Gene Colan's "Missing" Art: Part Two

Were these pieces drawn by Gene Colan stolen or destroyed? Family members would like to know.

If you ever see any of this art of these offered for sale, please contact me, the Colan family, or Detective John O'Conner of the Nassau Police.

Tough Questions for Tough Jews: Ross The Boss Breaks His Silence

The hard-rocking Hailstorm is a year old now, there’s continual web chatter regarding a Dictators reunion, and Ross “the Boss” Friedman is heading to South America for a number of shows. Ever the gentleman, Ross took a few moments to answer the important questions that everyone has been asking:

Cliff: A guy walks into a house of ill repute and says, “I want a punk girl.” And the Madame says, “We only have metal chicks.” Is this a problem?

Ross: House of ill repute? Never been to one! Hahaha! To me there’s only two types of music. What are they? Good and bad. To me, good is good, so there would be no difference in my mind. Besides, when the lights go out, who cares?

Cliff: Have you played South America before?

Ross: We played in Venezuela last summer in a baseball stadium.

Cliff: What are you listening to when you’re not playing music?

Ross: I tend to listen to my old favorites—classical, blues, old-school metal, punk and real country.

Cliff: With you on lead guitar, assemble the perfect band, dead or alive.

Ross: Great question. Hmmm… Geezer Butler on bass, John Bonham on drums, Jim Morrison doing lead vocals, and Jerry Lee Lewis on keyboards.

Cliff: And now the million-dollar question--You played with Andy Shernoff in May at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash. What’s it going to take to get the rest of the Beatles back together?

Ross: Sad to say, the Dictators as we know them won’t play in the very near future. But the new band “Manitoba” will make its debut at The Don Hill Benefit at Irving Plaza on December 15.

Cliff: And what a show that will be. Salute!

Harlan Ellison vs. Mediocrity: Part Three

I continue to get the occasional emails or queries in mid-conversation: “Have you heard from Harlan?” “So what’s with Harlan?” “Is it true that Harlan…?”

As if I’m my brother’s keeper. Which I guess I am.

But I prefer to leave all things Harlan for him to announce. He certainly has the outlets, between Rabbit Hole and his website. Besides, most of what the two of us discuss is fairly private.

I can tell you that when we spoke last week, Harlan was energized by his current projects and events. He talked about his “strong third act.”

So. Act Three:

“Possibly (he said, jocularly) the last chance to see Harlan alive performing his death defying life-story in the flesh.” Thus reads the flier I received on Friday inviting me to “An Evening with Harlan Ellison (Redux),” a reprise on his “public interview and rampant racontourage” at the Cinefamily Theatre last November, a sold-out event emcee’d by writer Josh Olson (another swell guy). The event, which any of you can attend, too—for the price of a ticket—is January 19, 2012, at 7:30pm at The Cinefamily Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036; phone: 323-655-2510.

Act Three also includes a number of book releases and revamps. The one I look forward to most is BUGF#CK: THE USELESS WIT & WISDOM OF HARLAN ELLISON (Spectrum Books and Edgeworks Abbey, $10), 123 pages of Harlan quotes which, if you’ve ever spoken with Harlan or read him or heard him speak, promises to be priceless. Mencken had nothing on my brother.

It doesn’t appear that YR. PAL HARLAN, the book of Harlan’s web posts and e-letters that I edited a few years ago, will be coming out any time soon. But, as with all things Harlan, we never say never.

Gene Colan's Stolen Art? At Last, A Clue

Out of nowhere, I heard from a friend of Gene's today. He had some photos that he wanted to share. Among them was a photo he snapped of Gene working on the Star Wars art (commissioned by George Lucas Studios) which eventually went missing.

If this art is offered for sale, please note that it is considered stolen.

Joe Giella Robbed - Comic Art Stolen

I am late to the party with this news but I just hung up with comic artist Joe Giella and wanted to share this immediately:

Joe had the following items stolen from his home:

* “Menace of the Man Missile”, pages 1 and 9. Pencils by Carmine Infantino.
* “Castle with Wall to Wall Danger” pages 7 and 8. Pencils by Carmine Infantino.
* Green Lantern/Green Arrow #107 cover. Pencils by Joe Staton.

Please re-post this notice to as many places possible. If you hear of this art being offered, please contact Detective John O'Connor, Nassau County Police Dept., Third Squad, phone: 516-573-6353.

Tony Isabella just advised me that this story was broken weeks ago (I must've been sleeping) but it never hurts to remind folks.