Here Comes the Justice League

Smallville returns with new episodes on January 11, with an episode called "Hydro" (directed by Tom Welling), but the one we've all been waiting for is the following week -- "Justice" -- featuring the return of many of the heroes who have appeared on the series previously, including Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and Green Arrow. The Martian Manhunter does not appear in this episode, but he will return later in the season.

In preparation for "Justice," the CW will rerun the episodes that introduced these heroes to Smallville. This Thursday, watch back-to-back the episodes that featured Flash and Cyborg. Next Thursday will feature the Aquaman and Green Arrow intro episodes.

Fantastic new movie trailers

The best thing about going to the movies for me has always been the trailers. With most trailers avaialble online, I have one more reason not to go (too many other reasons to list). So with that in mind, here's a bunch of trailers for movies that I will be seeing at home in the next year or so (with a few exceptions, I'm sure).

First, let's start with the coolest -- the first teaser trailer for the new Fanatasic Four movie -- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. We already saw pic of the Silver Surfer -- but here he is in action being chased by the Human Torch. We also get a glimpse at the better make-up for the Thing.

Here's a few other trailers of note:

• 300 (based on Frank Miller's graphic novel)
• Shrek the Third
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Ocean's 13 (now with more Pacino)
• Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino's & Robert Rodruiguez B-movie homage)
• Transformers: The Movie
• Live Free or Die Hard (Bruce Willis is back as John McClane)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The 50 Greatest Cartoons

Here is a list of the 50 greatest cartoons ever made, as compiled in 1994 by animation historian Jerry Beck and voted on by animation professionals. Even better than the list itself are all of the links to the actual catroons.

If you've never seen Bambi Meets Godzilla or Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs, here's your chance, along with plenty of other classics by Warner Bros. Disney, MGM and many more.

Of course, you'll see One Froggy Evening, a personal favorite as my profile photo indicates, and many other Chuck Jones cartoons. (What's Opera, Doc?, of course being #1 on the list)

Hours of online viewing fun, friends.

First Look at the Silver Surfer

Here's a first look at the Silver Surfer, herald of Galactus, as he appears in the upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which opens in June 2007.

The trailer is being shown this weekend in front of Night at the Museum, and will likely be online before the end of the weekend.

USA Today offers a little more info about the movie here.

Updated: Stephen King Talks "Dark Tower "Comic

UPDATE: Marvel has created a mini-site for its Dark Tower series that includes a trailer, screensaver and more.

Announced over a year ago, the first issue of Stephen King's comic adaptation of his Dark Tower series, the seven-issue The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, finally hits stores in February. USA Today talked to him about the project, which focuses on the untold origins of untold origin of Roland Deschain:

"I had a lot of involvement in casting the course of the narrative," King says. "Beyond that, I wanted to give a lot of control over to these other imaginations, which I had come to respect. The first few issues, I should add, are almost entirely drawn from the books. Readers will recognize them and hopefully be as thrilled as I am."

A Very Clickable Christmas

The Christmas Spot is a site that compiles 101 Christmas shows -- everything from Christmas episodes of sitcoms old (Ozzie and Harriet) and new (The Office), to stop-motion Christmas classics (Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town) and even superhero cartoons (Justice League, Batman).

You'll even find the rare, universally panned Star Wars Holiday Special and much more (commercials, music videos, specials). Heat up a mug of hot chocolate and enjoy some Christmas past.

RIP Joe Barbera

Joe Barbera, half of the legendary animation team, that created Tom and Jerry, and revolutionized TV animation in the 1960s, has passed. He was 95. His partner, Bill Hanna, died in 20o1.

Together, they created Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones, Jetsons, Scooby Doo and many more famous cartoon characters and series.

According to Animation Magazine:

The animation industry has lost another legend with the passing of Joseph Barbera, who teamed with William Hanna to create famed cartoon studio Hanna-Barbera Prods. in 1944. At the age of 95, Barbera was still an active member of the Warner Bros. Animation team and was listed as exec producer for series such as What's New Scooby-Doo? and Tom and Jerry Tales. In 2005, he wrote, co-storyboarded and co-directed the new Tom and Jerry theatrical short titled KarateGuard. He died Monday of natural causes at his home in Studio City, Calf. with wife Sheila at his side.

The Monkees' A Capella Spanish Christmas Song

Brian Setzer Orchestra live - "Sleigh Ride'

Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas"

The original charity song in all of its poofy and goofy 80s hair glory....

John Mellencamp Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Hall & Oates' "Jingle Bell Rock"

Crosby and Sinatra Duet on "White Christmas"

Bing and Bowie Do Christmas

From 1977, the same year Bing died

Beach Boys perform "Little Saint Nick"

Elvis sings Blue Christmas

From the 1968 Comeback Special....

Listen Bud, He's Got Radioactive Blood

Ya gotta love the classics -- a 1967 Spiderman cartoon -- "The Spider and the Fly"

Nightwing set to appear in Batman cartoon

The next new episode of the Kids' WB The Batman will be partly set in the future, and will feature Dick Grayson, introduced to the show at the beginning of this season, as Nightwing. At right, is a look at how he will appear in the show. Note also Batman's costume change from how it normally appears in the series (black, instead of blue; no oval in the chest symbol)

RIP Peter Boyle

Peter Boyle died last night at the age of 71. Watch one of his greatest moments from one of the funniest movies ever made, Young Frankenstein:

Darth Vader is a bad Dad

Check out this public service announcement.

"Charlie Brown Christmas" done by the "Scrubs" cast

The cast and crew of Scrubs got together during the 3rd season of the show and recorded their own version of A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring the footage from the animated classic, but their own take on the script, done just like an abbreviated episode of the show. Check it out.

Trailer for animated Iron Man

The direct-to-DVD animated movie The Invincible Iron Man, hits stores on January 23. It's from the same team that created the two Ultimate Avengers DVD movies, and stars the same voice actor playing Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Here's the trailer.

Just like a spider can...

From CNN:

A team at a British aerospace and defense company have created a re-usable adhesive material that can stick to any surface, a small piece of which could easily support the weight of a small family car.

How well do you know Bond?

Take this Bond quiz by the BBC.

And for more 007 fun, check out trailers for every Bond film.

RIP VHS

From Variety:

The format flourished until DVDs launched in 1997. After a fruitful career, VHS tapes started to retire from center stage in 2003 when DVDs became more popular for the first time.
Since their retirement, VHS tapes have made
occasional appearances in children's entertainment and as a format for collectors seeking titles not released on DVD. VHS continued to make as much as $300 million a year until this year, when studios stopped manufacturing the tapes.

More Spidey 3 footage

During its airing of Spider-Man 2 on Thanksgiving night, Fox showed clips and interview segments during commercial breaks promoting Spider-Man 3, which opens May 4, 2007. In addition to some of the footage from the latest trailer, there was lots of new moments, including a better shot Harry in his Goblin outfit, Willem Defoe back again as Norman Osborn, and an official shot of Venom. You can see all of the clips here.

In addition, this week Sony released a new teaser poster for the movie, seen below:

Loving Star Trek

OK -- I've been stuck at home convalescing for the last several days, and among the many hours of TV I have consumed thanks to my DVR, I watched a LOT of episodes of the various versions of Star Trek, some for the first time. Here's my random thoughts on what I've seen recently.

