Today's Views is an irregular weblog updated when there are new fun things to report. Keep checking in.

I have two more weeks on the novel (I hope) so I just have time for a quick blog entry.

UPDATED INFO: If you can, take a look at NBC's new entry tonight, the CGI cartoon show FATHER OF THE PRIDE. My wife, Noel, worked on the show and she tells me it's fall on the floor funny. Since she rarely exudes over TV shows, I can't wait to see it. In fact, I'll bejoining her for the crew party later tonight. The show wil be repeated Thursday and Saturday nights on NBC, so if you've got TiVo check your "Upcoming show" list and if you're not, check for the times on the web. Note, the show, despite its artoony look, is not kiddie fare and its humor is absolutely adult in nature. Be warned. But if you don't get easily offended, it's supposed to be really funny.

Nothing much to report which is why I haven't updated this page much lately. I've been working hard to get through a novel I've been working on for many months which should be coming out sometime next May in hardcover. But I have done some comics which have appeared in the past month, including Michael Chabon's The Escapist #3 and released this week, DC Presents The Justice League of America with my tribute story to the late Julie Schwartz. I would love to hear from you guys about what you think of both of them. Although I don't have a "forum" page, I do read every email that comes to me. So pick up the books and let me know, okay? You can click on the EMAIL MARV link to the right.

A special thank you to Mark Evanier for the new look logo featured above. It's cool and sharp! Thanks, Mark. Mark also writes one of the best all-purpose blogs around, touching on a zillion different subjects. And unlike Today's News he seems to update his every eleven minutes. This is a must read. For a look, CLICK HERE.

Because of last night's moving episode of The Teen Titans cartoon show on Cartoon Network, I've been getting a lot of emails asking me to bring back Terra in one way or another. It reminds me of when we did the original version of that story 20+ years ago. Terra then, and now, elicited a lot of strong feelings, including one death threat. But Terra in the comics is dead and has been (the 2nd Terra who appeared in Team Titans, was clearly and honestly described as a girl who had been kidnapped and brainwashed into thinking she was Terra and the Titans were led, through duplicity, to believe that she was the original. But she never was ). The Terra on TV, more repentant than the psychopathic killer from the comics, has been, well, see the episode for yourselves.

However, for all those writing to me, as much as I love hearing your thoughts and comments about the characters George Pérez and I created way back when, I really have no say as to what goes on in the TV show. Yes, George and I created the majority of the characters, and I've written a few episodes, but I don't control the show or who appears on it. So please send your requests for Terra, or for whether Beast Boy and Raven will get together, or Starfire and Robin, to the people at Cartoon Network. I don't have an email address for you, but you can find the snail mail address in TV Guide. Thanks.

Just working today, trying to push through this novel.

I was sorry to see Myrna and Charla come in last on "The Amazing Race" last night. Never understood why there was so much anger lobbed against them. They actually never did anything nasty to anyone else until the bombs started flying at them. Meanwhile, the dating couple whose names I forget now - they're currently in second place - have always been the second nastiest folk out there, right after the pizza brothers. Anyway, the show continues to be fun, but without the cousins it might be just a little less amazing.

Got back from Chicago, and considering I hadn't been an announced guest - I was actually in Chicago for completely different reasons that coincided with the con - there were lots of folk who had lots of my books for signing. There were also a few people who were completely surprised that I was there. Thanks to the Devil's Due people for giving me the space to sign. Devil's Due also formerly announced - by way of a convention exclusive zero issue - the new Aftermath line and my book, Defex, seen to the right. I'll talk more about Defex as time goes on. Thanks to the always wonderful Patty Jeres of DC I got to see the secret Green Lantern panel that was a "wristband only" event. Yes, DC talked about GL, but the secret purpose of the event was to introduce the director, writer and producer of the upcoming Batman Begins film which, in fact, was shooting in Chicago, and to show a montage of quick scenes from the movie. Wow! It's gonna be good.

There are in-depth reviews of the con elsewhere on the net, so all I'll add to it is that Wizard World is more of a comic book only convention than San Diego, and a whole lot smaller, which makes for easier access. San Diego is now a huge multi-media event with a hundred thousand people. An incredibly great convention since it covers so many different things and covers them well, but Chicago is smaller and more intimate for people who are primarily comic fans. Both are different and both are good for very different experiences.

MARV'S MOVIE REVIEWS IN FIVE WORDS OR LESS

I thought I'd give a few exceedingly quick reviews of what I've seen this past month. I'll keep it down to five words or less, so nothing in-depth here.

