Link roundup

1. Tor posted a Neil Gaiman short story.

2. Custom Barbie wearing Lady Gaga's meat dress.

3. Mel Gibson is the new Mr. Cool Disguise.

*Buy disguises at Amazon.

Legal rulings can be fun

From Judge Barbara Crabb's finding that Todd McFarlane stole Neil Gaiman's character:

The two characters are similar enough to suggest that either Dark Ages (McFarlane) Spawn is derivative of Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn or it is the same character to which plaintiff owns the copyright.

Much as defendant tries to distinguish the two knight Hellspawn, he never explains why, of all the universe of possible Hellspawn incarnations, he introduced two knights from the same century. Not only does this break the Hellspawn “rule” that Malebolgia never returns a Hellspawns to Earth more than once every 400 years (or possibly every 100 years, as suggested in Spawn, No. 9, exh. #1, at 4), it suggests that what defendant really wanted to do was exploit the possibilities of the knight introduced in issue no. 9. (This possibility is supported by the odd timing of defendant’s letter to plaintiff on February 14, 1999, just before publication of the first issue of Spawn The Dark Ages, to the effect that defendant was rescinding their previous agreements and retaining all rights to Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn.)

If defendant really wanted to differentiate the new Hellspawn, why not make him a Portuguese explorer in the 16th century; an officer of the Royal Navy in the 18th century, an idealistic recruit of Simon Bolivar in the 19th century, a companion of Odysseus on his voyages, a Roman gladiator, a younger brother of Emperor Nakamikado in the early 18th century, a Spanish conquistador, an aristocrat in the Qing dynasty, an American Indian warrior or a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I? It seems far more than coincidence that Dark Ages (McFarlane) Spawn is a knight from the same century as Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn.

Neil posted an tremendous photo of McFarlane here.

*Buy books by Neil Gaiman at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Judge orders defendant to wear diaper and mosquito net on his face after he spit on jury. Via.

2. Neil Gaiman cross-examined as to which comic book characters are "scantily clad."

3. Details on Tenacious Toy's exclusive version of Argonaut Resin's Tuttz figure.

*Buy Stories: All-New Tales chosen by Neil Gaiman at Amazon.

Head to the House on the Rock this Halloween

The announcement:

As announced in Neil's blog, The House on the Rock is planning a special celebration for fans of American Gods. On October 29th and 30th, join Neil Gaiman and other American Gods fans for literary panels, talks, presentations, a limited number of chances to ride the World's Largest Carousel, and a costume party focused on all things American Gods. Watch this space--The House on the Rock’s new official event blog--for updates.

Event packages are already on sale.

*American Gods is 32% off at Amazon.

You can be Jewish and study karate (link roundup)

You can be Jewish and study karate via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Relatedly, Neil Gaiman responds to an article asking Why There Is No Jewish Narnia.

2. Reporters hired by the Church of Scientology to investigate the St. Petersburg Times express disappointment with the way their report is being portrayed by the Church. Via.

3. I haven't forgotten to announce the winners of last months two giveaways, I've actually contacted all the winners, but I'm waiting to hear back from two people. If I haven't heard from them by 5:00 a.m. this Friday, I'll pick two substitute winners.

*Previously: Advertisement for Chuck Norris' Action Jeans.

*Buy karate patches at eBay.

Chinese cover for Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book

Chinese Cover for Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Neil also posted the short story Cinnamon. Via.

*Previously: Covers for Neil Gaiman books by Leendert Masselink and Edd Simmons.

*The Graveyard Book is 42% off at Amazon.

Covers for Neil Gaiman books (and more)

Covers for Neil Gaiman books by Leendert Masselink and Edd Simmons.




Bacteria by Masselink.




Finger Poppin' Soul Flyer by Masselink and Studio Pollman. Masselink has various prints on sale here.

*Previously: Stage performance of Mr. Punch.

*Buy Neil Gaiman novels at Amazon.

Star Wars sketch cards (link roundup)

Star Wars sketch cards by Kilian Plunkett. Many more posted here.

And a few more links:

1. Neil Gaiman describes how he came to write Neverwhere (my favorite Gaiman book).

2. The Tall Man Incident - - when CIA operatives used a drone to kill a tall man they mistakenly thought was Bin Laden (who is 6'5'').

3. Man who allegedly committed significant fraud located when he and his daughter appeared on MTV's loathsome My Sweet 16. Via.

*Previously: Tall, dark, and dead.

*Buy Star Wars sketch cards at eBay.

Radiant astronaut desktop wallpaper (link roundup)

Radiant astronaut desktop wallpaper.

And a few more links:

1. Neil Gaiman writes as Cthulhu. Via.

2. Which reminded me of China Mieville's Christmas short story.

3. How to design t-shirts for Tee Fury and Design By Humans.

*Previously: One-eyed astronaut.

*Buy NASA patches at eBay.

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, interviewed in a bathtub (link roundup)

Neil Gaiman (fully dressed) and Amanda Palmer (less clothed), interviewed in a bathtub.

And a few more links:

1. That cold case that recently led to LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus being arrested for the murder of Sherri Rae Rasmussen she allegedly committed in 1986? Yeah, the victim's family begged the police to investigate Lazarus back when the crime was committed.

2. Strange Wizard of Oz concept art.

3. The Dog Whisperer's wife is named "Ilusion."

4. Cancer patient was held for several hours by United States immigration officials when they could not detect his fingerprints -- which had apparently disappeared because he was taking the drug, capecitabine, which is commonly used to treat cancer.

