Superman Bio and Interview on NPR's "Fresh Air"

The word you're searching for when pondering this image is "awesome".

I spent the evening listening to Terry Gross's excellent interview of Larry Tye, who has written a sort of biography of Superman and the character's history across multiple mediums.  Thanks to Nathan and others for the link (Nathan alerted me to the interview bright and early).

It may be some time before I read the book.

Not to sound super-snooty, but I spend a lot of time reading about Superman, and have done so for quite a while.  All this fandom means that on top of the hundreds and thousands of Superman comics I've enjoyed, I've also read multiple histories of Superman - the media property, and check in daily with The Superman Homepage (an amazingly thorough web resource).  I've also read more than one comics history that used Superman as its fulcrum*.  I have seen all the Superman movies multiple times, watched every episode of the the 1950's TV series, watched the Ben Affleck movie about George Reeves, watched the Superboy TV series in small bits, have watched Lois and Clark, watched most of Smallville, listened to episodes of the radio show, watched the original movie serials, the 40's cartoon, the 60's cartoon, the 80's cartoon and the 90's cartoon.  Am hoping for a new cartoon in 2013.

In short, there's very little in the way of new information for me in the way of Superman.  Which is why I may actually read the thing.  It's always great to find out something new and interesting.  I confess to being a little concerned with the usual trotting out of Superman as stand-in religious figure.  It seems like a post-facto reading of the actual Superman comics until maybe the late 60's or early 70's, so you're talking 30 years of initial stories that I don't think really suggest any conscious parallels, but, whatever.  It doesn't mean the character isn't heavy with cultural fingerprints.

I still have a few Superman novels to read (both by Elliot S! Maggin), and there's plenty to know and learn about the upcoming Superman movie.  But I'm also not averse to checking out Tye's book at some point.  I still genuinely enjoy Superman fandom, and I'm not letting a little New 52 reboot get in my way on that front. After 75 years, its just a small patch in the middle of everything else.

Yes, I wrestle with what's happened with the Siegel estate, but I have hope that both the law and justice will prevail, and we'll see a sound resolution to the ownership of the character, publishing rights, copyright and trademark, and everything else that's not in the comics, but which has driven the comics for the past year, all shake out and disappear into the background.

We can hope.

Give the interview a listen.  It's a nice, brief overview of some of the highlights of Superman's history and the folks who've been involved with the character.


* check out Men of Tomorrow.  It's an amazing book, and sometimes I think I'm the only one who has read it.

It's called Super-Social Networking: The Kryptonian

Hey, ya'll!

As much time as I spend on The Signal Watch, we're just one site.  There are all kinds of nice folks out there doing good work, and, sure, there are Superman fan pages out there, but this is 2011, the age of Friendster (Tom is still my only friend... ) and whatnot.  Alone, the Signal Watch is but one site.  Together, we are a full-on-barrage of Superman, comics and pop culture information!

Let me introduce you guys to The Kryptonian, a Super-Site from right here in sunny Austin, Texas!

Anyway, somehow I missed this, but it seems our friends at The Kryptonian recently spotlighted The Signal Watch on their site.   We are completely flattered, and we want to make sure we're highlighting their work a bit more than the link we've made permanently under the Superman-related sites over there in the menu bar.

Aaron covers Superman news, manages a Super-forum, talks comics and movies and generally has put together a site we're visiting now on a daily basis.  He's building a neat community, and I look forward to watching and participating in the site.

Website
Facebook
Twitter

Weekly Watch Wind: 06/25/2010

Scott Pilgrim/ Me: hey, look! Its my personal Scott Pilgrim Avatar. I'm really skinny!

Batman/ Dr. Who!: This is just funny.


Webcomics: A list of ten webcomics. I am adding all of these to my list for the time being.


Tron/ Jeff the Cat: I have found a new way to drive my cat insane. New Tron toys can drive up walls.


