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Vintage DC Comics House Ad

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Oscars 2006 - Academy Award Nominations

Here they are:

Best picture
Brokeback Mountain
Crash
Goodnight, and Good Luck
Munich
Capote

Best director
Steven Spielberg - Munich
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Paul Haggis - Crash
Bennett Miller - Capote
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck

Best actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
Terrence Howard - Hustle and Flow

Best actress
Dame Judi Dench - Mrs Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice

Best supporting actress
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
Frances McDormand - North Country
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote

Best supporting actor
George Clooney - Syriana
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Matt Dillon - Crash
William Hurt - A History of Violence

Best foreign language film
Don't Tell (Italy)
Joyeux Noel (France)
Paradise Now (Palestinian territories)
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (Germany)
Tsotsi (South Africa)

Best animated feature film
Howl's Moving Castle
Corpse Bride
Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Best adapted screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich

Best original screenplay
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Match Point
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana

Best music (score)
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Pride and Prejudice

Best music (song)
In the Deep - Crash
It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp - Hustle and Flow
Travelin' Thru - Transamerica

Best documentary feature
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight

Best documentary short subject
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

Best visual effects
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds

Best cinematography
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Goodnight, and Good Luck
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World

Best art direction
Goodnight, and Good Luck
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride and Prejudice

Best animated short film
Badgered
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
9
One Man Band

Best short film
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time is Up
Six Shooter

Best costume design
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs Henderson Presents
Pride and Prejudice
Walk The Line

Best make-up
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Best sound mixing
The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk The Line
War of the Worlds

Sound editing
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds

Best film editing
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk The Line

Lifetime Achievement Award
Director and writer Robert Altman

Upcoming DC comics collections: Trade paperbacks, graphic novels

Doing ye olde Amazon crystal ball routine, we see the following items coming up later this year (dates are per Amazon and may not reflect actual planned release dates):

May

Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 4 by Elliot S. Maggin, et al (Paperback - May 30, 2006)

Flash Archives Vol. 4 by John Broome, et al (Hardcover - May 30, 2006)

Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 2: Death of a Dream by Mark Waid, et al (Paperback - May 30, 2006)

Sandman Mystery Theatre: The Scorpion by Various (Paperback - May 30, 2006)

Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol. 3 by Grant Morrison (Paperback - May 30, 2006)

June

Teen Titans Go! Vol. 5: On the Move by J Torres (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Batman Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. 2 by Various (Hardcover - June 30, 2006)

Batman Vol. 2: Red Hood by Various (Hardcover - June 30, 2006)

Elfquest Vol. 1: The Hidden Years by Wendy Pini (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Fables: Arabian Nights And Days by Bill Willingham (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Green Lantern: Corps Recharge by Geoff Johns, et al (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

JLA Classified: New Maps of Hell by Warren Ellis, Jackson Guice (Illustrator) (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Majestic 2 by Dan Abnett, et al (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Otherworld 1 by Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning (Illustrator) (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Power Girl by Geoff Johns, et al (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 2 by Various (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Supergirl Vol. 1 by Various (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

Superman: Cover to Cover by Various (Hardcover - June 30, 2006)

Wonder Woman Vol. 4 by George Perez (Paperback - June 30, 2006)

July

Absolute Kingdom Come by Various (Hardcover - July 30, 2006)

Batman Chronicles Vol. 2 by Various (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Batman: City of Crime by Various (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Hellblazer: All His Engines by Mike Carey, Leonardo Manco (Illustrator) (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Lucifer Vol. 10 by Mike Carey, et al (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Metal Men Archives Vol. 1 by Various (Hardcover - July 30, 2006)

Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol. 4 by Grant Morrison, J.h. Williams (Illustrator) (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Showcase Presents 1: Elongated Man by Various (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Teen Titans 5 (Teen Titans) by Geoff Johns (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

Teen Titans Go! Vol. 4: Ready for Action by J Torres (Paperback - July 30, 2006)

August

All Star Superman Vol. 1 by Grant Morrison (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Batgirl Vol. 6 by Andersen Gabrych (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Batman Strikes 3 by Bill Matheny, et al (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Batman Strikes 4 by Bill Matheny, et al (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Captain Marvel Jr. Archives Vol. 1 by Various (Hardcover - August 30, 2006)

