Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. That's the simplest way to sum up my feelings on Jon Favreau's sequel to his hit blockbuster Iron Man. When the original opened two years ago, no one knew what to expect and there was still a vibe going that the film most likely sucked. Fans were tired of getting crappy Marvel movies and though the evolution of that comic to film universe looked promising with movies like Blade and X-men, it all ended in disappointment due to terrible sequels. "Jon Favreau's doing Iron Man? Yeah, that sounds like a flop."  Some may have initially reacted that way, but Favreau and Marvel Studios proved to be a winning combination and looked like geniuses for making the controversial decision of choosing Robert Downey Jr as their lead. Overnight Downey became a mega-star, the film was a runaway success and fans became excited at the prospect of Marvel producing a series of films that would eventually tie together to create a true Marvel movie universe.Two years later the pressure appears to be on more than ever. The first Iron Man tied in nicely with the Hulk sequel, Thor is in post-production and set to be released one year from today. Captain America is ramping up and all of the heroes and their stories will come together in The Avengers which we soon follow. But Iron Man 2 is here and though Marvel is producing, this is a film clearly in the hands of Favreau. The actor turned filmmaker has already proven that he's a director capable of handling epic productions and creating huge blockbusters. But his extra curricular activities make me nervous. Even an acclaimed director like Christopher Nolan has claimed he's no good at multi-tasking which is why the next Batman sequel will be delayed so that he can finish and release his current project Inception. Favreau on the other hand still hasn't given up being an actor and is appearing in more people's movies than the late Sydney Pollack. Since the release of Iron Man, Favreau has had roles in two films with his buddy Vince Vaughn, the Paul Rudd/Jason Siegel vehicle I Love You Man and voice work in G-Force and the Clone Wars animated series. To be fair, voice work usually occurs years in advance, but why has Favreau had physical roles in three movies when his top priority should be making an Iron Man sequel better than the original? One of the reason's Spider-man 2 is considered to be one of the best comic book movies ever made is that Sam Raimi busted his ass on that film. Though he dove into production right after the release of the original, Raimi still ended up behind schedule and the film's release was delayed by two months. Iron Man 2 is no Spider-man 2, but I can say thank the heavens it's no Spider-man 3 either.Six months after revealing to the world he is really the armored super-hero Iron Man, Tony Stark has been busy. He's been using the suit to protect the world, but at the the same time he's selfishly used it to make himself an even bigger star and increase his already big ego. But the notoriety has made him a target. The U.S. Senate wants him to turn the armor over to them, his biggest rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) not only wants to create suits like Tony, but almost literally be Tony and his shenanigans have forced the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) to put a closer eye on him. Tony also discovers there is threat out there with a mind almost as brilliant as his own. Russian criminal Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), son of a scientist who worked side by side with his father Howard Stark is out for revenge and has nearly perfectly duplicated the arc reactor technology. He gets a wake up call when an opportunity for him to showboat on a racetrack in Monaco turns deadly as Ivan arrives with lethal suit of his own and nearly kills Tony with it.But Tony also discovers that his greatest threat may be himself. The palladium material that he uses to power the arc reactor in his chest plate is slowly killing him and self-destructive behavior soon follows. Tony doesn't hit rock bottom like the infamous “Demon in the Bottle” storyline from the comics, but to the disbelief of his closest friends Rhodey (Don Cheadle) and Pepper (Gwenyth Paltrow), he gets violently drunk at a party and endangers himself and several innocents while wearing the suit. Cheadle who serves as Terrence Howard's replacement, makes a better fit for not only the character of James “Rhodey” Rhodes, but the Mark II Iron Man suit which he appropriates to stop Tony's violent rampage. Subsequently he hands it over to the military to become the War Machine character fans have been waiting for. He and Downey's personalities have better chemistry, but sadly there's not enough of the humorous bickering that Howard and especially Paltrow shared with the star. Paltrow's role has expanded a bit as she still fusses over Tony's behavior even after he appoints her CEO of Stark Industries. A third side of an implied triangular romantic relationship arrives in the form of assistant Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johanson) who fans will recognize as S.H.I.E.L.D agent the Black Widow even though she's never called that in the film. Johanson's beauty manages to distract the viewer every time she appears onscreen and though she gets her chance to get very physical in a brutal combat scene with some security guards (where she seems to pose every time she whups someone's ass) in the end she feels like window dressing. The same can be said for Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury who comes into the story late in the picture to get Tony back on the right track and provide a little back-story into his father's involvement in the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. Though Jackson's presence is meant to prime fans for the creation of the “Avengers Initiative” for the upcoming movie, it still feels like Samuel L. Jackson hanging out in a black leather coat than the legendary Marvel character.Iron Man 2's greatest flaw is that there never feels like there's a big threat to worry about. Mickey Rourke sadly disappears for much of the picture after the Monaco battle when Hammer rescues him from prison to employ his services to create his own line of armor. In the end, we basically see Rourke stuck in a white walled factory working on tech for over an hour before he returns for the finale. In the meantime we're left with Tony wrestling with his demons and figuring out how to create a power source that won't kill him. In the end, Tony created a new element, but we the audience have no idea what it is or how he did it. In the original Iron Man, you felt like you were not only on Tony's road to discovery in creating the armor, but becoming a super-hero. It didn't matter that there wasn't wall-to wall action because the journey you took with the character was a fun and fascinating one. Now that he's already a super-hero, this was the opportunity for the story to explore Tony's discovery of what makes one. At the Senate hearings (overseen by a brilliantly cast Gary Shandling), Stark boasts of privatizing world peace, but we never actually saw him do it. We never saw the Iron Man armor in real combat situations in real world locations and are left to assume he's been busy the past six months cleaning up around the world. If the whole world is now safer because of Iron Man, then what do we need the Avengers for? I know what we need them for, but this film makes it look as if Iron Man has already solved everything. This was the chance for Tony to learn that he may be a badass, but his armor is not enough to save and protect everyone. Sure, we finally get War Machine and Rhodey does back him up to fight off robotic drones created by Vanko. But they only come together in a poorly conceived climax where the backdrop is localized to Flushing Meadow park. And then when Rourke returns as Whiplash (he's never actually called that) the final confrontation feels tacked on and rather brief.The Good: There are many things to like about Iron Man 2. Downey is as brilliant as ever, even when Tony is drunk: “People ask me how I go to the bathroom in the suit and I'll tell you.” H pauses to make a weird face. “Just like that,” he says before snickering.The Iron Man armor looks even more photo-realistic thanks to the work of ILM and though there's few action sequences in the film, the battle in Monaco is spectacular. It's an exciting confrontation where Happy Hogan (Favreau, again) and Pepper must also take action to save Tony's life which he barely escapes with. This is the moment in the film where he realizes the stakes are higher and a turning point in the story. Unfortunately, it turns in the wrong direction.The Senate hearings don't come across as silly as they looked in the trailer and Tony uses his quick wit and a bit of tech to turn the tables on Shandling's Senator Stern and make a fool of Hammer. Any bit of interaction between Tony, Rhodey and Pepper is also good, but it's getting a little tired seeing the two of them scold him like a child.Favreau salutes his hometown of Queens, by setting the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadow Park, though watching Iron Man plunge into a presentation from high in the sky makes a mesmerizing shot, setting the finale there takes you out of reality. Still, the former site of the World's Fair never looked so good.Rockwell starts off as a small presence as Hammer, but in time he manages to overshadow main villain Rourke with his sleaziness. This guy desperately wants to be Tony Stark so bad that you can see the residue from a spray-on tan in the palms of his hands. Rockwell's shining moment comes when he discusses with Rhodey how he plans to upgrade the Mark II armor and introduces him to a mini-smart missile called “the ex-wife”: “If this baby were any smarter it would write a book. A book that makes Ulysses look like it was written in crayon.”The Bad: The soon to be talked about scene where Tony gets drunk at his birthday party isn't dreadful. Its just that his confrontation with Rhodey could have been handled better. It's cool seeing one Iron Man battle another, but the scene stays comical throughout and the fact that the late DJ AM is spinning tunes doesn't help. Their brawl should have been allowed to escalate to dangerous levels. It might have had a more dramatic impact if Tony was sober and their confrontation was more along the lines of an argument over him sharing his creations with the military. It would have been more dynamic to have two equally level-headed good friends fight over something they both believed was right.Ivan's drones aren't particularly scary and don't feel threatening at all. Then when he shows up in his own armor there's nothing impressive about it. Its not even designed with a bit of personality and then Rourke keeps removing the helmet to show the audience “Hey its me Mickey Rourke”. Not, it's not you Mickey, its your head on a CGI robotic body and it looks copied and pasted.I liked John Slattery as Tony's father Howard Stark who appears to his son in a series of old promo films and outtakes, but the story has already slowed down way too much at the point he makes a lengthy appearance. I understand why he's there and its for Tony to learn something and make a discovery about himself, but it feels forced and the end result of his father's lesson is a letdown.Didn't care much for the post-credit scene which feels so tacked on. It doesn't measure up to the “Hey there's Sam Jackson” vibe that the original had or even Stark's cameo in The Incredible Hulk. Fans will not doubt enjoy the tease, but a part of me felt the filmmakers made a quick stop at a True Value hardware store and shot it last week.I know some fans were happy to see composer John Debney reunite with Favreau since he didn't score the first film, but I just didn't feel his music in this one. I really thought Ramin Djwadi gave the first Iron Man an exciting rock n' roll and heavy metal feel. He even had one of the guitarists from Rage Against The Machine on the soundtrack. Like Debney, Djwadi never really created an Iron Man theme, but his score got my blood pumping while this one felt so anemic.As much as I love the music of AC/DC, unless you're going to use 'Thunderstruck" in the next movie, its time to find some better clasic rock tunes guys.  There are songs by the band used at both the beginning and end of the film.The Cool: Anytime Iron Man free falls to the ground or cuts power to land on his feet. I was happy to see that in a moment where Tony snatches Pepper, he briefly cuts power to the suit before grabbing her and speeding off to safety. How many super-hero movies have we seen where the guy snatches the girl at high speed and wonder how he didn't kill her in the process?The Mark V suitcase armor is the coolest one in the film, even though its a portable version that's isn't as durable or high-powered like the others.Any of Stark's gadgets including the holographic images he manipulates in his lab. I love how he can crumble an image like paper and make a basketball shot with it that reads “Score.” The downside of these sequences is that there's not enough Jarvis (Paul Bettany). He doesn't converse much with Stark and I miss how he would continually mock his creator like he did in the original.Despite its many flaws, there is a cool factor in Iron Man 2. I can't put my finger on it, but it may be the fact that this film marks the unofficial start of the summer movie season and you're already in a good mood before you see it. I still had those feelings when I checked out the film for a second time the day after I initially saw it. There's a lot more to like than hate in the movie, its just that you wish the filmmakers had tried a bit harder and thought bigger. I still feel like the Marvel movie universe is on track and things will get better and better.  Source: Latino Review

Tributes paid to comic writer behind 40 years of daily cartoon strips

Peter O'Donnell, creator of seductive crime fighter Modesty Blaise, died at the weekend aged 90.

O'Donnell's catsuit-wearing Modesty, who fought a host of villains with her sidekick Willie Garvin, first appeared as a daily strip in the Evening Standard in 1963. The strips ran for almost 40 years, with O'Donnell also writing a series of novels starring his ass-kicking heroine, dubbed the "high priestess of pulp crime".

Born in south London in 1920, O'Donnell started writing for children's comics at the age of 17 but the second world war interrupted his writing career. It was a chance meeting with a hungry little girl in what was then Persia, when the author was in charge of a mobile radio detachment, that would go on to inspire the creation of Modesty, "a woman who, though fully feminine, would be as good in combat and action as any male, if not better".

"My character would have to have had a childhood of unrelenting struggle, in which she had been tested to the very core by danger, loneliness, fear and every kind of hardship, a child with a diamond-hard will to survive," O'Donnell told Crime Time. "Of course, I had seen this very child 20 years before, and knew she was the perfect prototype for the character I would eventually call Modesty Blaise."

Also the creator of Romeo Brown, Garth and Tug Transom, as well as the author of a series of romantic gothic novels published under the pseudonym Madeleine Brent, O'Donnell remains best known for Modesty Blaise. He retired from writing in 2001 after putting his beautiful spy through a series of death-defying adventures, from foiling a multi-million pound diamond heist and seeing off a private army of professional killers, to battling homicidal Norsemen and stopping a Caribbean drug courier racket.

"Peter O'Donnell was respected as one of the greatest writers in the comics medium today and had a devout following among comics professionals and fans alike", said Nick Landau, managing director of Titan, O'Donnell's publisher, who knew the author personally. "I am honoured to have known him – and published his greatest creations, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin – for almost 40 years."

With fans including Neil Gaiman and Quentin Tarantino, O'Donnell revealed on his website that the proudest moment of his career was a letter he received from Kingsley Amis, in which the Lucky Jim author thanked and congratulated him for the Modesty Blaise books. "They are endlessly fascinating," wrote Amis. "I read them all for the second time recently when laid low by a very depressing bout of flu, and I'm sure they did quite as much as the doctor did to put me on my feet again."

I have seen and read a lot, for be careful. Anything super popular I've done. I'm just bored, because I've read and seen so much. For manga: Romance, Comedy must be included please! at least! I'm looking for the awesome romantic stuff with hot guys. But I'd like some kind of twist you know? I love fantasy stuff, but not too over board. I loved fruits basket, which I just finished as a anime, but I liked the hint of fantasy and dark themes, it wasn't just a girl falls in love with guy. But of course I will accept good typical romance stuff, but remember I've practically read almost everything. For anime: Romance(even just hints), and comedy are musts! For anime I like A LOT more plot involved. I don't like short series, but I'll definably watch them. It just makes me sad it's so short. I like action, but not tons smack in the face! I don't like robots, so sorry :x Like I said before I love fantasy! Magic! Twists! Please don't included anything dealing with little kid attractions :x Some of my favorites: Yu yu hakusho Inuyasha Naruto Ouran host club Fruits basket Mystery Detective Ragnarok Blood plus MAGICAL JXR BARAJOU NO KISS Black bird Million girl DENGEKI DAISY Just to maybe give you some type of things I like to watch. Thanks so much for the help in advance!!!

After over ten years of waiting, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 has finally been announced. Yes, we're psyched, but we're also freaked out. A lot has changed for both Marvel and Capcom over the past ten years. Multiple new Marvel and Capcom franchises have come and gone, Capcom's sprite-based fighting games have been replaced by HD, polygon-packed fighters like Street Fighter IV and Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom have come out, and Marvel's movies have totally eclipsed their comics in terms of cultural importance and moneymaking power. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is assuredly bound for greatness, but it's also bound to be a very different game from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

Ben PerLee and I have put our heads together, taking in the available facts, our understanding of the Marvel and Capcom Universes, and our own personal opinions about what would work for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3's roster, and we've put it all down for you in this post. Consider this article a massive conversation starter. We want to hear about who you think should be in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and so does Capcom. They'll be checking this post out for sure, so make sure you sound smart in the comments.

Okay, here we go! Hit the jump for our full Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 prediction list.

MARVEL SIDE

Returning Favorites: Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Magneto, and Doctor Doom

These are eight Marvel characters that cover the most ground in terms of play-styles, and have the most mainstream popularity as well as comic clout. Every single one of them has been or will be in a Hollywood blockbuster film, none of them play much alike, and they have all developed fan bases of their own.

All these characters are pretty much locks to return in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, with potential movie-style/Ultimate Universe makeovers. Others mainstays like Storm, Iceman, and Juggernaut may come back as well, but these are the eight that are almost guaranteed.

Likely Rookies:

The Thing/other Fantastic Four rep -- The Thing appeared in two (weirdly) successful Fantastic Four movies, played by world-famous bald man Michael Chiklis. More importantly to Marvel fans, the Hulk/Thing rivalry always brings the crowds. Capcom fighting games tend to focus on maximizing rivalries, so it would make sense for them to embrace this long-standing feud.

The Thing could work well to fill a gap in the MvC3 roster: the mid-sized durable brawler. He could fit the role that Alex held in SFIII, and which Abel filled in SFIV. There's also the chance that some other member of the FF could take his place. The Human Torch could surely kick out the jams, and I'm sure Mr. Fantastic could do an awesome Dhalsim impression. Either way, someone from the FF will be in this game, though my bet is still on Mr. Grimm.

Ghost Rider -- Another hit movie, another sure bet for inclusion in MvC3. They could go with '70s Ghost Rider, '90s Ghost Rider, or movie Ghost Rider; people will play him regardless. His chain attack, cycle super, and Penance stare 360° throw attack would surely wow the crowds.

If they get Nicolas Cage to reprise his role, there could even be a "your Goddamn honey" and a "how'd it get burned?" combo super chain. I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm sure that I would love it.

Thor -- Thor's got a big-time movie on the way, and even if he didn't, he'd be a sure bet for inclusion in MvC3. Ever since his appearance as an assist character in MvC1, fans have been dying to play as the guy. His recent triumphant return to comics doesn't hurt either.

The only problem with Thor is that, just like with Thanos, there is really no way to put him in the game without underpowering him. He's a god, after all. Still, give him some of Storm's weather-based moves, combined with some good old-fashioned ass-kicking, and you got yourself a winner.

Deadpool -- The guy stole the show in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and his popularity in comics is at an all-time high as well. He may look like a lame Spider-Man rip-off with a sword, but the character actually has some worth. With a healing factor, skills with hand-to-hand and ranged weapons, and no real boundries around what he will and won't do, Capcom could take Deadpool and turn him into a truly excellent fighting game character.

I see him turning out to be the new Cable: scrubs will flock to him, but he'll still take some skill to master. It's a totally '90s thing, I guess.

Long Shots:

Iron Fist -- Marvel has been working on an Iron Fist movie for a while, and the comic had a resurgence a few years back that really built the character's fan base. More than that, he's perfect for a fighting game. In case you haven't heard of him, Iron Fist is an expert martial artist who can channel his life force into his fist (for massive damage) or into his body (for healing), and God knows what else. He's also dating a hot girl with a bionic arm and a giant afro, and is best friends with a bullet-proof Shaft look-a-like.

Capcom's Vs. games need combo-heavy, rush-down-ready characters, and Iron Fist could fit the bill. With such a vague power, there is also a lot of room for Capcom to flex their imagination in putting together his move set. I don't think there is a high likelihood that Danny Rand will end up in MvC3, but if he is, I'll be main-ing him.

Hit Girl -- This one would be a sure thing if 1) Marvel owned the character, and 2) the movie came out six months earlier. As it stands, Marvel only published the Kick-Ass comic. Its characters are owned by its creators, Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. Also, Capcom may not have enough time to react to the character's instant popularity, which is less than a week old at the time of this writing.

Still, these things can be worked around, if the right amount of money and time are spent. I think it would be worth the effort to make Hit Girl in MvC3 happen. There has never been a character quite like her in comics or videogames, and fighting game fans on both sides of the ocean would surely appreciate the inclusion of an 11-year-old girl with purple hair and the ability to decapitate 10 men per second.

The Punisher/Franken Castle -- Here's the thing: I hate The Punisher. He's a relic of an era that I'm glad has ended; one that videogames are in danger of getting stuck in now. It was a period where -- in efforts to prove how "grown up" and "hardcore" they'd become -- comics went in a soulless and boring direction: they betrayed the qualities that made them great and ignored all of the medium's inherent strengths, in favor of copying lame '80s action movies. That's what The Punisher means to me.

Or should I say "meant" to me, because now, The Punisher is a half-man, half-monster, Frankenstein-style being who hangs out with Man Thing and fights Japanese monster hunters. Basically, he went from a bland vigilante cliché to something totally batshit insane and awesome. It's also been a hit with comic book readers nationwide. The Franken Castle storyline is selling like hotcakes, with no signs of slowing. If Capcom wants to capture a current trend in comics, while doing something truly unprecedented for their Vs. series, they'll put Franken Castle in the game.

Green Goblin/Norman Osborn -- The character who has long been an albatross around Marvel's neck has recently become cool again, in both comics and films. As Willem Dafoe in the films, and as a Tommy Lee Jones-looking guy in the comics, Green Goblin/Norman Osborn is kind of a big deal these days. For years, the character was considered unfilmable in the movies, and passé in the comics. Due to a severe case of lameness, he was replaced by the Hobgoblin and the Demogoblin. Only recently has the character returned to grace.

If Capcom wants to incorporate current Marvel events into MvC3, then an appearance by Green Goblin/Norman Osborn is a must. It would also be fun to play as a character who'd yell "Pumpkin bomb!" over and over again. It's not quite as awesome as yelling "Tiger!" or "Yoga flame!", but it comes close.

CAPCOM SIDE

Returning Favorites: Ryu, Chun-Li, Morrigan, Zangief, Strider, (one of the) Mega Man(s), Felicia, Chris Redfield

It wasn't as easy to come up with this side of the "returning favorites" list as it was for the Marvel side. Other than Ryu, Chun-Li, and Morrigan, there are no real constants in the Vs. series. With everyone else, I'm guessing based on popularity, frequency of use in past games, and appearance in the MvC3 teaser trailer, either explicitly or through silhouette. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong on a few of these, like if Haggar gets switched out for Zangief, or Zero tags out Mega Man. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Likely Rookies:

Dante -- There are people who can beat me in a Capcom fighting game who are younger than the first video that ever hit the Internet featuring Dante in MvC3. The video was fake, of course, but that just shows you how long people have wanted to see this character in a Capcom fighting game. Surviving four games of his own and multiple cameos (Viewtiful Joe, Namco X Capcom, Shin Megami Tensei III) is the sign of becoming a true Capcom icon.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the guy, but there is no doubt that he'll be in MvC3, and that he'll be fun as hell to play. Like Deadpool, his sword-and-gun fighting style combined with his anything-goes school of martial arts techniques is sure to make for some fun beatdowns.

Bionic Commando -- It took about twenty years, but Bionic Commando has finally proven to be a lasting and worthwhile Capcom property. The dreadlocked, gravel-voiced version of the character may have gone over like a lead balloon, but the original, sunglasses-and-smile version of the character has proven to make bank. Bionic Commando Rearmed is getting a sequel, and what better way to keep people aware of that than to give the character representation in MvC3?

More important than all that, Bionic Commando would be really fun to use in a fighting game: part Omega Red, part Scorpion, part Yatterman, all awesome. That's just me being unimaginative. There are plenty of new moves that Capcom could give Radd Spencer to make him fun to use. The versatility of the Bionic Arm is basically limitless, though I expect to see plenty of long-distance grabs and devastating beatings.

Monster Hunter guy -- Do the Monster Hunter gang even have names? Since I know them through Monster Hunter Tri, they don't have names, and are instead known by their weapons. My favorite is probably Switch axe, but that's beside the point.

Monster Hunter 3 outsold Super Mario Galaxy in Japan, and the PSP games continue to sell like crazy even now. For better or worse, Monster Hunter is a major part of who Capcom is today, and I highly doubt they'll ignore that fact with MvC3. A Monster Hunter character could be cool, equipped with plenty of traps, weapons, and weird poop-bombs. Still, we're including him/her on the list not so much because we want him/her in the game, but because their inclusion feels inevitable.

Arthur -- The Ghosts 'n Goblins series refuses to die. It's one of Capcom's oldest and most evocative franchises. Although not everyone can tolerate how difficult the games can be, no one can tell you with a straight face that they don't like the little beareded knight who is reduced to battling zombies in his boxer shorts after taking just one hit of damage.

I expect to see a version of Arthur in MvC3, but not the version we're most familiar with. The character was remade into a bad-ass for the little-played top-down co-op shmup Cannon Spike, and that's the version we may see in MvC3. While retaining the spirit of the original character, this new Arthur had the physical proportions, the weaponry, and the sense of power necessary to function in a fighting game. Hey, maybe he'll even get a new home console game after that. One can dream.

Long Shots:

Mia Fey -- The whole staff got together to try and figure out the characters on the Capcom side of the MvC3 logo. There was still some debate over all of the characters, but the one that we really couldn't make up our minds about was the woman in the middle. Some figured she was Kyoko, the sexy teacher from Rival Schools; others guessed it was Morrigan with her hair down. But in the end, we decided it was Mia Fey from the Ace Attorney series.

At first, the idea seemed stupid. For one thing, Mia can't fight. For another, [SPOILERS] she's dead [END SPOILERS]. Then it dawned on me: Mia is a psychic lawyer with huge boobs who is always showing cleavage... always. Why wouldn't she be in a new Capcom game? Why wouldn't she be in every Capcom game?

The Killer7 -- This is a real long shot, as Killer7 pretty much tanked at retail. Still, the game has slowly but surely built up a small but die-hard fan base that will buy anything even vaguely related to the title. More importantly, Harlan would make for an extremely interesting fighting game character. Led by a handicapped man in a wheelchair, the Killer7 personas include a masked wrester, a blind teenager, a wrist-cutting woman, and a knife-wielding albino who can teleport by taking off his sunglasses. They are just as uncanny and astonishing than anything ever conceived for the Marvel universe.

