In this issue: The floating head of Jon Postel endows four lucky grad students with superpowers. They form Team ARIN to promote the Internet way. Together, they facilitate transparent development processes, battle misinformation about IPv4 number space depletion, and help us all transition to IPv6!
posted by ardgedee on May 27, 2009 - 18 comments

Over at Comics Should Be Good! Greg Hatcher outlines the history of Green Lantern to show how changes in a storytelling property eventually requires a "reboot" and why that occurs. [more inside]
posted by GavinR on May 23, 2009 - 64 comments

Forget your Buffies, your Wonder and Bionic Women. The first weekly American live-action television series starring a female superhero was The Secrets of Isis. (previously) [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Feb 2, 2009 - 35 comments

Here's Razorhawk a superhero who also wrestles and makes suits for other superheroes. This is Master Legend who recently had an article published in Rolling Stone about him. Meet Superhero who patrols the streets of Clearwater, Florida in his custom Corvette. They call themselves real-life superheroes. A documentary film featuring them has the first 10 minutes free online at google video. [more inside]
posted by flipyourwig on Dec 31, 2008 - 17 comments

There are, according to the recently launched World Superhero Registry, more than 200 men and a few women who are willing to dress up as comic book heroes and patrol the urban streets in search of, if not super-villains, then pickpockets and bullies.
posted by Kickstart70 on Dec 28, 2008 - 65 comments

Batman is dead, joining the ranks of Martian Manhunter (in the DCU) and Captain America in Marvel Universe. Are there no other ways to generate comic book sales without killing off characters or blowing up the universe every year?
posted by hrbrmstr on Nov 28, 2008 - 57 comments

The Joker is Batman's main nemesis. Why him? Why not some other villain?
posted by painquale on Aug 14, 2008 - 118 comments

"Herbie Popnecker is unique among superheroes. While looking less like a superhero than any other, he may also be the most powerful.
     Herbie can "fly" by walking through air, or space, or water.
     Herbie can travel through time, or the ground, or through walls (some damage occurs), sometimes breaking the fourth wall.
     Herbie is the least emotional of any super hero, and one of few words.
     Herbie defeats many of his opponents by looking at them, but sometimes, he bops them with this here lollipop."
Herbie's further powers are examined thoroughly at Herbie Popnecker: Examples of Recurring Themes. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Aug 11, 2008 - 32 comments

Andre Perkowski has remixed various classic silent films, including The Bat and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to create a silent 1920's version of Batman: Origin Story, Rogues' Gallery.

Also: Adam West in The Dark Knight Returns.
posted by EarBucket on Aug 7, 2008 - 11 comments

Too polished? Too clean? Too much of a run of the mill action movie for my liking. But hey, I guess its only the first trailer....
posted by Mintyblonde on Jul 17, 2008 - 219 comments

Secret Skin - an essay in unitard theory A joyful essay on superhero fashion via Project Rooftop. Hi Edna!
posted by device55 on Mar 4, 2008 - 16 comments

Real Life Super Heroes! Perhaps you've heard of Angle Grinder Man, Superbarrio and Terrifica. How about The Eye, Tothian or Mr. Silent? There is, of course, the Wikipedia page for Real Life Super Heroes. A Myspace group chock full of spandex and gadgets. The member list is a great place to start browsing.
posted by loquacious on Jul 25, 2007 - 29 comments

I'm no toothpick myself, and admire and enjoy the female form in all its sizes, especially ladies with some meat on them. Thus, my idea for collecting art of a bigger-sized WW happened
posted by nuclear_soup on Jul 20, 2007 - 23 comments

Super Indian: Superhero comics from the culture that invented the genre. Check out Nagraj (and Nagrani?), Tiranga, and Shakti. The somewhat less muscular Chacha Chaudhary. And... whatever is happening here. Meanwhile fun British rich guy Richard Branson brings you Indian-themed comics Ramayan 3392 A.D., Snake Woman (another Naga), Devi and The Sadhu. previously. Dishoom!
posted by Methylviolet on Feb 27, 2007 - 16 comments

The world is never as perfect as we wish it was. When injustice strikes, everyone wishes they had a hero to turn to... so some people take the direct route and become a superhero themselves. Meet Captain Ozone, Angle Grinder Man, Super Hero Monkey, Zora the Wonder Woman, Superbarrio, Polarman, Terrifica The Anti-Cupid, and the team of Tothian, Squeegee Man and Dark Guardian.

What superhero would you be? What would you fight against? What would your superpowers be? Can't decide? Well, here's a quiz.
posted by miss lynnster on Feb 16, 2007 - 53 comments

IGN's top 50 Marvel Comics covers including this wonderful farmgirl She-Hulk (well, she DOES have two green thumbs!), this amazing Wolverine Origins painting, and...umm...superhero zombies?
posted by Kickstart70 on Sep 24, 2006 - 35 comments

Crossover comics create some bizarre, BIZARRE, teamups; not at all separating reality and fiction. It's been happening for a long time and continues to this day.
posted by Kickstart70 on Aug 13, 2006 - 32 comments

