The Batman Saves Len Wein, and other stories
Len Wein writes that, had it not been for him blogging the terrific news about how the National Parks Service has added the cover of Batman: Nevermore to the permanent collection at the Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site in Philadelphia, he might have left the house an hour earlier and become embroiled in a bank robbery. Notes Len, "The Batman saved my life… again."
Ran into Alex Simmons at the local diner last week, who reminded me that the next Kids’ Comic Con will take place at the Bronx Community College on Saturday, March 29. Ah, if only that wasn’t the date of my godson’s bar mitzvah! But no such excuses for the rest of you, particularly as the event will feature the announcement of the finalists in the first-ever KCC Comics Awards! The deadline for nominations is Valentine’s Day; check out this page for all the categories and to get a nominations form. The winners will be announced at this year’s New York Comic Con on Kids’ Day, April 20. And just as a reminder, Alex is also spearheading the Color of Comics exhibit at BCC, opening February 6 and running through mid-March.
For those het gals and gay guys looking for a little more parity in their superheroic objectification, it’s Shirtless Superheroes to the rescue! Although anyone who’s been to the beach can tell you shirtless men and near-topless women aren’t technically equivalent, it’s still something of a sight for sore eyes. Although so many six-pack abs in one place does start to look a bit creepy.
Speaking of deadlines and things of interest to female fans, Ginger Mayerson is pleased to announce the first issue of the Journal of Women On Comics, a print compilation of women writing on comics online. Deadline is February 29, gals! (more…)
Jaden Smith, the son of actor Will Smith, is the latest cast member to sign on for a remake of the 1951 science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still.
It’s beginning to look like the WGA might have accomplished what years of evil scheming and diabolical machinations were never able to achieve: the death of Superman.
Seriously, what criminal mastermind thinks this stuff up?
For the last week of job searches and interviews, I’ve not been very immersed in pop culture, unless one counts giggling at some Craigslist classifieds. I’ve kept up my blog reading, I’ve played computer games, I’ve suffered the first couple of plothole-ridden episodes of the Terminator TV series for a few minutes each, I’m up to Oz book #16, I’m through most of my DCU comics from November/December, the usual consumption. And it occurred to me — consumption. There’s a huge foodie contingent out there, which more and more resembles other pop culture fandom, so why not pontificate about food this week? After all, everybody eats. Even Stephen Colbert has been known to down the grits and lo mein on his show, and who can forget the immortal Eddie Izzard "
Today in 1947, the the body of Elizabeth Short was found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles. Perhaps unpleasant to admit, the savagely disfigured corpse of the girl, better known as the "Black Dahlia," did indeed provide inspiration for the latest Hollywood storytellers, video game artists and even credible contemporary writers. Joyce Carole Oates used Short as a character in her novel, Blonde and the late John Gregory Dunne and his wife Joan Didion used the murder in their screenplay for the film, True Confessions.
Even a full-scale bombing can’t keep a good Smurf down. Last seen in 
My Magic 8-Ball says "ALL SIGNS SAY YES". 
