Boom! Studios, a minor comic book publisher, is putting out a 128 digest sized title attacking Republicans called “Repuglicans”. It’s produced by artist Pete Von Sholly with commentary by writer Steve Tatham. The cover shows Sarah Palin as some kind of pox ridden vampire with Glenn Beck as a zombie, Ann Coulter as a ghoul and Lou Dobbs looking kind of annoyed. I suppose that’s supposed to be scary in lefty land.

Artist Sholly claims it shows “…the true face of the right, and it’s not pretty.”

Isn’t it funny when artists try to come off as “rebels” by defending the mainstream? I mean, the Republicans are out of power. The Dems have controlled Congress for the last four years. So let’s show how brave we are by attacking the party out of power! Stick it to the man, man!

The cover blurb says: “They came to feed on the body politic!” So, they’re bad for the country? Is that what they’re saying?

Until Scott Brown was elected recently, the Democrats has a filibuster proof majority. So how are the Republicans a threat exactly? Oh yeah, the public views congress with a 73% disapproval rating. Yes, the one controlled by the Democrats for the last four years. So let’s blame the Republicans, man! (more…)

One of the greatest ironies of so called “progressive politics” is that it destroys what it’s supposed to save. California has been run by statist politicians for over 30 years now, and most of them would call themselves “progressive.” The alleged goals of progressives are to take care of “the little guy”; they’re supposed to make a society that’s more “open and fair.” In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Progressive politics have the net effect of doing the reverse of everything it claims to be about.

I’ll be getting into that in detail in another series of articles, but we’re here to talk about Hollywood. Hollywood was once a conservative town run by immigrants who believed in the American way. Many of the stars fought in WWII and acted in patriotic movies. But there was a labor struggle in Hollywood starting with the unions, which began to get infiltrated by communists and socialists in the 1930s. They made more and more demands of the studios that they didn’t like. In 1947, the studio bosses decided to take advantage of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), with which Senator Joseph McCarthy had no direct involvement despite misinformation to the contrary. The Hollywood studio bosses wanted to bust up the unions and the method they used was the HUAC investigations and the blacklist. (more…)

Marvel recently announced that their heroes would start acting like heroes again. So what were they doing, running crack houses?

After seven years of grim and grimmer story lines, including a superhero “civil war” that pitted Iron Man against Spider-Man and the death of Captain America, Marvel Comics will usher in a more optimistic “Heroic Age” approach in May.

“Heroes will be heroes again,” says Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada. “They’ve gone through hell and they’re back to being good guys — a throwback to the early days of the Marvel Universe, with more of a swashbuckling feel.”

What does “swashbuckling,” which refers to pirates, have to do with heroism? Quesada went on to explain that Captain America, Iron Man and Thor would be working together again instead of acting like foes. Suddenly, WTF? appears over the scene like the Batsignal. How does working together make them heroes exactly? In the “Dark Reign” series of stories at Marvel last year, a bunch of Super-villains led by Norman (Green Goblin) Osborn had taken over the Avengers and were “working together,” trying to kill off the real heroes. Under the guise of helping people. How progressive. But that’s not very heroic. (more…)

Avatar’s “hero” is a Marine who decides alien poontang trumps your entire species. He condemns his planet to slow destruction rather than allow them to continue to over-zealously mine some ore.

If you watch as many movies and TV shows as I do you’ll notice something rather annoying besides all the lame cliches that keep getting trotted out. And that’s the latest cliche to show up over and over again as the big “reveal” of the climax.

The bad guy turns out to be a traitor of some kind.

Either he’s the hero’s close relative, friend, buddy, co-worker…or, if the film deals with the military or national security in some way, the villain turns out to be a “patriot” who is trying to save America from itself by destroying it.

You have to ask yourself, what kind of Freudian slip is this? Writers usually know what they are trying to say. I know that may be hard to believe if you saw Terminator: Salvation or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but yes, writers usually are trying to make some kind of thematic statement. (more…)

The best way to tell if a celebrity is on the downward slope of their career trajectory is when they start making partisan political attacks during concerts or interviews. Then you know they’ve boarded the train to has-been land.

