Death... Death, Everywhere

In all of media and around the world - that is! And it shouldn't be surprising to anyone; for it is the only certainty in this life. And yet... And yet... It is trivialized. It is rendered meaningless, in a myriad of ways: atheists claim there is NOTHING beyond, after all. And in mass, popular entertainment -such as the immensely profitable Marvel films- it is truly devoid of meaning. Because each and every dead character *of significance* will cheat death and come back, oftentimes even better off for it, rendering death as a mere time off in limbo... and not the Transition with a capital ''T'' that it truly is. And imagine this: Marvel will even do this when one of their most significant of all contributors -Stan Lee- has passed on - their most brainless fans were found making fun of the demise by suggesting that he, too, will return in the same fashion each and every single one of those super-heroes did before and will do again in the very near-future (in that pestiferous ''Infinity War'' of theirs; nincompoops of little importance, *that* is *not* the war that could be deemed as such - the only one of that magnitude has got Angels, Demons and the Son of God Himself as the main protagonists. No idiots in spandex need apply there! But that is another story...) 

MARVEL, you see, suffers from a serious lack of IMAGINATION. Albert Einstein said it best: IMAGINATION -true, luminous imagination- IS GREATER THAN KNOWLEDGE. And, poor Marvel Zombies - they have got none of that. They are dum-dums, at best. Their idea of an ''imaginative, fun ride'' is very formulaic, redundant, hackneyed recycled ideas rephrased again and again - ad nauseam. It made sense - in Stan Lee's days, especially, since his basic job description was the same as any other guy in print back then - it was to sell copy. But in his latter days, Stan had moved from New York to Hollywood - he saw himself as movie mogul, at the ripe old age of 95. And neither he nor anyone else at Marvel or Disney have ever learned otherwise... 

Instead of selling copy, they are selling movie tickets. 

DEATH is even presented poorly, extremely poorly: a most illogical entity that is, on top of being inept and irrelevant, not consistent one iota. That wretched hull of an empty shell of a ''villain'' called ''THANOS'' (not even the true name it should have: ''THANATOS'' means death in Greek - and guess what, it is DC that has it. They misused it, too - but that is another story... too!) has obtained unlimited power in their latest waste of celluloid they call ''a good movie'' - and what does the moron do with that? He can snap his fingers and have anyone he wants blink out of existence - yet he leaves several of the most powerful foes he has alive, thriving (though shaking in their booties) and plotting revenge! (Well, of course they are: they didn't steal the name ''Avengers'' from Emma Peel, John Steed, Cathy Gale, Tara King and ITC for nothing, you know!)  

R.I.P. Patrick MacNee a.k.a. John Steed... 

Dame Diana Rigg is still with us, in the land of the Living... 

But for how much longer...?

Everyone knows, in addition to this, that most everyone who ''died'' in the last installment will be back - hell, no one in their right mind would leave a billion dollar franchise player simply vanish into nothingness! Billion-dollar franchise for all the wrong, purely circumstantial reasons, of course... You know who you are: Black Panther! The Black Panther movement may have really died - but the character sucking out tons of money from an delusional community will never die - he won't be allowed to. If Chadwick Boseman kicks the bucket anytime soon, recasting will keep the whole thing afloat; you can be damn sure of it. 

But back to DEATH here... 

If its devoted champion - that would be the big dud; ''Thanos'' - was any tiny bit good at what he strives to do and be, he would have gone about it logically: as the Grim Reaper(-ess?) itself would have or should have! At one snap of the fingers, wiped off the face of the Earth would all the improbable, illogical, all-around impossible behemoths conjured up by Stan and his many cohorts through the years - while invoking all manners of source materials that they merrily pilfered for their own potential gain, advantage and alleged "creative venture" that begat the abomination called "Marvel" now... In other words, that "Thanos" troglodyte would take out all the Hulks, Thors, Iron Men around - leaving only a Black Widow, a malinger Hawkeye and, perhaps, an American Captain out there; all of which can put up some kind of a fight (out of desperation) but, obviously, none are a real threat to any alleged "cosmic" threat...!  (Especially one backed up by DEATH ITSELF - but then again, one has got to be logical about it! And it is not sure that Marvel ever will be - ever!) 

