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

Spider-Man 3 Spoilers?

So far all that's been confirmed about Spider-Man 3 is that he will have a black costume (seen below), one of the villians is Sandman, and Gwen Stacy is set to appear. For more likely spoilers, click here.

Snakes on a Plane!

The official poster of one of ht most highly anticipated movies of the summer, and I don't mean Superman Returns.

Entertainment Weekly is tracking the hype and the news. From the most recent issue comes this choice excerpt:

Amid the hiss-teria, Ellis screened a rough cut for New Line executives. They were pleased, but had one highly unusual request: Add more violence. ''We [originally] asked David to straddle the line between [R and PG-13],'' says New Line marketing head Russell Schwartz. ''But after we saw it, we said, 'More gore!' Then he just let it loose.'' When asked how ''loose'' he got on the five-day shoot in March, Ellis explains that he simply added what every horror fan craves: blood and breasts. According to the director, additional footage now includes a randier scene between two passengers aiming to join the mile-high club and a more graphic death for one particularly unfortunate traveler. ''We had the python wrap around him and the bones breaking,'' says a gleeful Ellis. ''Now you see his eyes and capillaries busting and blood coming out of his nose, ears, and mouth. And then the python just chomps on his head.''

Snakes on a Plane opens on August 18, 2006.

"The Simpsons" Movie Teaser

Coming to theatres in July 2007 -- finally