First , the original series -- they just showed "Mirror, Mirror," which may be my favorite episode of the remastered ones they showed so far. Shatner was very good in it, playing his regular self fighting against the evil versions, plus they showed just enough of him hamming it up as the evil Kirk on the good Enterprise to realize that a little of that goes a long way. I love how in end, where he started swooping on the good version of the hot chick he was with in the mirror universe. It actually ended with him walking up behind her. Spock was great in both universes, and evil Sulu and Chekov were riots. I thought the "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode was good as well. Some laugh-out loud moments. Shatner in his smirking glory.

DS9: I just watched the Tribbles episode. The framework of the show was Sisko explaining to the continuity cops what happened. The premise was that the bad guy from the original Tribbles episode (Klingon made to look human, played by the same actor from original) was trying to go back in time to kill Kirk before he exposed him. Sisko, Dax (looking very hot in her TOS uniform), Worf, O'Brien, Odo and Dr. Bashir follow him back to find out his plans, then foil them. They splice in several scenes from the original episode, most notably the bar fight scene, where several of them get involved in as well. The best part is they ask Worf why the Klingons look so different. He says that the reason is an embarrassing point in their history that they don't like to talk about. Nice dodge there. When Kirk lines up all the crew members involved in the fight, Bashir and O'Brien are there, and it looks like Kirk is talking to O'Brien directly, and he answers him. Very well done.

Sisko and Dax discover that the bad guy has placed a bomb in one of the Tribbles, and they are in the bin trying to find it. They cut it to make it look like that the tribbles falling on Kirk toward the end ("someone close this door" ) are being tossed by Dax. There's a brief, slightly awkward interaction with Kirk and Sisko near the end, and it ends with the continuity cops letting them off the hook because they saved Kirk and the Enterprise without changing time, but that's because they don't tell them/show them the tribble infestation now on DS9. The reason that there no Tribbles in the future is the their enemies, the Klingons, wiped them out. Worf freaked when he saw one. Good stuff. Love Worf and O'Brien on the show -- that was a great move.

Next Generation: just watched for the millionth time, the 2-parter where Jellico takes over the Enterprise when Picard goes on a Cardassisan mission and is tortured ("There are 4 lights!") I decided to check it out yet again. Wow, it really is a good one, both Patrick Stewart and Ronny Cox (Jellico) deserved Emmys for that episode, plus it has the Cardassian that sounds like Ra's Al Ghul (David Warner)! Just brilliant stuff, but I think a scene was cut out. Geordi asks Riker to talk to Picard before he leaves about the Jellico problems, but they don't show Riker talking to him. I could have sworn there was a scene where he started to bitch, then realized Picard had bigger problems and changed his mind. But, wow that was a great 2-parter that holds up well, even better than the 2-parter with Picard becoming a Borg.

I also watched a 2nd season ep when retarded aliens kidnap Geordi while Picard is on a space station getting an artificial heart transplant and has to travel by shuttle with Wesley to get there. It's the first time that two of them really talk, and you find out the reason for Picard's fake heart, which they expand on in a later episode with Q that I saw recently.

What a great show.

Remastered episodes of the original series air every Sunday at 11 am on the CW (in Philly area). Next Generation can be seen at various times on both G4 and Spike. DS9 can be seen on Spike at 2 pm on weekday afternoons. Unremastered episodes of the original series either uncut or with commentary also air on G4.

New LOVE for The Beatles

This is a great article about LOVE, the soundtrack to the new Cirque de Soleil show that remixes Beatles songs toghether, produced by George Martin and his son with the Beatles' approval. I am very curious to hear this. The CD comes out next week.

"Batman & Robin" nab bad guys in England

New Spider-Man 3 trailer

Some pretty cool stuff here, with a new Spider-Man 3 trailer that provides new info on Spidey's origin and focuses on the the theme of revenge. There are lots of great Sandman scenes that look like they come directly from the Lee/Ditko comics. We see a little bit of Harry doing Goblin-like stuff and a couple of quick moments of Eddie Brock, but no Venom, no Gwen Stacy and nothing concrete about Harry as a new Goblin. However, look for a lot of black costume. Very cool

The trailer can be seen in theatres next weekwih new Bond movie, Casino Royale.

New U2/Green Day video

U2 and Green Day have teamed up on song about New orkeleans and hurricane Katrina. check out the video on YouTube.

Wesley Crusher write about his time on the enterprise

Actor Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation) has a blog where we writes irreverently about episodes of ST:TNG. Here;s a sample from his write-up of the 1987 episode, "The Naked Now":

Geordi, Tasha, Riker and Data make a quick trip to the Tsiolkovsky, where they confirm that the crew had a sexy party which ended with all of them in various stages of undress and death. Geordi examines a sonic shower, and a frozen woman falls into his arms. Geordi doesn't know it, but he's just been infected with the Tsiolokovsky disease. He also doesn't know it, but this is the closest he'll get to holding a woman until season three. Unfortunately, when he finally does, she'll be just as frigid.

Pretty neat stuff. Check it out.

"Evan Almighty' trailer

Here's a trailer for Evan Almighty, the sequel to Jim Carrey's Bruce Almighty, this time starring Steve Carrell, who's become much bigger since his supporting role in the original film. In this one, God (still Morgan Freeman) tells Evan to build an ark.

The movie opens next summer and looks pretty funny.

Review of "Superman II: The Donner Cut"

Superman II: The Donner Cut is being officially released for the first time later this month. Earlier this week it debuted at a theater in LA. A brief overview of the history of this controversial version, as well as a review of the new version, fosuing on the new scenes can be found at this link. Here's a highlight:

We are treated to many new sequences throughout the entire film and all are a rare treat. I would suggest you watch the Richard Lester version first to really get the full effect of the Donner cut. The most notable additions to this cut are the 15 minutes of never before seen footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El. Now restored, these scenes in the Fortress of Solitude amplify and deepen the bond between father and son. In the Lester version, actress Susannah York as Kal-El's mother Lara took the place of Brando ... Thankfully this time out, the Phantom Zone criminals are treated with a bit more menace than that of the menacing buffoons they were turned into in the Lester version.

I can't wait for this.

You can learn even more about this new version at this Wikipedia link.

Pardon the interruption

Due to personal circumstances, blogging has been even lighter than usual, but will return with a vengeance by the end of the month.

Trailer for new Christopher Guest movie

Here's the trailer for the latest movie from writer-actor-director Christopher Guest and his cast of improvisers, For Your Consideration. Looks as funny as Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.

Trailer for Frank Miller's "300"

Here's a new trailer for 300, based on Frank Miller's gladiator graphic novel of the same name. The film opens in March 2007.

New "Ghost Rider" Trailer

Nicolas Cage stars as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider, opening in February 2007. See the new trailer here.

Action Comics: The Donner Cut

Richard Donner, director of Superman and Superman II among many other films, will be co-writing Action Comics starring Superman later this month with his former production assistant turned comics superstar, Geoff Johns. In another nice bit of Warner Bros. corporate synergy, Entertainment Weekly has posted 7 pages from the first issue on its website.

