Author: Glenn Hauman

In preparation for Star Trek Into Darkness, we present you with these dark moments…

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

The image supposedly is from a first season episode of The Carol Burnett Show. Surprisingly, little seems to be known about the details of why Leonard Nimoy is there in full Spock regalia. Some sources indicate that the skit uses Spock as a punchline for Burnett wanting baby advice from “Dr. Spock,” though is both supported and refuted, depending on what source you want to go with. Other sites say that the sketch is titled “Mrs. Invisible Man,” though no details about the it or why Nimoy is there are offered.

Pretty funny, though.

via Your moment of TrekZen*. | The Fog of Ward .

And we would be remiss if we didn’t point you to this meeting of the Spocks…

Click here to view the embedded video.

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In yet more proof that Hollywood is looking for comic book properties and talent, Seth Meyers will be the next host of NBC’s “Late Night,” the network announced Sunday. Mr. Meyers will succeed Jimmy Fallon, who is moving up one hour to take over NBC’s “Tonight Show.”

Meyers is best known for writing 2009′s Spider-Man: The Short Halloween, co-written with Neil Gaiman impersonator Bill Hader and Justice League and Worlds Finest artist Kevin Maguire. Meyers also currently has a job as the head writer on “Saturday Night Live” and host of its “Weekend Update” segment.

This is not the first Spider-Man/Saturday Night Live crossover, as Spidey first met the Not Ready For Prime Time Players in Marvel Team-Up #75, featuring a climactic katana battle between the Silver Samurai and John Belushi, and (of course) the inevitable Stan Lee cameo.

Ant Man, who was also considered for the hosting gig , was unavailable for comment.

via Seth Meyers to Succeed Fallon on ‘Late Night’ – NYTimes.com .

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I’ve long been a fan of cover tunes, where a different artist records a song and you hear the different styles and interpretations. But now we have the phenomenon of musicians becoming their own cover band, and for very good reasons.

It turns out that many oldies hits have been re-recorded by the original artists in recent years, and in most cases for a simple reason: royalties. As Irwin Chusid, a music historian and producer (who’s also a colleague of mine at WFMU) explained to me, most of these artists were still bound by ancient contracts that they signed when musicians routinely got the short end of the stick—and also, to be fair, when few people imagined the fortunes that would one day be reaped from licensing songs to filmmakers, TV producers, and advertisers. The result was that these contracts provided the artists with “a pittance, if anything,” according to Chusid, for “sync licensing,” the fee paid to a recording’s owner for the use of that recording. (This fee is not to be confused with the songwriting royalties paid to the song’s composer.) Today, film licenses for popular songs are frequently in the five figures, and the licenses for commercials and movie trailers can go even higher. Short of renegotiating an expiring contract, which is rarely an option, Chusid says, “those artists have every incentive to re-record and try to license” the new recording with a fairer royalty arrangement.

via Re-recordings: Runaway and other classic songs redone in the studio. Can we stop this trend? – Slate Magazine.

What could go wrong here?

Gun owners should store a gun in their kids’ room, according to a ‘Home Defense Concepts’ seminar offered at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meeting, comments that came just days after the fatal shooting of a two-year-old at the hands of her five-year-old brother.

via NRA ‘Home Defense’ Course Instructs Audience To Store Guns In Kids’ Room | ThinkProgress.

No one reads more prospective novel beginnings than literary agents. They’re the ones on the front lines — sifting through inboxes and slush piles. And they’re the ones who can tell us which Chapter 1 approaches are overused and cliche, as well as which techniques just plain don’t work. Below find a smattering of feedback from experienced literary agents on what they hate to see the first pages of a writer’s submission. Avoid these problems and tighten your submission!

FALSE BEGINNINGS

“I don’t like it when the main character dies at the end of Chapter 1. Why did I just spend all this time with this character? I feel cheated.”
– Cricket Freeman, The August Agency

“I dislike opening scenes that you think are real, then the protagonist wakes up. It makes me feel cheated.”
– Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary

Go read them all. Via Writer Unboxed » What NOT to Do When Beginning Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents.

ABBOTT: Well Costello, I’m going to New York to start my new job as coach for the New York Yankees.

COSTELLO: Look Abbott, if you’re the coach, you must know everything about the players.

ABBOTT: I certainly do.

COSTELLO: You know I’ve never met the guys so you’ll have to tell me who’s playing on the team.

ABBOTT: Well, let’s see, our first baseman is coming out.

COSTELLO: He’s not staying on the team?

ABBOTT: No, he’s on the team but he’s coming out.

COSTELLO: Well, then who’s in the game?

ABBOTT: He is.

COSTELLO: But he’s coming out.

ABBOTT: Exactly.

COSTELLO: When?

ABBOTT: Before the next game.

COSTELLO: He’s coming out before the start of the game?

ABBOTT: Yes.

via Who came out first? – NY Daily News.

If you are a comics creator, you are eligible to nominate works and vote for the Harvey Awards . And this year, you can nominate online !  The deadline for nominations is midnight tonight.  If you think there is a piece of work, including yours, that deserves the votes of others, please spread the word– e-mail, blog, tweet, and otherwise promote works that deserve recognition.

• Not sure what was published in 2012 and want ideas? Google “best comics 2012″.
• Use Twitter to show your support for a given work!
• Use hashtag #harveys2013 on your tweet.
• Blog about the work you want to promote.
• Please spread word to your peers that they can vote!

Nominate now, and we’ll see you here when the final ballot is announced– and we’ll see you in Baltimore in September for the awards ceremony!

 

Related articles

• Harvey Awards 2013 Nomination Ballot now online! (hauman.malibulist.com)

Seen originally on

If you are a comics creator, you are eligible to nominate works and vote for the Harvey Awards . And this year, you can nominate online !  The deadline for nominations is midnight tonight.  If you think there is a piece of work, including yours, that deserves the votes of others, please spread the word– e-mail, blog, tweet, and otherwise promote works that deserve recognition.

• Not sure what was published in 2012 and want ideas? Google “best comics 2012″.
• Use Twitter to show your support for a given work!
• Use hashtag #harveys2013 on your tweet.
• Blog about the work you want to promote.
• Please spread word to your peers that they can vote!

Nominate now, and we’ll see you here when the final ballot is announced– and we’ll see you in Baltimore in September for the awards ceremony!

 

Related articles

• Harvey Awards 2013 Nomination Ballot now online! (hauman.malibulist.com)

Seen originally on

We’re getting to convention season, and it seems like there’s a demand for finding out how to get the sort of… proportions that superhero costumes can require. In other words, how can a woman with normal breasts look like she was drawn by J. Scott Campbell?

We’re happy to help. Go take a look at this cosplay cleavage tutorial, and with the help of bras, wires, and socks, you too can be spathic.*

* Yes, spathic is a real word. Look it up. Who said comics never taught you anything?

Seen originally on

Ach, nein! Gott in himmel! And all the other phrases I learned from reading 70′s Invaders comics.

This video, summing up a lot of our feelings on the matter, was put together by Zack Smith of Newsarama and MTV Geek– waitaminute– didn’t Valerie Gallaher just leave MTV Geek ? Weird times are coming, folks…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related articles

• Comics Alliance Closed By AOL (bleedingcool.com)

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