Take John Cleese for example, a comic legend, member of the shrinking Monty Python troupe, he of “Fawlty Towers” fame. One of the funniest shows ever made. His contemptible elitist rant in this video reveals him to another rich snob who thinks those beneath his station, who don’t concur with lefty cant, aren’t real people. And any news station at variance with his world view is nothing but propaganda of the worst sort. Even though Hillary Clinton said Fox News treated her more fairly than any other news station in the 2008 primaries. (more…)

Some spoilers coming:

24 returned last night with the sound of snipers shooting at some former colleague of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). Bauer is shown in good health after that risky experimental cure for deadly bio-toxin administered at the end of last season. Perhaps having a Muslim cleric issue the last rights is what saved him. Except Jack isn’t sporting a Shukr or a Kufi. That’s forgotten. He’s busy playing with his grand-daughter and planning to go with his daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), back to L.A. in retirement. But the ghost of Godfather III enters the mix. Just when he thought he was out…

The story is set in New York, which is a nice change of scenery after 7 seasons in Los Angeles. His daughter and his son-in-law are in New York and left their kid with Jack while they go shopping. Suddenly, the grand-daughter whips out a blow gun and knocks out Jack with a dart. You see, she’s a double agent and…oops. I spoiled the season for you. Never mind. Forget I said anything. (more…)

In that classic issue of Spider-Man #50, the cover blazed that question as the reader stared at an image of Peter Parker, head down, walking away from the enlarged ghostly image of Spider-Man. Inside, a panel showing his suit in a garbage can was lovingly recreated by Director Sam Raimi in the film Spider-Man 2.

Director Sam Raimi

What made the Spider-Man movies some of the best superhero adaptations ever was that Sam Raimi was a fan who knew the comics, translated them faithfully. But more importantly, had the style and panache to breathe life into those stories on the canvas of celluloid.

Rumor has it, in their “infinite wisdom,” the execs at Sony decided that John Malkovich was too old to play the villain the Vulture in the new movie that was planned. They wanted all kinds of changes to the script and they wanted the film to come out in 2011. Raimi, having had a third villain forced on him in the last film, decided he couldn’t maintain the quality under that schedule and left the project. Taking the cast with him. (more…)

Back in 2005, twelve Danish cartoonists received death threats for their interpretation of the prophet Muhammad from some in the Muslim world. We thought that couldn’t happen here. America is more tolerant. But in America we don’t threaten people with death so much as we try to kill their reputation.

Especially our home-grown fanatics on the left who view conservatives the same way Muslim extremists view Jews. Witness the silly brouhaha in the Daily News recently. Mallard Filmore, a mildly conservative strip did this cartoon to howls of indignation and rage from our very own fascists, those humorless drones known as left-wing activists. (more…)

Once upon a time Hollywood movies were often about American heroes vanquishing our enemies. Now they make movies attacking Americans while ignoring the real people who attack America.

Once upon a time Hollywood had no problem distinguishing our enemies from our allies. Now our allies are often shown to be feckless and evil while our enemies are either ignored or made out to be mere puppets of our evil leaders.

For example, last season of “24″ had an African dictator’s troops invading the country and trying to unleash a deadly virus, but of course, they were working for an evil Blackwater type military contractor run by a right-wing “patriot.” Patriot is Hollywoodese for crazy nut job. The same kind of villains were used in this year’s “State of Play” which had evil government contractors murdering people to cover up their evil conspiracy. Or last year’s “Body of Lies,” also starring Russell Crowe, which showed the CIA as a bunch of lying killers who have Arabs picked off with abandon for the aims of US policy. And let’s not forget 2007’s “Valley of Elah” in which American soldiers are portrayed as soulless killers made that way because they were exposed to combat. Or how about “Syriana”, in which a fat George Clooney wanders around the Arabian desert learning how evil the US is while boring the audience with an obscure plot. (more…)

“If people think nature is their friend, then they sure don’t need an enemy.”
–Kurt Vonnegut

NBC, which is last place in network ratings, has decided to double down on their green propaganda push this week by putting environmentalist messages in five of its shows: 30 Rock, Heroes, Community, The Office and The Biggest Loser. NBC is owned by GE. GE has positioned itself to make loads of money if “green technology” becomes dominant, so they’ve not only invested a lot of capital in the Obama administration, they’re trying to get everyone on their bandwagon.