Of course, in November, Warner Bros video will release Superman II: The Donner Cut, as part of its Superman DVD blitz which restores the super-sequel to the vision of the movie that the director had before the studio took the film from him and gave it to Richard Lester. This new edition contains never-before seen footage, incuding a whole new opening sequence and more Marlon Brando as Jor-El. You can see one of the new scenes, where Lois first begins to suspect Clark is Superman, here.

Blade series confirmed cancelled

Spike TV has confirmed that Blade: The Series has been canceled.

Jill Wagner, who played Krista Starr, said on her MySpace page late Thursday that she was informed of the show ending.

According to the network, there will still be a DVD release of the series from New Line.

Smallville returns this week

Smallville returns this week for its sixth season with a follow-up on last season’s cliffhanger – Zod has possessed Lex , who now has the same powers as Clark, who has been trapped in the Phantom Zone. Brainiac’s last act before returning Zod to Earth has been to disable all power on the planet, starting in Smallville, and quickly spreading everywhere.

Most immediately impacted are big cities like Metropolis, where panic immediately set in, resulting in rioting, looting and general pandemonium. Lana joined Lex/Zod on top of the LuthorCorp building in Metropolis and has pledged to stay by his side no matter what. Martha and Lois, in Lionel’s private plane en route to Washington have passed out due to lack of oxygen as the plane was also impacted by the power outage. What happens next?

Green Arrow takes aim at the Justice League on Smallville this season.

What we do know is that this season, two characters from the comics join the show as recurring characters – Jimmy Olsen, once referenced by Chloe, who had a fling with Jimmy during her first Daily Planet internship, and Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, a rich kid from Lex’s past, who soon discovers Clark’s secret and wants to start a league of heroes. Apparently, this will go well because producers have indicated that later in the season we will see a reunion of the previous super-powered visitors to Smallville – Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg, in an episode called “Justice.” Super!

Read more about this season of Smallville over at Kryptonsite.

Star Trek meets Monty Python

Clips from Star Trek set to the soundtrack of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Funny stuff. If the video below doesn't work, click here.

"My Name is Earl" alternate pilot clip

What if it wasn't Carson Daly's karma that inspired Earl? See this clip (see below DVD cover image for link) from the new Season 1 DVD of My Name is Earl.

Remastered Star Trek starts this weekend

Here's a trailer promoting the remastered original Star Trek series, which starts this weekend on whatever stations were airing Enterprise reruns.

John Lennon as Superman?

Today, in limited release (New York and LA), The U.S. vs John Lennon documentary opens, detailing the Beatle's struggle with the US government not to get deported back to England, as he promoted peace during the Vietnam War. In an article promoting the film, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, compares her late husband to a superhero.

The struggle that he went through confronting these big powers, it's almost like a very interesting Superman kind of thing -- bad against good.

See the trailer here.

Read more about the history behind the movie here.

How the first Superman movie SHOULD have ended

This video is pretty funny.....

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider-Man

JLA writer tempts"Fate"

Novelist Brad Meltzer's latest thriller, The Book of Fate, takes the reader into the private lives of ex-presidents, and also focuses on the secret society of masons, and who some of its famous members have been. To promote the novel, Meltzer's publicists have created this interesting site that reveals famous masons.

I have read four of Meltzer's novels (Fate being his 6th), and have enjoyed them for what they are -- easy-to-read, hard-to-put down, not very deep thrillers, in the vein of Grisham's The Firm. This time, he appears to be channelling The Da Vinci Code, though he has claimed that not to be the case, but emphasized only for the marketing of the book. I will likely pick up his fifth book, The Zero Game, soon, and will read Fate when it hits paperback.

Of course, what drew me to Meltzer's novels was his comics work. First, he was the successor to filmmaker Kevin Smith on Green Arrow, where he told a tale about family bond, brotherhood and secrets of the past. "The Archer's Quest" was a very good, but small story, which served as a precursor to a much bigger story-- Identity Crisis, where he took the concept of heroes' secrets much further (down a path that the heroes are only now emerging from more than two years later).

Now in a move excellently timed with the release of The Book of Fate, Meltzer is writing a brand new Justice League of America series (Identity Crisis, again, being the start of the reason that a new League needed to be started in the first place). In fact, the first issue of the new JLA series contained the first chapter of Fate (not coincidentally, the novel is published by Warner books, a Time Warners division, just like DC Comics). What's cool is that when Meltzer does interviews promoting his novel, he always mentions that he is writing JLA as well, drawing some mainstream attention to the comic. his books always contain comic refrences, usually in character names.

Meltzer is on the book for 12-13 issues, not sure exactly, and the first two have already come out. So far, so good. He helped drag down the DC Universe, let's see if if he can bring it back up again.

Trailer for new Bond movie

Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig, opens Nov. 17, 2006.

Original Star Trek remastered for HDTV

Remember the cheesy space backgrounds in the original Star Trek series of the 1960s? How about how every planet looked like California. Well, no more!

Paramount has announced that they are remastering certain episodes of the series to air once a week in syndicated HDTV (not DVD at this time), beginning Sept 16. The first remastered episode to air is “Balance of Terror.” One episode per week (out of order) will air over the next two years. Here are some of the changes announced:

• New CGI effects for space shots and static paintings
• Static paintings will add some new animation and details
• Will ‘honor original’, but fixes some ‘goofs’
• Original title music re-recorded

This article goes into lot more detail and includes a shot of the exterior of the Enterprise.

See the trailer for Will Ferrell's new movie: "Stranger than Fiction"

Will Ferrell's new movie Stranger than Fiction, which opens Nov. 10, is about a guy (Ferrell) who realizes he is the character in a writer's (Emma Thompson) new book. He hears her narrating his life in his head. This looks pretty good.

"Fantastic Four" toon debuted on Cartoon Network...

And it stunk!

But if you want to know more about the show, click here. The first episode will show again next Saturday at 11 am. It's regular time slot is Saturday at 8 pm. They changed their plans for the first episode, whch was supposed to feature Dr. Doom, so I still want to see that. And apparently later this month, we'll see the Thing fight the Hulk, which I want to see.

But I don't hold out much hope for this show. I don't like the tone (comedy over action) or animation style (a new anime thing), but hey, if the kids like it, it's still better than something like Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo, whatever the heck that is.

Here's the Fantastic Four schedule for September released by Cartoon Network, though it has already changed. They swapped the first two epsidoes, and the Hulk episode has been stated to also air in September, though its not listed here.

Keen! Animated Tick on DVD

This week, the first season (minus one episode for legal reasons) of the Fox animated series that began in 1994, The Tick came to DVD. Of course, The Tick is now on every night on the Toon Disney channel at 10:30, but its not the same as having them collected together. The DVD unfortunately does not contain any extras.

For a review of the set, click here.

Hear The Geator with Heator's Musical History

Did you know that since January 2006, Jerry Blavat has had an hour-long radio show on WXPN (88.5 FM) from 6-7 pm. Each installment is based on a theme and not only does Blavat play music you likely won't hear anywhere else on regular radio, he fills in the backstory of pop music in the 50s and 60s. Any fan of the music of that era should give it a listen.

