For the second month in a row, a format change for this column (we’ll be abandoning the Q&A format in favor of writing actual articles) has been scuttled by my inability to break away from the day job before Wednesday. I’m going to present the Q&A that Gavin Higginbotham and I did with Erik Larsen, unedited for the most part, so that readers can get this today.

Blog@Newsarama: We were actually hoping you could clear some things up. In the chaos of battle, I couldn’t tell which of these Vicious Circle types Kurr actually killed and which he just took out of commission.

Erik Larsen: I can’t really do much with this one. The point was to make this all seem chaotic and make it appear that Dragon killed the lot of ‘em–it also was left somewhat ambiguous so that I could use a few of these guys later if I wanted to.  If I say “this guy’s alive” it kind of takes away from the punch of the issue.I liken it to that issue of Daredevil where it appeared that Elektra killed Ben Urich. We had to wait a month before we found out that he was okay. If I said, “this guy’s fine, as is this one and that one” it would lose something.

Blog@: I know you want to keep the death count under your hat, but it certainly seemed like last month we were talking about Dragonslayer being part of the effort to make the book more new-reader-friendly; he DEFINITELY looked dead. Assuming he was, can we expect to see the armor around anyway?

EL: No–the armor blew to bits as a last ditch by R.Richard Richards to kill Dragon–it’s gone. The armor’s creator is still out there, however, and presumably he can make more of the same.

Blog@: Will this issue mark a turning point in the way Angel and Malcolm see Kurr, or will they continue tryin to bring the old Dragon out of him?

EL: I don’t think either want to give up on the old man but both are pretty aware that he’s not the guy he was–at the same time they’re both responsible for his resurrection and as the story unfolds that’s going to weigh heavy on them. This is a monster they unleashed.

Blog@: Will Kurr’s skin remain that color for the rest of the story, or is this a momentary thing and he’ll have healed the next time we see him?

EL: He’ll be back to normal by the next time we see him. Some time will have passed between issues #160 and 161. One of the pitfalls of setting a book in real time is that you’ve gotta try and cover a lot of ground. You can’t have each issue spill into the next.

Blog@: Are there any halfblood Dragons left out there, who weren’t part of this issue’s battle royale?

EL: Not from the Vicious Circle. It was stated at one point that the villainess BattleAxe had a child and we can only assume that Darkworld Dragon was its father but at this point we haven’t seen that child.

Blog@: Does Overlord have some kind of plan percolating in the back of his head? Seems strange for him to have set himself up as an advocate for the freaks, only to send a bunch of them off to get pummeled.

EL: Overlord has all kinds of plans brewing–some of which will pan out–others of which will fall flat. This new Overlord isn’t necessarily as much of a mastermind as the old one was, though quite a bit deadlier thanks to the armor being overhauled. We’ll certainly be seeing more over Overlord in the months to come.

Blog@: Is Kurr not worried about these guys “coming back” or is he just trying to bleed them dry of his blood? He didn’t do the “stop, drop and eat brains” drill on any of the folks he pounded this issue.

EL: Mostly he’s making sure his blood isn’t being put to use in somebody that shouldn’t have it. Since most of the group lost their heads in the fracas, it really wasn’t necessary to eat their brains. And that was much more necessary with Darkworld Dragon who was fully functional. The Vicious Circle goons may have had green skin and a fin but given Dragon’s previous experience with Cutthroat and Glowbug–he knows they’re not quite as hard to dispose of as he would be.

According to MTV UK and, more equivocally, MTV’s Splash Page (they have a question mark in their headline), Jane Goldman will be writing the script for the upcoming X-Men: First Class movie, which her Stardust and Kick-Ass collaborator Matthew Vaughn has signed on to direct.

I was amused to see which picture ICV2.com chose to run with their relaying of the news, the  one to the right there. They previously ran images of Godlman in that particular dress (which she wore to the Kick-Ass premiere) to illustrate articles about her in April and March of this year.

