FRANK MILLER AND JOHN ROMITA JR. TO DO SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE

Clark Kent/Superman

At Comic-Con this past weekend it was announced that Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. will be tackling Superman's origin story in Superman: Year One. This isn't the first time that Miller and Romita Jr. have worked together as they collaborated on Daredevil: The Man Without Fear in the 1990's. John Romita Jr. is one of the most renowned artists in the world having worked on all of the major characters in the comics industry including Superman, Spider-Man, and Wolverine.

Daredevil by Frank Miller

Frank Miller is known for redefining iconic characters. His run on Daredevil and Batman in the 1980's have become seminal works influencing the Batman movies, and Netflix's Daredevil live action series. 

Batman in The Dark Knight Returns

In the 1980's Frank Miller wrote two seminal works on Batman: The Dark Knight Retuns and Batman: Year One. The Dark Knight Returns focused on an older Batman returning after a 10 year retirement to face off against old and new enemies in Gotham as well as the U.S. Government. In Batman: Year One Miller told the origin story of Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Jim Gordon.  

As a fan I'm extremely excited for Frank Miller's take on Superman's origin story. There are no details on when the book will arrive but I'll definitely be first in line when it comes out. 

Class Dismissed, 

THE PROFESSOR

R.I.P. MARTIN LANDAU

Martin Landau as Rollin Hand in Mission:Impossible

On July 15th, Martin Landau, one of the most prolific actors of his generation passed away at the age of 89. Mr. Landau's career spanned six decades appearing in such movies as Ed Wood and North by Northwest. Landau won an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. Mr. Landau may be best known for his role as Rollin Hand on the Mission: Impossible TV series on which he appeared on from 1966-1969.

The 1960's may have been Martin Landau's best decade as an actor as he starred in many classic TV shows during the golden age of television including Bonanza,  Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Twilight Zone, The Wild Wild West, The Rifleman, The Untouchables, The Detectives,  The Outer Limits. The only 1960's TV show that he didn't star in was Star Trek. 

Martin Landau was the first choice of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, to portray Mr. Spock on Star Trek. Mr. Landau turned it down. In a documentary, "The Pioneers of Television" he explained that he thought playing the emotionless Mr. Spock was the "antithesis of why I became an actor" and that Leonard Nimoy was a much better choice for the role. In an interesting turn of events Leonard Nimoy would replace Mr. Landau in Mission: Impossible when he left the series in 1969. 

Thank you Mr. Landau for your great contributions to the entertainment industry. You paved a road that many are walking down today. You will never be forgotten. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

THREE REASONS WHY PACQUIAO VS. HORN WAS A SUCCESS FOR ESPN

Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn

This past Saturday night on ESPN, Jeff Horn defeated Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision to become the new WBO Welterweight champion in a stunning upset.  While many are upset with the judges scoring, here are three reasons why I think the event was a big success for ESPN:

CONTROVERSY CREATES CASH

Everyone on social media was talking about the controversial decision Saturday night. Even Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers weighed in on the controversy calling boxing a "joke". ESPN received a lot of free publicity from this fight which will make their next boxing events even bigger. This could even amount to a bigger rating for the network when Manny Pacquiao faces Horn in the rematch. 

BOXING WAS BACK ON FREE TELEVISION AND GOT GREAT RATINGS

USA TODAY reports that the Pacquiao-Horn fight was the highest rated fight on cable TV this decade with a 1.8 rating and a 2.4 overnight rating. It was the highest rated fight on ESPN networks since the mid 1990's. ESPN treated this fight like an event promoting it through it's highest rated shows including First Take and SportsCenter. Now that ESPN has partnered with Top Rank and Bob Arum, they have the opportunity to create some great fights and build its own brand of stars like HBO has with Canelo Alvarez, Triple G, and Andre Ward. 

ESPN CREATED THEIR OWN "ROCKY" STORY

Jeff Horn became a modern day Rocky when he beat Manny Pacquiao for the WBO Welterweight title. No one gave Horn a chance as everyone thought this would be an easy fight for Pacquiao. Horn's style was unorthodox and he was aggressive all night as he made Manny Pacquiao look "old" but at 38, Pacquiao showed the heart of a champion and fought to the end. He was gracious in defeat and said that he would like a rematch. Even if Horn loses to Pacquiao in a rematch he can still say that he beat one of the biggest names in boxing in his native Australia. Horn will be a star in his home country if not all around the world for that accomplishment. 

Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao will have a rematch. No matter who wins, ESPN will benefit and establish itself as a force in the boxing world once again. 

Class Dismissed,

The Professor