Allen Swift, 1924-2010

As reported on Dave Mackey Dot Com, voice actor Allen Swift had passed away at age 86. He did voicework for the Gene Dietch-directed Tom and Jerry shorts during the early 80's.

Play Ball!

Baseball season's started, and what better way to kick off the season by watching some baseball-related cartoons.

Baseball Bugs



Goofy in "How to Play Baseball"



The Screwball



Batty Baseball

May The Farce Be With You, Always.

George Lucas and Robot Chicken have announced that there will be a sitcom based on the Star Wars franchise. So, laugh it up furball. :D

April Fools' Day 2010

This is all I could come up for this year: A Popeye short on April Fools' Day, and that's no joke.

Legendary Inker Dick Giordano Passes Away

Inker Dick Giordano, who worked on DC Comics including the landmark one-shot, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, has died. He was 77 years old.

Tezuka Osamu-sensai no Ecchi? Lengendary Mangaka Worked on X-Rated film Cleopatra: Queen of Sex

NSFW ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Osamu Tezuka's X-Rated 'Cleopatra' Movie

Kamehameha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dragon Ball Kai to debut this Spring.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2 Rumors

According to io9.com, stars Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Liev Schreiber (Sabertooth) are in talks to appear in the sequel to last Spring's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The sequel will take place in Japan, and that's all I know.

Deadpool Madness

Rob Liefeld's ever-so-popular "Merc with a Mouth", Deadpool, will debut next month with another series called Deadpool Corps, according to CBR.

Now They Come in White

Add Another Lantern Ring To Your Collection

The Incredibley True Story on the Short-Lived Ruby-Spears' Superman Saturday Morning Series

And, IIRC, according to an article posted on Wikipedia, Ruby-Spears' Superman was the first of the DC Superheroes to have a show that took place post-Crisis.

So, here's the article:

Something Old, Something New, Something Ruby, Something Supes

BTW, the entire 13-episode run of RS Superman is now available on DVD: http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Spears-Superman-Joe-Ruby/dp/B002K0WBDM

Former V.P. Candidate and Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, Lashes Out Against Family Guy

Palin lashes out at 'Family Guy'

By BECKY BOHRER

The Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — Sarah Palin is lashing out at the portrayal of a character with Down syndrome on the Fox animated comedy "Family Guy."

In a Facebook posting headlined "Fox Hollywood — What a Disappointment," the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and current Fox News contributor said Sunday night's episode felt like "another kick in the gut." Palin's youngest son, Trig, has Down syndrome.

The episode features the character Chris falling for a girl with Down syndrome. On a date, he asks what her parents do.

She replies: "My dad's an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska."

Palin resigned as Alaska governor last summer.

Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, also was quoted on her mother's Facebook page, calling the show's writers "heartless jerks."

"When you're the son or daughter of a public figure, you have to develop thick skin. My siblings and I all have that, but insults directed at our youngest brother hurt too much for us to remain silent," she is quoted as saying.

"If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed," Bristol Palin added in the Monday posting. "All they proved is that they're heartless jerks."

Palin wrote that she'd asked her daughter what she thought of the show and Bristol's reply was "a much more restrained and gracious statement than I want to make about an issue that begs the question: When is enough enough?"

This isn't the first time Palin has spoken out over an attack, real or perceived, on her family. Last year, she condemned a joke David Letterman made about her daughter, for which he later apologized.

A "Family Guy" publicist didn't immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

Things That Make You Wanna Go Eww! io9's Top Five Most Disturbing X-Men Love Affairs

Top Five Most Disturbing X-Men Love Affairs

Iowa Man Sentinced to 6 Months in Jail for Possessing 'Obscene' Japanese Manga

Special thanks to Neil Gaiman who tweeted this article.

Courtesy of Wired.com

‘Obscene’ U.S. Manga Collector Jailed 6 Months

Christopher Handley was sentenced in Iowa on Thursday, (.pdf) almost a year after pleading guilty to charges of possessing “obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.”