Not only would the Killer7 be a perfect fit for a battle against the violent and surreal world of Marvel comics, but they look the part as well. The teaser trailer for MvC3 reveals an art style that looks remarkably like Killer7, but much cleaner and shinier. If the Killer7 are to ever get another shot at the limelight, there is no better place for that to happen than MvC3.

Gene -- God Hand is another Capcom title that never got a fair shake. It was just the wrong place at the wrong time for the Fist of the North Star parody. Everything about the game was dripping with style -- particularly Gene, the game's bad-ass protagonist. With his prosthetic God Hand and the will to beat down cosplaying midgets, poison chihuahuas, and demonic Latinos named Elvis, Gene showed that a hero could be hilarious and bad-ass at the same time.

In MvC3, Gene would be the perfect Capcom equivalent to Marvel's Iron Fist: a fast, furious brawler utilizing a combination of eye-blazing kung fu and one glowing, overpowered haymaker. He also does a little dance during his standing animation. Not playing MvC3 with Gene would clearly be worse than playing with him, CONFIRMED.

Chibiterasu -- I just realized that these last three characters are all from Clover games that garnered critical success but failed to make much money. Hey, this is the long shots section, right? No better place for characters that deserve some underdog respect.

Unlike Gene and the Killer7, Chibiterasu is already the representation of a character getting a second chance. The super-deformed iteration of Okami's protagonist, Amaterasu, Chibiterasu has yet to make an official appearance in a videogame. The painfully cute god-puppy is set to star in Okamiden on the DS, which will hopefully be released sometime soon.

Combining the multiple abilities of Amaterasu's celestial brush with the powers of puppy-face may end up being more than most people can handle. Regardless, Chibiterasu would be an interesting and potentially exciting character in MvC3. Like with the Killer7, the game's graphics engine would be a perfect fit for Chibi's hand-drawn character design, and in a game stuffed to the gills with tough guys and explosions, wouldn't in be nice to throw a puppy in there to keep things interesting?

OTHER QUESTIONS

Now that Disney has bought Marvel, are they going to throw some of their characters in the game just to f*ck with us?

With Capcom being one of the major zombie game publishers on the planet, and the Marvel Zombies spin-off series continuing its years of retail success, is there a chance that MvC3 could get a full-on zombie mode?

Will Capcom borrow characters from the Wii-exclusive Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom for inclusion in MvC3? Capcom has a long history of borrowing characters from one of their fighters and lending them to another, but will they do that with these two similar, but extremely different looking games? If so, would that cause less people to buy TvC and more people to buy MvC3, or both? Would it be worth it for Capcom to detract from TvC's worth by spreading its fan-favorite, exclusive characters to a new fighting game if it made MvC3 a more interesting game?

DISCUSS!

What Might Have Been

Kick-Ass, the new R-rated movie based on the R-rated comic book, follows a few masked-and-caped citizens whose paths cross over mob dealings and misunderstandings. The Watchmen it's not, but the introduction of a pint-sized heroine who plays with butterfly knives instead of Barbies sets it apart from other superhero flicks. Watching the movie, I found that when I wasn't wincing at the violence, I was cringing at the gaping disparity of both skill and storyline between the title character--the green-wet-suit wearing Dave, aka Kick-Ass--and the foul-mouthed, truly ass-kicking, Mindy MacCready, aka Hit Girl.

Dave is your recognizable nerdball who can’t get the girl and fantasizes about boobs—a lot. And it’s not exactly clear why someone so admittedly apathetic would want to fight crime. Even more ridiculous is the relationship he has with his dream girl. To finally get close to her, he goes along with her assumption that he’s gay. (Being a girl’s gay BFF, btw, means you get to rub self-tanner on her while she’s topless and in her undies. You knew that right? My gay male friends love doing that to me.)

Dave eventually breaks the news that a) he’s Kick-Ass and b) he’s been lying about his sexuality because he’s in love with her, which he does by climbing through her bedroom window unannounced. Apparently in the comic, she rightfully tells him to fuck off. In the Hollywood version, she’s mad for about three seconds, and then invites him to bed, and the viewer has to watch as Dave ever so ickily reaches his dish-gloved hands towards her breasts. (I was absolutely unable to stop myself from groaning “Ewwww” really quite loudly when this occurred).

[Oh, did I forget to mention why she (and others) thinks he’s gay? Dave’s beaten rather severely by two criminals (A note: criminals in Kick-Ass = black, white with tattoos, oily mafia types, people wearing skull caps). He removes his wet-suit Kick-Ass costume out of embarrassment. You do the math. Mugged by dudes + found naked = GAY. Yes! That is the math of Kick-Ass! I don’t think I need to go into how problematic it is that if you are a guy and-- hypothetically or not--sexually assaulted by men, you are gay!]

All of this probably could have been avoided had the movie been about Hit Girl.

Because besides the offensive nature of Dave's plot lines, they're also offensively boring. He’s a terrible superhero, never really succeeding at fighting bad guys. And as I’ve touched on earlier, his plot scenes don’t really make that much sense. When we start learning Hit-Girl and her father’s background, the movie gets a lot more interesting. Their backstory is told through interactive-comic style, and we’re given characters with motivations and drive, not just constant boners and MySpace replies (note to future action movie makers: nothing is more riveting than watching a character check their MySpace account. Are you listening Tarantino? I expect some Facebook Connect from you.) Hit Girl is an empowered, non-sexualized, and capable of defending herself--she's the one that comes to the rescue, and only needs assistant from others in the most dire of situations.

This goes beyond “Why can't there be more actions movies with strong female leads?” The movie actually would have been better had it been about Hit Girl, and studio demands of a “relatable” Peter Parker-meets-American-Pie protagonist was a real detriment to a more engaging plot. (Apparently Hit Girl and her father Big Daddy feature more prominently in the comic books.) Find one review that doesn’t say that Hit Girl steals the show. She gets the best scenes, and actually complicates the plot. We would have been treated early on to a story involving a corrupt police unit and the impressive, albeit prematurely violent, handiwork of Hit Girl and her dad. The boob ogling/grabbing and "I’m a nerd (but actually an underdog!)" plot would have been relegated to the margins, where it belongs.

But reviews that aren't singing the praises of Chloë Grace Moretz are outraged that a petite girl-child is firing automatic weaponry as deftly as she drops expletives. The best response I’ve read concerning the gender dynamics of the movie and the subsequent media speculations comes from Cinematical's Geek Beat, who notes that had the character been “Hit Boy” there would be far less outrage.

If Hit Girl was the nerdy sidekick -- the one who stayed behind, made gadgets, and sharpened swords, no one would care. They might worry, they might even fret about her language, but she'd be out of harm's way. Then the discussion would be focused on Kick-Ass and his boyish ilk. I can almost guarantee it.

But I also think Hit Girl is as cool as hell. I like what she represents. I prefer her, her bad language, and her bloody weaponry to trends of toddler high heels, spa visits, and preteen sexualization. I find it more alarming that I hear a 7-year-old asking the Starbucks clerk about the calorie content of a Cafe Mocha because what the hell are you doing drinking coffee, little girl? And why do you know what calories are? Why aren't you playing outside, anyway? It's a silly thing to use as a symbol, of course, but I think there are dangerous, upsetting things happening in youth culture that we could address instead of worrying about one fictional upstart.

So, I guess you don’t have to pass on Kick-Ass. But you should know it combines the creatively gruesome deaths of Guy Ritchie with the graphic violence of Tarantino, so if you don’t like say, people getting set on fire, beat with blunt objects, shot at close range, and our two young protagonists getting the shit kicked out of them, it’s not for you. For those of you who are interested in watching a nerdy white guy fight of evil villains, save your money for Scott Pilgrim.

Anyone else see Kick-Ass? Anyone read the comics?

Hit Girl Hysteria [Cinematical]
How Kick-Ass' killer Hit Girl is like Alien's Ripley [Sci Fi Wire]

KICK ASS

It's been described as Superbad (2007) meets Mystery Men (1999) and while there's some of both those films here  the description is still misleading. Yeah on the surface this movie is foul mouthed and sexually adolescent and it's also about a bunch misfits who fancy themselves as real-life superheroes. But the real resemblance to those two films lies in this films heart. Kick Ass has flaws but overcomes them in making you care about the characters. And as action scenes and fight choreography go, these, well they....you know.

High schooler and avid comic reader Dave Lizewski wonders why noone has ever tried to be a real-life superhero before. Surely it can't be all that hard. But he finds out there's more to truth, justice and the American way than the comics let him in on. First there's the very real fact that he doesn't have any superpowers and is liable to get as good or better than he can give. Second there's those pesky mob types that mistake his handiwork for that of the far more agile Big daddy and his daughter the prepubescent Hit Girl, two extremely capable costumed killing machines. And then there's the Crime Lords hopelessly nerdy son who tries his hand at being a vigilante to help foil the heroes and win a place in his dads family business. Will Daves new career fly? Will Big Daddy and Hit Girl fight their way to justice? Or will the real world and the Red Mist flatten them all.  

There have been a fair number of films that explore the idea of the ordinary person as superhero .Great ones like Kick Ass! and Special (2006) take the desires of their characters very seriously giving them strong arcs through which viewers can identify without rubber stamping everything they do in costume (or out) as okay. They remain human in their individual struggles to stand out, make a difference and be an instrument of good as well as in their pride and desire for fame. Kick Ass! is a film that is liable to be written about for years and inspire a lot of dialogue about the role we assign to heroes in our culture and the importance of seeing everyday life as a stage for heroics. 

Chloe Moretz steals the film as Hit Girl.This kid is up against the dynamic Mark Strong whose recent turn as Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes (2010) has made him the Hollywood go to guy for villainy. Strong takes a role designed for scenery chewing and delivers some real menace. That Moretz can hold her own with him bodes her well. She's also up against Nicolas Cage whose hilarious and touching performance as Big Daddy must surely rank as one his very best. But when Moretz is onscreen there's literally no one else there. She's simply the best thing about this film and any discomfort I initially had about her foul mouth is handily dealt with by a plot that has more in mind than shock. This is the story of a girl forced to grow up too soon who gets a chance to be a kid once again. We believe Moretz in both parts.

The only mildly disappointing thing here is the ending. For a film that spends a lot of time deconstructing vigilantism Kick Ass goes far out of it's way to provide a happy ending for it's good guys. In real life the good guys don't always win especially when they blur the lines between civic duty and revenge. But the film does have a lot to say about the subject and the villains, though clearly the stuff of cardboard cruelty  do press a major moral point; "With no power comes no responsibility." Dave ultimately must decide whether he believes this or not. "Why do we want to be superheroes?", the film seems to ask. Is it because we want babes, action or notoriety. That's what youtube is for. In real life there's work to be done and stands to take whether or not you have the power to change anything at all. 

well,i just got done this week watching three anime. toradora,tonagura,and katekyo hitman reborn. now to be honest katekyo hitman reborn stands out to the other 2 but i like a mix of anime from romance to gore to action and to druama but really this past week ive been in more of a mood for romance with some druama so give me some really good romance anime with some druama ALSO MAKE SURE IT'S NEER 20 to 25 eps or more cuz i keep watching really short anime lately so i finish them in like 2 days. anime i have seen before (because others do it and i have noticed half of the anime ive seen are well known so ive seen alot more than the amount that i havent, please teacher please twins the ones menchoned above in the first paragraph naruto bleach karin elfen lied that one gory one with higurash no koro ni or something in it pretear asu no youichi maburaho magikano he is my master the one about the girls that pop out of the drinks dears melancholy of haruhi suzumiya code geass special a most of oran high school host club to-love ru that one about the guy who can murge with that girl to become some fox or something shakugan no shana the one about the boy who gets stranded on an island with no boys just girls but his sister gets stranded with boys yumeria love-love moharomatic. (kind of depressed me neer the end) that one about the girl with blue but short hair that comes from her home to find her fiance ok i know thats not all but most i guess but make sure its romance because youll piss me off if you dont anyways dont put things with charicters like from ranma or anything like that

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"Kick-Ass" is coming. This Friday, our conversation about superheroes changes once again. "X-Men" proved the concept was viable on screen, "Spider-Man" brought the hero to blockbuster territory and the one-two-whammy of "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" in the same year showed that audiences were willing to put their butts in the seat for shiny, colorful explosions AND adult, dark drama."Kick-Ass" is already poised to attempt a merger between the two. All that is left to be seen is if y'all embrace it or not. If the movie keeps you coming back, "Kick-Ass" will earn its place among the above titles. If tickets aren't sold... well, there will be the few (like me) who still hold it in high regard.Yesterday, I brought you my roundtable with Kick-Ass himself, Aaron Johnson. Today, a few words with his nemesis - thus far best known as McLovin.There are a few light spoilers in the below conversation. Light in the sense that he acknowledges that there is a bazooka in the movie. I don't thing that really spoils anything.Chris was late into getting to our particular roundtable, which he was happy to explain as soon as he entered the room: Christopher Mintz-Plasse: I was out doing some coke and having sex with hookers. I apologize. So you really are enjoying yourself?Plasse: I was enjoying myself. We heard that you're going to be The Motherfucker. Plasse: Ooh, that's way too far into the future. I know that Mark [Millar] is writing 'Kick Ass 2' actually I think in a couple of weeks and he wants to change Red Mist's name to The Motherfucker which I think is hilarious. If they make the movie that'll be very uncomfortable because people will be like, 'Aren't you that Motherfucker?' 'Those are fighting words, man. Don't you be doing that.' So we'll see what happens. I heard that the entire premise of that name change is just so that people will stop calling you McLovin. Plasse: [laughs] That's Mark. He's a genius like that. Will you be glad to lose McLovin? Plasse: It doesn't matter to me. I think for the rest of my life, hopefully they do remember for that character because that was my first movie ever. It put me on the map. I got to do 'Kick Ass' and 'Role Models' and all these movies that I've worked on. So I'm always and forever grateful for that. How familiar were you with Mark Millar's work and comic books in general?Plasse: I wasn't too familiar. My dad has been a huge comic book fan since the '70's. He's got thousands in our garage and by the toilet, when he's going number two for something to read and by his chair. He's a massive Mark Millar fan. I've read some of his comics from back in the day but I can't quite really remember. Once I got the movie my dad was so excited. He flew to London to actually hangout with Mark for a couple of days and with me and visit. He was very excited. How did you get Red Mist because in the comic he's quite a bit different from you? Plasse: Yeah, he's more tough, more the bad boy. I think that Matthew [Vaughn] wanted to change that because he wanted my father to be the main bad guy. So he wanted me to be the son that's never the son his father wanted him to be. He always wanted to be in the family business and so he creates Red Mist. He's more smarty. He creates it to lure Kick Ass to him. I think it's very genius. Given that your father has such comic book proclivity did you get John Romita to do any artwork for him? Plasse: Of course. The funny thing is that my dad ten years ago, actually like twelve years ago; he can kind of draw. My brother is a huge 'Iron Man' fan and so he painted a mural of Iron Man on my brother's wall and it was actually John Romita's Iron Man. He copied it. So he took a picture of it and printed it out and brought it to set. Johnny signed it and then my dad also brought like fifty comics for Mark Millar to sign. I felt really bad but he was very excited about that. I read that you think that Red Mist looks a little like Adam Lambert. Plasse: I was going for the David Bowie look and then some asshole goes, 'You look like Adam Lambert.' He ruined it all from then on. I was like, 'Ah, I don't want that. That's not what I think.' So don't quote me on that. What was your inspiration for playing this character? Plasse: The Chris D'Amico part is very tame and low key and always looking for his father's acception [sic]. Then when he creates Red Mist he kind of allows his alter ego to be out, more free; smoking weed, blasting music and dancing with Kick Ass, a more party side to him. That's what I was going for. What else do you have coming up to help balance out your career? Plasse: I just had an animated movie that was released that did very well. 'How To Train Your Dragon'. Then I have another voice over called 'Marmaduke' coming out. Then after that I have a few scripts that I'm hopefully going to be attached to. We'll see when I get back to L.A. What voice are you doing in 'Marmaduke'? Plasse: A little puppy. All these are going to be feature film? Plasse: Well, I love doing voice over. I've done two of those now and I love feature films. So whatever, if it's a good project then I'm in for it. What about stage work? Plasse: I've done theater since I was seven or eight, I believe. I love that. I love the feeling of being in front of a live audience doing that. So I'd always be willing to do that. You spend a lot of time in that costume and we heard about all the training. Can you talk about that? Plasse: I didn't have to do too much. Chloe did a lot of training for this movie. But I hated that costume. It was awful. The first day it was amazing because I looked so cool in it and then after that you're wearing it for twelve hours a day and you sweat nonstop. You have to keep hydrated and then the cape was tied very tight around my arms and it would cut me and I would get bruises and weird rashes in places. It was very, very uncomfortable. Aaron Johnson let us in on the jockstrap. Plasse: Yes, and we had a one piecer, too. So it was very hard for me to go to the bathroom. Was it the same costume or did they dry clean it everyday? Plasse: They had like two or three of them, yeah. They had one regular and then they had one dirty one for the warehouse where it gets all smoky and dirty. They had one of those and then two regular ones. Any regrets that you didn't get to get massively trained by all these amazing stunt guys that Chloe got? Plasse: Yeah, but then four months into it I'm just sitting there eating a sandwich and drinking a Coke while she's stressing out and working so hard. I'm just sort of kicking back. But if there is a sequel, knock on wood, I think that I'd train for that one and do some pretty cool stuff. Ever thought about doing standup comedy? Plasse: I've never done standup. I've never written anything and you have to write your own jokes, obviously. So if I do standup it'd be a ways away. You could improvise it. Plasse: That's hard, man. I'll do improv with other people but standup comedy is just too stressful. Do you think that you're more likely to go into standup or more likely to push into dramas? Plasse: Probably drama. To be honest, I probably won't do standup and I'm always up for doing improv because I used to do improv with three of my good friends back in high school and that's always a lot of fun. But I want to try some drama stuff. Was it interesting getting an action role which you probably don't get a lot of offers for?Plasse: Yeah. That's why I got excited that they sent me this script and then I read it and I was like, 'Oh. My part doesn't even do any action.' But to be a part of something like this is amazing because these are my favorite kind of movies, well done action movies. Do you worry about getting typed (type cast)? Plasse: Not yet. 'Superbad' was kind of a nerdy character and 'Role Models' was kind of a nerdy character but polar opposites. McLovin was very confident and in 'Role Models' he just had no friends and in 'Kick Ass' he's not really a nerd in this thing. So I'm not too worried yet. Any concern that the violence and language in this is going to limit the audience? Plasse: In my opinion, if I heard people complaining about a movie with too much violence I'd be like, 'Fuck, yeah. That's good. I want to go see that now, more.' But in terms of the ratings? Plasse: I don't know. I don't listen to that kind of stuff because they haven't seen the movie, whoever it is. I don't know who it is complaining. In the UK where it's out there's been a lot of controversy. Plasse: Really? Who's doing it?A lot of critics? Plasse: Was it 'The Daily Mail'? They bash on everything though. Fuck that magazine. You can quote me on that one. We can quote you on that? Plasse: Yeah, you can because they bash on all my friends. It's ridiculous. I just have to say that it's a comic book movie. It's all taken from a comic. If you have a problem with the movie then you have a problem with the comic. There's nothing that we can do about it. It's your fault for not enjoying the movie. Do you worry about people imitating it? Plasse: You'd have to be pretty stupid to imitate what happens in this movie. There's not going to be any eleven year old girls going out and trying to murder people. I know that. The swearing didn't really occur to me. It was more the violence, the fact that she's so violent. Plasse: That's the thing, people are always like, 'You swear. You swear.' I'm like, 'What about the violence?' I'm glad that you say that because people are always worried about the swearing but you she murders a bunch of people. Was it weird seeing her on set doing that? Plasse: It was awesome. It was so cool to witness it backstage, it happening right there. It was very cool and very exciting for her. What about a group of sixteen year old vigilantes going out, no chance of that? Plasse: I guess. Do it at your own risk. I'm not promoting it. I don't want people to go do it but if they do it there's nothing that I can do. Did you actually get to drive the Mist-mobile? Plasse: It sucked because it was a stick shift. I've never driven a stick shift so I heard to learn on that car and it was like a $200k car. So if I wrecked I'd have to pay for it. I'm getting nervous and clammy right now thinking about it. They didn't have insurance on it? Plasse: They did but Matthew threatened me anyway, the director. You didn’t get to borrow it, take it out on a date? Plasse: I didn't want to. I didn't want to touch it. I don't want that on my hands. Any pranks played on the set while you were making this movie? Plasse: There were more pranks on 'Role Models'. There weren't any pranks on this set.  What was the vibe on set? Plasse: Very, very relaxed and very fun. The thing about Matthew is that he has the same crew that he worked with from 'Stardust' and 'Layer Cake'. The same cameraman. He always works with the same people. So you kind of come in there and it's already a family and they just accepted me right away, and Chloe and Aaron. It was amazing. He's doing great work. Plasse: He can do no wrong yet. He's on a roll. Matthew. Are you in 'Untitled Comedy', that series of shorts? Plasse: Yes. The Farrelly Brothers, that's right.Do you know when that's coming around? Plasse: There's no due date yet. I think they're still filming a couple, if I remember correctly. My short is with Chloe actually. So we got to work again on that. Can you talk about what that's about? Plasse: Liz Banks directed it which was very exciting because I got to work with her again as well. Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh, Jimmy Bennet, Chloe and I. Chloe is dating my younger brother and I'm kind of like the douche bag twenty year old brother that's like an asshole and Chloe gets her period for the first time and is around three dudes who have no idea what to do. Is Patrick Warburton your father? Plasse: He's my father and he's fucking good in it, man. It's amazing. Can you talk about working with Mark Strong (Kick-Ass' villain and Red Mist's father)? Plasse: He's very amazing and he always plays the villain in a movie. A tough guy. Plasse: You'd think so, right, but then you meet him and he's just the sweetest, down to earth guy and he's always got his family on set, his two little kids and his wife. Actually, not on the violent days. He wouldn't have them there. He didn't want to have them see him beat the shit out of a girl. You don't want to witness your dad doing that. An amazing and talented actor. I was excited to work with him. Did you take notes on him? Plasse: You just kind of watch. He's a different kind of actor than I am. It's hard to take what he's doing. He's got his own thing and I have my own thing, but just working together, we improvised off of each other a little bit. You watch his facial expressions and I just sort of learned from that.  Were you free to improv? Plasse: A little bit. It's not like 'Superbad' and 'Role Models' which was improvising every scene pretty much but this movie was very straight to the script because action movies, you have to keep them going. You can't improv an action scene. That won't work but there are scenes where Aaron and I were driving in the Mist-mobile and they let us do a little improv in there. I heard the dancing was improvised? Plasse: It was. There was no choreography. If there was choreography I'd be embarrassed. It was Matthew who just put on fifteen minutes of music like Gnarls Barkley. I was actually dating a girl out there who was in a band and he would kind of fuck with me and throw her band on while we were trying to dance. So that was fun. Then a bunch of other music, too and we just kind of grooved and danced. Are you going to write and direct in the future? Plasse: I have no idea. Two of my best friends are really good screenwriters and so when I get back I think I'm going to try and write with them. But that's very far ahead in the future. Who do you think is going to come out and see this film because you've got kid's faces on the posters, but it's an adult movie? Plasse: Yeah. Well, I hope that we get the teenagers. I think the teenage boys are going to love it and my dad loves it. Comic book fans are going to love it. We just did a screening in London, an all girls screening. It was just women and they loved it. How old were they? Plasse: All different ages, from like twenty to forty or fifty. Aaron is a very cute guy so I'm hoping the girls will want to go see him. Kick-Ass is ready to do just that this Friday, April 16th. I'm Da7e, the monkey with the tape recorder and you can follow me on Twitter @Da7e - though I warn you that the account is erratic in tone.Coming up tomorrow, my few minutes with Chloe Moretz, who plays Hit Girl. She's convinced me she has a big future in the industry...you'll agree with me once you've seen the flick.Source: Latino Review

