenn Beck's show on Fox News, which ultimately resulted in Beck's termination. At its peak, the Glenn Beck boycott involved almost 300, 000 people and was costing Fox half a million dollars per week.  

Gandhi on boycotts and imperialism 1: "Economics that hurt the moral well-being of an individual or a nation are immoral and therefore sinful. Thus the economics that permit one country to prey upon another are immoral. It is sinful to buy and use articles made by sweated labour. It is sinful to eat American wheat and let my neighbour the grain-dealer starve for want of custom." (Young India, 13-10-1921)  

Gandhi on boycotts and imperialism 2: "It is my claim that as soon as we have completed the boycott of foreign cloth we shall have evolved so far that we shall necessarily give up the present absurdities and remodel national life in keeping with the ideal of simplicity and domesticity implanted in the bosom of the masses. We will not then be dragged into an imperialism which is built upon exploitation of the weaker races of the earth, and the acceptance of a giddy materialistic civilization protected by naval and air forces that have made peaceful living almost impossible. On the contrary we shall then refine that imperialism into a commonwealth of nations which will combine, if they do, for the purpose of giving their best to the world and of protecting, not by brute force but by self -suffering, the weaker nations or races of he earth. Non-cooperation aims at nothing less than this revolution in the thought world. " (Young India, 29-6-1921)  

Joining the Boycott? The writer James Vance (Kings in Disguise) thinks that calls for a boycott are "naive" and that "reasonable appeals" to the company are probably "forlorn," but still has the gumption to state that, "From a moral standpoint, I agree that Marvel should make some kind of a good-faith financial gesture to Kirby’s heirs."
 
Credit for Kirby 1: Comic shop retailer Mike Sterling has pointed out that the new DC 52 title OMAC #1, based on a character created by Jack Kirby, does not credit Kirby anywhere in the book, This is an important lapse, since DC has generally been very good with these sorts of credits over the last few years and their willingness to give credit (except when a lawsuit is involved) has been an influence on the boycott. My thinking is, if DC can include a simple "created by..." blurb on the first page of every comic book, why can't Marvel? The OMAC example is also important since the book is being illustrated by Keith Giffen in a Kirby style. (Tony Isabella has some thoughts on this too.)
 
Credit for Kirby 2: At the Kirby museum, blogger Robert Steibel presents a trio of posts about the auteur theory of comics ( 1 2 3) and Jack Kirby's place in that theory. So, is Kirby an auteur?

"I think the answer is yes. I think that if you look only at the visuals — the style of the art, the dynamics, the compositions, and ignore the text and the quality of the inks and the colors — you are seeing Jack Kirby as the Pure Auteur of his 1960s stories. In your mind, you can travel back to the moment where Kirby stuffed his story into an envelope and mailed it to NYC, and you can glimpse his personal vision — Jack Kirby: Pure Auteur. But, there is no denying the published book is much more of a collaboration. You can’t dismiss Lee and the other personnel’s contributions to the finished product, so in that sense, I suggest you have to think of Jack as what I’ll call the “Principal Auteur” of the published book: Jack wasn’t working from a full script like most comics artists in a traditional writer/artist relationship, in reality, Jack Kirby conceived of and wrote the original story with visuals and liner notes. Jack is the principal storyteller."

Boycott Marvel!

Working-Class Heroes Project Redux

Blogger Will Shetterly has added a bit to the master-list of working-class superheroes I started a little while back (in 2005! holy smoke!) and the list now includes some more contemporary heroes I was not aware of way back when. Still, the paucity of actual poor or proletarian types who worked overtime in the long-underwear biz kind of proves my original point, that despite their origins in the sweat-shops of New York, superhero comics still had quite a bit of middle- and upper-class ideology embedded in their marrow.

I slightly updated my original list in 2006 and can't really think of any more Golden Age heroes to add besides Simon and Kirby's Vagabond Prince, aka Ned Oaks, a down-at-heels poet and writer of greeting card verses, perhaps modeled after the Gary Cooper character in Frank Capra's 1936 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.

Of course, the real reason that we seem to have a hard time finding working-class heroes is because superhero comic books are all about rich people beating up poor people,* making the true heroes of the comics, from a class perspective, the villains. I wrote about this too, in a post about Solomon Grundy and "The Animated Corpse of the Working Class."

Maybe we could start a list of Working-Class Villains? The Wrecking Crew, Parasite, Sandman, and many of their cohorts were more prole than all the Reed Richards, Bruce Waynes and Tony Starks of the superhero-industrial complex combined.