It seems none of them remember junior high and the way students reacted to all those anti-drug scare films because that sure worked out well. The people who didn’t approve of drugs weren’t going to do them anyway and the rest laughed at the videos they were shown. People in general don’t like scolds. They don’t like being preached to unless they asked for it. And certainly, when people tune in for entertainment, they do not want a lecture. (more…)

You can probably date yourself by remembering how much comic books cost when you were a kid. Was it a dime, a quarter, a dollar? Can you believe they cost $4 now?

As the greenies would say, that’s unsustainable. Comic books used to be common. If you went in any kids house in the 50s or early 60s you would probably find some. Not so much anymore. Comics once sold everywhere magazines were sold. You could buy them in drug stores, supermarkets, seven-elevens, newsstands, even some liquor stores. But the so called “newsstand market” was a hostile place to comics publishers, and a shrinking one.

These days, it’s hard to find comics anywhere outside of the comic book store. That means that comics have become a “destination product.” It’s something you need to know where it’s sold, you have to physically go there and if you’re lucky, they might have what you’re looking for. However, most comics retailers order to sell out. So the odds are, you may be unlucky if you don’t come on “comics day,” the day the books come in from the distributor.

And that’s another problem with comics these days. There is only one distributor. When I got in the business in the mid 80s, there were around ten distributors. But over the years they all went under leaving Diamond Comics as the sole place publishers can distribute through to the “Direct Market,” as we call it. It’s like government run health care, if there’s only one place to go for your needs, you have to like their terms. (more…)

I have a confession to make. I hate politics. That’s why I write about it, because I enjoy making fun of it. And one of the reasons I write for Big Hollywood is I am sick of other people’s politics being jammed down my throat through alleged “entertainment.”

So for many years I found escape on TV in the Food Network, because aside from the fact I like food and cooking, I loved that it was a politics-free zone. There was no angry Bush bashing, no digs at Cheney and Rumsfeld. No moral equivalency. No screaming about the 2000 election. It was all about the joy of food and cooking and how it brings people together.

In a world so divided, it was a reminder that we can all get along if we can find some common ground.

I’m sure the chefs and personalities on the network have their political views. The fact that so many of them are based in New York would suggest most lean Democrat. But the beauty of that network is never, ever does anyone let on where their politics lie. We don’t need to know who they voted for because that has nothing to do with food. It’s not relevant. And that made it a refreshing place to be. (more…)

Last night a brave and insightful documentary was aired that accurately portrayed the wave of ObamaMania that swept the nation. It was called “V” and aired on ABC to mostly rave reviews and tremendous ratings.

There was another documentary about the Obama campaign on HBO, but that left out a lot of relevant facts, so spaceships and lizard-people aside, ABC wins the veracity award.

The parable is, an attractive group of aliens show up, out of the blue, and offer universal health care, advanced technology and world peace in exchange for our trust and devotion. All we have to do is believe everything they say without question. Which means, don’t ask anything about their hidden motives or past associations because that would be racist impolite. In fact, one reporter who is offered an exclusive interview with their leader is admonished not to say anything negative or they would be denied access (Hi, Fox!).

And what do you know, the aliens are really here to eat us. And maybe even take over our car companies and banks. That part is unclear. But I’m sure they will reduce unemployment, because there will be less people looking for work. Oops, I guess “V” has nothing to do with Obama, because he sure isn’t doing well on that front. But anyhoo–

The New Republic’s Jonathan Chait was outraged by the pilot. Outraged, I say! (more…)

Last night HBO debuted the documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,” which chronicles the historic election of our 44th president. The film was shot by Alicia Sams and Amy Rice with a key assist from actor Edward Norton. The directors wanted to follow Obama around on his campaign after seeing his speech in the 2004 Democrat Convention. They couldn’t get any calls back until Ed Norton stepped in to help. Norton doesn’t appear in the film. But there are plenty of other starry-eyed voters lined up to praise “the one.”

The film’s first 45 minutes deals with the Iowa Caucus where Obama’s campaign begins. He spends eight months meeting people and working his bland charm, trying to convince everyone he’s just like them. An agreeable, prosaic kind of guy who looks good in a suit and grins a lot. There is no indication of his politics or past associations being radical. He seems a moderate. There are a few people interviewed who question his past, but it’s given little attention. (more…)

“Last Week the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) posted a press release informing the world that ‘from October 19-25, more than 60 network TV shows [will] spotlight the power and personal benefits of service,’” so wrote John Nolte last week. The EIF later denied Obama had anything to do with this even though the Administration has been pushing service as one of their agendas, even enlisting Michelle Obama as a spokesperson.

