BPD EXPRESS: Sixth Edition

SUPER POWERED NEWS BITES

Harry Sampson The Real Homer?
After a twenty year battle Harry Sampson, the newly announced 'original face of Homer Simpson,' has finally been acknowledged by Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Of course, the payout of a $20 settlement will help too—possibly with tonight's dinner.

"They mocked my visage and my speech to create that dufus. I hope the loss of twenty bucks will teach them they can't do this to people."

After it was suggested he might have asked for twenty million dollars Sampson slapped himself on the forehead with a heartfelt "D'oh!"

Images by photographer Pixeloo see more of his work at pixeloo.blogspot.com

Batman Secret Identity Hoax
A recent media frenzy speculated a note (sprawled on a Gotham City mailbox) had revealed Batman's secret identity. That of billionaire Bruce Wayne. This week BPD has discovered a much less interesting though more insidious truth: America has punctuation issues.

Calvin Hogdutter just wanted to share a "goofy idea I'd gotten" with a friend who wasn't home at the time. "I just couldn't wait," said the cum laude grad, "so I wrote it on the mailbox. Who knew a comma changes the meaning of a sentence?!"

Hogdutter's missive should have read:
"Bruce, Wayne is Batman"

As in their mutual friend Wayne Peterson
of 1221 Lovecraft St, West Gotham.

Sadly, this information has also proven erroneous.

photo by Occasional Superheroine. See more of her work at occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com

J.Lo's Baby-Daddy the Skeleton in He-Man's Closet
Although many claim to have known it all along, we now have incontrovertible proof that singer Marc Anthony is in fact Skeletor.

"I just don't know why he ripped off his mask the way he did," said the fan who caught this candid shot of the couple. "I mean, we all suspected. It's right there in the bone structure. But, why'd he come out of the closet so suddenly!? I almost pissed my pants...by the way, has anyone seen that kid? I'm just sayin'..."

We Need Your HELP!
Spotted any other Masters of the Universe characters on the streets? Have they been makin' babies? Let us know. Upload a picture.

NEWS BITES COMPILED BY
Senior Editor SHERIN NICOLE

Fantastic Forum: BPD Live Action

Comic Book Brain Trust!
Three Great Comics Bloggers!
One Big Mouth Chicks!
and A Dancing Robot!

See members of the BPD Crew, live!
(and be on the lookout for a BPD Newscast coming soon)



FOR MORE VISIT DCFANTASTICFORUM.COM
(forgive me for being a bit of a jerk in the beginning. I was having a realityTV moment)

American Hero: Behind The Scenes- John Fortune, Swash and DB

BUGLES PLANET DAILY is proud to bring you a "behind the scenes" interview with John Fortune (JF), Sam Washburn (SW) and Michael Vogali (DB). All three men are part of AMERICAN HERO, the first reality show to feature aces and jokers; John and Sam are literally behind the scenes, while Michael is a contestant.

Who will be the first American Hero? Well, we don't answer that here, but we have lots of interesting stuff below!

First, let’s find out who you are. How are you associated with AMERICAN HERO?
JF: Hi. My name is John Fortune. Peregrine, that is, my mother’s production company, is doing the show. I’m an assistant, liaisoning with the contestants.

DB: Me? I’m [bleep]ing Michael Vogali of [rock band] the Joker Plague. You can call me Michael, you can call me DB. Just don’t call me that other name -- the one they’re using on the show.

SW: I’m Sam Washburn, aka Swash or “His Nibs.” I’m production artist for the show. I’ve done a lot of logos and graphics and the T-shirts and coffee cup designs, plus some illustrations for the website. I’m a fairly well established artist and graphic designer, and an ace myself. Topper recommended me for the gig.

The auditions for the show seem to have been pretty intense. What’s your favorite moment from these tryouts… and what bits never made it to broadcast?
SW: Well, the show’s still running, so it’s more a case of “haven’t been broadcast yet.” There’s reels of footage, and every time someone gets eliminated, they’ve been going back to the original tryouts to show scenes of the contestants that they didn’t have space for in the first episode.

