Photo: Raquel Welch and Ringo Starr in "The Magic Christian"

Remembering the Phil Seuling Comic Art Conventions

From 1968 to 1978, these July 4 weekend events in New York were the place to be for fans of comic book art. Golden Age Comic Book Stories presents a wonderful display of convention art and programs.

Bear Family collection spotlights Vietnam War-era tracks

The German record label's Next Stop is Vietnam, out Aug. 10, collects 13(!) CDs-worth of Vietnam-themed tunes interspersed with sound bytes from news broadcasts, speeches and more. Probably a whole lot more Vietnam than many folks would care to remember or dwell on, but an interesting document nevertheless. You can see the track list here.

Court documents indicate Wil Eisner fibbed in 1940s Superman trial

Ken Quattro has turned up a fascinating bit of comic book history on his blog, The Comics Detective:

In interviews over the years, Spirit creator Will Eisner admitted that, back in the late 1930s, comic book publisher Victor Fox instructed him to copy Superman when creating the Fox-published hero Wonder Man.

But when DC later filed suit, the Fox people instructed Eisner to lie on the stand and say, no, he was not coached to copy Superman, or even influenced by Superman, in creating Wonder Man.

According to his own accounts, Eisner said he couldn't go along with the plan. He told the truth in court. But that's not that's not what the trial transcripts -- now available on Ken's blog -- say. Those documents show that Eisner fully went along with the Fox plan, disputing DC's claim that Wonder Man was nothing more than a cheap Superman rip-off.

While it's disappointing that Eisner couldn't cop to the truth of what he'd actually said in court, it's also not surprising to hear the true facts. No doubt there was tremendous pressure on Eisner -- then just  a young man thinking about his future livelihood -- to play along with Fox. This truth certainly doesn't diminish Eisner's artistic accomplishments. But it does tarnish things a bit in terms of Eisner's overall reputation.

Mainly, though, it's great to have this important bit of history publicly available. Kudos to Ken on his detective work.

Amazon $5 music downloads for July

As a guy who still owns hundreds of LPs, I'm slow to make my peace with music downloads. But it's hard to argue with $5 for a new album. So, I've been partaking of Amazon's regular, $5 sale on selected titles. The batch for this month includes:

Plastic Beach
Gorillaz Plastic Beach
Broken Bells
Broken Bells
Good News For People Who Love Bad News [Explicit]
Modest Mouse Good News for People Who Love Bad News
The Shepherd's Dog
Iron and Wine The Shepherd's Dog
Love and Its Opposite
Tracy Thorn Love and its Opposite
I Am What I Am (Amazon Exclusive Version)
Merle Haggard I Am What I Am
Junjo
Esperanza Spalding Junjo
Assume Crash Position
Konono No. 1 Assume Crash Position

More here.

More Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pictures



Live-action What's Opera, Doc?

Pretty cool. Via Cartoon Brew:

Comics inker demonstrates how to create Kirby Krackle

One of Jack Kirby's many innovations was his technique for making depictions of cosmic energy crackle on the comic page. It was all a matter of the careful placement of varied-size black dots. In this YouTube video, inker Karl Altstaetter demonstrates how to do it.

Remastered John Lennon solo albums on the way, plus other collections

From the press release:

Eight of John Lennon’s classic solo albums and other standout recordings have been digitally remastered from his original mixes for a global catalogue initiative commemorating the music legend’s 70th birthday, which falls on October 9.

Overseen by Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth” campaign will launch on 4 October (5 October in North America) with the worldwide release of eight remastered studio albums and several newly-compiled titles.

Double Fantasy, 1980’s GRAMMY Award winner for Album of the Year, will be presented in a newly remixed 'Stripped Down' version remixed and produced by Yoko Ono and Jack Douglas, co-producers of the original mix with John Lennon. The new stripped down version of the album comes in an expanded 2CD and digital edition pairing the new version with Lennon’s original mix, remastered.

The campaign’s other new collections include:

· A hits compilation in two editions titled Power To The People: The Hits
· A 4CD set of themed discs titled Gimme Some Truth
· A deluxe 11CD collectors box with the remastered albums, rarities, and non-album singles, titled the John Lennon Signature Box

All of the remastered albums and collections will be available on CD and for download purchase from all major digital service providers

YOKO ONO said: “In this very special year, which would have seen my husband and life partner John reach the age of 70, I hope that this remastering / reissue programme will help bring his incredible music to a whole new audience. By remastering 121 tracks spanning his solo career, I hope also that those who are already familiar with John’s work will find renewed inspiration from his incredible gifts as a songwriter, musician and vocalist and from his power as a commentator on the human condition. His lyrics are as relevant today as they were when they were first written and I can think of no more apposite title for this campaign than those simple yet direct words 'Gimme Some Truth'.”

The albums have been digitally remastered from Lennon’s original mixes by Yoko Ono and a team of engineers led by Allan Rouse at EMI Music’s Abbey Road Studios in London and by George Marino at Avatar Studios in New York. All of the remastered titles will be packaged in digisleeves with replicated original album art and booklets with photos and new liner notes by noted British music journalist Paul Du Noyer. The albums to be reissued are:

· John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
· Imagine (1971)
· Sometime In New York City (1972)
· Mind Games (1973)
· Walls and Bridges (1974)
· Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975)
· Double Fantasy Stripped Down (2010) / Double Fantasy (1980)
· Milk and Honey (1984)

YOKO ONO added: “Double Fantasy Stripped Down really allows us to focus our attention on John’s amazing vocals. Technology has advanced so much that, conversely, I wanted to use new techniques to really frame these amazing songs and John's voice as simply as possible. By stripping down some of the instrumentation the power of the songs shines through with an enhanced clarity. Double Fantasy Stripped Down will be complemented by the original album in the 2CD format. It was whilst working on the new version of this album that I was hit hardest emotionally, as this was the last album John released before his passing."

Power To The People: The Hits gathers 15 of Lennon’s most popular songs, and will be available as a 15-track single-disc and digital package, and as an Experience Edition with additional content. Both versions will be packaged in digisleeves with booklets including a new liner note essay by Du Noyer.

Gimme Some Truth, to be packaged in a slipcase with rare photos and a new liner notes essays by respected American music journalist and author, Anthony DeCurtis, presents 72 of Lennon’s solo recordings on four themed CDs:

· ‘Roots’ – John’s rock ‘n’ roll roots and influences
· ‘Working Class Hero’ – John’s socio-political songs
· ‘Woman’ – John’s love songs
· ‘Borrowed Time’ – John’s songs about life

The John Lennon Signature Box is a deluxe 11CD and digital collection of the eight remastered albums, a disc of rare and previously unreleased recordings, and an EP of Lennon’s non-album singles. The CDs will be housed in digisleeves within a deluxe box including a collectible limited edition John Lennon art print and a hardbound book featuring rare photos, artwork, collages, poetry, and new liner notes by DeCurtis.