Alien Vs. Predator: Not enough fun! Mindlessly okay. **

Anchorman: Silly. Stupid. But very funny. ***

The Bourne Supremacy: Not great but still good. ****

Catwoman: Mindless but well meaning. Acceptable! ***

Collateral: Suspenseful. Wonderfully acted. Nearly perfect. *****

Dodgeball: See review for Anchorman. Ditto. ***

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle: A truly hysterical stoner movie! ****

I, Robot: Well done. Better than expected. ****

The Manchurian Candidate: Decent, but somehow it misses. ***

The Village: Predictable. Inane. Night's Out, Everyone! 1/2* (for the actors only)

That's it so far. Best movies of the summer: Spider-Man-2, Collateral, Farenheit 911. The worst: The Village. If I missed either a best or worst, I apologize. Hard to remember everything that's come and gone.

Heading off to WIZARD WORLD in Chicago. I'll be back next week for more posting. Until then, enjoy this photo from Batman Begins.

COOOOOO--OOOOLLL!

One month and except for this picture here, no political talk. You know, your head no longer hurts when you stop hitting it against the wall. Evil talk will commence closer to the election. Until then, this will be a politics free zone. By the way, I think the toy to the left should be in every voting booth around the country. Couldn't hurt.

Day one with the new air conditioner. So far so cool.

But I'm still hobbling.

When Things get Rotten: Well, the air conditioner has been out again, third time this summer, making work, or posting here, impossible. So today, instead of having it fixed yet again, we had a brand new five ton machine put in. I'm hobbling out of here in a few minutes. When I get back, hopefully the house will soon cool down to liveable.

And yes, I did say hobble. Nothing terrible, but I broke my big toe Friday night. Didn't know it then, but I couldn't move it Saturday or Sunday. It's currently surrounded by one of those toe bandages/braces so in time it will get better. Normally, it would be just an inconvenience but I'm going to Chicago Thursday morning so if you see me at WIZARD WORLD hobbling around like I'm 99 years old, know that's the reason. I'm still shy a few weeks before that birthday.

I'm going to Chicago! I will be at WIZARD WORLD Friday and Saturday August 13-14. Don't know my schedule as I'm being brought there to meet some folk and to discuss a project I can't talk about just yet, but the chances are you'll find me roaming the floor or, at times, sitting in the Devil's Due and possibly the DC Comics booths. Since this is a sudden thing I doubt I'll be on any panels, but you never know. Please bring any books you want signed and I'm sure we'll running into each other. And don't forget to mention that you read this site!

In my attempt (see below) to figure out exactly how many Titans stories I actually did write - okay, so moron-boy doesn't keep good records - I've heard so far from two Today's Views readers.

Tom Galloway came up with 229 stories. His research:

The Grand Comics Database at www.comics.org is a good starting point for such. Plugged "Wolfman" into the writer search and looked through it. I came up with a tentative total of 229, but there are some definite missing stories and questions. The not yet indexed stories include a majority of New Titans (I recall that the Kesels did at least two issues of those, but not an exact number; I counted all of 'em and subtracted two) and all of Team Titans (which leads into the question of whether you count Team Titans as Teen Titans stories) of which I counted none since I couldn't recall how long you were on the book after the 5 first issues and wasn't sure if you'd count them as Titans stories. Other questionable ones; I counted a Starfire solo story since it seemed directly tied into Titans continuity (where she decides to go back to Tamaran). But should I count the Outsiders issue that teamed up with the Titans and you're listed as co-plotter on? I assumed Deathstroke doesn't count as Titans in his own series, but how about the 6 part Nightwing/Speedy story you did for Action Weekly? I didn't count stories where individual Titans show up as guest stars, such as early issues of Crisis, but I also didn't count later issues where the Titans do show up as a team (the excursions to Earths S, 4, and X) but the story isn't focused on them. So, I'd say going with "around 250" is probably a good answer to keep giving. :-)

And Frank Balkin has found 217. His research:

To Frank: I actually did do more than the old Wonder Girl story for the first Titans run. Len Wein and I did issue 18, which introduced the Russian Starfire character (never toss a good name away) and then I plotted, secretly, part of the three-part story Neal Adams drew, but nobody knew that so no penalty points are accrued . Of course, Len and I also wrote the famous never-printed Titans story, fully drawn by Nick Cardy, that would have featured DC's first black hero, Joshua, in the story called "Titans Fit The Battle of Jericho." Much of Neal's first part came from that story, including the already printed cover. I later used Jericho as the name of the Titan character George came up with.

What I'm looking for is ALL the stories I wrote using the Titans. So the DC Presents stories would fit in, and Action Comics Weekly,all the Digest stories, etc. It felt like I was writing Titans stories until Plasmus came oozing out of my ears, so, if anyone out there has the time and energy, please keep looking. I'll keep putting the new totals on this board. And thank you.