But without spoiling anything, I think my favorite moment has to be Dragon Huntress’s try-out. One moment she’s got this tiny toy, next moment BAM! This huge dragon. Startled me so much my fingers shot ink all over the page, but that’s what you call getting the creative juices flowing. I’ve got pages of that damn dragon.

JF: Boy, that’s hard to pick. There were so many great moments. Unfortunately, due to, um, time constraints and, um, such things, not all tryouts could be shown on television. There was Simoon’s tryout where, you know, her power is to turn into a living dust devil, but of course when she, ah, re-solidifies she doesn’t have any clothes, and the cameras – um, well, maybe we better not get too deeply into that.

DB: What audition? The auditions were a [bleep]ing joke -- our manager, K.A. Cohen, had already made arrangements for me to be on the show before the auditions even started.

As for the rest of the crew -- I never watched any of the auditions, so I have no opinion at all.

Do you feel sorry for the failed or discarded wild carders? I mean, some of them really tried hard… some of the Confessionals are very touching, even emotional.
DB: Sorry for what? For taking part in staged ‘challenges’ that didn’t mean anything to anyone, that didn’t show heroism, that weren’t about anything real, where everyone -- well, most everyone; the ones of us who have genuine abilities -- had to hold back on to make sure we actually didn’t hurt anyone? Why should anyone even [bleep]ing care?It’s a game. Period.

It’s no worse than losing at Monopoly.

SW: I feel sorry for a lot of them. I mean, drawing your wild card, it’s like Yay! Not dead! Yay, kewl power on top of it! Even if it’s something like fountain pen fingernails. Then a week later it’s Damn, still broke and everyone’s looking at you funny because you’re an ace and aren’t you supposed to be rolling in money? Plus you’ve got all sorts of troubles most people don’t even think about, especially insurance. I mean, slamming my tail in a door is not a “Pre-existing medical condition.”

I think the one who understands that most is Bugsy–Jonathan Hive–who’s got a really cool blog, but he’s not going to get the exposure like he would if he stayed to the end of the show. And that really sucks.

JF: (Shrugs) I don’t particularly care for the game-playing myself, bu, you know, the people who go on the show do so for different motives which we can’t really control. Some are very sincere. Others have more, um, complex, motivations. It takes all kinds to make a good television show.

Are the contests fair? Seems a bit harsh to throw Golden Boy at a bunch of rookies! SW: Well, you know, Golden Boy was a rookie once too. But I think the contests are as fair as they can make them. I mean the writers–all reality shows have writers–are always sitting around, talking about this contestant and this power and what will be a challenge for them and what will be a cakewalk.

There was a lot of talk initially of having Golden Boy go up against the Spades, because there were good odds of Rosa Loteria taking him out with a lucky draw, but they finally decided what would make the best television and also settle a question would be to see whether Bubbles bubbles were stronger than Golden Boy’s shield.

They weren’t, but it was a close thing, and remember, she’s just learning how to use her power.

DB: Duh. There wasn’t any ‘fairness’ in this at all. The producers knew who they wanted to be their American Hero -- or at least they knew who they wanted the finalists to be -- and they made damned sure that’s who got there. Right: throw three genuine aces at three teams, and then use a [bleep]ing stage musician with no ace skills whatsoever at the fourth. And they were still so lame they couldn’t beat the idiot.

Fairness? Life ain’t fair, either, but at least life ain’t rigged.

JF: Fair? Sure. Of course.

Do you have a favorite contestant? Maybe… a least-favorite contestant?
JF: Well, I shouldn’t take sides. Curveball is very...nice...

DB: Other than myself, you mean? Kate [aka Curveball]. Kate deserved to win the whole thing, and she should have.

SW: A favorite? Probably Tiffani. She’s very pretty and she’s fun to draw–diamonds have all these amazing refractions, so drawing her is like drawing tiny rainbows–and she really needs the money. I’ve met homeless jokers who weren’t that poor, and she’s going to be sharing whatever she wins with her family.

