The 1975 Fantastic Four Radio Show... Featuring Bill Murray?

Thanks to my main man Joe Fletch I was sent a really cool link to the Youtube page of Mr. Walther PPK that features numerous episodes of the long forgotten Fanatsic Four radio show from 1975. These stories are often word for word read from the pages of the comic books, and there is some really cool stories here featuring characters like Sub Mariner, Ant Man, and many others. But one of the coolest things has to be the casting of a pre-Saturday Night Live Bill Murray to voice the Human Torch! This is an added plus, but truth be told all the voices bring a great set of stories to the audio ear... this is a great way to acclimate younger children to comics and build up their familiarity with the characters for the future. You can watch all the episodes by clicking here (25 episodes in all), and after the jump you can see Part I & II of Attack of the Mole Man featuring Mr. Ghostbuster himself....

Remember That Time That Tommy Lombardozzi Designed Character Cut Outs For The Fantastic Four Movie Premiere?

I have a friend that works as a producer at MTV. Back in the Spring of 2005, when I was pretty new at doing freelance illustration, he had asked me if I wanted to do drawings of the Fantastic Four that would adorn the set of their upcoming Fantastic Four movie premiere special. Of course I said yes!


The idea was that my drawings would be blown up, life-sized, and then made into big placards that would accompany the actors playing the specific parts. I was excited because I was going to be able to go to the filming of the show and meet "The Commish" himself, Michael Chiklis! (I was also a fan of his because he played Belushi in the not-very-good adaptation of Bob Woodward's Belushi biography, 'Wired'. I didn't like the movie, but I thought Chiklis did a great job.) Plus, I'd get to meet that sweet piece, Jessica Alba. MING!

Click after the jump for more of the story and the pics...

The New Ultimate X-Men Look Pretty Cool.... But What Is The Human Torch Doing Here?

The first preview pics of Marvel's new Ultimate X-Men #1 (it comes out in September) comic has hit the web, and all I can say is that i am intrigued and confused at the same time. In like the look of the characters (except for Iceman rocking a fitted hat while in ice form... whats up with that?), but I am intrigued by the choice of characters they chose to focus on. The Human Torch? Whats he doing in the X-Men? Also, I like the retro yet futuristic look of Wolverine's costume. Plus, I always love the good old yellow costume on Logan. he looks very Bruce Lee/Game of Death or /Uma Thurman/Kill Bill in that getup. Kitty Pryde, Rouge, Colossus, and Iceman make for some familiar faces as well. The book will be written by Nick Medina and drawn by Paco Medina. the cover art is done by the awesomely talented Kaare Andrews. Thanks to MTV Geek for the preview. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

***Click Read more below to see some panels from Ultimate X-Men#1***

R.I.P. Human Torch, One Of The World's Greatest Superheroes by James West

Hello, CCDers. I return after a long period of absence caused by being tremendously busy (classes starting again + being elected President of my fraternity + being addicted to Dead Rising 2). Alas, I return with unfortunate and sad news: the Human Torch is dead.
“It’s just a fictional character!”, you might say. Well, yes, but he’s not “just” a fictional character. I will cite Kyle’s speech from Imaginationland regarding the “realness” of character for an explanation on that. “Comic book deaths never last!”, you may jest as well. This is also true. But, just because they’ll be back…they’re still gone. To the characters in the universe they’re dead, for the mean time they’re dead, and if it’s one of your favorite superheroes (like me), the absence is notably felt.

I write this now because I realized today that I was going through the 5 stages of grief. First, I denied it. “No way…he’ll be back. He’s probably not even dead. I’ll give it a year or two.” Then Marvel announced that the Fantastic Four is effectively ending and will now become the Future Foundation. I moved from denial to anger. “How could Marvel do this? Don’t they know he’s a beloved character? Future Foundation?! How could they?!” I skipped over bargaining because…I don’t really think I could have bargained anything. I’m now in depression/acceptance. I’m actually depressed he’s gone. But, I will give credit where credit is due: this is the first superhero death I’ve cared about in a long time. Marvel and Hickman really sold it and made his death suiting for the hero he was. I sound really overdramatic, but what the hey…maybe my priorities aren’t the most in order. Oh well!

So here’s to you, Johnny. Things won’t be the same without you. Until you come back, of course.

***Spoilers after jump***