*The other major themes of superhero comics, besides class anxiety are identity, violence, and sexuality, in case you were interested.

Unknown Canadian Cartoonists: Jay Work

Just bought a small pile of old Maclean's magazines from the 1930s and 40s, only to discover a new cartoonist I've never heard of and can find no reference to. The single gag panel appears in the February 15, 1949 issue of Maclean's and is entitled "Wilfie" by Jay Work. The name sounds like a pseudonym, but who knows? The strip appears to be a continuing feature, along the lines of James Simpkins' Jasper, an early example of which appears a few pages earlier in the same issue. Simpkins' strip ran every week in the magazine for decades, beginning in the late 1940s, and I can only assume that Wilfie followed the same formula, with the same character appearing in different situations. Wilfie looks like a Caspar Milquetoast or Crockett Johnson's "The Little Man With the Eyes-type character. Work's style is definitely sketchier than Simpkins', whose washes and versatility of line helped propel the fish-out-of-water anthropomorphics of Jasper through several incarnations. The hockey subject-matter of the panel makes me think Canadian, as well. Other highlights of this issue, besides noting that Pierre Berton is listed as copy editor on the masthead, are cartoons by anti-fascist artist Len Norris.

Marvel Boycott Diary #14: Boycott the Thor DVD

Today Marvel is releasing the Thor movie on dvd and Blu-ray and so I thought I'd post a few notes about Jack Kirby and Thor.

As this post reminds us, although "in 2011 so far (as of September 2011), creations of Jack Kirby have accounted for $766 million dollars at the box-office, and that’s just domestic grosses, not including dvd/blu-ray sales, international sales or merchandising," Jack Kirby remains unknown to the general public. Jack Kirby, were he alive, would see no income from the sales of the Thor discs today, nor will his family. Marvel has systematically fought to have Kirby shut-out of the credit and proceeds of his creations and that is why we are urging the boycott, to right this historic wrong. Please do not buy any Marvel product until this issue is resolved.

Because Kirby's leading role in the creation of Marvel is such a secret, I am cheered whenever I see a review that even mentions Jack Kirby as the creator or co-creator of Thor, since there is so much misinformation out there, most of it the handiwork of Stan Lee, Marvel spokesman and Kirby's editor and co-writer during the 1960s. Kudos to the critic Gabriel Powers for pointing out Stan's credit hogging on the dvd special feature interview in this review and its comments section.

In fact, the historical record is pretty clear on Thor. As with many Marvel projects from the 60s, there seems to have been some sort of discussion between Kirby and Lee about the character, who first appeared in a six-page origin story in the Journey Into Mystery anthology (issue #83, August 1962). Stan's brother Larry Lieber is credited as scriptwriter on the first issue and for the initial run of the stories, with Kirby continuing on the art chores, as well as plotting, etc.

It's interesting to read Lieber's deposition from the most recent lawsuit in regards to the creation of Thor, as a counterpoint to Stan Lee's "I created Thor and his universe" line:

Q: Did you ever work on the comic Thor?
LARRY LIEBER: Yes.
Q: What was your involvement?
LARRY LIEBER: I got the synopsis, the plot from Stan, and I wrote the first script of Thor. That was it.
Q: And when you say “the script,” that’s what we were talking about before that told panel by panel?
LARRY LIEBER: Panel by panel and description of it, yes.
Q: Did you see any artwork on Thor before you wrote the script?
LARRY LIEBER: I don’t recall seeing any. I don’t know.
Q: Do you know who, after you turned in the script, do you know who the artist was that drew Thor?
LARRY LIEBER: I believe it was Jack Kirby.
Q: Did you have any conversations or any interactions with Jack Kirby about the Thor book?
LARRY LIEBER: No, not that I recall.
Q: Did you come up with any of the names in Thor?
LARRY LIEBER: Yes.
Q: What did you come up with?
LARRY LIEBER: The civilian name of Don Blake I made up. And I also came up with his hammer. I made that, which people know about. My Uru hammer, I created that.
Q: And where did you get the name Uru hammer?
LARRY LIEBER: I just made it up, as far as I know. I might have read it. I used to — Stan liked the way I made up names, civilian names, and I used to, from my years of doing these, what do you call it, these fantasy books, monster books, and I used to look at the back of dictionary, Miriam Webster had biographical names and geographical, so I would look in towns and if I liked the town, I might put it. And it was kind of fun and he liked what I did.