Comics Business: In case you missed it (what with all the announcements about digital), music and media retail chain, Hastings, is looking to become a chain of comic shops. There hasn't been a Hastings in Austin that I can remember since the location on Guadalupe closed when I was in high school. But the shops still exist in mid-size towns across my part of the US of A. Lawton, Oklahoma gets listed! I am unsure how this will shake out, but it looks like they're going to give it a real try, versus the half-baked efforts I've seen from Tower and other media retailers.

Having a chain involved is GOOD. It gives a wider outreach to untapped audiences, but it also means someone on the retail side of the table might actually have some bargaining power. And if print comics want to survive, they need to escape the direct market model and return to locations where the public will find them.


Superman/ Don't Ask, Just Buy It!: DC Comics has released Chip Kidd's intro to the upcoming "All Star Superman, Absolute Edition". It's one hell of a sales pitch for one of my favorite comics of all time.


Superman/ Contest: In the upcoming Superman series, Superman is walking America from East to West Coast. You can nominate your town to be one of the spots Superman wanders through during his journey. He's staying north of Texas, so, alas, I can't pitch Austin. I think DC was focusing on a path through the US that's a bit more populated that the southern route, which... once you pass Austin, its a long walk between towns when you're headed west.


Sweet/ Horsies!: An adorable moppet of a girl is setting out to make her life amazingly ready for adaptation into a made-for-TV movie. She loves a really homely horse, and that is going to save this pony's life. Apparently, being an ugly horse will get you executed.

Superman/ Theatre! #1: Our non-existent readers in New York should go to the Upright citizens Brigade theater to see So, I Like Superman: A One Nerd Show.


Superman/ Theatre! #2: Dallas-dwelling Superman fans can catch the revamped Superman musical! Just head on down to the Dallas Theatre Center!



Disney/ Lifestyle: Now you can just up and live at Disney World. Pretty nuts. Especially as all the animals in your yard will be able to wear clothes, emote and sing. No more glue traps for mice, I suppose.


DC Comics/ Politics/ Editorial: Oh, geez, Didio. Even when I sort of agree with you, you manage to botch things. Recently DC came under fire when character "All-New Atom", Ryan Choi, featured in the Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon and who was the featured star of his own comic for more than two years, was unceremoniously killed off in a 3rd tier series. In responding to questions about criticism regardng DC's treatment of non-anglo/ white characters, Didio insisted that it isn't us, it's you, you stupid readers.

It's a complicated issue as DC relies on legacy characters developed during a far WASPier past, and its not just minority characters who don't seem to sell. Its anything introduced after 1965. At some point, DC sells what people buy. Unfortunately, DC is a company that relies upon nostalgia, and newer characters can't seem to get much of a foothold. So, in many ways, you kind of have to point the finger back at the fanbase and what they seem willing to support.

I suspect that's what Didio is trying to say, but... you know, he doesn't always do great when challenged in an interview.

And, Dan... that peer sitting next to you? Your co-publisher sharing the interview? He's Asian-American. Let him answer the "did DC kill Ryan Choi because you hate Asians?" questions next time. Schniekies.

Weekly Watch Wind: 06/18/2010

Video Games/ DC Comics: DCU Online now available for pre-order.

Great. Now I need a new computer.

Passing/ Creator: Al Williamson, a legendary comic artist has passed. Honestly, I believed Williamson had been dead for years, but... oh, well.

I know him from his work on Flash Gordon, but he also did this one short story I read in a book about the realities and speculation around space travel entitled "Rocketship". I was shocked to see a page from that story included in the gallery (image #11).

The story is basically about how man's attempts to reach the stars will be doomed by our inability to leave our most basic human failings behind when we hit the intergalactic highway. Reading this story in middle school made me believe we'd never truly achieve our potential as a species.


Batman/ Pornography: Comics Alliance posts a review of the very adult film, "Batman XXX". The review does nothing to diminish my curiosity, but I am unwilling to risk divorce for a cheap laugh (sort of). The review is NOT SAFE FOR WORK (or M-i-L or The KareBear), btw.

From the review:

...but seriously, they look like they're having fun. And why shouldn't they? I mean, Dale DaBone gets to be Batman and a porn star at the same time.

That dude is straight up living the dream.