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• 00:12 RT @rob_sheridan: Entire #TwinPeaks series, including the pilot, is available in a box set! is.gd/bkDv3 #
• 00:17 Boris the raccoon stares at me while I watch #MST3K. I know he's just dying to make a smart-ass comment. is.gd/bphbd #
• 00:50 Hey @lucasfilmmouse, just a tip, watch yourself around @nathanhamill. He's rather affectionate with mice. is.gd/bpjuC #
• 01:24 RT @NathanHamill: Best. Coaster. Evaaaar. #wellwhatdowehavehere tweetphoto.com/18152636 #starwars #LandoAppreciation #
• 01:46 Slowdive - "Souvlaki Space Station" ♫ blip.fm/~oioqn #
• 02:39 RT @rob_sheridan: Beautiful Czech film recreates a child's fantasy w/ live action & #puppets is.gd/bplVf - via @4colorrebellion #
• 02:49 In honor of the neverending #rain here in #SanFrancisco: Tones on Tail "Rain" is.gd/bppjE #musicmondays #
• 03:19 RT @dividepictures: What Would Boba Fett Do? is.gd/bpr2T #starwars #art #
• 03:45 RT @geekgirldiva: #BettiePage Girl of Our Dreams Statue! bit.ly/bi97Ku #
• 04:35 RT @noelfielding11: The skip spence album "Oar " is the only thing I am interested in. Its my legs and my eyes and my transportation unit. #
• 11:41 My own trading card & I'm a replicant! Thanks @jawboneradio! is.gd/bpTti & is.gd/bpTxE #GeekAWeek #Bladerunner #
• 11:43 More about my #GeekAWeek trading card here: is.gd/bpTHh Thanks again, @jawboneradio! #
• 12:20 Michael Hutchence - "Rooms For The Memory" (Dogs in Space soundtrack) ♫ blip.fm/~ojjj8 #
• 12:31 I might be a Replicant, but @janewiedlin is the hottest cyborg I know! LADY ROBOTIKA! www.ladyrobotika.com #hotcyborgs #comics #
• 12:57 #ProjectRunway Is Accepting Applications! bit.ly/aGUyYu (via @bethshax @cocoperez) #
• 13:24 Every time @NathanFillion channels his inner Harrison Ford on #Castle, I get a little giddy. is.gd/bpZX1 #IndianaJones #
• 14:08 King Ghidorah Toy X-Ray by @heliumcell! is.gd/bq2zA #Godzilla #
• 14:12 The new Doctor, his companion & Steven Moffat at @nytimes! #doctorwho yfrog.com/5f479nej /via @bbcamerica #
• 14:20 RT @grantimahara: VIDEO "How #LEGO is Made" bit.ly/U4qZ #
• 14:33 I wish there was Project Monster Runway. I'd rather make creatures than couture. #
• 14:42 Of course, I would call it Project Monster Runaway! #
• 14:45 Watch #CloneWars "The Zillo Beast" now! (USA only) bit.ly/cEZHGk #starwars #godzilla #
• 14:52 RT @creepypasta: Zombie Baking! bit.ly/90Gju2 #zombietalk #
• 14:55 tweetphoto.com/18213759 @NathanHamill Good luck with that future triple bypass! #
• 15:42 Mighty Man & Monster Maker! is.gd/bq7Ib (RT @stevapalooza) #monsters #
• 16:43 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps" ♫ blip.fm/~ojzo7 #
• 16:46 RT @io9: Will There Ever Be Another Show Like #TwinPeaks? is.gd/bqblA #
• 16:55 Mazzy Star - "Fade Into You" ♫ blip.fm/~ok0dv #
• 16:57 RT @EricIGN: Why #TwinPeaks Ruled - is.gd/bqbU3 #
• 17:23 "And the sky is filled with light...can you see it?" is.gd/bqd3q #nin #musicmonday #
• 17:39 #Peaches "Boys Wanna Be Her" should be the anthem for @TEAM_TANK_GIRL! is.gd/bqdXT #TankGirl #musicmonday #
• 20:06 I knew you were all geniuses! RT @mbmcfarland: @bonniegrrl Your followers are smarter than @NASA's! is.gd/bqm6R #
• 20:07 Geek Girls Unite! RT @paulens: Erika says thanks @bonniegrrl for the Flat Stanley return. is.gd/bqmbu #starwars #
• 20:44 RT @U1ToyArts: How stocked are you on #raccoons & #graffiti art? is.gd/bqocd #Boris #
• 21:54 RT @dividepictures @strangeadventrz @FCBD10: #Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia talks about Free Comic Book Day! tinyurl.com/de7cuv #
• 21:55 RT @wilw: I BEGGED the costume department for a Wesley Crushers bowling shirt but I couldn't make it happen. I love this scene, by the way. #
• 22:20 What's better than #comics? @dividepictures reminding you that you can get them for FREE... bit.ly/aubxzv #
• 22:36 I'd bring a tauntaun sleeping bag, R2-D2 & lightsaber to an apocalypse! What geeky item will you bring? is.gd/bquhl #
• 23:01 #DoctorWho #Anime!? is.gd/bqvHm & is.gd/bqvMf /via @JeffCarlisle #
• 23:19 Tonight: #MST3K The Crawling Eye is.gd/bqwGh, salmon & rice, green tea, blogging on www.Starwars.com #
• 23:29 "Dear Diary, my teen-angst bullshit now has a body count." #Heathers #
• 23:33 "She's my best friend. God, I hate her." #Heathers #
• 23:38 Our love is God, let's go get a Slushie. #Heathers #
• 00:00 "Heather, my love, there's a new sheriff in town." #Heathers #

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Fair warning, San Francisco lovers: This literary trip up Coit Tower could get tricky, so let's use first names and take it one step at a time. It'll be worth the climb.

THE PLACE: The 210-foot-tall art deco tower was built in 1933 and is a San Francisco landmark. The Depression-era Public Works of Art Project commissioned 26 artists to paint the California-centric murals inside.

THE BOOK: "Coit Tower San Francisco: Its History and Art" by Masha Zakheim, with color photographs by Don Beatty (Volcano Press, $27.95, 123 pages): The history of Coit Tower is laid out in informative text and vintage photos. Of further interest are color photos of the amazing murals that grace the tower's interior walls, with context on the art and artists.

THE AUTHOR: "Masha is one of two daughters of artist Bernard Zakheim, whose mural 'Library' is part of (the Coit Tower array)," said Volcano Press publisher Adam Gottstein. Volcano is a town in the Sierra foothills. And Bernard was Adam's grandfather.

THE TIMING: Adam and his mother, Ruth – Masha's sister – published Masha's book "to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Coit Tower." Masha, who lives in San Francisco, "interviewed many of the artists in the 1970s at the request of her father." The information from those interviews is reflected in her text.

THE "LIBRARY" MURAL: "My mother is the little girl in the blue-and-white sailor suit," Adam said. "She was 12; today she is 87."

THE TV SHOW: Coit Tower will be featured on Huell Howser's "California's Gold," to air on Channel 6 (KVIE) at 8 p.m. Thursday and again at 7 p.m. April 27.

THE TOPPER: Read the book (order at 800-879-9636 or www.volcanopress.com), watch the show, become a Coit Tower expert. And don't forget to visit.

Wired into health care

Wired magazine is dedicated to writing about technology's impact on our culture. If you want details – especially in regard to health care – ask executive editor Thomas Goetz. He'll give a presentation and sign books at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St., Sacramento.

Goetz is the author of "The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine" (Rodale, $25, 320 pages). Rodale Press also publishes Prevention magazine.

A lust for reading

When I interviewed Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl a few years ago, buzz was brewing over her "Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason" and the follow-up book, "More Book Lust."

"For me, reading is pure pleasure," she said. "It's been a long lifetime filled with books."

So it was delightful to discover her online at www.booklust/ wetpaint.com, a "community for people who love books."

You'll find a list of Pearl's favorite authors, an offer to join her book club, a discussion forum, a photo gallery, a video gallery, author blogs, book-related news (the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opens in June at Universal Resort in Orlando), social networking site and more. Optimistic like a Fox

We spotted actor Michael J. Fox in all those Canada-centric promotions during the Winter Olympics, looking into the camera and saying, "You gotta be here."

We also spotted him on the cover of his book "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist (Hyperion, $15, 279 pages). In it, he frankly and inspirationally writes about his Parkinson's disease and how he finds the courage to keep moving on.

Also out is Fox's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future" (Hyperion, $17.99, 100 pages). Aimed at graduates and told via personal anecdotes, it reminds those starting out in life that "real learning happens when it all goes skidding sideways."

Comics? Don't laugh

These days, we have graphic novels and manga, but a long, long time ago, there were comic books. Don't scoff: www.comicconnect.com, an online auction site, recently auctioned a copy of Action Comics No. 1 (Superman's 1938 debut) for $1.5 million.

It was found "buried in a stack of old movie magazines from the 1930s and was well protected all those years," said www.comicconnect.com founder Stephen Fishler.

Another copy of that edition – not in as good condition – went for $1 million in February, the same month a copy of Detective Comics No. 27 (Batman's debut) was auctioned for $1,075,000.

Hey everyone, im running out of good romance/action animes, im kinda picky and having a hard time to find somes :( . So i hope someone will be able to help me :D Heres what im looking for: -No sad ending. -I preffer present or Medieval world, i dont mind near future. -Id preffer no mecha. -Im very very very VERY picky when it comes to the arts/design and animations details, i want something beatifull to watch with good arts. :P -Something with the hero having to protect the girl would be nice (Just optionnal tho xD). -Harem is ok as long as the 2 main chars end up togueter eventually. -I want something that is really romance/action, not just all action, but alot of romance in it. With kissing secnes in it, and have the girl/boy confess to each other in the begining or middle or close to the end. -By action i mean fighting or something close at least. -I want something heartwarming that just makes you want to watch more and more. -I dont mind magic as long as its not ridiculous. -No Yuri, but ecchi is welcome -Between 13 and 50 episodes if possible. Heres 3 animes that really fits what im looking for (from best to less best :P): -Zero No Tsukaima -Toradora -Shakugan No Shana ( but some of it i don't like because shana never confessed) Something as good as those and same type would be awesome :D I wish you a good day.

---Quote--- Hi Everyone – It’s time for the weekly PlayStation Store Update. This week’s Spring Fever highlights celebrate puzzle games! Find echochrome (PS3) on sale for $4.99 (regular price $9.99) and echoshift for $7.49 (regular price $14.99). Offers good through 4/7/10. *_Price Updates_ *Cuboid Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99) Digger HD Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99) Magic Orbz Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99) Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99) Mushroom Wars Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99) Smash Cars Sale (now $7.49, original price $14.99) Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos Sale (now $4.99, original price $9.99) UNCHARTED Eye of Indra Motion Comics Bundle (Includes episodes 1-4) ($2.49) Bonus: Buy the bundle and get (2) Free Multiplayer skins (Rika Raja & Daniel Pinkerton) for US in the multiplayer modes. *_Qore_* Qore Episode 23: April 2010 ($2.99) Episode 23 of Qore: Presented by the PlayStation Network brings viewers an in-depth look at God of War III, races at breakneck speed with Split/Second: Velocity, gets nostalgic with 3D Dot Game Heroes, and explores the tech behind 3D gaming. File size: 1.55 GB Qore Annual Subscription: April 2010 ($24.99) Qore: Presented by the PlayStation Network is a monthly interactive video production covering the world of PlayStation. Qore provides its audience with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to developers and their games, from both the SCE Worldwide Studios and the third-party community, where the audience member can freely navigate through the content. File size: 1.55 GB *_Downloadable Games_* NBA Unrivaled ($14.99) Paying homage to the old school look and feel of the arcade classics, NBA UNRIVALED brings back all of the intensity and pulse pounding action—AMPLIFIED! Featuring the 2009-2010 NBA season’s team and player rosters with current stats, logos and jerseys. Ball your way up to the top of the league with unthinkable slams and outrageous plays to get the crowd pumped for momentum on your side! ESRB Rated E File size: 175 MB The Tester The Tester Episode 7 On hand to evaluate who’s got all the right moves is God of War III’s Director of Product Development, John Hight. A industry veteran with dozens of titles to his credit and a Cinematic Arts Professor at USC to boot John’s got an excellent eye for talent. File size: 413 MB (SD) 986 MB (HD) *_PSone Classics_* TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4×4 ($5.99) Things are sure to get dirty in this off-road racing game. Drive six vehicles through snow, sand, and more in a grueling test to the finish line! ESRB Rated E File size: 89 MB *_Add-on Game Content_* LittleBigPlanet April Fools – Fragrances Costume (free) A new costume for Sackboy! File sizes: 1.04 MB Heavy Rain: Chronicle One – The Taxidermist ($4.99) Featuring investigative journalist Madison Paige, this prequel lets you take part in one of her first cases tracking down a serial killer. File sizes: 907 MB Army of Two: The 40th Day Chapters of Deceit DLC ($9.99) Army of Two: The 40th Day – Chapters of Deceit contains two all new campaign levels entitled “Collateral Damage” and “The Assassination”! File size: 400 MB Dante’s Inferno Godlike Pack ($2.99) This pack includes the ‘Heavens Embrace’ holy magic ability as well as the ‘Serpent of Thieves’ relic that unlocks a special scythe move. File size: 100 KB Dragon Age: Origins Feastday Combo Pack ($2.99) Throughout Thedas, the great holiday of Satinalia is marked by sumptuous feasts, wild celebration, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. Amid the feasting, it is customary for friends, lovers, and traveling companions to exchange gifts and pranks. File size: 1.59 MB Dragon Age: Origins Feastday Gifts ($1.99) Throughout Thedas, the great holiday of Satinalia is marked by sumptuous feasts, wild celebration, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. Amid the feasting, it is customary for friends, lovers, and traveling companions to exchange gifts. File size: 799 KB Dragon Age: Origins Feastday Pranks ($1.99) Throughout Thedas, the great holiday of Satinalia is marked by sumptuous feasts, wild celebration, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. Amid the feasting, it is customary for friends and traveling companions to play pranks on each other. File size: 818 KB Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 3 (free) “Dragon Ball: Raging Blast” Character Pack #10 is now available! The tenth release is the “Ultimate Warriors Pack 3!” This pack contains Vegeta (Scouter), Vegeta, Trunks (Sword), Vegito and Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta! The long-awaited warriors finally enter the arena! Prevail against the life-and-death battles and become the strongest warrior in the universe! File size: 116 KB Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce HD Quest Pack 3 (free) Quest Pack #3 – Enhance your Strikeforce experience with these new missions and challenges. Also includes all previous Quest Packs. The following quests will be added to the city’s “Noticeboard”. To learn more about this pack and about Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce go to www.tecmokoeiamerica.com/strikeforce. Defense of Yi Battle of Tong Gate Martial Contest 3 File size: 101 KB Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing – Ryo with Forklift Character ($4.99) Drive as Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue in his signature forklift truck. Download this exclusive vehicle. File size: 100 KB Guitar Hero 5 For all song credits please visit www.guitarhero.com. “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd ($1.99) “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd ($1.99) “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd ($1.99) Lynyrd Skynyrd Track Pack ($5.49) – Downloadable Track Pack featuring “Freebird”, “Simple Man”, and “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Please Note: Many songs are available both as singles and as part of a Track Pack, so please carefully consider your purchases before downloading. File sizes: 44 MB – 86 MB (singles), 192 MB (track pack) Rock Band Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com. “Up from the Skies”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Spanish Castle Magic”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Wait Until Tomorrow”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Ain’t No Telling”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Little Wing”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “If 6 Was 9″— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “You Got Me Floatin’”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Castles Made of Sand”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “She’s So Fine”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “One Rainy Wish”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Little Miss Lover”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Bold as Love”— The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($1.99) “Valleys of Neptune”— Jimi Hendrix ($1.99) Axis: Bold as Love (Album) – The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($19.99) – Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this song game album: Axis: Bold as Love (Album). File sizes: 13 MB – 34 MB (singles), 223 MB (track pack) *_Game Videos (free)_* Pulse 4/1 Edition Join host Christina Lee for PULSE presented by the PlayStation Network. In this edition, we drop into the action of Section 8, get geared up with a free MAG add-on, investigate a new chapter of Heavy Rain, preview Qore Episode 23, and show off the top downloaded dynamic themes. New video releases include The Blind Side, Sherlock Holmes, and UFC 111. File size: 233 MB (HD) 404 MB (1080) Patchwork Heroes Trailer File size: 43 MB (HD) 77 MB (1080) MLB 10 The Show Road to the Show Trailer File size: 66 MB (HD) 111 MB (1080) God of War III – Machinima.com’s Art of the Game EPISODES 1 – 5 File sizes: 224 MB (HD) – 268 (HD) Kane & Lynch 2: Welcome to Shanghai Trailer File size: 63 MB (HD) Major League Baseball 2K10 Opus Trailer File size: 122 MB (HD) Mafia II: Boom Boom Trailer File size: 62 MB (HD) *_PS3 Themes_* Patchwork Heroes City Theme (free) File size: 3.96 MB Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Theme 2 (free) File size: 6.12 MB Beez Pleeeeze Theme ($0.99) File size: 2.69 MB Geisha Hook-Ups Theme ($1.99) File size: 3.53 MB Jungle Girl Hook-Ups Theme ($1.99) File size: 3.4 MB Warhawk Dynamic Theme ($2.99) File size: 8.36 MB 40’s WWII Pinups Premium Theme ($1.99) File size: 7.13 MB *_Wallpaper (free)_* Patchwork Heroes Warship Wallpaper File size: 325 MB (SD) 1.26 MB (1080) *_PlayStation Store for PSP Downloadable Games (also available from PS3 Storefront)_* BUZZ!: Master Quiz ($15.99) Take the popular game show host on the road with BUZZ!: Master Quiz for the PSP system! BUZZ!: Master Quiz includes over 3,000 unique questions on topics including music, celebrities, TV, sports, science, nature, movies and more. Put your knowledge to the test at home or on the move, and challenge others in three multiplayer modes. ESRB Rated E10+ File size: 436 MB Dead or Alive Paradise ($29.99) Indulge in some fun under the sun activities with the sexy girls from Dead or Alive! On your own private island, you are free to mingle, flirt, play and take snapshots of these beauties. Store them in your one-of-a-kind private album along with video clips for viewing and editing later. Your own private paradise in the palm of your hand. Take your girls anywhere…and play with them anytime. ESRB Rated M File size: 572 MB BlazBlue Calamity Trigger ($24.99) Take the ultimate 2D fighting game on the go! BlazBlue features all of the console modes—Arcade, Versus, Score Attack, Training, and Story…in addition to the all-new Shop and Legion modes, where you control your own party of fighters in an attempt to conquer the world of BlazBlue. ESRB Rated T File size: 879 MB *_Add-on Game Content (also available from PS3 Storefront)_* THE EYE OF JUDGMENT LEGENDS Card Expansion Pack 1 ($1.99) Expand your digital card collection with this add-on card pack! Give your duels an upper hand with 5 cards not found in the full game, including rare and ultra rare cards. Add these cards to your deck for unique combinations to win battles against the computer, or head-to-head online against other players. Unlike other cards, these can’t be traded or earned any other way. File size: 1.51 MB LittleBigPlanet PSP Island Costume (free) PLAY, CREATE, SHARE…Everywhere. LittleBigPlanet’s critically acclaimed “PLAY, CREATE, SHARE” experience, makes its way to the PSP system with a completely new Sackboy adventure. Get these free costumes from the Islands Theme Pack. NOTE: Manual Update required File size: 2.41 MB LittleBigPlanet PSP Island Theme Pack ($2.99) PLAY, CREATE, SHARE…Everywhere. Download a new set of costumes and CREATE materials to create your own Islands levels! The Islands Theme Pack includes 3 Costume items, 13 CREATE Materials, 15 Stickers, 1 Music kit, and 1 Background. NOTE: Manual Update required File size: 2.57 MB *_Game Videos (free)_* The Tester Episode 7 File size: 177 MB Pulse 4/1 Edition File size: 40 MB Patchwork Heroes Trailer File size: 7.94 MB *_PSP Themes (also available from PS3 Storefront)_* Patchwork Heroes Enemy Theme (free) File size: 401 KB Geisha Hook-Ups PSP Theme ($1.99) File size: 310 KB Jungle Girl Hook-Ups PSP Theme ($1.99) File size: 371 KB Beez Pleeeeze PSP Theme 1 ($0.99) File size: 438 KB Beez Pleeeeze PSP Theme 2 ($0.99) File size: 327 KB The AK PSP Theme 1 ($1.49) File size: 522 KB The AK PSP Theme 2 ($1.49) File size: 513 KB 40’s WWII Pinups PSP Theme 3 ($1.49) File size: 583 KB 40’s WWII Pinups PSP Theme 4 ($1.49) File size: 561 KB Abstract PSP Theme 1 ($1.49) File size: 541 KB Abstract PSP Theme 2 ($1.49) File size: 617 KB *_PSP Wallpaper (also available from PS3 Storefront) (free)_* Patchwork Heroes Warship Wallpaper File size: 150 KB ---End Quote--- Reposted from the Playstation Blog (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/04/01/playstation-store-update-130/).

You know, it's been 21 years since Baywatch first bounced onto our television screens (I'm counting its original 1989 launch rather than the 1991 one), so now it's officially old and retro cool. Which means it's getting a movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has hired Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka to pen a screenplay for Baywatch: The Movie and have so much faith in it that it has a release date of Summer 2011. Jeremy Garelick is attached to direct.

DreamWorks had an eye to making a Baywatch movie in 2004, but now it's over at Paramount where a big screen remake has been brewing since last summer. (I like to think it was the back-up plan in case Star Trek failed. Bring on that other wildly successful tv show!) Paramount insiders insist it won't be a campy Starsky and Hutch remake / revamp, but something along the lines of Charlie's Angels. We are meant to be impressed that it will feature "female driven action" but somehow I think it'll be less about girl power and more about girl bounciness. It will probably walk the line of Charlie's Angels and Top Cow comics, and ostensibly be for girls, but feature a little too much T&A for female comfort.

But hey, I don't want to be a spoil sport. We all knew what the appeal of Baywatch was and always will be. To be fair, there were a few beefcakes to balance it all out. Maybe now that it's the 21st century, we can get a spin-off movie called Baywatch: Banana Hammocks. If they hire all those cast-off gladiators from Spartacus: Blood and Sand and shirtless werewolves from New Moon, it would break the Avatar record in one weekend.

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Deals, Paramount, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Remakes and Sequels

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Gail Simone is one of the leading female comic book writers working in the industry. She’s delivered stories for titles like the award-winning Welcome to Tranquility, Deadpool, DC’s Birds of Prey and Secret Six. Though she's probably most widely known for being the mind behind the newest incarnation of the iconic Wonder Woman series, as well as the brains behind the website Women in Refrigerators, a cutthroat online forum that explores the mistreatment of female characters throughout comic book history.

Torontoist caught up with Simone before her appearance in Toronto at Wizard World’s Comic Con to find out about Amazon mating rituals, Wonder Woman fandom, and what it's like to be a girl in a major boys club.

Torontoist: What attracted you to Wonder Woman?

Gail Simone: When I first encountered her when I was a young girl, I was at a time in my life when I was really frustrated with fairytales and "girl" stories because a lot of the fairytales end with a knight in shining armor or a handsome prince running in to save this princess you’d been reading about the whole time. Which did not fit into my world because I’d never seen that happen. Even stories like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, which I love a lot, are hugely different from Wonder Woman narratives. Those girls are supposed to be proper and fit into society and their adventure was thrust upon them—whether it was a hurricane that took them away from home or falling down a rabbit hole—they didn’t control it. Wonder Woman is very proactive; she defied her nation when she left it in the beginning and she’s not afraid of adventure. I consider her an adventurer, above all else.

How does Wonder Woman shake up traditional gender roles often found in comic books?

She’s beautiful, she’s graceful, and she’s a princess—all those things that we love—but she’s not there to be the sexual eye candy for the story. She supports her own book, she’s part of the Justice League, she’s one of the Top 3 (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) for DC Comics. People put their own thoughts and beliefs about femininity and womanhood onto her moreso than they do any other character in comic books.

What prompted you to start Women in Refrigerators?

I live in a really tiny town, and we just now have a comic book store. There was really no one to discuss comics with on a daily basis. I had to drive an hour and a half each way just to buy them. As the internet was becoming more prevalent, and I was becoming active on comic book forums, I noticed a lot of talk about why there weren’t more female comic book readers. So I started thinking about some of the trends that were going on at the time, and how female characters were being treated. I thought, "Why were we doing storylines where the female character is only there so the male character can vow his revenge and go out and get the bad guy after she’s been chopped up and put in a refrigerator?" Maybe that’s not something female readers want to read all the time.

How has the reaction been to the site?

The response has been huge, and its had a positive effect on the industry. The term "Women in Refrigerators" is used in high-level comic book meetings and people are a bit more careful—actually I wouldn’t say careful, these are super heroes/heroines that are in dangerous situations and I write terrible things that happen to them—but it just can’t be story after story with the same outcome for all the female characters. I’ve heard stories about it being discussed in Hollywood about film characters too.

How has it affected your career?

It’s affected my career in the sense that everyone wants to ask me about it. But in terms of when I write a story, I have to service the story and not my own agenda, and that was really important for me when I wrote Wonder Woman, that it didn’t change the way I would write or construct a story. Fortunately, the trend I was talking about at the time was on its way out and hopefully now people will think about how they write female characters and if their treatment services the story in a positive way.

How is it being a female creator in an industry that's thought to be male driven?

I can only speak for myself, but I haven't experienced any sexism. None of that kind of stuff. Stories that I’ve wanted to tell, I’ve been able to tell without anyone saying, "That’s a girl story," or, "Guys won’t like that." I stand up for the story that I think needs to be told and I’ve been treated respectably. I got the most support actually from male creators when I first started.