I've mentioned before how wonderful the people on the Teen Titans animated show are. So last week while signing at the Bandai toy booth at Comicon International, sitting next to David Slack, story-editor and producer of the show, I mentioned that when I attended the voice recording session for "Deep Six," my first season episode, I was so thrown by all the actors doing the TT voices asking for my autograph that I completely forgot to ask for theirs. I didn't realize it until I had gotten into the car and began the mantra, "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Well, I got home a few minutes ago to find an envelope in my mailbox with my Deep Six script signed by everyone. I'm honestly bowled over by their thoughtfulness and kindness. Thanks so much to David and Warner's Marlene Fenton for arranging this, and thanks to Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong and Hynden Walch, the great talents who brings life to all the Titans characters. This one is a mega keeper!

And speaking of Titans, yesterday Noel and I had dinner with fellow conspirator George Pérez, his lovely wife Carol, artist/sculptor Rubén Procopio and Noel's brother Michael Watkins. This was the first time Noel and Carol had ever met; I hadn't met Noel until I moved out to Los Angeles, and since Carol doesn't usually come out west, we just never got together. And the fates really conspired against the meeting a month or so back when Noel and I traveled to Florida for the Jacksonville convention only to learn that George and Carol were actually in Europe. George said he wanted Carol to see our house - he'd been here last year for my final After San Diego Con party - but I think it was to show her the "comic book bathroom" which is now filled floor to ceiling with Titans toys and other comic memorabilia. We all had a great dinner, talked, discussed the upcoming Titans graphic novel and many, many other things as well. Once George gets home he'll upload the digital pictures he took to me and I'll post one or two here.

I have a weird question. Does any Titans fan out there know exactly how many Teen Titans stories I wrote? That would include all incarnations of the Titans and in every version (team-ups, digest stories, etc.). I've been saying approximately 250 stories, but that's always been an estimate. I'd love to have the actual number.

Just to let everyone here know that I've added a THIRD TITANS TOY PAGE to this site, filled with a lot of the new Titans stuff that is either already on sale or soon to be. If you want to go directly to the third page and check it out, CLICK HERE. If you want to see the entire Titans Toys section, starting with the old Mego Titans and everything since, CLICK HERE. And finally, if anyone knows of a past, present or future Titans Toy that I've missed, let me know and I'll add it to these and future pages. I'm trying to put together a complete list and display of every Teen Titans toy made. Thanks.

Everyone has been badmouthing the new Catwoman movie starring Halle Berry, but Len Wein and I saw it yesterday and frankly, we enjoyed it. Yes, it's not an equal to Spider-Man-2, and it has absolutely nothing to do with DC's Catwoman, but on its own it was fun. I wouldn't give it a rave review, and frankly, I might not have even mentioned it had it not been received so badly, but we went there looking for a light weight movie that would be a decent time waster between scheduled events and we got better than that. Halle Berry is actually quite good in the role, deftly separating her pre and post Catwoman selves. The story doesn't make much sense, but it moves along and you care for Halle's character. Fact is, if this were on the WB as a two hour pilot, it would have gotten a great review, and maybe its problem is that its small story is more a TV movie than a theatrical, but if you ignore the venue you might come out of it smiling a bit. It'll play just as well on video, however, so wait til it comes out on DVD and rent or buy it then.

I realized it was time for a quick explanation of this website and its many features for the newcomers out there as well as some regulars who haven't explored the hundred plus pages we have here. We, by the way, meaning me. If you go to the links directly to the right you'll see the contents of this site. In order they are:

Weblog - Well, if you're reading this you're on my weblog page. I update this page every day or so when I've got something to say. Sometimes it's entertaining, sometimes, well, I dunno. My mind is a wonderful thing to waste.

marvwolfman.com - This is the main page which tells folk who I am and some of the things I've done. It has some cool pictures of a few of the characters I've created and the actors who have played them on TV or in the movies.

Secrets of the Teen Titans - Brings you directly to the first of my Teen Titans pages. From here you can discover how the Titans were put together, the original drawing I did of Titans Tower that I gave to George Perez to render in his usual magnificent style, several pages on the various Titans toys, past, present and future, and an article on the upcoming Titans graphic novel that George and I are working on. As an added bonus, when you enter our first Titans page you will be greeted by that addictive animated Titans theme song.

The Man Called A-X - Is the first page of many, many pages detailing all the issues of The Man Called A-X, a book created by Shawn McManus and me about ten years ago. A-X was published by both Malibu Comics and DC Comics and these pages review every published issue as well as some revealing some other surprise goodies.

