On his blog, Paul Pope has posted a quote from Frank “Dune” Herbert’s son Brian about how upset his father was over the (ahem) similarities between his work and George Lucas’s later, much more successful Star Wars. It got me thinking in a way that’s sort of in direct opposition to the way I’ve been thinking about a lot of art lately.

This is something I’ve gone into on the blog before: Basically, a sometimes-writer and a frequent consumer of fiction, I’m a very big fan of what I think of as “the art of enthusiasm”—the magpie approach of constructing your own little mythos or whatever based on elements of other stories that you really really enjoy. That’s why I like that the He-Man/Masters of the Universe toys and cartoons were an incoherent mish-mash of sci-fi, fantasy, pulp and superhero conventions; they just took everything awesome and jammed it together. That’s also why I like Kill Bill, or Scott Pilgrim, or The Immortal Iron Fist*, or Star Wars itself, and so on. And it’s not just fiction. The same principle probably applies to Bowie throughout his career, latching on to whatever music had him psyched at the time and then moving on when he felt like it, as well as really really sample-heavy late-80s/early-90s hip-hop. So on the one hand I’d say that a big part of the appeal of Star Wars is that Lucas took all the stuff he loved—Flash Gordon, Carlos Castaneda, Dune, the Fourth World, drag racing, Joseph Campbell, World War II dogfighting movies, 2001—and jammed it together. Of course the downside is when you appropriate from a specific-enough source that it’s recognizable, even if it’s in a different context or surrounded by enough other elements that it’s just part of a patchwork. It’s a fine line aesthetically and morally as well as legally. I think it’s likely that both sides are right—it’s a perfectly valid artistic approach, and it’s perfectly valid to be upset if it’s your work being appropriated.

My yapping aside, click the link to see a badass Paul Pope drawing of a Tusken Raider sandperson.

In a new interview with Ain’t It Cool News’ Quint, Clive Barker says a lot of things to inspire confidence in the upcoming Midnight Meat Train adaptation–I mean, referencing Weegee is a good sign, I would say. But at the same time he says he has no idea if the Hellraiser remake is going forward. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not sure if that’s bad news or good. Ah well, go read.

Check out this unbelievably awesome original art spread of the B.P.R.D. by Guy Davis and Dave Stewart over at Wizard. It’s an illustration for a character guide we did for this thrilling Hellboy spinoff series, which in my opinion has surpassed its source.

Premature T-shirt blogging! Check this beauty out! (You can sorta see it behind the guitar and the beard.)

As made by the great Buenaventura Press. I eyed this covetously at MoCCA this summer, but couldn’t bring myself to spend $60 on a T-shirt knowing what I tend to do to the things. My loss is avant-rock’s gain!

(Via Pitchfork’s Virgin Festival photogallery.)

If you care about horror in comics, you really ought to read this Tom Spurgeon interview with Tom Neely, author of the new graphic novel The Blot. The Blot contains some of the most unnerving and original horror imagery I’ve seen in comics all year, including my favorite spread of the year thus far.

In the comment thread in the Midnight Meat Train image post below, Bruce Baugh points out the striking and obviously thoughtful composition of the image, leading me to note what a pleasant surprise it is any time I come across an image from a horror film (let alone a promotional image for a horror film) that has any kind of panache. I’ve thought of this the last several times I went to the mall and saw this poster for the werewolf flick Skinwalkers hanging up:

The leading-less font, the white background, the off-center placement of the title, the image composition–gorgeous. I hold out no hopes for the film itself, of course, but man, this was money well spent. Comparisons to the almost confrontationally dull and generic Dark Is Rising The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising poster are most instructive.

Scott Pilgrim artist Bryan Lee O’Malley just posted this gorgeous David Bowie sketch he drew for me at MoCCA. I’ve got a lot more where this came from, actually; watch this space.

I’ve fixed some long-dead links and added several interviews you may not have read before, with everyone from Chuck Palahniuk to Drea DeMatteo to Underworld to Bettie Page. And don’t forget my trip to Loch Ness!

This week’s Horror Roundtable asks if we ever drifted away from the genre, and what brought us back if so. The responses are fascinating. It may be my favorite Horror Roundtable so far.

Another very, very cool image of Vinnie Jones as Mahogany from The Midnight Meat Train. I’ve heard great things about the footage shown at San Diego Comic-Con from a friend who was there. Hope springs eternal. (Via Bloody Disgusting.)

The latest installment of my interview column is up, with Angry Youth Comix‘s Johnny Ryan. If you’ve ever wondered about the inspiration behind Blecky Yuckerella, Loady McGee, and Sinus O’Gynus, I’ve got you covered.

I can’t decide which of these genuinely amazing T-shirts from Rich Juzwiak’s Poison concertgoer photogallery I love more. God damn ziggety zam do they hit my crass T-shirt sweet spot: tacky, funny, yet not racist, misogynist, or otherwise offensive, and with awesome no-nonsense fonts.

Which do you like better?

I love this even though I also love disco.

I hear you knocking, brother.

My thoughts on the new issue of Jordan Crane’s Uptight, as well as World War Hulk, New Avengers: Illuminati, Justice Society of America, Conan and the Midnight God, Detective Comics, The Exterminators, and Iron & the Maiden can be found–where else?–at Wizard’s Thursday Morning Quarterback.

First that horrendous trailer, and now the news that the film adaptation of The Dark Is Rising is now called The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising for some reason. Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care.

Could I be any more psyched for Dragon Wars? The giant-monster feature also known as D-War has a new trailer up at the link. Good gravy.

Seriously, watch Monty Python’s Meaning of Life sometime.

Anyway, I stumbled across this info graphic at The Onion and I can’t for the life of me figure out which side of the line it’s supposed to fall on. I’m not sure it matters.

In general I can’t shake a sense that how we relate to music is an elephant in the critics’ lounge. I don’t think I’m alone in taking ideas I might use to validate my emotional reaction– innovation, craftsmanship, artistic intent– and turning them into a stand-in for the reaction itself…

–Tom Ewing, “Are the Smiths Funny?”, Pitchfork

It hasn’t been a going concern in quite some time so it’s not like this comes as a surprise, but contributor Sam Costello writes that the pioneering group horrorblog site Dark But Shining is shutting down for good. Bummer. DBS had some of the best genre writers around–Costello, Rick Geerling, Kevin Melrose–and its dark sci-fi and fantasy seasoning made it unique. Farewell, DBS.

If you’re wondering what I’ve been up to for the past few days, look no further than Wizard’s extensive San Diego Comic-Con coverage. I was working until 2am yesterday and I’m not even there! Needless to say, there’s plenty of news you’ll be interested in if you’re the sort of person who reads this blog, from George A. Romero to Neil Gaiman.

Meanwhile, the usual Thursday Morning Quarterback reviews are up, so if you’re interested in what I thought of this week’s Immortal Iron Fist, Batman, Mighty Avengers, All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder, Angry Youth Comix, Battlestar Galactica, Hellboy: Darkness Calls, Invincible, Love and Rockets, Speak of the Devil, and The Walking Dead, you know what to do.

This week’s Horror Roundtable: name your favorite horror-movie opening-credit sequence. My choice was a popular one.