*Previously: Funny homemade optical illusion ad for Wonderbra.

*Buy Wizard of Oz toys at eBay.

Logo for Catholic Church features child performing oral sex? (link roundup)

Supposedly, this is the circa 1973 design for the Catholic Church's Archdiocesan Youth Commission. I have a hard time accepting it. And if it is true, I have a hard time accepting the artist didn't set out to depict a child performing oral sex on a priest. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Some accurate comments about why it's hard to make anything more than spare change blogging. Probably the most important point is that the best paying opportunities go to people who are already established journalists.

2. King Kong really loves that skyscraper.

3. Creepiest headline that's apparently not a big deal: "Plague found in squirrels at San Diego County camp site."

4. Neil Gaiman wrote up an absolutely tremendous recommendation for the book Who Killed Amanda Palmer (it's a collection of her posing as if she's died in various bizarre manners, coupled with short stories he wrote based on the photos).

*Previously: Top ten worst realtor photos.

*Buy King Kong posters at eBay.

Kamikaze Komix logo (link roundup)

Logo by Bog Logan for Komikaze Komix.

And a few more links:

1. Funny line by Neil Gaiman: "Made pancakes for the Slumber Party breakfast. (Have not recovered from overhearing 14/15 yr old girl comments made as they saw Twilight DVD)." See also.

2. Plush scorpion and baby scorpions.

3. Steampunk MODOK.

4. The Quest for G Gatorade ad was apparently really expensive to make and is full of big name athletes. But the part that has gotten the lion's share of views is the short segment featuring the Jabbawockies.

*Previously: Homemade Midna's helmet from Twilight Princess.

*Buy steampunk creations at eBay.

Nine Coraline Boxes

(You can see the rest of the boxes I've found to date here.)

The creators of Coraline sent out 50 handmade boxes to some of their favorite bloggers. Each box is unique and includes items from the movie. Here are the boxes I've found so far. Follow the links for lots of great photos, and please tell me if you spot one I haven't listed.



#2 More Everything.





#5 Fashionista Piranha.




#13 /Film.




#14 Geeks of Doom.




#22 Toycutter. (My box.)




#24 Despoiler.




#29 Heroine Sheik.




#33 Occupation: Girl.




#37 Animation Archive. (No pictures of the contents yet.)


*Previously: Coraline toys.

*Preorder "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.

Eight Coraline Boxes

(You can see the rest of the boxes I've found to date here.)

The creators of Coraline sent out 50 handmade boxes to some of their favorite bloggers. Each box is unique and includes items from the movie. Here are the boxes I've found so far. Follow the links for lots of great photos.


More Everything.



Heroine Sheik.




Fashionista Piranha.



Geeks of Doom.



Toycutter. (My box.)



Despoiler.




Occupation: Girl.




/Film.

*Previously: Coraline toys.

*Preorder "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.

My Coraline magic box

(You can see the rest of the boxes I've found to date here.)

I was lucky enough to receive a magic box in the mail today from the creators of Coraline. Enjoy the photos. I have more to say below.






















I'd known for about two weeks that I'd be getting a box at some point, and a few days ago learned that at least one other person had received one. I allowed myself only the briefest of looks at that other box so I could save a bit of surprise for my own. But I needn't have worried since everything about that box, including the box itself, is different from what I received. There are 50 boxes in all. I can't wait to see what the others contain.

One of the items in my box was a key, and the tag on the key is labeled with a password for the official site for the Coraline movie. Below are the codes I'm aware of. Each one reveals a different short video:

stopmotion [Making of the figures and sets.]
buttoneyes [Introduction to the "cast."]
moustachio [A stop motion short about Bo Henry's dancing mustache]
puppetlove [Henry Selick considers how we look to the puppets.]
armpithair [Suzanne Moulton shows how she gives the puppets armpit hair.]
sweaterxxs [Althea Crome knits tiny sweaters.]

Coraline is the first film by LAIKA and comes out in February 2009. It's based on a novella by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. When I first read the book, I was largely disappointed, possibly because McKean's minimalist illustrations seemed so different from the psychedelic collages I'd expected. But I reread it last week, and it was as if the book had become magical over the intervening years. The story is excellent, similar in many ways (many good ways) to Return to Oz, which terrified me as a child. And I found that I liked the art - - the simplicity perfectly matched Gaiman's crisp prose. I also discovered to my surprise that the cover glowed in the dark.

It seems that the movie can go down one of two paths - - either become a beloved film akin to the Nightmare Before Christmas (which Selick directed), or fail as a company killing bomb a la Final Fantasy The Spirits Within. I had feared Coraline would amount to the latter. The book is far too scary for young children, yet the early shots I'd seen of the puppets looked too childish for adults. After watching the short videos and looking at the photos included in my magic box, I'm more optimistic. It looks as though the artists have chosen to adhere to Gaiman's story, but jettison McKean's cold and frightening interpretation of the characters.

Compare this:



with this:




The result is a film that should be enjoyable by children and adults.

I'm certainly rooting for Coraline's success. The world should reward people who make magic boxes.

Update: After writing this, I looked at Gaiman's site and saw that he thought the same thing about the film's look, but is somewhat concerned about the shift - - "My only concern is that the images that are getting out all look really sweet, and not creepy."

*Previously: Stage performance of Gaiman and McKean's Mr. Punch.

*Preorder "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.