Mighty Mites - These pages explain a wonderfully cute potential cartoon series created by CGI artist Scott Sava and me. They're fun. Take a look.

Office Tour - For some reason people like seeing the offices of the pros. Don't ask me why, but I took photographs of my work space for those strange folk to see.

Fun Fotos - Trip photos, convention photos and more. What else can I say?

Resume - The name says it all. This is a resume of most of the work I've done. Of no interest to anyone but future employers, historians and those interested in trivia.

Q&A - This is my question and answer page. if you have a question about my work or comics or whatever,and I feel it's something the readers of this site would be interested in, I'll post the answer here. Other quick questions I answer by email. So if you have a question,go right ahead and ask.

What Th--? - Is the most extensive sub-section on this whole site. This features 66 columns that I've written about writing, comics, TV, movies, interviews with the pros, and more. The writing columns are marked with a (WR) for easy access. If you're interested in writing or anything else, give this section a look.

Scripts For Sale - Lots of people have asked about buying some of my comic book and animated scripts. I don't have a lot of them available - most were lost over time, but if you're interested in seeing a comic book script or an animated cartoon script, take a look here.

That's it. As I say I think there are way over a hundred pages here to keep you busy. And there's even more. If you go to the bottom of this weblog page, you'll see a link to my weblog archives. I keep updating this site to make it fun. I really hope I've succeeded, and if anyone out there has ideas for pages they'd like to see me do, just click on the Email Marv button at the top right of this page. Thanks.

Well, Comicon International is over and I'm still exhausted. It's a half mile from the wall on one side of the convention to the other, and I must've made the trip a thousand times, interrupted every eight inches because of the teeming crowds. Over one hundred thousand, a first for an American convention. Other folk have done extensive reviews of the con, so I won't. But I had a great time and my panels all went well, especially my writing seminar.

Honest to God I thought I'd have maybe ten people there max. I'm not diminishing myself here but I was on opposite the Batman Begins/Constantine panel which had actors from both movies present, including Keanu Reaves. As people streamed into my room and as the seats filled up so the attendees actually had to line the walls, I started to panic. I'd done these things before, to five or ten people at a time, but never to several hundred. Fortunately, I've done enough panels over the years so nobody knew how nervous I was, and the seminar went well. For those who were there and especially for those who weren't, some of the things I discussed can be read in the first couple of writing columns on my WHAT TH--? web pages. We talked about plot, theme and story. Next year, if I'm asked to do this again, I'll talk about character creation.

I didn't get a chance to get to many panels, but I did want to thank David Slack, producer and story-editor for the Teen Titans animated series, and Sam Register of the Cartoon Network for their constant kindness. They pointed me out in the WB animated cartoon panel audience and had me stand to huge applause. I was also encouraged to join David and his writers as well as several of the Titans voice artists at a signing at the Bandai booth. Bandai is doing a wonderful job with all the Teen Titans toys. Guys, thank you again for all your wonderful words and the honest respect you've shown for the work George Perez and I put into the Titans comic so many years ago. The Bandai signing went extremely well. It was a real thrill not only to see adults in line, but also so many little kids who actually love what Sam, David, Glen and company are doing on the show. It's wonderful to see kids so into the Titans that they all have their favorites. Talk about massive ego-boos.

I did spend some time with Titans co-creator George Perez as he wandered the convention floor, and a little time with my Dracula co-conspirator Gene Colan and his lovely wife Adrienne at their table in artist's alley. The Florida weather seems to have been good to them.The convention was so big I never ran into Roy and Dann Thomas or many of the other friends I was hoping to see there.

At any rate, the con was really great this year. As my pal Mark Evanier said, this was no longer a single con. It's many conventions all in one space. If you don't like comics you can still spend all four days from opening to close immersed in an altogether different con.

How much better can it get?

Heading off to San Diego. This page will return next week. But in the meantime...

Last night I saw a preview of Spider-Man 2. No, before you think I cut and pasted the wrong lead-in, I didn't. I saw a preview of Spidey-2 in an IMAX theater on a huge six million foot screen, or whatever they actually are. Despite my concerns, the movie works this large; it's clear, sharp and the sound, like the sound at all Imax presentations, is incredible. I still enjoyed the film, but this time I was able to see a few things I missed the first time around. But then, I was making constant notes for my review which appeared in Creative Screenwriter On Line.