Memes/ Keanu: Likely you've heard of this by now. It makes it no less... awesome. The Signal Watch also really hopes things pick up for Keanu by the weekend.


Liefeld/ Comics: Did you read comics in the 1990's? Well, then you likely remember oddly proportioned men and women carrying enormous weapons and smothered in dozens of pockets. This whole scene was developed by comic artist/ writer, Rob Liefeld, who now embodies the excesses of comics in the 90's to many comic fans.

Well, nothing is crueler than a comic fan with a web site and a long memory.

Two Liefeld links of note:

1) A reminder of what not to do when they give you the Captain America assignment
2) Liefeld Rulz! - tribute artists pay homage to Rob Liefeld's style

special thanks to MikeF. for the links!


Aquaman/ BP: I think Randy and Simon send me this. So sad.


E3/ Interviews: I'm not actually linking to anything here. I'm just saying: there is seemingly nothing more pointless than an E3 interview (except for maybe interviewing pop stars).


Movies/ Comics: I'm gonna buy this comic of the upcoming Machete! movie.

Weekly Watch Wind: 06/11/2010

Superman/ Sports/ Shoes: Some of you may follow pro basketball. I quit following the NBA around the time I moved back to Austin and had better things to do than spend every night watching the Suns trudge their way to losing to the Lakers or Spurs in the playoffs.

However, it seems this fellow, Dwight Howard, is quite the popular player, and he's associated himself with Superman. Well, Howard also has a contract with Adidas, and now Adidas will be creating Dwight Howard/ Superman apparel, including shoes. Which, God willing, will be available in a size 14.

Read more here.


Achewood/ iPhone: Art imitates life when it comes to iNutz.


Dayman/ Fighter of the Nightman: Hey, one of my favorite shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is now showing on Comedy Central. Not kid friendly, btw.

Re-runs of Sweet Dee is still Sweet Dee.


DCU/ Movies: Green Lantern 2 already GREEN LIT? Green. Lit. Ha. Also, maybe we're getting a Flash movie! here.


Marvel/ Digital Comics: Marvel announced a simultaneous release of an Iron Man comic in both digital and print formats. In the past, Marvel has delayed digital release of print material. Oddly, Marvel is charging more for their digital copy than a physical copy.

As an experiment, charging more for an item that has no physical presence is a non-starter. I have to assume Marvel is perfectly aware of what would happen were this issue to be released at the same cost, and so is kowtowing a bit to retailers and trying not to enrage their primary source of income. Frankly, I don't like what this says about the state of the Big 2 and digital strategy.


Superman/ Comics: An excellent piece on Superman and his place within the DC Universe.

I've recently alluded to a similar take. I sense a trend. Perhaps Matt Idleson can use this groundswell in a storyline? Maybe JMS already has it planned?


Superman/ Apple/ Cult of Steve Jobs:

It's a little conceptual, but if you've seen Superman: The Movie and follow Apple in the news, its pretty good stuff.

Watch the video here. Sorry, the embed code is freaking out on me.


found by Randy!

Iron Man buying back issues

On the list of things that would make me flip my lid, running into Robert Downey Jr. buying Avengers back issues is pretty high up on the list.

That's probably right behind "ScarJo buying back issues" and "Gene Hackman buying back issues of Superman", but for very different reasons.

Also behind this link to Bleeding Cool? Whatever happened to The Star Wars Kid? All I'm saying is: it explains a lot about Ransom.

Weekly Watch Wind: 06/04/2010

For nigh-daily linking goodness, bookmark and RSS feed:
Thisissoyou.tumblr.com - Randy leaves a trail of his internet wanderings
zee... zee... zee... - dispatches of the fascinating from me, Ryan S.


Music/ Dames: Randy posted this one for me under the title "Oh, So Ryan S.". Christina Hendricks in a Broken Bells video playing an android in space.

Well done, Randy. Well done.



Comics/ I am Not Buying This: great googledy-moogledy, do people ever have it in for this "Rise of Arsenal" comic. It's a sequel of sorts to the abysmal "Justice League: Cry Justice", but by a different writer, and seems to embody pretty much everything that drives me nuts about the post-Watchmen/ DKR world of comics as writers and editors mistake adult elements in their stories for "edgy" writing.