The 40-year-old was charged under the 2003 Protect Act, which outlaws cartoons, drawings, sculptures or paintings depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and which lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Handley was the nation’s first to be convicted under that law for possessing cartoon art, without any evidence that he also collected or viewed genuine child pornography.

Without a plea deal with federal authorities, he faced a maximum 15-year sentence.

Comic fans were outraged, saying jailing someone over manga does not protect children from sexual abuse. “I’d say the anime community’s reaction to this, since day one, has been almost exclusively one of support for Handley and disgust with the U.S. courts and legal system,” Christopher MacDonald, editor of Anime News Network, said in an e-mail.

Congress passed the Protect Act after the Supreme Court struck down a broader law prohibiting any visual depictions of minors engaged in sexual activity, including computer-generated imagery and other fakes. The high court ruled that the ban was too broad, and could cover legitimate speech, including Hollywood productions.

In response, the Protect Act narrows the prohibition to cover only depictions that the defendant’s community would consider “obscene.”

The case began in 2006, when customs officials intercepted and opened a package from Japan addressed to Handley. Seven books of manga inside contained cartoon drawings of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts and bestiality.

The Anime News Network says the seven books are:

* Mikansei Seifuku Shōjo (Unfinished School Girl) by Yuki Tamachi (LE Comics)
* I [Heart] Doll by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)
* Kemono for ESSENTIAL 3 (THE ANIMAL SEX ANTHOLOGY Vol.3) by Masato Tsukimori et al (Izumi Comics)
* Otonari Kazoku (Neighboring House Family) by Nekogen (MD Comics)
* Eromon by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)
* Kono Man_ ga Sugoi! (This Man_ is Awesome!) by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)
* Hina Meikyū (Doll Labyrinth) by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)

Obscure Superhero Sibiling Returns as A Villain

Even the posters at CBR's X-Books forum knew it had to happen one day.

CBR: McCann Makes Dazzler Sing Once More

Gigantic Problems for both Olivia Muun and Antarctic Press

Gigantic Problems for both Olivia Muun and Antarctic Press

Lawyers attempt to stop Olivia Munn comic

* Posted on February 5, 2010 - 11:04 AM by Kevin Melrose

Online retailer Heavy Ink has been targeted by attorneys seeking to stop the release of a comic book starring model/actress Olivia Munn.

As Boing Boing noted on Thursday, the cease-and-desist letter demands that all advertising, distribution and production stop on Antarctic Press' Celebrity Showdown Olivia Munn One Shot #1, a "hilarious spoof" that finds the Attack of the Show co-host swarmed by fans at Comic-Con International.

"Unable to escape," the solicitation text reads, "her gamma-irradiated cells explode and unleash the fury of The 50-Foot Womunn. It's the showdown of the century! Geeks vs Munn!"

The letter states that Munn did not grant permission for her image to be used or exploited, and seeks the destruction of all copies of the comic, which is due for release in April.

Heavy Ink President Travis Corcoran has brushed off the legal threats, clarifying that Celebrity Showdown isn't the retailer's comic -- it's written and drawn by Brian Denham for Antarctic -- and arguing that Munn is a public figure and fair game for parody.

However, as intellectual-property attorney Geoff Gerber points out, this isn't an issue of copyright but of right of publicity, which involves an individual's right to control and profit from the commercial use of her name and likeness.

"There is no absolute defense to a right of publicity claim based upon parody," Gerber writes. "Instead, parody is part of the general defense based upon First Amendment free-speech rights. ... It should also be noted that it is not clear that Celebrity Showdown would be considered a parody."

I've contacted Antarctic Press for comment, and I'll update the post when they reply.

Trailer to Live-Action Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers) Film

The film will be released in Japan later this year.

From Bed to Worse

The last installment of the Ant and the Aardvark series that came out in 1971 which is heavily based on Fritz Freleng's "Greedy for Tweety", right down to the sore, broken foot gag.