I had wanted to see Spidey again, and seeing it in Imax was a major plus (do so when it comes to your area) but the real reason I went was the guests who spoke after the film: John Dystra and the special effects managers. They talked about how the effects work was done, showed DVD presentation - which looked incredible on the large screen - of every step of the process - and surprised me with how much stuff was actually done in CGI - like most of the shots of New York in which you see a CGI Spidey webslings across the city, including the cars and people below. I met Dykstra once before - not that I met him here, to be honest - when I wrote the comic adaptation of Star Trek The Motionless Picture. Dykstra set the standards when he did Star Wars, and with Spidey-2 he is continuing to set them. I want to thank Dykstra and his team for a wonderful show.

These days you see a lot of fan movies on the net, some really good, some, well, not so good. But Neil Davidson sent the url of a - I hesitate to call it a fan film - of a film trailer for "GRAYSON," the story of Dick Grayson as a slightly older man who had quit being Robin and now, because of circumstances, finds he has to return to the cape. Let me say this is incredibly good with a huge cast and amazing locations. There's also a few surprise guests in it that are wonderfully cast and used. They will surprise you. Directed, written and starring John Fiorella, the "trailer" is amazingly well done and frankly I'd love to see the actual movie. If you've ever had a reason to complain about some super-hero movies, take a look at "GRAYSON." Thanks again for pointing this one out, Neil. And if this link doesn't lead you directly there, copy and paste the following: http://theforce.net/theater/nonsw/grayson/

Now that the word is out on several Titans related websites that Brother Blood makes his appearance in season three of the animated Titans series, and that they will be introducing Titans East, a new group of teen heroes, I can finally say that I wrote the first part of a two-part third season ender which not only introduces Titans East but also features the evil Brother Blood. He's a bit different, okay, a lot different from the religious fanatic original George and I created, but like the Titans themselves, if you scrape past some of the surface stuff, he's not all that unlike ours.

In the next week or so I'll be putting up a new page of Titans toys which are and will be available at your neighborhood shops.I'm really doing this as much for me as for everyone out there as I want to have as complete a list as possible on all Titans toys. So, if anyone out there learns of a Titans-related whatever it might be that's going on sale, let me know click EMAIL MARV to the right and I'll thank you by name on this site (unless you wish to remain anonymous, of course).

For those intrerested, no, even though I co-created almost all the characters being done, I am usually not told in advance what is coming out or when, and I have no input into future designs. So don't write to me expecting I can give an intelligent answer. I cna't even tell you where in your neighborhood the toys are sold, although I've seen them at Toys R Us. Like you, I either stumble across the info on the net or some kind soul sends me the info. When DC Direct releases a toy or whatever based on the characters I created for them, I am usually told about it, and of course they send me a couple once they've been released. I've even suggested a number of toys or action figures that they later did, including a whole new line coming out later this year, but I really don't have any special knowledge of the toys released by Bandai. Fortunately, DC, being the good guys, sends me as much of the stuff as they can. Right now I've got dozens of Titans Toys lining the walls of my downstairs "Comic Book Bathroom." They are cool. Thanks to everyone at DC for their continued kindness.

Now, if the other guys would send me the toys and figures based on the characters I created for them, I'd really be happy.

I think I've mentioned before that a bunch of us get together on a regularly irregular schedule for a Games Day. There's games going on in every corner of whichever house Games Day is being held at. Walk into one room and a quartet is playing Mah Jongg. In another room there's Hero Clix. We play Trivial Pursuit and a whole bunch of other games, too. Last weekend, as we have several times before, we played Munchkin an addictive card game from Steve Jackson Games. For those who've never played it, Munchkin is fairly simple to learn - a must for someone like me who gets bogged down trying to figure out the rules for dunking for apples. It's a lot of fun and even more so if someone you're playing with knows other 'fannish' games as well because there's always some obscure reference to a slew of other games. I'm not sure how it happened, but this time around I actually won, a first for me. At any rate, a day or two later I got an e-mail from John Kovalic the writer/artist and all around nice guy behind a very funny comic, game and God knows what else called Dork Tower as well as artist behind Munchkins who told me that a new set of cards called Munchkin Bites is coming out soon. He sent me a jpeg of one of the cards, so guess who's pictured on #100 which is mysteriously called Marv The Wolfman and features a certain spectacle wearing writer, his typewriter and the crypt labeled "Tomb of Dracula." Anyone we know, John? When I mentioned to him that I had just played the game and actually won, the guy who drew all the cards and did God knows what else on the game, wrote back and said, "I have *never* won a game of Munchkin, by the way. People gang up on me from the start. They think because I drew the cards I have some insight into how the game is played. HAH!" At any rate, if you like games, pick up Munchkins. I think you'll like it. And thanks John and Steve for the card honor. I will actually cherish it.

