More bad news for Obama.

I'm sorry, America. I really am.

Bad news for Obama

We've been waiting for a possible "October Surprise," and it looks like it's finally arrived. According to the Weekly World News, the Alien has -- gasp! -- switched his endorsement from Obama to McCain. And according to the News, it wasn't for purely political reasons, either...

"At a recent McCain rally, inside sources say Cindy McCain disappeared with the Alien after sharing several champagnes with the notorious intergalactic lightweight. Ms. McCain’s alien-like good looks and natural blood temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit may have proved too much for him to resist as she reportedly put her cyborg husband into sleep mode and worked her charms."

Who knows how this will affect the election? On the one hand, the Alien has (again, according to the News) picked the winner of the presidential race correctly for the last 28 years. On the other hand, the Alien is now "married with children," and the release of the photos of him canoodling with Cindy McCain could be "devastating."

Yet another celebrity endorsement

From Al Bundy, of all people!

Remember back when MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN was on the air, and people acted like it was the end of civilization. Hell, compared with all the coarse crap on TV these days, it looks like a Noel Coward play!



And you know, I remember seeing Ed O'Neill host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE years ago, and he really impressed me with the way he actually acted in every sketch he was in, working hard to create a character and play that character instead of just reading off the cue cards like most hosts do. Why doesn't someone give the guy another show? Comedy or drama -- he was excellent on that short-lived DRAGNET revival a few seasons back.

In the interest of equal time...

Since I posted that Ron Howard-Andy Griffith-Henry Winkler endorsement of Obama yesterday, I figure it's only fair to do the same for the other side. So here's one for McCain and Palin from a prominent political figure...

Hey, kids! A comic con!

If you happen to be in or around Chicago Saturday and you're looking for something to do, allow me to suggest a stop at the first-ever Windy City Comicon, which will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted.

It's being run by the guys from Around Comics and features -- besides myself, of course -- such illustrious guests as Gene Ha, Mike Norton, Jeffrey Brown, Tim Seeley, Skottie Young, Hilary Barta, Bill Reinhold and plenty others. There will also be dealers, events, gaming and all sorts of other con goodness, and admission is a mere five bucks, with kids 10 and younger getting in for free.

Unfortunately, I won't have the small press collection that I've been working on, vastly underestimating both the work involved on my part and the turnaround time involved on the publisher's part, but I will have a rough copy if you're curious (all the better to boost eventual orders). I will, however, have a selection of DC comics I've written -- and I'll be giving them away free. That's right -- FREE!

Five buck admission and free comics -- what the hell more could you want?

The greatest endorsement ever

Seriously. I can't believe this one. Even if you're a McCain supporter, you're gonna get a kick out of this.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

I'm not the only one who can't wait until this election is over

Larry David, hero to us all, can't wait either. He shares his anxiety over the impending election over at Huffington Post...

"Five times a day I'll still say to someone, 'I don't know what I'm going to do if McCain wins.' Of course, the reality is I'm probably not going to do anything. What can I do? I'm not going to kill myself. If I didn't kill myself when I became impotent for two months in 1979, I'm certainly not going to do it if McCain and Palin are elected, even if it's by nefarious means."

Read the rest here.

Set your DVR now -- THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER is coming!

Or, get ready to stay up late -- because at (roughly) 2 a.m. EST Saturday morning, Turner Classic Movies is going to air THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER, a legendary -- and legendarily unseen -- 1962 cult film written by, directed by and starring (the also legendary) Timothy Carey.

If you know Carey at all, it's probably for his supporting parts in PATHS OF GLORY, THE KILLING and other films. But he was a genuine showbiz oddity, and this is his masterwork. Carey plays an insurance salesman who has a vision, quits his job and starts a rock 'n' roll band. Soon he's grown a goatee, is calling himself "God" and amassing a band of followers.

I've been hearing about this one for years, but I've never seen it -- SINNER doesn't seem to be available anywhere. To say its showing this weekend on TCM is a big event in cult movie-dom is the understatement of the year. Finally this movie, which those who have seen swear is truly one of a kind, will be visible to us all. I'm not going to miss it, and I suggest you don't, either. Here's what they say about it (and Carey) at the TCM site.

And here, via the magic of You Tube, is a sample of Carey's mad genius. The most popular clips are of Carey's crazed musical performances (mostly thanks to the Frank Zappa connection), but I think this bit of insurance-based rebellion is more interesting...

