Well the book is now out and on the shelves (you can order it from Amazon using the link on the side of this page). I'm not exactly sure as to the reasons why but a large portion of the text wasn't used. That includes some great interviews and testimonials, so rather than lose them completely I've decided to run them here over the coming months as a companion piece to the book itself so you can see all of the great stuff that couldn't be fit into the book proper.

Feel free to print these interviews out and place them in your book. Otherwise enjoy these little pieces and then run out and buy a copy of the book so you can read the rest.

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Nope, this isn't a case of Spidey smacking anyone's bitch up. This is actually the contents and details of one of the rarest of all the Andru & Esposito Spider-Man tales. You won't find this one in any Essential or Masterworks volume, it's highly unlikely that Marvel will ever reprint it at all.

Th…

UNSCREWED!, the organization created by comics creators, fans, and retailers to combat illegal and unethical practices by a would-be publisher, today announced a benefit auction to provide relief to the artists and writers exploited by that company. Since its inception in January, UNSCREWED! has grown quickly, amassing support from top name talents in the comic book industry, as well as many who are just beginning their careers. Full reports of all Unscrewed! activities can be found at the website: http://www.unscrewedcomic.com

The group was formed in early January of this year in response to the publisher's unethical business practices. After one writer's story was brought to light by an online journalist covering the comics business, several other creators came forward with shockingly similar stories of uncompensated work and threats of both physical violence and legal prosecution. UNSCREWED! grew out of a desire to assist the injured parties and to hold the publisher account…

It's a very, very sad day indeed. Billy Thorpe, the one man we all thought was invincible, has gone in his sleep. That's Thorpie on the right in the photo, alongside his best guitar foil, Lobby Lloyd.

I only met Thorpe the once. He toured with some God-awful Rock & Roll Symphony package. The same show saw Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, Paul Rodgers, Peter Frampton and a few others, so my ma and step pa asked if I could go and get them some autographs - Thorpe for my ma, Rodgers for the step pa. Down to the hotel I went.

Thorpe was one of the nicest of all the famous people I met, albeit briefly. I got the signatures and asked for two, one for me, one for my ma. He looked at me and said, "Really?" "Yep," I replied, "we grew up with your music all over the house. My mum loves you." With that he roared with laughter, turned to Rodgers and said, "See! No-one says that to you mate!" I couldn't help but laugh. He signed the cards and said,…

Robert Altman
Michelangelo Antonioni
Ingmar Bergman
Richard Brooks
Clarence Brown
Tim Burton
Jane Campion
John Cassavetes
Charles Chaplin
Cecil B. De Mille
Brian De Palma
Stanley Donen
Blake Edwards
Federico Fellini
John Frankenheimer
D.W. Griffith
Howard Hawks
Alfred Hitchcock
James Ivory
Norman Jewison
Buster Keaton
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kubrick
Akira Kurosawa
Gregory La Cava
Fritz Lang
Spike Lee
Mervyn LeRoy
Joshua Logan
Ernst Lubitsch
Sidney Lumet
David Lynch
Terrence Malick
Rouben Mamoulian
Michael Mann
Paul Mazursky
F.W. Murnau
Alan J. Pakula
Sam Peckinpah
Arthur Penn
Michael Powell
Otto Preminger
Jean Renoir
Herbert Ross
Robert Rossen
Ridley Scott
George Sidney
Francois Truffaut
W.S. Van Dyke
King Vidor
Josef von Sternberg
Peter Weir
Orson Welles
Jane Alexander
Judith Anderson
Jean Arthur
Lauren Bacall
Lucille Ball
Tallulah Bankhead
Brigitte Bardot
Jacqueline Bisset
Beulah Bondi
Glenn Close
Doris Day
Catherine Deneuve
Marlene Dietrich
Irene Dunne
Mia Farrow
Greta Garbo
Ava Gardner
Judy Garland
Lillian Gish
Paulette Goddard
Jean Hagen
Jean Harlow
Jess…

Last night was the second run of the new BBQ and all went swimmingly. A few no-shows - Stevie was ill (although Tobias did wonder if Stevie was "ill or Stevie-ill", to which I said, "Well he says he's ill...") and Mich decided to fly to Perth at the last minute to attend a family funeral. Still I did manage to ring and abuse her for not getting her priorities right. Loads of kidlets running around, including two who seemed hell bent on beating the living suitcase out of a wall, good on 'em too, just means they'd have slept well when they got home.

Now here was the fun. As usual Chadwick was an hour late. Now Chadwick gets upset if anyone starts cooking without him and one phone call saying that Peter was about to fire up the bbq and start cooking (exact words: "Mate, a wog is about to start using the BBQ and he says he has heaps of garlic.") got Lil' Chad over quick smart. He's had the irrits for a while claiming that the invite I sent …