Scott & Dave setting up at American Booksellers (1991?)

Regardless, 50,000 page views in 15 months means that I’m averaging more than 110 page view per day.

Dave, Scott, Chris and Tom at American Booksellers Convention in 1990

As everyone who reads this probably knows, from 1987 to 1995, I was the publisher of Malibu Comics. Originally it was called Malibu Graphics, but we changed it. We published comics under a variety of imprints, Eternity, Aircel, Adventure, Platinum Editions, Bravura. Malibu was even the publisher of Image Comics for the first year of its existence.

Malibu started out as four guys, two working in the back porch of a trailer in Newbury Park, California and the other two working from an enormous warehouse in Commerce, California. For the record that means me, Scott Rosenberg, Chris Ulm and Tom Mason.

Scott Rosenberg and an unsung hero at Malibu Comics, Dan Danko.

By the time Marvel Comics bought Malibu Comics, we had over 100 employees … including a color department that worked three-shifts plus a division that made video games and a “movie” division.

I’ve already posted four pieces of the formation of Malibu Comics.
The secret origin of Malibu Comics (part one)
The secret origin of Malibu Comics (part two)
The secret origin of Malibu Comics (part three)
The secret origin of Malibu Comics (part four)
I plan to do more than will detail as best I can the trials, tribulations, mistakes, failures and hard work that we all put into Malibu.

Tom, Dave & Chris waiting for an elevator to go to the SHOW.

Malibu could not have been successful without the hard work of a large number of dedicated employees. Some came and went quickly. Others came and stayed and made enormous contribution. Some became like family. Our first two editorial employees were Dan Danko and Mickie Villa. Dan stayed to the very end. Mickie might have, but she found love at a comic book convention and moved to be with her new husband (who worked at Marvel).

A few months ago, one of the many former Malibu Comics employees set up a Facebook group for Malibu Alumni. It is full of all sorts of pictures from back in Malibu’s heyday, most of the pictures seem to have been taken when groups got together to either make funny faces … or to eat. If the pictures were any kind of indication, the gang at Malibu was out eating most of the time (and dressing in the bad costume styles of the day).

Then the other day, Mickie Villa from the wilds of Washington state, posted a number of the pictures featured here from her personal collection. I liked them so much that I buckled down and posted them here.

Author (and friend) Gerard Jones with the radiant Mickie Villa (at a comic convention)

Thank you Mickie. It inspired me and reminded me how sad I am that I have so few photographs of my days at Malibu Comics. These are great memories. An enormous reminder that time stands still for now one … squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of every day.

*** AND TAKE MORE PICTURES ***
You’ll never be this young again.

For those of you who know any of us personally, I hope you find these pictures entertaining. For everyone else, just Marvel at the fashion sense of comics folks from the late 8o’s and early 90′s.

That’s my version of the story.

–Dave Olbrich (DWO) Fri. Jan. 29, 2010

This is my daughter, Maggie. She’s a beautiful, funny, opinionated, energetic girl and she’s just not very tall (5 foot 3 inches). Despite what Jaime Hernandez thinks, my daughter isn’t named after the character that he created for his truly AMAZING comic accomplishment LOVE & ROCKETS.

She’s also got a wonderful movie-oriented blog that she updates as often as she can, what with her full-time job, social life and bowling commitments. I highly recommend it. So after you watch the video below, go read her blog HERE.

I don’t know who those other people are in the video. Enjoy.

Alan Moore at a party

A Funny Book Fanatic can dream can’t he?

And so can the humor dudes in Wisconsin.

From the “too good not to pass along file” comes the following story from America’s finest daily humor source, The Onion.

Click on the graphic below to read the whole “story.”

CLICK ME !!! • CLICK ME !!!

Consider this an official Funny Book Fanatic plug. Read my blog first (just in case I update it more often … sorry about that regular readers!) then go directly to read The Onion, which is full of great stuff every day and often makes extremely funny comic book references.

Too bad Moore would probably never let Vertigo publish this non-existent biography. But it is good for a “mass media meets geek” inside-joke giggle nonetheless.

That’s my version of the story.