Another great post on the topic here.


Real Life/ Superheroes: You're likely aware that visitors to Hollywood can stop by Mann's Chinese Theater to have their picture taken with actors dressed as movie stars and superheroes. Well, they could do that, but now its against the law to panhandle dressed as Batman. All those folks from "Confessions of a Superhero" are now out of a place to work. No word yet from the LAPD in response to questions about how a superhero is supposed to get a break in this economy.


Green Lantern/ Scooby Doo: As a rule, I kind of hate Scooby Doo unless he's teaming with Batman, the Harlem Globe Trotters, Don Knotts or Cher. But a recent issue of the comic (produced at DC Comics) is a sly nod to DC's "Blackest Night" Green Lantern titles, and will likely become the most sought after back-issue of the event as nobody got the joke... until now.


Political Cartoons/ History: I always think America's history and how we dealt with the Irish to be fascinating, especially in light of our ongoing immigration debate. Here's a look at some political cartoons around the Irish from "the good old days" people are always referring to.


Comics/ Television: Robert Kirkman's now long-running comic series "The Walking Dead" is coming to television! Very soon!

Batman/ Video Games: I hope this comes to the Wii. A Batman video game based on Cartoon Network's totally awesome series Batman: The Brave and the Bold.


DC Comics/ Fashion: A quick look at me on any given day will tell you that I've less than a keen grip on the world of fashion. And I think its true that my comic-reading brethren are vibrating at a different fashion frequency than (insert designer's name here. I don't know any.), but we look spectacular together in our sea of superhero wear (I'm wearing a Superman t-shirt as I type this). I can tell you that the standard geek wardrobe is fairly inexpensive and functional. So I find it curious someone licensed DC Comics characters for extremely pricey couture. Also, here.

Zee... Zee... Zee...

So... I am unsure if The Signal Corps care at all about the Weekly Watch Wind thing I've been doing on Fridays (frankly, the hits to The Watch Wind are low, but I can't tell if that's because it goes up on Friday or if its because nobody gives a rip). In addition to the Weekly Watch Wind, I've also decided to begin linking items as they pop up on my radar on a separate blog, and then posting the RSS feed in the content column on the left. You'll also find Randy's RSS feed.

Anyhow, if you're interested, you can subscribe to the RSS feed from zee... zee... zee..., click from this site, go to the actual blogger location, or ignore it altogether.

While I'll certainly write posts about certain links, don't expect actual content at zee... zee... zee... Just think of it as amusing junk I've decided to share.

Weekly Watch Wind 05/28/2010

Movies/ DC Comics: I got so excited reading that Superman will be coming to theaters for the Holidays in 2012 and that WB execs are talking about movies featuring The Flash and Wonder Woman, I kind of threw up a little.

Superman on the big screen. I am kind of freaking out.

and, seriously... A Flash movie could be crazy fun.

Also, there's an amazing song and dance number after the second jump. Its performed by action figures of superheroes and discusses the status of movies from Marvel and DC.


Randy/ Links: Randy has promoted himself to Chief Link-Meister of the Signal Corps and ChronSnob. We are terribly excited about following Randy's input, and have made a home for his work over in the "Legion" links on the left. I also suggest adding his site to your RSS reader.


Television/ DC Comics: I don't watch Fox TV's "Fringe" (Steanso does, and says nice things about it), but I guess the season finale featured several alternate universe covers from classic DC Comics. You will either get these or you won't.


Music: Willie Nelson cut his hair. I'll be dipped.


Music: Just yesterday I was wondering when the hell Arcade Fire's next album would arrive. August 2.


Weird/ Why?: Teen Wolves! Apparently teenagers are now telling folks that they're werewolves. In San Antonio (where I think being a were-coyote or were-scrappy-neighborhood-dog makes infinitely more sense). Anyway, I am very glad I am not a high-schooler.