Why do you think that is?

I think that’s just because there’s a lot more of them. A lot of female writers and creators kind of stuck to themselves more.

What has been the reaction from fans to your treatment of Wonder Woman since you've taken it over?

Mostly positive. Some people object to some of the changes or to the gay characters I've included but most people just care about the story. The thing about writing Wonder Woman that’s been the most surprising and rewarding has been having people tell me what Wonder Woman has done for them. That having Wonder Woman as a role model helped them get out of an abusive relationship, or that it got them to keep going to the gym and take care of themselves, it’s great. I’ve had young girls tell me that she helped them stand up to bullies at school. I’ve even had people go as far as to say it stopped them from committing suicide because that’s not something that she would do. People relate to her in a really emotionally deep way that I had no idea about before I started writing comics about her.

What’s the craziest fandom geared towards the series that you’ve come across?

I’ve seen lots of Wonder Woman tattoos and I’m good friends with Andy Mangels, who has a huge Wonder Woman collection that goes back to the beginning. He runs a Wonder Woman Day in Portland, Oregon every year that I attend, and there I see all kinds of well-made costumes and big Wonder Woman fans. I met a man in Singapore who has every Wonder Woman comic ever published and he buys tons of art work.

Do you get a lot of young female creators reaching out to you at appearances and conventions?

Oh yeah, it’s very exciting. I can’t wait until this generation starts actually turning stuff out. When I was in Singapore, this young Muslim woman came up to me and talked to me about writing comic books because she wanted to write mainstream comic book stories. To have that kind of diversity of creators whether they end up being male, female, gay, black, white, whatever, just that diversity, and the idea of work coming from such different perspectives is going to have amazing results when the time comes. Girls that are pre-teens are coming out and asking questions, and even younger girls come with their dads who say, “See, look, you can do this.”

Where do you see female characters in comic books headed?

The new wave will come from younger creators that have grown up with video games and Xena, Laura Croft, Buffy, all those things that didn’t exist when I was growing up. Whether it’s male or female creators that push it in different directions, it's still going to be a whole different vibe. Even my son and his friends in high school don’t understand what the big debate is.

Matt Thomas is a filmmaker, arts and culture writer, and is currently an associate editor at Fab Magazine.

_{[Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]}

“Bayonetta is about making you hard, and that’s all she’s about. There’s no attempt to make her look like some really intelligent, really logical, really powerful female character. She’s just there to give you a boner…maybe that’s not going to further the depiction of women in videogames, but at least its f****** honest.” -- Anthony Burch

I don’t know about you, but although there is something factually sad about getting a hard-on for a female gaming-character, there should be something natural about it. I mean, if you are going to fall in love with a set of pixels/polygons, it shouldn’t have to force yourself on every big-breasted, half-naked character you see. If you ever fell in love with a heroine in a novel, that’s because the novelist has fleshed-out (pardon) the woman in her actions, her features and her mannerisms to not only make her believable (or an unbelievable fantasy ideal), but to stir some kind of emotion in the reader. 

It’s easier in an image, because the description has now been given form. The only problem that arrives is in interpretation. The artist can give the lust object a completely different form from the intended impression of the slobbering viewer, meaning that she either looks over-whored, ugly or just plainly separate from what roped the viewer in.

Despite the subject of this blog being under this rule also, I feel that her image seems to be more on target amongst every professional artist or fan-made picture with a consistency that outnumbers every bad sketch and half-assed attempt by ten to one. Not only that, but the base back-story and behaviour of Morrigan seems to apply to what Anthony Burch felt was important to him -- a sense of honesty that isn’t wrapped up in "girl-power" or some other kind of false excuse. At least, in my opinion.

When the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation were about, there was one name on the lips of everyone who found out how to make their penis grow in their teenage years … Lara Croft. For them, they wanted to know where she lived and her bra size. For me, I wanted to know where to get a key to a door in the cave (ahem … ), and how the developers finally realised how to do a great third-person adventure in 3D. I had no interest in her body at all. She didn’t give me an erection no matter how big the boobs became, or how much smoother her skin and form was in the sequels. By all means, I’m not knocking her (wait a minute ... ) down completely since it was so obvious that any attempt to make her more respectable stuck out from developer intentions like a boner on a fanboy with tight shorts; she was the icon that proved the British could make a flagship product that would sell like boob-shaped hotcakes. I just wasn’t interested in her.

No, I became infatuated with a videogame character that was less conservative with her intentions. I first saw her picture of her face in Official Sega Saturn Magazine and it was instant ga-ga-mode.



The moment Morrigan appears in the introduction of the game tells you all you need to know about why it would be easy to be infatuated with this character, unless you have a pathological hatred of Japanese drawing-style or a worn patience of RPG advert models that clutter the side of certain web pages. Perfect nose, exotic features, even the strange colour of her hair seems to complement the pale tones of her skin.

Now, it would be really sad if I, because of that picture of the succubus, just simply threw everything down, researched everything about Morrigan and just spent my life doing this messed-up shrine of cut-out magazine photos, fan-fiction and art in the spare room of my house. I simply didn’t. The fact that I am only committing myself now to a proper examination of what she represents (and her connection to sex) after over ten years of first seeing a still of her shows how much self-control I have. Yes, even though I admit to being desperate enough to buy a copy of Darkstalkers to realise too late that a warped disc was to end my Saturn-playing days.



It would be suitable to begin an analysis of the succubus by knowing what a succubus actually is. Anyone with a bit of knowledge of games within the Shin Megami Tensei series will know that it is a mythical creature or demon. A quick look on Wikipedia expands on this, saying "in folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) is a demon who takes the form of a woman to seduce men in dreams to have sexual intercourse. In modern times, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and is often depicted as highly attractive, while in the past succubi were depicted as frightening and demonic, Succubi draw energy from men to sustain themselves, often until the victim becomes exhausted or dies.

So from the very being that Morrigan is, she is fated to be connected with sex. Whether she likes it or not (and she probably does), she needs it to survive. However, that’s not the only link to mythology, for her first name is linked to a Celtic legend that can turn into different forms and animals, and also is associated with sexual intercourse in multiple tales.

And what of this contemporary figure, then? Well, she ticks the boxes of what she needs to be (sexy and attractive), whilst maintaining that demonic factor with her back and head wings. These wings can change shape and form, helping in either defensive or offensive capabilities. The Morrigan of Celtic origin’s name has been linked to ‘queen’ in some form, and she has duties as a leader. And hell, even her nationality is even confirmed as Scottish on the Wikipedia page!

However, she has a reputation of being moody and this Dark Realm dweller prefers to hop over to Earth for entertainment. This desire for dimension-hopping can be seen when she changes clothing to clubbing attire in her battle victory pose. So far, so fashion model (which parallels Reverent Anthony’s comments on Bayonetta elsewhere in the Rev Rant).



The unusual thing about her unwillingness to put effort into her responsibilities is that it clashes with her capabilities and strengths as a fighter. She’s a damn good fighter too, if she shares similar fireball and dragon-punch moves as street fighter Ryu. Is it her natural ability or magically enhanced? I could have looked at the anime or the comics for references, but that is something I don’t have direct access to, and thus I can’t comment on that.

One thing I can admit to seeing is the succubus scrap in the Darkstalkers games. All of fighters in the game have a tongue-in-cheek style of brawling, and Morrigan is no exception. She can whip her hair as a light punch like some kind of twisted take on a shampoo advert. Her super-jump is a jet-powered launch. Batfink-style wing-defending. Throughout the game, I and a friend had no choice but to chuckle along at the outlandish moves we were pulling on these ghoulish battlers. I couldn’t remember if Morrigan was one of them, but even as I’m too lazy to put a disc into a PlayStation to bother, I still know a little about how she tackles enemies, and that is important.



This, though, is a blog that requires its subject to be about sex. Morrigan is one of many videogame females out there that has exaggerated proportions that hold our attention. What makes her any special than the rest of those pin-ups out there? Well, for one thing, her developers did some research into what a succubus was, and built her character around that. The designers and animators at Capcom constructed a list of moves that were to be as silly and funny as well as apt and relevant alongside the rest of the game’s cast. Can you imagine then, how much effort went into making her look so hot, fitting that small torso (with big breasts attached) and long legs into pink tights and black top? She may be a complete fantasy figure, but there is no fake ambition or role to attach to it.

How do I end this without repeating myself like I have above? What possible conclusion can we arrive at? Well, maybe I can refer to the image the rests in the memory of one Topher Cantler. On an episode of the podcast RetroforceGO!, he specifically picks out the picture of Morrigan licking her fingers, bending over towards the foreground, with the earth floating in the background in Marvel vs Capcom. The sheer percentage of images of her against other videogame figures could be like that of the percentage of images of a really hot lesser-known celebrity up against a whole host of Cameron Diazes and Angelina Jolies. The woman you really think is sexy has less exposure than the leading lights, but so what? They may rule this world, but only you know that you’d let Morrigan rule yours. Capcom have been successful enough to take my and Topher’s attention, along with tens and thousands with an effigy of an undead creature connected to sex. Believe me, that’s powerful.

The images that appear in this blog entry are copyrighted by their artists. Do not try to claim them as your own work, or the artists who put their hard work into these will desire vengeance, and any succubi that would get near you will start appearing in your nightmares, rather than your dreams. You have been warned.

_{This promoted blog was written for our March Monthly Musing assignment, "Write something about sex." You too could get promoted if you write something about sex in videogames over on the Community Blogs.}

Mark Millar, a lay preacher, has shot to Hollywood fame with his comic book characters

Mark Millar still has the air of a man who needs to pinch himself to appreciate his good fortune. After 20 years of rupturing the boundaries of taste and decency, the enfant terrible of the comic world has finally hit paydirt. Millar's stellar levels of bad language and violence may not raise eyebrows in the geeky world of comic novels, but when transferred to the big screen in Kick-Ass, they have generated the sort of publicity certain to ensure the film's success.

"Anything goes in the comic world, so sometimes you forget the sensibilities of the mainstream," says Millar. "But even I chuckled to myself at that line, because I knew it would cause a huge amount of fuss if it ever hit the big wide world. Sure enough . . ."

He is referring to the line delivered by Chloë Grace Moretz, aged 13, who plays 11-year-old child vigilante Hit-Girl in the Glaswegian's latest superhero offering. "OK, you cunts, let's see what you can do now!" The fact that the c-word was suggested by Moretz's mother, on set to help her daughter through filming, has done little to mitigate the moral outrage – which was further stoked by the presence of Jonathan Ross's wife, Jane Goldman, on the screenwriting credits.

"Look," says Millar, "we tried everything – we even came over all British and tried, 'OK, you wanker.' Nothing had the force of the line that we used; it was just right, it worked."

Millar, himself a father of young girls, is as amused as he is unrepentant. The film, he says, would be a roaring success even without the line. "After the post-premiere party, [director] Matthew Vaughn and I were congratulating ourselves, and then I stopped and said, 'We haven't sold a single ticket yet.' But in a funny way that doesn't matter – I always knew Kick-Ass would be a successful film, even when it was being turned down by studio after studio and we were being told it was rubbish."

On the page, Millar's outlandish plotlines have made him the art form's most powerful influence since Spider-Man's legendary co-creator Stan Lee. In the flesh, this garrulous lay preacher is explaining how he squares his devout Catholic faith with his fascination for gory violence one minute, and the next musing on working-class Glasgow's love affair with Americana, or his reaction when a recent bout of flu was misdiagnosed as cancer.

But mostly, Marvel Comics's chief writer talks with wide-eyed wonderment about celebrity. Hollywood's rediscovery of the power of comic books has propelled him to the apex of popular culture – beginning in 2008 with Wanted, a larcenously amoral tale starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, which took $350m (£235m) at the box office.

Millar's steep upward trajectory has continued this year with Kick-Ass, which he describes as "a hymn to neo-conservatism", and he says there's plenty more to come. He is, though, determined to get out before he is 45, the point at which he believes the creative juices dry up.

"I had no misgivings about making the jump from comics to the mainstream," he says. "Lots of people in comics want it to be their little world, where only people who are genuinely into it are allowed. But I've never got what's cool about nobody looking at your stuff. The only people with an interest in being snooty about the mainstream are those people who can't reach it."

Hailing from Coatbridge, one of Scotland's most deprived communities, the fact that Millar gets to accompany unlikely architecture nerd Brad Pitt on his annual tour of Glasgow in homage to Charles Rennie Mackintosh is a source of wonder to the writer. So too was his recent appearance at the Oscars, where he found himself courted by A-list stars keen to take parts in his future films.

"One of my pals is absolutely average-looking but he always seemed to have absolutely beautiful girlfriends," Millar says. "He said that if it becomes known that you have really good-looking girlfriends, then you attract good-looking girls. It's like a club, and it's the same with the movies: Angelina really liked Wanted, so Brad wanted to come on board to produce Kick-Ass."

Not that the process of transforming Millar's graphic novels into celluloid creations has been easy. Initially, he was just happy to be involved, but then he looked at the cast for Wanted. He had never heard of McAvoy or Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov, and "had just seen Borat, so presumed Bekmambetov must be cheap Russian labour". He looked at the credits of the producers and screenwriters – "not just The Fast And The Furious but the crap sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious, plus Legally Blonde" – and freaked out. "I thought it was going to be totally, embarrassingly rubbish," he laughs. "Fortunately, they conspired to make it brilliant."

Intoxicated, Millar thought he'd take a lead role in Kick-Ass. "I was executive producer of Wanted, which meant being involved in a couple of phone calls – 'Q: Do you want Angelina Jolie involved? A: Yes' – and I got paid a big chunk of cash for that. But with Kick-Ass, I've been shocked at how much work is involved. I was in on all of the casting: we looked at hundreds of people. Then there was drafting the script, the costumes, the sets and the filming – 14 weeks, doing 14-hour days."

The script was a particular problem. Millar, used to autonomy, was shocked at the accommodations he had to make. "I don't really do happy endings, so there's a huge difference between Kick-Ass the movie and Kick-Ass the comic," he says. "In the movie Matthew [Vaughn] really wanted the lead to get the girl, whereas in the comic, this guy is a loser and pretends to be gay because the girl works in a shelter and is really right-on. She just wants to be best friends, he wants to have sex with her, and in the comic when he confesses she tells him to fuck off. In the movie, Matthew has them having sex."

Like virtually every storyline in Millar's career, the baseline for Kick-Ass comes from his own experience. He's never pretended to be gay, but as a teenager he did convince a girl he fancied that he was as obsessed with Dynasty as she was, studying videos of the Colbys to complete the facade. Millar is convinced his success is down to his upbringing: his mother died when he was 14 and his father four years later, so he had to drop out of university to bring up his brother. Money was so tight that "the cat ate one day and we ate the next". Writing was an economic imperative.

Glasgow also gave him the cultural antennae to be successful. The city is built on the same grid system as New York ("there's more than an element of Gotham to Glasgow; it feels like a more modestly budgeted version of New York, only far more violent"), and west coast Scots have a fascination with the US that provokes a special bond: "I feel a kinship with American kids – I like what they like because it's what I like too. The collapse of the US economy is a godsend: what's terrible for the world is great for writing. The last eight years in particular have been good to me," he says, in a reference to George Bush.

There is a moral core to Millar's populism, as you'd expect from someone who cites Jesus and Tony Benn as heroes. The battle between good and evil are constant themes, as is redemption. But so too is an eye-watering level of violence. "It's cathartic," he says. "Besides, you need movement in a film, and to see superheroes pounding each other or picking up a car and whacking someone with it is visually exciting."

Although he has thought about moving to the US, Millar remains rooted in Coatbridge, the "Little Vatican" that has shaped him. Now in his last year as Marvel's chief writer, he has commissioned a largely Scottish group of friends and comic aficionados – Frankie Boyle, Muriel Gray, Ian Rankin, Armando Iannucci, Jonathan Ross and Russell Davies – to pen graphic novels for him.

"Glasgow's the perfect education – it's given me a unique life experience compared to everyone in the New York publishing industry and Hollywood. Every single person in Hollywood looks the same: the writers are all skinny, bald guys with glasses, who hang out in coffee shops all day."

• Kick-Ass is out on general release on Wednesday 31 March.

As an effort to prove that I'm not against "diversity" and to acknowledge the many oft-overlooked contributions that White people have made to this country, I figured I should make a list of White literature that has influenced me. How else to counteract the efforts to suppress White Culture and White History? Perhaps we should give you your own month? No. Here's something better. Your own section of the book-store.

Filed under: Marvel , Opinion This Wednesday, X-Men fans will see the return of Kitty Pryde, a.k.a. Everybody's Girlfriend. Or at least, that's how Chris Sims (correctly) described her to me. The fan-favorite phasing mutant rejoins the Marvel Universe this week in Matt Fraction ... Read more Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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Jane Goldman's new film Kick-Ass is the story of a foul-mouthed 11-year-old girl assassin. The screenwriter wife of Jonathan Ross and mother of three admits to a 'geeky' enthusiasm for comic books and violent video games

The screenwriter Jane Goldman freely admits that her new film Kick-Ass "is not, obviously, for everyone". Perhaps she is thinking of the scene in which Hit-Girl, an 11-year-old female assassin in a luminescent purple wig, enters a roomful of evil baddies and utters the immortal line: "OK you c**ts, let's see what you can do now." Or maybe she is referring to the bit where Hit-Girl, in a conversation with her father about what she wants for her birthday, pretends to ask for a puppy before admitting with a coquettish giggle that "I'm just fucking with you Daddy. I'll have a Benchmade model 42 butterfly knife." Or she could be recalling the moments where Hit-Girl shoots a man through his cheek or slices off a drug dealer's leg with a machete.

Whatever the reason, Goldman is aware that Kick-Ass could cause something of a stir. "I wouldn't take it personally if someone didn't enjoy the film," she says when we meet. "Certainly my 86-year-old friend of the family, I'd strongly recommend she doesn't go and see it."

She laughs, a tad uneasily. Goldman, 39, a talented writer who penned the widely-acclaimed 2007 film fantasy Stardust, is clearly nervous about how Kick-Ass will be received. "You've no idea how the audience is going to react, you just hold your breath," she says, anxiously pressing her hands together, her face partially obscured by a curtain of dyed carmine red hair. Later she will admit that she hates interviews. Partly, one imagines, this is because she happens to be married to the television presenter Jonathan Ross, he of the floppy hair and the inflated salary and the lewd answerphone messages, and she is wary of saying anything that could add to the public circus that surrounds him.

But in this case the nerves are misplaced. Kick-Ass is a brilliant and inventive piece of film-making and looks set to become one of the box-office hits of the year. It tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a nerdy high school student and comic book fan who decides to become a superhero despite the fact that he has no special powers. Dave (played by Aaron Johnson, who recently starred as the young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy) proves to be a fairly unsuccessful vigilante until fate brings him into contact with Hit-Girl, who has been trained by her father in the art of self-protection and who is the master of an astonishing array of weaponry, including butterfly knives and taser guns.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, who also co-wrote the script and with whom Goldman worked before on Stardust, Kick-Ass is based on the eponymous superhero adventure penned by the Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar. The film is shot through with Tarantino-esque action sequences but also manages to be extremely funny, despite the fact that the subject-matter – a pre-teen girl who swears like a sailor and shoots baddies dead with big guns – is somewhat problematic. Seven American film studios turned down the script before Vaughn released it through his own production company.

"We just really wanted Hit-Girl to be a character who, in a sense, simply happens to be an 11-year-old girl, in the same way that Ripley in Alien could have been a guy but the part happened to be played by Sigourney Weaver," explains Goldman. "She [Hit-Girl] is genuinely dangerous, she's genuinely mad. It's not her fault: she's been raised in this environment where she doesn't know anything different. She's unwittingly part of a folie a deux."

Does she think of Hit-Girl, who is played by the 13-year-old actress Chloe Moretz, as a sort of hardcore mini-feminist, a challenge to the usual assumption that most movie violence is carried out by adult men? "Yeah... she's a feminist hero by token of the fact that she pays no attention to gender stereotypes. I think she also doesn't want special treatment because she's a girl."

The film caused controversy in the United States because of a violent online trailer that could have been viewed by children (even though it was clearly marked as "red band", denoting adult content). In the UK, Kick-Ass will be released with a 15-certificate but there is an argument that because the film's protagonists are youngsters, it will prove more appealing to those in the same age group. "You could say the same of Fish Tank, which has swearing and extreme emotional portrayals of violence," counters Goldman. "Kick-Ass is a film for adults. It was never, ever aimed at children."

Will Goldman be allowing her own children – Betty Kitten, 18, Harvey Kirby, 16, or Honey Kinny, 13 – to see it? "The two oldest will see it. My youngest daughter… I have to think about it. I think it's a different deal if you've been on set and known the people involved and you know it's not real. Yeah, maybe.

"You very much see the consequences of violence in the film. I think that films that could be said to glamorise violence are ones where there isn't a physical or emotional consequence, where you have people fire off rounds and everyone is dying off cleanly and it doesn't matter, whereas here, people are bereaved, people are hospitalised, it's kind of unpleasant.

"I really don't think anyone having seen this film would come out of it feeling bloodthirsty… I don't think there's any reliable data proving any correlation between violence and films."

But was Goldman worried about the effects on Moretz, who, despite starring in the film, is too young to go and see it in the cinema? She thinks about this for a moment, hesitating as if to get her thoughts in order. "The fact that she's actually enacting the violence is in many ways probably less traumatic for a child actor than a lot of films where the children are victims of violence – serious films where they're the victims of violence at the hands of family members. I think actually, emotionally, that's a lot more disturbing for a child actor whereas this is comic book; it's light. I don't think it raises any difficult emotional issues for a child to process."

Still, the Daily Mail is in a predictable tizz about it all. A few days before we meet, the newspaper runs an article headlined "Jonathan Ross's wife causes outrage", as though she had been caught mugging Andrew Sachs on the street for his bus pass. Does she care about this kind of press coverage?

"People's intolerance, I find puzzling," she says, a vertical crinkle appearing between her eyes. "The fact that I was singled out, I found bizarre but it didn't upset me, I just thought it was peculiar. It's funny – it's very rare that a movie is described as a writer's movie. It was kind of ironic that it was only when people had decided there was something negative about it that it was the writer's movie… Maybe it's that it makes a good tag on to this ongoing narrative in the press involving other people in my family – it makes it part of that saga."

That is as close as Goldman gets to mentioning the Jonathan Ross-shaped elephant in the room, and it must be frustrating to be constantly pigeonholed as someone's wife when she has been quietly pursuing a successful career as a writer for the last 20 years. Goldman grew up in north London, the only child of liberal, wealthy parents. Like Hit-Girl, she was terrifyingly precocious – leaving school at 16 with eight O-Levels before being hired as a showbusiness reporter on a casual basis by the Daily Star.

A year later she met Ross at a nightclub while working for the paper, and the couple got married when she was 18. Goldman spent most of her 20s having babies but also found the time to write several books (including a novel, Dreamworld), front a television series investigating the paranormal, and cultivate a growing reputation as a screenwriter. As well as her work with Matthew Vaughn, she has just completed the script for a forthcoming film adaptation of Susan Hill's ghost story The Woman in Black. She seems to be intrigued by the supernatural and fantastical and admits to a "geeky" enthusiasm for comic books and computer games.

"I play World of Warcraft, which means I end up hanging out with teenage boys a lot," she says. "I really enjoy the company of my kids… I'm not one of those people who goes 'Yeah, my kids are my mates', that's a dreadful kind of mother, but I'm fortunate that there are times that they do want me around, and I feel lucky that they let me into their world."

There is a part of Goldman that seems to connect easily with childhood, perhaps because she missed out on so much of it herself. "Yeah, I never hung out in parks and got drunk… I never did the proper teenage stuff and maybe that's why it still holds a fascination for me but I like to think it's because I really like that unbiased outlook on life. Teenagers come to things fresh and can really teach us an awful lot.

"I've yet to meet a bitter teenager. Bitterness, jealousy and jadedness, I think, are the most unattractive qualities in a person, and unfortunately they do seem to come with age."

In person, Goldman seems to embody both this freshness and a sort of gentleness that is strangely at odds with her love of violent video games and her striking physical appearance. She has a beautiful face, fire-red engine hair (re-coloured every three to four weeks) and a figure that looks as though it has been drawn by a lascivious comic book artist. Is it a coincidence that she looks like the superheroes she has written about? "That's a huge compliment, thank you," she says. "I've always loved science fiction, fantasy, manga, comic books, so I guess to some degree those things influence my personal idea of what looks nice, which definitely isn't everyone else's."

She laughs, but it must take a certain degree of chutzpah to look so flagrantly individual. "In some way it's less courageous because it's essentially saying, 'I've opted out'; it's saying 'Please don't judge me against society's standards! I know I don't measure up, I've opted out, I'm playing a different game.'"