Of course, ICV2.com aren’t the only folks in comics circles who are apparently big fans of that dress of Goldman’s. In a March post about the Kick-Ass premiere, Heidi “The Beat” MacDonald posted images of some of the “nerdlebrities” there and made a teasing comment or two on the subject of Goldman and her dress, and the comments thread dwelt on the subject to the exclusion of all else. And I just posted the exact same picture that ICV2.com did, which I suppose makes me just as guilty…

Anyway, Jane Goldman to maybe write X-Men: First Class!

By George Marston

While Captain America may be seen as the de facto leader of the Marvel Universe, the LA Times is reporting that he may be leading Marvel’s heroes into yet another new dimension in 2011 — the third dimension.

Ben Fritz of the LA Times has speculated that Captain America: The First Avenger may be filmed in 3-D, becoming the latest in a spate of blockbuster films to embrace the newly revitalized format. Riding on the successful coattails of films such as “Avatar” and “Alice In Wonderland,” Marvel’s current release “Iron Man 2″ reportedly came very close to a 3-D conversion in post production, but the decision was made to spend that time on further editing and some limited reshooting.

“The team has been doing a lot of research into 3-D processes, and we’re looking at it on future films when we have the time,” Marvel’s Kevin Feige said, explaining that a late-production 3-D conversion for Iron Man 2 was scrapped. “We will be doing it at some point.” And considering that the Thor film is already halfway through production, it would look like Captain America would be the next available film to shoot entirely with 3-D cameras.

At this point, it’s very little surprise that Marvel may choose to move in this direction. As more and more huge productions get the 3-D treatment, it has almost become an expected feature on current big budget releases, with Avatar scoring $2.7 billion worldwide, with much of that coming from the increased ticket pricing due to 3D glasses. On top of that, who can deny the appeal of Cap’s shield slinging straight at your face? (Well, besides Nazis and the Serpent Society.) What do you think, ‘Rama readers?

As somebody who’s spent a little time in Hollywood, pitching in on the production and development side of things, I thought this article in the Atlantic by Lynda Obst had a LOT of food for thought when it comes to the future of cineplexes — even as it makes an enemy of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips:

So I’m sitting at my desk, reading submissions. I had read about the biggest sale of the week on the front page of Variety, and it almost sent me diving head-first into the Silver Lake outside my window.

The story revolves around Zack Overkill, who has entered the witness protection program after testifying against his boss, Black Death. He’s forced to take a drug that strips him of his powers, but he regains his strength when he experiments with new drugs. Soon he’s a masked vigilante fighting villains.

But before I jumped, I called my son. He said, “You, too, can play this game. Look through your submission pile for something you might not have otherwise taken seriously.” He was right. Again.

Yep, that’s the Marvel ICON book Incognito she’s talking about there, as she bemoans the lack of creative variety and depth down in Hollywood. What’s fascinating about all this is the question of artistic risk-taking, and comic books’ place in it. Considering creators and their artistic contributions get revered in the industry (although clearly not enough to stop people from pirating their books en masse), it’s easy to forget that the entertainment industry — whether it’s comics, film, or television — is a business, first and foremost. Cash-strapped studios are trying to fund as many guaranteed hits as they can…

…But in a lot of ways, they’re struggling against both financial pressures and the laziness of execs. Comics have had their heyday because they’re automatically storyboarded and swiftly digestible in a way that books like, say, The Devil In the White City isn’t. So a book that might seem a little “risky” in the industry — Incognito could even stand as such, as a noir-ish twist on the superhero genre, with no actual franchise ties — is actually seen as predisposed towards success in Hollywood.

On the one hand, one could argue that the singular themes and built-in high concepts for comics can actually allow for deep introspection and for heartfelt performances (given the right talent is enthusiastic about the material, of course) — but on the other hand, do I want to live in a black-and-white world where superhero movies — heck, even superhero stories — are the norm? Whether you’re talking about comics like Mouse Guard, Locke & Key and Chew or movies like The Departed, Ray and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, variety (the concept, not the trade publication) is the spice of life. Either which way, it’s fascinating to bat around ideas on this article. What say you, Rama readers? Let us know what you think!

