I saw this movie twice in a week, believe it or not. Once on opening night and then again to see it on IMAX, the following weekend. After the second viewing, Logan asked me to join him on a podcast that he does regularly, reviewing movies for the I Read Comics blog. Here it is, two comic geeks in front of a microphone, waxing pretentious on the nature of heroes, the awesomeness of Heath Ledger, and Frank Miller’s essential early-80′s reinvention of the superhero.

Fair warning: the review is packed with spoilers, so if you don’t want to have the plot ruined for you, definitely don’t listen past the first couple minutes.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Pangea Day looks amazing. Trailers for it have been playing after every TED talk for months, now, and I finally clicked over to check it out.

Starting at 18:00 GMT [Note: 11AM on the US west coast] on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

Here’s a provocative example:

There will be public and private viewings all over the world, including about twenty in San Francisco:

This is hilarious. Apparently the BBC anchorwoman was supposed to be interviewing a computer expert named Guy Kewney. However, another man named Guy (a perpesctive employee arriving for an interview [thanks lukas]), was ushered into the building and onto the set. Someone goofed and mistakenly thought the perspective employee Guy was the computer expert Guy.

Watch the wrong Guy’s bewildered expression as he hears the anchorwoman say Guy Kewney’s name. Amazingly, he sticks with it and gives his opinion of music downloads. Bravo Guy. Bravo.

Phillips/Norelco web commercial. (scroll over “Bodygroom” at the bottom of the page to get things rolling)

Dance Monkey Dance (link via Moose)

For all y’all Trekkies out there, you’ll enjoy Captain Picard’s Journal. Of particular note are the following entries:

First Contact Field Trip (technically written from Wesley Crusher’s perspective; hilarious) Christmas Shopping with Beverly (written by Troi) Halloween on the Enterprise

And, to underscore my trekkieness, I feel inclined to admit to ownership of the following commemorative plates:

It looks like Batman is slated to take part in the War on Terror:

At the WonderCon 2006 comic-book convention in San Francisco last weekend, legendary comics writer and artist Frank Miller revealed that Batman would hunt down bin Laden and al Qaeda in his next DC Comics graphic novel. In “Holy Terror, Batman!” the Caped Crusader goes after the terror leader and his organization after Gotham City is attacked by terrorists. Though the graphic novel’s title is a take on Robin the Boy Wonder’s catchphrase, Miller said there was nothing campy about the story.

As Miller noted, comics have a long history of serving as patriotic propaganda, dating back to Captain America’s run-in with Hitler. Maybe this is fitting, in comparison: a morally ambiguous hero to befit a morally ambigous cause.

On a side note, this was the first time I’d heard about the Captain America thing. While reading The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (a fantastic novel about the creators of the modern comic book hero), there was a passage in which the artists express their anguish over loved ones lost in WWII by depicting their character, the Escapist, punching out Hitler. I hadn’t realized that this part of the story was based on Captain America #1:

It had taken Joe only a few minutes to get the Escapist’s pose right — legs spread, big right fist arcing across the page to deliver an immortal haymaker — and hours to paint in the highlights and shadows that made the image seem so real. . . the veins of his arm rippled with the strain of the blow. As for Hitler, he came flying at you backward, right-crossed clean out of the painting, head thrown back, head thrown back, forelock a-splash, arms flailing, jaw trailing a long red streamer of teeth. The violence of the image was startling, beautiful, strange. It stirred mysterious feelings in the viewer, of hatred gratified, of cringing fear transmuted into smashing retribution, which few artists working in America, in the fall of 1939, could have tapped so easily and effectively as Josef Kavalier.

Sony Pictures has posted a new promotional image of Spiderman 3. On the site, it’s presented as a Daily Bugle front page. It looks like the rumors are true we’re definitely going to see Venom make an appearance.

The WB has chosen previously unknown hunk Will Toale to play Arthur Curry (aka Aquaman) on their upcoming television show. So far, a name has not been announced for the new show.

To anyone at the WB: My boss and I are two professional namers who also just happen to be the biggest comic book geeks around. Need some help with your show’s name?

In related news, UPN and the WB networks are merging. The parent companies CBS and Warner Brothers are joining forces to be a bigger player in the broadcast network arena. The new network will be called CW, taking the “C” from CBS and “W” from Warner. Well, that’s refreshingly creative!. Way to go guys! ::eye-roll::

The WB is planning a new series based on the early days of Aquaman. The story will follow Arthur Curry (Aquaman’s secret identity), as he discovers and learns about his super powers. I’m certain that the actor will be a muscly young stud a-la Tom Welling from The WB’s Smallville, and that there will be enough teen heartthrob and heartthrob-ette flesh to make MTV Spring Break pale in comparison.

In the spirit of Aquaman’s return to fame, check out this essay on the rise and fall of the King of Atlantis. It’s an enjoyable read, and the author makes some interesting observations.

The United States Postal Service is set to launch a full sheet of DC Comic book character inspired stamps. Not only was (am) I an avid comic book fan, but I also collected stamps as a kid. I’m going to buy tons of these.

Note: Stamp prices increase to 39 cents in 2006.

Also, I read a DailyKos post about how Democrats are like Superheroes. Most interesting was his comment on Superhero movies:

“…the best of the crop spend less time on special effects and blowin’ things up, and more time delving into character. And many of the most memorable and sympathetic superheroes spend a lot of time searching their consciences: am I doing the right thing kicking so much criminal ass? Should I hang up the outfit and channel my efforts in a more conventional direction? Am I crossing a line with my unusual approach to serving the public good? Where exactly is the line?”

I decided to categorize the Superhero movies of the last 30 years based on how much and how well they focused on a hero’s moral dilemma and character development. Of course, I also made some predictions about how upcoming superhero movies will stack up.

The Good: X-Men, X2, Spiderman, Spiderman 2, Batman, Batman Begins, Superman, Superman 2, Blade, The Incredibles Prediction: Superman Returns, Spiderman 3, X3, Wonder Woman, Wolverine

The Bad: Superman 4, Batman Returns, Fantastic Four, Punisher, Hellboy, Blade 2, Blade Trinity, Prediction: Fantastic Four 2

The Ugly: Superman 3, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Daredevil, Catwoman, Elektra, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Van Helsing, Hulk, Prediction: Daredevil 2