Paul "the Gorilla" Marcinkus Dies

Scandal-hit Vatican banker dies: Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, who was involved in one of the biggest financial scandals to hit the Vatican, has died, church officials say.

MARCINKUS: SILENT WITNESS IN CALVI MYSTERY: The Mafia, the Vatican heavyweight, the 'suicide' of God's Banker 25 years ago... the secrets that will be taken to the grave.

From Everything is Under Control by Robert Anton Wilson:

Paul "the Gorilla" Marcinkus

Paul "the Gorilla" Marcinkus, a political priest so named because of his King Kong musculature, served as bodyguard to two Popes and eventually became Archbishop and was appointed president of the Vatican Bank (IOR). He almost immediately plunged the Vatican into its first major financial scandal of the 1970s, when it was revealed that the Mafia had $1 billion in counterfeit stock, at least some of which got deposited in the Vatican Bank; according to many investigators, all of it was intended for deposit there, but what happened to most of it still remains unknown.

New York D.A. Frank Hogan, who prosecuted several local Mafiosi for this caper, attempted to extradite and prosecute Marcinkus also, but was blocked by White House intervention. (Michele "the Shark" Sindona, one of Marcinkus' colleagues in the P2 conspiracy, had contributed lavishly to Nixon's campaign, and P2 probably had high-level protection as part of the CIA's Gladio operation to control Italian politics).

Later, still under Marcinkus, the Vatican Bank became intimately involved with some of the "ghost banks" (virtual banks) and drug laundromats in the Sindona-Roberto Calvi loop. Marcinkus was listed as co-owner with Calvi of the Cisalpine Bank, a center of drug traffic according to Italian investigating magistrates. When Banco Ambrosiano crashed and the whole P2 scandal made headlines day after day for more than 2 years, the Vatican stonewalled, but later they quietly removed Paul "the Gorilla" from their bank and made him mayor of Vatican City. Later still, they sent him away entirely, and he was last reported in semi-retirement in Cicero, Illinois.

The Calvi Affair

The Calvi Affair by Larry Gurwin of the Institutional Investor (London) attempts to make sense of the P2 Conspiracy that shook up Italian finance, and European finance generally, for several years in the 1970s-1980s. Gurwin concentrates chiefly on Roberto Calvi, president of Banco Ambrosiano, whose strange death -- he was found hanging from a bridge in London, after disappearing abruptly from Italy -- had especially shocked English investors.

Calvi had joined the P2 brotherhood, a secret society within the Grand Orient Lodge of Egyptian Freemasonry, because he believed that P2 held the keys to economic and political power in Italy. Through his P2 connections, his close links with Archbishop Paul "The Gorilla" Marcinkus of the Vatican Bank, and his fertile imagination -- he created totally fictitious banks all over the world and used them to carry on illegal and clandestine activities -- Calvi became indeed very rich, but also attracted unwelcome attention from bank examiners.

Through Liccio Gelli, founder of the P2 group, Calvi became involved with the Mafia, the CIA, the KGB and an assortment of criminal and terrorist organizations-- but because of his ties to the Vatican, he was called "God's banker" and seemed immune to the hazards of his profession. Then the house of cards fell apart, Calvi found himself indicted for embezzlement, and under suspicion for numerous other crimes, and fled Italy. The day he hanged himself or was hanged in London, his secretary threw herself or was thrown from a window of Banco Ambrosiano in Milan.

Aquatic Action

(click to enlarge)

Above: An interesting theme emerged in the winter of 1991. Pictured: ALF #48 (Oct. '91), Heavy Metal (Jan. '92), and Elementals Sex Special #1 (Dec. '91). Once noted, these were displayed side-by-side at Paper Heroes back in the day, and now reside in Cap'n John's Big Box o' Nostalgia. (And yes, ALF is doing exactly what you think he is to the poor seal).

Merchandise Placement

The "Bad Twin" manuscript finally showed up on LOST last night, making for a single uncomfortable moment in what was otherwise one of the best episodes of the season. Hurley was seen reading it by the campfire, and even tried to describe it to Sayid before he cut him off.

Word on the street (i.e. "The Fuselage") is that the author of "Bad Twin," one Gary Troup (an anagram for "Purgatory") was not only one of the passengers on the lost Flight 815, but that he was the crash survivor unlucky enough to get sucked into the jet engine in the series' pilot. What we know for sure is that the novel Bad Twin will be available in May as an official Lost merchandizing tie-in. We know this because it's already listed on Amazon.com.

The scene was disconcerting because it pulled me out of the story, however briefly, as I realized that I was witnessing an example of product placement. Or "merchandise placement," as I prefer to call it, since it's an example of Lost advertising one of its own products instead of some other brand's.

