* SPX was this weekend! It was fun. Jog, Chris Mautner, and Rickey Purdin have all blogged at length about it, and I mention them specifically because they mentioned me specifically in their reports, which is really all it takes. In terms of individual selling points for those reports, Rickey includes a list of everything he got which should give you a sense of how much appealing stuff was on sale, Chris includes photos which show you what the experience was like, and Jog goes in-depth on the panels he participated in as well as offering a summary of the comics internet and how it’s changed by way of digression.
* My own SPX report will go up at Tom Spurgeon’s site sometime soon. And yes, There Will Be Bowie Sketches here soon as well.
* There’s definitely a new George A. Romero Dead movie on the way, and it’s probably not a direct sequel to the truly terrible Diary of the Dead thank god, and it’s maybe called Island of the Dead. I think that covers it.
* There’s also maybe a third 28/Later movie on the way, and it’s maybe called 28 Months Later, and it’s maybe directed by Paul Andrew Williams. I think that covers it.
* For some reason, Roger Ebert talks to the Wachowski Brothers about Gordon Willis’s cinematography as seen in the new remastered edition of The Godfather. (Via Whitney Matheson.)
* I’m sure the Siegels are indeed genuinely grateful for the money writer Brad Meltzer raised to save Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel’s childhood home, the birthplace of Superman. I’m sure Meltzer is totally sincere in doing this, on-sale book about Siegel or no. It’s a nice thing to have done, a mitzvah for a family who could use one these days. But it leaves a funny taste in my mouth given that at this very moment, the publisher at which Meltzer is a huge deal is engaged in a legal battle against the Siegel family over Siegel’s creations. Maybe it’s just seeing these stories appear on the same on the same day that’s making me scratch my head, but surely there are more meaningful, dare I say vitally important, ways to honor the creation of Superman by Jerry Siegel in terms of systemic reform for which high-profile writers and artists could publicly agitate than by refurbishing a house. Tom Spurgeon is right (see item #16): at a certain point it comes down not to high-falutin’ ethics, but to our common self-respect.
* UPDATE: Kiel Phegley offers an interesting counterpoint.
I don’t know. I spoke to Meltzer about all this, and while there is an obvious publicity connection to his book, I think two things really struck me about his recitation of the whole schpeel he’s worked up about the “Superman house”:
1 – Despite the fact that he did repeat to me almost verbatim what he told NPR, the crowd at his book signing and probably 10,000 other media sources, I still got the feeling that he’s doing this just because he found the house and thought it was depressing that it was in that shape. It’s not a matter of him saying, “This is the way to really stick up for wronged creators.” It’s really just something he had an honest connection to.
2 – Meltzer did not shy away from talking publicly about Siegel or Shuster getting wronged by DC and by extension Warners, and he also specifically tempered all of his “our industry really comes out to help people in need like Dave Cockrum” with “of course, that’s after decades of mistreating creators” kinds of statements. If anything, I’d assume he feels that his whole thing will help shine a little light on the wronging of creative talent. Who knows if it actually will, but he’s making an honest effort to make a solid contribution there.
As far as what more can and should be done, that’s a huge question that all of us from high profile folks like Meltzer and low profile folks like us will be engaging a lot over the next few years. Even so, I don’t know if severing ties with DC or publicly going off on them will accomplish much for the cause or for Meltzer, who despite being massively successful is still a working writer who is taking paying gigs doing what he loves where he can get them.
Carnival of souls
* SPX was this weekend! It was fun. Jog, Chris Mautner, and Rickey Purdin have all blogged at length about it, and I mention them specifically because they mentioned me specifically in their reports, which is really all it takes….