Least favorite? DB. He didn’t try out for the show, he was cast by his agent, and that isn’t fair to everyone else, especially people like Tiffani. But more than that, he’s talked all sorts of smack about my brother and his band, and I’m sorry, the Joker Plague is good, but they wouldn’t be where they are today if The Jokertown Boys hadn’t been there first.

What is Peregrine like out of the klieg lights? And is Digger that rough-edged in real life?
SW: Peregrine’s really nice, and she’s that funny in real life–it’s not just her writers feeding her lines. She’s the best thing that happened to jokers rights ever, and an incredibly savvy businesswoman too. Well, okay, her magazine flopped, but her power is flight, not predicting the future.

Digger? He’s...well, if you think he’s rough on the air, wait till you see his notes on possible logo designs. If he ever draws a wild card, it’ll probably to make Post-its that catch fire after you read them.

JF: Like any Mom who happens to be a gorgeous, multiple-award winning celebrity. (Shrugs) I grew up with it. I guess I’m used to seeing all those Emmys lined up in a row at the Malibu beach house.Digger is...unique. He and my mother go back a long way. My step-dad broke his nose, once.

DB: Outside the stage lights, Peregrine’s an old lady. You should see her in the sunlight, where you can see all the lines even past the facelifts and plastic surgery. And she’s hard as nails, too.

Downs? Yeah, he’s a [bleep]ing [bleep]hole no matter which side of the camera he’s on.

Help us understand the public fascination with wild carders. Why are we crazy about aces and jokers?
JF: Because, there but for the grace of God go you or I. I know.

SW: I guess it’s because people are always fascinated by the exotic, the extraordinary and the lucky, and that’s what every ace and joker is.

Don’t get me wrong, I know jokers who’ve been horribly crippled by the wild card, but the most crippled person I’ve ever met was a nat with cerebral palsy, and it’s hard for even the most whacked-out joker separatist to look at someone like that and not realize that whatever’s happened to them, they’re still luckier than that. And even a crippled nat is still luckier than the people who drew the black queen, like my parents.

DB: Guilt. Because you weren’t infected, and we were. Pure and simple. Cheering the aces makes you feel better about thinking “I’m so [bleep]ing glad I don’t have the virus, because I don’t want to die horribly or be turned into some horrible monster.” ‘Cause that’s what all you nats are thinking.

And you’re right.

What’s the best bit of gossip or favorite wacky theory you’ve heard kicked around? (My favorite is that Dr. Tod was working for the US government.)
DB: Look, gossip is garbage, and if that’s important to you, then this rag of yours is pretty much garbage too. Get a [bleep]ing life.

JF: I’ve heard it all. That Tachyon was working for the U.S. government, that he was a Russian spy – I mean, how crazy is that? Even that the Takisians are really Nazis who came from the Earth’s core. (Shakes his head)

SW: That’s wacky? I heard that all the time growing up in Jokertown. Lots of people think he still is, but he got jumped into a new body during the Rox war.

The craziest you regularly hear is that whenever some joker goes missing and they don’t find the body, people say they were spirited away to live with Bloat in a magical land filled with cake and ice cream. Or if there’s something really crazy, that it’s just a mental projection of Bloat.

Currently they’re saying that about the mayor’s budget.

Is the second season already in development? We hear ratings have been pretty solid…
JF: Oh, yes. Teams will soon be crisscrossing America, looking for the next edition of the American Hero.

DB: Sure, the second season will go on. With even more lame aces, too, since they’ve already picked the cream of the crop. They’ll let this [bleep] run as long as it makes money -- that’s what’s it’s all about in Hollyweird. Cash. The bottom line. That’s all the ratings mean: you’re making money or you’re not.

SW: Everything’s already in development. This is Hollywood. But yeah, ratings have been pretty good, which is great.

