Retro-Action DC Superheroes action figures spotlighted

Superhero Times has an in-depth review and lots of pics of these Mego-tastic new figures featuring Superman, Lex Luthor, Batman, Green Lantern and more.

2010 Eisner Award nominees announced

Highlight categories:

Best Graphic Album—New
Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzuccheilli (Pantheon)
A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.), by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
The Book of Genesis Illustratedby R. Crumb The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb 1 edition, by R. Crumb (Norton)
My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and Émile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric Lemerier (First Second)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Best Comics-Related Book
Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel, by Annalisa Di Liddo (University Press of Mississippi)
The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)
The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, by Helen McCarthy (Abrams ComicArts)
Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater, by Eric P. Nash (Abrams ComicArts)
Will Eisner and PS Magazine, by Paul E. Fitzgerald (Fitzworld.US)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
The Best of Simon & Kirby, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, edited by Steve Saffel (Titan Books)
Blazing Combat, by Archie Goodwin et al., edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Humbug, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures deluxe edition, by Dave Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Bloom County: The Complete Library, vol. 1, by Berkeley Breathed, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Bringing Up Father, vol. 1: From Sea to Shining Sea, by George McManus and Zeke Zekley, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley’s Cartoons 1913–1940, edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, by Gahan Wilson, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Prince Valiant, vol. 1: 1937–1938, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, Walt McDougall, and W. W. Denslow (Sunday Press)

Best Publication for Kids
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, by Jarrett J. Krosoczeka (Knopf)
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis (Bloomsbury)
Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and Fabrice Parme (First Second)
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hc, by L. Frank Baum, Eric Shanower, and Skottie Young (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series
Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy et al. (Vertigo/DC)
Irredeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image)

Best Writer/Artist–Nonfiction
Reinhard Kleist, Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness (Abrams ComicArts)
Willy Linthout, Years of the Elephant (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Joe Sacco, Footnotes in Gaza (Metropolitan/Holt)
David Small, Stitches (Norton)
Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Michael Kaluta, Madame Xanadu #11–15: “Exodus Noir” (Vertigo/DC)
Steve McNiven/Dexter Vines, Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Marvel)
Fiona Staples, North 40 (WildStorm)
J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)
Danijel Zezelj, Luna Park (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer
Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil, Marvels Project (Marvel) Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)
Geoff Johns, Adventure Comics, Blackest Night, The Flash: Rebirth, Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
James Robinson, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
Mark Waid, Irredeemable, The Incredibles (BOOM!)
Bill Willingham, Fables (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer/Artist
Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW)
R. Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated (Norton)
David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
Terry Moore, Echo (Abstract Books)
Naoki Urasawa, Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka (VIZ Media)

Punk godfather Malcolm McLaren dies

The infamous manager of the Sex Pistols was 64, reports Rolling Stone.

An icon of the punk movement that swept Great Britain in the mid-Seventies, McLaren got his start as a fashion designer who opened up a clothing shop with Vivienne Westwood called Let It Rock. While in New York City to start up a new boutique, he became the New York Dolls manager, a role he held until their breakup in 1976. After working with the Dolls and returning to London, McLaren wanted to start up his own band — the misfit group of punks would later be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the Sex Pistols.

Mini-reunion on Batman: Brave and the Bold

Adam West, Julie Newmar, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy -- all variously associated with past televised exploits of the Caped Crusader -- will all be featured on this Friday's episode of the show.

Adam West, star of the lighthearted 1960s live-action series, and Kevin Conroy, whose iconic voice headlined Batman: The Animated Series in the ’90s, join Brave and the Bold star Diedrich Bader in “Chill of the Night,” an unofficial prequel to the series.

West plays Thomas Wayne, father of Bruce, who we all know grows up to be Batman, and Conroy plays the Phantom Stranger, a supernatural being who pushes Batman toward the side of justice rather than vengeance. Adding to the Batmania, Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman alongside West, and Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker opposite Conroy, also have roles in the episode.

Hamill plays the Spectre, an agent of vengeance who wagers with Phantom Stranger on how Batman will respond when he discovers the identity of the man who killed his parents.

BBC unveils Doctor Who online adventure game

Visit the Beeb to play interactive games featuring the Doctor and Amy.

These four new adventures will take the form of downloadable computer games available for PC and Mac, in which players assume control of The Doctor and Amy as they embark on new adventures which complement the new TV series.

Doctor Who – The Adventure Games has been produced by a team drawing on the very best talent from TV and gaming. The interactive episodes are executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden (BBC Wales Interactive), alongside Charles Cecil, one of videogaming's most revered creators.

The games are being developed by Sumo Digital, one of the UK's best game designers. Stories and scripts are by Phil Ford (co-writer Doctor Who – Waters Of Mars) and James Moran (Severance, Torchwood Children Of Earth).

Beatles remasters on vinyl set for Oct. 4 release

The Fabs catalog will be available as 16 LPs, available in a spiffy box set with 100-page book, or individually. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

The Spirit: Quality Comics covers

Wrapping up a look at pre-Kitchen Sink and Warren Comics reprints of Will Eisner's legendary strip.

The Spirit: Harvey Comics covers

Video finds: Rolling Stones "We Love You" promo film

This promo, in excellent condition, references the then-recent Jagger/Richards drug bust and features an appearance by Marianne Faithfull.

Pop links: Wally Wood! Jack Kirby!

Booksteve presents the Wally Wood-illustrated Ripley's Believe it or Not tale "Ghost Ship."



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See Jack Kirby's stories from In the Days of the Mob.

The Spirit: Fiction House comics covers

I discovered Will Eisner's marvelous Spirit strips when Kitchen Sink was reprinting them in black-and-white magazine form back in the 1980s. But I like seeing covers from earlier reprints of the series, such as this one from Fiction House in the 1950s. Some nice covers here. Were they created by Eisner and staff or the publisher, I wonder?