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§ Maine cartoonist Jeff Pert died suddenly at age 53. Pert was known for his local humor, and his cartoon books were a staple of Maine gift shops. Casablanca Comics Rick Lowell remembered him:

“His work is so recognizable. I’ve traveled the East Coast down to Florida, walk into gift shops and see his work everywhere,” said Lowell. “He has a niche for the type of cartoons he was doing.” Lowell carried Pert’s book, “Cartoons From Maine: How’s the Water, Bob?” published by Down East Books, and said it was a top seller last year. At Pert’s book signing, the line was out the door. “He was overwhelmed by how many people showed up,” Lowell recalled.

§ Marc Tyler Nobleman has interviewed Nancy Wykoff, granddaughter of William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman. Although Wykoff never met her grandfather, you have to imagine there were a few family stories.

He died when my dad was 13 so most of the stories came from my grandmother. Stories say that he modeled Wonder Woman after Elizabeth Marston but my grandmother, Olive Richard, claims that Wonder Woman was designed after her. If you ever see a picture of the two ladies, you would see that indeed Wonder Woman was designed after my grandmother.

Bill Marston had four children with two different women. All the children, three boys and one girl, have Marston as their last name. My grandmother Olive met Bill when she was 19. Bill came home to his wife, Elizabeth Marston, and asked if Olive could come live with them. Elizabeth agreed. Olive was the homemaker and Elizabeth was an attorney for Met Life.

§ Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar has been optioned for a film by Benderspink and Ford Gilmore’s Illuminati Entertainment. Dreadstar is a rousing space opera, and I can imagine it making quite a colorful film.

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§ For some reason, I bookmarked this Charles Burns cover for a digital reissue of Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror by Lovecraft, Chambers, Machen, Poe, and Other Masters of the Weird Probably because I love Charles Burns and he would draw a damn fine Carcosa.

§ There was another little con kerfuffle over a badge and questionable imagery, but this time organizers owner up to it in proper fashion.

§ CAF time is in full swing with the first Lineworks NW show taking up the mantle in Portland. Tom Spurgeon interviewed co-organizer Zack Soto but really this could be “model cartoonist interview 2014” as Soto talks about retail, cartooning, social media and all the other things we juggle. Also worth noting, although indie shows haven’t had many harassment reports, Lineworks has a policy in place and its zero tolerance as it should be.

§ Via Fantagraphics, how much do you know about Donald Duck´s Family Tree? Even looking at the famed Duck genealogy chart by Don Rosa, my answer is…not much.

§ I had forgotten that Miley Cyrus teamed up with John K to provide the animated backgrounds for her show but when you think about it, the current Miley looks a lot like a John K character, so props to Miley!

§ That Dubai Comic Con was banging again.

Crowds made huge lines at the entry gates to purchase tickets. “I had to wait 45 minutes to get into the exhibition halls at 1pm. The convention is open till 10pm and I can’t even imagine what the crowds in the evening are going to be like,” said one visitor. More crowds are expected to visit the halls, according to organisers.

§ Yesterday’s big battle was the news that the two Kevins, Tsujihara and Feige, are going has to head on May 6, 2014 when Captain America 3 will open against Batman-Superman (Wonder Woman if you squint.) Cap, of course, is coming off the biggest April opening ever and another massive triumph for Team Marvel. WHO IS STRONGER AT THE BOX OFFICE? I must admit when I read the cast list for Batman Superman—Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Gal Godot, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane—I thought “That is definitely the cast of a Warner Bros. movie.”

1 COMMENT

  1. Re: Uncle Scrooge’s Family Tree (not Donald… in the comics, it’s all about Scrooge)

    Yes, I know most of it, but then, one of the first nerdy things I did when I got my first email address was sign up for the Disney comics listserv.

    Don Rosa participated back then, via a numbered Compuserve account. He described the lineage, and how European Disney comics differed from the American. (Fethry, for example.)

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