And now, it's even easier to do that. Not near a radio on Saturday nights at 6? Through WXPN's new online service, XPoNential Music On Demand, you can hear archives of Blavat's show whenever you want from your computer. Just go here, where you can link to archived broadcasts.

You'll thank me later.

ELO's "Here is the News"

Don't Hassel the Hoff!

Music Monday: Hear new Dylan and 40th anniversary edition of "Pet Sounds"

AOL continues its stream of brand new albums this week with Bob Dylan's well-reviewed new album, Modern Times, named after the Charlie Chaplin classic.

Also streaming is the 40th anniversary reissue of the Beach Boys' classic, Pet Sounds. In addition to the album, the new package includes a DVD with several goodies for fans. According to the Los Angeles Times:

Along with "The Making of Pet Sounds" documentary and several promotional films — the music videos of their day — shot to accompany "Sloop John B" and "Good Vibrations" is an excerpt from "Rhythm of Life," a previously unreleased BBC-TV interview that brings together two of the most innovative and celebrated producers of the rock era: the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson and Beatles producer George Martin.

The remastered new release contains the original mono mix of the album, along with the stereo mixes that were released as part of Pet Sounds Sessions several years ago. Check out the full article for more info.

"Fantastic Four" and other Marvel Animation News

The Fantastic Four animated series debuts on Cartoon Network this Saturday at 8 pm. For the names and descriptions of September's episodes, as well as more images, click here.

In other Marvel toon developments:

• Ultimate Avengers 2, released on DVD a few weeks ago, will appear on the Cartoon Network on Oct. 21, more than two months after the DVD release. The first Ultimate Avengers movie aired on Cartoon Network within a week of its DVD release. The second movie features the Black Panther.
• The Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD also features trailers for upcoming direct-to-DVD animated movies for Dr. Strange and Iron Man, both of which will be origin stories.
• Another direct-to-DVD movie announced at a recent Marvel investor presentation is something called “Teen Avengers”. There’s no indication as to whether this is based on the current Young Avengers series, or if it actually features the current Avengers as teenagers.
• Marvel and Sony have announced that three will be a direct-to-DVD animated Spider-Man series, likely to debut near the release of Spider-Man 3 next summer. Whether this a continuation on of the Sony-produced animated series that aired on MTV, or a totally new series is still unclear.
• Other animated series currently in development include Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man.

sneak peek footage promoting "The Batman"

At this link, you can see footage, model sheets and designs of the upcoming season of The Batman. See some of the expanded cast and hear the voices playing them. This footage was shown at the recent San Diego Comic-Con. You can also see shots here.

Prominently featured in this footage is Robin, who looks to be getting his own origin episode, as well as shots of what Nightwing, Oracle and Batman will look like in the future. The footage ends with dialogue and shots of a very special guest star.

This looks to be the season to really strart watching The Batman.

RIP Bruno Kirby

Update on "The Batman"

When the new season of The Batman premieres on September 23, Dick (Robin) Grayson will be added to the cast, as you can see in the pic below. Cast as the voice of Grayson’s father (in what is presumably his origin episode) – Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman in the Bruce Timm-animated universe since 1992.

Say what you will about this show, but it makes very cool casting choices – Adam West as the Mayor (placing Gotham City in Rhode Island, apparently) and the late Frank Gorshin as Pr. Hugo Strange, and now Conroy. But that’s not all. Brandon Routh, Clark Kent/Superman in the latest movie, will be doing the voice of a character called “Everyman.” Not sure who that is, but that’s still pretty cool.

Adding Robin after Batgirl is major continuity change from the comics that is easily explained by two words – “Teen Titans”. When The Batman premiered, the Titans cartoon was still in production, so the character was unavailable for use. With the conclusion of that series, he can be used here. Apparently, though there are still some characters, mostly villains, that cannot be used by the cartoon because of the movie series – Two-Face is one of those characters, lending further credence to the rumor that Harvey Dent will be introduced in the series in the next movie, even if Two-Face himself is not.

It’s also been stated that a Justice League member will be making an appearance on the show and one of the staff members on the show reportedly indicated he was working on an episode featuring J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. This also makes sense because he is probably the only JLA member who doesn’t have a movie deal.

And finally, there will be a “glimpse into the future” episode in which we will see Dick Grayson as Nightwing and Barbara Gordon as Oracle, their current comics alter egos.

The new Legion of Superheroes cartoon also debuts on September 23. The series stars “young Superman” and is not based on any other animated appearance of the Legion or Superman. Here’s a new pic from that show:

Another perspective on the return of Jason Todd

50 Greatest Comedies

Premiere magazine has published a list of what they are calling the 50 greatest comedies of all time. I can confirm seeing 37 of them, some more deserving to be on this list than others. In fact, I just saw one of them for the first time this weekend -- The Big Lebowski.

Sadly missing -- Tootsie.

Check out the list, which is presented as a slide show in chronological order. How many of these have you seen?

Warner Bros. confirms Heath Ledger as Joker in Batman sequel

In a press release scheduled for Tuesday, Warner Bros. will officially announce that Heath Ledger will be the Joker in the sequel to Batman Begins, which will be called The Dark Knight. Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman, as does the supporting cast from the first movie, including Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Michael Caine (Alfred), Gary Oldman (Gordon) and Katie Holmes (Rachel).

Director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer, who has already written 80 pages of the sequel's script, are also returning.

Oasis to release greatest hits album

From Spin:

Oasis have announced the upcoming release of the compilation album, Stop the Clocks, which will cull No. 1 singles and B-sides from the band's catalog. Set for a Nov. 21 release date, the set will feature singles like "Wonderwall" and "Supersonic," B-sides like "Acquiesce" and "Half the World Away," and more recent releases like "The Importance of Being Idle." The band, who hand-picked their favorite tracks for the album, will release Stop the Clocks during what their label calls "a well earned sabbatical prior to starting work on new material." The final track list for the compilation has not been released.

REM: The IRS Years Anthology

Due out September 12, a few versions of this will be available -- a single disc or 2 disc with DVD, which includes more rarities. Check this out for more info and track listings.

Great Beatles Moments

Somne nice observations, competle with audio samples to illustrate the points:

Part 1

Part 2

Here's a sample:

The Opening 12 Seconds from "She Loves You." Beginning with a quick bass drum roll, it then leads into what may be the most ebullient couplet ever recorded, with the "yeah! yeah! yeah!" part just summing up the release of a thousand stomachs full of butterflies. Then, the yeah yeah yeahs give way to Ringo's cymbal crash, which, when it settles, exposes the first verse. Perfection.