— Dave Olbrich (DWO) Tue. Nov. 4, 2009

Watch the whole thing. It will take a minute or two, but eventually the discussion turns directly toward subject matter of significant interest to Funny Book Fanatics (after all … that’s why you’re here dear reader … right?) I think you’ll agree with me and be converted to the Megan Fox bandwagon. I suspect that this is the beginning of many more posts on this subject.

My daughter, Maggie, and I saw young Megan Fox on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. We were deconstructing her appeal based on the information we had at the time. While we both were pleasantly surprised by the first Transformers movie, it didn’t really have anything to do with Megan. We decided that her problem was a lack of obvious personality. While she was nice to look at … her appeal seemed to end right there. “She’s too … well … generic,” Maggie said. I agreed. We suspected that men were attracted to her in a Barbie doll sort of way, not in a cool-girl-to-hang-and-talk-with sort of way.

Megan Fox shows more personality in these few minutes with Kimmel than she did the entire length of Transformers I.

I blame her publicity people. If she really is as cool as she appears in this Kimmel segment, she needs to find more ways to show it. Not being a regular viewer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! (even though I like the guy) and not being a fan of Megan Fox (at least until recently) I would never have seen this clip without the help of acquaintance/artist/Facebook friend Joyce Chin. So thanks Joyce.

I’m sorry Megan! I take it all back. And I’ll even have a talk with Maggie.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just in case you haven’t heard this rumor (it is about sixty days old at this point), CLICK on the picture and it will take you to a page detailing even more ties … both real and rumored … between Hollywood’s hottest (both in career momentum and physical beauty) actress and the wonderful world of funny books.

CLICK on the picture for more Megan meets Comics news!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I POST THE FOLLOWING PICTURE WITHOUT COMMENT …  YET!

Artist Steven Butler, Writer Roland Mann and ME!

Thanks to Roland Mann for this photographic trip down memory lane.

That’s my version of the story.

— Dave Olbrich (DWO) Sat. June 27, 2009

I promise you won’t see this kind of post very often. In the morning, I often turn my television to CNBC. I don’t know how much longer I will continue this practice. I like to know what is going on in the world, especially in the world of money. I like to expose myself to differing thoughts and opinions. But sadly it seems that the recent financial crisis and the election of President Obama have had a negative effect on the broadcasting at CNBC.

The radicals and enemies of the middle class and American work have come to the forefront. With additional sadness, I’ve watched as these corporate SHILLS have started to dominate the discussion of American business on CNBC. A disturbing “point of view” has emerged that isn’t limited to Larry Kudlow and Melissa Francis, the shrill skreech of both Dennis Kneale and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera often shout down the more moderate voices of both their guests and their fellow “deskmates” Bill Griffeth and Sue Herera.  Perhaps, as I’ve said, I’ll just have to turn it off … but in the meantime I’ve written an open letter to the people at CNBC detailing my outrage.

THE CALL is the name of the morning program that features Melissa Francis and Larry Kudlow.

Two people who deserve (in my opinion) to be jobless and homeless.

To whom it may concern at CNBC:

Why don’t Melissa Francis and Larry Kudlow just say, “We’re 100% behind f*&#ing the American worker and f*&#ing the American consumer. Rich people are smarter than poor people, that’s why they’re rich and why poor people are poor. Rich people deserve to be richer and poor people deserve to be poorer and the government should insure that this process continues. And we don’t really need a middle class as long as the crumbs effectively trickle down to the homeless and nearly homeless.”

Isn’t it time these two corporate STOOGES reveal their prejudices? C’mon, just be honest. Stop the pretense. You’ve sold out. You have no journalistic distance or credibility.

Do either of these fugitives from FOX NEWS belong to a broadcasters union?

I think CNBC could make a lot more money if they got rid of the horrible and unnecessary labor costs involved in THEIR salaries. Show these corporate SHILLS the door. In this economy CNBC can EASILY find someone who can do it cheaper and better. (Larry and Melissa would agree that it is CNBC’s corporate responsibility to do so.)

How much benefit could CNBC see in the long run if CNBC were to declare bankruptcy so that the broadcasters contracts could be voided. And while you’re at it, void everyone’s contract: producers, camera-men, technicians … there must be a HUGE opportunity here to improve the profit margins if CNBC could pay all these people minimum wage.