Now, I don’t know if I found “Uru” someplace or I just made it up or whatever. I know I made it short because I felt that Thor might be around a while and I was always worrying about the letterer or somebody. I was worrying about somebody else’s feeling, and I figured, well, if I make it U-R-U, there’s not that much to letter. And since nobody knows the name of it, I’ll make it a short name. So that’s why I did that.

And Don Blake I just thought sounded like a doctor and, you know, to fit the personality.

And then of course, there are Kirby's own words, from this famous interview in the Comics Journal:

KIRBY: I came in [to the Marvel offices] and they were moving out the furniture, they were taking desks out — and I needed the work! I had a family and a house and all of a sudden Marvel is coming apart. Stan Lee is sitting on a chair crying. He didn’t know what to do, he’s sitting in a chair crying —he was just still out of his adolescence. I told him to stop crying. I says. “Go in to Martin and tell him to stop moving the furniture out, and I’ll see that the books make money.” And I came up with a raft of new books and all these books began to make money. Somehow they had faith in me. I knew 1 could do it, but I had to come up with fresh characters that nobody had seen before. I came up with The Fantastic Four. I came up with Thor. Whatever it took to sell a book I came up with. Stan Lee has never been editorial minded. It wasn’t possible for a man like Stan Lee to come up with new things — or old things for that matter. Stan Lee wasn’t a guy that read or that told stories. Stan Lee was a guy that knew where the papers were or who was coming to visit that day. Stan Lee is essentially an office worker, OK? I’m essentially something else: I’m a storyteller.
[...]
GROTH: Who came up with the name “Fantastic Four”?

KIRBY: I did. All right? I came up with all those names. I came up with Thor because I’ve always been a history buff. I know all about Thor and Balder and Mjolnir, the hammer. Nobody ever bothered with that stuff except me. I loved it in high school and I loved it in my pre-high school days. It was the thing that kept my mind off the general poverty in the area. When I went to school that’s what kept me in school — it wasn’t mathematics and it wasn’t geography; it was history.

GROTH: Stan says he conceptualized virtually everything in The Fantastic Four — that he came up with all the characters. And then he said that he wrote a detailed synopsis for Jack to follow.

ROZ KIRBY: I’ve never seen anything.

KIRBY: I’ve never seen it, and of course I would say that’s an outright lie.

Regardless of the initial conception, it seems clear that Kirby deserves the credit for the visual design of the Thor universe and much of the stories of Thor's adventures in the comics. The Destroyer character in the movie is totally a Kirby creation, for instance, as are the Warriors Three sidekicks.

---

In other news, Rand Hoppe of the Kirby Museum has also joined the boycott and has some thoughts on Kirby's 94th birthday.

Until next time,

Boycott Marvel!

Marvel Boycott Diary #13: Jack Kirby, Labourer

This being Labour Day, a few notes from around the web on Jack Kirby, worker, architect, genius, and work for hire.

It seems like there may be a Boycott Marvel Facebook page. Here is its blurb:

The late Jack Kirby's heirs were denied any share of the copyright to his Marvel Comics creations in federal court -- including Thor, the Fantastic Four, and the Hulk, the Avengers and the X-Men. Stephen R. Bissette has called for comics readers and filmgoers to boycott all Marvel Entertainment products based on the 1960s creations of Kirby, the man behind many of that company's most enduring icons.

I came across this 2010 Vice article from Dan Nadel on Kirby. Nadel put together a Kirby exhibit recently and his thoughts on Kirby's art, career arc and creative process are still timely.

A man with this attitude, combined with a strong sense of loyalty and a need to provide for his wife and three kids, was going to have a hard time. A tortured time. Kirby, who grew up poor and Jewish on the Lower East Side, was godlike in his abilities. He was a one-man mythos machine, and he knew it. But he was powerless in all other practical matters. So when the movie deals were announced and the animated cartoons aired and other artists began steering his characters, Kirby was angry. All he could do was leave.

In other news, the Kirby Museum's Simon and Kirby columnist Harry Mendryk writes a great article about the evolution of one of Jolly Jack's great visual devices, "Kirby Krackle."

The Kirby Krackle prototype from “The Negative Man” is very similar to that found previously in “The Man Who Collected Planets”. However while Kirby inked his own pencils in the earlier story some other artist inked “The Negative Man”. I am not positive as to who that inker was but the blunt but fluid brushwork looks very much like the work of Marvin Stein so I questionably attribute it to him. The two stories are similar enough that perhaps Stein used the earlier Kirby inked story as a reference when inking this one. Or perhaps Kirby had already begun to include how a story should be spotted in his pencils. In either case the use of the Kirby Krackle in this story should be credited to Jack Kirby.

