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The first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns hit the stands on this date in 1986.

Four full decades later, it remains perhaps the most definitive tale of Batman’s persona as a human being.  Watching an older Bruce Wayne turn his back on his age and embracing his heroic persona once more is nothing short of magnificent… and also engenders much reflection on the part of the reader.

I first read The Dark Knight Returns in June of 1989: the “Summer of Batman” when the Caped Crusader was seemingly everywhere.  It was unlike any comic book I had yet experienced.  It totally changed how I perceived Batman and his world and it forever raised my expectations on what graphic novels should deliver.

Frank Miller, thank you for bringing us this story.  It will always be my favorite Batman story and no doubt it is for many other fans ...

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I haven’t seen the new Superman movie that opens today.  Between one project and obligation after another there hasn’t been much time lately for anything like going to the theater.  I hope to catch it soon though.  For as long as I can remember I’ve been a Superman fan to some degree.  Superman is the superhero.  The prototype by which all others are measured.

In some ways, by which all of us in the real world can be measured, too.

Over the past few days I have heard some bits about Superman as he’s being portrayed in the new film.  Now, the character is almost ninety years old.  There has had to be some growth and acclimation during that time to keep up with the times.  But one thing in particular about this latest incarnation that I’ve been hearing about and… well, it kinda bugs me.  Because there is no ...

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First it was the news that Frank Miller is making ANOTHER sequel to his legendary graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns.

And now tonight it’s this: the first look at Jared Leto as the Joker in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie:

Disney shareholders, be of good cheer.  Your Marvel Cinematic Universe need not fear any competition from DC.

Romero.  Nicholson.  Hamill.  Ledger.  Leto.  One of these is not like the others.  One of these just doesn’t belong…...

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A few weeks ago I came across a religious broadcasting station that runs episodes of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on weekday afternoons.  I’d forgotten how awesome this show was!  My DVR has been set accordingly, so I can once again watch the wacky adventures of Fat Albert and his gang during the evenings or whenever.

From the show’s start, its creator/producer/narrator Bill Cosby intended for the series to teach and enlighten as much as it entertained (it eventually became the basis of Cosby’s doctorate in education).  As the show progressed, Cosby and his staff began to take on bolder issues, such as racism and guns (interestingly, that particular episode did not condemn firearms entirely, it just cautioned young people to be extremely careful with them).

So it was 1984 and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was finally winding down after being on Saturday morning television for twelve ...

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One of the front-page stories of today’s edition of the (Greensboro, North Carolina) News & Record is about DC Comics delaying publication of science-fiction writer Orson Scott Card’s story for the upcoming first issue of DC Comics’ Adventures of Superman anthology.  Chris Sprouse, the artist assigned to illustrate the story, is refusing to work on grounds that the “controversy” about Card’s publicly-stated beliefs that homosexuality is wrong.  Especially his opposition to “gay marriage” during the lead-up to last year’s amendment to North Carolina’s constitution affirming that legal marriage is between one man and one woman.

You won’t find it in the story posted on the News & Record‘s website, but the article’s synopsis in the print edition reads thusly: “An uproar over author Orson Scott Card’s homophobic views leads illustrator to withdraw.”

“Homophobic”  As in, literally, “Orson Scott Card is in fear of homosexuals”.  The implication being that ...

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What. The. F?!??!?

(I came waaaaaay too close to writing out that full word, folks. Only the better angels of my nature intervened, but not nearly enough.)

“It’s a joke. It’s all a joke.”

Except it’s not. This is actually happening.

Why? Well from the story at IGN’s Comics News…

“It’s our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee. “After twenty five years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told. We sought out the best writers and artists in the industry to build on the complex mythology of the original.”

DiDio and Lee don’t have an effin’ clue, do they? Makes me wonder if they’ve even read Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic graphic novel. Me, I’ve read Watchmen at least 200 times since ...

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This was posted on the blog a number of years ago, minus an embeddable video. That’s since been fixed and hey, it is too good not to share once again!

It’s The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special! Adapted from the eponymous one-shot special published in the early Nineties, DC Comics’ resident badass and intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo (one of Superman’s more colorful enemies) is hired by the Easter Bunny to kill Santa Claus. A bit of warning: there’s some pretty harsh language in this film… but it’s oh so very funny!

...

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Somewhere this afternoon, William Moulton Marston is spinning in his grave.

Courtesy of the Entertainment Weekly website, here is our first look at Adrianne Palicki in costume for NBC’s upcoming Wonder Woman series…

Bind me with the Golden Lasso of Truth: that looks HORRIBLE!!! It’s like a cheap-o costume that you can find at those seasonal Halloween stores instead of… GEEZ IT JUST SUCKS DONKEY BALLS TO NO END!

I was kinda hoping for an interpretation of Wonder Woman like what Alex Ross and Mark Waid came up with for Kingdom Come. That Wonder Woman boasted all her Amazonian power but tempered with all-too-mortal failings and frailties. It’s my personal favorite version of Wonder Woman ever. Heck, any previous version of Wonder Woman has got to be better than this… thing.

I don’t know when the pilot episode airs. And based on this photo, I’m not caring to ...

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In the words of Geoff Gentry who first passed along word of this: “Get your debit card ready.”

iTunes has just added the DC Comics Collection to its vast video library. You can now purchase and download the first several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Superman: The Animated Series. It’s also got Max Fleischer’s animated Superman shorts from the 1940s, the first season of The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeve, the first season of Super Friends and the complete 2008 Aquaman series. Geoff adds that hopefully iTunes will soon add Justice League and I heartily concur.

But in the meantime, if you’ve never watched “Heart of Ice”, the episode that first hurtled Batman: The Animated Series to critical acclaim, you can now enjoy it for two bucks via iTunes. And as soon as they make “Apokolips… Now!” Parts 1 and 2 from Superman: ...

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WRAL is reporting that Cary-based Epic Games and DC Comics have announced plans to publish a Gears of War comic book/graphic novel this fall, in the lead-up to the release of Gears of War 2. The story is to be set after the conclusion of Epic’s 2006 mega-selling video game, which saw main character Marcus Fenix giving humanity a dire-needed victory over the Locust Horde.

A few days ago I wrote that I’d finished playing the game and how much I enjoyed it but that some more back-story would have been nice. I’m guessing this new comic is going to “flesh-out” the Gears of War saga greatly. Oh yeah, I started playing it again last night on Hardcore mode. So far so good… but I still doubt that I’ll ever try it on Insane 🙂...

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