[Hat-tip to Ed Brubaker for the link]

By Julie Opipari

There is more bad news for the manga industry, as Viz Media as announced a 40% reduction in staff, according to a story in Publisher’s Weekly. Forty percent! That is staggering, and considering that Viz is one of the stronger publishers in the industry, disheartening as well. Yen Press announced a few weeks ago that they are going to cease publication of Yen Plus magazine, and it appears as though Go! Comi, the pub that introduced me to some great artists, has closed shop as well. There is so much bad news that it’s hard to stay positive about the hobby right now.

I remember during the manga “boom” how exciting it was to go to anime conventions and attend publisher panels. License announcements were a highlight, and energy pulsed through the convention center. In contract, last year’s Anime Expo was so disappointing; there was hardly any industry presence, and new licenses were few and far between, and everything was more muted and subdued. The economy was still in freefall, and with job losses mounting, most people were more concerned about making their mortgage payments than buying things.

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You ready for your daily dose of sword-and-sorcery paintings? Joe Jusko has it well in hand, with his cover for the third issue of Hawks of Outremer, set to be released by BOOM! Studios in August.

The series is a revenge actioner based on the short stories of Conan creator Robert E. Howard. Our protagonist, Cormac FitzGeoffrey, is on a mission to seek and destroy, after one of the few friends he has suffers and untimely end. I dunno about you, folks, but I’m really digging the old-school composition of the piece. What say you, Rama readers?

Transformers: The War Within Omnibus
Written by Simon Furman
Illustrated by Don Figueroa & Elaine To and Andrew Wildman & Erik Sander with Rob Armstrong
Colored by Rob Ruffolo, David Cheung, Elliot Kravchik, Matt Huphaldt, Espen Grundetjern, Alan Wang and Rami Sunga
Lettered by Dreamer Design and Benjamin Lee
Published by IDW

Many people, probably most people, who read this site grew up on superheroes and superhero comics.  I didn’t.  The occasional contact with superheroes, via the erratic comic book or childhood cartoons such as SuperFriends, did little to fire the imagination of young Michael Lorah.  When it comes to nostalgia for the adventurism of my childhood, nothing impacted more deeply than a cartoon series about giant robots who turned into cars smashing the bejeezus out of other giant robots that turned into … well, other stuff.

I’m not, by nature, much of a nostalgist, and have only rarely dabbled in Transformers comics as an adult.  When nostalgic curiosity rears its head, however, I’m glad to find options at my local library.

Transformers: The War Within Omnibus compiles two six-issue miniseries originally published by Dreamwave Productions, now collected by IDW.  (A third War Within series was begun by Dreamwave, but never concluded due to the company’s bankruptcy and collapse.)

The first half of the book details Optimus Prime’s first days as leader of the Autobots, using the title to indicate Prime’s own internal conflict over the necessity of war.  The second storyline, with Optimus and Decepticon commander Megatron both assumed dead, finds the Autobot and Decepticon factions splintered into many subgroupings, and a resuscitated pre-historical robot called The Fallen pitting them against one another for his own ends.

Each story possesses some charms, but neither is compelling reading unless the reader brings some attachment to the characters and concepts.  Writer Simon Furman offers only shallow insight into Optimus Prime’s preference to avoid war with the Decepticons, and storylines involving other players – notably the Transformers’ equivalent of Wolverine, Grimlock, a major presence in both halves of The War Within – tend to dominate the narrative without supporting the theme fully.

The second story, subtitled The Dark Ages, struggles to find focus.  The splintered factions of Autobots and Decepticons pull in too many directions, and The Fallen’s plan requires too much back story information that I gleaned only after reading Wikipedia articles after finishing the book itself.  Neither the concept of Primus nor the reason for the four apparently arbitrarily chosen robots used in The Fallen’s plot are explained in even the most elusive terms in The War Within.

The plots of both halves of the book move quickly and build to largely logical finales, despite the perfunctory character work that precludes much emotional investment in the outcome.

Current Transformers illustrator Don Figueroa handles the pencil art in the first story; long-time Transformers artist Andrew Wildman deals with the latter.  Both artists create strong character designs, bulky war machines whose alternate forms present in the robotic form, yet neither artist displays much affinity for the most basic nuances of visual storytelling.  A sequence of Optimus Prime ambushing Soundwave and the Insecticons lacks any perspective indicating why the villains believe they have the hero trapped, nor any indication how Prime has managed to get behind them.