And finally, blogger Michael Buntag has joined the boycott. Welcome aboard, Michael!

Canadian Comics Fan Project: Smallsack Mailville

I haven't done one of these installments in the Canadian Comics Fan Project for awhile but couldn't resist posting these two letters since it's rare to find more than one Canadian letter in an old comic book. Today's examples come from Superboy #137 (April 1967), part of a small non-Mystery Hoard I picked up at the recent Fan Expo in Toronto.

The letters pages in the old DC Comics had corny titles and Superboy was no exception. For some reason, the Superman lettercol was titled "Metropolis Mailbag" whereas the Boy of Steel only merited a "Smallville Mailsack" --perhaps a reflection of the more rural, less modern system of mail delivery endemic to Clark Kent's home town.

Regardless, the first letter featured in this classic issue comes from David Ball of Downsview, Ontario.

Dear Editor:

I have a dog who looks a lot like Krypto. Whenever I read an issue of Superboy, he peeks over my shoulder. When my friends and I play Superboy, I put a red cpe and collar on him and he plays, too. Once I was sitting under a tree and he ran up to me and licked a picture of Krypto on a nearby comic. Do you think you can put him up for honorary membership in the Space Canine Patrol Agency?
----David Ball, Downsview, Ont., Canada
(Sorry --but we don't consider the ability to lick covers as having a super-power.--Ed.)

Well, that counts me out!

Letter #2.

Dear Editor:
These comics like Superboy, with teen-age heroes, really crack me up! They're so ridiculous! After all, how many real teen-agers ever became heroes? None that I can think of!
--Alex Crane, Vancouver, B.C., Can.
(We can think of a good many, but to name two --David Glasgow Farragut was born in 1801, yet served with distinction as a Naval officer in the War of 1812. And Joan of Arc led an army to victory at the age of 17! --Ed.)

And what about Justin Bieber!?!

Marvel Boycott Diary #12: "No Marvel as we know it without Jack Kirby"

News from the Boycott Marvel frontlines.

A wonderful letter from J.T. Dockery on the Captain America movie and Jack Kirby's legacy:

In all the marketing and advertising and big money deals that have put this film based on comic books on the screen for distraction of the masses and money in the pockets of Marvel/Disney, what has been much less publicized is the recent legal decision that sided with Marvel against the family of Jack Kirby (Kirby is no longer with us on this mortal coil), essentially screwing him again, even in death, out of any revenue generated by characters he had a hand in creating. Legally speaking, he may have been doing his job under a work-for-hire basis but, frankly, I’m not a lawyer and I’m not interested in legalities; I’m interested in fairness.

Elsewhere, in the wonderful land of Twitter, a light-hearted exchange stemming from the recent Grant Morrison Rolling Stone interview took place between Robin McConnell (of Inkstuds podcast fame) and cartoonist Dustin Harbin (who besides his own self-published comics does some lettering for Marvel). The exchange is worth noting because it sums up some of the issues the boycott has been raising recently. I've excerpted part of their comments below, apologies if I mixed up the order of the tweets since I had to do some cut and past stuff to make everything readable:

Inkstuds: Interview with Morrison today is a reminder of how irrelevant mainstream comics have become. if marvel and dc disappeared comics would be better for it.
Harbin: You mean comics would be better if the two biggest employers, Diamond, and most comics shops went out of business?
Inkstuds: The artistic depths of a comic by Chris Ware is beyond anything DC has done in 20 years. On that note of dc, i read Batwoman today. amazing art. story was total shite. They even include the script so you can see how much JH3 improves what he has to work with.
Harbin: I think we agree on a lot of it! But things are too complicated for "Marvel and DC just disappear." For instance, a market that can support an annual Los Bros collection wouldn't exist without "big" comics companies. For good or ill, the furnace of the comics industry runs on big dumb comics Speaking as a former store manager. The big books pay for the ability to carry smaller press books, minis, etc
Inkstuds: not getting into this debate with you kind sir. we have very different POVs on the system. the whole thing is a mess.
Harbin: Boooo Robin. Where are your nuts?
Inkstuds: hhahaha, let me get drunk first! At some place that allows for more constructive debate than can come across 140 characters. A discussion better had with a bunch of bottles and no one listening and retweeting.
The debate is not just sales, but art, treatment of artists, moral and ethical expectations.
Harbin: Sure I guess. Go ask around about page rates at the prestigious small press companies if you're worried about ethics. Sorry dude it's bedtime on the East Coast--now Twitter will only remember your simplistic offense on Chris Ware's behalf!
Inkstuds: Who said offensive?
Harbin: I was replying to you saying simplistic offense.
Inkstuds: I dont think its an offensive comment to remark on a large corporate entity.
Harbin: Oh--I meant your offense in terms of you worrying about mispeaking publicly.
Inkstuds: Ok then, we can just hug it out.
Harbin: Yes and afterwards I'll buy you a beer. I'll have to cash my Marvel Comics check first, since that's my biggest reliable income.