Superman/ Television: You may recall the "Smallville" related item about the commercial celebrating Chloe/ Allison Mack. The final product is just kind of weird and awkard (and the choice of music, which sounded like a classic NES score, wasn't helping).


Classic/ Comics: Flash Gordon returns to comics at Dynamite! Entertainment. Also, Mandrake.


Superheroes/ Events: Great event or GREATEST event? The good people of Melbourne, Australia will try to set a world record for most people assembled dressed as superheroes. I would so attend this event, cape flapping in the wind.


Superman/ Wrong: Dean Haspiel discusses Lois Lane #106, the eye-brow raising issue where Lois Lane uses Super Science to become black for a day or so. Its one of those well-meaning, but ill-executed attempts to discuss social issues in a superhero/ romance comic.

Yes, I own a copy of this comic.


WTF?/ Autoracing: Formula One racing? Why, that's more of a Shelbyville idea...!

Way, way out of scope for this blog, but it came over the wire on Tuesday night that Austin will supposedly host Formula One racing starting in 2012. The deal was apparently made without a single public announcement or bit of consideration. Which is fairly typical of what happens when someone from the big city comes to town (I live in Austin) and starts waving around money.

While I am curious about the spectacle of Formula One, this is not a motor sports kind of town, and the infrastructure isn't going to handle this kind of event without causing some serious problems. Not to mention, part of the deal is building an all-new track, which likely means somebody is getting a Formula One track in their backyard. Not to mention the likelihood that tax dollars will be redirected to the track that nobody asked for.

City of Austin, prepare to see an infuriated populace. And certainly raises questions about the common concept that any money coming to town is what the citizens want. Not to mention, F1 seems to have flamed out in several cities when it was no longer financially viable.

Sadly, I hope this effort fails.

This is so you...

For going on 7 years, Randy has shared links with Ransom and myself, often with the subject line "This is so (insert either Ryan or Ransom)".

He's now turned that link service into a blog!

This Is So You aka: Links for Ransom and Ryan S..

Weekly Watch Wind 05/21/2010

Superman: The Importance of Superman's Cape.

I had capes growing up. I confess I have a couple of capes now. I don't wear them, but I own them. Well... maybe I wear them sometimes.


Comics/ Comics Culture: There's a weekly installment at Robot 6 called "Send Us Your Shelf Porn" which fetishizes expansive comics collections. Some of these posts are lame, most are truly awesome. Including this week's installment. I often ponder sending in photos of The Fortress, but I think I would post them at this site, instead.


Television/ Dames: Nerve.com gives a twenty-five count rundown of the women of Lost. It's no secret I'm a Juliet man, so I found the list the most comprehensive and well-considered of its kind. Thanks to Nathan for the link.


Technology/ Comics: I like IDW as a publisher. They get interesting licenses. They produce good original content. They seem like a fair company. They are now making comics available for the Blackberry.

Look, even I think my Blackberry kind of sucks. I can barely tolerate playing "Brickbreaker" on the thing when I'm waiting in line. Nice thinking, but, no...


Funny: Your favorite movies in the style of Little Golden Books.


Music/ Videos: For Jamie. The top Blur music videos.



Television/ Why?: Someone has decided to remake Hawaii 5-0. I was never a big fan of the original, except for the theme song, so... yeah. I don't know. Look at it yourself. And on that Grace Park? Clean thoughts, chum.

Comics/ Manga: DC Comics, who gamely tried to bring European comics to America with their Humanoids project in the mid 00's, and who tried to publish Manga in the US under the CMX line has closed up shop on CMX.

A lot of manga fans are going to be outraged by this move, but one thing with DC: you know it was a hard dollars calculation. Obviously the numbers weren't there to support the imprint.

This will likely get me flamed by Manga fans but... when reading the material from illegal scans is part of the culture, there's no profitable business model. This shouldn't bother you if fans keep translating and posting, but its still illegal. We here at The Signal Watch are law abiding citizens.

I am sad the line didn't work out, but am I shocked? If DC didn't find itself a "Naruto" by this point, and Manga wasn't making inroads to better licensing opportunities the way their mainstream stable seems to be, I am not too surprised that they shuttered the thing.