Mark Millar want to revamp the DCU

Comics writer Mark Millar, mastermind behind Marvel's current Civil War series that has taken over its's universe, has made no secret of his true love of the DCU. But due to some behind-the-scenes problems with the publisher and subequent exclusivity with Marvel, he hasn't written anything for DC (or any of its imprints) in years. But that doesn't stop him from thinking about it. Consider this July 19th post from him on his messageboard MillarWorld:

Just back from my hols and had some mad notions. I woke up two nights ago and thought of something as big and as simple as Civil War for the DCU and spent two hours during the night writing it all down. I'm obviously not going into details, but this is so bloody simple, screws with nobody, could be explained to a 4 year old and would ramp up DC's sales as much my little Civil War book is working for Marvel. It would spin off into me doing Superman with Hitchy and JLA with McNiven and I worked out a cracking line-up of creator pals for all the other books this would influence. I said I was only doing a Marvel crossover if they let me rethink the whole MU and rejig a lot of books that needed a face-lift (some huge characters selling nothing for 5 years now). Similarly, I'd only do this if DC let me go the whole hog and, although I have a very good relationship with DC again, I'm under exclusive for almost 2 more years. But these notes have been filed and this thing, if anything, will work BETTER a couple of years down the line. It's incredibly exciting. I already had about 70 issues of Superman loosely worked out and a first eighteen months on JLA, but it all came together perfectly for me over the holidays. The end of the decade just got very exciting.

Let's hope he gets his chance. His few forays into the DCU -- JLA, Superman Adventures and the Superman Eleworlds' Red Son -- have been fantastic, and definitely show a love of the characters.

Read Bendis' "Powers" online for free

Starting this past Monday, each day, Newsarama is posting a page of the Brian Michael Bendis/Michael Avon Oeming superhero noir comic series Powers, from the very beginning. Not only is a new page posted, but that page's script and art breakdowns are ofen posted as well. And each page is archived, so you can join in any time.

What a great way to get into the series. I have first 3-4 trades, so it will be awhile until I see antything new, but this is good stuff.

And coming in August is David Mack's Kabuki, which I have not read, but will certainly try in this format.

"The State" finally coming to DVD?

Teaser trailer for new "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" movie

Animated Hellboy

On Friday, during the San Diego Comic-Con, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola talked about the new animated Hellboy movie "Sword of Storms," which will debut on DVD and on Cartoon Network in February. You can see hear about the story and learn what's next here.

The official animated Hellboy site is here.

"Infinite Crisis" novelization due in October

DC's recent Infinite Crisis maxi-series is following in the footstpes of its predecessor, Crisis on Infinite Earths, by getting a prose adaptation.

Written by Greg Cox (author of several Star Trek novels, the Daredevil movie novelization and more), the novel is described as:

Based on the epic new series from DC Comics-Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman face a universal threat. For years, the rift between the Justice League's leaders has been widening. Batman's paranoia has given birth to an army of robotic assassins. Wonder Woman has declared herself judge, jury, and executioner, taking a foe's life in an act that was broadcast worldwide. Superman is under the influence of mind control. With the Justice League divided and a super-villain coalition openly targeting the heroes, ordinary civilians find themselves caught in the crossfire. The heroes have lost their way, their values, and their responsibilities. Only those who understand the true meaning of sacrifice are prepared to rectify this crisis-a crisis that originated in an alternate era when infinite earths collided in a cosmic cataclysm that erased history and lives. And those who survived are looking to restore all they have lost, regardless of the consequences.

The cover is drawn by Daniel Acuna, who has drawn several covers for DC and is the artist for the new Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters comic.

Spider-Man 3 Update

The cast and director of Spider-Man 3 were on hand at the San Diego Comic-Con, and showed new, though unfinished footage, including Thomas Haden Church as Sandman, Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom and James Franco as Harry Osborn. Athough Harry does indeed use his father's goblin weapons and glider in this movie, director Sam Raimi notes that he will be called neither the "Green Goblin" or "Hobgoblin." New images from the film were also released, including this one of Topher Grace as Eddie Brock becoming enveloped in the Venom symbiote (check out his teeth):

Richard Donner revisits Superman

Director Richard Donner, who made us believe a man could fly in the form of Christopher Reeve in Superman the Movie in 1978, is returning to the Man of Steel in two exciting ways.

First, he is teaming with his former assistant, comics writer Geoff Johns to c0-write a run of unspecified length on Action Comics (reportedly to feature Brainiac, a favorite of the director's) beginning in October. Donner and Johns talk about that came about here.

Second, probably even more anticipated by most fans, his long-awaited Director's Cut of Superman II, featuring a lot of previously unseen footage that was shot, but not used for Superman II before Donner was kicked off the film, which was produced at the same time as the first Superman movie.

The new footage will feature unused Brando scenes, a bridge between the two films (essentially, Superman tosses one of Luthor's rockets from the end of the first film into space and THAT frees the Phantom Zone villains, as opposed to the Eiffel Tower bomb shown in the Richard Lester version of Superman II) and a more developed subplot of Lois trying to prove that Clark is Superman. Coverage of the San Diego Comic-Con panel where Donner talks more about his director's cut can be found here.

Additional information on Warner Home Video's plans for re-releasing the Christopher Reeve Superman films on November 28, including the new Donner cut, can be found here.

In related news, Superman Returns director Bryan Singer, who joined Donner on stage during the director's cut announcmenet, noted that he intends to make a sequel to his Superman film for release in 2009. The sequel, he indicated will be more action-packed, now that all the main players have been re-introduced.

DC's New Animation Frontier

In what could possibly be the coolest news I could ever expect to hear at a comics convention, DC Comics has announced that they are teaming with Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video to create a series of direct-to-video animated films based on storylines directly from their comics, "designed with DC Comics fans in mind."

DC Publisher and President Paul Levitz personally announced the news during at Saturday's DC: One Year Greater panel at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). While Bruce Timm will be overseeing these projects, they are not based on the existing DC animated universe that he helped create. While no release dates have yet been annoucned, the first three titles to be developed are:

The New Frontier – Writer/artist Darwyn Cooke’s non-continuity depiction of the birth of the Silver Age of heroes, will be directed by Justice League Unlimited’s Stan Berkowitz . Cooke himself will provide art direction on the film.

Superman/Doomsday – adapted from the Death of Superman story, not the entire story, but its "essence," according to Levitz.. Timm will direct this himself from a script by The Batman’s Duane Capizzi (unfortunately, also the writer of Superman: Brainiac Attacks).

The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract – Based on the classic Wolfman/Perez storyline which saw the Dick Grayson go from Robin to Nightwing, deals with the revelation that new team member Terra worked for their enemy Deathstroke the Terminator. Marv Wolfman himself will co-write the script with Tom DeSanto (X-Men movies) and George Perez will also consult.

Levitz hope that these new features appeal DC Comics fans of all ages:

We're going to take the marquee-value characters that have love across the generations. And use the stellar characters so that the parental generation will reach out and share it with their kids. We're looking at all the great stories, and cases where we can find the best stories of a long run.

In an interview with conics new site Newsarama (which I highly recommend reading) after the panel, Levitz talked about the discussions he had with other Warner Bros. divisions, and what would be the best way to use the DC characters in direct-to-video and realized the staff at Warner Bros. Animation had a great love and knowledge of the characters, stories and history, and that was the best way to go:

Ultimately, once we figured out what the box was that we wanted to work in creatively; we sat around and asked what's cool? We started playing with the ideas - if we were going to do the New Teen Titans, one of the best stories and one that everybody loved was The Judas Contract. Wouldn't it be incredible to get Marv involved in that? If we're going to do the Justice League characters, well, you could do Kingdom Come on one hand, but maybe do New Frontier, and we settled on that as a logical place to start.

