With Bone going the way of Cerebus this month, Salon paws over the legacy of the two comic series.
Month: June 2004
Flattering 42.
“‘Bill Clinton could always see a better day ahead and Americans knew he was working hard to bring that day closer,’ Bush said. ‘Over eight years it was clear that Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy. He’s a man of enthusiasm and warmth, who could make a compelling case and effectively advance the causes that drew him to public service.’” At the unveiling of the Clinton presidential portraits, Bush effusively praises his predecessor. Very nice of ya, Dubya, but you’re still not getting my Bud Light…or my vote. Nor do I expect such flattery to defang Clinton on his forthcoming book tour.
The Art of the Kickback.
Meanwhile, Dubya has less to say about a sweetheart corporate tax package being pushed through Congress by the GOP, one that offers ridiculous handouts to various Republican-leaning business special interests. “[W]hat started as an effort to repeal a $5 billion-a-year subsidy has grown into one of the most significant corporate tax measures in years. The Senate bill, 980 pages long, includes more than $167 billion in business tax cuts over 10 years, handing out favors to NASCAR racetracks, foreign dog-race gamblers, Oldsmobile dealers and bow-and-arrow makers, to name a few.” Hmmm…might be time to invest in bow-and-arrow futures. Update: The bill passes the House.
Almost there.
Detroit D’s up again, and are now only one game away from knocking off the vaunted Lakers in 5. This should’ve been a sweep, if not for Game 2’s ugly last minute. Still, I’ll play it safe and continue believing Pistons-in-7. LA is too good and Shaq too dominant not to have at least one breakout game. Or at least I used to think so. With Kobe sabotaging his own team, who knows?
Mad as a Batter.
Newsweek visits the set of Batman Begins, and offers up a few new pictures of the Caped Crusader, including one of a pre-Scarecrow Cillian Murphy getting a severe talking-to from the Long-Eared one. ‘Bout time we saw the villains, no?
The Sub-Par-Mariner.
Also in comic film news, Marvel angles for Chris Columbus to direct Namor. Well, there went what little interest I had in the project…except maybe if they cast Hugo Weaving.
Dubya to the Dogs.
While authorization for attack dog intimidation techniques implicate intelligence higher-ups in the horrors of Abu Ghraib, Bush gets legalistic to (not) explain the pro-torture policies emanating from his administration. Hmmm. I bet the White House is wishing Reagan could die every week right now.
Smeagol goes Ape.
The rumors are true: Peter Jackson talks more about Andy Serkis (Gollum) as King Kong.
Minions of the Mediocre One.
Details emerge about the opening space sequence of Episode III. I feel bad for the FX guys interviewed here, as you could tell from the many design flourishes in the background of Episode II that they were bringing much more quality craftsmanship to the table than Lucas, McCallum, and a lot of the actors.
Straight to Video.
Come to Butthead…A new Alien Vs. Predator trailer appeared last night during the MTV Movie Awards and, as feared, this looks like an embarrassing franchise-killer for Ripley’s nemeses. Pretty sad, really.