It is a game that she plays extremely well – but then, all that time practising on World of Warcraft must surely help.

Kick Ass opens on Friday

Bear with me while I gush about my experience attending SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas this past week. This post is mostly for me, to preserve this feeling of total gratitude and expanded possibilities.

SXSW Gratitude Video

(Click here if you can't see this video.)

SXSW Is All About The People

Before I went to SXSW, I knew that it was going to be all about meeting my cool online friends in person. I also thought the panels might be interesting. Some panels were definitely great, but I want to reiterate that meeting people was by far the best part of my SXSW experience! Here's a quick rundown (in no particular order) and a big THANK YOU to all the amazing folks I met up with at the conference. If I didn't get a chance to meet you, please comment and we'll make plans for next year. :)

Commence Major Geeking Out

Chris Garret was a total blast to hang out with (and contrary to this, he didn't suck!). We talked about the differences between England and America where muffins and cupcakes are concerned. We shared some laughs with Sonia Simone about getting to know people online, and I admired her pink hair in person. :) Deb Ng and I bonded over stories of Chinese relatives-in-law. I thought I was the only one with funny Chinese related stories! I got to meet and hang out with copywriting masters like Brian Clark, Taylor Lindstrom, and Kelly Parkinson. Their knowledge of copywriting and online business is incredible, and getting to know them personally was even more awesome. We grabbed a green juice with Nora at The Daily Juice, and talked online business with a touch of law of attraction, and lots of raw chocolate - yum! Hung out in the bloggers lounge and met with Muhammad Saleem, Darren Rowse, and Aliza Sherman. I had a nice chat with Jonathan Fields and love what he's up to! The caliber of these folks still blows me away! On my way to Austin I had a layover in New York and I sat 2 rows away from Sarah Cooley. I recognized her from Twitter and mustered up the courage to pass her a note, then we got to sit down together and have a heart to heart. I spotted Chris Pirillo on the first day and was too shy to go over and introduce myself. But my little geekgirl heart leaped when I recognized him. In the "How Not to Be a Douchebag at SXSW" panel I met Violet Blue (NSFW), and laughed at her jokes. Then nodded at her growing concerns as a famous blogger. We had a great time at the SOBCon party, meeting with Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker. There's a joke in there about Terry being unable to find a starbucks. Had lunch with Erica Douglas and her boyfriend Richard. I was totally star struck on the first day of SXSW. These people are so totally awesome in real life, it's not even funny. :) At Chris Guillebeau's meetup I met Eileen and her husband, and it was awesome to hear about her background. There's only so much you can learn from someone through their online presence, but one thing is for sure - they are both so awesome in person! I got to hang out with the super smart Ali Hale, who just rocked my world with her devilishly cute British accent. Now I know why I like her so much. :) Another great person that I finally got to meet in real life is Charlie Gilkey and his wife Angela. This man is so authentic and bright, it was just awesome to get to know him. Next year, more conversation time! In the bloggers lounge I also met my dear friend Maya! It was a coincidence that we tweeted each other about being on the 4th floor of the ACC, and it was great to hug in real life! Saturday night I was so stoked to meet Chris Guillebeau, who as it turns out is also even more amazing in real life. He is so generous with his time and advice, and I'm so happy we got to connect. Really looking forward to his book tour now. :) Coincidence had it that I was able to catch Elizabeth Potts Weinstein for lunch. We chatted about business managers and our time belly dancing with pitas.

Belly Dancing at SXSW

Some of us ladies of SXSW got together to take an awesome belly dancing class! It was a new type of female bonding experience that took us all away from our iPhones and texting devices. Not to mention that it was a great work out and really fun to be dancing like this! Speaking of dancing, I got to watch Carl Nelson in action at the New Orleans party. Definitely look him up if you want to up your dance skills! One reason why SXSW was so incredible was thanks to these two lovely ladies: Kyeli and Pace Smith! They let me sleep on their comfy couch and hang out with their three adorable cats. They also taught me the meaning of the word barnacle, along with a few other funny words. ;) We had some of the best conversations between midnight and 3am, and I am super duper grateful for the honor of meeting them in person and getting to hang out!

And the fun continues...

On my second night in Austin, I got to be present for the Maple Syrup inside joke that took place between Jeff Moriarty and Melle! The price of my flight was worth it just for being able to see Pace Smith laugh so hard. I got to hang out with Johnny B. Truant, and hear his new droid phone make funny noises. Oh, and his business cards made the rounds and totally made him even more famous than he already was. Rock on. Speaking of rocking, we played Rock Band until two or three in the morning one night. Most fun I've had playing video games since I was a teenager! I now understand why The Beatles got so popular. "It's about charity!" The night before I left we held a birthday party for Cath Duncan and Kyeli! We scared the living daylights out of poor Cath by pretending we left and then jumped out screaming "Surprise!". Happy birthday my dears! I got to connect with Andy Hayes, whose accent is very misleading by the way. It was great getting to know him and talking business, travel, and life! It was great meeting Tzaddi Gordon, a fellow Canadian, and talking about web design. It was so cool to meet her because I had seen her site before and really admired the designs she had! I finally met Karl Staib of Work Happy Now, and it was great talking about business and life together. His sincerity and joy-of-life really shines through! I finally got to meet Martin Whitmore (the man responsible for my awesome witchy logo) in person! This guy has such a fun personality, and we took full advantage of the Bing photobooth. You can read about his adventures wearing a kilt here too. Oh, and yes I did escape without getting eaten, or turned into a zombie of any kind. I'm a witch after all! It was fun talking to Robert Dempsey about our businesses, and what it's like being a multi passionate entrepreneur. I also had the pleasure of meeting and hugging the super sweet Adam Baker. I'm really impressed with all he's done for himself online and it was great meeting him in person! Brunch with Colleen Wainwright revealed more awesomeness about the lovely Communicatrix. Also I learned about a new non-martial martial-art called Nei Kung. Sweet stuff! During the Freak Revolution meetup I got to hang out with the ever lovely Lynnivere. It was great to connect with her in person and hear her raw food journey story. That's also where I met Chris and Cherie from Technomadia. I was pleasantly surprised to see their trek across America and I invited them to come visit me in Toronto! :) On the first day of SXSW I was a total fangirl and asked to get my photo taken with the super sweet Gala Darling and Molly Crabapple. I love these ladies.

More Awesome People...

I got to hang out with the ever flavorful Naomi Dunford and Megan Morris. These ladies launched some stuff during the conference and they were just rocking it! Big hugs - *muah*! More Toronto-ish peeps I got to meet include Scott Stratton, and Melanie Baker. Yay Canadians! ;) Kelly Kingman was a total sweetheart and pleasure to hang out with. She also let us have parties at the swankiest pad ever, and we got down to the nitty gritty of online business together! Another New Yorker I had the coincidental pleasure of meeting is John Keefe. It was fun talking about specialists vs. generalists and I'm eager to see what he is up to! It was also really awesome to meet Andrea Ramirez and her husband Mark. Andrea and I really connected because of our shared passion for health and online biz, woohoo! I also met Michelle and her husband Matt. Her sense of style is definitely wicked and I loved trying to anticipate what color her hair would be the next time I met her! We talked comics, biz, and blogging, woohoo! The same night I first hung out with Michelle and the gang, we visited the Marble Cows. We also got to hang out with Steve Spalding and Nathan. Everyone was running low on sleep, so we came up with some hilarious book titles!

Talk About a Whirlwind Experience

Last but not least it was awesome almost-meeting TheGirlPie! I'm sorry if I missed you at SXSW, or if I met you but forgot to include you in this post. Leave a comment or tweet me and I'll rectify that immediately. :) I blame lack of sleep and too much awesomeness for that. So what did I learn at SXSW? That life is short and there are too many awesome people to meet. Also, that writing this post is a great way for me to not-forget everything as I move my business and blog forward! Big hugs everyone!

Costumed docents portray blacksmiths, bakers, doctors, vaqueros and other early settlers to the area at Sutter's Fort. Modern-day visitors may talk with these pioneers to learn more about their lives.

TODAY-MAY 2

African American history

California Museum

WHAT: California Legislative Black Caucus and California Museum present "African American Treasures: History and Art from the Collection of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey," a Black History Month celebration that illustrates the African American experience in art and history.

WHEN: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: California Museum, 1020 O St.

COST: $8.50 general, $7 students and seniors (with valid ID), $6 ages 6-13.

INFORMATION: www.CaliforniaMuseum.org

– Dixie Reid

TODAY-JULY (various days)

Living history

Meet the pioneers

WHAT: Costumed docents portray blacksmiths, bakers, doctors, vaqueros and other early settlers to the area. Modern-day visitors may talk with these pioneers to learn more about their lives.

WHEN: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays- Sundays through June 30, and Tuesdays-Sundays in July

WHERE: Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, 2701 L St., Sacramento

COST: Special event admission is $6 general, $4 ages 6-17

INFORMATION: (916) 445-4422, www. parks.ca.gov

– Dixie Reid

TODAY-SUNDAY

Comedy

Johnny Sanchez

WHAT: You might know him from "Mad TV" or from his appearances with Paul Rodriguez on the "Latin Kings of Comedy" tour. If you don't know him, here's your chance to meet one of the most energetic and entertaining young comics in the field.

WHEN: 8 and 10 tonight and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Punch Line Comedy Club, 2100 Arden Way, Sacramento

COST: $12.50-$18.50; 18 and older only

INFORMATION: (916) 925-8500

– Jim Carnes

SUNDAY

Dance

'Streb: Brave'

WHAT: Choreographer Elizabeth Streb and her performers (they aren't exactly "dancers") join forces with adventurous artists from other disciplines – composer David Van Tiegham, the MIT Media Lab and trapeze virtuosos Noe and Ivan España – for a program that is all about action, adventure and velocity.

WHEN: 3 p.m.

WHERE: Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center, UC Davis

COST: $25-$45 general, $12.50-$22.50 students

INFORMATION: (530) 754-2787, www.mondaviarts.org

– Jim Carnes

THURSDAY-MARCH 28

Dance

Sacramento Ballet

WHAT: They don't come much grander than the ballet company's "Carmina Burana," an epic spectacle set to the music of Carl Orff and performed with full chorus and orchestra. Ron Cunningham choreographed this signature ballet, which will feature guest artist Melissa Sandvig. Also on the program is George Balanchine's "Theme and Variations."

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and March 26 and 27 and 2 p.m. March 28

WHERE: Community Center Theater, 1301 L St., Sacramento

COST: $15-$68

INFORMATION: (916) 808-5181, www.sacballet.org

– Jim Carnes

TODAY-SUNDAY

On stage

Celebration Arts

WHAT: Celebration Arts' new production of the popular "From The Mississippi Delta" by Endesha Ida Mae Holland. James Wheatley directs the honest and uplifting story of a black girl's coming of age in the rural South.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m Saturday and Sunday.

WHERE: Celebration Arts Theater, 4469 D St., Sacramento.

TICKETS: $13-$15

INFORMATION: (916) 455-2787 or www.celebrationarts.net

– Marcus Crowder

SATURDAY

Fundraising concert

Haiti Benefit Show

WHAT: A Coolfield CD release party, plus performances by Josiah James and band, Fate Under Fire, The Reel and The New Divide will raise funds for Haiti relief.

WHEN: Doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show

WHERE: Club Retro, 6521 Hazel Ave., Orangevale (in the Family Christian Center campus)

TICKETS: $10 advance, $12 at the door for the all-ages show

INFORMATION: (916) 988-6606, www.clubretro.net

– Jim Carnes

Costumed docents portray blacksmiths, bakers, doctors, vaqueros and other early settlers to the area at Sutter's Fort. Modern-day visitors may talk with these pioneers to learn more about their lives.

TODAY-MAY 2

African American history

California Museum

WHAT: California Legislative Black Caucus and California Museum present "African American Treasures: History and Art from the Collection of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey," a Black History Month celebration that illustrates the African American experience in art and history.

WHEN: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: California Museum, 1020 O St.

COST: $8.50 general, $7 students and seniors (with valid ID), $6 ages 6-13.

INFORMATION: www.CaliforniaMuseum.org

– Dixie Reid

TODAY-JULY (various days)

Living history

Meet the pioneers

WHAT: Costumed docents portray blacksmiths, bakers, doctors, vaqueros and other early settlers to the area. Modern-day visitors may talk with these pioneers to learn more about their lives.

WHEN: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays- Sundays through June 30, and Tuesdays-Sundays in July

WHERE: Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, 2701 L St., Sacramento

COST: Special event admission is $6 general, $4 ages 6-17

INFORMATION: (916) 445-4422, www. parks.ca.gov

– Dixie Reid

TODAY-SUNDAY

Comedy

Johnny Sanchez

WHAT: You might know him from "Mad TV" or from his appearances with Paul Rodriguez on the "Latin Kings of Comedy" tour. If you don't know him, here's your chance to meet one of the most energetic and entertaining young comics in the field.

WHEN: 8 and 10 tonight and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Punch Line Comedy Club, 2100 Arden Way, Sacramento

COST: $12.50-$18.50; 18 and older only

INFORMATION: (916) 925-8500

– Jim Carnes

SUNDAY

Dance

'Streb: Brave'

WHAT: Choreographer Elizabeth Streb and her performers (they aren't exactly "dancers") join forces with adventurous artists from other disciplines – composer David Van Tiegham, the MIT Media Lab and trapeze virtuosos Noe and Ivan España – for a program that is all about action, adventure and velocity.

WHEN: 3 p.m.

WHERE: Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center, UC Davis

COST: $25-$45 general, $12.50-$22.50 students

INFORMATION: (530) 754-2787, www.mondaviarts.org

– Jim Carnes

THURSDAY-MARCH 28

Dance

Sacramento Ballet

WHAT: They don't come much grander than the ballet company's "Carmina Burana," an epic spectacle set to the music of Carl Orff and performed with full chorus and orchestra. Ron Cunningham choreographed this signature ballet, which will feature guest artist Melissa Sandvig. Also on the program is George Balanchine's "Theme and Variations."

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and March 26 and 27 and 2 p.m. March 28

WHERE: Community Center Theater, 1301 L St., Sacramento

COST: $15-$68

INFORMATION: (916) 808-5181, www.sacballet.org

– Jim Carnes

TODAY-SUNDAY

On stage

Celebration Arts

WHAT: Celebration Arts' new production of the popular "From The Mississippi Delta" by Endesha Ida Mae Holland. James Wheatley directs the honest and uplifting story of a black girl's coming of age in the rural South.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m Saturday and Sunday.

WHERE: Celebration Arts Theater, 4469 D St., Sacramento.

TICKETS: $13-$15

INFORMATION: (916) 455-2787 or www.celebrationarts.net

– Marcus Crowder

SATURDAY

Fundraising concert

Haiti Benefit Show

WHAT: A Coolfield CD release party, plus performances by Josiah James and band, Fate Under Fire, The Reel and The New Divide will raise funds for Haiti relief.

WHEN: Doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show

WHERE: Club Retro, 6521 Hazel Ave., Orangevale (in the Family Christian Center campus)

TICKETS: $10 advance, $12 at the door for the all-ages show

INFORMATION: (916) 988-6606, www.clubretro.net

– Jim Carnes

In this podcast we review Girl Comics #1, Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #1, Action Comics #887 and Batman and Robin #10.

Kit Ballard is a pink-haired catgirl bounty hunter with a snappy tongue and a not-so-covered rear end. Now, now, don't leave so soon -- yeah, Blade Kitten has all the markings of a tongue-in-cheek Western adaptation of Japanese comics, a la Ninja High School or its ilk (and in fact, it already is an indie comic), but appearances can be deceiving. Steve Stamatiadis (a.k.a. Space Captain Steve) is the brainchild behind Blade Kitten, as well as a longtime employee of the game's developer, Krome, who have a storied history of making action-platform games, including the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger series and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Compared to those, Blade Kitten narrows its focus a bit, going for a high-def anime-inspired adventure from a strict 2D plane.

It makes sense. As an action game, Blade Kitten is also inspired by the Japanese greats, which can be a lot more agreeable to most people than its style may be. Stamatiadis is clearly a fan of Capcom's Strider, dropping its name a few times when describing the game during a GDC 2010 press demo. It's not a one-to-one clone (so temper your expectations accordingly), but the inspiration is certainly there: Kit is naturally nimble, and can grab and climb onto most walls and ceilings with ease. She's slash-happy, making attacks look satisfying, and like Strider, she has a little pal following her at all times: Skiffy, a cute little creature that also can push buttons and grab things in the foreground and background.

In this podcast we review Girl Comics #1, Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #1, Action Comics #887 and Batman and Robin #10.

Basierend auf der gleichnamigen Comicserie von Mark Millar Als absurd witziges Superheldenabenteuer bringt Regiestar Matthew Vaughn („Layer Cake, „Der Sternenwanderer) die beinharte „Kick-Ass- Comicserie des „Wanted-Schöpfers Mark Millar auf die Leinwand. Und wie bei „Wanted geht es auch hier alles andere als zimperlich zur Sache. Fast unsichtbar in der Schule und mit einem Haufen Comics im Schrank ist Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) ein völlig durchschnittlicher Teenager - zumindest bis er die Entscheidung fällt, ein Superheld zu werden. Er schlüpft in ein grünes Ganzkörperkostüm, setzt sich eine Maske mit Schlitzen für Augen und Mund auf, schnappt sich zwei Bleirohrkampfknüppel und zieht als „Kick-Ass in den Kampf gegen das Böse. Das einzige Problem dabei ist allerdings, dass er auf seinen nächtlichen Patrouillen nicht mal ein winziges Fünkchen Superkraft zu bieten hat und sich vor Schurken in Acht nehmen muss, die etwas mehr Power aufweisen. Doch dann gelingt ihm tatsächlich sein erster großer Kampf und so wird er zum MySpace-Helden. Ebenfalls maskiert, aber schon länger mit todbringendem Ernst im Geschäft sind zwei andere „Rächer, auf die er bald darauf trifft eine unaufhaltsame 11-jährige, die ihr rasiermesserscharfes Doppelschwert als Hit Girl (Chloë Moretz) schwingt, sowie ihr panzerbrechender Vater (Nicolas Cage), der erbarmungslos als Big Daddy zupackt. Dazu gesellt sich mit Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) noch ein weiterer Superheldennachahmer. Diese eigenwillige und durchaus energische Allianz bekommt es aber schnell auch mit mächtigen Feinden zu tun und wird durch die heimtückischen Machenschaften von Gangsterboss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) auf eine tödliche Probe gestellt. Wenn's um Action geht, macht „Kick-Ass keine Gefangenen. Mit bissigem Witz und angriffslustiger Härte haut, schießt und sticht die Superheldenfantasie wild um sich. Ein lässig-erwachsener Comic-Thriller, der mit blutigen Argumenten beweist, dass Verbrecherjagd kein Kinderspiel ist.

Craft Awww... No Idea What's Going On Here History Don't Turn Into A Tiger The Battle Of The Hated Characters Roger Stern Clears Up Some History Industry What Mike Lynch Sold Interviews/Profiles CBR: Ian Brill CBR: Matt Fraction Torontoist: Dave Lapp Newsarama: James Sturm Not Comics Jaime's Fave Criterion Films Holy Crap, It's The New Simon Trailer How To Reach Rob Clough, If You've Been Trying Reviews Matthew Daley: Drop In J. Caleb Mozzocco: Hulk Vol. 3 Greg McElhatton: First Wave #1 Kelly Thompson: Girl Comics #1 Marc-Oliver Frisch: X-O Manowar #1 Johanna Draper Carlson: Archie #605 Sarah Boslaugh: Bokurano Ours Vol. 1 J. Caleb Mozzocco: Teen Titans: Deathtrap Sean T. Collins: Two Eyes Of The Beautiful Todd Klein: Rocketeer: The Complete Edition Sarah Boslaugh: Haridama Magic Cram School J. Caleb Mozzocco: Fantastic Four: The Master Of Doom

Secretary. Bodyguard. Assassin. The Executive Assistant is all of the above rolled into one. Enter EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: IRIS! The exciting fourth issue of Aspen's newest action adventure series, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: IRIS takes a look at Iris's dark past and what led her to become the deadly assassin she is today! Iris learns old wounds never truly heal as she revisits her youth and the brutal lifestyle she once inhabited in China. With revenge in her heart and tragic memories still burning inside her, Iris sets out on a mission to bring justice to the man responsible for her broken path--and now cloudy future. And in the process, she could potentially save the lives of many other young girls headed down the same road she took. From the creative minds of David Wohl and Michael Turner, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: IRIS delivers the thrills unlike anything you've ever seen! Features 4 covers by Joe Benitez, which will be shipped randomly.

Having spent almost three straight days in Hall H last July sorting through the wheat and the chaff of the geek world, I admit that I was one of the first in line to champion the preview footage from Kick-Ass as a highlight of the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con because, well, it kicked ass. It seemed tailor-made for comic book fans, exploiting their fantasies about becoming caped avengers, while at the same time offering enough foul-mouthed, visceral action to stop even the most jaded moviegoers in their tracks. And of course it featured Chloe Moretz' Hit Girl, a potty-mouthed preteen destined to become a pop culture lightning rod thanks to her equal dexterity with four-letter insults and flying jump kicks.

Unfortunately, as a full-length film, Kick-Ass is a great comic book come to life, but not much else. A faithful recreation of the rhythms of episodic funny-paper storytelling, Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita's 2008 series gives greater scope to the set pieces shown in clips and trailers, but never quite finds enough cohesion or dramatic clarity to become a fully satisfying film.

Filed under: SXSW, Lionsgate Films, Theatrical Reviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek

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Craft Huh? Hulk Pants Craig Thompson Sketches Bully's Like Into Puzzles Now Erika Moen Talks Cover Design Exhibits/Events Go See David Lasky's Art Sean Phillips Is Going To CCI History We Were Young Once Industry I Didn't Understand One Word Of This Interviews/Profiles CBR: Andy Clarke CBR: Chuck Dixon Mr. Media: Hilary Price Newsarama: Eric Powell Robot 6: Graham Annable Newsarama: Matt Fraction CBR: Joe Harris, Steve Rolston An Interview With Tigra Superfan #1 Not Comics These Look Adorable Other Title Quashed: Bad Hair Day Publishing Damon Lindelof Loves Scalped Reviews Johnny Bacardi: Various Katherine Dacey: Shirley Sean Kleefeld: Logicomix Grant Goggans: Crogan's March Greg McElhatton: Girl Comics #1 Brian Heater: Little Nothings Vol. 3

Mezco's 12-Inch Kick-Ass & Hit-Girl Action Figures Will Kick Your, Well, You Know Comics Alliance My hunch is that these nay-sayers would have just as much of a problem with an action figure version of young Hit-Girl, but like it or not, such a toy is on ... and more »

Batgirl: “I waited – I should have –
Robin: “After all Cain’s done to you, the fact that you moved at all is impressive.”
Batman: “Agreed. You didn’t kill him and you could have. After everything, you tried to help. You’re free of the worst things he taught you." 

Their shows dominated television as US sitcoms conquered the globe. But as Jerry Seinfeld found out last week when his latest creation was ridiculed, the years have not been kind to that generation of comics

This was meant to be the second coming of the king of comedy. Jerry Seinfeld, who in the 1990s topped the cast of probably the most successful sitcom of all time, was finally bringing another new show to American network television. Like Seinfeld, it promised to be be fresh, sarcastic, innovative, playing off the bickering and obscure disputes of everyday life.

Called The Marriage Ref, it featured Seinfeld and his celebrity pals passing judgment over the marital spats of ordinary people. It was advertised heavily and its debut was given a primetime slot on NBC, just after the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. And it bombed.

"The show is more Jerry Springer than Jerry Seinfeld," said Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe. Other descriptions ranged from "pathetic" to "painfully unfunny" via "the most God-awful mishmash", courtesy of Time magazine.

The years have not been kind to the generation of US comics that came ashore in Britain along with Seinfeld, more than a decade and a half ago. Seinfeld's other cast members were often said to be labouring under its curse in their lack of subsequent success. But the curse is also extended to many of those who worked on other hit shows.

The male cast of Friends – Matt Le Blanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer – have failed to capitalise on global fame in the way many thought they would. Garry Shandling, whose groundbreaking Larry Sanders Show led the way for many other radical US imports, has almost disappeared off the public radar.

Frasier's star, Kelsey Grammer, has seen his sitcom project Hank cancelled mid-season. Even Janeane Garofalo, the actress who appeared on Seinfeld as Jerry's female equivalent, Jeannie Steinman, recently complained of the hardships of acting as she has grown older.

Garofalo, who became a poster girl for cutting edge 1990s comedy, revealed to New York magazine that she had Botox injections in an attempt to keep working. For a generation of Britons who remember their comedy heroes as confident, smart, savvy, cynical and poised to take over the entertainment world, Garofalo's comments were a depressing end point.

"Yeah, I fucking sold out," she said of having to now lose weight to obtain roles. "That is absolutely a fact. I was heavier and it really gets you almost nowhere, you realise quickly. I mean, I got very lucky in the 1990s. Very lucky."