I sure wish it was Nov. 5 already

Normally, I can barely stomach that idiot Tucker Carlson, whether he's wearing that stupid bow tie or not, but I have to admit, he's dead on with this bit of analysis (as in psychological) posted Tuesday at The Daily Beast:

"Wondering if you're really a Democrat? Here's a quick way to find out: Given everything the Democratic party has going for it this year—the overwhelming financial advantage, the legions of new voters, George W. Bush—do you believe the Obama campaign could still somehow, in the final moments, find a way to blow it and lose this election? If you answered yes, you're a Democrat."

Man, he's got me dead to rights. I mean, I'm still nervous.

Buy my comics, make me rich: CATWOMAN: CRIME PAYS

Just a quick, self-promoting note to alert everyone to the fact that a new collection of CATWOMAN comics hits the stores Wednesday. CRIME PAYS collects issues 73 to 77, which includes all the craziness of the SALVATION RUN crossover (see Selina kick the collective ass of the entire Justice League!) and her battle with The Thief, the guy who tried to steal everything she had. (PS: He failed.)

Here's the cover, with one of Adam Hughes' more voluptuous images of our hero (It's from CATWOMAN 74):

Art, as always, is by the excellent David Lopez (pencils) and Alvaro Lopez (inks). Colors are courtesy of Jeremy Cox, and letters are by Jared K. Fletcher. My old pal Nachie Castro, who's not at DC any more, edited the whole shebang.

Today's sort-of-political post

Over at Slate.com, Christopher Hitchens sums up why I don't like Gov. Sarah Palin -- or, for that matter, many politicians, celebrities and other folks, and it has nothing to do with party affiliation:

The problem with Gov. Palin is not that she lacks experience. It's that she quite plainly lacks intellectual curiosity. It is not snobbish to harbor grave doubts about somebody who seems uninterested in reading for pleasure or recreation and whose only interest in her local public library is sniffing round its shelves for books that ought to be removed for expressing impure ideas.

That's it in a nutshell: I don't respect someone who doesn't respect reading.

And speaking of the presidential race...

As you also probably know, Gov. Sarah Palin made a "surprise" appearance (that everyone knew was going to happen) on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE this week. The cold opening funny enough, but it'd be tough not to eke out at least a few chuckles with Tina Fey's brilliant impersonation, Alec Baldwin's liberal anger and Mark Wahlberg showing up to confront Andy Samberg over last week's show. (In the likely event that McCain Palin lose, what's SNL going to do without Fey? I mean, I'd definitely rather watch her on 30 ROCK, but there's not much to see on SNL without her, no?)

They didn't give the governor much to do, which was probably wise. Judging by the number of press conferences she's given, live TV is not her forte. For a second or so, I felt bad for her standing next to Alec Baldwin while he railed against her, but then I remembered her comments of "pro-American" parts of the country, her feeling that the "debate" between creationism and evolution should be taught and her silence when death threats were yelled out against her opponent, and in retrospect, I don't think Alec was mean enough.

Here, in case you live on the moon and haven't seen it, is the opening. Like I said, it's not bad, but SNL can't hope to touch the sort of satire THE DAILY SHOW, THE COLBERT REPORT or, for that matter, THE ONION achieve on an almost daily basis.

Powell endorses Obama

As everyone knows by now, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama's presidential bid this morning on MEET THE PRESS. Some say he's playing it safe by making the endorsement when Obama is leading virtually every poll and seems a pretty sure bet to win the White House. But it was still a welcome move from a widely respected figure, and Powell made some good points in his endorsement. Here's what I thought was an especially thoughtful comment:

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim; he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

With all the coded language, the appeal to so-called "pro-American" parts of the country on the part of Sarah Palin and the crowds shouting out "terrorist" and "kill him" with McCain and Palin until only recently telling their supporters to cool it (and frankly, only McCain doing even that), it's refreshing to have someone remind this country that it's not a Christian nation, it's a nation of all sorts of people, beliefs and ideas.

Here's the video of Powell's MEET THE PRESS endorsement. It's worth watching:



Typically, of course, that idiot Limbaugh said Powell only endorsed Obama because he's black. What the hell is Limbaugh complaining about? The best thing that could happen to his career is another Democrat in the White House.

Slowly but surely...

I'm still putting together the collection of all my small-press comics, which partly (though not completely) explains why this blog has been so neglected in the last few weeks. I've got one more self-indulgent chapter to compile, then it's just proofing and shipping it off.

In the meantime, to whet your no-doubt ravenous appetite, here's the cover...

Design tip: If you're creating a book cover, don't do it from scratch. Find some piece of artwork from more than a decade ago and use it for your central image. Hell, it worked for me!

Sorry for the delay, gang...

... but I spent last week in Disney World. And guess whose handprints I found outside the most boring Hollywood history ride ever conceived?

It really is the happiest place on Earth!