About the comic… Well, it’s Tom Hanks’ head on a chicken body. That’s like 80% of the joke. If you’re not with me on that one… well, I don’t know what to do you with you. Don’t ask me where the idea came from. I just plucked it from the ether and the thought of it made me laugh. I’ll concede that it’s a long way around for a Colonel Sanders joke, but there you have it.

Freaky anthromorphic celebrities aside, I’m really looking forward to Hanks turn as Professor G.H. Dorr in The Coen Brother’s remake of The Ladykillers. I know some people are a little turned off by the eccentricities evident in the advertisements for this caper flick, but it looks like a very meaty role for Hanks to me. Definitely an upgrade from the more somber fellows he’s been playing of late. The individuals he’s portrayed in Cast Away, Road to Perdition, and Catch Me If You Can didn’t I think go against Hank’s natural demeanor. It’s good to see him taking things a little less seriously in this outing.

There is something about The Coen Brother’s where the success of their films tends to hinge on how far they can get their big-name lead actors to operate outside of their comfort zone. The best example I can give involves the same actor – George Clooney. Look at his performance in two Coen pictures – O Brother, Where Art Thou? versus Intolerable Cruelty. In Intolerable Cruelty, he does the smug, well-dressed routine to great effect, but it’s an image we’re already familiar with courtesy of films like Ocean’s 11 and Out of Sight.

Now look at O Brother. A complete 180 from the Clooney that we’re used to – and a more successful film.

Need more proof? What about The Big Lebowski. Did anyone expect to see Jeff Bridges as a burnt out hippie? It just seems the farther The Coen’s push their leads, the more interest it generates from Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Moviegoer.

Just a theory.

One last thing – a sad bit of business. It looks like Ryan Sias has hung up his pencils and has ceased production on his journal comic Urban Observations. Ryan put together a very whimsical take on his environment – New York City. His archives are still active, so you should check it out. It was a personal favorite of mine.