Forrest J. Ackerman 1916 - 2008

Monster Kids who grew up between the 50s to the 80s are morning the loss of Forrest J. Ackerman, founder of Famous Monsters. Here is a good piece from the Los Angeles Times about his life and career. As he would have written in Famous Monsters, Prince Sirki (Joe Black to you Brad Pitt fans) has taken another soul from the Earth.

Okay, Okay! I'll Go See The Dark Knight - If I Have Time

It has become one of the most read post on this blog of all time (Maybe the post about the Seeds song featured in the Axe commercial the most read. It is probably more popular). In March, I said that "I Think The Dark Knight Would Suck." I gave my opinion why and also admitted preferring the 60's TV show over all other versions. From photos I was seeing of Heath Ledger's Joker makeup I was not getting a good feeling.

Then I received an angry post from a Dark Knight-Fan named andrew (with a lowercase "A") who took me to task for judging the film before I even saw it. There was even a thread on the IMDB message boards about me (it has been deleted - Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!).

I watched the trailer the other night at Campbell 8 theater before Get Smart (which I recommend) and I've decided, to be fair, I'll try to see The Dark Knight for a review. Are you happy, nerd boys?

I Think the Dark Knight Will Suck

I'm sorry but I just have to say this at the risk of being called "old school," but from what I can tell this new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, is going to suck.

I know the extreme comic book nerds hate me because I prefer the 60s TV show because it had that subversive humor I enjoy. Also I never liked Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. It looked like he drew it on a school bus traveling down a bumpy country road.

What I don't like so far about the new movie is the Joker's makeup. It looks like he put it on while riding in a school bus traveling down a bumpy country road. Too bad Heath Ledger's last great role will be as the Joker with the worst makeup job. According to this CNN report, the Joker IS wearing makeup. In the comic books and the 1989 movie, the Joker's weird look came about because of chemical dye (In the movie, he falls in to a vat and in the comic book he jumped in to escape police capture).

Also notice the dark look of the photos. I'm a little sick of the "Batman-lives-in-a-dark-world" concept. The TV show was overly bright and colorful because the TV networks were trying to sell color TV (I believe RCA dealers gave away Batman mask to kids whose parents bought a new color set). However, I believe if you are going to make a movie, the audience should be able to see what's going on.

I've not seen Batman Begins yet, so I guess before I see the Dark Knight I will have to see it. I don't know. I just think it looks bad.

Thank You Phil Morrissey!

Reader Phil Morrissey sent me this comic panel. Cool, huh! Better art work than the last comic panel that appeared here.