ComicsPundit

The never-ending conversation on life, liberty, and sequential art…

…with Shawn Levasseur.

Archive for August, 2007

A “Harbinger” of things to come?

Posted on August 29th, 2007 by Shawn L.

New developments over Valiant Entertainment’s Harbinger hardcover at Newsarama.The books has been canceled by Diamond Distribution, citing unspecified “legal reasons”.But those “legal reasons” may not be the dispute over the Harbinger trademark with Valiant Intellectual Property.It seems that Valiant Entertainment is offering the book directly to retailers at a discount greater than what is available […]

Intellectual Property Vultures

Posted on August 29th, 2007 by Shawn L.

There’s a long article at Newsarama chronicling the squabble of the Valiant Comics trademarks.The short form of it is that the group that has since become Valiant Entertainment bought the rights to Valiants characters, stories, and intellectual properties in an auction held by the bankruptcy courts. They are currently publishing a reprint collection of Harbinger […]

Sub Prime Crisis, Monetary Policy, & the Gold Standard

Posted on August 29th, 2007 by Shawn L.

Financial analyst, Nathan Lewis:I think you shouldn’t expect too much of a gold standard. A stabilized money can prevent inflation and deflation, but it doesn’t prevent lending money on stupid things, and it doesn’t prevent people buying houses three times what they can afford. If you look at the history of capitalism, you see booms […]

Political Stalking

Posted on August 29th, 2007 by Shawn L.

The following comment is my recation to “Big Source of Clinton’s Cash Is an Unlikely Address” at the Wall Street Journal:If you donate a to a political campaign, your name and address go into a database where everyone can see who you are, who you work for, and how much you gave to whom.Members of […]

Volvo keeps new engine off US Market . Government certification costs too much.

Posted on August 27th, 2007 by Shawn L.

Instapundit.com -Maybe we need to take a hard look at regulatory barriers to automotive efficiency?Indeed.

Blog Backlog: a thin veneer of faux security.

Posted on August 24th, 2007 by Shawn L.

Dr. Helen: No Gun, No ChanceAre schools just trying to get people killed? School security officer, Russ Kocur, at Halls High School in Knoxville was shot and killed by a fugitive from the law who was sitting in a parking lot at the school. The officer went to check out the car and was shot. […]

California 24th: Grubb on Maggin.

Posted on August 24th, 2007 by Shawn L.

Jeff Grubb comments on Maggin’s run for congress:So my old comic book editor is running for office. Elliot was one of the editors on the now-classic Forgotten Realms book back in the 80s……Elliot has always had a political outlook, which spills into his public, personal, and fictional lives. Most recently, in the DC Universe, he […]

Maggin for Congress: Opening analysis

Posted on August 22nd, 2007 by Shawn L.

From Jamie at the Eye of Polyphemus:Rarely do the worlds of comic books and politics, two of my favorite subjects collide…“You had me at ‘hello’.”…but it has just happened. Eliot S! Maggin (The “!” is not a typo), former writer for Superman and Justice League, has thrown his hat into the political ring for the […]

The Un-boxy Mac-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Windows

Posted on August 22nd, 2007 by Shawn L.

Dan Moren at Macworld muses over the rivalries Apple has had over the years:Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the Professor X and Magneto of the technology world: alternately rivals and allies, they have markedly different means to their respective ends.Sooner or later, everything comes back to comics.Moren’s column speculates about a future where Apple […]

Comic Book Writer to run for the U.S. House

Posted on August 15th, 2007 by Shawn L.

Elliot S! Maggin (not a typo, that is an exclamation point after his middle initial), author of comic books and prose books, including the highly praised novel, Superman: Miracle Monday, and the novelization of Kingdom Come, has announced his candidacy for the US House of Representatives in the California 24th district.Maggin’s declaration of his candidacy […]

Donald Duck: The #1 Men’s magasine in the Netherlands

Posted on August 14th, 2007 by Shawn L.

from DutchNews.nl:The best read magazine by men is not Panorama, Aktueel or Playboy but the Donald Duck, reports Financieele Dagblad.Proof that the internet may be for porn, but print is for comics.(found via Journalista!)

The 300 Rorschach Test: The Don’t Ask, Don’t tell edition

Posted on August 11th, 2007 by Shawn L.

Presidential candidate Mike Gravel in advocating that gays be permitted to serve in the military, mistakenly used the Spartan military culture as an example of homosexuality in the military actually being encouraged. Victor Davis Hanson corrects him.Hmm, I wonder what gave Mike the idea in the first place?

What would the Joker do?

Posted on August 1st, 2007 by Shawn L.

Al Qaeda makes a classic villain blunder.

Is that your Spider-Sense tingling, or are you just happy to see me?

Posted on August 1st, 2007 by Shawn L.

In the Seventies, Marvel Comics and Planned Parenthood teamed up for a mini-comic.I presume Planned Parenthood either paid Marvel to do this, or Marvel did it as a charitable write off. I doubt that any serious thought or concern went into the story. I’d bet that Marvel wanted to avoid any blunt talk about sex, […]