Hey, there are HUGE corporate benefits to high unemployment. It becomes a buyer’s market for all employees. It doesn’t matter that lives get destroyed. Ask Melissa and Larry, human lives don’t matter … only capital investment has any real value.

And given their expressed opinions, both Larry and Melissa would by HYPOCRITES if they objected to their own dismissals. Whatever is good for the “open” market is good for everyone … right?

If Larry Kudlow and Melissa Francis are not Anti-American middle class … I’d love to hear their philosophy. From what I hear, neither are more sophisticated than a very thinly veiled … “whatever is good for me and my rich friends is good for everyone.”

That isn’t really philosophy … that is myopic selfishness. If you can’t see more of the big picture than what is good for your friends, the people you meet as a business journalist and the end of your nose, then you don’t deserve your job.

Melissa Francis seems like a victim of brainwashing.

Larry Kudlow is delusional and the enemy of every working American.

Please replace both of them with voices of reason and common sense. We don’t need any more divisive radicals, we need people who can see the big picture, not just shill for their friends and themselves. We need people who are interested in eliminating the evils (and extremely high costs) of poverty, not supporting the continued and accelerated redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the corporate raiders, rapers and strip miners.

That’s my version of the story.

– Dave Olbrich (DWO) Monday,  June 1, 2009

Come back next time for stuff about comic books, comic book creators, the comic book business and occasional “other” stuff.

1. Don’t forget … if you’re reading this blog and you want me to answer a question that you might have about comic books, especially behind the scenes stories that may have occured since I went professional in 1982 … ASK! We’ve even given this special fanatic feature a name and its own logo. This is your chance to ASK THE DWO. If you’re curious about me and what I might have some intimate knowledge of … check out the BACKGROUND page.

2. Vote for me. Immediately below the “Calendar” and the “Contact the DWO” headers in the right-hand, there is a little blue box that says “Vote for me.” While I admit that I don’t know exactly what this does, apparently the slaves rowing in the galley of the internet get an extra bowl of gruel if you vote regularly.

3. Send me a new header. I’d love to run a new header from a fanatic reader. The George Perez header that I’ve been running for the last few months is perfectly fine. I’m sick of it though and I’d love a change. So send me something cool. The size is exactly 200 pixels by 770 pixels.

4. There has also been a sever lack of pithy comments lately. Even the recent shot of Diana Rigg/Emma Peel in the suit that inspired the Black Widow costume raised hardly an eyebrow … or a “hubba hubba” for that matter. So if you’re reading this, don’t forget that you’re free to contribute with comments as well.

And now … on with the show.

Doug Wildey painting for a Comico comic cover

ZAC EFRON AS JONNY QUEST … AND “THE ROCK” AS RACE BANNON IN THE JONNY QUEST FEATURE FILM

One of the reasons that I ended up loving comic books, becoming a funny book fanatic, is the original Jonny Quest animated series. I could go on and on and on about my love for this television show. From the first drum beats of the rousing and unsurpassed cartoon theme song, to the fantastic locations, the advanced science, the monsters and the believable action (at least for a cartoon), Jonny Quest had it all.

Jonny Quest & Race Bannon character designs by Doug Wildey

There are a legion of fans all over the world (in my age range) that feel exactly the same way. My love of the show has seeped into this fanatical blog a couple of times (HERE and HERE). Not only does the theme song make you want to leap off the couch and go have adventures of your own, the title sequence is absolute genius. That mummy still gives me the creeps to this day. There are mysteries of course, like why the Pteranodon and the condor sound exactly the same.

So for you old guys, here is a bit of exciting childhood nostalgia and if you haven’t seen the opening credits to Jonny Quest before, you are in for a treat. I apologize in advance for the quality and the non-English voice-over, but this is the best one from YouTube.

The Jonny Quest movie producers also produced HITMAN

Now the embarrassing part for me, apparently I’ve been living under a rock … or simply not paying attention … or this story didn’t get much (if any) coverage from the traditional comic book news channels. It turns out that the producers (Daniel Alter and Adrian Askeriah) that brought us Timothy Oliphant in the video game inspired HITMAN movie are producing a JONNY QUEST live-action movie at Warner Brothers. And this is an OLD STORY. The announcement of the plans for the movie date back to August 2007.