When these shows arrived on British television in the mid 1990s, their sassy, tightly written style struck a chord with a generation brought up on The Young Ones, Not the Nine O'Clock News and Fawlty Towers. Later in the decade, these must-see shows were supplanted both in the US and in Britain by high-gloss dramas such as The West Wing and The Sopranos.

Comedy is probably the toughest road in the entertainment world. "People know if you made it in comedy, then you really do have something because it is so hard to do that," said Janette Barber, a stand-up comic and author.

Only a few made it to the top, surviving the gruelling circuits of stand-up, endless auditions then finally landing the ultimate prize: a network show. The list of comic stars who made it to the summit then stayed there is even smaller. It consists of not too many more big names than Bill Cosby, David Letterman and Jay Leno.

Far more common is the fate of many of those 1990s stars: they have a single smash hit that – unknown to them at the time – comes to represent the peak of their careers and define it forever. "To stay at the top they needed to be able to reinvent themselves as many times as possible," said Barber. But that is not easy. As Seinfeld has just found. The Marriage Ref is clearly an effort at major reinvention. It is a blend of variety show and comedy. No one is acting. Everyone is real. It is a long way from the biting yet subtle humour of Seinfeld the sitcom.

But therein lies the comic's difficulty. Typecasting is a problem for all actors and performers, but especially those who choose comedy. Sitcom stars become beloved of a mass audience who want to keep for ever performing their allotted role. No one wants them to explore new avenues. "When you try to do different characters they hate you," said Judy Carter, author of The Comedy Bible. "They want you to be that thing they loved. They don't want you to try new things."

Consider the fate of the male stars of Friends. All have struggled in their own ways despite becoming globally famous. None of LeBlanc, Perry and Schwimmer has ever really stepped out of the shadow of being Joey, Chandler and Ross. Perry's career has not taken off since the final episode of Friends in 2006. He landed a few lead roles, but they have tailed off. He has confessed to suffering from depression and fought battles with addiction. Schwimmer, after failing to become a Hollywood star, has mostly devoted his time to the theatre. LeBlanc's attempt at a spin-off sitcom from Friends was cancelled. He is now about to star in a series called Episodes in which he plays an older downtrodden version of himself in a "mockumentary"-style show about a reality TV series. One scene in the forthcoming project shows LeBlanc auditioning for the role of himself against younger, better-looking rivals.

Another problem with staying at the top is simply the temptations of fame and the fact that they have become particularly acute in a modern era of gossip websites such as TMZ and ubiquitous camera phones.

The 1990s were a different era when it came to communications. "There is more exposure and there are more chances to be stupid and make stupid mistakes," said Carter.

Look at the fate of Michael Richards, who played Kramer on Seinfeld and created one of the most singular and hilarious characters in comic television history. He struggled to escape from the shadow of his genius creation, then watched his career implode after he berated a heckler at a stand-up show and called him "a nigger". The incident, caught on a mobile phone camera, created such a huge scandal that Richards eventually had to call black civil rights leaders to apologise.

Other top stars of the 1990s have also struggled with addictions of one sort or another. The list is long and includes Garofalo and Grammer.

Finally, the industry itself has changed. The competition among TV shows in America is acute and Darwinian in the extreme. The process of commissioning a show, making a pilot, then deciding whether to axe it, has speeded up. There is almost no time for mistakes.

Even Seinfeld itself, which lasted from 1989 to 1998 and ran for 180 episodes, would never get off the ground now. Only a few initial episodes were commissioned and the audience reaction was lukewarm. The show took time to grow into a smash hit, but that is time it would no longer be given by network bosses desperate for instant success.

"Seinfeld was not a critical success at first, but NBC kept it on," said Carter. "It slowly found an audience and became a classic. But we live in a different world."

But whose version of success are we judging them on? Seinfeld's new project may have had a critical roasting but that is a long way from dubbing the man a failure. He is happily married and rich beyond the wildest dreams of many people. He has continued to do stand-up to rave reviews and huge crowds. The jabs against his new TV venture are unlikely to matter too much to him.

Others also have different priorities now. Our anxieties about their careers may reflect our culture's neuroses and expectations, not theirs. Garofalo is winning solid roles on TV shows and still working, even if she uses Botox twice a year.

Schwimmer has acted on Broadway and directed a show off Broadway. He owns homes in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. He is a mover in politically active groups, campaigning on numerous social issues. "David Schwimmer is doing theatre. He's a social activist. He is doing what he wants to do," said Richard Dubin, a television writer and producer who is now a communications professor at Syracuse University.

Dubin is right. In judging our stars there tends to be a confusion between the role that the actor played and the desires and needs of the person behind them. Schwimmer is not Ross; Seinfeld is not even Seinfeld. The fact that many of the 1990s stars are not on TV any more, or have moved on to different roles, does not make them failures. A lot of these comic stars may not be funny now. But they are not always tragic either.

The Hit Shows

Seinfeld

Famously a "show about nothing", this hugely popular comedy was the creation of stand-up comic Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David .

Frasier

A fantastically successful spin-off from the popular long-running sitcom Cheers. Psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane moves back to Seattle to reconnect with his ex-cop father Marty and equally self-involved younger brother Niles.

Friends

The show that came to define a generation followed the lives and loves of six impossibly beautiful, witty and usually lovelorn friends living in Manhattan.

The Larry Sanders Show

This satirical send-up of American television starred stand-up comic Garry Shandling as the self-obsessed, neurotic talk-show host Larry Sanders who interviewed real-life celebrities.

There are gaming comics in comics shops across America this week. But there's also a rare Marvel comic that interests me. See?

Mass Effect: Redemption #3
Written by Mac Walters and John Jackson Miller. Drawn by Omar Francia.

Summary Via Dark Horse Comics:
Liara T'Soni finds herself both pursuing Commander Shepard's abductors and on the run herself as Mass Effect: Redemption nears its explosive conclusion-revealing secrets crucial to the story of Mass Effect 2 along the way!

The Mass Effect saga has revolutionized science fiction, and Mass Effect 2 lead writer Mac Walters brings all the same intelligence, drama, and action to this riveting adventure that tests the limits of what one friend will do to save another.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!, Vol. 6
Written and drawn by Shigekatsu Ihara.

Summary Via Viz Media:
New friends, new lands, and all-new Pokémon-the next chapter of one of the greatest adventures! Most kids spend their days at school, but not Hareta. Raised in the wild by Pokémon, he can climb as high as an Aipcom, swim as fast as a Magik

Tournament of Trainers!

Hareta and Koya fight! And then they fight in the tournament to determine the best trainer in Sinnoh! Which of Hareta's Pokémon will evolve during the heated battle? Who is that mysterious man in the stands cheering Hareta on? And why is Koya talking to...his briefcase?!

Sonic The Hedgehog #210
Written by Ian Flynn. Drawn by Steven Butler.

Summary Via Archie Comics:
"Home Invasion Part One": In the aftermath of the "Iron Dominion" saga, things are bleaker than ever for our heroes, as one after another is "legionized." Amy, Geoffrey St. John, Rotor and the others do their best to be brave in the face of impending doom. But Eggman, the Iron Queen and Snively aren't exactly seeing eye to eye, which may provide hope for our heroes. Not to mention the intrepid team of first-rank heroes waiting for the proper moment to swoop in like the cavalry! Ties into this month's SONIC UNIVERSE #13

Girl Comics #1
Written and drawn by Various.

Summary Via Marvel Comics:
With the most controversial question in the Marvel Universe finally answered right on the cover, Marvel is proud to bring you a celebration of amazing women in comics with the first of a three issue anthology entirely created by the most talented and exciting women working in comics today, including Ann Nocenti (DAREDEVIL), Amanda Conner (Power Girl), Laura Martin (SECRET INVASION), G. Willow Wilson (Air), Devin Grayson (Nightwing), Stephanie Buscema (WEB OF SPIDER-MAN), and more! With stories featuring your favorite Marvel characters, from the Punisher to Mary Jane, don't miss what will be the one of the most talked about series of the year! (Please note: She-Hulk would totally win).

Why I'm Including This Non-Gaming Comic: I'm an outsider to most of the super-hero shennanigans in the Marvel Universe. There are few affordable ways to follow any of it (and most of it doesn't look that interesting to me anyway). But here's a comic that intrigues me, at least conceptually. Marvel Super Heroes written and drawn by female creates. Could be great. Could be a pandering wreck. Not sure. But I'm curious and assume others would be too.

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, Mac Software

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 4, 2010:

• Macintosh
• iPod

Macintosh

• app4mac has released Projector 2.0.8, an update to their powerful project management application for Mac OS X. Projector provides all the tools you need for professional project management. It is designed to keep track of tasks and calculate a project’s cost. Projector is an easy-to-learn, cost-effective tool that simplifies project scheduling. Projector is also coming soon on iPad and iPhone.
• Cocoamug Software has released CosmoPod 4.2.1, an update to their bright application for Mac OS X. CosmoPod is a one-click simple extension to Apple Safari browser that helps you saving and converting internet media content to your Mac, iPhone, AppleTV or iPod. It’s just like an extra Download window for your media. CosmoPod supports most popular web video formats, including FLV, DivX, WMV, MMS, RM, and RTSP. This update mainly improves the application capability to easily import DVD.
• Ohanaware has announced HDRtist 1.2, a free update to their HDR Photography software for Mac OS X. HDRtist is a user friendly HDR Photo processor and tone mapper for the Macintosh platform. It’s workflow has been designed to be effortless in operation, and to provide visually pleasing results. An intuitive design makes it simple to choose from our 4 different tone mapping techniques. The latest update to HDRtist fixed some issues and improves upon usability.
• Macvide has announced Macvide FlashVideo Converter 3.7, an update to its Flash to video converter for OS X. Macvide FlashVideo Converter is a powerful and versatile program for converting any flash SWF or FLV video file to one of many popular video formats including iPhone/iPod mp4, Mobile 3gp and MPEG2. Macvide FlashVideo Converter is able to convert FLV and SWF files with ActionScript 3.0 support. Version 3.7 includes miscellaneous bugs fixed and more.
• RapidWeaver theme developer seyDoggy today announces Flavorite, a smart theme with great new capabilities. Flavorite brings the power of the web to RapidWeaver with built-in selectable slideshows, smart corners, and ExtraContent. All of Flavorite’s intelligent features are included at no expense to the variety of other great and flexible features like layout width, header heights, variable width sidebar, and a myriad of font options.

iPhone/iPod/iPad

• In the pantheon of comic book superheroes, it’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of GelaSkins’ newest collaborator. Spanning over 50 years, this “illuminati of illustration” has brought us some of the most beloved and championed characters in modern storytelling history. A billion dollar industry has been built upon its foundations and it’s not shocking why; we love to see the quintessential battle between good and evil. Ladies and Gents, join in giving the hugest GelaSkins welcome to Marvel Comics.
• EMI Music/Astralwerks recording artists Air, the French electronic pop duo, have teamed up with London-based music technology company RjDj to create an innovative App, Love by AIR, for the iPhone, which allows fans to experience Air’s music in a unique, immersive way. Fans can choose from five different “soundscapes,” and then use the App’s features to transform the musical experience in real-time by sampling and processing ambient sounds, the fan’s own voice and more into Air’s own music. Fans can also record their own messages or performances with the application, allowing them to share their own unique productions of Air’s music with their friends, and with the world. As a way to introduce the app to the world, RjDj and Air are launching a contest to invite fans to create and submit their own Love recording. From now until March 22, weekly winners will be selected, and a grand prize winner will also be determined. The grand prize winner will receive an iPod Touch and weekly winners will receive Air’s latest CD Love 2.
• The Three Little Pigs, is the fourth Kidztory animated storybook app from Stepworks. It’s now at large, on the lookout for piggy snacks. Launched just last week, The Three Little Pigs is already delighting parents and children and has already been in the top ten of all paid apps in the US.
• To celebrate their iPhone app download surpassing the benchmark of 8.3 million, Artificial Life is holding a promotion of “Get-Paid-Game-For-Free.”. Some of their top-rated, top-downloaded iPhone game titles will be offered for free for a limited time. The first free game is going to be iSink U (battleship boardgame title), which will be free during March 5-7 only.
• With an already successful launch on the Nintendo Wii, Cocoto and his friends are ready to wreck mayhem and havoc on the Apple iPhone and Apple iPod touch. To progress in Cocoto Magic Circus, you must use your finger as a gun and shoot the moving enemies, explode the green balloons which offer bonuses like additional time, explosions and slow-motion, but also take precautions and avoid the red balloons which shake the screen or accelerate the clock. The game offers the same visually stunning 3D environments, including the familiar animated characters, bosses and backgrounds as introduced in the console version.
• Mephisto is a pachislo simulator for iPhone and iPod Touch. Loaded with a new exciting voice function that provides a pleasant experience, Mephisto also includes world rankings and awards provided by the online gaming platform Agon Online.
• Broken Thumbs Apps has announced that Emily’s Girl Talk, a collection of four unique charming story-telling games, has been featured by Apple as “New and Noteworthy” in the US App Store. Emily’s Girl Talk features the classic M.A.S.H. (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House) and the hilariously unpredictable Lemon, as well as other fortune-telling games for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
• 24x7digital has announced Aw Craps! 1.7, an update to their popular casino game for iPhone and iPod touch. With its realistic table layout, game play, stick calls and dice rolling, Aw Craps! takes you onto the casino floor and into the action, allowing seasoned shooters to hone their skills, as well as allowing beginners to learn enough to hit the casino tables. Version 1.7 allows you to choose from five different colored dice, each with specialized probabilities.
• Unfasten your seatbelts and abandon everything you know about safe driving as Raging Thunder 2—the sequel to the most popular mobile racing game of all time—has arrived on iPhone and Android. From Polarbit, a leading developer of high-end 3D games and middleware for mobile phones, comes the most intense, high-speed reckless driving experience ever. Featuring online, cross-platform multiplayer, Raging Thunder 2 allows players to challenge strangers around the world to heart pumping racing action whether on an iPhone or Android phone.
• Playbrains, an independent game development studio, has announced their upcoming mobile gaming debut with Babo Crash, a fast-paced action puzzler built for iPhone, iPad and Android platforms. Babo Crash starts out simple with familiar gem-swapping match-3 gameplay, rewarding players who create bigger matches—but it ramps up the intensity one level at a time, adding hero characters with special abilities, real-time enemy combat, destructive powerups, chain reactions and evolving objectives.
• Pure Concepts, LLC has announced PocketBracket 2.0 for iPhone, iPod touch, and Android powered devices. PocketBracket allows you to create unlimited brackets, organize pools, and follow the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. In addition, compete among thousands of users on the PocketBracket Network as well as your friends and coworkers. It is the only mobile application to offer all of these features in one. Game On.
• The V Phone—a mobile VoIP and SMS app for the iPhone—now supports VoIP over 3G and on WiFi using the G729 codec. The V Phone is a mobile sip client or softphone for the iPhone for making internet calls over wifi or 3G. The mobile VoIP app also enables users to send text messages or SMS’s not through your wireless carriers but through the internet. What this means for users is simple dirt cheap calls and SMS’s.
• CAZE has announced the JADE Polish Rainbow Swarovski case, a crystallized version of its JADE Polish See-Thru for iPhone 3G and 3GS. JADE Polish is a See-Thru iPhone case featuring an Anti-Interference translucent coating. The crystallized version of Jade Polish adds more than 50 Swarovski crystals of different colors at the bottom of the case to form a beautiful rainbow pattern.
• Tactile Entertainment has unveiled their first title, an open-world pet sim called Pocket Creatures. A Pocket Creature is an interactive creature that inhabits an exotic island in your iPhone or iPod Touch. On this island you’ll find a variety of plants and animals to interact with and explore. As you discover new things to do, you will notice how it affects your creature’s unique abilities and its relationship with its surroundings. Pocket Creatures is about experimentation, exploration and discovery.
• Scosche Industries has announced the availability of its reviveLITE II. The second generation iPod/iPhone charger and nightlight has a smaller footprint than the original model and was redesigned to offer greater stability when plugged into an outlet. Scosche also added a USB Port to the reviveLITE II, so users can charge another USB powered device while powering up their iPod or iPhone.  Like the original reviveLITE, the new version provides travelers with a switchable LED nightlight to avoid stubbing a toe in an unfamiliar hotel room.
• PressOK Entertainment has announced that it is teaming up with Lima Sky, the independent development studio and publisher behind the massively popular Doodle Jump, to bring the game’s Doodler character to an upcoming free update for Finger Physics. The (in)famous Doodler will make his appearance within an entire free level pack for Finger Physics, with nine brand-new levels sure to challenge even the most veteran of index and middle fingers.
• Concrete Software, Inc., has announced the release of Nintaii 2 for the iPhone and iPod Touch to be sold in the iTunes App Store.  Nintaii 2, the follow-up to the popular game Nintaii, is a strategic puzzle game that includes 100 brand new levels with new features and obstacles for enjoyable and challenging game play.
• Booq has unveiled their latest accessory specifically for the iPad. Boa skin XS combines innovative design with vibrant colors to create stylish protection for Apple’s newest creation. Available at booqbags.com and retailers throughout the country, booq combines sophisticated design and functionality to deliver high-quality bags and cases for the next generation of ambitious professionals.
• New Potato Technologies, an innovator and developer of iPod and iPhone accessories, has introduced FLPRTM, a revolutionary new accessory and app that transforms iPhone and iPod touch into a universal remote control. FLPR lets users control multiple electronic devices, including televisions, cable and satellite boxes, stereo systems, lights, ceiling fans and just about anything else that uses an infrared remote control. Available this month from Best Buy stores nationwide, and online at http://www.newpotatotech.com, the revolutionary FLPR replaces a sea of remotes cluttering up the home.
• Davka Corporation has announced iBless Torah 1.0, a tutorial program for the iPhone and iPod touch that teaches the Torah and Haftarah blessings recited in the synagogue. iBless Torah displays the text in the original Hebrew and English transliteration on screen, and chants the text, highlighting each word as it is pronounced. Users can pause after each section, tap and listen again, or go forward to the next section.
• Humble Daisy has announced the latest release of its popular mobile recording tool, SonicPics 1.2 and its free counterpart SonicPics Lite 1.2. SonicPics is a tool for creating and narrating custom photo slide shows on the iPhone or iPod touch. It makes it easy to use images from the iPhone’s photo library or built in camera. The update includes a new image picker that makes it even easier to add images from the iPhone’s photo library.
• PhatWare Corporation has released WritePad 3.1 for iPhone and iPod touch. WritePad is a text editor that incorporates advanced handwriting recognition software for text entry. It allows users to enter text for cursive, print, or mixed handwriting styles. Version 3.1 includes a new option to hide toolbar in landscape screen orientation, display scroll buttons in handwriting mode, improved recognition of some special characters, as well as a new spell checker options and more.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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I was never very good at being a Goth. I felt silly wearing velvet in the summertime and I had too much of a sense of humor about things to ever get truly depressing. But even though I wasn't the poster girl for the morose and pale the world over, I did love the music, the literature, and even the eyeliner ... but one of the things I loved most of all was The Crow. So trust me when I say that you don't even want to get me started on the remake. I won't dwell on the bad news, though (see what I mean about not being cut out to be a Goth?), and instead today for Scenes (Songs) We Love, I decided to nominate The Cure's Burn from the soundtrack to Alex Proyas' supernatural action flick.

The legendary rock band was one of the inspirations for James O'Barr's graphic novel about a man returning from the grave to avenge the death of his true love, and Burn was written especially for the film adaptation. The song was used during the scene in which Eric suits up for the very first time in his leather outfit and harlequin makeup, and to this day when that scene comes on my hand automatically drifts to the remote to make the song just a little bit louder. Plus it isn't easy to look sexy when you're made up like a clown, and yet somehow Lee pulled it off -- but I'm getting a little off topic...

After the jump; bust out your eyeliner and a pack of Cloves, it's time to listen to The Cure...

Filed under: Action, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love

Continue reading Scenes (Songs) We Love: "Burn" from 'The Crow'

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Possible plotlines have been leaked online for Joe Johnston's superhero extravaganza. Do they read right to you? And who would you like to see slip into Steve Rogers's stars-and-stripes jumpsuit?

A lot is riding on the success of Joe Johnston's Captain America film for Marvel studios. For a start, the movie is intended to be a launchpad for at least one Avengers movie, bringing together Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, Iron Man, and The Hulk, as well as Steve Rogers himself. Its full title is The First Avenger: Captain America, and if it bombs at the box office, that's going to make taking things forward especially difficult for the comic book company's fledgling movie production arm.

Earlier this week, Latino Review reposted a Featurefilmcasting.com "synopsis" for the upcoming film, which is expected to start shooting in June. It will centre, as expected, on Rogers, Captain America's traditional alter-ego for almost all of the comic book's 69-year run.

The synopsis was later removed, apparently at Marvel's request, so we should perhaps take it with a pinch of salt, but nevertheless read as follows:

"Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected.

"Overhearing the boy's earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment … Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Soldier Serum and bombarded by "vita-rays".

"Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and as leader of the Avengers."

All of which sounds suitably close to the flavour of the original comic, although it looks likely that most of the movie will be set in the present day, rather than the 1940s, allowing Rogers to interact with other Marvel characters such as Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man and Ed Norton's The Hulk. Keen-eyed types will remember the segue in Iron Man in which Captain America's shield is seen in Tony Stark's workshop, as well as the deleted opening scene in The Incredible Hulk in which a figure is seen frozen in the arctic ice, along with that distinctive shield.

Add all that together and you've got a storyline in which Rogers is unfrozen, Austin Powers style, in 2010, following decades in suspended animation. Something very similar happened in the comic book series when Marvel decided to revive Captain America in the 1960s, and the storyline makes for a nice fish out of water set up, with the patriotic 40s icon having to adapt to life in modern day America.

Such a storyline would nicely sidestep the main issue with Captain America, which is that he is one of Marvel's hokiest and most antiquated characters, and one of the hardest to adapt into a persona that can appeal to 21st century audiences. Iron Man, which is by far the most successful of Marvel's outings as a studio (Spider-Man is still owned by Sony), never felt like a story based on a character that was originated more than 50 years ago, and although much of this is down to the fact that Downey Jr doesn't really do retro-kitsch, credit also has to be given to director Jon Favreau for playing up the extremely current arms race politics angle of the comic book without coming over at all gung-ho. Captain America will need to do something similar if it's to avoid its slighty corny roots.

So far, it looks like a relative unknown will be getting the chance to play Rogers, which might well be for the best. Of those said to be in the running, I only recognise the name John Krasinski, aka Jim Halpert in the US version of The Office. Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Scott Porter, Mike Vogel (Cloverfield), Michael Cassidy (Smallville), and Patrick Flueger are reportedly the other names in the frame.

What are your thoughts on Captain America? Do you agree that the character needs an intelligent, considered updating if Steve Rogers is to make any sense in the new millennium? Or would you rather see a retro take? And who should play Rogers himself?

Girl Comics Issue #1, a collection of comics written, stenciled, and illustrated completely by women, hit stores yesterday. It's one of three anthologies to be released this year by Marvel Comics. It's actually part of a year-long project of "Marvel Women," celebrating female characters and creators alike of one of the top comics publishers. Other projects will include publishing one-shots (single issues with a complete story line) of lesser-known but well-deserving female superheroes, and Marvel's Young Guns and Write Stuff programs, which throughout the year externally promote up-and-coming young illustrators and writers, respectively, will feature all women this time around.

The initial announcement of Girl Comics last December inspired waves of discussion across the ocean of interwebs. Message boards from The Beat to personal LiveJournal accounts were abuzz with cries that ranged from celebration to ghettoization. The link aggregator When Fangirls Attack devoted entire days to wrangling responses.

Outcry was understandable. Comics have traditionally, and most erroneously, been thought of as strictly for the boys. To some, "Marvel Women" seemed like a drastic cop-out: Why not just incorporate women artists and writers in regular Marvel work? Doesn't this further marginalize their work from the mainstream? And that name! Even though it's a throwback to the weepy comics of the fifties, it comes off as pretty patronizing, and seems to reinforce the idea that any comics made by women automatically make them for women only, as if male buyers couldn't appreciate the artwork of Amanda Conner (who inked the cover above), or that special comics had to be made for the fairer sex.

But many fans were excited for such a quality collection. The estimable Laura Hudson, editor-in-chief of the blog Comics Alliance, in an earlier discussion of Girl Comics, expressed enthusiasm, rather than hesitation over the project. "Some of the women on that list are actually my favorite creators ever, not because they're women but because they are awesome, and I am thrilled to see them getting more exposure." Similar sentiments were echoed from Annie Harrigan, former host of the award-winning KJHK comics talk show “The Panel”: “I think that it's fantastic that women creators are getting a chance to really own a book, start to finish, and [the one-shots] are a cool idea, because the ladies are often the decoration in X-Men stories. But I hope that what the writers deem important for these issues is telling a good story, not excessive shots of the ladies undressing or traipsing around in a tank top and underwear. It'd be great to see these specials invite women readers into the canon, not repel them.”

