Joe Kubert has died

I just can't believe it. Good old Joe Kubert has passed away at the age of 85. There is so much to say but all I can muster is that he truly was one of the greats. He will be deeply missed. I loved just about everything he did. Go Easy Joe, Go Easy…



-Swinebread

Ernie Chan Has Died

It is tough news to hear that fan favorite Ernie Chan has died of cancer, just one week after the awful news that Tony DeZuñiga died last week.

Ernie was such a fantastic creator; I really love his body of work and his artistic style. I have many of the Dark Horse trades with his Conan stories, plus other collections and individual issues like Red Sonja, Claw, Power Man etc. He is one of my top five favorite artists so this really hurts.

I had the good fortune of meeting Ernie in 2008 and had him sign a few of my Conan comic trades. It is a great legacy he leaves us with but sadly it is a legacy that now has an end point. Paalam -Swinebread

Tony DeZuñiga has passed away

I was unbelievably saddened to hear that artist Tony DeZuñiga died last week and that his illness leading up to his death caused financial hardship for his family. He was one of the true greats and I consider it an honor to have met him. If you don’t know Tony, you don’t know comics imho. I have a copy of Jonah Hex #9 (of the 2006 series) that I had him autograph in 2008. I’ll treasure it forever.

-Swinebread

The passing of one of the Greats... Gene Colan 1926 – 2011

R.I.P Harvey Pekar

The great master of the autobiographical comic is gone... See Here


Harvey Pekar

October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010





-Swinebread

Patrick Swayze has Died

We all knew it was coming but it's still very sad.

Ted Kennedy

There is a lot of things to be said about Sentor Kennedy's life and death but I'll let others do that.
See here for a good one


I sure hope we can get a "good" health care reform bill passed.

-Swinebread

Karl Malden RIP

Karl Malden was real actor, not one of those lameos you get at the five and dime.




Don't Leave Home without 'em



-Swinebread

The Two Jacksons

As we all know, the so-called King of Pop died. I certainly was never a fan and in fact was quite horrified by Michael Jackson. Regardless, his music was a significant part of my childhood. I was there for the whole music video transformation that Thriller started and I remember when a Michael Jackson video was an event not to be missed. I have to admit that he was a gifted singer and dancer, and he worked very hard to perfect his act.

Sure, I have lots of memories (just like most of you folks do) with his different his different songs and but what really gets me down is that I can't separate Jackson (his many surgeries, child abuse allegations, skin bleaching, and crazy behavior) from his music. Gone is the fun I had as a youngster being entertained by Jackson. It's like there were two of him. The memory of what he was and the grotesque parody he became.

I cringe everytime I hear his songs...

Well except Thriller... because Michael Jackson, it turns out, was a zombie after all. I guess he just needed his outsides to match his insides.

So maybe there really wasn't two Jacksons, and that's the saddest thing of all because now I realize that he was crazy the whole time.

here's the prisoner version of thriller:



On a comic book side-note (because I just gotta have one), of course we all remember the Thriller parody/homage in Dazzler #33 right?



-Swinebread

Graphic video of a woman shot On the Streets of Turan

I'm Sorry for the graphic nature of this image but I feel it's important that we all really understand what is happening.

These people are dying for things we take for granted.

Update Her Name was Neda

and her friend wrote this poem in her honor:

I'm here to tell you my sister died while in her father's hands
I'm here to tell you my sister had big dreams...
I'm here to tell you my sister who died was a decent person... and like me yearned for a day when her hair would be swept by the wind... and like me read "Forough" [Forough Farrokhzad]... and longed to live free and equal... and she longed to hold her head up and announce, "I'm Iranian"... and she longed to one day fall in love to a man with a shaggy hair... and she longed for a daughter to braid her hair and sing lullaby by her crib...

my sister died from not having life... my sister died as injustice has no end... my sister died since she loved life too much... and my sister died since she lovingly cared for people...

my loving sister, I wish you had closed your eyes when your time had come... the very end of your last glance burns my soul....

sister have a short sleep. your last dream be sweet.

via Huffington post



Text from here

A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house.

He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her.

But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes.

The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St.

The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me.

Please let the world know.