My dream has come true. Maybe it's not a big dream but it's something I'd certainly been hoping for. Today's News reader VU SEEKER sent me the following link to Marz Distributors and a couple of Halloween costumes that I wish came in adult sizes. Man, I've been hoping for Teen Titans costumes since I co-created them a gazillion years ago. I love the Cyborg and Raven costumes. Although I think I wouldn't really look good in that purple cowl. There is also a nifty Robin costume, but you'll have to go to the Marz website to see it. Anyway, check out all the costumes and keep checking their site for the upcoming Titans Bobbleheads including Terra and Slade. As a bobblehead fan, I really can't wait for those! Of course, why isn't there a Starfire costume and bobblehead? If anyone's head should bobble it's Kory. You can CLICK on the pictures to go to closeups of them or go to the Marz website and see what else they're offering. Thanks for the tip, Vu.

Just a reminder: Michael Chabon's ESCAPIST #3 published by Dark Horse, which features a 22-page story by me, was just published and should be at your shops even as you read this. If you're a fan of the old EC COMICS you've got to read it. I really loved this one and am anxiously awaiting any comments you might have. Please let me know, okay.

I want to keep away from discussing politics for as long as possible. Sometimes it just starts to become overwhelming in its mind-numbing insanity. So...

Freddy Avalos read my link to the - I think fan-made Spider-Man 2 Lego movie and sent the following links for some professionally made Lego Star Wars films. For one on ol' Darth Vader himself, CLICK HERE and for Han Solo, CLICK HERE. It amazes me what folk can do with Lego. Thanks, Freddy.

It reminds me of when I was editor of Disney Adventures Magazine in the early 90s. We were in competition with a number of sources to get the Lego advertising account. There were some kids TV shows and other kids magazine all vying for their account which would be big money to whoever got it. For some reason I don't understand instead of the assignment going to where it should go - the magazine's advertising department, it came to me as editor of DA's comic section. I had always liked Lego but, like most adults, hadn't played with them for years, and certainly didn't realize how sophisticated they'd become. I knew I had to come up with a comics' campaign but I also knew I was going up against Nickelodeon, even the Channel and other places withg far more money that we had. I sat there for awhile, trying to remember what I loved about Lego when I was younger, and finally hit on the obvious - Lego was all about the imagination of the user. They weren't something that was already built and could only be put together one way; anything you could imagine could be made, as long as your design used those little fit-together blocks. I wrote a four page comic, got it illustrated, lettered and colored, and we used that as our pitch. And somehow, against all odds, our little campaign won out against the big guys. I wrote all the Disney Adventures Lego ads for the next year and had a ball playing with the sets of Lego I requested for "research purposes only." Right. Don't remember what happened to the sets after I left Disney, but I hope someone somewhere is using their imagination and turning them into giant killer robots. At least.

The 9th and final collection of BONE by the always amazingly good Jeff Smith was just released, and like all its previous volumes, this one has to be on your must have list. The thing about BONE is as good as the issues are individually, they are actually better when read one right after the other. Whereas some people have told me that they found Bone was getting slow around the middle, when you read the collections the story takes on a different kind of urgency than when you're waiting weeks between issues.

But then I've been a BONE fan from the beginning, latching onto the title with issue 2 or 3. I was the Comics Editor of Disney Adventures magazine back then and I immediately got in touch with Jeff and offered to reprint some of his Bone stories in the digest - exposing the characters to more than a million readers every month. Jeff also did original Bone material for us and I couldn't be more proud.

I congratulate Jeff and his lovely wife, Vijaya, on not only completing this incredible achievement in comics art, but doing it with class. And I urge everyone to buy the volumes. You can get them directly from Cartoon Books by CLICKING HERE and going to the Boneville general store.

Everyone has been talking about Fahrenheit 9/11 so I thought -- why not me? It seems, based on the various blogs and articles I've read that the biggest criticism to it is that it's not a documentary, but a biased film. Well, that's like complaining that a Pauly Shore movie (not that anyone makes them anymore, thank God) is gonna be dumb. Moore himself says he made the film to get Bush out office. I don't think you can criticize a film for not being something it's not supposed to be. I think you have to take it for what it's trying to do and then judge how well it does it.

That said, I actually feel that the movie doesn't go far enough to hammer its point home. Moore pulled back all too often and somewhere down the way lost track of what he was trying to say. Not enough time was spent on what Bush did on 9/11. Why he disappeared for most of the day, where Chaney went for what was it? Two weeks? Moore instead got boggled down with Iraq, even as we have, and not enough was spent reminding people that the killers who were actually responsible for 9/11 have pretty much been ignored. When was the last time he really talked about Bin Laden and company?