It’s been more than 61 years since Wild Card Day. Have you ever speculated about how the world might have turned out without the wild card?
DB: A hell of a lot less interesting. But probably no better -- we’ve been good at [bleep]ing each other over since long before the Wild Card. This just gives us another excuse.

SW: What, you mean like the Harry Turtledove alternate history novels? Or the Takisian Regency books, with Dr. Tachyon having an affair with Jane Austen?

But honestly, everyone knows how the world would have turned out without the wild card–we would have been eaten by the Swarm when they invaded.

Sure, I think we all would have loved if the Takisians had done better product testing, but it’s like drawing your wild card–getting something other than a black queen is a good thing. Earth–not dead. Yay!

JF: We’ve survived the wild card so far, we probably would have survived without it...though I’m sure that the world would have been a lot less colorful a place.

Lastly, any speculation on public figures who are hidden aces? I’ve got a bet riding on a certain big-name movie star being an unsuspected ace.
DB: God, you’re really stuck on this crap, aren’t you? Who the [bleep] cares? So someone wants to keep their power a secret so [bleep]holes like you don’t go bothering them with stupid [bleep] questions and shoving cameras in their faces.

Sometimes I wish I could be a hidden ace. I wish I could pass as normal -- and if I could, I’d damned well keep it a secret too. I say good for them if they’re still in the deck.


JF: I don’t speculate on things like that. I try to let people have as much privacy as they want.

SW: Unexpected? Everyone who looks at Vin Diesel knows that nats don’t get muscles that big naturally, though I’d call him more of a deuce or reverse joker, but so what? He’s a fun action star.

And I know she tested negative for the wild card, but if you’ve studied bone structure, you can tell that Paris Hilton has some Takisian blood. Maybe she’s not Tachyon’s direct love child, but if Takisians were coming here during the Regency? Oh yeah.

She’s definitely using mind control to get people that obsessed with her.

Thanks, and we’ll keep watching AMERICAN HERO!
JF: Thanks.

DB: That, my friend, just shows you’re a loser. But hey, you’re welcome.

BUGLES PLANET DAILY would like to thank John Jos. Miller, S.L. Farrell and Kevin Andrew Murphy for making this interview happen.

This Just In: Jimmy Olsen STILL Not Dead!

APOKOLIPS - Local gambling dens are gloomy over the protracted existence of James B. Olsen of Metropolis, Earth. Oddsmakers put the redhead's chances of survival at 500-1 last year, but now are lucky to take action at 3-2.

"What can I tell you, the kid's like a weed," mutters Draka Soob, proprietor of a nameless betting parlor in the shadow of Darkseid's 17th-largest statue. "We keep expecting to hear that he's gone, but no! Shows up again with some funky power, like he's buddies with the Source or something. I hoped that freaky red eye thing that ate Apokolips a couple weeks ago might do the job, but again--no."

"Olsen's goin' toe-to-toe with the boss," added Thudd, Soob's crony and night shift bouncer (which means he works roughly 23.5 hours per day). "One flick of the Omega Beams and the kid's toast. I got money ridin' on it."

Perry White, editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, said, "Olsen is one of my top young recruits. He's gutsy and is getting some good training in being a newsman. If he makes it through this whole New Gods thing, he'll be a top notch reporter... eventually."

Red Robin, who has fought alongside Olsen recently, said, "Where's the justice, man? This pipsqueak has superpowers, now? Oh, I just came back from the freakin' dead is all-- but all the fuss is about a redheaded shutterbug who thinks he's Captain Fabulous. Whatever. I gotta get back to busting heads."

Neither Olsen nor Darkseid could be reached for comment. An earthbound Mother Box said only, "The Source knows. The Source knows." (Of course, it had been saying that for about four years--experts at STAR Labs think this Mother Box may be more of a Great-Grandmother Box and thus a little tetchy.)

More news as it develops.

Artwork copyright DC Comics, all rights reserved.

Final Crisis Probably Not Final

Is This Not the End? Experts Disagree.

METROPOLIS - Scientists at STAR Labs announced today that the pending "Final Crisis" may not, in fact, be final at all.

