See the first poster for upcoming "Addams Family" animated film

Out Oct. 18. I like that they've used the look of Charles Addams' cartoons. The voice cast includes Oscar Isaac (Gomez), Charlize Theron (Morticia), Chloe Grace Moretz (Wednesday), Finn Wolfhard (Pugsley), Nick Kroll (Uncle Fester), and Bette Midler (Grandmama).

Time Capsule: Led Zeppelin on "Beat Club," March 29, 1969



New Music Friday: Keith Richards; Ty Segall; Mekons; John Coltrane; Marvin Gaye; Michael Nesmith; Frank Zappa

Click the links to order items from Amazon.








Pop Culture Roundup: Charles Schulz; Battle of the Planets; Steve Ditko

ITEM! Charles Schulz shares his thoughts on citizenship in a letter to a fan.


ITEM! Remember "Battle of the Planets"? I used to watch the heck out of it after school. Good to hear I wasn't alone!


 ITEM! Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, among other comic book characters, was a prolific self-publisher in his later years. Collaborating with scholar/fan/publisher Robin Snyder created many black-and-white collections that featured new stories and characters, along with autobiographic pieces about his comics career and his Objectivist philosopy. Now Snyder has plans to make those comics available in commercial editions via Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

ITEM! These are cool.


Watch: Animated title sequence for "Doctor Who: The Macra Terror"

"The Macra Terror" is a lost story featuring the second Doctor. The new DVD/Blu-ray title uses surviving audio from the adventure and adds new animation for lost visuals.



Vintage ad: "The Composer" by Diana Ross and the Supremes

Single released on this day in 1969.




So long, Ranking Roger

Ranking Roger, a.k.a. Roger Charlery, former co-lead vocalist of the English Beat and General Public, died yesterday, the Guardian reports.

The Beat, as they were known in England, was one of my favorite groups of the 80s. I loved the group's upbeat sound, sharp lyrics and political smarts. The vocal blend and give and take between Roger and David Wakeling was special and made a statement for racial, as well as musical, harmony.

When the Beat split, Roger and David Wakeling formed General Public and had a fair amount of success. In more recent years, each of the singers led his own version of the Beat - Roger in England and David in the U.S.

Here's Roger doing his stuff:




New Comics Day: Batgirl Bronze Age Omnibus 2; Sgt. Fury Epic Collection; Donald Duck

Our picks. Click the links to order from Amazon.