"Rosemary's Baby" and "Boys From Brazil" author Ira Levin dies

Ira Levin, author of the best-selling horror and suspense novels 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'The Stepford Wives' and 'The Boys from Brazil,' all later made into popular films, has died at age 78, according to media reports.

The New York Times reported that Levin died on Monday at his Manhattan home. It quoted his son Nicholas as saying the death was apparently of natural causes.

"Rosemary's Baby," about a woman who believes she has been impregnated by the devil, was published in 1967 and made into an Oscar-winning movie the following year starring Mia Farrow and directed by Roman Polanski.

Levin's 1972 novel 'The Stepford Wives' involved husbands in a Connecticut town replacing their wives with submissive robots. It was twice adapted by Hollywood -- a 1975 film starring Katharine Ross, and a 2004 version with Nicole Kidman.

'The Boys From Brazil,' published in 1976, featured the infamous Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele, seeking to clone a new Third Reich. The 1978 film version starred Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier. Levin's first novel, 'A Kiss Before Dying,' published in 1953, was twice made into movies.

Audition: Warner Bros. Superheroes

"Most popular DC comic book heroes"? Does this sound like the JLA to anyone else?

Sounds to me that they're looking for unknowns, which would lead me to think that the "big guns" aren't going to be a part of the movie.

*This is a search for the 8-9 leads for this action feature film based on the most popular DC comic book heroes.*

We are looking for Male actors 18-35 years old; Caucasian and Black. The primary focus should be to find Caucasian actors. There is 1 role for the Black Actor.

We are looking for Female actors 20-32 years old; any ethnicity.

The aim of this audition process is to learn about the sensibilities, range, humor, delivery and life experience of each actor. We are looking for great actors who enjoy working in an ensemble. ( Improvisational skills, theater training and comedy would be useful.) We will also need to keep in mind that we are looking for physically fit actors with good body types. Please have the actors wear form fitting clothes.

I've Got Your Sorcerer Supreme

A 'bungling' voyeur who spied on a 22-year-old woman in a tanning booth has been given a suspended jail term.

Stephen Strange, 43, of Chippenham, who admitted voyeurism, watched the woman undress and lie on a bed in July 2005.

Scott King vs TSA – Winner: TSA

On a level, I think that he brought some of this on himself (see the link for his general attitude towards the screening process and the fact that he left his bags outside of a bathroom) but the thought that reading a particular comic makes one a terrorist is just bothersome and yet symptomatic of the overall level of "Thought Crime" sometimes in this country.

Probably not the thing that I want to be putting on my blog but oh well.

The second problem was that I had several graphic novels with me. I had planned to read them on the plane. I had 'DMZ' volumes 1, 2 & 3, 'The Nightly News,' and 'Artemis Fowl.' The guard flipped through 'DMZ' saw a ravaged New York City and them immediately called for two other security guards to join him in the room. I was then questioned for over an hour about the comics and why I had them. I was point blank asked if I was a terrorist or if I ever had desires to harm other. The whole ordeal was completely ridiculous. I can understand them being cautious but going ballistic because of the graphic novels I had with me is taking it too far.

Ironically, he was apparently coming here to Cleveland. I guess that I should leave my copies of "DMZ" at home when I travel this Christmas season.

By the way, if you haven't picked up Brian Wood's thoroughly brilliant "DMZ" book yet, you really should. The first taste is (almost) free, with DC/Vertigo offering the first trade collection for only $9.95. It's harder and harder to find comics at that pricing anymore.

If you don't know about the book, check out the Wikipedia page. It's OK by Wikipedia standards.

Norman Mailer dead at age 84 - Yahoo! News

This is a great blow to American literature. I was even talking about him recently with Jonny. If nothiing else, The Naked and the Dead and The Armies of the Night should be required of every American literature program in this country. The fact that it isn't is a crime.

Norman Mailer, the macho prince of American letters who for decades reigned as the country's literary conscience and provocateur with such books as 'The Naked and the Dead' and 'The Executioner's Song' died Saturday, his literary executor said. He was 84.

Mailer died of acute renal failure at Mount Sinai Hospital, said J. Michael Lennon, who is also the author's biographer.

From his classic debut novel to such masterworks of literary journalism as 'The Armies of the Night,' the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner always got credit for insight, passion and originality.

IGN: Exclusive Ultimates 3 Preview

There's nothing like fresh art from Joe Madureira and Christian Lichtner to make your day. When these images hit our inbox earlier this afternoon, we did a happy little jig. Then we figured you might like to take a look at them. Written by the Eisner-winning, Emmy-nominated Jeph Loeb, this eight-page sequence re-introduces Venom to the Ultimate Universe, and he's out for blood.

