Pop Culture Roundup: Teen Titans, Free Comic Book Day, Willy Wonka and more!

ITEM! New Teen Titans team creative Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez will appear as their animated selves in an upcoming episode of "Teen Titans Go!"

ITEM! DC Comics is publishing four titles for Free Comic Book Day Aug. 14.

ITEM! Timothée Chalamet will play a young Willy Wonka in a new musical origin story about the Road Dahl character.

ITEM! Jazz pianist Ethan Iverson plays 25 TV classic themes ranging from "The Love Boat" to "The Rockford Files," "Sanford and Son" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." 

Pop Artifact: Vintage "Green Hornet in The Infernal Night" paperback

Pop Pic: Lee Majors

 


Watch: New TV spot for Marvel's "Loki" on Disney+

The new "Loki" TV series starts June 9.

Watch: New teaser trailer for Marvel's "Eternals"

Marvel's new film based on Jack Kirby's "The Eternals" is due out in November.

Best comic book covers of the week

Pop Artifact: Vintage Fisher-Price Jack-in-the-Box

Not terrifying at all.

Pop Pic: Ann Sheridan

 


Video Find: Kraftwerk on "Beat Club," May 22, 1971

Hot Trax '71: Chase, Mary Travers, Stoney and Meatloaf, and more!

New singles on the charts 50 years ago this week.

Joe Cocker - High Time We Went

The 5th Dimension - Light Sings

Tom Jones - Puppet Man

Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds - Don't Pull Your Love Out

Johnnie Taylor - I Don't Wanna Lose You

Delaney and Bonnie and Friends - Never Ending Song of Love

Mary Travers - Follow Me

Chase - Get it On

Stoney and Meatloaf - What You See is What You Get

The Free Movement - I've Found Someone of My Own

Listen to the Hot Trax '71 playlist on Spotify

Pulp Cover Parade: Future Science Fiction

New animated Batman and Superman series coming to HBO Max and Cartoon Network



Bruce Timm returns to Batman! Plus a new Superman series. Details via the media releases below:
HBO Max and Cartoon Network Make Series Commitment For Batman: Caped Crusader CARTOON NETWORK and HBO MAX 
HBO Max and Cartoon Network have greenlit a straight to series order for Batman: Caped Crusader, an all-new animated series and reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens of executive producers Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves and produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), Bad Robot Productions and 6th & Idaho. The news was announced today by Tom Ascheim, President, Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC) and Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS).
 
Tom Ascheim said: “It is always fun to feed the insatiable appetite fans have for all things Batman. Batman: Caped Crusader will entertain first time and die-hard fans alike and, with such an impressive creative team in place, we know we have another future Batman classic in the making.”
 
Batman: Caped Crusader represents Timm’s return to the iconic DC character in animated episodic television, which began with the Emmy® Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series. Praised by many to be the gold standard of animated superhero storytelling, Batman: The Animated Series is considered one of the best depictions of the Dark Knight in any medium.
 
Now, nearly 30 years since the series premiered, Timm once again takes on the mantle of the Bat alongside two of the most acclaimed filmmakers in the industry: J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. Utilizing state-of-the-art animation techniques and technologies available, this powerful creative partnership will once again reinvent Batman and his iconic rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world.
 
Sam Register said: “Batman: The Animated Series was a masterpiece that shaped the perception of the character for an entire generation of fans. It is in that spirit that we are bringing together three master storytellers in J.J., Matt and Bruce – each with their own intuitive understanding and affection for the character – to create a new series that will continue in the same groundbreaking legacy.”
 
Executive Producers Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves said: “We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City. The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world.”
HBO Max and Cartoon Network Take Flight with Series Commitment For My Adventures with Superman

HBO Max and Cartoon Network announced today a two-season series order for My Adventures with Superman an all-new kids and family animated series following the action-packed, comedic and romantic adventures of Superman and Lois Lane. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and based on characters from DC, My Adventures with Superman catches up with twenty-somethings Clark Kent, the bright and driven Lois Lane, and their best friend Jimmy Olsen as they begin to discover who they are and everything they can accomplish together as an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet. The news was announced today by Amy Friedman, Head of Kids & Family Programming, Warner Bros.

“Superman has remained one of the most iconic and beloved Super Heroes in the world,” said Amy Friedman, Head of Kids & Family Programming, Warner Bros. “This fresh take from the Warner Bros. Animation team delivers a modern, relatable Clark Kent alongside a fearless, whip smart Lois Lane who are navigating the small tasks of both becoming adults and trying to save the world.”

In this serialized coming-of-age story, we follow Clark as he builds his secret Superman identity and embraces his role as the hero of Metropolis - and perhaps the world. Lois, now growing into a star investigative journalist, takes aspiring photographer Jimmy Olsen under her wing. All the while, Clark and Lois are falling in love, sharing adventures, taking down bad guys, stumbling over secrets, and discovering what it means to be Superman and Lois Lane. Jack Quaid (The Boys) and Alice Lee (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) lead the voice cast as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively.  

“It’s been a great partnership working with Cartoon Network and HBO Max to bring more DC Super Heroes to the platform in new and creatively interesting ways” said Sam Register, President of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. “This is the first animated Superman series in many years and we want to tell our Superman story through the trio of Clark, Lois and Jimmy - whose relationship dynamic will allow for rich, serialized and engaging stories as we explore their lives as individuals and their journey together as friends.”

My Adventures with Superman is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) serves as executive producer. Jake Wyatt (Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus) and Brendan Clogher (Voltron: Legendary Defender) are on board as co-executive producers and Josie Campbell (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) as co-producer.