It immediately reminded me of the IDIC pin story from the days of Classic Trek. IDIC stands for "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations," and refers to a pendant that Spock wears in the original Star Trek episode, "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" The ornamental pin was designed by Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and a discussion of it was inserted into the script in order to advertise it to fans, much to the annoyance of the cast.

Of course the fact that Bad Twin is a book that was supposed to have been written by a fictional character on a TV series is more reminiscent of Twin Peak's The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and FBI Agent Dale Cooper's autobiography. And you know, I read those, and I'm sure I'll read this too, so obviously it's an effective form of advertising.

But it just feels a little cheap, like the first time an Ewok pops up in Return of the Jedi, a turning point in the Star Wars Saga after which every character, alien, spaceship, and weapon was conceived as a toy first and a story element second.

Because while the tie-in is sort of "neat," I don't envision the discovery of the manuscript on the island moving the story forward, or providing any insight into the main characters. Unlike Laura Palmer's diary or Agent Cooper's tapes, it doesn't seem to be organic to the plot, and therefore appears to be "tacked on" sheerly for marketing purposes.

But hey, if it adds to the fun of the Lost experience, more power to them. I would just hate to see the show suffer from sloppy writing or clumsy merchandising.

Scarlett Johansson Nude

Nude scene no hassle for two Hollywood girls

SCARLETT Johansson and Keira Knightley, better known for their work with their clothes on, have bared all for Vanity Fair.

Fashion designer Tom Ford, who is the guest artistic director for the Hollywood portfolio, says the pair had few qualms about the shoot.

"We didn't have to convince them. And you know, in today's world everything is vetted through a publicist, so they all knew right before they got to the set," he says.

Rachel McAdams, who was also supposed to be part of the shoot, however found herself with cold feet. "She did want to do it, and then when she was on set, I think she felt uncomfortable, and I didn't want to make anybody feel uncomfortable," Tom says.

Behind-the-scenes pictures from the shoot: Teddy & Moo's Celebrity Gossip.

Thanks to the Dark Piranha for the heads-up on this breaking news story about the View From Oblivion's unofficial mascot.

Buckaroo Banzai #2

Coming in June from Moonstone Books:

Buckaroo Banzai #2

Written by Mac Rauch, pencils by Stephen Thompson, inks by Keith Williams, colors by Dennis Calero, covers by Thompson and Dave Ulanski.

"Return of the Screw," part 2 of 3. Part two continues as Banzai, along with his Hong Kong Cavaliers, protects our way of life as we know it! Meanwhile they must contend with: remembering where they parked the Jet Car, a huge elector-magnetic pulse, the Widow's buttocks, Lectroids, a misplaced syringe, and the World Crime League! Gah! Who has time for a "sound check" at this rate! The rollicking adventure picks up steam as the crap really hits the fan in this one!

32 pages, $3.50 (Limited edition Dave Dorman cover, $4.50).

Forget The Titans

Synopsis for the upcoming Smallville episode "Cyborg":

A sympathetic doctor releases a half-human/half-machine subject named Victor who was being held captive and experimented on by LuthorCorp. While making his escape, Victor is struck by Lana's (Kristin Kreuk) car. After watching him walk away without a scratch, Lana calls Clark (Tom Welling) to investigate. Clark befriends Victor and promises to help him find his girlfriend, but Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) traps Victor and takes him back to LuthorCorp.

My question: Is getting hit by a car while walking through Smallville the default method of demonstrating that you have superpowers on this show? Seriously.

Bigger question: Why do comics fans settle for this embarrassing series?

Buckaroo Banzai Returns

Most people who know me are aware that my favorite movie of all time is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. At the end of the closing credits, we are promised that our hero will return in "Buckaroo Banzai vs. The World Crime League," but alas that sequel never materialized. Many years later the Banzai Institute announced that a television series was in the works. Preliminary special effects sequences can even be found as an Easter Egg on the Special Edition DVD. Sadly, the TV show never came to fruition either.

Now, finally, Buckaroo Banzai is back. This week, the 50-cent black & white preview of the new comic book miniseries from Moonstone Books hit comic shops. It includes 8 b&w preview pages, dossiers of Team Banzai members, and an in-depth account of the events leading from the release of the original movie, through the failed attempts at a TV series, to the publishing of the new comic.

The full-color first issue of Buckaroo Banzai: Return of the Screw is solicited in this month's Previews and is scheduled to ship in April. The covers are posted below. For shots of the interior art, click here.

Return of the Screw is adapted from "Supersize those Fries," the script for the TV pilot that was never produced. Earl Mac Rauch, who wrote the original Buckaroo Banzai screenplay and novelization, is credited with the Story, while W.D. Richter, the movie's director, is credited as Consulting editor.

See also: Buckaroo Banzai FAQ, Newsarama coverage, buckaroo banzai technorati tag, original cover art by Matt Haley on Flickr.