Newsarama: A Union - Can/Should It Happen In Comics?

See answers from Steve Niles, Robert Kirkman, Brad Meltzer, Peter David and many others.

As the strike by members of the Writer's Guild of America dominated discussions in the entertainment industry this week, Newsarama decided to utilize this month's question for 'The Q' to allow creators to share their opinions on whether writers in the comic book industry should form a similar union.

Earlier this week, Newsarama shared comments on the WGA strike by Brian K. Vaughan, who supported the idea of a union for comic book writers. But as he and others have pointed out, starting a union for creators in this industry has been tried before by creators like Arnold Drake and others – but none of those attempts have been successful.

So it's time for creators to sound off on the issue as we asked the question:

- Should comic book writers unionize? Could they unionize?

Paul Norris, R.I.P.

Paul Norris, who co-created the comic book character Aquaman, and who produced the Brick Bradford newspaper strip for a little over 35 years, died about four hours ago at the age of 93. He'd had a series of strokes in the last few months and had just been hospitalized for his most recent.

Paul was born April 26, 1914 in Greenville, Ohio. He studied at Midland Lutheran College and at the Dayton Art Institute before landing a job as an illustrator and cartoonist for the Dayton Daily News in 1936. Three years later, he assembled a portfolio of his best work and took it to New York in search of better prospects, which turned out to be comic books. No one, not even Paul, was ever certain what his first job was in that medium but by 1940, he was drawing for Prize Publications, where he launched several of their star strips — Yank and Doodle, Power Nelson and Futureman.

A year later, he was at DC Comics where his most memorable assignment was Aquaman, which he and editor-writer Mort Weisinger created. (DC now puts a 'created by Paul Norris' credit on all Aquaman comics. The absence of Weisinger's name is apparently a legal problem on DC's end, not a case of Norris squeezing out his former collaborator.) Paul also worked on, among others, the Sandman in Adventure Comics. He was the artist who revamped the character from his old costume — a business suit and a device that looked like a gas mask — and turned him, at editorial insistence, into a Batman knock-off. When Norris left the strip, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took it over. During this period, Paul also worked on the Vic Jordan newspaper strip for the New York Daily PM.

Steranko to Hold Storytelling Workship

To highlight his personal appearance at the Big Apple National Con - Nov 17-18 at Manhattan's Penn Plaza Pavilion - comics icon JIM STERANKO has agreed to hold a MARATHON WORKSHOP spotlighting his internationally-celebrated specialty: MASTERING NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE. Voted by Wizard as the Fifth Most Influential Artist in comics' history, Steranko will reveal a host of spectacular storytelling techniques, tricks, and theories _from the basics to the ultra-sophisticated‹which he promises will enhance every attendee's understanding of the complex comics medium, fans and pros alike.

'This may be the last of my public seminars,' says Steranko, who has only heralded such ground-breaking how-to events once in every ten or more years. 'The National is such an important show, and one I've supported since it began under Mike Carbonaro's guidance, that it warrants this kind of special effort. Everyone interested in comics, film, animation, and electronic games will find an infinitely deeper comprehension about the architecture of narrative art and I'm talking about practical and efficient material that will expand the vision and experience of everyone ready, willing, and able to spend an afternoon with me.'

Steranko will be articulating many of the more than 100 narrative devices and techniques he developed during his career, from his SHIELD, X-MEN, and CAPTAIN AMERICA books to his film collaborations with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Coppola, which include DRACULA and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The four-hour workshop will provide an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the creative process by one of America's premiere pop-culture legends. Attendance will be limited and early registration is recommended. Email thebigapplecon@yahoo.com or call 201-865-3288 for availability.

Every workshop attendee will receive a FREE Vanguard Steranko collectors item.

Mandrake The Magician Casting

Mandrake has long been a favorite character of mine. I didn't know that his strip still ran though, very interesting. I first ran across the character in Jules Pieffer's book The Comic Book Heroes as a kid.

I hope hope hope that this movie doesn't suck.

In an interesting bit of casting, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) will star in Omega Entertainment and Baldwin Entertainment Group’s Mandrake, based on the comic strip created by Lee Falk.

Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King, The Mask) will direct the film, which is set to shoot next year in China and the United States. Criss Angel reportedly has a role in the picture.

Mandrake the Magician debuted in newspapers 1934, and stars a tuxedo-clad stage illusionist who battles crime with his hypnotic abilities. The strip spawned comic books, radio and movie serials, a TV movie, and a co-starring role in an animated series.

Although nowhere near as popular as it was in the 1930s and '40s, the King Features strip still appears in newspapers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will update the comic and feature a Mandrake who is 'an extreme escape artist embroiled in international espionage.'