In short, Transformers: The War Within Omnibus provides little beyond an exercise in revisiting childhood favorites.  Nostalgia has a place, however, and fortunately the occasional foray into youthful comforts can be assuaged at your local library.

I got home on Monday to find the posts about Frank Frazetta’s passing.  His art has been inspirational to me many times over and when I saw the last posting on Monday was his obit, I could not bring myself to post after that.  Thanks for making art cool, Mr. Frazetta.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

Too small!: Entertainment Weekly has an image of Peter Sarsgaard in make-up as Hector Hammond, from the set of the upcoming Green Lantern movie. I suppose they may be doing some green screen stuff to make him look more Hector Hammond-y, but the melon size in the leaked image makes his head simply look grotesquely huge, rather than ludicrously gigantic.

Speaking of superhero films that aren’t out yet…: MTV’s Splash Page spoke with Iron Man director Jon Favreau about a possible third Iron Man movie, and the director explained one of the reasons he hasn’t been able to use The Mandarin yet (and might not be able to, depending on what happens in The Avengers movie). Because the Mandarin’s got magic rings, Favreau said he didn’t think he quite worked with the technology-based fantasy setting of the Iron Man movies. That’s a pretty interesting thought, actually, as it applies to the differences between Marvel superhero movies (where, so far, each character is cordoned off from the others and operate on their own set of rules) and Marvel superhero comics, where they all share a setting and everything goes. Linking to the Splash Page interview, Empire notes an even more obvious reason why The Mandarin hasn’t made it to the films yet, what with him being a stereotypical yellow peril, Fu Manchu type. Me, I’m hoping for industrial spy Red Ghost and his Super-Apes infiltrating Stark Industries and stealing the plans for the Iron Man suits to build Iron Ape suits in Iron Man 3. But then, I’m a comics blogger, not a screenwriter.

Wait, Incredible Hulk porn?: The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Vivid Entertainment, makers of the not terribly  imaginatively titled pornographic parody Batman XXX, are planning on tackling other superheroe  properties, like Superman, The Green Hornet, Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk. Here’s the official press release. I suppose I should also not that the Hollywood Reporter article links back to Rich Johnston’s Bleeding Cool coverage of Batman XXX, noting that Johnston’s been “all over this like vanilla scent on a stripper,” if only because if I don’t, Johnston will show up in the comments to do so himself and link back to himself.

“Sometimes I try to imagine what the 1970s would have been like if comic-book movies had dominated the cinematic landscape the way they do today”: Ross Douthat writes another dumb column for the New York Times, this one about how unfortunate it is that so many talented directors and actors are forced to make superhero movies and that there’s just way too much Iron Man in the Iron Man movie (The opinion piece was apparently prompted by the fact that Iron Man just opened. Or Matt Zoller Seitz’s piece about superhero movies sucking on Salon. Or perhaps that Douthat had a looming deadline and nothing much to write about). New York Times columnist Ross Douthat also misspells “Spider-Man” as “Spiderman.” In the New York Times!  Meanwhile, at Mother Jones, Kevin Drum notes that Douthat has kinda sorta asked a dumb-ass question (I’m paraphrasing), noting that The Godfather’s source material wasn’t exactly high art: “In the same way that Coppola transcended the usual boundaries of mob flicks and John Ford did the same for westerns, maybe they would have made great comic book adaptations too if they’d given it a whirl.”

Nothing…?: “What Batman Can Teach Conservatives on Immigration and Other Issues”

“Blame the people who thought the best way to diversify the DCU was to stick new guys in the old guys’ laundry”: In Monday’s installment, I linked to Chris Sims’ Comics Alliance column about how DC’s reverting from  some legacy characters back to their Silver Age progenitors has inadvertently lead to a whitening of the DCU. Sean T. Collins has a well-written, well thought-out response to Sims’ post and some of the issues he raised. The quote above is from Collins’ post, which brings up some excellent posts about what seperates some of the most successful non-white super-characters from the ones who are currently handing their IP’s back to old white dudes form the sixties.

