DC's Wednesday Comics Flash preview art

The more I see of DC's Wednesday Comics series, the more I like. Here's some cool preview art from Karl Kerschl, illustrator for the anthology's Flash strip.

Pop links: Star Trek photo novels! Wire creator has new HBO series! Monkees comics! Vintage Aquaman game! Where the Wild Things Are figures!

The Bronze Age of Blogs remembers those Star Trek "photo novels" of the 1970s. I think my middle school library had a bunch of 'em.



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PCL LinkDump takes a look at early LP warning labels.

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HBO has picked up a new series by David Simon, creator of Best Show Ever "The Wire":

"Treme" chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. It is being shot in the Crescent City.

The show's cast includes Wendell Pierce, Clarke Peters, Khandi Alexander, Steve Zahn, Kim Dickens and Bob Brown.

The number of episodes is still being determined, with the pay cable network eyeing a fall debut.


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Hey, hey, it's the Monkees!



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Holy mackerel! I'd never seen this Aquaman game until Jon posted it on his Random Acts of Geekery blog.



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Aw cute! It's "Where the Wild Things Are" Kubrick figures.

Official track list revealed for George Harrison Let it Roll collection



Here's the official press release, with final track list, for the new George Harrison compilation Let it Roll, out June 16.

Capitol/EMI confirms the tracklist for George Harrison's first-ever career-spanning solo hits collection, Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison. To be released June 16 (June 15 internationally), the CD's special packaging includes a 28-page booklet featuring previously unseen and rare photos, and newly-written liner notes by Warren Zanes. The collection's 19 tracks have been digitally remastered by Giles Martin at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, and will be available in CD and digital formats.

"Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison is a gathering of material that takes us far into the territory that was ultimately a place unique to George Harrison," writes Warren Zanes in his liner notes essay for the new collection.

This collection is the first to span Harrison's entire solo recording career, including the #1 Billboard Pop singles "My Sweet Lord," "Isn't It A Pity," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)," and "Got My Mind Set On You." Let It Roll also features live recordings of three timeless Harrison-penned Beatles songs, "Something," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Here Comes The Sun," from his 1971 all-star Concert For Bangladesh benefit at Madison Square Garden.

"The keyhole into the world of George Harrison is the music itself. Yet his songs and the accomplishments for which he's remembered are inextricably bound - and those accomplishments are, without question, eclectic in scope," Zanes writes.

George Harrison is a twice-inducted member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a solo artist and as a member of The Beatles, and an 11-time Grammy Award winner for his recordings with The Beatles, Traveling Wilburys, and as a solo artist. On April 14, Harrison was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison (CD, digital)

1. Got My Mind Set On You
2. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
3. The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
4. My Sweet Lord
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps [Live] - Concert For Bangladesh
6. All Things Must Pass
7. Any Road
8. This Is Love
9. All Those Years Ago
10. Marwa Blues
11. What Is Life
12. Rising Sun
13. When We Was Fab
14. Something [Live] - Concert For Bangladesh
15. Blow Away
16. Cheer Down
17. Here Comes The Sun [Live] - Concert For Bangladesh
18. I Don't Want To Do It
19. Isn't It A Pity

The Beatles: Rock Band guitar pictures

Here are pics of the aforementioned guitars for the upcoming Beatles: Rock Band game:




New comics May 6, 2009: Boris Karloff, Buffy, Creepy, Spidey, more!

BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY ARCHIVES VOL. 1 A collection from the old Gold Key Comics series, featuring work by Alex Toth, Joe Orlando, Mike Sekowsky, Al Williamson and others.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #25 More Buffy!


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CREEPY ARCHIVES VOL. 3
More spooky tales from the Warren black-and-white horror mag, featuring work by Frank Frazetta, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando and others.

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CLASSIC SPIRIT PVC SET
From Dark Horse Comics, a set of four figures from Will Eisner's famed Spirit strip: The Spirit, Ellen Dolan and Commissioner Dolan, plus a mystery femme fetale.

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SGT ROCK 1/6 SCALE DELUXE COLLECTOR FIGURE
Cool, but spendy. Anybody out there still have a disposable income?

SUPERGIRL COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8TH GRADE #6 (OF 6) This was a fun mini. I hope they'll do a sequel.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #593 More Spidey!

ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL. 9 WAY MORE Spidey! This slab collects Collects Amazing Spider-Man #161-185 & Annual #11, Giant-Size Spider-Man #6 and Nova #12.

Garcia-Lopez to draw Metal Men in DC's Wednesday Comics

This Wednesday Comics title coming up from DC in July is looking better all the time. The latest bit of news--accompanied by the nice page of preview art below--is that veteran artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez will be drawing a Metal Men feature. Looks great!

BBC presents Pete Seeger birthday profile

Check out "Pete Seeger at 90" on the BBC.

Vincent Dowd celebrates the life and work of American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, as he turns 90. Drawing on BBC archives and new interviews, Vincent explores Seeger's continuing efforts to improve the world through the power of song.

He hears Seeger's views on a range of issues and his hopes for the future under the leadership of Barack Obama, at whose inauguration he performed.

Featuring some of the musicians who have interpreted Seeger's songs, including Marlene Dietrich, Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen, and an unplugged version of This Land is Your Land by Seeger himself.

Details on The Beatles: Rock Band instruments

Not only will people be able to play along with the Beatles once the new Fabs-based Rock Band game is released, they'll be able to do so on replicas of the band's instruments.

