Legendary artist Carmine Infantino died this week. He co-created Batgirl, and revitalised the superhero genre, which was dormant at the time, with his fresh take on The Flash in 1956. There’s a great rundown of the man and his influence on not only DC Comics, but the comic book biz as a whole right here.
Sadly, in the mainstream press Infantino didn’t get the press he deserves, which is usually the way. Jack Kirby received very little attention outside of the comics industry when he died in 1994.
Anyway, one man who did get a lot of ink about his passing was famed film critic Roger Ebert. I don’t think his TV show with Gene Siskel was ever showed here in Australia, but I’m certainly aware of the man, and amongst the many looks back at his life is this amusing rundown of his 40 most scathing reviews from films over the last few decades. My faves are below, and you can see the whole list here.
8. Battlefield Earth (2000):
“Battlefield Earth is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time. It’s not merely bad; it’s unpleasant in a hostile way.”
12. Catwoman (2004):
“The director, whose name is Pitof, was probably issued with two names at birth and would be wise to use the other one on his next project.”
36. Spice World (1997):
“The Spice Girls are easier to tell apart than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that is small consolation: What can you say about five women whose principal distinguishing characteristic is that they have different names?”
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