"We've found no reason to believe that these 'Crisis' events won't recur on a semi-regular basis," said Dr. Emil Hamilton, noted friend of Superman and all-around smart guy. "Our chaotic math team estimates that by 2009, 2010 at the outside, we'll see another Crisis-level event... though it may not be called that."

"It may in fact be called a Catastrophe, a Major Upheaval or even a 'Whoops! There Goes the Universe,'" added Dr. Kitty Faulkner. "We have our eye on several different vectors from which this next major event might emerge, including deep space, parallel worlds, the Earth's core and the far future. So far, we've been unable to rule out any possibilities of any or all of these causing us massive agita."

"We doubt that it will be a 'dilly of a pickle' or a 'dire predicament,' however," Hamilton said. "Those names are just silly."

Experts in Crisis Management beg to differ about the likelihood of future Crises.

"As far as we're comfortable predicting, this is the big one," said Dan DiDio, noted expert on all matters Crisis-related. "It won't be like your father's Crisis, with red skies and a dead Flash at the end, no sir. We might see lots of really important and not-creatively-moribund superfolk take the fall this time around. We expect lots of excitement, destruction and the (hopefully brief) reign of evil throughout the universe.

"In short, bad times are coming. We can talk future Crises later, okay? Right now, I got my hands full. Death to Jimmy Olsen! All hail Darkseid!"

Artwork copyright DC Comics, all rights reserved

Big Bad Wolf Still on Endangered List

NEW YORK CITY - Local authorities today confirmed that the species lupus majorus malificus (aka Big Bad Wolf) remains on the endangered species list.

"We've heard around town that the wolves just aren't making the scene the way they used to," said Animal Control Commissioner Frederick B. Avery. "Used to be you could see whole packs of them at '21' and ritzy joints all over Manhattan. Could be the smoking ban in restaurants is what drove 'em out to the boroughs."

The effects on the ecology of Manhattan nightlife could not be estimated by Avery.

"It's a shame, y'know. These guys try sweet-talkin' the singers and dancers and boom! Blows up in their faces. It ain't easy bein' a wolf in New York," Avery said. "Maybe opening up a new hot club or fancy restaurant will bring 'em out, but I dunno."

Artwork copyright MGM Studios, all rights reserved

Banner: "I Totally Did Not See World War Hulk Ending Like That"

LOCATION CLASSIFIED - In a rare chat with BPD reporters, Bruce Banner today said, "I didn't think the war would end the way it did."

Citing a lack of planning, Banner added that, "My Warbound allies bought into the blood-and-vengeance kick I was on. It was pretty heady, we were all in the big ship talking about how we'd beat down so-and-so... it was kind of a rush, you know? I mean, there I was, burning up over this whole thing-- how the ship they'd exiled me in had blown up, killing my wife Caiera and our unborn kid and hundreds of thousands of people on Sakaar-- and then I find out, late in the game, that the engines were sabotaged by one of my own!

"That was a huge buzzkill."

This secret facility has held Banner since the last battle of World War Hulk, wherein the "Green King" fought it out against the Sentry (arguably the single most powerful hero on Earth). Both fought until they'd used up their reserves of energy; the Sentry's human form was knocked out by Bruce Banner. After learning he had fought for the wrong reasons, and launching a intra-party fight against one of his comrades, all and sundry were then blasted by satellite weaponry positioned by Iron Man.

Banner (having reverted to his human form) was captured, tranquilized, and removed from New York by SHIELD before angry New Yorkers (or beaten-up superheroes) could put him out of the picture for good.

"I don't think I'll be doing the huge me-against-the-world thing again any time soon. WWH proved my point--I'm the toughest guy on the planet, once I get good and angry-- and my reasons for smashing up all those heroes were based on a misunderstanding anyway. Maybe it's just me tranked out of my gourd, but I think that one day we'll probably have a good laugh about it," he said, eyeing the walls of his cell. "Yeah, one day."