This is another one of those instances where I wish DC’s Bizarro Comics anthology was an ongoing monthly: I’ve linked to most of these pieces individually before, but they’re awesome enough that they’re well worth relinking to, especially as a whole set. Here’s a flickr (did I spell that right?) set of images for a Doug Wright Awards auction, mostly featuring superheroes by unlikely artists. For example,  here’s a detail from Matt Forsythe’s Hawkman piece:

This is a huge Wednesday for the Marvel Universe, as the years-in-the-building-towards Siege storyline concludes, signaling the end of the year-long “Dark Reign” status quo/branding effort and the beginning of the new “Heroic Age” status quo/branding effort. First up is Siege #4, Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada and Mark Morales oversized conclusion to Marvel’s latest big event miniseries…and the end of this one is only one month late! Likewise, Siege: Embedded #4 concludes Brian Reed and Chris Samnee’s street-level look at the war in Asgard.

Also of interest to Siege devotees this week are Christos Gage, Jorge Molina and Mirco Piefederici’s Avengers: The Initiative #35, Bendis and Mike Deodato’s Dark Avengers #16, and Bendis, Bryan Hitch and Jackson Guice’s New Avengers: Finale #1, which brings the current volume of New Avengers to a close…before a new volume launches next month. The books are $4, $4, $3, $4 and $5, respectively.

I think there’s also a book so classified that marvel.com won’t even share it’s title, so I don’t know what to say about that. Maybe keep your eyes peeled for a book you didn’t expect to see on the shelves, and buy it, if you want…?

After the jump, a bunch of comics that don’t tie-in to Siege!

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Jordan Mechner’s main claim to fame is that he created the video game franchise Prince of Persia, which is primed to reach its likely apex of popularity later this month when the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring summer movie opens.

Showing fine timing, publisher First Second is releasing not only a new edition of Mechner’s 2008 graphic novel Prince of Persia, a remarkably literary collaboration with writer A.B. Sina and artists LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland, but also a brand-new work from Mechner, Solomon’s Thieves Book 1.

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If you like what you’ve read so far (c’mon, how can you not?) totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!

Music fans, get ready for some magic, as Kieron Gillen has released the playlist for Phonogram: The Singles Club!

The list, which is available on Spotify, has many of the tracks from Gillen’s series from Image. The book, which Gillen collaborated on with artist Jamie McKelvie, looks at the world of phonomancers, people who can unlock the sheer joyous magic within music. So maybe give the book another read with the soundtrack, see what happens.

Colorists may create mood and atmosphere with their fiery red sunsets and striking blues — but does that mean they deserve the long green of comic book royalties?

That’s the contentious question that was brought up this weekend, as Erik Larsen and Dave McCaig debated whether or not colorists, as well as letterers and other members of the production team, deserve royalties and/or cover credits. Here are a few highlights from the many, many, MANY people who ended up giving their thoughts on the matter:

Erik Larsen: I don’t know of a colorist that moves the needle–so I don’t think they should get royalties–same with letterers. Sorry.

Dave McCaig: Print your books in black and white. Put your money where your mouth is if you think colorists are not essential to the team.

Kurt Busiek: I also wonder, did Sal Buscema deserve a royalty? He was consistent, and didn’t make sales fluctuate month to month. And if the writer chose to guest-star Wolverine, it wasn’t Sal’s choice. These are all arguments you’ve used to say colorists don’t deserve royalties. But you don’t apply them to people who do get royalties.

Ron Marz: My reasoning is very simple, @KurtBusiek @DaveMcCaig @ErikJLarsen. If I get royalties, so should colorist, b/c we’re part of the same team.

There’s plenty more where that came from. Now, while you guys should all read through some of these posts to get the full context, I’m not going to go crazy with the Twitter quoting — only because that would take all day, and the back-and-forth for some of these “threads” are positively epic — but it does bring about an interesting thought: Who deserves royalties?

I know that writers, pencillers, and inkers do get royalties (and I do believe that colorists get royalties at Marvel as well), and I have heard that for some companies, editors get royalties as well. I do completely subscribe to the maxim that good colors can elevate (even bad) art, whereas nasty coloring can absolutely tank a book. And when it comes to deadlines, colorists and letterers get absolutely hammered, often pulling heroic hours without nearly enough thanks from the fan community.

