Pop Culture Safari!

Buffy turns 30!

Yikes! Guess we're all getting older...

Here's a press release from Dark Horse Comics:

Careful readers may have noticed that the release date of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #40 has been moved to January 19, 2011. The change in date is no accident. The final issue of the much-talked-about series will hit shelves on the birthday of Buffy Summers. In order to celebrate both the end of Season 8 and the birthday of the beloved character, Dark Horse is proud to announce six Buffy Birthday Parties across the country!

Dark Horse editor Scott Allie had this to say about the event: "It's been a long, strange ride to the end of Buffy's eighth season, and when we realized that her thirtieth birthday fell on a Wednesday, the day new comics go on sale, we realized we had to move our release date to coincide. We're excited to celebrate this landmark occasion and hope we can gather good crowds of Buffy readers and fans together to wish her well as she heads off for Season 9, a little bit older, her head hung low. . . . "

It's hard to believe the vampire slayer is another year older, but time and tide wait for no man, woman, or demon. If, while reading this, you notice your local comic shop is not listed as hosting a party, have the shop's owner contact Dark Horse, and we'll provide them with activity sheets to host their own event.

The following locations will have games, prizes, giveaways, and more for their Buffy Birthday Party! Details vary by location.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA
4:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m.
Oxford Comics Games & More
2855 Piedmont Road NE
(404) 233-8682
http://www.oxfordcomics.com

Special Guest: Georges Jeanty, artist, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8

PORTLAND, OREGON
5:30 p.m.—7:45 p.m.
Multnomah County Library
Central Library, US Bank Room
801 SW 10th Ave.
(503) 988-5123
http://www.multcolib.org/events/

Special Guests: Scott Allie and Sierra Hahn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 editors

*Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 comics will be available for sale at the event from Cosmic Monkey Comics.

MISSOULA, MONTANA
4:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m.
Muse Comics & Games
2100 Stephens Ave., Suite 107
(406) 543-9944
http://www.musecomics.com/

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Midtown Comics Downtown
64 Fulton St.
(800) 411-3341 / (212) 302-8192
http://www.midtowncomics.com/

HURST, TEXAS
4:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Lone Star Comics #6
931 Melbourne Rd.
(817) 595-4375
http://www.mycomicshop.com/ourstores/hurst

PLANO, TEXAS
5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Lone Star Comics #8
3100 Independence Parkway #318
(972) 985-1593
http://www.mycomicshop.com/ourstores/plano

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Roderick Rules teaser

My son has breezed through every Wimpy Kid book and I've followed suit. They're really pretty danged funny and the first film was well done, too.

Stan Lee gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Marvel Comics writer/publisher, co-creator of Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, etc., will receive his star today, a week after his 88th birthday.

"I'm pretty proud of the fact that some of the stories I wrote so many years ago are still being read and hopefully enjoyed by the public and people are making motion pictures based on them, and television series and even a Broadway show," Lee said.

Lee pays attention to everything, he said, including last month's accident that injured an actor in the Spider-Man Broadway show. "Not a sparrow falls but that I notice," he said.

BBC America is sponsoring a homemade TARDIS contest as a "Doctor Who" promotion. Entries can be made of nearly anything and need not be able to traverse space or time (although that certainly would give you a leg up...)

Letter columns returning to DC Comics

DC has announced the return of regular letters pages to its comic book series -- a move I like. Sure, some may argue that lettercols are no longer necessary, and even silly in an age of online forums, but I believe they give comics titles a sense of community. Besides, I'd rather read reasonably thought out and concise opinions on a printed page than scroll through the trolls online.

Fantagraphics to publish complete Carl Barks Duck collection

Oh yeah, sign me up:

In what is sure to be one of the most acclaimed comics events of 2011, Fantagraphics has announced that they will be publishing a definitive collection of Carl Barks’ seminal run of Donald Duck comic stories.

...the first volume will be released in fall of this year. The comics will be published in hardcover volumes, with two volumes coming out every year, at a price of about $25 per volume.