Artwork copyright Marvel Comics, all rights reserved

Coming Up! American Hero: Behind the Scenes

You've been watching the contest for months-- now find out some juicy info from the folks behind the scenes at AMERICAN HERO! BPD has interviews on the way with Jonathan (Bugsy) Hive, blogger and living wasp-swarm, and Drummer Boy, lead singer/percussionist of Joker Plague.
It's one of our best and biggest interviews yet-- so stay tuned!

Visit the site-- and read more about the nation's first metahuman reality show here.

UPDATE! BPD has been extraordinarily lucky and scored an interview with JOHN FORTUNE, child of aces Fortunato and Peregrine!

We are thrilled at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity-- so come back soon and see what John had to say about AMERICAN HERO!

Artwork by Mike S. Miller, copyright Wild Cards Consortium and Tor Books, all rights reserved.

Morticoccus Inoculations Now Available

A Public Health Service Announcement from Your Friends at BPD!

Don't be late--get your Morticoccus inoculation now. Morticoccus (aka the harbinger of the Great Disaster) is a lethal, fast-acting "smart virus" capable of overwhelming even the most resistant organisms. Professor Ray Palmer, most recently of Ivy Town University, has devised a vaccine and administered it to key individuals throughout the 52 Earths, but supplies may be limited.

Symptoms of morticoccus include depletion of super-abilities, fatigue, heavy perspiration, high fever, delirium, coughing, nausea, vertigo (dizziness, not addiction to a DC imprint), sneezing, an unquenchable thirst for sasparilla, and miscellaneous other nasty side-effects. There is no known treatment for full-blown morticoccus.

Do not wait. Contact your local health professional and ask for the Morticoccus inoculation. The life you save may be the planet Earth's. You don't want to end up like this guy.

Brought to you by the Challengers from Beyond and the CDC.

Artwork copyright DC Comics, all rights reserved

Professor X Shot, Mortally Injured, Still Missing

SALEM CENTER, N.Y. - Professor Charles Xavier, headmaster and public spokesman of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, as well as the sponsor of several teams of X-Men, has been shot and is in critical condition.

Speaking on behalf of the X-Men, Scott Summers announced, "Professor Xavier is in the intensive care facility of a hospital we choose not to name, for their own protection. His condition is critical but, we hope and pray, not terminal. He was shot by Lucas Bishop, a former teammate, who is now at large. I am taking this opportunity to announce that, with Professor X gone, we are formally disbanding the X-Men entirely."

Summers' announcement came as little surprise to the superhuman community.

"They've shouldered their share of the world's burdens," said Thor, speaking from New Asgard, Oklahoma. "If they choose to set aside their role, I cannot fault them."

"We haven't assessed the significance of this development," said Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), director of SHIELD. "Naturally we would have hoped that the mutant community would choose to register, following passage of the Superhuman Registration Act, but if they are not acting or intending to act as 'superheroes'-- I suppose the point becomes moot."

"Hulk smash! No, just kidding. Seriously, I know what it's like to be hunted and hated," said Bruce Banner, who is currently in an undisclosed location following the devastation of World War Hulk. "Frankly, if I was them, I'd have gotten off this dirtball ages ago. I... oh geez. Okay, maybe not. Leaving Earth doesn't seem to end well."

BPD will continue to provide updates on Professor X's condition.

UPDATE: The X-Men admitted today that they have no idea where their mentor, Charles Xavier, is at this time.

"It's true, we totally lost track of him," said Scott 'Cyclops' Summers, the disbanded team's former leader. "We made up the story about him being in an unnamed hospital. See, in the chaos of seeing Bishop's arm bitten off by Predator X (and him shooting the Professor, too) and having to let Cable run off with a messiah baby, plus realizing I'm not crippled by the loss of... um, that is, I guess we just dropped the ball. I know if the Professor were here, we'd be having a good chuckle about now. Guess I'd be getting a D for handling this little exercise, if we were back in the Danger Room.