Yet on the other hand, there’s the argument that splitting up the royalty checks ever-so-many ways can take away at least some of incentives for writers, pencillers and inkers. And that the “name brand” of certain writers and pencillers will be the factor that boosts sales, as opposed to other members of the creative team. And Rob Liefield made an excellent point, is that as time progresses, the royalties are not that high to begin with — sometimes less than a hundred dollars. So what say you, ‘Rama readers?  What do you think? Sound off!

Creators around the Internet are reporting the same thing: That legendary artist Frank Frazetta has passed away at the age of 82.

Frazetta was well-known for his dynamic, rugged art on seminal comics characters ranging from Conan the Barbarian to Shining Knight to Vampirella. One of Frazetta’s most iconic images — the Death Dealer, painted in 1973 — which eventually was used in comics, novels, and even a CD.

Additionally, Frazetta also hit Hollywood, most notably for the animated 1983 feature Fire and Ice. He also drew movie posters for What’s New, Pussycat?, Hotel Paradiso and the Gauntlet, among many others.

Yet the Frazetta family’s personal life has also been tumultous at best — recently, his son Frank Jr. was arrested for driving a backhoe into the Frazetta Art Gallery, attempting to take $20 million in paintings. Frank Jr. had said that he had the power of attorney over his father’s estate — the charges were eventually dropped.

“My son is an alien,” Frazetta told the Ponoco Record in March. “There’s no telling what he’ll do. He’s been like that for, I don’t know, how many years. We played baseball in the old days. He always chose the opposite side from me.”

While there is no word as to how Frazetta died, he had suffered from a number of health conditions in recent years, including a thyroid condition and several debilitating strokes. ‘Rama readers, feel free to give your thoughts on the creator in the comments section below.

Okay, horror fans, break’s over — because it looks like The Scream Factory is back open and ready for business!

The horror publisher — which has also gone through stints as Fangoria Comics and Fangoria Graphix — is back on the board via Panelfly, according to an announcement from new backer Kik Axe Entertainment. And for full disclosure, my Blog@ colleagues Troy Brownfield and David Pepose both serve as editors for the line.

Digital comics from the Scream Factory that are currently available via the Panelfly application include BUMP, Death Walks the Streets, Robert Kurtzman’s Beneath the Valley of the Rage, BUMP Hack/Slash, and Shon C. Bury’s Nox. They’ve also announced the upcoming series Ellium, which blends horror and science fiction, and that trades and novels for BUMP and Beneath the Valley of the Rage would be out soon.

The best Cap casting news so far: British actor Toby Jones has reportedly been cast as Arnim Zola in the upcoming live action Captain America movie. That means Arnim Zola, the character whose face is in his stomach, will be in the Captain America movie.

“I would differentiate between the digital product and the print product. I would have more things you can only get in the print version, even more so in the serial version”: Tom Spurgeon has a nice long talk with retailer and retailer activist Brian Hibbs about the state of the industry and the direct market in this big-ass interview at The Comics Reporter. They cover a lot of interesting ground, and the above quote is from a passage in which Hibbs talks about how publishers can try to make digital product work in conjunction with paper-and-staples comics.

Did you know the Federal Reserve makes extremely boring comic books?: It’s true, according to this article and slide show from The Daily Caller.

“But mostly, she will suffer”: Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Christopher Borrelli details the art of making a non-powered female/superhero male coupling work, as evidenced by the girlfriend characters in a handful of recent superhero movies, from Spider-Man’s Mary Jane Watson to Iron Man’s Pepper Potts.

Alex Ross covers Johnny Ryan?: Not quite, but Mike Baehr sees some similarities between the protagonist of Ryan’s Prison Pit and Ross and Dynamite’s new Phantom design.