I was impressed with the film but as I say, for what it was supposed to be it didn't go far enough. If you're going to do something, and you know in advance you're going to be blasted by everyone who already hates you,you might as well say exactly what's on your mind.

Two last related but not 9/11 thoughts. This weekend on his radio show, President Bush proposed an amendment to the constitution banning Gay marriage. It won't pass, but I am pleased that he has come right out and said that despite the constitution it is his thought that all men are not created equal. I want to hear his political, not religious reasons, for why the government should get involved with and pass a law abridging people's rights. No one has yet proven how Gay marriage actually affects straight marriage in any way. If you've got a problem with gays, you may not like it, but it's actually none of your business and honestly doesn't change your life one bit.

Also this weekend the word has began to circulate that people - not necessarily those in the Administration - are making contingency plans concerning postponing the election should we be attacked. Seems to me we had elections during the Civil War, World War One, Two, Korea and Vietnam. What difference does it make where an attack is taking place? If the election is postponed not only "do the terrorists win" but who is to say how long this postponement would take? A week? A month? Four years? And during this, would the opposing candidate be able to criticize anyone? Although the Administration says it is not considering this, it would probably not be a bad idea to keep our eyes open.

HERE IS THE UPDATED SCHEDULE

THURSDAY JULY 22

SPOTLIGHT ON ROMEO TANGHAL. I interview my Titans co-conspirator/inker. 4PM Room 7B.

FRIDAY JULY 23

FROM IDEAS TO SCRIPT - A seminar on writing and creating. 1PM Room 1B

SATURDAY JULY 24

DEVIL'S DUE. A new comics company and I'm working with them to start a new title. Learn all about it. 12:30 PM Room 9.

SUNDAY JULY 25

A GIRL'S WORLD. A.G.W. is one of the most popularinternet sites for girls that has, among other things, online comics. We will be discussing The Ponytailers, a girl's comic, as well as new media publication.10:30 AM Room 2.

JULIUS SCHWARTZ MEMORIAL PANEL. We discuss Julie's life and times and his influence on pretty much every comics fan at the convention. 11:30 RM 8.

You can also find me walking through the hall almost all the time I'm not attending some panel as a fan, and if I'm not knee-deep in an obviously private or business discussion, c'mon over.

Because I stupidly hid it in a paragraph, I don't know if any of you saw the url below to the Lego version of Spider-Man 2, but if you haven't, do a cut and paste and see it. It's in Quicktime so you should be able to download it if you don't have broadband. It's really wonderfully funny and bizarre and very well directed.

The Republican National Committee, seconds after John Kerry announced the other day that John Edwards as his running mate, put up a huge diatribe on their internet site declaring Kerry and Edwards the most liberal Senators in the country, or something to that effect. People has since been arguing back and forth because some surveys say Edwards is actually fairly conservative. I think this is a lot of garbage and incredibly dangerous.

When the Republicans say that the Johns are too liberal the answer cannot be "No, we're not." It has to be "Yeah, so what?" The RNC have succeeded in making the word liberal into something one has to parse and decide HOW Liberal you are. 10%? 30%? 96.4%? No. Being Liberal should be as much of a badge of honor to liberals as being conservative is to conservatives. We shouldn't try to backstep into defending our position. I'm proud to be liberal and I'm very pro-U.S. I'm against anyone forcing their beliefs and religion on me, but I have no problem in them believing anything they damn well want to believe. basic rule of thumb: keep out of my face and I'll keep out of yours. So, liberals,don't let them set the agenda. They're clever because they've stigmatized not only a word but our political beliefs.

It's time to hit them back and hard!

If you've seen Spider-Man 2, or even if you haven't here's an URL you cannot resist. It's the entire Spider-Man film on Quicktime - sort of, if Spider-Man had been filmed with Legos. It's only a few minutes long, but you have to see it to believe it. It's actually wonderfully made. For some reason I can't create a direct link, so copy and paste this one: http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1277883&sdm=web&qtw=640&qth=400

Back on JUNE 22 - I'll wait until you read it - I asked a question about dealers charging their customers more for autographed comics that people like me signed for them for free. I wanted to know what you thought of this. I asked the question on this website and I also asked a large number of professionals on a list serive I'm on, and I got an amazing number of different answers.

