Let’s say comics fandom congealed in the early 60s, or nearly 30 years after the first comic book was published. That means organized comics fandom has been around more than half again that span. We have our own history, and much of it has been chronicled ­­– brilliantly ­­– by Bill Schelly.

Now Bill has shifted his sights to a man whose own career has mirrored the growth of the medium: Joe Kubert. One of the first generation of comics artists by virtue of his seeking, and getting, employment when he was 11, he got into comics about the same time that Superman did. Joe has continued to write, draw and edit comics to this day. Best known for his work on [[[Hawkman]]], [[[Sgt. Rock]]], [[[Tarzan]]] and his own creation, [[[Tor]]], Joe has also been a pioneer in the direct sales comics movement (Sojourn) and in the modern graphic novel movement.

Kubert is at least as well-known for his work as America’s primary educator of cartoonists: his Kubert School in New Jersey has given us dozens of first-rate talent – from Timothy Truman to Tom Mandrake, from Alex Maleev to Shane Davis, plus a couple of kids named Kubert.

Swell. Everybody’s got a favorite artist, and Kubert’s mine. I’ve waxed poetic about the man before. So, for Schelly to entertain and educate me, well, that’s quite a task.

One Bill met well in his biography Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert , published by Fantagraphics Books. He did a first-rate job, giving us Kubert’s comprehensive story and interviewing Joe and a great many others. He gives us the story of [[[Tor]]] publisher Archer St. John and his “involvement” with (read: target of) the Capone mob, his days at Harvey, EC, and DC… the whole kit and caboodle.

We’ve recently been offered excellent biographies of comics masters Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Joe Kubert has deserved similar treatment, and he’s received just that in Bill Schelly’s hands. I heartedly recommend it to all fans of the medium, its history, and its masters. It’s available through your friendly neighborhood comics shop, through Fantagraphics, and through Bill’s own Hamster Press.

We’ve obtained preview footage of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode, "Fall of the Blue Beetle!" airing this Friday, January 23 on Cartoon Network at 8:00 PM, guest starring Wil Wheaton as the Silver Age Blue Beetle, Ted Kord. Yes, Wil Wheaton playing a wise-cracking technical wizard who’s a bit of a geek… it’s a real stretch of character. Take a look…

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You probably never knew his face. You don’t remember his voice, you always thought it was Dick Tufeld’s. But you knew his most famous role just the same.

From the AP wire: ‘Lost in Space’ actor Bob May dies at 69

Bob May, who donned The Robot’s suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69.

May died Sunday of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster, said his daughter, Deborah May.

He was a veteran actor and stuntman who had appeared in movies, TV shows and on the vaudeville stage when he was tapped by "Lost in Space" creator Irwin Allen to play the Robinson family’s loyal metal sidekick in the series that debuted in 1965.

"He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit," said June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson. "It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see Irwin Allen about the part. Allen said, ‘If you can fit in the suit, you’ve got the job.’"

While in this day and age you can purchase a replica, it’s never quite the same as the original.