Marvel Boycott Diary #11: "Jack Kirby is going to murder us all in our dreams."

All the latest news about the Marvel Boycott.

In his latest Comics Journal column, cartoonist Frank Santoro has a few more words about the Marvel Boycott, including the news that he will no longer work for Marvel Comics. It's definitely the recommended read of the week, maybe the whole month. Plus, you get a Michael DeForge comic, Frank's thoughts on popular music, and a discussion of Klaus Janson as a colourist as a bonus. I won't excerpt Frank's comments here because they're fairly short, not to mention wonderfully profane. Go read it!


Also worth reading: Last week Rich Johnson interviewed the publisher of Image Comics, Eric Stephenson, at the Bleeding Cool website. Of course, whatever Stephenson says should be taken with a grain of salt since his company is in direct competition with Marvel and would potentially benefit from a large-scale boycott, but for the record, here is part of their exchange on the subject of Jack Kirby:

"Rich: You’re not publishing Kirby these days, the case doesn’t have an impact on any of Image’s contracts, people seem aware of what they are signing at Marvel and DC these days… are you joining the Steve Bissette boycott? How do you feel about Image creators who work on Kirby characters that pay the Kirby estate nothing?

Eric: Well, we’re not actively publishing Jack’s work, but one of his creator-owned properties, Silver Star, remains in print here at Image, and Image published a project he was involved with, Phantom Force, back in the early ’90s. Jack was an inspiration to every single one of Image’s founders, and with Phantom Force, that was Image’s chance to kind of say thanks, and for all that project’s flaws, it still made an incredible amount of money for Jack and his family.

But I can’t fault Image creators for working on Kirby characters when nothing is being paid to the Kirby Estate, because I’m guilty of that myself. I can’t really say, “Hey, I worked on those characters when I was younger, but I think you’re a bad person for doing that,” now, can I? Above and beyond that, though, it’s not really my place or Image’s place to tell creators what to do or what not to do with their careers. People have enough going on in their lives without some prick browbeating them over the phone and telling them what they can and can’t write or draw for other publishers.

The Bissette thing – I commend what he’s doing, because I think there’s real value in people coming together to make a stand. I’ve read these comments online where people say he’s naive or whatever, but you know, a lot has been achieved throughout the history of the world by people joining together as one and making their voice known. That’s exactly how democracy is supposed to work, and it’s the apathetic majority, cynically folding their arms and castigating everyone else for actually having principles that prevent it from working. As far as venting his anger and frustration over a wrong that should have been righted by now goes, I totally respect what Steve is doing. Why is his position any less valid than all those people who petitioned to save Spider-Girl, or whatever? I personally think demanding some respect for Jack Kirby’s legacy is a far more worthy cause."

Read the full interview here.

And remember, no matter where you go and what you do today, please consider Boycotting Marvel!

Total Recall Film Shoot in Guelph

A crew from the upcoming Hollywood remake of Total Recall were in Guelph yesterday shooting a scene for the movie. Most of downtown was closed off while the film crew shot takes of actors walking across a street --pretty exciting, I know, but a fascinating window into the drudgery of big budget movie production. Despite several fierce rainstorms, it seemed like everyone in the city came downtown to check out the action and try to catch a glimpse of one of the stars. Although I heard from a restaurant owner who heard from someone involved that some of the leads were going to be in town (the film stars Colin Farrell, Ethan Hawke, Kate Beckinsdale, and Jessica Biel), apparently none of the mains were actually here. I certainly didn't see any celebs when I ambled down to who check out the goings-on. I did encounter a few crew members and one stunt double in my antique store late in the afternoon. Although none of them bought anything (boohoo!), the stunt double seriously considered a $2 purchase of a Guelph souvenir postcard.