Interestingly, most fans were bothered by the idea of a dealer not telling creators in advance what they were doing. The majority of fans definitely felt creators should get something out of the signing and they thought the 25 cents I asked for was pretty low and highly fair. Interestingly, even though they are against what the dealer did and feel they should be selling the signed copies for cover price (if they're new comics, of course) they didn't have any problem paying more for autographed copies if push came to shove. Although almost everyone felt if dealers did charge extra they should pay the professionals for their service, while a few suggested that the money be donated to a charity like the CBDLF or ACTOR. I like that idea.

On the other hand, the professionals were absolutely divided over the concept. Many felt those kinds of dealers were evil incarnate who were ripping them off, while others felt it was business as usual; good publicity for the comics and for us. But some, countering that argument, felt professionals get absolutely no benefit if a dealer sells someone a comic they got free for extra money and that it might hurt us. The pros went at this vociferously arguing the point for a few days. Almost none, however, no matter which side they were on, made any comment about my asking the dealer for 25 cents a comic.

In general, the professionals seemed to be evenly split between those who said lighten up and don't worry about it and those who wanted to lob grenades at the dealers. The fans seemed to actually care more for the creators sharing in the profits than the professionals did.

I'm not sure what I learned and I'm still not sure what I'll do when confronted with the problem next time. I do know I'm going to try to pay more attention to whether I'm signing for a fan or a dealer. Most fans felt I should charge dealers a quarter a copy if they were going to sell the books for more, but they also knew it wasn't a matter of money. I just don't like people charging others for something I'd give to them free. I think it may come down to how I'm asked and how many copies. This dealer didn't put all this copies of, say, R.I.P. - a little seen comic I did for TSR Comics back in the 90s - in one stack. He brought them to me in dribs and drabs as if trying to disguise what I was signing. If he was more upfront I might not have gotten hot and bothered.

At any rate, while I'm trying to figure out what to do, I will always sign fan's comics free. I've never been an autograph collector myself, in my entire life I've only asked two writers to sign my book: Ray Bradbury and Alfred Bester, but I know some people really like their books personalized. The decision's still out on what I'll do for dealers.

But I wanted to thank everyone for their letters. I have them all in my files. Thanks.

SPIDEY SPOILER WARNING!!! I loved the new Spidey movie, as mentioned below, and gave it a strong review on the daily Creative Screenwriter weblist. It will probably be on their regular website Friday, as is their wont. But I did want to elaborate, reminding you again that there are SPOILER WARNINGS here for those who haven't yet seen it. If not, go to the movies then come back.

Ahh, good to see you again. It was pretty good, wasn't it? I gave Spidey a 4 1/2 stars because although it is a really great movie, more than just a great super-hero movie, a great movie period, there are a few minor problems with it that I wanted to see if they bothered anyone else. At least two plot points and a few personal problems. Plot point A: If Doc Ock was trying to get Peter Parker and, according to Harry's instructions, cause him no harm, then why did he hurl a giant car through a plate glass window in order to do so? If Peter wasn't Spidey, he'd be dead. And even Ock needed him alive in order to get information out of him. B: Aunt May's financial problem wasn't settled at the end of the movie. Does that mean she's being forced to move? Now, to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I'll offer some logical suggestions here. 1: The scene where her problem was solved was cut from the film because of time and will be replaced in the DVD. Sam Raimi has already stated that he'll be adding back cut scenes. 2: This was left deliberately unresolved as a set up for Spider-Man 3. Either way is fine, better than they forgot, and the film is too intelligently put together for us to assume that. I prefer the 1st reason, however. If it was reason number 2 then they should have hit the point more dramatically for the audience. Of course, there may be an even more clever solution #3.

As for what bothered me about the movie on a personal basis - though again it's so minor I'm nit-picking here - there were too many (three being too many, by the way) instances where they repeated a beat from the first movie. I forget one of them right now,but 2 is the citizens of New York, in the train sequence,standing up to Doc Ock as they did Green Goblin on the Roosevelt Island tram. The third was the worst, where Doc Ock essentially talks to himself (or his arms) as they take him over, where we watch Ock's transition from sane to insane. Even though it was handled differently, it's the same underlying concept as the Goblin talking to his reflection. The arms taking him over could have been done without touching on the same beat.

By the way, I have no problem with all the Spidey unmasked sequences as others did. I think that was pretty much the theme of the movie.

These, in summation, are my only problems with the movie and except for why the car went through the window, they are truly minor complaints. This is how good the film is. Sam Raimi and company have given us our dreams . As someone who has written the character, in my mind without doubt this movie is Spider-Man down to the last detail and probably more emotional than any Spidey story has even been, with the possible exception of the "Master Planner's" lifting-the-debris sequence, which they sort of use here to a lesser degree. Now, if only this could be the benchmark for every super-hero movie to come, comic book fans would be in nineteenth heaven.

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