I can’t explain my lack of knowledge about this … or my lack of comment … except to say that I think my lack of interest has to do with how common these announcements are, how many of the announcements never get as far as casting and how even fewer of them ever go before the cameras. Why spend a lot of time talking and worrying about stuff that isn’t going to happen?

Then recently the project started moving forward. But no one seems to be able to keep their stories straight. I’m confused and the whiplash starts right here, with this wonderful news story where the reporter and Dwayne Johnson don’t seem to know the difference between the GOOD Jonny Quest and the MOSTLY CRAPPY Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.

Here is the link to the leak that Dwayne Johnson was talking about.

Lillard as Shaggy and Cardellini as Velma (great casting!)

I have a bit of a reputation for having very strong opinions about the casting decisions made for live-action versions of comics and animated programs (especially those for which I have a great deal of affection). I hated Michael Keaton’s casting as Batman (I was wrong). I hated Jack Nicholson‘s casting as The Joker (I was right). Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini were both brilliant in the Scooby Doo movies despite other significant weaknesses in the movies. I did backflips the day Robert Downey Jr. agreed to do Iron Man and I wrote an angry and inflammatory blog entry when they announced the extraordinarily wrong-headed casting of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha, The Black Widow.

I know it is going to seem like I’ve lost my mind, but except for the age problem, I don’t really have a problem with the proposed casting of Zac Efron as Jonny and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Race Bannon. While the movie Race won’t have white hair (I hope), I think that Mr. Johnson has all the right attributes to be the perfect Race Bannon … and sometimes attitude and aura are more important than exact physical characteristics. (And let’s all admit it, classic Jonny Quest always flirted at the edges of child endangerment anyway, right?)

The whole QUEST gang in their Dragonfly plane

THE BAFFLING MYSTERY OF THE “SPEED RACER” EFFECT

Let’s start with the rumor about the Jonny Quest movie. The rumor no one is writing about specifically. The rumor, if it is to believed, won’t stop you from getting whiplash like I did, but should help to explain the circumstances the Jonny Quest movie now faces.

It turns the Dan Mazeau script is (rumored to be) REALLY GREAT. So great in fact that the star of High School Musical is interested in the lead … oops … sorry … that sounded snarky … let me start again. Mr. Mazeau turned in a really good script to producers Alter and Askeriah, or so the rumor goes, and it has encouraged everyone in the process to try to move the production of the Jonny Quest movie to the next step. (On a side note, Mazeau is also working on a screenplay for DC’s THE FLASH.)

Check this link for a take on the movie that doesn’t involve Zac Efron.

Quest screenplay writer Mazeau is also working on THE FLASH

But the colossal bomb that was the SPEED RACER movie has the execs at Warner Bros. running scared. They have a property that could be a terrific franchise if done properly. They have a great script (or so they say). So their solution to the problem, make the movie from the script they have … BUT WITH A DIFFERENT NAME. According to movie executive thinking if you can’t sell the American public on a Wachowski Brothers SPEED RACER movie, then you might have to come up with a different title for a Jonny Quest movie.

What?

Following that logic, you shouldn’t release MARLEY & ME because BEVERLY HILLS  CHIHUAHUA was a box office disappointment. Clearly the American public can’t tell the difference between a good dog movie and a bad dog movie. To see what the LA Times said about it, CLICK HERE.

Quest cast promo model sheet

And just so that the Jonny Quest lovers that are also Funny Book Fanatic are forewarned, you can expect lots more Jonny Quest stuff sneaking into this blog in the coming days … when you start researching this stuff … you find all sorts of cool stuff.

And I haven’t told you about my visits to Jonny Quest creator Doug Wildey’s house yet … so there is that yet to reveal.

That’s my version of the story.

— Dave Olbrich (DWO) Mon. May 18, 2009

1) Heidi MacDonald @ The Beat

2) Tom Spurgeon @ Comics Reporter

3) J.C. Vaughn @ Diamond’s SCOOP

4) The cool Robot 6 folks @ Comic Resources

Plus an honorable mention to the website home of Joe Field’s Flying Colors store. (Free Comic Book Day was Joe’s idea.)