Doom Patrol Archives Vol. 4 by Arnold Drake, Various (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Elfquest: Rogues Challenge by Wendy Pini (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Green Lantern Greatest Stories Ever Told by Various (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Hellblazer Vol. 4: Carey by Various (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Justice Society Vol. 1 by Various (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Lobo/Authority by Various (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

Spirit Archives Vol. 19 by Will Eisner (Hardcover - August 30, 2006)

Wildsiderz by Andy Hartnell, J. Scott Campbell (Illustrator) (Paperback - August 30, 2006)

September

Batman: Gotham City Confidential by Various (Paperback - September 30, 2006)

Enemy Ace Archives Vol. 2 by Various (Hardcover - September 30, 2006)

Justice 1 by Jim Krueger, et al (Paperback - September 30, 2006)

Losers Vol. 5 by Andy Diggle, Jock (Illustrator) (Paperback - September 30, 2006)

Plastic Man Archives Vol. 8 by Various (Hardcover - September 30, 2006)

Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan (Paperback - September 30, 2006)

Superman: Where No Superman Has Gone Before by Various (Paperback - September 30, 2006)

October

All Star Batman Vol. 1 by Frank Miller, et al (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Batman Year One: Scarecrow by Various (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Elfquest Vol. 1: Shards by Wendy Pini (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Elfquest Archives Vol. 4 by Wendy Pini (Hardcover - October 30, 2006)

Elfquest: The Discovery by Wendy Pini (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham (Hardcover - October 30, 2006)

Green Lantern Vol. 2: Hal by Various (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey, Glenn Fabry (Illustrator) (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Silver Age Titans Archives Vol. 2 by Various (Hardcover - October 30, 2006)

Supergirl Vol. 2 by Various (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

Superman/Batman Vol. 5 by Jeph Loeb (Paperback - October 30, 2006)

November

Batman the Dark Knight Archives Vol. 5 by Various (Hardcover - November 30, 2006)

Dr. Fate Archives Vol. 1 by Various (Hardcover - November 30, 2006)

JLA: World Without a Justice League by Bob Harras, et al (Paperback - November 30, 2006)

Nightwing Vol. 9 by Various (Paperback - November 30, 2006)

Planetary Vol. 4 by Various (Hardcover - November 30, 2006)

Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 5 by Various (Paperback - November 30, 2006)

Y the Last Man Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan, et al (Paperback - November 30, 2006)

Pop Culture Roundup Jan. 31, 2006

Drawn! notes that several volumes of the new Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions books feature cover art by alt comix artists such as Seth, Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman, Roz Chast and others.

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Just Jared has a bunch of "Mission Impossible 3" pics. Ordinarily, I'd have no desire to see this thing. But Philip Seymour Hoffman is the baddie and J.J. Abrams (co-creator of "Lost") is director, so I'll likely give it a look.

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Get well soon, Mike.

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The two-hour season (series?) finale for "Arrested Development" is set for Feb. 10 on Fox. Funniest dang show on TV, I'm telling ya...

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Scar Stuff helps you practice your typing.

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Via Engadget: Former Doctor Who actor Tom Baker is now the official voice of British Telegraph: "BT has scrapped the computerized voice the company had been using for the system, and replaced it with the voice of Tom Baker of Dr. Who fame. Baker spent 11 days recording nearly 12,000 words and sounds, which were then processed by BT engineers for five months in order to be usable by the text-to-speech system."

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Director Julien Temple is working on a documentary of the late Clash singer Joe Strummer.

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Dial B for Blog presents some nice vintage Marvel Comics house ads.

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The reformation of Pink Floyd at last year's Live 8 concert was a one-off, band members report. They insist the group won't be getting together for a tour.

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Marvel Figure Factory action figures

These are assemble-them-yourself figures that come in a plastic box.


