Vintage comic book house ad

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New comics March 11, 2009: Showcase JLA! Kirby's Losers! Power Man!

Items of possible interest this week. Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.

BATMAN BATTLE FOR THE COWL #1 The latest segment of the Batman's dead/where is Batman thing. You could buy it, or just wait until Bruce Wayne makes his inevitable return. Or you could drop out of the whole thing and just buy DC Showcase books.

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THE LOSERS BY JACK KIRBY
A hardcover collection of the King's 1970s war title.

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SHOWCASE PRESENTS JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VOL. 4 A big slab of black-and-white super team fun.

ESSENTIAL POWER MAN AND IRON FIST VOL. 2 Sweet Christmas! Another helping of this bronze-age guilty pleasure.

Pop links

Today I'm sending out good wishes to comic book legend (and my fellow Montana resident) Al Feldstein, who is awaiting bypass surgery. Good luck, Al, and get well soon.

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And more good wishes to cartoonist Fred Hembeck who is mourning the loss of a dear friend.

New Marvel Legends two-packs revealed

Check out these new Marvel Legends figures coming in two packs later this year:

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Iron Man/Female Agent

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Kree/Skrull

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Nick Fury/Hand Ninja soldier

See more Marvel Legends action figures at Amazon.

May 2009 comics solicitations: Best of the rest

Along with our picks from Marvel and DC's solicitations for May, here are a few other items of interest. Click the titles to pre-order from Amazon.

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MILTON CANIFFS STEVE CANYON 1956 VOL 10

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STAR TREK KEY COLLECTION VOL 7

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FILMED IN SUPERMARIONATION HISTORY OF THE FUTURE
(W) Steven La Riviere For the first time, a complete history of the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson television productions which pioneered science-fiction special effects. Film historian Steven La Riviere, whose documentary about Supercar was the final word on the series, takes you behind-the-scenes and covers every aspect of the creation and production of such television shows as Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Secret Service, and Joe 90, as well as the Anderson's efforts from the beginning including Torchy and Four Feather Falls.

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GOD OF COMICS OSAMU TEZUKA
(W) Natsu Onoda Power, (A) Osamu Tezuka God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga is a critical biography and assessment of the Japanese innovator who made Manga mainstream with his character Astro Boy and his more than 150,000 pages of comics and animated films. This is the first critical examination of his entire body of work, ranking him as the single most important figure in Japanese post-World War II comics.

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JOE KUBERT HOW TO DRAW FROM LIFE
(W/A) Joe Kubert Joe Kubert - the legendary Hawkman, Tarzan, Enemy Ace, Batman, and Sgt. Rock artist and critically-acclaimed graphic novelist of Tor, Abraham Stone, Fax From Sarajevo, and Yossel - founded the first and only accredited school devoted solely to the art of cartoon graphics. Joe Kubert: How to Draw from Life, designed for mature art students, professionals and enthusiasts, presents a wealth of his own drawings from nude models spanning his years as an artist and art instructor. Subjects include gesture drawing, contour drawing, the figure in motion, short studies, long studies, drawing women, the figure in perspective, form and structure, anatomy, and lighting.

CD new releases March 10, 2009: Bing and Satchmo! Bowie! Graham Parker! Jimmy Page! Laurie Johnson! The Move!

Interesting CDs out this week. Click the titles to order from Amazon. Proceeds help support this site!

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Live at the BBC by Steve Earle

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Bing and Satchmo by Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong

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Live in Santa Monica '72 by David Bowie

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The Up Escalator by Graham Parker

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Wailing Sounds by Jimmy Page and Friends

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Vol. 3-Music of Laurie Johnson: New Avengers by Laurie Johnson

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The Very Best of the Move by The Move

DVD new releases March 10, 2009: Witch Mountain! Get Smart! Howard the Duck! Pinocchio! More!

Here's what looks interesting this week. Click the titles to order from Amazon. Proceeds help support this site!

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Pinocchio (2-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition)

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Howard the Duck

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Get Smart: Season 2

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Escape to Witch Mountain Special Edition

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Return from Witch Mountain Special Edition

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Max Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels

Pop links: Crockett Johnson! Becoming Batman! Enid Blyton! More!

Those Fabulous Fifties shares a batch of "Barkis" comic strips by the great Crockett Johnson.

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Fred Hembeck rediscovers overlooked DC Comics sci-fi artist Phil Kelsey for the first time.

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We know he doesn't have any super powers, but a could a mere mortal really become Batman? "Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero" by Paul Zehr, a University of Victoria researcher, tests the theory.

So, moment of truth: Can a mere mortal become Batman?

It is possible. But it's not just a three-month training period and away you go. I estimate it would take a long, long, long time [15 to 18 years].

Who would be your ideal candidate?

You need to start with somebody who has the genetic ability to really respond to exercise, and get strong and powerful and flexible. Batman has to be one of those people who can pick up movement skills really quickly and be very good at them.




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Helena Bonham Carter will star as the prolific children's author Enid Blyton in an upcoming BBC 4 documentary.

Having sold over 500 million books in 40 countries, this one-off drama follows the woman behind the enduring and compelling stories such as the beloved Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers and Noddy series.

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From Geek Orthodox: "Batman Teaches You the ABCs."

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