A&W Rootbeer BBQ Sauce Taste Test: With 100% More PaulT!

Click over to Troubles McSteans for the 3rd in our series of soda-flavored taste tests!

This time, we involve PaulT and his partner in crime, The Lovely Erin^tm.

It's the last soda BBQ taste test, but thanks to Randy, we now have a new bacon-riffic taste test ahead of us.

Weekly Watch Wind 05/14/2010

Comics/Porn: How awesome is it that I get to write on this two weeks in a row? Not awesome? Okay.

Anyway, based upon the success of the Batman XXX trailer, Vivid has announced a line of "porn parodies" of popular comic favorites. The list includes Superman and Wonder Woman. This means Wonder Woman is getting a porn off the ground before WB can conceive of a live action movie for anyone to parody.

Sometimes I just want to punch WB right in the face.


Comics: Horus at Against the Modern World looks at how some creators are starting from the superhero springboard and doing something completely different with the idea. I've read the Eightball comic and some Superf***ers in the past. The use and subversion of the tropes of the genre are pretty darn good in both. Its been years, but I remember thinking Eightball was just amazing when I read it.

Anyway, he says smart-people stuff about the comics. I recommend.


Comics: On the other end of the spectrum, Superman V. Flash. V. Duke Boys.


Superman/ Odd: We here at the Signal Watch are the first to admit we waste a shameful amount of time and money on needless things. Many of those things involve Superman. But...

Apparently a herd of fans has joined forces to pay for the production of a "thank you" commercial for actress Allison Mack of Smallville TV fame, and to air it on LA (and possibly New York) TV during the season finale of Smallville.

Mack plays Clark Kent's childhood pal (imagined solely for the TV show) who started out as the most intrepid high school newspaper reporter ever, and was revealed to be Lois Lane's cousin. Since then, the Chloe character has become the super-hacker/ ops center for all the super heroes on Smallville, filling the role taken by "Oracle" in the JLA comics.

Mack is a fine actor, but I find the fan-gushing a bit ridiculous.

Anyway, far be it from me to tell people how to spend their time and money, but... srsly. I totally don't understand fan culture anymore. Somehow the whole thing strikes me as kind of stalkerish, but en masse.


Comics: A fun rundown of the best teen sidekicks in comics. I'm a fan of any list that gives Jimmy Olsen his due:

For me, no other character defines the abject craziness of the Silver Age more than Jimmy. I mean, the Elastic Lad serum aside, he didn't even really have super-powers; he was just a dude who knew Superman, and because of that he got a fan club, trips to the future and the past, a Viking sexbot...

Movies: If you didn't see it yet, there's a pic of the guy playing Thor in the new Thor movie based upon the Marvel comic character. Honestly, I think own something like 14 Thor comic books in my whole collection, so this whole movie (like most Marvel movies) is going to come as a surprise as I have almost no expectations.


Other Sites: Comics Alliance rounds up interviews with disgruntled creators, and its kind of fascinating. The picture painted of the status quo at the DC Comics offices isn't very good, but not too surprising if you've been watching DC over the past few years.

Still waiting to see how things play out under Diane Nelson.

Comics/ Superman/ Late Addition: Jeff Lemire, writer/artist of Essex County and Sweet Tooth fame has taken on an ongoing Superboy series at DC Comics.

Weekly Watch Wind - 05/7/2010

News/ Superheroes: This is about a week late, but worth reading. The Make a Wish Foundation came up with a city-wide-spanning adventure with superheroics, sports celebrities and the whole nine yards.

A kid suffering from liver cancer was given the chance to get on a super-hero outfit, rescue folks and stop bad guys. Sounds like a pretty darn good day to me.

Also here.

I find the story equal parts touching and compelling. Plus, I'd kind of like to be a superhero for the day.


Batman: The third film in the Nolan-directed Batman film series has a release date. July 20, 2012. So let's hope that if the Mayans are right, Armageddon can hold off until Labor Day.

I am really hoping they've chosen Crazy Quilt and Batman Jones to appear in this installment.