The three titles announced are just the beginning of this initiative, as brainstorming continues for which storylines to adapt next. The possibilities are endless: Kingdom Come, The Golden Age, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, JLA: Rock of Ages, Knightfall, Wagner's Sandman Mystery Theatre, Robinson's Starman, the first meeting of the JLA/JSA, Hard Travelin' Heroes, Identity Crisis, The Return of Barry Allen, the Crime Syndicate. The mind reels at the possiblities! Let's use the comments section here to talk about what they could do. You can jog your memory here.

This is going to be awesome!

"Spider-Man 3" Teaser Poster

See how it really looks here -- it's animated!

"Amazing Screw-On Head" Now Online

If you liked Hellboy, you really need to see this 22 1/2 minute cartoon based on the comic by Mike Mignola.

Really, check it out.

Then see it again on the SciFi Channel on July 27.

Bush sings U2!

ah, fun with video editing....

More than Meets the Eye!

The teaser trailer for next summer's Transformers movie is online.

When you get to the site, click on "Watch the announcement now" to see the teaser.

"Rocky Balboa" trailer online

God help us all.

Look if you dare.

The Mis-Adventures of Superman

The trailer for Hollywoodland, the real-life story of TV Superman Goerge Reeves, played by Ben Affleck, is now online.

The movie opens on September 8th in limited release.

Animated DC notes

Here's some info about new and recent cartoons based on DC Comics' characters:

The Batman
As noted previously, Robin (Dick Grayson) will be debuting on the show's 4th season, as will his adult self, Nightwing, somehow, but according to one of the show's writer/producers, Duane Capizzi, apparently he isn't the only one. The Matt Hagen version of Clayface will appear (a different character debuted with that name/powers in an earlier episode), Black Mask, and Harley Quinn (who debuted on the previous Batman animated series; her creator, Paul Dini, will write the episode she appears in). Also, slated to appear is a member of the Justice League, though which one is not known.

Superman: Brainiac Attacks
Capizzi also wrote the recent direct-to-video animated feature that debuted on Cartoon Network a few weeks back . The movie was widely panned, mainly because it used the style and most of the voices from the previous, much better-received Superman: The Animated Series, but not only was it not part of the show's continuity, it featured inconsistent characterizations, most notably Luthor and Brainiac. In that same interview, Capizzi sort of explains why:

...the movie is not intended to be in continuity with the Timm-verse, despite utilizing those character and background designs. Similarly, the depiction of Lex Luthor was intentionally modeled after Gene Hackman's performance in the Donner films, to dovetail with Luthor's depiction in the upcoming Bryan Singer film. If a die-hard fan goes into 'Brainiac Attacks' with this in mind, it should be a smoother ride -- and hopefully an entertaining one.

Apparently, most fans did NOT keep that in mind, which is why they are likely happy that Capizzi also notes that there is not a new Superman series currently in development. However, that leads us to....

The Legion of Superheroes
Set to debut the is fall on "Kid's WB! on the CW". The Legion of Superheroes features "a young Superman" (no longer referred to as "Superboy," presumably related to the lawsuit that Warner Bros. is involved in with the estate of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel over the name and concept) who travels to the 31st Century to team up with a group of teen superheroes. This show is not in continuity with the Legion's appearances on Superman: The Animated Series or Justice League Unlimited. Last weekend, the Kids' WB! debuted the first clips from the show, promoting this Saturday's "Behind the Shield" special which is a faeture on Superman Returns that will be shownin between cartoons from 7 am to noon. The block will be "hosted" by young Superman and feature more clips from the Legion series. See last weekend's promo here.

What's next?
There's a rumor that Bruce Timm is working on an animated version of The New Frontier, a reimagining of the dawn of DC's Silver Age (late '50s/early '60s, by Darwyn Cooke, who previously worked for Timm on Batman Beyond.

There's also been discussion of a Justice League animated movie that tells the untold story of why the Justice League became Justice League Unlimited.

DC animation at San Diego Comic-Con (July 20-23)

• On the first day, there is an hour-and-a-half presentation from Warner Bros. Theatrical Animation. No description of the panel is provided, which means it's still a big secret. This may or may not have anything to do with animted DC characters.
• The second day features a Bruce Timm retrospective, which doubles as a preview of Legion of Superheroes (strange, since Timm is not involved). Timm will take part in a Q&A, so you know he will be asked (and hopefully answer) what he's working on next.
• On the third night, there will be a Q&A about The Batman, followed by the premiere of the Teen Titans direct-to-video animated movie, Trouble in Tokyo.

Stay tooned....

Animated "Screw-On Head" to Debut Online

The Amazing Screw-On Head, an animated pilot based on Hellboy creator Mike Mignola's one-shot comic debuts on the SciFi Channel on July 27. But before that you can catch it this Thursday on Sci Fi Pulse, the cable network's streaming video site.

After watching the 30-minute pilot online, viewers will be asked to complete an online survey that will help the network determine whether or not pick up the show as a series. So you better watch!

Paul Giamatti, who voices the title character talks about the show here.

Elvis & Sinatra

One of Elvis' first appearances after finishing his stint in the army in 1960 was to appear on Frank Sinatra's TV show. This was the new Elvis, who wanted to appeal to adults as well as teenagers. You can see that in his appearance here, where he snag "Fame and Fortune" and "Stuck on You" before joining Frank in a duet of Love Me Tender and Witchcraft (one of my favorite TV clips ever).

Drunk Superman

Great scene from a very silly Superman III.

Superman prefers Red Label.

And check out how young Annette O'Toole (now Martha Kent on Smallville) is!

Delteted Robin scene from 1989 Batman

Early drafts of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman included Robin, but his scenes were cut before filming began. Included in last year's special edition release of Batman was this extra featuring the storyboarded sequence that introduced the character.

What's particularly cool about this extra is that it features the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, both reprising roles they began in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, and continuing through last spring's Justice League Unlimited. Robvin is voiced by Jason hillhouse, who has hosted roundtable interviews in recent DVD releases of the various DC animated series.

I can see why they cut it, but it's very cool to watch.

Spider-Man 3 Teaser Trailer

Sandman. Gwen Stacy. Black ooze becoming a costume. Some sort of Goblin.

Oh yeah, Spider-Man 3 is going to rock.

The teaser trailer will appear with Superman Returns.

See some screen shots of the trailer here.

Hear the Superman Returns Score

Superman is SUPER!

The reviews are starting to come in -- and it's all positive. Check out these three mainstream reviews (all fairly spoiler-free):

• Hollywood Reporter
• Variety
• Newsweek

And if that's not enough to convince you this movie is going to rock, check out these clips!

When he's 64

Today is Paul McCartney's 64th birthday.

The Amazing Screw-on Head Almost Ready for SciFi!

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola's The Amazing Screw-On Head is almost ready for his TV close-up. An animated series based on the one-shot comic is being targeted for a late July launch on the SciFi Channel, though the newtork has not yet officially confirmed it. Paul Giamatti provides the voice of the lead character. David Hyde Pierce (who also provided a voice n the Hellboy movie) is also involved.

