Pop Culture Safari!

Quick hits

The Beatles wax figures--just their head actually--featured on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper are going up for auction.

Badfinger drummer Michael Gibbins has passed away.

Here's a trailer for the upcoming "Curious George" film.

Fred Hembeck on Famous Monsters.

Stately Wayne Manor -- not the TV version -- burns down

The mansion stand-in featured in at least one of the Batman films burned down last night, NBC reports.

Of interest is this note at the top of the story:

(Note: The "Wayne Manor" mansion seen in the "Batman" TV series was located in Pasadena. Some false reports put the series taping at 160 S. San Rafael Avenue, the home that was burned and the same impressive home where scenes from movies have been shot. But the "Batman" TV series was actually shot farther down the street, at 380 S. San Rafael. That mansion was purchased in 2005 by Paul McCartney.)

Marvel Legends series 12 and 13 pics!

Here's a couple of teaser sheets giving us a peek at what's in store for the next two waves of Marvel Legends figures:

Series 12

Featuring:
* Bishop (and variant)
* Astonishing X-Men Wolverine (and unmasked variant)
* X-23
* Sasquatch
* Maestro Hulk
* Iron Fist (and red costume variant)
* Apocalypse (build-a-figure with pieces included with other figures)

Series 13

Featuring:
* Lady Death Strike
* Abomination
* Loki
* Crimson Dynamo
* Green Goblin
* Blackheart

The Fatback Band: "(Are You Ready) Do the Bus Stop" -- Today's Best Song Ever

Waiting for mass transportation was never so danceable. With an infectiously groovy bassline, tight drums and spiky keyboards, this is pre-disco funk at its finest.

Still around today, the Fatbacks had their start in 1973 and lay claim to fame for recording the first rap single ever ("King Tim III (Personality Jock)," which came out a week or so ahead of the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight."

Availabile: Raising Hell or 21 Karat Fatback.

Comic book previews

Mile High Comics has sneak peeks of 100 Bullets #65, Action Comics #832, Fables #42, Green Arrow #55, Wildcats: Nemesis #2, Cable/Deadpool #21, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1, Gravity #5, Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #5, Marvel Knights 4 #23, Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell, Marvel Nemesis: Imperfects #6, Mutopia X #4 and Wolverine #34.

Pop Artifact! Halloween!

Vintage Halloween comic book cover

Found at the Great Comic Book Database.

Quick hits

Some cool LP sharity:

(Thanks PCL LinkDump and Bubblegumfink)

Comics Continuum has pics and an update on the "Smallville" version of Aquaman.

Electronic Arts will do a "Return of Superman" video game.

Dial B for Blog is gettin' Halloweeny this week.

The San Francisco Gate takes a good look at comics retailer Brian Hibbs' lawsuit against Marvel Comics.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer checks out Harvey Pekar's "The Quitter."

Peter Jackson will produce a film based on the "Halo" video game.

Will there be a comic based on "Lost"?

New Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys graphic novels

Out from Papercutz in December:

NANCY DREW GRAPHIC NOVEL #4
"The Girl Who Wasn't There"
Stefan Petrucha, writer
Sho Murase, artist
Nancy gets a call for help late one night from a girl she befriended
over the phone when getting technical support to help fix her
computer. When the line goes dead, Nancy is determined to get to the
bottom of things. Soon, Nancy, her Dad, and friends George and Bess
are on their way to India to find Kalpana, the girl who wasn¹t there!
It's only a matter of time before Nancy is captured by Sahadev the
crime lord and is being sacrificed to Kali!
Available in paperback or collector's hardcover.

THE HARDY BOYS GRAPHIC NOVEL #4
"Malled"
Scott Lobdell, writer
Daniel Rendon, artist
Frank and Joe Hardy finish up a case helping a fellow ATAC (American
Teens Against Crime) agent, who sharp-eyed fans may recognize despite
her Alias. Things seem to quiet down when ATAC sends Frank and Joe
undercover to investigate a new Mall opening in Bayport, due to
several suspicious accidents there. But things get exciting when the
night before the big opening, Joe, Frank, and seven others are
mysteriously locked in the mall -with a murderer on the loose. If
that wasn't enough, everything that could go horribly wrong in a
mall, does. A flood caused by water beds. An electrocution at an
electronics shop. A bow and arrow used to kill in the Sporting Goods
store. A runaway elevator. A damsel in distress in the dress shop.
Fire in the food court. And much, much more.
Available in paperback or collector's hardcover.

The Velvet Underground: "Who Loves the Sun" -- Today's Best Song Ever

Sunshine pop from these dark-glasses and leather-clad refugees from Warhol's Factory? Yup.

The opening track of the band's final studio album, some fans at the time probably thought they'd picked up an album by the wrong group. But "Sun" is indeed the post-John Cale Velvets in an especially tuneful mood.

The song is marked by lovely, chiming guitar and cheerful group harmonies that bely the heartbroken lyrics ("Who Loves the Sun / Who loves the sun / Who cares that it makes plants grow / Who cares what it does / Since you broke my heart"). It even goes into Fifth Dimension-esqe "ba ba bas" on the chorus.

It coulda/shoulda been a hit. Instead, it serves as the first of several excellent tunes on Loaded, which also includes the Lou Reed classics "Rock And Roll" and "Sweet Jane."

Available: via iTunes and the remastered, expanded version of Loaded.