I enjoyed the original Paul Verhoeven-directed Total Recall when I saw it in a theatre in 1990, despite the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger was already starting to irritate my delicate teenage sensibilities. Since then, the movie has attained a sort of cheesy cult status but is still among the best of a generally lacklustre bunch of post-Blade Runner adaptations of Philip K. Dick stories. Total Recall was adapted from Dick's "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale".

From the Guelph Mercury:

Total Recall major film shoot shakes up downtown Guelph


GUELPH — Eric Repaci and his son Brandon picked the right day to try a downtown eatery for the first time.

The pair had a front-row seat as film crews moved wrecked cars into place and set up a scene from the Hollywood blockbuster Total Recall.

“It’s a unique experience in Guelph because we don’t see this kind of thing too often,” Repaci said as he and Brandon sipped coffee on the patio at Van Gogh’s Ear. “I’m a driver for Tim Horton’s so I get detoured around these things all the time in Toronto.

“It’s neat to see it close to home.”

Alternating, and at times quite heavy, rain chased away some onlookers throughout the day.

But John Milne of Hamilton stuck it out most of the day, capturing some of the action – or lack thereof – on his cellphone camera.

Milne heard about the shooting and decided to come to Guelph to visit a friend and hang about the set for a while.

“It’s incredible the number of people and the amount of gear they need just to film a few people crossing the street,” he said.

Total Recall, set for release next summer, is an update of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi classic. It stars Colin Farrell as a factory worker who begins to think he’s a spy for competing nations in a post-Apocalyptic world.

To the disappointment of some onlookers, no major stars featured in the scene filmed here Sunday.

The action took place at the intersection of Macdonell and Wyndham streets, which was littered with wrecked and burned vehicles and decorated with street signs suggesting the film is set in Britain. A double-decker bus and several London taxis — painted to look like they were covered in dirt and ash — were among the props used in the filming.

Business owners near the intersection were paid to stay closed for the day, close early or simply keep their lights off.

At the nearby Apollo 11 family restaurant, co-owner Cathy Agelakos said business was down slightly because the street was closed, but added some of the film crew came in to eat in the morning.

“The workers are pretty nice,” Agelakos said. “Maybe this will bring some people downtown who wouldn’t normally come here and they will come back another time.”

Marvel Boycott Diary #10: Join the Boycott Bullpen!

The funniest and most intellectually rigorous post about the Marvel Boycott this week comes from The Mindless Ones blog. Blogger "The Doubtful Guest" (aka "Joel") has posted a wonderful political-socio essay on the nature of the 1960s-70s Marvel Bullpen, collectivity, capitalism, and something called "Thrill-Power." Guaranteed to please, or at least temporarily entrance, those who may have a more critical or academic appreciation for Judge Dredd, Herb Trimpe, Marie Severin, and Jolly Jack.

"What I mean here is the concept of the Bullpen as something that entered the comics imagination with the 1960s Marvel Age, and continues to leave its historical trace in every comics Universe. The truncated history goes that, emerging from the Eisner & Iger independent sweatshop/studio, the Fordist assembly line and the 50s post-Comics Code audience exodus, the Bullpen formation was a way for publishers to ensure greater homogeneity and editorial control over their comics lines. In terms of Marvel’s history, it seems reasonable to suggest that the invocation of the Bullpen in the comics (through Stan’s columns, and the general tone of captions and narrative) as well as the real-life office was an attempt to keep that Stan & Jack/Stan & Steve Marvel Method Magic flowing beyond its original creative flush, and, of course, beyond the departures of the two artists. In actuality, it was also a way to ensure three things: vastly unequal profit shares (through those work-for-hire contracts Bissette mentions), a usually strict division of labour, and Marvel’s good old white male hegemony."

In other Boycott news, the cartoonist Frank Santoro (Storeyville, Cold Heat) joins the boycott in his Comics Journal column and Journal editor Tim Hodler has a great link from The New York Times about the efforts of famous musicians and pop stars to regain the copyrights of their old songs in the same way that the Kirby heirs are fighting for Kirby's copyrights.

Elsewhere, Kevin de Vlaming of the Fabler Blog relays a great Scott McCloud (Zot!, Understanding Comics) quote about the Kirby case:

"But hardly any artist in that end of the business was treated fairly in those days (much like in the music industry) and Kirby in particular deserved far more compensation — and RESPECT — than he received over the years from a royal procession of lawyers, asshole execs, and two-faced colleagues.

Anyone contesting that Marvel was largely built on Kirby’s ideas just doesn’t know their comics history."

Boycott Marvel!