"Oh, and we're still disbanded, so stop calling the mansion. Really."

Artwork copyright Marvel Comics, all rights reserved

Skrulls Disavow Blame for Messed Up Marvel Universe

"It Ain't Us," Insist Sneaky Shapeshifting Aliens

NEW YORK CITY - Speaking at the United Nations earlier today, representatives of the fragmented Skrull Empire reassured the media that they are, in fact, not to blame for the "messed up" state of affairs.

"Sure, it's easy to blame the aliens--we're green and have pointy ears, we MUST be the bad guys, right?" said M'Yk K'rree, spokesbeing for the alien delegation. "Come on. You know Iron Man was always kind of a bastard. Did you really think it was us that made him that way? Reed Richards, your Mister Fantastic? Another egghead with a warped vision of the world... not a Skrull."

Mighty Avengers spokesman Spider-Woman said, "We know we've been infiltrated by Skrulls, the only question is how... oh, that is just going too far." She broke off as images of Spider-Woman, her face definitely somewhat Skrullish, flashed on a monitor over her head. "See? They're trying to sow dissent, fear and distrust! Just like... nah, better not go there."

K'rree (whose name, he admitted, is a sore point among Skrulls) added, "This paranoia and chaos is not what we Skrulls are all about. Look, we just want to be like everyone else so much, we change shape to fit in. All we want is to get along. That's not so evil and Machiavellian, is it?"

Authorities have decided to let the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Skrulls work this out to their mutual satisfaction. It is likely that all parties will end up on The People's Court in the near future.

"We believe that's the proper venue for the airing of grievances among you Earth people," K'rree considered. "Jerry Springer was already booked--which was disappointing, because we really wanted to throw chairs at each other."

Artwork copyright Marvel Comics, all rights reserved

Booster and Beetle Reunited with Favorite Writer!

"Blue and Gold" Re-Team with Award-Winning Scribe!

METROPOLIS - Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, past members of the Justice League, were reunited this past week with Keith Giffen, former JLA correspondent and close friend to both. Giffen covered an early "untold tale" of the two heroes, wherein they struggle to join the JLA.

"It was just like old times," Beetle said. "Nobody tells our stories the way Keith does. Man, what I wouldn't give to have him back with us full-time! I'd rather catch a bullet in the head than go with a different reporter."

"The time goes by so fast," mused Gold. "I mean, you blink and it's like we're back in yesteryear. Who can do that without a time bubble? Our old pal Keith, that's who!"

"I'm glad to have this chance to work with the boys again," admitted Giffen, who has gone to work for two prestigious weekly publications in recent years. "We don't get to see each other very much any more. Sometimes, I feel like so much time has gone by, I barely recognize them when I catch a glimpse in a magazine here or there."

Asked if this opens the doors to future articles, Giffen demurred. "I'll never say never, but there's so many things to write about, you know?" he said. "I love those wacky guys--maybe one day we'll have the chance to tell about their biggest adventure--the one nobody but nobody has ever heard before." And with a wink, he disappeared back into the night, looking for stories-- the kind only he can tell.

Artwork copyright DC Comics, all rights reserved

Dave Stevens Taken into Clouds by Rocketeer

Artist-creator Dave Stevens, best known for chronicling the adventures of '40s-era hero The Rocketeer, was taken into the clouds by his hero and has not been seen since.

Close friends say Stevens had suffered from a serious health problem in recent years, but that it didn't affect his optimistic, upbeat way of seeing the world.

An artist and illustrator since the mid-1970s, Stevens, 53, enjoyed professional success working on the Tarzan comic strip with Russ Manning. He also worked in comic book illustration for years, before developing a long-lasting friendship with Cliff Secord (aka The Rocketeer), whose adventures Stevens brought to life in a number of publications.

A film was made of The Rocketeer's earliest exploits in 1991 by Disney.

Bugles Planet Daily wishes to extend its condolences to Stevens' family and friends.

Artwork copyright Dave Stevens and Dark Horse Comics, all rights reserved