Interviews with series creators and contributors also helped illuminate the motivations behind the series. Artist Laura Martin, whose work appears in Girl Comics #1 shed some light on gender relations in the major comics industry with The Beat (emphasis mine):

I’m wracking my brain for when I last colored something drawn by a female penciler, and I think it might have been in the late ’90s when Joyce Chin and I paired up on a portrait of Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager for a gaming magazine. And that wasn’t even comics. I have colored a few things inked by Rachel Dodson, and I’ve worked with several female writers (most notably Jen Van Meter on Black Lightning), but that’s pretty much it. Why? Because I am in the superhero clubhouse. Not just the superhero clubhouse, but the big-numbers, hot-selling, VERY male-centric super-superhero clubhouse. Women creators do not often cross trajectories with this particular clubhouse, either by choice or circumstance — so hell yeah, I’m *thrilled* to color Amanda Conner. I hope I get to do it again. I hope I get to participate in this project more than just this one cover, because I’d be working with new-to-me artists, and that’s ALWAYS awesome to me.

Earlier this week Laura Hudson hashed out the controversy--hopefully once and for all--of Girl Comics in a recent interview with its editors--Marvel's Jeanine Schaefer, Lauren Sankovitch, Sana Amanat, and Rachel Pinnelas. The editors respond to the series' name (Jeanine Schaefer: Yes, let's call it "Women Being Proper and Making Comics Professionally as a Business Comics." Or "Businesswomen Publications"), the sexualization of female characters (Sana Amanat: I've noticed that when women draw – you don't see that ridiculousness, but you do see sexiness), and the marketing "girl comics" to the masses (Laura Hudson: That's funny, I'm pretty sure I've been buying mainstream comics for the last 15 years that weren't marketed towards me). Comics Alliance is actually having its own "Girl Week" (discuss amongst yourself) featuring an interview with Kathryn Immonen, creator of the new superheroine series Heralds, and top ten lists of "The Best and Worst Super-Heriones in Comics" (debatable) and the "Worst Female Action Figures Ever" (way less debatable).

Personally, I'm excited to pick up a copy of Girl Comics, the first of which features contributions from Trina Robbins, Laura Martin, Amanda Conner, Colleen Coover, Mind Doyle, Lucy Knisley, and more. How Marvel ends up promoting its female contributors and characters and diversifying its publications after this year remains to be seen.

Further reading:
Exclusive: Marvel Announces Girl Comics [The Beat]
Girl Comics: Will we ever, ever learn? [The Beat]
Girl Comics #2 Cover Debut - EXCLUSIVE [Comics Alliance]
The Lady Editors of Marvel Talk 'Girl Comics' [Comics Alliance]

March 3

Bob Mould
Except for Hüsker Dü and his DJ/club alter-ego Blowoff, I’ve seen singer-guitarist Bob Mould live in virtually all of his musical incarnations—solo electric (at JC Dobbs circa 1990’s Black Sheets of Rain), solo acoustic with his ’90s
alt-rock trio Sugar, and, lately, with his Bob Mould Band, a blistering combo that includes Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. Without fail they’ve all been incredible shows, even if his recorded output over the past couple decades has been hit-or-miss. Fortunately, Mould’s recent Life and Times is one of his better solo offerings. Whether or not he brings a backing band tonight, he’ll most certainly play a career-spanning set that includes plenty of Hüsker classics. -Michael Alan Goldberg

8pm. $25-$35. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles is the godfather of black cinema, and is still pushing his creative limits even as he pushes 78-years-old. The director of 1971’s swaggeringly awesome Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song returns to Philly this week to promote his first graphic novel. It’s an illustrated retelling of his last film, Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha, the tale of an over-sexed ghetto Odysseus in search of love in all the wrong places. And with it, Peebles adds “illustrator” to his insane litany of roles—director, actor, Broadway producer, musician and novelist (in two languages). If there was a white artist as important, unclassifiable and uncompromising as this still making great stuff in his eighth decade, he’d be blown nightly
on Charlie Rose. But no fear: You get to hear
the man speak uncensored at the closing ceremony for Temple’s Oscar Micheaux Film Festival, chatting about whatever he damn pleases. -Tom Cowell

6pm. Free. Ritter Hall, Temple University, N. 13th St. and W. Montgomery Ave. omfilmfestival.com

Taryn Simon
Taryn Simon has seen shit you wouldn’t even believe. For her 2007 project, “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar,” The New York Times Magazine photog and Guggenheim fellow talked her way into a variety of top-secret, peeping previously unseen items, including the cryopreservation unit holding the bodies of the mother and first wife of cryonics pioneer, Robert Ettinger, as well as a Braille issue of Playboy created by the National Archives (it seems some folks really do read it just for the articles). Her quietly courageous works, which range from quirky and fun to deadly serious and sad, confront the divide between those with and without the privilege of access. Simon speaks tonight at the College of Physicians where she’ll show slides from her project. Hang out afterward for a reception and hope some of her creativity rubs off on you. -Erica Palan

6:30pm. Free. College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 S. 22nd St. 215.563.3737. collegeofphysicians.org

March 4

Sondre Lerche
Armed with instantly catchy acoustic and electric guitar melodies and thoughtful lyrics, 27-year-old Norwegian sensation Sondre Lerche is certainly easy on the ears. “Wait till you hear the refrain on my Heartbeat Radio,” he emanates on the ultra-fun title track on his most recent album. There’s no denying Lerche’s flair for the infectious chorus hook, but there’s a certain freshness in his evolved, varied vocal phrasing and instrumentation that often includes an assortment of strings, horns and keys behind his exuberant guitars. Some of Lerche’s finest songwriting came back in 2007 on the acoustic-heavy Dan In Real Life soundtrack, most notably on the yearning masterpiece “My Hands Are Shaking.” -Kevin Brosky

9pm. $20. With JBM. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Stories Behind the Species: Animals at Risk
Mass extinctions have happened from time to time (ever hear of dinosaurs?), but the elevated rates of extinction (100 to 1,000 times higher than the anticipated natural rate) we’re seeing these days, are, for the first time in history, our fault. We’re really screwing the pooch right now, and soon we’re going to kill it and all the pooches like it. Saint Joseph’s University biology professor Dr. Scott McRobert’s lecture, then, may serve two purposes. His discussion of the current causes of extinction and threats to animals and ecosystems should be a warning for Homo sapiens to treat the rest of the animal kingdom (and don’t forget plants!) a little better. McRobert is bringing along some endangered animals from his lab, which might be the last chance to see them in the flesh if we don’t shape up. -M.S.

5:30pm. Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 W. Montgomery Ave. 215.763.6529. wagnerfreeinstitute.org

March 5

RJD2
Under the banner of his own just-established label, RJ’s Electrical Connections, Philly DJ/producer supreme RJD2—the man behind the Mad Men theme—is back with his fourth proper LP, The Colossus. It’s a “career overview” of sorts—filled with killer breakbeats, horn-heavy heist-flick grooves, darkly textured hip-hop, psychedelic pop and more. With a full band in tow and a few gadgets at the ready (including a rotating belt sampler/sequencer thingy he recently showed us), RJ’s well able to inject spirit and spontaneity into tunes old and new in the live setting, certainly better than most beatmakers and turntablists out there. -M.A.G.

8pm. $15. With Break Science + Happy Chichester. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Indie Comic Release Party
Local cartoonist Box Brown stops by Brave New Worlds to celebrate the release of his new book, Everything Dies, a six-part comic anthology about the ongoing struggle between man and his maker. Brown chronicles the lives of battered disciples throughout history, from the Alpha to the Omega and Job’s countless trials between. Both here and in his regularly syndicated web comic Bellen!, Brown plucks simple truths from everyday chaos and anxiety. Charles Schulz famously equated happiness to a warm puppy. For Brown, a cat sprawled on his desk might inspire existentialist insight or profound ennui. But like agonizing over a Buddhist koan for the better part of an afternoon, it’s all good grief in the end. These are pure comics, simple gestures with a lot to say. Brown’s original artwork will remain on display in the Brave New Worlds lobby through March.  -Paul F. Montgomery

6-9pm. Free. Brave New Worlds, 45 N. Second St. 215.925.6525. bravenewworldscomics.com

March 6

Justin Townes Earle + Joe Pug
Nashville country-folk crooner Justin Townes Earle sings of deep heartache (“Ain’t been the same since I lost my pretty Angeline”) in his distinctivly deep drawl. Earle’s intimate acoustic ballads float sweetly through the air, making for a good late-night soundtrack that would please both his dad (Steve Earle) and namesake (Townes Van Zandt). Folkster Joe Pug’s “Hymn 101” is a masterful acoustic ode even Dylan could appreciate. "And I've come to be untroubled in my seaking/And I've come to see that nothing is for naught/I've come to reach out blind/To reach forward and behind/For the more I seek, the more I'm sought," he sings. Both songwriters make the occasional use of the swelling country slide guitar and stick true to their roots. -Kevin Brosky

9pm. $12. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Red Bowl 2010
You’re a victimized biker, succumbed to the irrational road rage of bike-lane-parking, no-turn-signaling, ignorant-door-opening drivers. What to do? Smash their windshield with a bowling ball, of course. Sure, the officials behind this Bicycle Coalition fundraiser might not be able to officially sanction what you do with the 10-pounders once you get outside. But we’ll certainly look the other way if the balls go flying. Should you choose to remain inside and display your bike pride more peacefully, admission gets you free bowling all afternoon, music, raffle tickets and more. Drivers may be cocky when they’re surrounded by two tons of steel, but let’s see how they feel when we take them out of their vehicles, array them in rows and send bikers toward them at top speed. Strike! -Jeffrey Barg

2-6pm. $10-$15. North Bowl, 909 N. Second St. 215.238.2695. bicyclecoalition.org/redbowlmusic

March 7

Chuck Prophet
A perennial entry on the “best overlooked” lists, Chuck Prophet—singer, guitar slinger and former Green on Red frontman—has now released 11 solo albums and collaborated with Americana greats Lucinda Williams, Jim Dickinson and Alejandro Escovedo. His latest effort, Let Freedom Ring!, was recorded in Mexico City at the height of the H1N1 frenzy
in an Eisenhower-era studio with longtime
collaborators Tom Ayres, Rusty Miller and Boom Carter. Christgau gave the disc an honorable mention and observed, “Things
are so bad out there that the Amerindie old-timer ups and writes ‘political songs for nonpolitical people.’” About time someone did. -Jennifer Kelly

7:30pm. $19.50. With John Francis. Sellersville Theater. Main and Temple sts., Sellersville. 215.257.5808. st94.com

March 8

WOMEN: An International Women’s Day Exhibition
Leave it to America to try to overshadow a worldwide attempt to do something good. March 8—that’s International Women’s Day to you, buddy—was first observed in 1909. Seventy-two years later, Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women’s History Week and six years after that, white dudes in suits extended the celebration for the entire month of March. We’ll leave the anti-American preaching at the door, though, and give you the deets on a great way to honor women and support local arts. International House hosts a weeklong exhibit—which kicks off with a reception tonight—featuring work from members of the Women’s Caucus for Art’s Philly chapter. Peep pieces by local artists, including Bonnie MacAllister, Marcelle Pachnowski, Sonia Sherrod and Michelle Wilson. The exhibit is presented in conjunction with One Book, One Philadelphia, so if you haven’t done your required city reading, now’s the time to dust off your copy of Persepolis. -E.P.

7pm. Free. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.387.5125. ihousephilly.org

March 9

Washed Out + Small Black
New kid on the blog Washed Out (Ernest Greene from Georgia) has been riding the new wave of acts to watch with his drowsy bedroom pop since the September release of his EP Life of Leisure. Backing him live is his veritable Siamese twin, Brooklyn’s Small Black, whose danceable lo-fi sound takes little from their namesake. The two recently overlapped one another on a remix album, and this should make for an interestingly collaborative performance—Greene’s layering of warm synths and woozy vocals (his first cassette-only EP was appropriately titled High Times) over '80s-throwback beats, they’ll bring a hazy summer sound to Philly when we need it most. -Ellen Freeman

7pm. $10. With Pictureplane. Barbary, 951 Frankford Ave. 215.634.7400. r5productions.com

Pierced Arrows
Back in 2006, then-58-year-old singer-guitarist Fred Cole and his wife of more than 40 years, bassist Toody Cole, decided to end Dead Moon—the long-running, cult Pacific Northwest garage-punk outfit with country-rock overtones that had influenced (and been revered by) many a rocker over the past couple decades. But after a few months retired from the rock ’n’ roll life, the Coles (like Brett Favre) got the itch to play again, and formed Pierced Arrows along with drummer dude Kelly Halliburton. The result? A raw, gritty, punkish, sometimes bluesy, and soulful attack not far removed from the Dead Moon sound. A wonderful thing, indeed—long may the Coles roam. -M.A.G.

8pm. $10. With Lullaby Arkestra + Love City. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. kungfunecktie.com

Le Rue des Faux
The Azuka Theatre continues their 10th-anniversary celebration with a staged reading of the company’s inaugural show Le Rue des Faux. Adapted by Azuka’s founder Raelle Myrick-Hodges from James Baldwin’s celebrated novel Giovanni’s Room, the play debuted in 1999 under Myrick-Hodges perceptive direction.  Now the artistic director of the much-talked-about BRAVA Theater in San Francisco, Myrick-Hodges returns to Philly to direct the reading. In the play, David, engaged to a woman, grapples with his homosexuality and in particular his attraction to the handsome Giovanni. A fluid, poetic work that immediately established Azuka as one of the area’s most enterprising companies, the reading boasts an impressive cast of Azuka vets including Tyler Melchior and current Azuka producing director Kevin Glaccum, who are reprising their fine performances as the boy-loving Jacques (Melchior) and the deliciously wicked Guillaume (Glaccum). -J. Cooper Robb

7pm. Free. Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St. 215.733.0255. azukatheatre.org


Anti-Bestiality Educational Awareness Outreach Charity Mixer and Heavy Metal Dance Party
Every so often a press release arrives that is just too bizarro to keep to ourselves. Some gems from this one: “While millions of Americans take pleasure from there [sic] pets, an alarming and growing number take pleasure—from their pets ... The Video Circus is getting out the word through joyous fun, happy laughter and psychotic mayhem ... Head to Bob & Barbara’s for a wholesome evening of burlesque girls, drag queens, demented DJs and more ... Free admission to anyone wearing clown makeup or animal costumes.” Not convinced? Try this tidbit from the organizers’ website: “Free cold hotdogs on a stick to the first 25 stamped people at the door.” After briefly considering that this could be a hoax, we searched for their email address, which was accompanied by the line, “NO! IT’S NOT A JOKE.” We’re still not convinced, but even if we fell for this elaborate scam, a night at Bob & Barbara’s ain’t the worst way to spend a Tuesday evening. -E.P.

10pm. $3. Bob & Barbara’s, 1509 South St. 215.545.4511. myspace.com/bobandbarbaras

Jenny OwensYoungs
Waifish, long-haired, her delicate face fringed with bangs, Jenny Owen Youngs looks like a folk-rock ingénue. Graceful at a whisper, she can insinuate vulnerability, as in the scratchy, touchy lead-in to last year’s “Clean Break.” Give the girl a guitar, though, and stand back. She’s a rocker apt to let loose with a primal, country wail, or coax a withering blues run out of her guitar. Late in the show, she’ll head for the covers—an oddball mash-up of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and Nelly’s “Hot in Here” for one, and possibly, nods to pop divas Kelly Clarkson and Beyoncé. -J.K.

9pm. $10. With Bess Rogers + Allison Weiss. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Lots of book news this week…most of it has to do with the graphics, but here's one from Penguin:

New Penguin Inks Series (From EW's Shelf Life)

Tattoos aren’t always the product of a good decision. That cursive text on your left bicep might look like the name of your ex-girlfriend, but what it really spells is “regret.” And imagine how you’ll feel at 60 when you look in the mirror and see Dr. Evil staring back at you from your chest. However, Penguin Books upcoming “Penguin Inks” series, in which the publisher commissioned tattoo artists and illustrators to re-imagine the covers of six modern classics in the style of body art is actually pretty inspired. And the resulting designs are pretty cool.

There are some recurring tattoo tropes (mainly women and roses), but each of the images remains distinct, from a serene and detailed portrait for J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians to an appropriately vulgar farrago of sailor-arm art for Martin Amis’ Money. And the choice to include Keri Hulme’s The Bone People in this project makes sense, considering the book’s Maori themes. The new editions are set to art up bookshelves this June.

Do you like the tattooed look? Does it depend on how you feel about the six novels themselves, or do you tend not to judge a cover by its book?

Check the link to see some examples. I think pal Nicole Peeler's covers are very much tat art, how about you?






As you know, one of my favorite authors, Robert B. Parker passed away. Here is the eulogy given by his son Robert during the memorial service. I think RBP would have been proud.


Now, into the world of comics:

From Shelf Awareness and The Washington Post




A mint-condition copy of the rare Action Comics No. 1 sold for $1 million in a deal between a private collector and buyer that was brokered by Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner and COO of the ComicConnect.com and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles, the Washington Post reported. The comic, published in 1938, was the first to feature Superman.



"The person who bought it is an avid Superman fan and was extremely excited to get it," Zurzolo said, adding, "This sale is groundbreaking. It changes the game for comic-investment collectibles.... As a collectible and an investment, comic books have trailed behind other categories. This sale is putting us into a similar playing field as even rare gemstones and antiques."


Then, a mere three days later a Batman comic book sold at auction for about $1,075.500.



Again from the Post : Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas reports that a rare copy of Detective Comics No. 27 from 1939 -- in which "The Batman" made his debut -- sold for a record-setting $1,075,500.

"It really has an amazing appearance," says Lon Allen, sales director for Heritage's comic books division. "The bright yellows with Batman swooping in -- you can really tell it was stored properly from the beginning."

There are only between 100 and 200 copies of Detective Comics No. 27 in existence, Allen says, and perhaps none in such "very fine" condition. In 1939, the comic sold for 10 cents; the consignor bought the book in the '60s for $100.

See, Mario, what might happen to yours one day? In fact, I asked how we might preorder Mario’s Killing the Cobra: Chinatown Trollop and here’s what Chris Ryall, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing, had to say:

You can pre-order at any comic book store, using the Previews catalog they have there (or just telling the retailer to order and hold a copy for you). We'll also be selling the book through the IDW site after it's in stores in case there are no comic book stores nearby.



Then, in still more comic news, along with the preview of Jackie Kessler’s Tales of the Vampires, Part 2, Dark Horse did an interview with Jackie that you can read here .

And last but certainly not least:

From Bluewater Comics:



It's the rare author who achieves superstar status. Stephen King, Anne Rice, Tom Clancy, John Grisham and J.K. Rowling may be household names. But for every one of them, there are hundreds of struggling writers who watch as their masterpieces never make it anywhere near the New York Times' bestseller list.

For most of the more than 20 years that Charlaine Harris has spent writing mysteries, she fit squarely into that later category. She had her fans, but she was nowhere near a household name. Then she created a character called Sookie Stackhouse, and everything changed.

Sookie Stackhouse is now the featured character on HBO's hit southern gothic vampire series True Blood. And Harris, who will release her 10th Sookie Stackhouse book this summer, is finally one of those household names.

This May, Harris will also star in her first comic book, as the subject of Bluewater Productions' latest entry in its popular Female Force line of biographical comics. Harris herself participated in Female Force: Charlaine Harris, granting extensive interviews to writer Kim Sherman. This marks an important first for Bluewater: Harris is the first celebrity to be interviewed for the Female Force series.

Full article here

For the record, Charlaine has always been a Female Force in my book. She was the first professional to give me words of encouragement and I'll be forever grateful.

Check out this bookish work of art: an octagonal building made out of books that is located at Modern Art Center in Lisbon, Portugal. Thanks to inhabitat.com .


My question: what do you do if you want to read a book on the bottom?

A book trailer that shows just what money buys you—

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter




From Shelf Awareness and Deadline Hollywood

A feature-length film adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is also in the works. Deadline Hollywood reported that directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov have acquired the rights to produce a movie version of the mash-up. They "used their own money for the option and haven’t involved a studio yet."


Who has read the book and what do you think?




Vook is offering a free download of a the new Anne Rice story: The Master of Rampling Gate. Click here for the story and to view the trailer.

Mario’s Werewolf Smackdown is on sale now!!! Remember, Sunday he will be at the Broadway Book Mall, 200 So. Broadway at 3 PM.

I’m hoping by next Thursday I’ll have the cover for Chosen to share with you. It’s stlll undergoing some editorial review. Stay tuned…

If you're a comics fan, what's your favorite?

BOB MOULD
Except for Hüsker Dü and his DJ/club alter-ego Blowoff, I’ve seen singer-guitarist Bob Mould live in virtually all of his musical incarnations—solo electric (at JC Dobbs circa 1990’s Black Sheets of Rain), solo acoustic with his ’90s
alt-rock trio Sugar, and, lately, with his Bob Mould Band, a blistering combo that includes Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. Without fail they’ve all been incredible shows, even if his recorded output over the past couple decades has been hit-or-miss. Fortunately, Mould’s recent Life and Times is one of his better solo offerings. Whether or not he brings a backing band tonight, he’ll most certainly play a career-spanning set that includes plenty of Hüsker classics. -Michael Alan Goldberg

8pm. $25-$35. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

Melvin Van peebles
Melvin Van Peebles is the godfather of black cinema, and is still pushing his creative limits even as he pushes 78-years-old. The director of 1971’s swaggeringly awesome Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song returns to Philly this week to promote his first graphic novel. It’s an illustrated retelling of his last film, Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha, the tale of an over-sexed ghetto Odysseus in search of love in all the wrong places. And with it, Peebles adds “illustrator” to his insane litany of roles—director, actor, Broadway producer, musician and novelist (in two languages). If there was a white artist as important, unclassifiable and uncompromising as this still making great stuff in his eighth decade, he’d be blown nightly
on Charlie Rose. But no fear: You get to hear
the man speak uncensored at the closing ceremony for Temple’s Oscar Micheaux Film Festival, chatting about whatever he damn pleases. -Tom Cowell

6pm. Free. Ritter Hall, Temple University, N. 13th St. and W. Montgomery Ave. omfilmfestival.com

taryn simon
Taryn Simon has seen shit you wouldn’t even believe. For her 2007 project, “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar,” The New York Times Magazine photog and Guggenheim fellow talked her way into a variety of top-secret, peeping previously unseen items, including the cryopreservation unit holding the bodies of the mother and first wife of cryonics pioneer, Robert Ettinger, as well as a Braille issue of Playboy created by the National Archives (it seems some folks really do read it just for the articles). Her quietly courageous works, which range from quirky and fun to deadly serious and sad, confront the divide between those with and without the privilege of access. Simon speaks tonight at the College of Physicians where she’ll show slides from her project. Hang out afterward for a reception and hope some of her creativity rubs off on you. -Erica Palan

6:30pm. Free. College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 S. 22nd St. 215.563.3737. collegeofphysicians.org

Sondre Lerche
Armed with instantly catchy acoustic and electric guitar melodies and thoughtful lyrics, 27-year-old Norwegian sensation Sondre Lerche is certainly easy on the ears. “Wait till you hear the refrain on my Heartbeat Radio,” he emanates on the ultra-fun title track on his most recent album. There’s no denying Lerche’s flair for the infectious chorus hook, but there’s a certain freshness in his evolved, varied vocal phrasing and instrumentation that often includes an assortment of strings, horns and keys behind his exuberant guitars. Some of Lerche’s finest songwriting came back in 2007 on the acoustic-heavy Dan In Real Life soundtrack, most notably on the yearning masterpiece “My Hands Are Shaking.” -Kevin Brosky

9pm. $20. With JBM. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Stories Behind the Species: Animals at Risk
Mass extinctions have happened from time to time (ever hear of dinosaurs?), but the elevated rates of extinction (100 to 1,000 times higher than the anticipated natural rate) we’re seeing these days, are, for the first time in history, our fault. We’re really screwing the pooch right now, and soon we’re going to kill it and all the pooches like it. Saint Joseph’s University biology professor Dr. Scott McRobert’s lecture, then, may serve two purposes. His discussion of the current causes of extinction and threats to animals and ecosystems should be a warning for Homo sapiens to treat the rest of the animal kingdom (and don’t forget plants!) a little better. McRobert is bringing along some endangered animals from his lab, which might be the last chance to see them in the flesh if we don’t shape up. -M.S.