According to various sources, items available will be replicas of John Lennon's Rickebacker 325, George Harrison's Gretsch Duo Jet for $99 each. These fake instruments won't be included in the "special edition" of the game, which comes with a replicas of Paul McCartney's iconic violin-shaped Hofner bass and Ringo Starr's bass drum with Beatles logo.

And, according to Kotaku, the game will feature the ability to attach up to three microphones so players can take a stab at replicating the Fabs' harmonies.

Y'know what, though, why not learn to play a real guitar? For the price of the game and assorted extra plastic guitars, you could buy an Epiphone Casino, the guitar John, George and Paul owned from the late 1960s on and used on the sessions from everything from "Rubber Soul" through "Abbey Road."

You will never be cool playing a toy guitar, man.



Pop links: Wrath of Khan comic! Star Trek LPs! B-movie classics!

IDW Publishing is doing a comic book adaptation of "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan."



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On My Mind presents a batch of Star Trek-related LP covers.



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Check out AMC's new B-Movie Classics site, where you can watch full-length flicks like "Drag Strip Girls," "Hercules Unchained," "Saga of the Viking Women" and more!

CD new releases May 5, 2009: Star Trek and Wolverine soundtracks; Remastered Rolling Stones; New York Dolls; Smithereens play Tommy, more!

CDs of interest this week. Click the titles to order discounted items from Amazon.


Star Trek OST by Michael Giacchino


X-Men Origins: Wolverine OST by Harry Gregson-Williams


Outer South by Conor Oberst


A Message from the People by Ray Charles


'Cause I Sez So by New York Dolls


Sticky Fingers [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] by The Rolling Stones


Goats Head Soup [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] by The Rolling Stones


It's Only Rock 'N Roll [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] by The Rolling Stones


Black and Blue [Original Recording Remastered] by The Rolling Stones


Rolling Stones Box Set (2009) (4 CD's) by Rolling Stones


Tommy by Smithereens


At the Apollo (CD with Bonus DVD) by Arctic Monkeys


Sounds of the Mike Sammes Singers by Mike Sammes & Mike Sammes Singers


Soul Brother No. 1 by James Brown


The Boat That Rocked OST

DC teases new Batgirl

DC Comics has released this teaser for a new Batgirl series to debut in August. The mystery is, who's behind the mask? Cassandra Cain, the most recent Batgirl? Barbara Gordon? Or somebody new?

Me, I like Babs.

DVD new releases May 5, 2009:Benjamin Button; Doctor Who; That Girl; Twilight Deluxe; Crusoe; Last Exile; Spidey; The Monks; Gigantor!

Releases of interest this week. Click the title to order discounted DVDs from Amazon.


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Two-Disc Special Edition)


Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy - Full Circle/State of Decay/Warriors' Gate (Episodes 112-114)


Doctor Who: Battlefield (Episode 156)


That Girl: Season Five


Twilight (Ultimate Collector's Set) (Amazon.com Exclusive) [Blu-ray]


Crusoe: The Complete Series


Last Exile: The Complete Series Box Set


The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 1


Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback


Gigantor: The Collection, Vol. 1

Wilco/Feist record Woody Guthrie benefit download

Wilco and Feist have recorded a new tune based on lyrics by the great folk songwriter Woody Guthrie. Titled "The Jolly Banker," you can download it here. There's no price for the song, but Wilco are asking for a $2 donation, which will benefit the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives.

Batman: Brave and the Bold upcoming episode details

The Cartoon Network has released details on upcoming episodes of "Batman: Brave and the Bold":

May 8: "Night of the Huntress!"

"Blue Beetle develops a crush on the slightly older and far-more-dangerous femme fatale Huntress, but there is little time for love with Baby Face busting his gang out of prison for a major heist! Watch the crowd closely during the jailbreak sequence to see some favorite villains, including Pharaoh, Skeleton Keyes, Polecat Perkins and more!"

May 15: "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!"

"31st Century Booster Gold travels back 100 centuries to join Batman and become a celebrity hero. In his quest for fame, he unwittingly enables the immortal tyrant Vandal Savage to carry out his nefarious plot of turning everyone into cavemen and taking over the world!"

May 22: "The Color of Revenge!"

"Batman and Robin team up again, but it's not like it always was -- there was a reason Robin left to go work on his own. As Crazy Quilt comes after Robin for revenge, all the dirty laundry comes out between the dynamic duo!"

May 29: "Legends of the Dark Mite!"

"Batman's biggest fan, BatMite, is also his biggest nightmare when the 5th dimensional imp pops up and in an effort to make Batman a better hero, throws Gotham City into chaos. Kidnapping the Dark Knight and traveling to the surreal 5th dimension, the adventure continues with references to many of the classic villains."

Pop links: Moldoff! Star Trek Month! Westwood Records! Pete Seeger!

The Horrors of it All presents a Sheldon Moldoff-illustrated horror tale from 1954.



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It's Star Trek Month on Mark's Super Blog.



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NPR remembers Detroit's 1970s soul/fun label Westwood Records.

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The New York Times reports on Pete Seeger's 90th birthday concert last weekend at Madison Square Garden.

In an updated version of the 1930s labor anthem "Which Side Are You On?" Ani DiFranco sang, "Now there’s folks in Washington that care what’s on our minds." Bruce Springsteen told of rehearsing for the recent presidential inauguration with Mr. Seeger, who had relayed the story of "We Shall Overcome," crucial to both the labor and civil rights movements. Watching the transfer of presidential power, Mr. Springsteen said, "was like, ’ Pete, you outlasted the bastards, man.’ It was so nice."

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NPR presents its own Seeger birthday tribute here.

Video find: The Yellow Balloon