Video at these link on the Huffington Post (note very disturbing)

scroll down to 2:37 PM ET

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html



with much sadness

-Swinebread

It's Offical... The Iranian Government Is A Dictatorship

The killing and repression are well underway. The protesters have the numbers but the goverement thugs have the guns.

How can they shoot their own people?




-Swinebread

The World Holds It's Breath For Iran

What ever happens with the outcome of the Iranian protests, one thing is for sure, the Iranian populace will never be the same. I hope for a positive and just outcome for these people yearning and struggling to be free.

We are in uncharted territory now things can go in so many different directions...


-Swinebread

Dave Simons Passed Away

Comic Artist and Animation designer Dave Simons died last week. RIP

See a great tribute here.



-Swinebread

David Carradine December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009

I like him best in Death Race 2000 as the fake, cyborg racer Frankenstein.





-Swinebread

R.I.P. Dave Arneson.

I'm sure Swinebread would like to pay tribute to Dave Arneson, co-founder of Dungeons and Dragons. Anybody who has rolled a die that had fewer or more than six sides owes that guy a debt of gratitude.

I love that he, along with the late Gary Gygax, as adults had such pronounced imaginations that they still could come up with their wonderful worlds. It's an astounding thing when you think about it. The imagination seems to be the first thing to go as you get older.

Thank you and rest in peace, Dave.

- Dean Wormer

EDIT: I just want to add that it was very sad to hear that Dave is gone, he had been ill for a while but it still comes as a shock. I always considered Dave to be the Jack Kirby of roleplaying (with Gary Gygax as Stan Lee) but fortunately he received his due before he died. Thanks for sharing your wonderful imagination Mr. Arneson. You will be missed.

-Swinebread

Ricardo Montalban Has Passed Away

A very versatile and talented actor that just happened to be one of the best parts of the Star Trek legacy. He will be missed. see here






Ricardo Montalban tribute part one


Ricardo Montalban tribute part two


Ricardo Montalban tribute part three


-Swinebread

RIP Eartha Kitt

On Christmas... of all the ironies :(


clip from Batman




-Swinebread

Josh's Memorial Video

This video was shown at the end of Josh's remembrance ceremony.

A few precious pieces of my friend's life that end much, much too soon.





-Swinebread

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, The Voice of Star Trek, Has Died

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has passed away. see here. I always liked Majel in all her incarnations with Star Trek. I do wonder whatever happened to Number One though...



Funny how news of her death isn't being carried by the Major New organizations

-Swinebread

There's No Business Like Josh Business

How can I do another post on Atomic Romance after my friend Josh died? It just seems pointless and extremely crass. Also, the sadness is just unbearable.

But I’ve been thinking a lot about Josh’s worldview since he passed and about what a considerate guy he was. Would Josh really want me to stop doing something others and I enjoy… …of course not. He would absolutely want me to continue with Atomic Romance. He was an actor after all (among other things) and the “show must go on” would actually be something he would tell me about this. Plus, Josh loved comic books and superheroes. I’ve realized that I’d be letting him down by not continuing.

How do I restart the wacky narrative that is Atomic Romance? How do I push passed the death of one the most important people in the world to me when all I want to do is keeping talking about him forever? I don’t want Josh Westhaver to be just a guest star or a couple of posts here on Atomic Romance. Well, that’s why I started the Memories of Joshua Westhaver. I want the discussion about how great he was to go on forever and it will. There are just too many memories from too many lives to let Josh go silently into the night.

On another note several people thanked me at the Remembrance Ceremony for my posts about Josh here on Atomic Romance and for starting the Memories of Joshua Westhaver blog. That warmed my heart. All I can say back is thank you for caring about Josh so much.

To get things restarted here with a little bit of joy, I thought I’d share something with you that many have been waiting for. I’ve been kinda weird about posting pictures of Swinebread Jr. on the net but I thought now was a good time for you all to see how much I’m truly blessed and what it is that has been keeping me and the wife going during these very sad days. I give you my son.


What a beautiful bundle of joy huh?

So it is with much tears for what we have all lost and with much hope from the children in our lives that Atomic Romance returns to it’s regularly scheduled blogging… only now it has a sister site dedicated to a great human being that I’ll miss for as long as I live.


-Swinebread