I'm quite proud to announce the latest in the portfolio of web-sites - RICH BUCKLER ! Rich approached me a few months ago and asked that I create a site devoted to his comic book artwork with details of how to arrange a commission directly via Rich, so there it all is. There's links to interviews, loads of colour images and paintings, vintage original art, recent cover recreations and much more. There'll be a few exclusive items going up as time goes by, so pop over to http://www.bucklercomicart.com /and check it out.

Like a few million people worldwide I clicked onto YouTube recently to catch the Rose Bowl concert as it was broadcast live. If you missed it you can catch the entire concert here . So, how was it? I have mixed feelings about U2. I've always said that one of the most impressive concerts I've ever seen was the 1993 ZooTV show at Football Park. The entire experience was overpowering in scope, it was both sonically and visually staggering and nothing I've seen since has come close, certainly nothing from U2. I've always felt that they shouldn't keep trying to top it, but rather they'd be better served going back to their basics and just getting out and playing. Money always wins out though. They throw millions into a stage and a tour that's expected to see them on the road well into 2011 (if the rumours are to be believed) and will make millions more by charging high ticket prices, charging large sums for t-shirts and merchandise which they later sell via

Call me funny, call me odd, but now you can call me IMMORTAL!! I was approached yesterday and asked if I'd provide permission for this blog to be part of The National Library of Australia's Pandora Archive. Naturally I said yes. It came out of the blue and I have no idea as to who, if anyone, suggested me as a viable source of information worthy of inclusion. In case you're wondering what Pandora is, here's a glimpse from their About Us page: "PANDORA, Australia's Web Archive, is a growing collection of Australian online publications, established initially by the National Library of Australia in 1996, and now built in collaboration with nine other Australian libraries and cultural collecting organisations. "The name, PANDORA, is an acronym that encapsulates our mission: Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia." You can colour me a very happy, and very honoured person today. This means that when you do a search in lib

This just came in from artist Greg LaRocque : This last month typhoon Ketsana and super typhoon Parma slammed into the Philippines. Flooding hit Metro Manila killing hundreds and displacing thousands of families. Untold millions of property damage has left the city reeling. Rains have continued and not only hampered rescue efforts but caused more misery and death as mud slides have taken out entire towns. Death count now is estimated to be over 500 as rescue efforts continue and those living in emergency evacuation centers over 300,000. Comic book artist Greg LaRocque and his family are seeking your help. With the assistance of fellow comic artists, friends and fans, they have begun this fund raising effort. Original art pages, prints and sketches were collected at this years Baltimore Comicon and are available here for you to bid on. The comic book community has come together at this time of need and hope you will participate in this auction. You will find some fantastic pieces by som

This email just came in from Dewey Cassell: "George Tuska, renowned Golden and Silver Age comic book artist, passed away around midnight on October 16, 2009. He was 93 years old. George Tuska was born on April 26, 1916, the son of Russian immigrants. He attended the National Academy of Design and in 1939 went to work for Will Eisner in the studio he shared with Jerry Iger. Tuska later worked for Harry "A" Chesler, Fiction House and Standard Publishing. He was drafted into World War II and served in the 100th Division at Fort Jackson drawing artillery plans. Following the war, he achieved notoriety working for Lev Gleason illustrating Crime Does Not Pay, a true-crime comic book with a monthly circulation of over one million copies. When the advent of the Comics Code brought an end to the violent comics of the fifties, George turned to newspaper comic strips, drawing first Scorchy Smith and later Buck Rogers. He also did some work for Tower Comics on the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Age

From Clifford Meth : She'll be annoyed at me for saying anything, but what are friends for? Paty Cockrum--Dave's widow and retired Marvel Comics Bullpen colorist and penciller (as Paty Greer)--had an unexpected tax bill courtesy of Uncle Sam that's a bit more than she can handle at the moment. To help offset the burden, I'm lowering the already low prices on Dave Cockrum's personal comics collection, which I sell for the estate (proceeds typically benefit a scholarship at the Joe Kubert School; this time they benefit Paty). Please click here to see what's for sale, make a list of the books you'd like, and drop me an email at cliffmeth@aol.com -- I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. ----------------------- So, what are you waiting for? Get in there and buy some damned fine comics from the collection of one of the creators of the New X-Men (frankly, is there anything better?) and help out Paty at the same time. I know there's people that re