Jon Favreau and an iron man

IRON MAN 2 UPDATE AND MISCELLANEOUS STUFF

Suddenly and unexpectedly there was a spike in the number of readers checking out my post bitching and complaining about the mis-casting of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff (The Black Widow) in the second Iron Man movie. (CLICK HERE) Then I found out why. It seems that people found Funny Book Fanatic after searching for information about the subject after reading director Jon Favreau’s tweets on Twitter. (Makes me feel unnaturally in the loop because I know what that previous sentence means.)

Mrs. Peel (Diana Rigg) in the suit that inspired the Black Widow's outfit

It seems that Mr. Favreau was taking a few minutes from his busy directing duties to mention details about scenes involving Ms. Johansson costumed for the first time in the slick all-blue/black stolen-from-Emma-Peel suit that the Widow is famous for. It seems that this Twitter news hit cyberspace and suddenly renewed interest in the Scarlett/Natasha casting. And Funny Book Fanatic was there, thanks to the kind service of Yahoo, Google and other search engines.

On a related note, Favreau was also sending out tweets about the first scene in Iron Man 2 featuring Robert Downey Jr and Samuel L. Jackson working together (as Tony Stark and Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD). For some pretty terrific and comprehensive coverage of this story, CLICK HERE.

A photosales website caught a glimpse of Samuel L. Jackson on the set in his Nick Fury get-up and posted it on the internet. (CLICK HERE) There are only a small number of Fury/Jackson shots, but a whole slew of them featuring Robert Downey in costume, including shots inside a giant doughnut (?). Yeah, I know it is a doughnut retailer and I know it is a Los Angeles landmark and it was featured in a famous episode of The Simpsons, but it was more fun to think of Iron Man inside a giant doughnut.

Kate Mara previously appeared in Mark Wahlbergs SHOOTER

Plus, let the speculation begin … who (oh who) is Kate Mara going to portray in Iron Man 2. She has been cast, but no one is talking yet about the character she is going to play. However, the early bets seem to be either Janet Van Dyn (the Wasp) or Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch). She might be perfectly fine for either part. Other speculation includes Bethany Cabe or SHIELD agent Maria Hill. The MTV blog even speculates that she might be SHIELD agent Sharon Carter (as a set-up for the Captain America movie). For my money, my daughter Maggie and I had pre-selected Rachel Leigh Cook to play The Wasp, but what do we know. CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE.

Oh, yeah, no one has a picture of Johansson in the Black Widow costume yet, sorry.

That’s my version of the story.

          – Dave Olbrich (DWO) Mon. May 11, 2009

UPDATE July 21, 2009: I was feeling a little guilty about not including an actual picture of the dangerous-as-a-dishrag Ms. Johansson all dressed up in her “big girl” superhero outfit. So now that the first picture is out … the least I can do is post it. Too bad her red wig looks about as realistic as Raggedy Ann’s hair. Oh, well, I’ve got my fingers crossed that it all works out …but color me skeptical.

Now that all FIVE of the 2nd String Character Hall of Fame Nominees have been introduced one-by-one, I’ve set up the voting box and you can vote for your favorite. Just check it out in the right hand side bar (you will have to scroll down past the “Saloon” and “Fanatical Hosting“). To see a lot more detail into this and all the previous nominees, check out the 2ND STRING HALL OF FAME PAGE linked above. To recap, the nominees are (alphabetically):

 • Big Barda (DC Hero)

• Lorna Dane (Marvel Hero)

• She-Dragon (Image Hero)

• Thundra (Marvel Hero/Villain)

• Vixen (DC Hero

THE GENE COLAN PROJECT

A painted interior page by Gene Colan from the Bob Marley comic. Enjoy!

That’s my version of the story. 

          — Dave Olbrich (DWO) Wed. May 6, 2009

This SATURDAY is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Don't forget!

Yesterday’s post also included a brief discussion about the huge amount of wasted time and wasted discussion that went into the pursuit of getting a high visibility celebrity to endorse comic books. More than one organization was formed, meetings held and organizations ultimately abandoned, all in the pursuit of an endorsement from a popular movie or music star.

