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Pop Artifact! Planet of the Apes model kit

Pop Culture Roundup July 12, 2007

An official British watchdog agency is asking UK comics shops to remove a Tintin book from their shelves.

Britain's Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) recommended that "Tintin in the Congo" be removed from shelves after it received a complaint from a member of the public who had seen it in a branch of the Borders chain of book stores.

..."Tintin in the Congo" is the second in a series of 23 books which depict the intrepid travels of a fictional young journalist named Tintin and his dog Snowy. The character was conceived by Belgian George Remi. Remi signed his works Hergé, the French pronunciation of his initials in reverse.

Hergé, Tintin and most specifically "Tintin in the Congo" are no stranger to criticism. Critics have accused Tintin's creator of being a racist and have blasted the Congo adventure for its scenes of violence against animals.

As the report states, this is just the latest flare up of controvery over the book, which should be treated as an artifact of a less-enlightened time--not banned. Indeed, Hergé himself came to regret aspects of the book.

Consider this more even-handed critical appraisal from tintinologist.org:

Tintin au Congo should still be regarded as one of the more silly and youthful albums of Hergé. At the time he was much influenced by his employer, Wallez. Wallez had decided that the Belgian youth needed to know more about the values of Colonialism. Hergé was instructed to show Belgium how the Congolese natives were introduced to civilisation. Throughout the album we will witness further displays of such Colonialism. Tintin shows a condescending - even despising attitude towards the natives. In 1954, as Hergé re-edits the story this attitude would soften, but not disappear.

Tintin doesn't show much respect for the flora and fauna either; in an ultimate effort to put down a comic scene, Hergé lets him kill 13 antilopes. At an earlier point in the story Tintin even kills a rhinoceros with dynamite (after first drilling a hole in the beast's back, where he could place the explosives!). Later Hergé would very much regret these scenes, and he took a firm stand against hunting and poaching.

This just in: A foundation which protects the rights of Tintin author Hergé leaped to his defence on Thursday after criticism from a British racism watchdog.

...The Hergé foundation said the 1931 "Tintin in the Congo" comic book...should be read in the context of the period when it was published.

...The Hergé foundation said the book is meant to be about fun and jokes and does not glorify the widely accepted notions about imperialism, race and ethnicity which were prevalent in Western society during the early 20th century when the book was written.

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Sean Penn and rocker Iggy Pop will add their voices to "Persepolis," the upcoming animated feature based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel.

Penn will play Satrapi's long-suffering father while Pop will voice the role of the young girl's rebellious and politically active uncle.

Work on the English-version dub will begin this summer. Pic will be released Stateside in the fall and producers are trying to ready an English-language version in time for its preem at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

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Actress Laura Vandervoort will star as the Supergirl-ish character on the "we're too embarassed to wear superhero costumes" superhero show Smallville.

Vandervoort begins filming next week and will be introduced to the public at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Supergirl arrives in the Season 7 premiere. Her name is Kara and she is Clark's 19-year-old cousin. She was born on Krypton and is the daughter of Zor-El, Jor-El's brother. Kara possesses all of Clark's powers and one he doesn't yet have -- flying.

Kara also has a strong, rebellious streak that puts her at odds with Clark, and puts her onto Lex's radar. In addition, she takes a romantic interest in Jimmy Olsen.

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The official Indiana Jones site has posted a video of Harrison Ford once again donning his famed fedora.

Vintage Aurora model kit ad

New and upcoming action figures July 12, 2007

Today's video: The Kinks play "Wonder Boy"

This is Pop Culture! celebrates Batgirl

Today, DC Comics releases Showcase Presents Batgirl--a 500-page collection of vintage Batgirl backup stories from Detective Comics and elsewhere.

So, what better time to highlight that character and celebrate her exploits in popular culture? I know I'm not the only comics fan excited to see these adventures back in print.

The Batgirl featured in the Showcase volume--and highlighted here--is the Barbara Gordon incarnation that debuted in 1967, not the earlier Betty Kane Bat-Girl of the early 1960s. And also not Cassandra Cain, the hideously costumed current Batgirl.

To me, Barbara Gordon is the only Batgirl that matters. So, it's a pity she's essentially been written out being.

Comics writer Alan Moore, in the one-shot (in more ways than one) Batman story "Killing Joke" put an end to Barbara's costumed exploits by having the Joker shoot her in the spine, paralyzing her. Regrettably, DC elected to keep Barbara disabled, reinventing her as the character Oracle in the Birds of Prey series.

While it's refreshing to see a disabled heroine in comics, I'm sorry that it meant phasing out a character many fans loved and enjoyed. Plus, Barbara's fate was too dark, too grim, considering the spirit of the character and the original age of her fanbase. It's another case of comics scripters and editors messing with existing characters when they ought to just create new ones.*

Barbara Gordon as Oracle just ain't the same as Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. And neither is Cassandra Cain as Batgirl.

The real Batgirl had so much going for her: She was Commissioner Gordon's daughter--a great setup for all sorts plots. She was a librarian. She had red hair. She had a motorcycle. She was fun. She was tough and independent (for her day). And she looked great in that costume.

Sigh...like I said, it's a pity she's gone. But at the same time, it'll be wonderful having a big batch of her adventures available in one big book with scripts by the great John Broome and fantastic art by the likes of Gil Kane and Carmine Infantino.

But before you head out to the comics shop, or click that Amazon link up above, take a moment to enjoy some of the other Batgirl-related posts here today.

* Word is there will be an All-Star Batgirl coming out from DC at some point, featuring Barbara behind the mask. However, fans of the original version will need to wait and see if it's an agreeable approach. Also, the Barbara Batgirl has been featured in DC's various "animated"-style comics spun off of the recent Batman cartoon series. So maybe she's not as gone as she seems.

Best Batgirl sites on the Web

1966 Batman
A celebration of the 1960s Batman TV series, featuring Batgirl info and pics.

Batgirl at Wikipedia
The entry charts the history of all the Batgirls.

Yvonne Craig
Official site for the actress who played Batgirl on TV back in the 1960s.

The Batgirl Archives
A fan site dedicated to the various incarnations of Batgirl.