Project Rooftop! Rogue streamlined by Nuno Plati of Portugal. The Spectre re-imagined by Dean Trippe (creator of "Butterfly). Black Widow redrawn by Stuart Immonen (artist for Warren Ellis's Nextwave). Tracing its origin back to January's "Batgirl Meme," Project Rooftop is an excellent exercise in meta-fashion. Edna Mode would be so proud. Project Runway? What's that?
posted by grabbingsand on Jul 18, 2006 - 16 comments

I think I can, I think I can...
posted by bigmusic on Jun 24, 2006 - 18 comments

Superman marries Lois Lane. Superman dies. Batman's back is broken. Robin dies. Spider-Man gets married. But one storyline taboo, revealing one's secret identity, has never been broken with a major comic book character. Until now (big-time spoiler alert).
posted by solid-one-love on Jun 14, 2006 - 125 comments

Super hero pizza man defeats nefarious villain. A delivery driver for Galactic Pizza, a Minneapolis restaurant, recently defeated a purse-snatching neer-do-well with the assistance of some valiant bystanders. Galactic, which is dedicated to delivering pizza with a community- and environmentally-friendly oriented business model, delivers pizzas with 100% electric vehicles and purchases all their energy from renewable sources. Indeed, their vision of the future is refreshing to see from any American business. Oh, and their drivers wear super hero costumes, which seems more than appropriate considering the ethics of both their business and their heroic workers.
posted by baphomet on Jun 8, 2006 - 31 comments

Who wants to be a superhero? Forget Survivor. Forget Beauty and the Geek. This is the ultimate reality show. Who wouldn't want to see a middle-aged comic-book geeks decked out to fight crime? Apply now! Our safety depends upon it! (Maybe Peter Pan would be interested?)
posted by jdroth on Mar 15, 2006 - 22 comments

It's 1968. Hippies are everywhere, and they're reading underground comics. Your name is Joe Simon. You want to create a mainstream comic book with a hippie as a hero. What do you come up with? Brother Power the Geek.

It only lasted two issues. Of course, it did a little better than the Black Bomber, a white bigot who sometimes turned into an African-American superhero. That comic was never printed.
posted by Astro Zombie on Mar 15, 2006 - 12 comments

Captain Jackson (not to be confused with the other one), along with his teammates Crimefighter Girl and the Queen of Hearts, patrolled the streets of Jackson, Michigan and made celebrity appearances and public service announcements while working in hand with Jackson police. But it's time to turn in the cape: after a DWI, the Captain's identity is revealed. While not exactly Batman, Captain Jackson was one of the few real-life superheroes working to help the public in costume. Will someone take up the tights? A few tips for aspiring superheroes.
posted by luftmensch on Jan 25, 2006 - 14 comments

Truth, Justice, and the Soviet Way What if baby Kal-El's spaceship had crashed on Earth 12 hours earlier, in the Ukraine instead of middle America? The new 3-issue comic book series Superman: Red Son envisions the Man of Steel as a good-hearted citizen of the USSR, helping to spread communism across the world. Wonder Woman is his girlfriend; Batman is an anti-Soviet terrorist; Lex Luthor becomes U.S. president. This alternate-universe jaunt is not just for fun: writer Mark Millar says it's a timely exploration of what happens when one all-powerful country anoints itself leader of the world.
posted by Artifice_Eternity on Jun 9, 2003 - 25 comments

Wonder Woman to turn in her V-Card After 60 long years of chastity, everybody's favorite Amazon (you may remember the Lynda Carter TV show) will reportedly get it on with character Trevor Barnes in a "tasteful and peaceful" manner. Sequential Tart asks what the definition of 'virginity' is, claiming the strong possibility that on an island full of amazons there had to be some lesbian freaky freaky going on somewhere. However, I am far more concerned if she'll suffer from the same dilemma as Superman does in Larry Niven's Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex. Best. Controversy. Ever.
posted by Stan Chin on Feb 19, 2003 - 17 comments

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's Terrifica! This supergirl herorine patrols the New York City single's scene bedecked in her scarlet outfit and gold cat-eye mask to help single women out of potentially dangerous situations.
posted by thedailygrowl on Nov 5, 2002 - 36 comments

The 'Phantom Patriot' wearing a skeleton mask, body armor and a costume emblazoned with the words "Phantom Patriot," infiltrated the 2,700-acre (1,090 hectare) Bohemian Grove, site of a secretive annual retreat featuring some of the most powerful men in the United States. He was arrested after a brief stand-off with police, and later told investigators he was prompted to act after hearing a Texas-based radio talk-show host discuss possible child sacrifice at the site.
posted by Stuart_R on Apr 18, 2002 - 14 comments

Tick, we hardly knew ye. The much-anticipated and often-overlooked live action show has officially been canned by the Fox network after only eight episodes.
posted by Danelope on Jan 10, 2002 - 24 comments

A travesty. It was ok when they screwed up Batman, and when Spawn came out I wasn't expecting much. But know they've turned Superman, the original super hero, into a whiny Dawson Creek-ish brat. Why does my childhood hero belong to AOL? Why?
posted by owillis on Jun 10, 2001 - 22 comments

Something about this really makes me mad. I saw the trailer for this movie and was totally blown away. They even have a cool url. So I decided to check it out... boy was I disappointed. Sure, they have a neat intro.. but half the stuff on the site is "Coming Soon" and the link for the trailer doesn't even work! How frustrating is that?
posted by epoh on Sep 15, 2000 - 3 comments