There's obscure references, and then there's comic book obscure references.

I could've sworn there was going to be a remake of Logan's Run by now, but in today's culture, it would be less a cautionary tale then a call to arms. Oddly, even though I'm old enough I should've caught it on cable as a kid, I didn't see it until I was in college. (I'm still trying to catch Damnation Alley and Silent Running, though...)

Coincidentally, the Planet Express Crew ends up in college this issue, and there's cameos from Hogwarts School, a Talosian, the Breakfast Club, and below...

Halby and Blue from Evan Dorkin's vastly under-rated Hectic Planet! Nice. They're the two in the hats in the lower row. Look, you really should go read it, OK? Not sure Blue was actually blue, though, most of the series was in black and white, but who's going to know? Well, you now, I suppose.

From Futurama #16, "Kickin' It Old School" Script by Ian Boothby, pencils by James Lloyd, inks by Steve Steere, Jr. Read more!

(Mostly) Off Topic: Attention: Sprint:

I'm going to be calm, and try to phrase this as gently as I possibly can: You can stop that goddamn commercial thirteen seconds in, because I did dream about space travel as a kid. I dreamed of rockets to Mars, seeing the outer edge of the solar system, and leaving this world far behind. I dreamed of exploration, of adventure, of wonder and possibility and hope.

I sure as goddamn hell didn't dream about a "magic box."

I don't care if it makes calls, plays music, holds pictures, performs laser eye surgery or microwaves food. Unless it's an old-school Star Trek communicator direct to the ship, or a Mother Box with access to a Boom Tube; in my eyes you have failed. (Strictly speaking, I don't think I knew about the Mother Box as a kid, but this is my tirade and doesn't have to make sense.)

I know huge advances have been made in my lifetime alone in the fields of communication, computing, and electronics; just like I know space exploration is hard, not very profitable, and far more dangerous. Sure, but I don't care. I want space, not a shinier, more expensive phone with a service I have to subscribe to forever.


The counter to my (extremely poorly reasoned) argument would be Warren Ellis, who capital-L loves his cellphone and information sharing doohickeys. Some critized his Iron Man run as being a paean to his phone, and for giving Tony Stark that 'futurist' tag: every jerkass thing Tony does from now on, is justified in that he's doing it in service of his vision of a science utopian future.

I tease a little, but I'm a fan of Ellis. Near the end of the first issue of Doktor Sleepless, the possibly-not-so-good Doktor makes a radio proclamation about how while this might not be the imagined future of moonbases and jetpacks; there are still huge innovations that everyone uses every day but were impossible to even conceive of before. I'm curious to see where he goes with this; and if you've liked Ellis before, give this one a try.

I'm still resentful of this ad, though. Imagine expecting an Xbox 360 for Christmas, waiting all year to get it, then opening up the package and getting a wooden duck on wheels. Then imagine being told how great it was, and all the incredible things you could do with a duck. Even if they were right, it would still be a disappointment. And I have possibly the oldest, cheapest, crappiest cell phone still active today. I use it about once a month, probably to ask my wife if she wanted a Life & Style or an InTouch magazine from the store. Don't try to sell me a new one, by implying it's better than being in space.

Panels from Doktor Sleepless #1, written by Warren Ellis, art by Ivan Rodriguez. Read more!

Good lord, if Ellis was right about this, the dog cullings and lizard-eating two-headed cats are next.

From Internet Movie Database; towards the bottom of the page:

France Launches Its Own Version of CNN

France on Wednesday launched a French-language all-news satellite network that will compete worldwide with CNN and the BBC World Service. The channel is the brainchild of French President Jacques Chirac, who complained at the outset of the Iraq war about how the French view of the war was being presented internationally. The channel's slogan is "All the news you're not supposed to know."



From Transmetropolitan #11, "Freeze me with your kiss, part two of three." Written by the creepily prescient Warren Ellis, art by the less creepy Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos. Now, if the French name their channel TDF-1, I'm having my head frozen at the earliest opportunity.

Even more oddly, when I saw the story, I knew what issue it was from and where it was, which is unusual in and of itself for me. I went downstairs and got it, and there was a photo of a very old girlfriend stuck to the cover. (By which I mean she was a girlfriend from long ago, and not a girlfriend of advanced years. Besides, an older woman would never put up with me.) I must have put it there, and it was pretty appropriate, if you've ever read this issue.

Of course, said girlfriend didn't read comics, nor does my wife. (Who, if she knew I had so much as a mixtape from an old girlfriend, would glue my buttocks closed while I slept.) Looking back, I can only remember one girlfriend who read comics, and while she loved Transmetropolitan and Preacher, her favorite movie was Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which means all her taste is suspect. (Probably why she dated me...)

Long story short: deeply afraid more of Warren Ellis' predictions will come true. Also, little scared of my beloved wife. Have a good weekend, and keep this under your hat, eh? Read more!