Marvel Figure Factory Wolverine


Marvel Figure Factory Green Goblin


Marvel Figure Factory Spider-Man


Marvel Figure Factory Thing


Marvel Figure Factory Iron Man


Marvel Figure Factory Doc Ock


Marvel Figure Factory Hulk

Marvel Figure Factory Venom

Marvel Super Hero Showdown figures

This is a new card-based game featuring smaller-scale Marvel Legends-type action figures:


Marvel Super Hero Showdown Starter Set A (Hulk and Wolverine)


Marvel Super Hero Showdown Starter Set A (Spider-Man and Thing)


Marvel Super Hero Showdown Battle Pack A (Dr. Octopus)


Marvel Super Hero Showdown Battle Pack A (The Punisher)


Marvel Super Hero Showdown Battle Pack A (Ghost Rider)


Marvel Super Hero Showdown Booster Pack A (Venom)

DVD new releases Jan. 31, 2006

Archie Bunker's Place: The Complete First Season

Benny Hill: Complete and Unadulterated -- the Hill's Angel's Years, Set Four (1978-1981)

Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)

Curse of the Pink Panther

Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 22

Diff'erent Strokes: The Complete Second Season

Hill Street Blues: Season 1

Knight Rider - Season Three

Magnum, P.I. - The Complete Third Season

The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Rat Patrol: The Complete First Season

Revenge of the Pink Panther

Roy Rogers Show, Vol. 1

A Shot in the Dark

Son of the Pink Panther

Trail of the Pink Panther

More Upcoming DVDs.

CD new releases Jan. 31, 2006

Brian Eno and Jah Wobble Spinner

The Everly Brothers The Price of Fame 1960-1965

Wanda Jackson I Remember Elvis

The Kronos Quartet with Terry Riley Cadenza on the Night Plain

Wilson Pickett Midnight Mover and Sound of

Sam and Dave Hold on I'm Comin', I Thank You and Soul Man

Matthew Shipp One

Robert Wyatt EPs

See last week's new cd releases.

Pop Artifact! Batman lamp

Vintage DC Comics House Ad

Comic Book Birthday: Fred Hembeck

Visit Fred.

Pop Culture Roundup Jan. 30, 2006

The latest great Beatles beatleg podcast is up.

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The trailer for "The Notorious Betty Page" is up.

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Just Jared has some early pics of Kirsten Dunst in "Spider-Man 3."

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From Dial B for Blog: Superman meets Lucy.

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It's your last chance to snatch a batch of shared, rare LPs from PCL Linkdump.

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More sharity: Pinicchio has a whole bunch good stuff up right now.

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World of Kane is taking in-depth looks at Gerry Anderson's non-Thunderbirds "supermarionation" series Capt. Scarlet.

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World's Finest has details on the upcoming--and final--episodes of "Justice League Unlimited."

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Yikes!

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Check out the new Power Records sharity blog.

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Looks like the 1988 "Superboy" series is coming to DVD.

Jim Steranko "Shadow" covers: TIP! Saturday Picture Page

Coming on the TIP! Saturday Picture Page

Shadow book covers by Jim Steranko. Tune in tomorrow!

Pop Artifact! James Bond radio

Educational Comics

Comics previews

Mile High Comics has first looks at: Batman and The Monster Men #4; Exterminators #2; Hard Time Season Two #3; Seven Soldiers Bulleteer #3; Thunderbolt Jaxon #1; Y The Last Man #42; I Heart Marvel: My Mutant Heart #1; Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #12; Marvel Romance Redux: But I Thought He Loved Me #1; New Excalibur #4; Spider-Girl #95; Sentry #5; Uncanny X-Men #468; Underworld #1; X-Factor #3 and X-Men: The End Men and X-Men #2.

Marvel Legends box set previews

Action Figure.com has some exclusive pics from the UK Toyfair, including shots of these upcoming Marvel Legends box sets:





See More Marvel Legends.

Pop Culture Roundup Jan. 27, 2006

Booksteve goes to Hanna-Barbera Land.

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Artist Jim Steranko is doing some new comics work.

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There'll be a single-DVD release featuring a selection of episodes from the first season box of "The Adventures of Superman," TV Shows on DVD reports. Out Feb. 21, the disk will include:

1. Superman on Earth
   
2. The Haunted Lighthouse
   
3. The Talkative Dummy
   
4. The Mystery of the Broken Statues
   
5. The Monkey Mystery
   
6. A Night of Terror

More Superman on DVD.

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Review: Sgt. Rock -- The Prophecy

Thomas Wolfe obviously didn't know what he was talking about, because veteran comics artist Joe Kubert has gone home time and time again.

