Work for hire has been the standard for comic companies pretty much since after World War II. I'm not saying that they needed to give the guy a piece of the company or royalties or something, but Batman was profitable almost since his first appearance and Finger lived until the 70s- long enough for there to be serials…

So conservatives whine about family values and think their kids are both smart enough to understand subtle Muppet humor and dumb enough to misinterpret it and harm themselves and their views of sex by, again, misunderstanding puppets.

Enjoyed this article very much.

Long overdue.

It's pretty good. I recommend a reading back to back with Underboss by Gravano. Neither guy is really afraid to say all the awful stuff they did, which is the hallmark of a good true crime book about the Mafia.

I hope it's with his usual laid-back while slightly intense style.

That's a great book.

Just finished reading Mob Boss, which is about Al D'Arco, Paulie's successor as Capo to that crew in Queens and later, acting boss of the Luccheses. He's in witness protection now.

Ah yes, "Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children????!" was still a few years away.

Shit was cray, brah. Eakin was talking about the Whigs, O'Neal was really fired up about the Anti-Masonic party….whew.

That's true, the splashiness lends itself to how memorable these people are.

The best crime documentary I've ever seen is still Crime Inc, put together by Thames and aired on the BBC and available on YouTube.

It's exciting to be in a time where you can watch TV and movies that aren't totally predictable and have characters that can surprise you.

Both of those things had a lot to do with it, but they don't change the fact that Amin was a genocidal tyrant that had delusions of grandeur.

''I don't like human flesh. It's too salty for me.'' - actual quote.

I agree.

Castellano used DeMeo as his sort of DeFacto enforcer despite completely regretting making him.

My favorite part is when it absolutely skewers, minute by minute, how he bombs at some function that has been a tradition in his district forever and yet no one cares anymore.

*SIGH* okay fine, five more minutes.

I'm still surprised they never made a movie out of Murder Machine, which is all about DeMeo. The cover even has a cool testimonial how it's "The scariest book ever written about the mob".