Spider-Man/ News: Real-life Spidey stops a crime! With help from The Flash and Jedis! Sure, it was a guy stealing from a comic shop on Free Comic Book Day, and the cops must have been quite amused to find Spidey on the scene. We can't help but tut-tut anyone who decides to steal books about people fighting crime.

But to do it right in plain view of masked crusaders of justice? That's just sloppy.


Comics: DC's web comics effort, Zuda, has abandoned the "competition" format.

That's fine by me. I quickly grew tired of watching good comics get voted out of existence and quit looking at Zuda over a year ago, knowing that DC was ushering their quality winners into print (see: Bayou), and I'd catch them there.

There was also something kind of odd about a "survival of the fittest" model when one benefit of webcomics is the low overhead and opportunity for niche items to find an audience. I look forward to seeing what Zuda is doing by 2011.


Comics: Life Magazine may be no more, but the photo archive lives on! And this week, they ran a feature called "In Praise of Classic Comics".


Comics: Cullen and Brian from The Sixth Gun are getting a lot of steam, thanks to that FCBD comic. Here's another interview at Indiepulp.


Awesome: Apparently there was a GI Joe convention. Complete with folks in costume. And, yes, there were women dressed as The Baroness.


Batman/ Porn: So... Vivid Entertainment, a purveyor of the finest in adult entertainment, has produced a movie entitled "Batman XXX: A Porn Parody". So obviously I'd like to see what they did. Yes, I said "obviously". The studio rented a realistic looking Batmobile, the costumes are spot-on, and it looks like someone dumped a lot of money on this thing. (The trailer is 100% SFW, oddly)

Sadly, I'm not much of a "porn guy", and I'm not sure how to get my hands on a copy of this thing without causing all sorts of problems.

Now if someone wanted to send me a screener...


Captain Marvel/ Comics/ News: I saw this story online entitled "Shazam! Berlin looks at superheroes' Jewish roots", and...

1) Sounds like a neat exhibit.
2) The press needs to put a halt on all stories that have any "Bam! Piff! Zow!" exclamations in the title. Officially played out as early as 2002.
3) The creators of Captain Marvel (aka: Shazam) weren't actually Jewish. I double-checked Gerard Jones' "Men of Tomorrow" (as good a source as any, I guess), and Fawcett was unusual amongst comic publishers of the Golden Age for not being primarily Jewish staffed (Captain Marvel artist CC Beck was a Lutheran from Minnesota). So... swing and a miss from either the exhibit or from the news wire. But I guess fact-checking is just so passe these days.
4) Solomon is important to Judaism, but its not like he doesn't appear in Christian texts, too. (I think he's featured heavily in Kings, if you've a Bible handy). So that "S" standing for Solomon? Not exactly your silver bullet explanation.
5) Pretty much every other comic character you care about? Created by a Jewish guy.

Weekly Watch Wind - 04/30/2010

Congratulations!: A very special double congratulations to our pal Jill Hermann-Wilmarth! (A) Jill just got/won/earned tenure at the university at which she teaches and does other professory-stuff (her tweed jacket collection is amazing). (B) She and her partner, Jess, should be welcoming baby #2 later this year.

That's what we call a good year.

Now, Jill, get out there and start doing crazy stuff. You have tenure, and they can't stop you any more!

Comics: Ransom put up an exemplary post about a Memphis-based indie comic from the 1980's entitled "The Last Generation". It's an amazing case study.

Movies: For those of us born pre-1980, its hard to read a remake of Carpenter's classic "Escape from New York" as anything but a tragedy/mistake. Especially a remake which will not feature Kurt Russell, or John Carpenter behind the camera. But someone is doing it.

While I enjoy reiterations of franchise characters (Superman, Spidey) and their ongoing sequels and adventures (Dr. Who, etc...), something about Hollywood's current zombie-like approach to creativity is a bit unsettling.

Batman: This one is so out of left-field, but makes such perfect sense, that I'm inclined to believe its authenticity. AICN is reporting that there may be an elaborate Batman stage-show in the works. I am hoping for a "Batman: Brave and the Bold" stage show, but we'll see if they don't go all "Arkham Asylum" instead. Or read about it at Comic Alliance.

