Trailer Round-Up

Just in case you haven't checked these out ( I know some of my blogging brethren have posted some of these, but hey, no one ever accused me of originality ).
You know it's unfair to base your opinion of a movie on the trailer but sheesh, I sure hope they're saving the Ditko-esque dimension travelling for the main event, as I confess to being a tiny bit underwhelmed by this, if I'm honest.
And are they really going the Sinestro route with Mordo?

This is better, though probably confusing for non-fans. Are DC actually going to make a half-decent movie at last?

Hm, not if they fill their trailer with all talk, no action, and not a clue to who the bad guy is...

NOW we're talkin'! I've seen some interviews with the actors and the producers, and this is gonna rock, in my opinion. Like one of the producers said: Now's the perfect time for a bullet-proof black man in America. Oh. and the girl they picked for Misty Knight is perfect.

Danny's got amnesia, or am I reading that and the next trailer wrong? Ok, let's wait for the main trailer before we pass judgement on that one.
And ( nearly ) finally:

Just one more. I found a site where you can download the Jeff Jones documentary. It's myfilmblog and you can get it easily. Not sure if it's actually official, as there's no DVD sleeve you can access to make your own copy, but hopefully it is, and I haven't just done the filmakers out of some money.
Anyway, the film's great, with lots of stuff about The Studio. Here's the trailer:

Luke Cage in: The Night Shocker!

This right here is my favourite issue of Luke Cage ever. Remember when you mysteriously had duplicates of particular issues, but couldn't bear to get rid of any of them? I had three copies of this baby.
It's Stainless Steve Englehart's tribute / rip-off / homage to then TV show Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and rocks in every way possible.
In fact, this is what a '70's Luke Cage TV movie would've been like.
Plus it's full of classic Cage quotes I'll leave you discover for yourself, but believe me, fans of 'Sweet Sister' & 'Christmas' won't be disappointed.

George Tuska

Just heard we lost George Tuska yesterday. It's always a shame when one of the elder statesmen pass on. As Stan himself once famously said to an interviewer: If you have any questions for the guys who started it all, you'd better ask them quick! And that's the sad truth.
George was already a working pro when he joined Will Eisner's studio in the '40's and worked alongside Lou Fine and a very young Jack Kirby. ( All immortalized in Will's book The Dreamer, of course, including the bit where Tuska punched out Bob Powell, a story George was apparently embarrassed by every time a fan brought it up. )
But we knew Tuska in The Bronze Age too, obviously. For starters, he drew Iron Man for almost as long as Gene Colan ( ie. forever ), but what made me a Tuska fan was his work on Luke Cage. For a guy who seemed the epitome of white bread americana, he sure could draw the Christmas out of a blaxploitation strip, and he's a big reason why Lucas was one of my favourites throughout the '70's.
These two issues are my favourites, ish 20, the conclusion of a two parter where Cage tries to take down a slimy heroin dealer, that bursts with action, and absolutely fits the strip's remit of being comics' answer to Shaft.


And this classic, inspired by then TV show Kolchak:The Night Stalker, where Luke hunts a vampire, and I'm fairly sure, doesn't sit down or pause for breath for as much as a single panel.
Tuska was great at the body in motion, as alternately ungainly as Frank Robbins and as action packed as Kirby, and here Cage leaps all over the page. Wish I still had this issue so I could post the whole damn thing.


In many ways, George owned Luke Cage for the time he was doing the book, and his is the version I always think of. Here's some great single illo's of the toughest guy in Harlem.



Sweet Sister! This one seems to follow the last one!


And finally, here's a brilliant piece with Cage taking on Ol' Shellhead AND Black Goliath. Fan-Freakin' Tastic.

God bless, George, and good journey.