This is what an accurate, cunning, calculating DEATH entity would have done - or any of its most, ah, intimate associates would have vied to accomplish, too, in order to impress the supposed DEATH MISTRESS...! Taking out 50% of them, but not just any 50% - the top 50%... duh! But that is not what we saw in that wretched piece of cinematography crap - is it now? Ultimately, it does not even matter here, as none of them stay dead in the blasted "Marvel Universe" - they won't risk skipping the chance to milk it as long and as much as it can possibly be milked - in any case!

In the real world, just this past year, there were so many big names that bit the dust - it wasn't just Stan Lee! 2018 was a real massacre --- but then, so was 2017... and 2016... and 2015...

Marvel doesn't have the accurate version of DEATH, of course - DC does! For this intent and purpose (a hot/goth girrrlfriend that a big goof is bent on impressing - big time!) it is definitely DC's version that needs to be employed: DC's or Vertigo's, whichever you prefer. (Vertigo is a mere imprint used, once upon a time, to section the "DC Universe" in pre-Multiverse daze... er, days. Don't ask.) This... odd twist on a Death entity that suddenly becomes quite... shapely and seductive -on a permanent basis- rather than boney and outright creepy is not (never) to be confused with Lady Death from the appropriately defunct Chaos/Coffin Comics (L.D who was the object of a cinematic treatment too - in 2004 - albeit a piece of animation only but one that featured James Faulkner VI in a supporting voiceover role; not to be confused with the James Faulkner who was Paul, Apostle of Christ most recently...! Furthermore, L.D -seen in all her deathly splendor, below- is also not to be confused with Lady Deathstrike - a Marvel - just like The Terminator is never to be confused with Deathstroke The Terminator... a DC - duh.) 

...this, factually, throwaway character born in the fiery pits of hell 

as much as in the feverish imagination of its supposed creator- was ranked 

39th on the Comics Buyer's Guide's 100 Sexiest Women In Comics list. 

That was... a number of years ago! 

And yet - this is still not the best DEATH around! 

(Believe it or not - I know; with all that curvaceous glitz, it is hard to believe... I know, I know! Have you checked out the Marvel Deathstrike, though? That'll will have the effect of the cold shower you need... dweebs! And then you can resume reading on...!) 

Because the only accurate representation of DEATH to be found anywhere is that of the Angel of Death... and that of the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse... and that is to be found in the pages of only one book - The Good Book... The Holy Bible.

This DEATH doesn't mess around - if you're gone, you are out of there --- which is here, this realm, this plane of existence... for good!!! No coming back - no fancy return: you get to MOVE ON instead... depart this dimension, ascend or descend (to each his own) until Kingdom Come - in all likelihood. Hence the terms "goner" and "departed" and "dead" dammit --- !!! Why is it such a hard, difficult concept to grasp by the idiots penning those garbage throwaway-stories-that-make-no-sense for this sub-genre that has taken over completely in creatively-bankrupt Tinseltown... huh?!? 

And as we stand on the cusp of a new year once again - as those Marvel Zombies watch on, bewildered, as the very DC Aquaman rules the box-office like no Black Panther, none of their Avengers and certainly no mutie of theirs has ever done...  BEHOLD, BRAIN DEAD: DEATH IS EVER NEARER TO YOUR DWELLING! 
Your days are ever more so numbered - and you know it! TIME IS SHORT; make the most of what little time there is left! DEATH stands ready, with its scythe - it is flanked by Pestilence... War... Famine, its fellow Horsemen (in most, classic interpretations, anyway!) --- not by any "Thanoses" or "Evil Ernies" or mutant rebels without much of a cause really...

MAY YOU MAKE THE MOST 

OF THIS NEW YEAR --- 

AND AVOID GETTING 

RUN OVER BY A CAR!

You want to be a 

Luminous Pedestrian 

--- don't you? 

Comic Book Deaths - nothing "comic" about it...

No, I do not mean Captain America...



Nor do I mean Deadman - although his creator, Arnold Drake, just passed away indeed... DEATH has been very busy making sure comic-book CREATORS take note that when it strikes, no one can come back (save for Divine Intervention...) - so that, maybe, comic-bookie scribes and (pr)editors will want to stop trivializing the passage from this world into the next...?
(And when I say "the next", I do not mean alternate realities, other dimensions, "pocket universes", "bottled realms/cities", "elseworlds", "hypertime" type planes of existence, alternate timelines or "mirror universes" - none of that crap, no!)