While the stage show sounds more akin to a Monster Jam rally than the next "Cats" (and if you haven't watched Monster Jam, I secretly think its awesome in small doses), you can see clips of Batman before the footlights from when we pondered a musical Batman at LoM.

Superman: Outside of a the miniature/ putt-putt variety, I don't play golf. But if I did, I would own this golf club snuggy.

Superman/ Batman: Apparently President Obama has recruited Superman and Batman into the State Department. During a meeting discussing an attempt to renew relations with the Muslim world, Obama mentioned a previously undisclosed project:

There has also been cultural outreach, Obama said -- including a comic book series in which Superman and Batman work with their Muslim counterparts.

"And I hear they're making progress," Obama said.

Well, what do you know?

Movies/ Comics: Dark Horse Comics is adapting the movie of "Let the Right One In" to comics. However, that movie was based on a book, and the author may not dig on the idea so much. Here.

Legal/ Comics: Kirby Family v Marvel is moving to New York. Disney is going to have a hell of an interesting fight on their hands. The family of Jack Kirby is looking for a piece of the $4 billion pie that their father co-created (Hulk, Captain America, Thor, X-Men, Fantastic Four... all Kirby) at Marvel, which recently sold to Disney.

Comics: In working in a library, I've learned that librarians work with the long view of time and the world. I mention this as a school library voted to keep all-ages friendly comic "Bone" on their shelves despite a parental complaint that an adult behaved like an adult somewhere in one of the Bone comics.

Weekly Watch Wind 4/23/2010

Comics/ TV: Sounds like WB has shelved the Teen Titans in favor "Young Justice" for an upcoming cartoon. The omissions in the lineup are as interesting as those they included. We get Kon-El/ Superboy, but no Cassie/ Wonder Girl? Arrowette instead of Speedy?

There's a link here, too, with a bunch of new shows comings to Cartoon Network. The Regular Show looks promising.

Movies: Austin's Paramount Theater has announced its summer lineup, and its surprisingly pop. I'm quite pleased. Something to see every week or so.

I want to see "Giant" on the big screen. And... I confess that not only have I never seen "Breathless", I have no idea what its about. I am going to try to go see it completely cold. Also: Anyone else up for "A Night at the Opera"? "Shane"?

Movies/ TV: I haven't talked to her in years, but an old co-worker of mine will have her documentary shown on PBS's "Independent Lens". The movie is called "Sunshine", and seems completely autobiographical. Check it out.

Superman/ Movies: While we were gone, "The Dark Knight" director Chris Nolan was named by WB execs to be sheparding a new Superman movie. Given what happens in Hollywood, this is about as good a news as we can expect when it comes to the Man of Steel. Producer Michael Uslan pipes up on the topic.

Movies: Paul T and Erin of Sunday Screenings joined myself and SimonUK for the new series at the Paramount, "Cinema Club" when we went to see "Bride of Frankenstein" with a mini-lecture and Q&A. At any rate, I plan to announce events like that in the local area, and see if any readers would like to join me (and often Jamie) for a night out. I'll be going to see "Night Nurse" at the Ritz on May 2.

Comics: Archie comics has decided to add the first openly gay character to the cast. Times they-are-a-changin' at Archie comics (and we at The Signal Watch support this change). But if I can nitpick (and I will), the hair style they chose for this new character seems oddly out of place in Riverdale. He needs more pomade.

Comics: With the Marvel/ Disney merger, I didn't expect Spidey to need to moonlight... Real guy in real spidey suit washes windows. In Dubai. Making Dubai even more awesome.

Superman: I've seen this painting copied and used elsewhere, and always liked it, but didn't know DC had sort of misplaced the original back in the 1950's. Well, DC may have lost it, but its been kicking around Lehman College in the Bronx for most of that time. Interesting to us Superman nuts.

Awesome: In many ways, I believe my entire life has been leading up to this video:


thanks to Randy. And, yes, this video is sort of like (well, exactly like) when Randy and I spend time together.