At the end of these shows there are links to websites promoting the administration and many of them happen to be left wing. Big surprise.

Only a day after the service pitch, comics strips such as Luann and Pickles did little strips promoting service with a mild joke.

Well, I think I should do my patriotic duty, too. Why not? I want to do a service for the people on the Internets. So I’m going to do a strip of my own to talk about the Obama Administration. I’m calling it Obama Nation. And I’m doing it with Batton Lash who does the great strip Supernatural Law. (more…)

After enduring another self immolating Bill Maher monologue on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Alec Baldwin was asked if Rush Limbaugh is a racist. To which Alec fell into that trap so many of his peers have in recent days:

“I think you need to always distinguish the rank and file of the Republican Party and conservatives and voters from their media representation and media stars and I believe that the people who are in the media and prominent in the media in the conservative community, speaking on behalf of the Republican Party, have a very clear racist stripe through their commentary, consistently. Not just Limbaugh but all of those people. But I don’t think that their rank and file Republicans are like that.”

Well, at least he didn’t accuse all Republicans. I guess he wanted them to keep some of them watching his show.

If there’s a sure fire way to look old and busted in today’s media world it’s to make the sweeping generalization that people who disagree with your politics are racist. It’s such a 20th Century argument. Calling someone a racist with no proof is hack. It’s like calling someone evil just because they don’t agree with you. Oh, wait–the race card hustlers do that too! They look for any evidence they can, no matter how vague or slight, to blow up into an incident. And if they can’t find one, well, they just make it up. (more…)

Al Gore, Jr. has a history of trying to juke stats to get results he wants. In the 2000 election, he wanted the Florida recount to only look at ballots in three counties with large Democrat populations and he wanted to block military votes from soldiers overseas. The reason for this was simple. He wanted the results that would make him a winner, he did not want to risk that by including all the votes in the state, especially from conservative areas like the Panhandle.

After a court in England decreed that there were 11 “inaccuracies” in “An Inconvenient Truth”, many of which could be classified as outright lies and false claims, Gore did not recut the film. So when film director Phelim McAleer asked him if he would fix the problem, Gore refused to answer and McAleer’s mic was cut.

It’s not surprising that Gore is being evasive. When a “peer reviewed” study of tree rings used in the UN’s IPCC reports referenced by people like Gore, was revisited by scientists, guess what they discovered? (more…)

Once upon a time in America, the 1960s to be exact, a generation of young people dissatisfied with the status quo decided they wanted to change society for that they felt was the better. They resented the culture of the time, which was a conservative, somewhat conformist society born out of the 1950s. Taking a cue from the Soviets who called anything that was against Communism “counter-revolutionary” they referred their movement as the “counter-culture.”

From this we got the hippies, the yippies, underground comics, groups like the SLA and the Black Panthers, all sorts of pressure groups and social movements. These were mostly influenced and orchestrated by the left. In fact, leftists had a big hand in shaping a lot of those communities and they infiltrated academia, education, government, media. Over the years they effected a lot of change to our society.

You can judge for yourself how well that worked out. But you can’t deny they managed to get a lot of what they wanted. Except what resulted is a typical example of human irony. (more…)

We recently found out that a bunch of kids in New Jersey and yesterday on CNN were told to sing songs praising President Barack Hussein Obama. This particular song caused a lot of outcry, probably because it swiped bits from “Jesus Loves Me” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” while trying to mold them into little Obamaites.

Well, in the spirit of fairness we should provide a counter-song the kids can sing to cleanse their minds of indoctrination and give them a more accurate assessment of our 44th president: (more…)

Obama supporters are outraged that the president is called a socialist or a fascist by many of his detractors. But the reason for this just doesn’t just flow from his policies, which often follow the template of a statist dictator’s power grabs.

What’s disconcerting about these NEA revelations is they clearly show the administration trying to use NEA artists for propaganda means. Not
artistic propaganda. Propaganda isn’t art. It’s an advertisement for an agenda.

PROPAGANDA (according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary)
1. the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
2 ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect (more…)