When Joe Field said of the Wolverine PSA that he had waited 25 years for it to happen, he also revealed another secret that I had not heard before. Joe said, “We had three of the four actors from the Fantastic Four movie a couple of years ago, they recorded a Free Comic Book Day PSA, but something happened with the studio and the deal fell apart.”

Oh REALLY ! ! ! Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Ioan Gruffold recorded a FCBD PSA that never saw the light of day?

Chris Evans wasn't part of the failed PSA attempt, but all the other stars were.

So then I asked Joe how the Wolverine/Jackman deal got done. After decades of frustration and so much wasted effort, I wanted to hear how Joe had succeeded where so many others had failed. He told me that he didn’t really have anything to do with it … and Marvel didn’t either.

In yesterday’s post I mentioned the sad state of affairs regarding comic publishers being unwilling or unable to attract celebrities to the idea of endorsing comics. But Mark Herr, who worked for the Diamond Comics organization for 29 years posted a comment in defense of comic publishers. “As someone who was heavily involved in the behind the scenes of the first four FCBD events, I can assure you that the publishers did attempt reach outs to the movie studios involved in corresponding movies at the time and they got little to no cooperation.”

If Joe Field didn’t arrange for Hugh Jackman to make the FCBD endorsement and Marvel Comics didn’t do it, who did?

Turns out the heroes of our story are employees of Diamond Comic Distributors, Elissa Lynch and Leslie Jackson.

*** Cue fanatic round of applause! ***

So on behalf of all you fanatics, I got the information from Elissa Lynch that everyone wants to know … the story behind the story … of the Jackman/Wolverine PSA. 

FBF/OIbrich: Where did the idea of using Jackman originate? 

LYNCH: We have been talking to Fox for a couple months about promoting Free Comic Book Day and the Wolverine Movie. When we brought up the idea of a PSA followed by a trailer of the movie they loved it.

Hardly the short "fire-plug" Wolverine as originally conceived

FBF/OIbrich: What was the interaction like …how did he respond to the idea? 

LYNCH: Fox said Hugh was very open and excited to tape the PSA.

FBF/OIbrich: How involved was the studio? 

LYNCH: The studio handled everything. Diamond came up with the copy for the PSA and Fox didn’t change a thing.

FBF/OIbrich: Why did this effort succeed, while the one from two years ago with the Fantastic Four cast didn’t come together? 

LYNCH: Working with Fantastic Four was great too however there was a technical error on the day of taping with the green screen in the background of the PSA. They would have to redo the PSA which would have involved all the talent coming back into the studio and they were already starting their publicity tour for the movie so the PSA never made it into the hands of retailers.

FBF/OIbrich: What is the plan for distribution of the PSA? Who is going to see it and how? 

LYNCH: Anyone can download it from the website. We have some hard copies being sent to Diamond if anyone needs a hard copy of the PSA to play in their store.

A huge fanatic THANK YOU to Elissa Lynch, Joe Field and Mark Herr for their help with this post.

THE GENE COLAN PROJECT

Because I love black-and-white original artwork and I love to see Tom Palmer’s inks over Gene Colan pencils, I submit this cover of HOWARD THE DUCK for your fanatical enjoyment. While I don’t know for sure whether the late GREAT Steve Gerber wrote this issue, the cover features a common theme for Gerber, the writer vs his own typewriter.

That’s my version of the story.

          – Dave Olbrich (DWO) Thur. April 30, 2009

I’m assuming that at this point, with the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie opening just days away, that most comic book fans have already seen the Public Service Announcement that was recorded by MOVIE STAR Hugh Jackman. If you haven’t, I’m including it here and now because there are many longtime comic book professionals that wondered (mostly in the past) if it would ever happen.  

JOE FIELD HAD TO WAIT 25 YEARS FOR THIS 

When the news broke many days ago about this video combo promoting the Wolverine movie that included a PSA for Free Comic Book Day, I got on the phone and called one of my favorite retailers, Joe Field. Joe’s store, Flyer Colors is, regrettably, one of those great comic book retail outlets that I’ve never had the good sense or good luck to actually visit.

This SATURDAY is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Don't forget!