Dave Cochrum - at only 63 years of age, Legion of Super-Heroes and X-Men artist D.C. (!) passed away, of complications from diabetes, back in November 2006.
His widow, Paty had been very vocal about her dislike of Marvel, both her husband's former employer as her own (she had worked in the infamous Marvel Bullpen.)
Was there some form of malicious/psychic backlash, generated by one of those accursed Marvel mutants, against her beloved husband?
Doubtful - but Joe Quesada's evil eye, alone, could cause some discomfort to the best of them, I am sure...
Mr. Cochrum had created a lot of "cool characters" for the new X-Men - Storm and Nightcrawler notably - as well as eventual DC property Tyr, who was going to be a part of the new X-Men but, instead, wound up in the Legion of Super-Heroes' rogues gallery, where he would have been forgotten for the remarquable chance to be selected to get his own first-rate action figure done -against all odds in many ways- as a part of the Super Powers line from 1985. Tyr was thus given that treatment long before the X-Men were - I am at a loss though as to whether Dave Cochrum got any percentage at all from the sales of his character's figure. Though his creation and all, DC is notorious to not give creators their due (see more about that in Arnold Drake's eulogy - and in assorted obituaries throughout this site, whenever DC comes up...!) Dave Cochrum was every bit as good for the Legion as Steve Lightle was - and he was every bit as good for teams such as The Champions and the X-Men as George Perez had been for the Avengers and the Fantastic Four (and MUCH better than John Byrns had been to the latter team... My opine! Paty Cochrum has her opine too! Sue us both - why don't you, Marr-v-hell...)
Dave Cochrum is sorely missed.
Much courage to you, Paty.


Martin Nodell - the man who came up with the idea for the Golden Age Green Lantern "after seeing a New York subway train operator waving a lantern with a green light" (who said riding the subway was a waste of time) died last December at his home in Muskego, Wisconsin. He was 91. Mr. Nodell had also helped develop the character of the Pillsbury Doughboy, as it turns out - he had left the comic-book industry in the 1960s to go into advertising, see... The Green Lantern and the Pillsbury Doughboy are, cousins thus - who knew. And both are bereaved now; and orphans.
My condolences to the Nodells - belatedly.
(Hey - I am bereaved too; and awaiting condolences from some parties that, I know, will NEVER come forth... Not even belatedly!!!)


Arnold Drake - the creator of Doom Patrol, Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadman is, hence, a dead man as well now. He was 83 - he had just celebrated his birthday, in fact, and was hospitalized days later, to die a few days into said hospitalization ultimately. His gravestone will bear similar markings than those on my father's - as both were born and passed on in the same month of March. Arnold Drake had similat bad luck to mine, to boot - although basically luckier for starters (he was commissioned by a publisher to come up with concepts - me, I sent them in, unsolicited... His were picked up, mine were not.)
He saw his Doom Patrol have the misfortune of coming out virtually at the same time than similarly-themed X-Men; and the latter project eventually became extremely successful, while his did not. He conceptualized "Stanley & His Monster" way before a certain well-known cartoonist came up with the hugely popular Calvin And Hobbes - both have striking similarities too, but not the same degree of success, at all.
Only Deadman (pictured below) remains, as his lone "great success" - yet it is too eclectic and sophisticated (as, also, close to the truth) to meet with wide approval from the masses. Arnold Drake fought the good fight too: he championed the cause of his fellow older creators who were not properly taken care of in their latter days by the publishers who'd enriched themselves at their expense. He fought editorial thick-headedness - to the point that he was ousted unceremoniously and never again "allowed back in" (into what - an accursed nepotitical system such as that is rampant and prevailing in places such as DC, Marvel and others? Maybe one is better off out of it entirely...)
Now, Arnold Drake is admitted into a much better exclusive club: Scribesmen' Heaven!
I am sure Boston Brand showed him the way to get there by now...
Rest In Peace, Arnold Drake.



Marshall Rogers - only 57, Marshall passed away in late March of "unknown causes", originally... A stroke could be the cause although, at lugubrious blogging time, the true causes had not been revealed. An artist of great talent, Rogers had drawn a plethora of eclectic characters; but his best known work remains that which he rendered on the damnable Batman. At least Rogers had more integrity than most - he did not sell out and simply keep churning out Batty material in a market already saturated with it...
Marshall Rogers was the best - and he got so few chances to display it.
Sounds like someone I know, once more... But I am digressing, again...


R.I.P. guys




Boston Brand - aka Deadman