5:30pm. Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 W. Montgomery Ave. 215.763.6529. wagnerfreeinstitute.org

RJD2
Under the banner of his own just-established label, RJ’s Electrical Connections, Philly DJ/producer supreme RJD2—the man behind the Mad Men theme—is back with his fourth proper LP, The Colossus. It’s a “career overview” of sorts—filled with killer breakbeats, horn-heavy heist-flick grooves, darkly textured hip-hop, psychedelic pop and more. With a full band in tow and a few gadgets at the ready (including a rotating belt sampler/sequencer thingy he recently showed us), RJ’s well able to inject spirit and spontaneity into tunes old and new in the live setting, certainly better than most beatmakers and turntablists out there. -M.A.G.

8pm. $15. With Break Science + Happy Chichester. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Indie Comic Release Party
Local cartoonist Box Brown stops by Brave New Worlds to celebrate the release of his new book, Everything Dies, a six-part comic anthology about the ongoing struggle between man and his maker. Brown chronicles the lives of battered disciples throughout history, from the Alpha to the Omega and Job’s countless trials between. Both here and in his regularly syndicated web comic Bellen!, Brown plucks simple truths from everyday chaos and anxiety. Charles Schulz famously equated happiness to a warm puppy. For Brown, a cat sprawled on his desk might inspire existentialist insight or profound ennui. But like agonizing over a Buddhist koan for the better part of an afternoon, it’s all good grief in the end. These are pure comics, simple gestures with a lot to say. Brown’s original artwork will remain on display in the Brave New Worlds lobby through March.  -Paul F. Montgomery

6-9pm. Free. Brave New Worlds, 45 N. Second St. 215.925.6525. bravenewworldscomics.com

Justin Townes Earle + Joe Pug
Nashville country-folk crooner Justin Townes Earle sings of deep heartache (“Ain’t been the same since I lost my pretty Angeline”) in his distinctivly deep drawl. Earle’s intimate acoustic ballads float sweetly through the air, making for a good late-night soundtrack that would please both his dad (Steve Earle) and namesake (Townes Van Zandt). Folkster Joe Pug’s “Hymn 101” is a masterful acoustic ode even Dylan could appreciate. "And I've come to be untroubled in my seaking/And I've come to see that nothing is for naught/I've come to reach out blind/To reach forward and behind/For the more I seek, the more I'm sought," he sings. Both songwriters make the occasional use of the swelling country slide guitar and stick true to their roots. -Kevin Brosky

9pm. $12. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Red Bowl 2010
You’re a victimized biker, succumbed to the irrational road rage of bike-lane-parking, no-turn-signaling, ignorant-door-opening drivers. What to do? Smash their windshield with a bowling ball, of course. Sure, the officials behind this Bicycle Coalition fundraiser might not be able to officially sanction what you do with the 10-pounders once you get outside. But we’ll certainly look the other way if the balls go flying. Should you choose to remain inside and display your bike pride more peacefully, admission gets you free bowling all afternoon, music, raffle tickets and more. Drivers may be cocky when they’re surrounded by two tons of steel, but let’s see how they feel when we take them out of their vehicles, array them in rows and send bikers toward them at top speed. Strike! -Jeffrey Barg

2-6pm. $10-$15. North Bowl, 909 N. Second St. 215.238.2695. bicyclecoalition.org/redbowlmusic

Chuck Prophet
A perennial entry on the “best overlooked” lists, Chuck Prophet—singer, guitar slinger and former Green on Red frontman—has now released 11 solo albums and collaborated with Americana greats Lucinda Williams, Jim Dickinson and Alejandro Escovedo. His latest effort, Let Freedom Ring!, was recorded in Mexico City at the height of the H1N1 frenzy
in an Eisenhower-era studio with longtime
collaborators Tom Ayres, Rusty Miller and Boom Carter. Christgau gave the disc an honorable mention and observed, “Things
are so bad out there that the Amerindie old-timer ups and writes ‘political songs for nonpolitical people.’” About time someone did. -Jennifer Kelly

7:30pm. $19.50. With John Francis. Sellersville Theater. Main and Temple sts., Sellersville. 215.257.5808. st94.com

WOMEN: An International Women’s Day Exhibition
Leave it to America to try to overshadow a worldwide attempt to do something good. March 8—that’s International Women’s Day to you, buddy—was first observed in 1909. Seventy-two years later, Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women’s History Week and six years after that, white dudes in suits extended the celebration for the entire month of March. We’ll leave the anti-American preaching at the door, though, and give you the deets on a great way to honor women and support local arts. International House hosts a weeklong exhibit—which kicks off with a reception tonight—featuring work from members of the Women’s Caucus for Art’s Philly chapter. Peep pieces by local artists, including Bonnie MacAllister, Marcelle Pachnowski, Sonia Sherrod and Michelle Wilson. The exhibit is presented in conjunction with One Book, One Philadelphia, so if you haven’t done your required city reading, now’s the time to dust off your copy of Persepolis. -E.P.

7pm. Free. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.387.5125. ihousephilly.org


Washed Out + Small Black
New kid on the blog Washed Out (Ernest Greene from Georgia) has been riding the new wave of acts to watch with his drowsy bedroom pop since the September release of his EP Life of Leisure. Backing him live is his veritable Siamese twin, Brooklyn’s Small Black, whose danceable lo-fi sound takes little from their namesake. The two recently overlapped one another on a remix album, and this should make for an interestingly collaborative performance—Greene’s layering of warm synths and woozy vocals (his first cassette-only EP was appropriately titled High Times) over '80s-throwback beats, they’ll bring a hazy summer sound to Philly when we need it most. -Ellen Freeman

7pm. $10. With Pictureplane. Barbary, 951 Frankford Ave. 215.634.7400. r5productions.com

PIERCED ARROWS
Back in 2006, then-58-year-old singer-guitarist Fred Cole and his wife of more than 40 years, bassist Toody Cole, decided to end Dead Moon—the long-running, cult Pacific Northwest garage-punk outfit with country-rock overtones that had influenced (and been revered by) many a rocker over the past couple decades. But after a few months retired from the rock ’n’ roll life, the Coles (like Brett Favre) got the itch to play again, and formed Pierced Arrows along with drummer dude Kelly Halliburton. The result? A raw, gritty, punkish, sometimes bluesy, and soulful attack not far removed from the Dead Moon sound. A wonderful thing, indeed—long may the Coles roam. -M.A.G.

8pm. $10. With Lullaby Arkestra + Love City. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. kungfunecktie.com

Le Rue des Faux
The Azuka Theatre continues their 10th-anniversary celebration with a staged reading of the company’s inaugural show Le Rue des Faux. Adapted by Azuka’s founder Raelle Myrick-Hodges from James Baldwin’s celebrated novel Giovanni’s Room, the play debuted in 1999 under Myrick-Hodges perceptive direction.  Now the artistic director of the much-talked-about BRAVA Theater in San Francisco, Myrick-Hodges returns to Philly to direct the reading. In the play, David, engaged to a woman, grapples with his homosexuality and in particular his attraction to the handsome Giovanni. A fluid, poetic work that immediately established Azuka as one of the area’s most enterprising companies, the reading boasts an impressive cast of Azuka vets including Tyler Melchior and current Azuka producing director Kevin Glaccum, who are reprising their fine performances as the boy-loving Jacques (Melchior) and the deliciously wicked Guillaume (Glaccum). -J. Cooper Robb

7pm. Free. Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St. 215.733.0255. azukatheatre.org


Anti-Bestiality Educational Awareness Outreach Charity Mixer and Heavy Metal Dance Party
Every so often a press release arrives that is just too bizarro to keep to ourselves. Some gems from this one: “While millions of Americans take pleasure from there [sic] pets, an alarming and growing number take pleasure—from their pets ... The Video Circus is getting out the word through joyous fun, happy laughter and psychotic mayhem ... Head to Bob & Barbara’s for a wholesome evening of burlesque girls, drag queens, demented DJs and more ... Free admission to anyone wearing clown makeup or animal costumes.” Not convinced? Try this tidbit from the organizers’ website: “Free cold hotdogs on a stick to the first 25 stamped people at the door.” After briefly considering that this could be a hoax, we searched for their email address, which was accompanied by the line, “NO! IT’S NOT A JOKE.” We’re still not convinced, but even if we fell for this elaborate scam, a night at Bob & Barbara’s ain’t the worst way to spend a Tuesday evening. -E.P.

10pm. $3. Bob & Barbara’s, 1509 South St. 215.545.4511. myspace.com/bobandbarbaras

Jenny Owen YoungS
Waifish, long-haired, her delicate face fringed with bangs, Jenny Owen Youngs looks like a folk-rock ingénue. Graceful at a whisper, she can insinuate vulnerability, as in the scratchy, touchy lead-in to last year’s “Clean Break.” Give the girl a guitar, though, and stand back. She’s a rocker apt to let loose with a primal, country wail, or coax a withering blues run out of her guitar. Late in the show, she’ll head for the covers—an oddball mash-up of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and Nelly’s “Hot in Here” for one, and possibly, nods to pop divas Kelly Clarkson and Beyoncé. -J.K.

9pm. $10. With Bess Rogers + Allison Weiss. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

He’s half of nerd rock duo Kirby Krackle, owns Comic Stop comic book stores and is the organizer of Emerald City Comic Con (March 13-14 in Seattle—tickets still available!) Say Zing! Pow! To technogreek!

trixie360: What’s the story behind your gamertag?

photo by Dan Bates

technogreek: I'm totally a geek and love technology, but I'm Greek, so at some point in the past I thought of using making it 'technogreek'  instead of 'technogeek', I use it for e-mail, twitter, etc. so it was natural for my gamertag.

trixie360: Where do you live?

technogreek: I live just north of Seattle in Mountlake Terrace.

trixie360: What do you do for a living?

technogreek: I'm the organizer of the Emerald City ComiCon, part of the nerd rock band duo Kirby Krackle  and also the co-owner of the largest chain of comic book stores in Washington called The Comic Stop.

 

trixie360: You have pretty much all the cool jobs in the world! What’s the worst or weirdest job you’ve ever had?

technogreek: Growing up, my parents were restaurateurs, so I’ve done pretty much every job you can imagine inside a restaurant. The worst was dishwasher, this was over a decade ago and I left work every day feeling super grimy.

The weirdest job is not really weird, but looking back on it I find odd, which was handing out flyers at a mall for on-the-spot chiropractor services. I just feel you might want to do a bit more research before you let some random guy in the mall pop your spine…

trixie360: How long have you been on Xbox LIVE?

technogreek: I think I’ve been on for about two years now.

trixie360: Do you have an arch enemy on Xbox LIVE, and if so, who?

technogreek: I’d have to say mechachrome, he’s a buddy of mine who is basically awesome at every game he plays. I have suffered more head-related ballistic impacts thanks to him than I can count.

trixie360: What’s your Xbox set-up like?

technogreek: I have a 52" Sony TV, an older one so it’s got the big built-in speakers on the bottom – rear projection, so it’s about a foot deep and like 5’ tall. I have a stand-up cabinet next to it with all the electronics, DVD player, etc, and the Xbox is next to it hardwired in to the router so there's no lag on LIVE! All that and a comfy couch and it’s game on!

trixie360: What’s the best feature of Xbox LIVE?

technogreek: I'm down with the Marketplace, getting games like Mega Man 9, Peggle and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 at a touch is pretty sweet.

trixie360: What is your favorite multiplayer Xbox game?

technogreek: Right now, it’s Left 4 Dead (the first one), though I've dipped my toe in to MW2 and it's pretty awesome.

trixie360: What is your favorite single player Xbox game?

technogreek: I love and still play Fallout 3, the expansions really kept it fresh and I still like walking around the wastelands and still finding new random stuff. My Kirby Krackle band-mate Kyle and I love the game so much we actually have a whole song dedicated to it on our new album.

trixie360: I think “Vault 101” is my favorite song from the new album E for Everyone. That, or “Teabagged.” It makes me want to simultaneously vacation in the Caribbean and ‘pop a victory squat’. What’s your favorite Xbox LIVE Arcade game?

technogreek: It’s tough. I’d probably go with Ticket to Ride, I really enjoy playing it with my girlfriend, there’s something simple and addictive about it. Reminds me of hours and hours spent playing Railroad Tycoon back in the day.

trixie360: What do you think is the best game of all time?

technogreek: I’d have to say Mega Man 2. That game is still hard as hell but still fun as well. It developed a life-long love for the blue bomber, and though there were some games that weren’t so great along the way, that one stands the test of time and I’m thrilled that Mega Man 9 was so good.

trixie360: What do you think is the best film of all time?

technogreek: Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

trixie360: What do you think is the best album of all time?

technogreek: Abbey Road by the Beatles.

trixie360: Best comic of all time?

technogreek: Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. Written by Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) with art by John Romita Jr., it was a comic I read over and over, plus it still holds up now. What’s even more amazing about that book is that you never even see Matt Murdock in the DD outfit until the very end of the comic, only on the covers.

trixie360: Frank Miller is god-like. Best film based on a comic?

technogreek: Tough choice. I’d have to say Iron Man, not just because it was the most recent, but of all the great comic movies (X-Men 2, Spider-Man 2, even Blade 1), this one seemed the truest to the character and got a great balance of action and comedy just right.

trixie360: Rock Band or Guitar Hero?

technogreek: I’m a Rock Band guy, mostly because I enjoy the party aspect.

trixie360: What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard on Xbox LIVE?

technogreek: “I don’t care what color your characters eyes are, they’ll be black when I punch you in the face.” Ridiculous.

trixie360: What is your greatest Xbox LIVE moment?

technogreek: Playing Street Fighter IV online and actually winning a match. The competition out there is really tough and being up against someone who has a great win percentage and to win (especially after losing roughly fourteen million times in a row) was a big deal for me.

trixie360: What’s your favorite TV show?

technogreek: Again, tough choice. I’d have to say Fringe keeps me coming back week to week, they reveal enough and yet stay tantalizingly vague on other things, that the show is always interesting. I have to give props to Castle, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory, which encompasses most of my TV watching period.

trixie360: Who is your inner rock star?

technogreek: Sting. From vocals to bass to his songwriting, he’s the man.

trixie360: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you?

technogreek: Jon Lovitz or Jack Black.

trixie360: What’s your karaoke song?

technogreek: “Roxanne” by The Police (see above :), plus I have a wicked falsetto.

trixie360: Favorite cartoon character?

technogreek: Technically, it’s two, but Chip & Dale. I loved those cartoons growing up, especially the ones featuring Donald Duck.

trixie360: What super power would you like to have?

technogreek: Teleportation. I love to travel, so being able to just teleport places would be really ideal, especially if it includes bringing other people and luggage along.

trixie360: If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?

technogreek: Kanye West. I feel like that would be one hell of a day.

trixie360: What celebrity would be the worst roommate?

technogreek: Lindsay Lohan. I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to celebs, but it seems like living with Lindsay would be a disaster from head to toe.

trixie360: I think being in her zip code is bad news. How many people are on your Friends List?

technogreek: Around 30 or so.

trixie360: Who's your favorite Superhero?

technogreek: The Thing from the Fantastic Four. I always thought his plight was really interesting, being both the most powerful figure in that group and yet, because of his outward appearance, the one who is emotionally most affected by their change in to heroes. To that, there’s also his ability to overcome these obstacles as well. A close second is Green Lantern, who is just cool.

trixie360: I’m not impressed by someone who can be defeated by a color. Especially a wuss color like yellow. Who is your favorite comics artist?

technogreek: Just one? I could go on for hours. I’d have to say I love everything Steve McNiven and Jim Cheung touch though, they’re amazing draftsmen and also really great storytellers. I feel so neglectful, there’s so many great artists out there…

trixie360: Who is your favorite comics writer?

technogreek: Currently, I can’t get enough of Geoff Johns, from Green Lantern to Flash to Blackest Night, plus all the stuff outside of comics as well (Robot Chicken, Titan Maximum, Smallville), he’s an awesome writer.

trixie360: Hot celeb you’d like to be stranded on a desert island with?

technogreek: Anne Hathaway. She’s both attractive, smart and funny, someone I’d be happy to have as company.

trixie360: If you could be any video game character, who would it be?

technogreek: Luigi. Everyone knows that Mario is the glory hound, but Luigi does all the work and I feel like gets to live a more peaceful life while Mario gets hounded by paparazzi.

trixie360: What’s the worst food you’ve ever eaten?

technogreek: When I was in Australia, I was coerced in trying vegemite. That was a mistake.

trixie360: What’s the first video game you ever played?

technogreek: Asteroids, in an arcade at the Boys & Girls Club, I spent hours on that thing.

trixie360: What’s the last book you read?

technogreek: Badass! A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live by Ben Thompson

trixie360: I definitely need to check that out…. Sample downloaded to Kindle. :) Complete this sentence: “People of Earth, ….”

technogreek: “oops, wrong number.“

trixie360: If you could go on tour with any band, which would it be?

technogreek: The Foo Fighters seem like the kind of band that has a lot of fun, puts a ton of energy on the stage, and leaves the fans satisfied every single time.

trixie360: What do you predict will be the 'next big thing' in gaming?

technogreek: A combination of the Natal and 3D TVs will likely bring immersive gaming to the next level. I’m not too sold on 3D TV, and I’m not saying this because this is an Xbox interview, but seriously, the stuff I’ve seen from Natal is next level awesome.

trixie360: Thanks. It was totally my idea… shhhh. What do you think is the best thing about the Xbox 360?

technogreek: I really like the connectivity, whether it's playing with friends or LIVE Marketplace, being able to connect with friends is a snap and probably my favorite part of the 360.

trixie360: What would you like to be doing in ten years?

technogreek: I’d like to be working less and playing more. I’d still like if my work revolved around all the fun things that I love, like art and comic books, and was able to continue to make music with my band. Everything else is a mystery and I look forward to seeing where the next decade will bring me.

Custom Toys Of Granny Goodness, Tank Girl And Samus Aran Put Action Figure ... Comics Alliance Even if certain legitimate toy companies can't produce proper action figures for the greatest female heroes that popular culture has to offer, ... and more »

HOLLYWOOD (CAP) - Another comics icon soon will be leaping off the pages and landing on the big screen as Warner Bros. has announced plans for a live action adaptation of Archie. However, in the upcoming film tentatively named Dark Archie, America's favorite high school chum will get a much-needed gritty, morally ambiguous makeover.

"Archie: Return To Riverdale didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," said Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov, referring to the little-seen 1990 TV movie featuring Archie, Jughead and the rest of his comic book pals. "Now the plan is just to reintroduce Archie. We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the character and the PG-13 rating allows it."

What that means, say those close to the project - to be directed by McG (Charlie's Angels, Terminator: Salvation) - is a sort of "Riverdale 90210," wherein the Archie gang grapples with real-life issues of drugs, teen sex and urban violence.

"Especially the teen sex," said Robinov, adding that Blake Lively of Gossip Girl has already been cast as Archie's devoted but sexually ambiguous girlfriend Betty, and Lindsay Lohan was in talks to play Veronica, the slutty rich girl with whom Archie has unprotected sex in his jalopy convertible.

"The old Archie was fine for the Mayberry days, but these are different times," said McG, discussing his vision for the film. "In the 21st century, people want an Archie who knows what it's like to kill a man with his bare hands."

Archie has yet to be cast, although McG says they hope to find an unknown for the role, "ideally a young Matthew Broderick type, if Mathew Broderick had done a lot of ecstasy," he said. But generating the most early buzz is the screen test by Benjamin McKenzie of TV's The O.C., who is said to be "positively chilling" in his role as "The Jughead."

McKenzie says he's "slept an average of two hours a night" since he started researching the role of The Jughead, whom he describes as "a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy, and an unnatural love of hamburgers."

"I can't stop thinking [at night]. My body is exhausted, and my mind is still going," said McKenzie. "I'm wondering, what drives a man to eat that many hamburgers? And wear a gray crown beanie? And let his bushy sheepdog, Hot Dog, slobber on him uncontrollably?"

"Frankly, I don't think I could handle the role if it wasn't for all the ecstasy," he admitted.

Rounding out the cast will be Taylor Kitsch of Friday Night Lights as Archie's nemesis, Reggie, who in the new version will be horribly scarred in a boiler room accident at Riverdale High, and Tyler James Williams of Everybody Hates Chris as a new character, Leroy the OxyContin dealer. And in an unusual move, the principal, Mr. Weatherbee, will be played by the late Marlon Brando, using unused footage cobbled together from Apocalypse Now and The Island of Dr. Moreau.

"It's clear from The Dark Knight that audiences want dark versions of beloved characters, so that's what we're going to give them, almost exclusively," concluded Robinov, who is also working with director Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Basic Instinct) on casting a reboot of the classic comic Little Lulu.

For that film, "we're looking for a goth Lindsay Lohan type, only much, much sluttier," he said.

There are those who say there is nothing to be learned in the comics section of the newspaper.

We don't talk about these people.

To everyone else - yes, of course the comics can teach us, but did you know they can teach us about personality psychology?

It's true. Rather than actually proving this in any kind of systematic, empirical, or scientific fashion, I will instead propose the Charlie Brown Theory of Personality - which quite closely mirrors the Five Factor Model. Developed and tested by such personality luminaries as Digman, Goldberg, Costa, and McCrae, the Five Factor Model has, curiously, fourteen factors. No, wait - it actually has five. (sorry).

This model reduces all of the different possible personality variables into five broad factors: neuroticism (now more politely called emotional stability), extraversion, openness to experience (sometimes just called openness), conscientiousness, and agreeableness. These factors are sometimes called the "Big Five," kind of like the Five Families in The Godfather but with more data and fewer button men. The names of these factors convey their meaning. Neuroticism measures an individual's emotional stability (or lack thereof). Extraversion is how outgoing and sociable someone is, whereas openness to experience conveys someone's intellectual and experiential curiosity. Conscientiousness taps into one's discipline, rule-orientation, and integrity, and agreeableness is friendliness and being good-natured.

Ah, you might say, that's too complicated. Well, voila! Enter the comic strip Peanuts.

The Charlie Brown Theory of Personality.

Charlie Brown = Neuroticism

Charlie Brown is a model neurotic. He is prone to depression and anxiety and paralyzing fits of over-analysis. Constantly worrying if he is liked or respected, he has a perpetual, usually dormant crush on the little redheaded girl, taking small joys in her foibles (like biting her pencil) that may make her more attainable. He is notably for his inability to fly a kite.

Snoopy = Extraversion

Snoopy is a typical extravert. Flamboyant, daring, and outgoing to a fault, he tries to join in every activity and conversation. He (perhaps fictitiously) flies gallant missions against the Red Baron and then brags about his exploits. For reasons potentially stemming from his long-ago abandonment of his mother, he aggressively pursues friendship and food (not in that order). Snoopy is Joe Cool, the life of the party.

Lucy = (Dis)agreeableness

Defined by a single word (crabby), Lucy revels in her disagreeableness. Typical portrayals of Lucy feature her bossing around her friends, dominating her little brother, mocking Charlie Brown's self consciousness, and generally being a pain in the ass. Her attempts at psychiatry generally involve misguided advice delivered loudly and angrily. One recurring interaction is Lucy pretending to hold a football out for Charlie Brown to kick, and then pulling it out at the last minute. Brown goes thump and Lucy preens.

Linus = Openness to experience

Linus is clearly the brightest of all of the Peanuts gang. Witty and knowledgeable, he is prone to passionate monologues. He has invented his own creation, the Great Pumpkin, and faithfully waits in the pumpkin patches for him every Halloween. Linus has his own idiosyncrasy, an ever-present blue security blanket - but he does not seem particularly sensitive about it; it's who he is. Too young to active try new things, he must instead use his intellect to mull over new and interesting ideas.

Schroeder = Conscientiousness

Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and even Lucy are fairly well-developed characters. Schroeder is equally (perhaps more) lovable, but most casual readers know him for one thing: his piano playing. Yes, Lucy has a crush on him, but that's about her - he will have none of it. He is always practicing. Disciplined and focused on his passion for classical music, one can imagine him setting his alarm clock for seven a.m. on weekends to try Autumn Sonata one more time. His one other preferred activity is playing catcher for the baseball team - again, the sturdy, reliable director of the action on the field. Schroeder would help you move and show up ten minutes early.

I have always loved comic strips. When I was a kid, I wrote to all the greats and asked for artwork. I was amazed at who wrote back - legends such as Dik Browne (Hagar the Horrible), Bil Keane (Family Circus), Hank Ketcham (Dennis the Menace), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Johnny Hart (B.C.), Brant Parker (Wizard of ID). Then-recent favorites like Bill Amend (Fox Trot), Greg Evans (Luann), Bill Holbrook (On the Fastrack), Tom Batiuk (Funky Winkerbean). I got to interview the lovely Brad Anderson (Marmaduke) in person. My sole professional contribution to the field of comics lies in my role as narrator of the Chris Brandt-directed documentary Independents (highly recommended, although I admit I'm biased). Independents is more focused on graphic novels, my current comics interest. But I will always have a soft spot for the old fashioned funnies.

So it was my civic duty to write this blog. The next time you're at a cocktail party (or rave, or whatever you young whippersnappers do these days) and someone start insults the daily comics, you have some new ammo. They're not just (sort of) funny - they're educational.

My last blog can be found here.