Steve Gerber RIP (plus the Lone Gunmen on important matters)

Note to self, do not start your day by rereading Garth Ennis' PUNISHER. And especially not "The Slavers" storyline. Excuse me, I think I've got to go cry now.



It doesn't help that yesterday, Steve Gerber died. Most of you will be asking "Who?" Well, I'd like to tell you in a way that does him justice, but I am ashamed to admit that I'm not the man for the job. It's like when Vonnegut died all over again. Here's an incredibly important and influential writer whose work I have largely missed, and now I feel decidedly left out.

So until some of the fine folks at scans_daily can post some examples of why Gerber death is such a powerful loss for the world of comics, I present you with two fine obituaries/tributes by Tom Spurgeon and Mark Evanier.

With nothing of my own insight to add to the breadth and weight of Gerber's work as a whole, I will instead echo robyn_ma's excellent thought:

I hereby declare that the Howard the Duck movie no longer exists, so that we no longer have to add disclaimers: 'Steve Gerber was a genius. He created Howard the Duck but the movie version totally fucked it up so don't blame him for that.'

No. Just 'Steve Gerber was a genius. He created Howard the Duck.' Full stop.



On, and for the STAR TREK and/or X-FILES fans out there, The Lone Gunmen argue who was better: Kirk or Picard.

I also enjoy Toyfare's take with their Picard/Kirk fight: Kirk takes off his shirt, so Picard has no chance but to take off his pants and throws them at Kirk. "... Pants? You've just violated the rules of engagement!"

The Ugly Ralph Fiennes Strikes Again!

Up until a minute ago, I really could have given a rat's ass about the G.I. JOE movie.

Look, I was always more of a Joe fan as a kid than a Transformers fan. Not that I ever expressly loved the show or anything, but I loved the characters. What an awesome cast of heroes and villains! Flint, Snake Eyes, Major Bludd, Dr. Mindbender, Storm Shadow, Zartan, Cobra Commander, the Baroness...

... mmm... the Baroness... excuse me, be back in five minutes...

(two minutes pass)

Right. Now, where was I?

So, yeah. G.I. JOE. Truth be told, I was way more of a GHOSTBUSTERS kid with touches of HE-MAN, but G.I. JOE was ever-present, with all those great action figures. Indeed, if I wanted to sum up my childhood in three coked-out-on-pop-rocks-and-pixie-sticks minutes, this is the video to watch:

Pure, glorious crack, ain't it?

But really, especially after the epic cock-up that was TRANSFORMERS, I wasn't giving a damn about the G.I. JOE movie. Sure, Dennis Quaid as Hawk is nice, but then there's the thought of Sienna Miller playing the Baroness (Monica Bellucci immediately springs to mind, but Miller??), and have it all being helmed by Stephen "VAN HELSING" Sommers, and I just... ehh, apathy abounds.

But just minutes ago, they announced who was playing Destro. You know Destro? The no-nonsense hardcore metal-headed Scottish arms dealer, the only man badass enough to repeatedly sex up the Baroness while still being the emotional anchor to his hetero lifemate, Cobra Commander*?

Destro was going to be played by some guy named David Murray, but he dropped out. So who oh who did they get to replace him?

Christopher Eccleston.



Hell. Yes.

Fuck it. I'm interested now. Let's hope it's at least entertaining and that the characters are interesting. Because that alone? That's just casting excellence, that is.



*Destro's relationship to Cobra Commander is sort of like what a more badass, no-nonsense Kif would be to a megalomaniacal Zap Brannigan. Would others agree in this assessment?