Read more about it here.

Blade The Series Coming to Spike

Superman Returns is not the only comic-book hero premiere on Wednesday, June 28. At 10 pm that night, Spike debuts Blade: the Series.

Based on the continuity of the Wesley Snipes films, the series is executive-produced by David Goyer, who wrote all three films and directed the final one. He's also written comics (JSA, Starman), as well as the screenplay for Batman Begins. Goyer co-wrote the pilot with fellow comics writer and consulting producer Geoff Johns, who promoted the series at WizardWorld Philadelphia earlier this month.

The Force is with Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley recently performed at the MTV Movie Awards dressed as Darth Vader, and his entire group was decked in full Star Wars regalia -- Check out Chewbacca on drums!

Family Guy Goes to Harvard

Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane gave a speech to Harvard graduates recently, duriong which he spoke as Stewie, Peter and Quagmire (giggedy!). check it out here.

Spider-Man Unmasked

Superman Round-Up

In case you haven't heard, Superman Returns on June 28, and all forms of media are jumping all over it. Last Monday, A&E debuted Look Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman. Along with many other related releases, it hits DVD on Tuesday, June 20. However, you can also watch it here. But look what else you can check out now and in the near future:

Now: Episodes of lots of Superman-related series, including Lois & Clark (Dean Cain), Superboy (Gerard Chrisopher), and The Adventures of Superman (George Reeves), as well as the 1940s Fleischer cartoons (Bud Collyer). You can watch them all at AOL's In2TV.com Superman site (the same place showing the above-mentioned documentary).

Also, the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features the movie on its cover. Read the feature story here.

Tonight: Superman: Brainiac Attacks, a direct to DVD movie airs at 7:30 tonight on Cartoon Network (repeats Monday at 1 pm), before hitting DVD on Tuesday June 20. It's mostly based on the 90s Superman animated series continuity, at least it LOOKS like it is, but according to at least one review, something's just not right about it.

Tuesday, June 20: This is the big one folks! As I noted here, a lot of DVDs come out on this day, notably, Superman: The Animated Series Volume 3 (concluding volume) and Justice League Season 2. The aforementioned documentary and direct-toDVD animated movie, as well as new season releases of Lois & Clark (Season 3), Superboy (Season 1), The Adventures of Superman (Seasons 3 and 4) and Krypto (Volume 1) also are released on Tueday. Note that all of these releases include a free ticket to see Superman Returns. Find out about a whole year's worth of Superman-related DVD releases here.

Starting next week: the cast start making the rounds on the morning news and late-night talk shows. Watch for Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin spacey 9and proably Brian Singer0 to shopw up on your TV a lot in the next two weeks.

Wedensday, June 28th: Opening Day!

Thursday, June 29th: The Science of Superman on the National Geograhic Channel grounds Superman's powers in reality.

What else is out there related to the movie? How about:

• Comics
• Video games
• novelization
• myspace page
• music

Enjoy it all Super-fans!

Lightnin' Hopkins - Let's Pull a Party

RIP Alex Toth

Comic book artist/animation legend Alex Toth passed away this weekend. Hre was 78 and died at his drawing table. Read more here.

Toth's designs live on Adult Swim these days in Space Ghost and Sealab, but he may be best known for the character designs of Superfriends, one of the many cartoons he designed for Hanna Barbera in the 1970s.

You can see more of his work here.

"My Super-Ex Girlfriend" Trailer

Try breaking up wth a girl who turns out to be a super-hero. See the trailer for My Super Ex-Girlfriend, starring Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman.

The movie hits theatres on July 21.

Ghost Rider Trailer

New trailer for Superman Returns

Here's the latest Superman Returns trailer, which will show in front of X-Men: The Last Stand in theatres this weekend. There's some new footage in this trailer and we get to hear Routh speak as both Superman and Clark Kent. He's definitely channelling Christopher Reeve here. There's also more Kevin Spacey as Luthor, who still seems a little over the top, but the last few seconds of this trailer are absolutely cool, something I don't think has even been seen in the comics.

I'm starting to buy Routh as Superman/Clark, but Kate Bosworth still looks too young as Lois.

DVD cover for Superman documentary

Here's the DVD cover of the new Superman documentary that I wrote about here. The DVD hits stores on June 20. This is a really cool cover!

Here's an early review from the Toronto newspaper that Jerry Siegel used as the model for the Daily Planet. This review includes a Superman timeline.

New Superman Returns Poster

Clip from tonight's JLU finale

Sneak peek at X3

See the 7-minute X-Men: The Last Stand preview that aired on Fox Thurday night.

No. 2 for Number 2

British satellite channel Sky One is remaking The Prisoner, the classic 60s series crated by and starring Patrick McGoohan. Read all about the original series here.

Trailer for new Superman documentary

See a trailer for the Superman-in-all-media documentary Look Up In The Sky, from Superman Returns director Bryan Singer, which debuts on DVD June 20th. The trailer features interviews with cast memebers from varuious TV and movie incarnations, director Richard Donner, and includes clips from The Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark, Smallville, the Fleischer cartoons, 60s cartoons and more.

The trailer also features a few clips from the new movie, including a cameo from Jack Larson, the 50s Jimmy Olsen. This is worth checking out.

Blond, James Blond

See Daniel Craig in action as the new James Bond in the trailer for Casino Royale.

First look at Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes

Courtesy of TV Guide and the Superman Homepage, here's a first look at Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes, coming to Saturday mornings this fall on the Kids WB on CW.

Superman Returns Trailer

Here it is finally -- the full trailer for Superman Returns.

Based on this, the movie looks like half-remake, half sequel, but still worth seeing in the theatre, maybe even in IMAX.

Stop That! It's Too Silly!

Legion of Superheroes Toon to debut in the Fall

According to the "Kid's WB ! on the CW," Legion of Superheroes will debut this fall on Saturday mornings. This animated series will feature Superboy (Superman as a teenager) and is set in the future, like the Silver Age comic on which it is based. This show will not follow the continuity of previous animated series, despite appearances by the Legion on both Superman and Justice League Unlimited.

Here's how the network describes the series:

One thousand years from now, a group of teenage super heroes travel back in time to recruit the greatest hero of all, Superman, and enlist him their fight against evil in the 31st Century. While their intentions were good, their time travel skills were not, and Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy and Timber Wolf end up going too far back into the past, accidentally retrieving the young Superboy instead. Together, this unlikely Legion of Super Heroes bands together to defend the rights of all free worlds and uphold the laws of the newly formed United Planets. That is, if they don't kill each other first. Legion Of Super Heroes combines humor with high-stakes, grand-scale super heroics to create the ultimate sci-fi, super hero fantasy for kids of all ages. Each episode of this fast-paced, character-driven action comedy will pit Superboy and the Legion against otherworldly threats and adversaries who challenge the team on both super heroic and emotional levels.

No official pics of the show are available yet.

Also debuting on the network's Saturday mornings this Fall are new Scooby Doo and Tom and Jerry series.