How do I know it is a good store? I don’t, but I do know a couple of things. First, I know and like Joe Field. He thinks clearly, he speaks his mind, he’s thoughtful and he is nice to have around, whether at dinner or at a business meeting. Joe Field is my kind of guy. When I grow up, I hope that people think I’m 75% the guy that Joe Field already is. The second thing that I know is that a comic book retail store tends to reflect that personality of the owner … or at least the guy in charge. Based on these facts, I’m sure Flying Colors is a great store.

*** BLATANT PLUG WARNING *** FLYING COLORS, 2980 Treat Boulevard, Concord, CA 94518, (925) 825-5410, www.flyingcolorscomics.com

Joe Field and some FF action figures

I called Joe Field when the video and press release hit the comic news sites because Free Comic Book Day (FCBD)was Joe Field’s idea. Congratulations were in order. The first Free Comic Book Day was held in 2002. Like many good ideas, Free Comic Book Day is both genius inspiration and simply obvious. It seems like the kind of idea that has been, or always should have been, part of the comic book industry landscape. So bravo, a fanatic round of applause for Joe Field.

I called Flying Colors and Joe took a few minutes to talk to me. After telling me some important information about the Wolverine/FCBD public service announcement, we started to talk about how this seemed to both of us like a major milestone in the history of comic books to both of us.

“I remember writing to Comic’s Buyers Guide 25 years ago,” Joe said to me. “I wanted to know what it would take or how we could get a BIG celebrity to endorse comic books. And now it has finally happened.”

Some guy sitting outside FLYER COLORS (sorry dude!)

HUGH JACKMAN IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF COMICS

RAVER written by Walter Koenig, published by Malibu

I’ll reveal another piece of my discussion with Joe later, but talking to him got me to thinking about my own past. During the early days of Malibu Comics, the “partners” (Scott, Dave, Tom and Chris) would have long exhaustive discussions about steps we might be able to take to use the power of media celebrities to get Malibu Comics noticed.  We seemed to have this kind of talk every couple of months. We even did a comic book with actor/writer Walter Koenig of Star Trek fame, with limited results.

In the recent history of comics, there is example after example after example of attempts to leverage celebrity to draw attention to a comic  … less so to comics in general.

Over at Heidi MacDonald’s BEAT (which I support with a double-dose of fanatic applause) she wrote the following:

“Second: Back in The Dark Ages, for decades, comics folk thought that a “Milk Board”  — an industry advocacy arm that would put together promotional efforts featuring celebs who said they read comics — might help raise the profile of the medium to the general public. In fact, entire organizations were formed to work towards this milk board, before petty differences or inertia would inevitably end the efforts.

And now, it’s almost like the Milk Board came to us.

So, once again….yay us!”

Jackman's MILK BOARD advertisement. CLICK ME ... I'M A LINK!

BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER … THANK YOU HUGH JACKMAN!

Sure it was big when Hugh Jackman’s Swordfish co-star Hallie Berry (did they do any other movies together? :-) showed up at Comic Con International to promote the Catwoman movie. To me it just doesn’t feel as big as Jackman/Wolverine looking into the camera and talking about how great comic books are for children and as a weapon against illiteracy. 

There is a long list of celebrities that were more than willing to work in comic book movies who had no interest in supporting the comic book industry. We didn’t get this kind of thing from Christopher Reeve, Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson or Gene Hackman. We didn’t get this from Patrick Stewart, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Robert Downey, or even Samuel Jackson.

Hallie Berry and Hugh Jackman were together in SWORDFISH, plus some guy named Travolta

There isn’t any evidence that Hugh Jackman is a comic book fanatic, reader or collector. And yet there he stands, saying the words and conveying the ideas that Joe Field has waited 25 years to see. And many of us have waited side-by-side with Joe. Maybe those other celebrities would have done it if asked. The fact that comic book publishers didn’t have the guts, clout or reach to get this done before now is sad.

Thank you Hugh Jackman for saying “yes.”

COME BACK TO FUNNY BOOK FANATIC TOMORROW. 

There is more (LOTS & LOTS MORE) aspects to this story, which I have yet to reveal, but this post has already gotten too long. I’m even skipping my regularly scheduled edition of The Gene Colan Project for this post.

That’s my version of the story.

           — Dave Olbrich (DWO) Wed. April 29, 2009