We here at ComicMix want to wish all our Catholic brothers and sisters a solemn and repentant Ash Wednesday. Of course we’re not entirely sure how to celebrate the holiday (c’mon, everybody in comics wants to be Jewish…) so we asked some famous Ashes to give us some tips! They were most helpful.

So today, we salute you, and hope that you indeed catch all the 493 Pokémon… kill all the dirty and damned deadites… and be sure to fight fires and defeat the villains with your futuristic fire sword spewing gauntlets!

We had thought Ash Wednesday had something to do with repenting for ones’ sins, finding inner strength, and the Easter Bunny… but Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Quesada, Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Satoshi Tajiri wouldn’t lie to us, right?

So what are you giving up for Lent this year? Let us know below! Unless you’re giving up reading online comics and blogs. In that case don’t say anything.

The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D.

By Dash Shaw
Fantagraphics, September 2009, $19.99

Dash Shaw seemed to appear out of nowhere with his massive 2008 graphic novel [[[Bottomless Belly Button]]] – but, of course, for those who were paying attention, Shaw had been an up-and-comer for several years before that, regularly contributing stories to the anthology [[[Mome]]] and active online. (This is the point where most reviewers would allow the reader to quietly assume that the reviewer – all-knowing, all-seeing – is one of the few who were paying attention, but that isn’t the case here. I first heard of Shaw when [[[Bottomless]]] arrived, just like most of you. Feel free to gloat in comments if you are one of the cognoscenti.)

As usual with explosions like that, the creator had other works floating around – either just starting (like Body World, Shaw’s online graphic novel which will be published as a book later this year), or those earlier short stories (from Mome and other places) – which could, and would, be picked up for print publication. And that sudden high profile also usually leads to new work – and it did for Shaw, who wrote, directed and co-animated a series of short movies for IFC.com called “The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D.”

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Valentine’s Day can be a lovely little holiday, can’t it? You and your sweetie exchange little trinkets of love… romantic candle lit dinners… kanoodling on the futon while you watch DVR’ed episodes of Doctor Who… you know, all that gushy stuff. But we know for some out there, the day is just another in a long line of ‘Hallmark Holidays’ meant to sap money out of fools in love. And if you don’t have a Valentine (your Mother only counts if you’re still in grade school…) well, Comicmix wants you to know you’re not alone. Here’s a few folks who think “One is the lonliest”, but deal with it anyways:

1.Ultimate Hulk – The Grey/Green (depends on the “Season” we suppose) Goliath may have have the hots for Betty… But then he started eating people, which assume was a big turn off for her. And sure, he may have a rockin’ set of abs, and can tear a tank up like tissue paper… But he’s also got serious anger management issues. He also once scaled a building yelling for Freddie Prince Jr.’s head on a platter, whilst naked. Not what we’d call a Don Juan in the least.*

2. Booster Gold – We know what you’re thinking… Cool futuristic suit. Flight. A shiny gold flying iPad 4.0 for a best friend… What’s there not to like? He’s got to be batting off the ladies with a bat! But, sadly, the DCU’s newest ‘Time Master’ is also it’s newest loner. Having to help defend the DCU’s time stream can really put a damper on a dude’s love life. And when he’s not getting pants by the Joker on a recursive loop, Booster’s biggest mission seems to be finding new ways to piss off Rip Hunter, not pitching woo to Fire.

3. Smeágol / Gollum – Middle Earth has it’s fair share of uggos, crazies, and weird dudes… But no one takes the “loner” monicker to new depths like this former Stoor-Hobbit. And hey, we admit that we sometimes have an odd ‘fondness’ for an inanimate object (we’re looking at you, fantastic replica Alan Scott Power Battery with replica ring…), but Gollum takes it to a whole new creepy level. Sorry buddy, when you’d rather leap into an active volcano to be with your ‘Valentine’ than try a round of Speed Dating at the Prancing Pony… you’re taking the term ‘dedicated bachelor’ to a new low.

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According to sources at Deadline Hollywood, Chris Nolan, director of Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, has been tapped by Warner Brothers to “Godfather” the reboot of the Superman franchise. While it’s known now that Nolan, his brother Jonah, and David Goyer are presently working on the script for their next Batman film… Warner Brothers appears to want Nolan to help guide the next Superman film for the studio, to help bring back the fans that exited after Bryan Singer’s Donner-esque Superman Returns. Nolan is thought to be able to help give birth to a darker (“more mature”) version to DC’s flagship character for the big screen.

Warner Brothers wants a fresh take on the Kryptonian super star, hopefully shedding the production nightmares attached like a yoke on the neck of the franchise as a whole. Lest us nerds forget Kevin Smith’s penned draft featuring giant spiders, and a Jay and Silent Bob cameo… to the countless other scripts that turned up on the internet prior to Singer’s Returns, which ranged from the insanely bad to completely ludicrous. It’s hoped that Nolan, who brought the Bat-franchise out of the land of nipples and neon, can lend his hand to crafting a Superman movie that draws from the comics in the same way his Batman did from books like Frank Miller’s Year One, and Alan Moore’s Killing Joke.

But, is all this movement for nothing? According to attorney Marc Toberoff (representing the families of Superman’s creators Siegel and Schuster) the rights to Big Blue will come back to the families in 2013. This puts a stigma on DC and the WB to get production moving by 2011, or they may be forced to come crawling to the families to get the license back. And with Nolan currently putting the finishing touches on his newest non-comic flick, Inception, and the aforementioned third Batman film to be directed…it seems like his dance card is filling up fast.

So, let’s turn it out towards you Comicmix fans. What do you want to see in a Superman movie reboot? What books should Nolan be using for inspiration? Is it time for a new franchise villain to debut? Let us know what you think below!