Is this the most specific superhero list ever?: “7 (or 12) Superheroes Based on Periodic Elements Who Are Not Iron Man”

The Age of TV Heroes
Written by Jason Hofius & George Khoury
Published by TwoMorrows

It’s a book for fans, by fans.  The Age of TV Heroes provides readers with an overview of (nearly) every incarnation of comic book superheroes on the small screen, beginning with George Reeves and the 1950’s The Adventures of Superman and carrying through to today’s long-running Smallville.  Stopping in between to chat with Lynda Carter, Nicholas Hammond, Adam West and many others, Hofius and Khoury diligently track down and discuss memories of each show with surviving cast, writers and producers.

Moving nearly chronologically forward, the authors offer anywhere from one (Vampirella’s television film) to nearly twenty pages (Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man), during which they explain how the show came to the air, get thoughts and remembrances from participants, and offer thoughts on the series’ inevitable ending.

Nearly every person involved with each show offers fond memories of the experience, even when the series went in an unwanted direction or the network meddled with the tone and direction of the storyline.  These personal perspectives lift The Age of TV Heroes, making it a rose-tinted window into the existence of many fondly recalled programs.

Presenting all their information in a clear and concisely written style, Hofius and Khoury provide readers with many pertinent details.  However, due to its over-arcing focus on all superhero series, no single show gets an in-depth treatment, so hardcore fans may be disappointed in the coverage of their favorite show.  The writers’ clear affection for the programs under discussion also limits their willingness to criticize, and many shows receive far more praise than their content generally merits.

Despite these small flaws, the material is presented professionally and offers readers something unavailable elsewhere: a strong over-view of superhero television programs.  With the groundwork provided in The Age of TV Heroes, superhero and television aficionados can easily pursue more information about each series.

In 2009, the DC Bullets softball squad posted an overall winning record, but battled to maintain a .500 record in the competitive New York Media Softball League.  Including a first round playoff loss, the Bullets dropped three games to the 2009 NYMSL champions Wall St. Journal.

Well turn the page on 2009, because late Saturday morning, the Bullet squad pounded out 14 runs in the opening three innings and held on, white-knuckled, for a thrilling 15-11 victory over the Journal.

Impressively, the offense put together four, three and seven runs in the first three frames with only four extra base hits.  The small-ball approach saw the team compile fourteen singles (and four doubles).  In the first 3B Mike Lorah (4-5, 3 R, 2 RBI), SS Adam Schlagman (3-4, R, RBI, BB) and CF Andrew Arnold (2-4, 2 R, double, BB) singled to load the bases.  LF Jay Kogan’s sacrifice fly scored one, and RF Pat Brosseau highlighted his 1-5 day with a two-run single.  After a fielder’s choice, DH LP Vollano (2-4, R, RBI) capped the inning with a double to score SCF “Doc” Lauren Fries (1-2, R).  The Journalists scored three in the bottom of the first, keeping the game tight.

In the second, successive singles by P Joel Press (1-2, R), 2B Christine Napolitano (1-2, R), Lorah and Schlagman scored two runs, and Kogan’s two-out RBI double added a third run.  In the middle of every rally, Jay’s 3-4 day included five RBI, a double and a sac fly.

Aided by an unusually shaky Journal defense in the third, the Bullets batted around, tacking on seven more runs and carrying a commanding 14-4 lead into the back half of the game.  Singles by C Katie Kubert (2-2, R), Vollano, 3B Adam Staffaroni (1-3, R, BB) and 1B-2B Nel Yomtov (2-3, R, RBI, BB), and an opposite-field down-the-line double by 1B Jerry Cerza (1-2, 2 RBI, double) opened the inning.  One out later, Lorah singled, and with two down, Arnold doubled and Kogan capped the frame for the second consecutive inning with a two-run single.

Resilient to the end, Wall St. Journal followed their single run in the second with two more in the bottom of the fourth, then tore into a tiring Joel Press for five runs in the sixth inning.  Adam Schlagman prevented further damage in the second with a huge double play, taking it to second himself and throwing on to first. After scoreless turns in the fourth through sixth innings, Jay Kogan drove home one more insurance run in the seventh for the Bullets, chasing home C Allison Dugas (1-2, R, RBI), who’d singled, moved to second on an overthrow, and taken third on a deep outfield fly.