Vic Carrabotta is a relatively unknown name to the bulk of the comic buying public, but that's not due to the quality of his work, but rather the quantity. After meeting Stan Lee with a letter of reference from Jack Kirby, Vic began working at Timely in the early 1950s and remained there until the now famous 'Implosion' that saw many creators thrown out of work. Unlike the bulk of the artists from the Golden Age, once Vic left the comic book field in the late 1950s he never returned, instead forging a career in advertising, illustration, design and storyboards. Once Vic left the comic book industry he never really looked back. Vic managed to parlay his illustration skills to excellent effect, becoming an award winning advertising illustrator and earning the nick-name 'Quick Vic' due to his speed in meeting deadlines. A short list of companies that have benefited from Vics conceptual and illustration skills can be found on his web-site , and they include compan

Dewey Cassell has just sent this email out to the world at large notifying people that, sad to say, George Tuska has officially retired. "Citing his age, George Tuska has decided to no longer do any active drawing or commission work," says Dewey, "he feels that he would rather stop drawing than to produce work not up to his usual standards. He will be spending his remaining time with family and friends enjoying life! At 93 he feels it's time to retire!" George Tuska is a name that virtually anyone who's ever read Marvel or DC comics and is over the age of 40 knows instantly. He did some brilliant, if very under-rated and understated, work at both Marvel and DC and left his mark on characters such as Iron Man , Luke Cage , The Avengers, Batman and the Justice League of America . During a lengthy and illustrious career which began in the 1940s and continued into the 1990s he managed to draw virtually every character that both of the big companies had to of

Back when Johnny O'Keefe was the Wild One, he took to looking more like the Mild One instead with ads like this one - flogging off some tasteless Clan Murray knitted cardigan. I guess he had to pay for the booze, drugs and women somehow...and you'd look happy too if you'd just dropped a pile of speed and knew that you'd had a better than decent chance of having casual sex with the model behind you. Somehow I doubt he wore this Italian Collared Bulky Knit when he started screaming those legendary lines: Well I'm-a just outa school, like I'm real real cool Gotta shake, gotta jive Got the message that I gotta be alive, I'm a wild one Ooh yay I'm a wild one Oo-oo-ooh baby, gonna break loose, I'm gonna keep her movin' wild I'm gonna keep her shakin' baby, I'm a real wild child Anyway, JOK, we miss ya!

This message was just posted by Gerry Alanguilan. "I'm sure some of you may have heard of the devastating floods that happened here in the Philippines, specially Manila and surrounding areas. A lot of comics guys, old guys and younger guys, lost their homes/properties or at least had them really badly damaged. Colorist Jay David Ramos and veteran Rico Rival got their homes completely submerged in the flood waters and lost everything. Other guys affected include Steve Gan, Noly Zamora, Jun Lofamia, Danny Acuña (some of whom may be familiar to you guys as artists who worked on DC's war and horror stuff in the 70's.). Other artists of the younger generation affected include Gilbert Monsanto, Carlo Vergara, Joanah and Melvin Calingo, and these are the people we've heard of. Many people are still incommunicado due to downed phone and power lines. With another typhoon coming in shortly, things are not looking promising as many places are still flooded. "Anyway, we&#

The great thing about Australian reprint comics is that it's fairly easy to trace the history of a particular title from conception to end. What's not so easy is tracking down all the issues in a particular run, and some of what is known is merely supposition on the half of many researchers, myself included. The best part of such assumption is that, in the majority of situations, patterns are so consistent that any educated guess will more than likely be correct. Having said that, there are abnormalities that appear to make no sense at all. The case of the first story featuring the Amazing Spider-Man is just one of those sagas that falls into the category of 'what were they doing?' The first appearance of Spider-Man in Australia came in the pages of Strange Tales #5, as published by Horwitz . The cover of the comic featured an excellent Ditkoish cover by Australia's Maurice Bramley , the man responsible for the bulk of Horwitz's output, in particular their