Erika Jayne Album Release Party @ Coco De Mer, West Hollywood -- August 20th, 2009

Went to a sexy and elegant little soirée last night at luxury erotic boutique Coco de Mer. The party was thrown to celebrate the release of dance diva Erika Jayne's new album Pretty Mess (her singles "Give You Everything," "Rollercoaster" and "Stars" all reached number one on Billboard's Dance charts and are featured on the album).

Yellow Label Veuve Clicquot was flowing liberally as Erika's buddy Michael Des Barres read some erotic poetry in the store's garden, which set the tone for the intimate evening. Afterwards we chatted with boutique owner Justine Roddick (a like-minded soul when it comes to universal healthcare) and Michael, who's a big fan of SuicideGirls (expect to see him on SG Radio soon!).

Since Melrose Place is coming back to the small screen next month, I took the opportunity to ask Michael if we're likely to see him reprising his role as über villain Arthur Field. Apparently he had a somewhat mixed experience on the show first time around -- he told me he found out about his character's demise when he showed up to his own (fictitious) funeral on set. He holds no grudges though, and is open to a return to the show should the producers come a calling. And death has never been that much of an inconvenience when it comes to bringing soap characters back. "I could come back as a twin brother," said Michael with a glint in his eye.

Middle image: Jody Watley. Bottom image l-r: Erika Jayne, Michael Des Barres, Justine Roddick.

Click HERE to view image gallery from the night.

Scientists Conclude That Zombie Attack Would Lead To End of Civilization

A group of Canadian scientists have just published a paper detailing research on the likely outcome of a zombie attack -- and things are looking rather bleak for humankind. The team built complex mathematical models to forecast the spread of the zombie virus, and have concluded that an invasion by the walking dead would lead to "a collapse of civilization, with every human infected, or dead."

They predict that in a city of 500,000 people, zombies would outnumber the susceptible population in about three days.

"An outbreak of zombies infecting humans is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead," stated the researchers from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in their thesis entitled "When Zombies Attack."

Since decapitation is generally considered the best way to deal with this specific type of undead plague, the team consider humanity's best hope to be a swift counter attack. "The most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often."

“Only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the doomsday scenario,” the team warns.

Are you prepared?

Image: Mike L. Taylor (based on a photo I took at Fangoria)

Jeremy Piven: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

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Neill Blomkamp: District 9

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New Tales To Tell

On Wednesday night a rather eclectic selection of music enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the release of New Tales To Tell, a Love and Rockets tribute album which features an even more eclectic selection of covers by the likes of Puscifer, War Tapes, The Dandy Warhols and The Flaming Lips. The event was put together by longtime Love and Rockets friend Christopher "The Minister," who compiled and released the album via his new Swing House label.

Shepard Fairey, who created the cover art for the album, spun an '80s themed set as the after-work crowd filtered into the courtyard of Space 15 Twenty. The newly opened Cahuenga Blvd. venue serves as an experiment for owners Urban Outfitters, who hope to create similar retail, gallery and restaurant/bar environments in other city center spaces where their core brand can mix it up with local artists and vendors.

'80s Flashback DJ Richard Blade was master of ceremonies for the evening, introducing local bands Astra Heights, Vex and The Invisible Humans. Man about town, Michael Des Barres, made an appearance, as did the man of the hour, Daniel Ash, who was closely involved in the New Tales To Tell project and is working on a new story of his own -- his first post-L&R-reunion single release.

New Tales To Tell was released digitally on July 28th and will be released physically on August 18. Daniel Ash's single (with Zak Ambrose), a cover of David Essex's "Rock On," is available on The Swing House Sessions Volume I. Click HERE for more details and HERE to view event image gallery.

SuicdeGirls Recreate The Erotic Art of Superman Artist Joe Shuster

SuicideGirls helped comics historian Craig Yoe recreate the secret fetish art of Superman artist and co-creator Joe Shuster at back room soiree held at LA's Meltdown Comics last night.

Shuster's erotic illustrations were originally published in 1953 in the under-the-counter comic Nights of Horror. The work violated pornography laws at the time, thus Shuster was unable to lay claim to this work. A spate of murders in New York lead to a crackdown on pornography in the city the following year. The publisher of Nights of Horror was arrested, and the comics were confiscated and destroyed. Thus the adult work of Shuster, which had always been done undercover, was seemingly lost for all time.

Then, about two years ago, Yoe stumbled across a copy of Nights of Horror in a dusty box on an antique book stall. Yoe instantly recognized the DNA of the draftsmanship displayed in the images. Further research into Shuster's hereto unknown illicit work opened the door to a twilight world of showgirls, mobsters, neo-Nazi juvenile delinquents, hate crimes, murders, court cases, and government enquiries held at the highest level.

Yoe has compiled the stories and images he uncovered in a just-released book, Secret Identity. Read more on Yoe's remarkable voyage of discovery in my interview here.

For images from the Meltdown event, click here.

SuicideGirls Bring the Secret Fetish Drawings of Superman Artist Joe Shuster to Life

Joe Shuster changed the landscape for superheroes. The bold lines and primary colors of Superman, a character he created with writer Jerry Segal, put other action figures in the shade. However unsuccessful legal action lodged in 1946 against National Allied Publications (a forerunner of DC Comics), who claimed ownership of the character, meant that Shuster and Segal missed out on the millions their character would ultimately generate. Worse still, to add insult to injury, following the court case, the duo were stripped of their byline by the publisher.

Shuster and Segal were never able to repeat the success they achieved with their Kryptonite-shy guy. In the era immediately following the war, America no longer felt the need for supermen, and their 1947 follow up, Funnyman, fell flat. By the early 1950s Shuster was reduced to drawing cartoons for cash.

Fast-forward to the mid-2000s, when a comics historian named Craig Yoe discovers a copy of the little-known underground fetish rag, Nights of Horror, in a dusty cardboard box on a book stall. Yoe thought the whip-wielding women depicted in the illustrations bore a remarkable resemblance to the nubile lines of the otherwise chaste Lois Lane. Further research proved Yoe's initial suspicions were likely correct, and with the weight of world renowned art publishers Abrams behind him, he set about compiling a comprehensive compendium of the illicit fetish art of Joe Shuster that had lain undercover for over half a century.

I caught up with Yoe on the eve of the West Coast launch of his book, Secret Identity, which will see several of Shuster's sexy panels brought to life with the help of SuicdeGirls.

Click HERE to read the exclusive interview.

Want to see Sash, Moxi, Adria and Zoli bring Joe Shuster's art to life? Come down to the West Coast Launch Party at Meltdown Comics (7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046) tonight, July 29th. The event starts at 8 PM. Secret Identity author Craig Yoe will also be there to sign copies of the book.

Click HERE for event info.