Return of the Dynamic Duo

When The Batman returns this Fall, the title character will be joined by a familiar character -- Robin the Boy Wonder, now free of the the cancelled Teen Titans cartoon. Here's a first look at how Robin will appear on the show:

Here's how the network ("Kids WB! on the CW") describes the upconing season:

In the upcoming third season, the Dark Knight continues his relentless quest to rid Gotham City of its supervillains, but he’s not alone. Robin joins the team, and the fabled Dynamic Duo is also occasionally joined by Batgirl. Harley Quinn, Black Mask, Killer Moth, the Everywhere Man and a brand-new Clayface join the rogues’ gallery of villains, led by the Joker, Penguin and Riddler, who ceaselessly torment Batman and Gotham City.

The show has gotten better, but is still a little uneven. Here's hoping the addition of Robin (and more villians from the comics -- and the last Batman series) makes it moree interesting than bringing in Batgirl last season.

TV Turn-off Week

Yeah right!

Superman Returns video game trailer

Co-written by Marv Wolfman! See the trailer here. And an article about the game here.

Dog-Gone Funny!

Last week, I watched a documentary on Turner Classic Movies, called Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story, which highlighted the short subjects that used to run in front of movies from the 20s through the 50s. It was a fantastic film highlighting not only series that are still known today like The Three Stoooges, Our Gang ("Little Rascals"), Laurel and Hardy and more comedians, but many other types of shorts that you don't hear much about today. The documentary is included in a just-released Laurel & Hardy boxed set, and is well worth checking out.

What I want to spotlight now though is something I had never heard of befoe this and found utterly fascinating -- The Dogville Comedies. From a write-up on the documentary:

The Dogville Comedies, which spoofed hit movies of the day using dog actors, was the creation of Jules White and Zion Myers. Piano wire was used to hold the dogs in place and they were fed peanut butter to make the dogs' mouths move. Clips are shown from The Dogway Melody (1930) a parody of Oscar® winner The Broadway Melody (1929) and College Hounds (1930) in which the dogs played football.

Jules White's next project-- The Three Stooges. The clips the documentary showed on this series whet my apetite for more.

So, as always, youtube.com to the rescue . You HAVE to watch this. It's The Dogway Melody.

It is hysterical, and proably cruelty to animals, but it's WAY beyond dressing your dog in costume.

Trailer for Remake of "The Omen"

The remake of The Omen opens on June 6, 2006 (get it?). See the trailer here.

Clerks II Trailer

Featuring the moustache starring in "My Name is Earl".

Clerks II trailer

C for Cookie

Click the link above if the player doesn’t work.. But trust me, you’ll likeit.

Say It Isn't So! Comics Burn-Out?

Am I starting to burn out on comics?

As DC's continuity-altering Infinite Crisis comes to an an end, One Year Later (OYL) already started and 52 beginning in a few weeks, I am coming to a comics buying/obsessing-about crossroads that I haven't been at in a long time.

DC’s July solicitations came out this week. I think its official. I won't be buying regular comics anymore, except for 52 (which is weekly, so I'll still be going to the shop every week -- at least at first) and All Star Superman (bi-monthly). Everything else I buy will be trade paperback (TPB) only. It's been coming for awhile, but DC has made it easy to make a clean break.

Everything that’s coming out that I want is stuff I know will get collected – Morrison and Dini on Batman and Detective, Busiek on Superman and Action. Meltzer on JLA, so I will wait. I may be done with Titans -- the OYL stuff doesn’t seem that interesting. Don’t know what’s going on with Flash yet. JSA is getting cancelled (to be relaunched, but don’t know by who). Still need at least one more Teen Titans trade and 2-3 more JSA. I foresee buying TPBs of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA for at least a few arcs. Don’t know beyond that.

Of course, this will make it easier to buy more TPBs -- no shortage of those. It’s time to get rid of some though. Time for me to figure out how to sell stuff on eBay. I probably have at least 10 trades I could get rid of and not regret later. Man, do I need the room.

I'm sure I’ll be buying a lot of trades at WizardWorld Philadelphia (June 2-4th) so that will probably hold me for a long while. I’m starting to wonder if the convention will burn me out further. It might finally be time to go for one day only and not the whole weekend.

I'm scaring myself here (well, not really), but something's gotta give.

I'm thinking about refocusing this blog too -- way too superhero-centric. I think it's time to write more about books, music and other pop culture, particulalry things that have nothing to do with superheroes (cartoons, movies, TV, etc.). But we'll see. Like I said, I'm at a crossroads.

Personally, I think it's just that I realized that I can't top "Jan and Dean Meet Batman"

Jan and Dean Meet Batman

Too, too awesome....

Hear them sing Batman. And sing along:

Batman
(Jan Berry/D. Altfield/F. Wieder)

I don't know who he is behind that mask
But we need him, & we need him now

He's known as Bruce Wayne by day, wealthy socialite
(Gotham City, here they come)
But incognito in dress, he fights crime by night
(Gotham City, here they come)
Yeah it's Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder at his side
Hey now, Riddler, Penguin, Joker, better go & hide (over villainous laughter)

We need the Batman (Batman)
We need the Batman (Batman)
Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot
So my disguise must be able
To strike terror into their hearts

Now as the Bat Signal sweeps across the midnight sky
(Gotham City, here they come)
Somewhere in Gotham City it'll find the Batman's eye
(Gotham City, here they come)
There's a crime wave goin' on, but not for very long
'Cause the Batman's gonna teach 'em right from wrong

They call him Batman (Batman)
They call him Batman (Batman)
Did you see that strange car? (No, why?)
It was shaped like a bat

So when you see the Batmobile quickly pass you by
(Gotham City, here they come)
You know they've heard the Batphone & the Commissioner's cry
(Gotham City, here they come)
Yeah that Dynamic Duo's out to prove crime doesn't pay
& from the Batcave our heroes keep evil at bay

We need the Batman (Batman)
We need the Batman (Batman)
I must be a creature of the night
(Spoken):
Black, terrible! Um...um... (sounds of bat's call & flapping wings)
As if in answer a huge bat flies in the open window!
A bat, that's it! It's an omen; I shall become a bat!
Thus is born this weird figure of the dark, this avenger of evil, the Batman!

Bryan Singer's Superman Documentary

Not only is Bryan Singer directing Superman Returns, he has been simultaneously putting together a Superman documentary called Look Up in the Sky, as he tells Sci Fi Wire:

Look Up in the Sky explores Superman's beginnings in comic books and his early presence in movies, ranging from Max Fleischer cartoon shorts (screened before feature films in movie theaters in the 1940s) to 1951's Superman and the Mole-Men, starring George Reeves, which inspired the first Superman TV series. There's also coverage of the Superman movie revival that began in the 1970s, TV's Lois and Clark and Smallville and footage from Superman Returns.

The documentary will debut on DVD on June 20th, right around the time of the movie. Singer is also looking at the possibility of a limited theatrical run and TV airing.

Milk Makes You Super

I Love Lois

Erica Durance, Smallville's Lois Lane

Secret Wars Re-Enactment Society

Too funny....

FF Toon to Debut in the Fall on Cartoon Network

New TV Spots for X3

Last week, new TV ads started popping up on shows like CSI, American Idol and on ESPN. Here they are:

• X3 Spot #1
• X3 Spot #2
• X3 Spot #3