With the blustering wind playing havoc on his pitches and the Journal hitters working deep counts, Joel Press channeled his inner Nolan Ryan and said, “Pitch counts be damned.”  In the last of the seventh, two Wall St. Journal baserunners reached with one away, but Joel secured the final two outs with routine grounders to first and third bases.

Now 1-0 in the NYMSL and 3-0 overall, the DC Bullets play their next game on Thursday at the home field, North Meadow #2 in Central Park against The Nation.

Games Notes:

Special thanks to Sean, Jeff and James for coming out to support the team.  The occasion marked perhaps the only sighting of Sean and Jeff without alcohol in their hands, so the team appreciates their sacrifice.

The swirling wind made game play, particularly pitching, an usual challenge.  The Bullets drew four walks, and the Journal at least as many, a rarity in free-swinging slow-pitch softball.

The DC Bullets matched up against the Paris Review Thursday afternoon in their second game of the season.  A year previous, in the 2009 season opener, the Bullets looked rusty as they came out on the bottom end of a 22-10 shellacking at the hands of the Parisian poets; in 2010, their defense and bats tuned up in a 7-6 season-opening win against Random House, the Bullets put on a stronger and more balanced showing, riding an 8-run first inning to a 13-8 victory.

After the Paris Review scored three quick runs in the top of the first, a repeat of 2009’s match-up seemed possible.  The Bullet bats responded in the bottom half, however, as nine of the first ten hitters reached safely, highlighted by back-to-back triples by left fielder Andrew Arnold (1-2, R, 2 RBI, triple) and right fielder Pat Brosseau (1-2, R, RBI, triple), and capped by RCF Adam Staffaroni’s (2-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, triple, home run) on-a-rope three-run blast down the right field line.  The eight-run outburst topped the Bullets’ entire seven-inning effort from the previous week.

In their half of the third , the Paris Review fought back with three more runs, and the Bullet hitters looked stymied when the Review’s relief pitcher came at them with a – how to put it? – peculiar release point.  Singles by RF Allison Dugas (1-2), ace pitcher Larry Ganem (1-1), and leadoff speedster and centerfielder Neil Hiremath (2-2, R) loaded the bases in the second, but the heart of the order popped out twice to squelch the threat, and the Bullets folded in order in the third.

After Larry Ganem held opponents scoreless in the fourth, maintaining an 8-6 lead, the Bullets finally solved the relief ace’s motion with six extra-base hits.  Catcher LP Vollano’s (2-2, 2 R, RBI, triple) lead-off triple and LF Jay Kogan’s (2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, home run) mammoth home run to deep left opened the frame.  Staffaroni added a triple, scoring on a groundout by second sacker Nel Yomtov (1-2, RBI), and a trio of doubles by 2B Christine Napolitano (1-2, R, double), CF Vince Letterio (2-2, R, double) and C Brian Walters (1-2, 2 RBI, double) capped the five-run frenzy.

As the field permit expired at 7pm and another team waited restlessly for the field, the Paris Review mounted a brief two-out, fifth-inning rally, scoring two runs, but the Bullet defense hammered the final nail into the coffin lid. Andrew Arnold, SS Adam Schlagman and Ganem hooked up on a 7-6-1 relay, securing the final out at the plate following a hard single to left.

The 2-0 Bullets have their first New York Media Softball League game of the summer at 11am on Saturday morning (that’s slightly under three hours from now) in Central Park’s North Meadow, Field #7, as they meet the 2009 champion Wall St. Journal.

Game Notes:

2009 team MVP and relentless self-promoter Mike Lorah returned from his honeymoon (which appropriately enough included a stop in the opponent’s namesake city) for his first 2010 tilt, picking up a put-out and three assists at the hot corner and mustering an opposite field single during the first inning deluge.

LP Vollano, maintaining a sterling 1.000 batting average on the early season, removed a huge monkey from his back when he notched his first extra base hit with his triple to deep center field leading off the fourth.

Out for the week with an injured back, co-captain Sal Cipriano is day-to-day, but hopes to return to action next week, and first baseman extraordinaire Laura Demoreuille earns defensive honors for the game, bailing out her infielders with several outstanding stretches.