Home to Sgt. Rock, whose World War II exploits Kubert has drawn off and on for a period of nearly 50 years.

The artist, who will be 80 this year, says he views Rock as "an old friend." And it's obvious Kubert has a deep affinity for the rough, always-bestubbled character and his wartime setting.

We fans who grew up reading Rock's exploits in DC's "Our Army at War" series are pretty fond of the guy too.

So it was a treat picking up this first issue of a six-part mini-series and being able to see Rock and Kubert back together again.

As ever, the action flows cinematically with Kubert expertly varying panel counts and sizes to capture a smooth flow of action.

The opening, two-page splash is one dramatic example. The main, huge, panel shows a soldier perched, ready to parachute from an airplane as those who leapt before him drift below. Three small vertical panels to the right depict the parachutists' descent. Kubert's got our attention from there on, as Rock and his guys hike through a bomb-ravaged Lithuanian city on their way to a mysterious rendevous.



The story is just getting started. We learn Easy Co. is supposed to pick something up and bring it home--something that can possibly help shorten the duration of the war. But in the meantime the guys need to negotiate a no-man's land between Russian and German troops. Kubert also hints at tension (racial, personal) within the Easy ranks.

And we see some action. An Easy Co. story wouldn't be an Easy Co. story unless the guys took out a Nazi tank crew. And they do just that in another splendidly drawn sequence excerpted below. Witness what Kubert does via shifting perspective, varying panel sizes and pacing--all without a word of copy. Young artists don't need to enroll in Kubert's cartooning school if they want to see how it's done, because the master shows them right here.



The colors, done by Kubert in collaboration with Pete Carlsson, are also just right: Very muted and mostly flat with lots of grays and pale army greens. They suit the setting and tone of the action perfectly.

My only qualm, really, is that we're still waiting for the meat of this story. I think we'll get to it in the next issue. But the action scenes here, great as they are, seem a little like padding.

The series likely will read a lot better once it's collected in a single book. But those of us eager to see Kubert at work don't want wait that long.

Still, whether you jump on board now or hang in there for the collection, I doubt you'll be disappointed. This is a wonderful opportunity to see one of the form's top practitioners (still) doing marvelous work.

Top 10 graphic novels, DVDs, CDs and action figures Jan. 26, 2006

At Amazon:

Graphic Novels

1. Serenity
2. Watchmen
3. Fables Vol. 6: Homelands
4. The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire
5. V for Vendetta
6. Girl on Girl (Y: The Last Man, Book 6)
7. 300
8. The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
9. Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2: Dangerous
10. Black Hole

DVDs

1. The Aristocrats
2. Wedding Crashers - Uncorked (Unrated Widescreen Edition)
3. Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Widescreen Edition)
4. Flightplan (Widescreen Edition)
5. Serenity (Widescreen Edition)
6. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)
7. Grey's Anatomy - Season 1
8. Firefly - The Complete Series
9. The Constant Gardener (Widescreen Edition)
10. Lost - The Complete First Season

CDs

1. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall ~ Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane
2. The Greatest ~ Cat Power
3. At Folsom Prison ~ Johnny Cash
4. Rabbit Fur Coat ~ Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
5. Illinois ~ Sufjan Stevens
6. Comfort of Strangers ~ Beth Orton
7. Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits ~ Wilson Pickett
8. Get Behind Me Satan ~ The White Stripes
9. Demon Days ~ Gorillaz
10. Aerial ~ Kate Bush

Action figures

1. Krypto the SuperDog - Krypto's Rocket
2. Marvel Legends Legendary Riders Figure: Iron Man Hulk Buster
3. Marvel Legends Legendary Riders Figure: ULTRON
4. Marvel Legends Legendary Riders Figure: Task Master
5. Marvel Legends Sentinel Series Figure: 1st Appearance Spider-Man
6. Kevin and Krypto Figure Pack with Bonus DVD
7. Marvel Legends-Sentinel Series-Angel Red
8. Marvel Legends Sentinel Series Figure: Mr. Sinister
9. Marvel Legends Sentinel Series Figure: Black Panther
10. Marvel Legends Legendary Riders Figure: Wonder-Man

Pop Artifacts! James Bond '60s figures

Educational Comics